Investor Readiness Masterclass

Condensed one-day masterclass delivered by Durham University Business School in partnership with Lifted Ventures

Are you a founder thinking about raising investment, preparing for growth finance or looking to understand what investors really want to see?

Durham University Business School is partnering with Lifted Ventures to deliver a fully funded one-day Investor Readiness Masterclass designed to help founders move from early fundraising thinking to a clearer, more structured and more investable proposition.

Led by Jordan Dargue, Co-Founder of Lifted Ventures and an experienced investor, the session will condense key content from Lifted Ventures’ investment and growth education programme. The day will focus on three practical areas: evolving your business model for investment readiness, understanding the funding landscape and building a compelling investor-ready pitch.

Through expert-led teaching, practical exercises and peer discussion, participants will explore what makes a business scalable and finance-ready, which funding routes may be most appropriate, what investors look for, and how to communicate traction, opportunity and vision with confidence.

By the end of the masterclass, participants will leave with a clearer investment readiness action plan, a stronger understanding of funding options and practical next steps to develop their pitch, deck and fundraising strategy.

Programme overview

This one-day masterclass will provide founders with a focused, practical introduction to investment readiness. The session condenses selected content from Lifted Ventures’ wider investment and growth education programme, with emphasis on business model evolution, the funding landscape and investor-ready pitching.

The day is designed to help founders move from ambition and early-stage fundraising thinking towards a clearer, more structured and more credible investment proposition. It will combine expert-led teaching, practical exercises and peer learning, with participants leaving with a clearer funding strategy, an initial investor narrative and next steps for strengthening their investment readiness.

Masterclass objectives

• Improve investment literacy and confidence among participating founders.
• Help founders assess whether their business model is scalable, finance-ready and attractive to investors.
• Demystify the funding landscape and help participants identify appropriate routes to finance for their stage of growth.
• Support founders to shape a compelling investment narrative and understand the core components of a strong pitch deck.
• Strengthen Durham University Business School’s role as a regional hub for founder support, growth and access to finance.

Proposed one-day structure

Condensed content areas

1. Investment-ready business model evolution

• Defining a clear purpose, value proposition and investable customer problem.
• Understanding what makes a business model scalable and finance-ready.
• Assessing revenue model, route to market and commercial strategy for growth.
• Identifying practical gaps in traction, proof points, operations and growth readiness.

2. Growth finance: funding landscape and access

• Overview of grants, angel investment, venture capital, debt and alternative finance.
• How to think about which funding route is appropriate for a founder’s stage, ambition and risk profile.
• What investors are looking for, including traction, market opportunity, team, defensibility and return potential.
• Building an initial funding roadmap and understanding the next steps before approaching investors.

3. Building investor-ready pitches

• Structuring a concise, compelling investment narrative.
• Understanding the core components of a high-impact pitch deck.
• Communicating traction, opportunity, financial need and vision clearly.
• Practising a short investor pitch and receiving feedback.

Participant outcomes

• A clearer understanding of what investment readiness means in practice.
• A refined view of the business model and the key gaps to address before fundraising.
• Greater confidence in navigating the funding landscape and choosing suitable finance routes.
• A draft or strengthened investor narrative and a clearer understanding of what to include in a pitch deck.
• A practical action plan for next steps towards raising capital or becoming finance-ready.

Suggested eligibility and selection criteria

As the masterclass is fully funded, places could be prioritised for founders and SMEs that demonstrate both readiness to engage and potential for growth. Suggested criteria include:

• Founder or senior decision-maker attendance.
• An established business, trading activity or clear route to market; idea-stage founders may be considered where there is strong evidence of traction or growth potential.
• Ambition to raise funds or actively prepare for investment or growth finance within the next 18 months.
• A scalable product, service or business model with potential for regional economic impact.
• Willingness to complete a short pre- and post-masterclass questionnaire to support evaluation of the pilot.

Who should attend?

This masterclass is suitable for founders, co-founders and senior leaders of SMEs who are exploring external finance, preparing to raise investment or seeking to strengthen their growth proposition. It will be particularly relevant for businesses with growth ambition, early traction and a desire to understand how to become more investor ready.

Key benefits for participants

• Understand what investment readiness means and how investors assess opportunities.
• Identify gaps in your business model, traction and growth story.
• Explore funding routes and how to match them to your business stage.
• Build confidence in your investor narrative and pitch structure.
• Connect with other ambitious founders and the wider Durham and Lifted Ventures ecosystem.

Interested?

Register your interest for a fully funded place on the Investor Readiness Masterclass here. Places are limited and will be prioritised for founders and SMEs with clear growth ambition and potential to benefit from investment-readiness support.