“From my own experience of launching a fintech startup, the best advice I can give to others struggling to secure initial funding is; digest the feedback being given by the potential investors and use this to understand what it is about your proposition that isn’t resonating.

“If a common theme starts to emerge, you’ll know where to focus your efforts. If not, then you may be speaking with the wrong investors. Focus on those that specialise in your space and understand the challenges your product helps solve.

“Cheddar’s experience with investors highlighted the need for startups to validate traction of the product with user data as much as possible. Ask yourself, how engaged are your customers? As opposed to how many customers you have. Or, how big is the market you’re going after in reality?

“As an early stage business, you’re not expected to have 1,000,000 installs or products sold, and therefore your remaining funds could be used on validating retention if not done already. The pending investment can be used for user acquisition and driving monetisation. Without engagement and retention, the funding conundrum will continue.

“I wouldn’t be afraid of asking for introductions from investors who may not be interested today. Investors may be able to suggest mentors or connections from within their network that can greatly assist the business. In our case, a suggestion from a VC that didn’t invest in the business completely changed our path for the better.”