How to stand out to investors
What makes a founder stand out - whether in a fundraising round or an awards application?
What signals do investors and judges actually look for, and how can you make sure your story cuts through the noise?
Join Aly Read (CCO, SeedLegals), Marc Cohen (Founding Partner, unbundled vc), Shruti Iyengar (Investment Director, Future Planet Capital) and Fred Soneya (Co-Founder & General Partner, Haatch) for a high-impact session that breaks down exactly what makes you stand out to to investors - and how to communicate it effectively.
Fresh from the launch of the SeedLegals Startup Awards 2026, which celebrate standout founders, startups, and investors (with opportunities for recognition, exposure, and up to £50k in investment), we’ll share insider insights on how to refine your pitch and increase your chances of success.
We’ll explore the key criteria investors and judges look for—and how to demonstrate them clearly and confidently in your storytelling.
👉 Don’t miss this opportunity to sharpen your application and stand out to investors.
What are the SeedLegals Startup Awards?🏆
Hosted by SeedLegals, the awards celebrate the founders, startups, and investors shaping the future of the ecosystem.
SeedLegals has supported over 60,000 startups across the UK and beyond - making it the go-to platform for raising investment, managing equity, and scaling with confidence.
Now in its third year, the Awards spotlight those building, backing, and growing the next generation of standout companies.
🏆 Why apply?
Get in front of industry-leading judges (angels, VCs, and operators)
Gain visibility across the startup ecosystem
Celebrate your achievements and build credibility
Be in with a chance of £50k in investment
📣 Think you’ve got what it takes, or know someone who does? Apply today or nominate someone else
Our panel
Marc Cohen
Founding Partner, unbundled vc
Marc was an interest rate swap trader, an AI quant trader, a successful amateur poker player, and co-built the world’s best poker AI before turning his attention to venture capital.
Since then he’s invested in Capdesk (acquired by US unicorn Carta), Runna (acquired by Strava), and Ctrl Alt, which at the time of writing had tokenised close to $1.5bn of real world assets.
He now invests in pre-seed and seed European AI startups which are focused on targeting the US market.
Shruti Iyengar
Investment Director, Future Planet Capital
Shruti Iyengar is an Investment Director at Future Planet Capital where she is the Investment Lead for Space-tech investments within the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund and is an Investment Committee Member on the Blue Ocean Mandate.
She has spent the last 10 years working in the early-stage investment ecosystem and is an investment expert/judge on various deep tech panels including the Economist Space Summit, BVCA sessions, London Tech Week, Blue Earth Summit, SeedLegals Startup Awards, and Innovation Zero.
Prior to joining Future Planet Capital, she was an Investor with an early-stage climate tech fund, Sustainable Ventures, where she managed a portfolio of 36 companies and lead their 12 month-long Accelerator Programme.
Fred Soneya
Co-Founder & General Partner, Haatch
Fred was responsible for several high-profile, large-scale innovation projects across Kiddicare.com and, post-acquisition, Morrisons, the UK’s 4th largest supermarket. He created award-winning digital customer experiences by working with cutting-edge early-stage technology start-ups, bridging the online–offline gap at Morrisons for millions of customers each week.
Since co-founding Haatch in 2013, Fred has led the launch and delivery of the Haatch tax-efficient funds in 2018 and the institutional funds in 2022, and he oversees the day-to-day running of the firm as General Partner.
Over the last decade, he has overseen investments into over 170 companies, onboarded over 2,500 investors, and delivered multiple industry firsts across retail access, syndicate strategies, and fund technology. Fred was recently appointed to the board of EISA, the trade body for the Enterprise Investment Scheme.
Moderated by Aly Read
CCO at SeedLegals
Aly is passionate about empowering founders to scale their businesses by simplifying the fundraising journey. Her team’s mission is to make entrepreneurship more accessible by equipping founders with the tools, insights, and support they need to secure investment and grow.
With over 10 years’ experience building and leading high-performing sales teams across FinTech and LegalTech, Aly specialises in driving revenue growth, optimising go-to-market strategies, and developing strong, high-performance team cultures. She thrives in fast-paced environments where teams are empowered to innovate, deliver results, and consistently exceed targets.