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David B Horne - Why only 1.9% of females successfully secure funding

David Horne · 7 July 2024

Entrepreneur · Author · Leadership · TEDX Speakerin
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Key topicsThe Buyer's Shortcut: How Founders Grow 25x Through AcquisitionsMost entrepreneurs are told that sustainable growth comes from selling more, hiring more people, and waiting patiently for results. But for founders who want to build significant enterprise value, relying solely on organic growth can become the biggest barrier to scaling. David shares how combining funding, acquisitions, and disciplined integration allowed businesses he helped lead to grow from £1 million to nearly £28 million in just three years, and why ambitious founders should start thinking like strategic buyers rather than simply better sellers. The funding gap female founders meet before the term sheetFemale founders are still building companies in a funding market where access can look open while outcomes remain deeply uneven. The easy explanation is that too few women enter the pipeline, but the harder question is what happens when they do show up and pitch. David looks at the gap through the lens of capital allocation, asking where credibility, pattern recognition, and investor assumptions start shaping who gets taken seriously. The Strategic Buyer: Why One Founder's £1 Million Became £28 Million in Three YearsDavid Horne has raised more than £120 million in growth capital and completed 33 acquisitions and exits across nearly four decades as a CFO. Most founders are told the route to a bigger company is more sales, more staff, and patience, so they spend years grinding out organic growth while the businesses around them get bought. David argues the faster route is to sit on the other side of the table: fund the balance sheet first, acquire the capability you would otherwise build, then integrate it properly, the sequence he set out in his book Add Then Multiply and used to take a business from £1 million to nearly £28 million in three years. He walks through what founders turning over £2 to £20 million need in place before their first deal, and where integration quietly destroys the value the deal created. Listeners leave able to judge whether their next stage of growth should be bought rather than built.View all topics →

About David Horne

David Horne, podcast guest

Business Growth Strategist | M&A Expert | Author

40+ years International business experience£120M+ Growth funding raised30+ M&A transactions completed£2M–£20M Founder businesses advised by revenue range

David B Horne has spent nearly four decades helping ambitious founders build businesses that don't just grow, they multiply. A Chartered Accountant by background, David has raised more than £120 million in growth capital and completed 33 mergers, acquisitions and exits. He has helped companies scale from startup to market leader through strategic funding, acquisitions, and disciplined financial leadership. Today, as founder of ADD THEN MULTIPLY, he works with entrepreneurs turning over £2–20 million who want to accelerate growth, increase business value, and build companies that can ultimately thrive without them.

Throughout his career, David has served as CFO for listed companies, high-growth businesses, and entrepreneurial ventures, including Daniel Priestley's companies, giving him a front-row seat to what separates businesses that plateau from those that scale exponentially. His proven FACE methodology: Fund, Acquire, Consolidate, Exit shows founders how to move beyond the limits of organic growth and create transformational business value through strategic acquisitions and robust financial foundations.

David is also a passionate advocate for female founders. After being asked a simple question following a speaking engagement: why so little investment reaches women-led businesses, he began researching the issue and uncovered the systemic funding gap that continues to exist across venture capital.

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