Founder Circle
Six months. A small group of ambitious companies. Steve in your corner.
Founder Circle is a six-month working relationship for founders who are building something valuable and want experienced tax and financial judgement close to the important decisions.
The first cohort starts in January 2027.
This is not an outsourced finance department. It is not a generic membership community. It is not an unlimited tax helpline.
It is a small, structured cohort for founders who want to think properly about the company they are building: funding, equity, incentives, intellectual property, tax architecture, transactions and the decisions that can matter years later.
Apply for the January 2027 cohort
Why it exists
Most founders only encounter the big tax moments once.
The SEIS or EIS round. The EMI option scheme. The first meaningful investor. The key hire who wants equity. The R&D or Patent Box question. The shareholder change. The offer to buy the company.
By the time those decisions become urgent, the best options may already have narrowed.
Founder Circle is designed to put Steve close enough to the business early enough that the right questions get asked before the moment has passed.
We start with the architecture
At the beginning of the cohort, Steve works through the company properly.
That means understanding:
- the company and cap table;
- funding history and future plans;
- shareholders and founder objectives;
- employee equity and incentive plans;
- R&D and intellectual property;
- current tax position;
- existing reliefs, claims and filings;
- likely transactions over the next few years.
The purpose is not to produce a generic report that sits in a folder.
The purpose is to identify what matters now, what might matter later, and what could quietly become expensive if nobody thinks about it.
Then Steve stays alongside you
For six months, when something consequential appears, you have someone experienced to run it past.
We are raising another round.
We want to give our CTO equity.
An investor has proposed this structure.
Someone has mentioned Patent Box.
We are acquiring another company.
A shareholder wants to leave.
We might sell.
Sometimes the answer is straightforward. Sometimes we need to get around a table. Sometimes the right move is to bring in a lawyer, corporate finance adviser or another specialist.
The point is that you do not have to work out which tax questions you should have been asking.
What Founder Circle covers
Founder Circle is built around the decisions that shape a valuable founder-led company.
Funding and investment
SEIS, EIS, Advance Assurance, investor eligibility, compliance statements, share rights, investment timing and the tax consequences of how a round is structured.
Equity and incentives
EMI options, valuations, growth shares, unapproved options, leaver provisions, dilution and how to think about giving people a meaningful stake without creating avoidable problems.
Intellectual property and innovation
R&D, Patent Box, ownership of IP, relief claims, documentation and the structure around valuable technology or know-how.
Shareholders and transactions
Founder exits, shareholder changes, reorganisations, buy-backs, acquisitions, cap table corrections and the tax implications of structural change.
Exit readiness
The tax decisions that matter before heads of terms arrive: Business Asset Disposal Relief, share versus asset sales, option exercises, diligence issues and transaction clean-up.
Who it is for
Founder Circle is for ambitious founders and owner-managers who are building or scaling a valuable company and expect meaningful tax, equity, funding or ownership decisions over the next 6-24 months.
It is likely to fit if:
- you are raising or expect to raise investment;
- you are giving equity to employees or co-founders;
- your company has valuable intellectual property;
- you claim or expect to claim R&D relief;
- Patent Box may become relevant;
- your cap table or share structure needs proper thought;
- you may buy, sell, restructure or bring in new shareholders;
- you want a specialist tax adviser who understands the founder journey, not just isolated tax rules.
Who it is not for
Founder Circle is not for routine compliance, bookkeeping, payroll, company secretarial maintenance or small one-off questions that do not justify a deeper relationship.
It is also not for founders who want advice only after the decision has already been made.
The value is in being close to the important moments early enough to influence the outcome.
How the cohort works
Founder Circle is intentionally small.
Steve works with a limited number of companies so the relationship remains useful, practical and personal.
The January 2027 cohort will run for six months. The exact format can be finalised before launch, but the shape is:
- an initial architecture review;
- a written map of the priority issues and opportunities;
- scheduled strategic sessions during the cohort;
- access to Steve for consequential decisions during the six months;
- practical introductions or coordination where another specialist is needed;
- a closing review that leaves the company clearer about the next stage.
The application route
Places are selective because the relationship only works when Steve is genuinely useful to the company.
The application should explain what you are building, where the company is now, what decisions are likely to matter in the next year, and why you want Steve close to the business.
If Founder Circle is not the right fit, Steve may suggest a one-off advisory project or point you elsewhere.
Apply for the January 2027 cohort
Prefer a one-off project?
If you have a significant specialist tax issue that needs attention now, you do not need to wait for Founder Circle.
Steve also takes on a small number of standalone advisory projects where the issue is meaningful, specialist and worth getting right.