Matt Thomas

Matt Thomas is co-founder of ThatRound, the UK marketplace connecting early-stage founders with angel networks, syndicates and funds. His work focuses on building the tools and workflows that help founders move from preparation to investor conversation faster, with greater clarity about what investors are actually looking for.

Matt built his career scaling early-stage technology businesses: as a first employee, as a growth lead, and as a fractional Head of Growth advising founders on growth, commercial traction and fundraising readiness. Along the way he saw first-hand what happens inside a company when funding conditions turn.

He writes on fundraising strategy and investor behaviour, mentors founders across the UK startup ecosystem, and is actively building startup presence in Milton Keynes, at the centre of the Oxford, Cambridge and London triangle.

Matt's view is that startups are where growth, learning and innovation actually happen. Founders take real personal and financial risk to create something from nothing, and they repay it through jobs and tax receipts. He argues the UK should treat them as the growth engine they are, through better policy, stronger regional ecosystems and a culture that treats building a company as a career worth celebrating.

Why is the UK an attractive place to grow a business?

The UK became the world's third largest startup economy because of the ecosystem we've built here: deep capital markets, world-class universities and a talent pool that keeps founders building. It remains Europe's top destination for venture capital, raising more than France, Germany and Switzerland combined in 2025. The foundations are strong. The question is whether policy and culture keep pace. Staying where we are is a choice we have to keep making.

Why do you support the work of The Entrepreneurs Network?

Founders feel unheard. 85% say the government doesn't understand them, and that disconnect costs the UK growth, jobs and talent. The Entrepreneurs Network puts founders' lived experience in front of policymakers and makes the case that decisions on tax, talent and regulation shape whether people choose to build here.

That matters right now. As I've said on the proposed exit tax: "Any policy that makes the UK a harder or less attractive place to build a company isn't a tax decision, it's a growth decision. We keep hearing that economic growth is a priority but the actions don't match the words." The founders we lose won't announce it; they'll quietly build somewhere else.

What research should more people be reading?

The Entrepreneurs Network's own Entrepreneurs Survey is a must-read: 78% of UK founders say raising investment is difficult, and only 16% say the UK is an easy place to scale. That gap between ambition and lived experience is where the work needs to happen. I'd pair it with Beauhurst's The Deal, which shows first-time equity fundraisings up 23.6% in 2025, but also that London captured 62.1% of total capital. Growth shouldn't be a London story, and the data makes the regional case clearly.