In this Cosmic Conversations session, I sat down with Amrit Sami, Investment Associate at Mercia Ventures. Mercia backs ambitious founders across the UK and supports teams from first cheque through scale. Amrit’s route into venture started in engineering, moved through scouting and accelerators, and now into investing and hands-on portfolio work. We dig into what credible looks like at seed and how to turn new capital into real traction.
You can watch the full conversation above or take in the best bits in the short summary of Q&As below.
Q: What do you focus on at Mercia Ventures?
We invest at seed and Series A. We spend most of our time on software, and we also back some deep tech and consumer. We occasionally support private-equity style opportunities.
Q: What mistakes do you see founders make when they kick off a raise?
Founders try to compartmentalise fundraising. They focus on product and sales for 6 to 12 months, then realise cash is tight and flip into “fundraising mode.” I tell CEOs to always be fundraising. Keep conversations going with investors and angels every week. Two or three thoughtful emails or coffees is a good rhythm because this is a seven to ten year journey.
Q: What makes a convincing seed narrative from your side of the table?
Work back from Series A. At seed I’m asking whether you can credibly reach the bar the next round expects. In software that often looks like roughly two to five million ARR, higher in some AI cases. If you give me the money, show me the plan that gets you there. When founders skip that anchor, round size and dynamics fall apart.
Q: How long does fundraising really take?
Whatever you think, double it. There are exceptions where rounds close in a few weeks, but those founders had been speaking to investors for a long time already. I’ve seen conversations start in June or July and close in January, and I’ve seen 12 to 18 month journeys in this market.
Q: What should founders ask when they diligence a VC?
Figure out if they actually have money to deploy. Ask about fund structure, major LPs, and where they are in the fund life. Be wary of tranching. I’ve seen tranches cripple founders because they never get the breathing room to put their foot down, and timelines blow up when a fund has to go raise after offering. Keep leveraging even when you have an offer to create some auction dynamics and clean up terms.
Q: What should founders do in the first days after the money lands?
Celebrate, then slow down. Revenue is the best form of financing. Take a couple of days to let the adrenaline drop. Don’t assume things speed up by adding people. Often the opposite happens. Be militant about priorities, and when you model headcount, I tell founders to multiply people cost by about 1.4 because training, sick days, and fees add up. Keep a bootstrap mindset until you have real predictability.
Q: Where do you stand on founder-led sales?
I love it when founders push founder-led sales as far as possible. By the time you’re around two million ARR, you know the pipeline cold and can train others. Hire too soon and you get pipeline bloat. People haven’t thought through the questions founders and BDRs should ask, ICP isn’t clear, and nothing progresses. The founders who extend founder-led sales usually do better.
Q: Who are the best early hires?
Generalists who thrive in chaos and learn fast. They’ll help with everything from building furniture to talking to customers to shaping the deck. Apart from your core tech team, those generalists are powerful. Avoid the big-company “black book” profile at this stage. Promote from within when you can and let people morph into the role as the company figures out what it really needs.
Key takeaways from this Cosmic Conversation:
- Keep a weekly investor rhythm. Two or three thoughtful touchpoints compound trust over time.
- Build seed plans backwards from Series A proof points
- Whatever time you think a raise takes, double it.
- Diligence the fund, not just the partner. Verify deployable capital and watch for tranching.
- After the wire, slow down and remember revenue is the best financing.
- Headcount rarely speeds you up. Model people cost at about 1.4× salary.
- Keep founder-led sales going until the motion is robust, often around 2m ARR.
- Hire fast-learning generalists who flourish in chaos. Avoid the big “black book” profile and promote from within as roles evolve.
If you enjoyed this conversation with Amrit, check out our other recent Cosmic Conversations with leading VCs.
Connect with Amrit Sami on LinkedIn and find out more about Mercia Ventures.
