I set up an IT company, Then Solutions, in 2001, which I sold in 2004 for $8 million (£5.2 million). In that business we decided not to use investors, and when I co-founded Artesian in 2007 we decided against it again.

But four years on, we had built the company to a certain size with a good cash flow, and we thought it could grow much bigger with external investors’ cash and experience.

Last year we raised £2 million from a single institution. Not bringing investors in earlier meant that we got a much healthier valuation for our company and didn’t suffer the huge dilution we would have suffered at the start-up stage.

With the new investment we’re able to significantly ramp up our sales and marketing and product development.

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