How to use this checklist
This checklist suits payments, lending, wealth, insurance and financial infrastructure businesses using AI.
Work through each list before you contact investors. Anything you cannot tick is either a task to finish or a risk to explain openly in your pitch.
1. Company and legal basics
These apply to every company raising money, but gaps here slow rounds more than almost anything else.
- Up-to-date cap table showing every shareholder, option and convertible.
- Signed IP assignments from all founders, staff and contractors.
- Articles of association and any shareholder agreement to hand.
- SEIS or EIS advance assurance applied for, if you are raising from UK angels.
- Company filings at Companies House up to date.
2. Fintech proof points
The evidence investors in this sector look for first.
- Regulatory route decided: own authorisation, agent or partner model.
- Anti-money laundering and fraud controls operating.
- AI decisions tested for fairness and explainable to customers.
- Early customers or partners demonstrating trust.
3. Numbers and financial model
Your model should show how the money you raise gets you to the next milestone.
- Regulatory costs and any capital requirements in the model.
- Fraud and credit loss assumptions.
- Partner fees and revenue shares.
- Separate equity and debt needs for lending businesses.
4. Data room documents
Have these organised in one shared folder before the first meeting.
- Legal advice on regulatory perimeter.
- Partner bank or payments agreements.
- Compliance policies and responsible officers.
- Model governance and testing records.
5. Pitch and investor readiness
Readiness is also about how you run the process.
- A short deck that states the problem, customer, traction and ask in the first few slides.
- A clear amount to raise and a list of what it pays for.
- A target list of investors who back your sector and stage.
- A one-paragraph answer to 'why now?'.
Red flags to fix before you pitch
Investors often stop at these issues:
- Unclear whether activities need authorisation.
- One partner who could end the business on short notice.
- Compliance owned by nobody.
- Black-box credit decisions.
Fintech readiness: ready versus common gap
| Area | Ready when | Common gap |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation | Route decided and costed | Perimeter unclear |
| Controls | AML and fraud operating | Policies on paper only |
| Partners | Contracts and backup reviewed | Single point of failure |
| AI governance | Decisions tested and explainable | No monitoring |
Questions to prepare before you pitch
- Which regulated activities do we perform?
- What notice can our banking partner give us?
- Who owns compliance day to day?
- How do we explain an AI decision to a customer?
How KJ Enterprises evaluates fintech businesses
KJ Enterprises reviews fintech businesses on regulatory clarity, working controls and AI governance, drawing on our KJ Capital experience.
If that describes your company, you can apply for investment. Related reading: the complete funding guide and the step-by-step how-to and costs and terms.