Matt Bird is the co-founder and CEO of Lemon, a platform for small and medium businesses to manage their software as a service spending.
Co-founded by Bird and James Lewis in 2023, the Manchester-based startup provides tools for businesses to spot where they might be overspending on software subscriptions.
This week the company raised £500,000 in funding, with investment coming from Pitchdrive, SFC Capital and angel investors.
Lemon is Bird’s third venture, having been an entrepreneur from the age of 22. The startup currently employs three people.
In this week’s Founder in Five Q&A, Bird explains why founders shouldn’t take it personally when a raise doesn’t go their way, why startups should resist going on an early hiring spree, and why he’s sceptical about the long-term viability of the metaverse and web3.
1. What’s your advice for first-time founders seeking funding?
Matt Bird: The landscape for fundraising is tough right now, and most founders have felt disheartened by unsuccessful or tricky funding rounds over the course of their founding journeys. It’s integral that founders don’t take it personally when their raise doesn’t close, or the money doesn’t come in as quickly as they thought it might do.
You’ll probably hear more no’s than yes’, but don’t let rejections stop you in your tracks. Try to understand the investor’s perspectives and appeal to how they operate. Remember, each ‘no’ is a chance to refine your approach and get closer to a ‘yes’.
2. What’s a common mistake you’ve observed among founders?
MB: It’s quite common for founders to go on a hiring spree early on in their business journey. It’s tempting to quickly build out a team to facilitate all your ideas for innovation, but without a clear understanding of what a company needs, it can sometimes lead to hiring mismatches or burning through resources too quickly.
Taking the time to assess which roles are truly essential and ensuring alignment with your company’s goals can prevent costly mistakes down the line.
3. Which hyped-up technology do you think is doomed to fail?
MB: Although web3 and the metaverse are currently generating a lot of buzz, I’m sceptical about their long-term viability. While the concepts and rumoured capabilities are intriguing, I haven’t seen much compelling evidence to support them significantly improving people’s lives and solving pressing problems worldwide.
In general, I think it’s essential to critically evaluate new technologies and assess whether they offer genuine value before diving in headfirst, as has been the case with web3.
4. Who was the most crucial early hire for your company?
MB: Hiring a head of product played a pivotal role in becoming successful at an early stage. Having someone dedicated to understanding customer needs and translating them into product features was invaluable to both the development and growth of our business, helping us to get the idea off the ground much faster.
They helped us stay focused on delivering value to our users based on feedback we received, laying the foundation for our product’s evolution whilst maintaining a strong product market fit.
5. Share a surprising fact about yourself?
MB: Despite my entrepreneurial background, many people are surprised to learn that I used to be the lead singer in a band. Clearly, business was a better direction for me, but music has always been a strong passion of mine. Funnily enough, the other co-founder of Lemon, James Lewis, also has a musical background in music production, so we make a good team.
Founder in Five – a UKTN Q&A series with the entrepreneurs behind the UK’s innovative tech startups, scaleups and unicorns – is published every Friday.
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