How To Scale Smarter – And Other Key Takeaways From VentureNorth 2025

March marked our second VentureNorth event sponsored by Cooper Parry. We once again gathered a room full of founders and C-suite leaders from some of the North’s most exciting tech businesses – at all stages of growth and investment. 

Alongside networking over food and drinks at Manchester’s beautiful Dakota Hotel (see our event page for a few pics), Colin Greene of Praetura Ventures returned to share his expertise on how the landscape has evolved since we last met. Here are his key insights on the current state of the northern tech scene and what founders should focus on in 2025…

The tech market turns a corner

Colin began with a nod to the recent challenges that UK tech has faced. “We obviously had a bit of a market correction in 2022, certainly in 2023,” he explained, reflecting on the turbulent few years that many founders have navigated. 

But there’s a sense of cautious optimism in the air. “I can say without a doubt that 2025 is definitely better,” Colin said. And while he cautioned that the improvement isn’t “completely transformative,” there are signs that “the market is beginning to unlock” and some of the capital that was held back last year is starting to become available. 

What investors are looking for in founders

Colin went on to speak about how this has brought Praetura’s approach into sharp focus. The VC’s thesis is all about “backing exceptional founders” – particularly those who’ve shown resilience in challenging times. “We’ve spotted a number who have gone through difficulties through that 2022-2024 time,” Colin noted. “There's no shame in having to cut staff or make adjustments to your business to reflect the market realities.”

What truly matters to investors is how founders respond. “Some companies will deal with that better than others," he explained. “Some will just run into the wall and others will actually comprehend what's happening and take appropriate action. Even if we see, for example, that you had to take an HMRC ‘Time to Pay’ arrangement, that’s not a red flag – that makes sense if you’re struggling.”

The businesses that are thriving in today’s market

The renewed energy in the marketplace has Praetura “doubly focusing on the core things,” which Colin described as “well-run businesses that have got to that kind of critical £3-5 million revenue mark and can navigate the vagaries of what might happen on their journey.”

In terms of sectors, Colin highlighted Praetura’s continued interest in “FinTech, MarTech, AdTech, cyber, and of course AI” – although he noted that AI is now “sprinkled across all of those things” rather than standing alone. The UK market is currently awash with AI-related products and services, and the challenge for investors is to “sort the wheat from the chaff, because everyone is AI-enabled or, if not, are using it in their business.”

Colin did show particular excitement about agentic AI and “the ability for models to collaborate with one another,” while acknowledging the importance of distinguishing between scalable, practical solutions and “vapourware”: “It’s all about providing real value.”

While the consumer sector is facing a particularly challenging climate, hardware investments are making a comeback. “If you’d asked me two or three years ago, I would’ve said, ‘Absolutely not, we are not touching hardware’,” Colin reflected. Fast forward to today, and there’s a noticeable rise in interest. Investors are now recognising the potential of combining software with hardware – a synergy that’s increasingly difficult to ignore.

Why Series A is the new Series B

No matter the sector, the funding landscape has fundamentally shifted for businesses – with investors now having much higher expectations at every stage. Colin explained, “When I think about what we’re looking for, and the kinds of expectations that you have around funding stages – in particular Series B – really, Series A has turned into Series B minus.”

This means even early-stage companies face heightened scrutiny. Being a backable founder with a great idea is no longer enough – you now need to ”demonstrate traction and showcase some kind of early result” for Series A. Meanwhile, for Series B, you need to have found a smart way to scale.

For Colin, smart scaling is “taking the money that you’ve got, and the available runway, and being thoughtful about how you deploy it.” He emphasised the importance as a founder of “thinking about the next £100k you’re going to spend as if it was the last £100k you had to spend.” The key to weathering tough market conditions lies in maximising every penny.

While Praetura doesn’t expect businesses to “break even overnight,” the VC does want to see “some kind of path towards that” – with founders thinking about how to maximise a decent runway, which Colin defined as being “at least 18 months, probably two years.” They also want to see that founders recognise that follow-on funding isn’t guaranteed. “It's not us being a pain in the ass for the sake of it, but we know that a follow-on raise is going to be at least three times as hard as you might think.”

The role of the professional CEO in scale-ups

As businesses transition from the £1-3 million range to £5-10 million, many are turning to professional CEOs to help scale effectively. On this, Colin said, “Two years ago, I would have probably dismissed that. But there are now some very experienced hands who are helping propel these businesses to the next stage, and that’s comforting to us as investors.”

Though founders are often visionary, they may lack the operational experience required to navigate critical growth phases. Professional CEOs, on the other hand, have seen it all – from managing huge teams to securing funding and refining business models. Their insights are invaluable for high-growth businesses as they face fresh challenges, whether that’s expanding operations or entering new markets. 

For investors, it’s all about confidence. Having the right leadership at the helm makes the path to success clearer and more achievable.