Fundraising for Connected Carers

Health economist and researcher Simon Wan Yau Ming spotted an opportunity to create value for unpaid carers with a community platform to help them support each other and connect with other carers, resources, charities and research bodies.

Challenge

He understood the opportunity and knew roughly what he wanted to build, but needed help with a specific product roadmap for the MVP, and wanted to minimise risk and personal investment on an unproven idea.

He turned to me to help specify and prototype the MVP, and raise the necessary funding to get it built, without complex, dilutive investor financing and risky debt.

Approach

The governmental department UKRI / Innovate UK offers R&D grant funding for projects such as these, on the basis of a competitive grant proposal process.

I worked with Simon to bring my deep experience on early products to scope the essential requirements for the platform, ensuring that we could easily deliver the project on the funding available.

Bringing my experience in early-stage product management to bear, we were able to provide sophisticated, clear, detailed plans for the grant application, maximising credibility of the proposal.

Deliverables

• Product scope

• Product roadmap

• Project plan

• Platform selection / tech stack decisions

• Fundraising / Grant Writing consultancy, input and support on business case, business plan, product, project plan and use of funds

• Website, branding, visual branding, naming, etc.

• The MVP itself

Results

With my expertise, input and advisory, we were able to win the grant and deliver everything on the project:

1. Secured the maximum initial grant award of £50,000 / ~$68,000

2. Delivered full brand kit - name, visual branding and positioning, design assets, website, logo, etc.

3. Delivered a working MVP community platform with WP + Buddyboss

4. Helped Simon realise his vision for the project risk-free, fully funded by the Innovate UK R&D grant, to present and share with research and carer organisations