"I've come to realise that my team of SkilledUp Life Volunteers is what will propel me to the next level. Those who extend their commitment are absolute gold."
Michael Livingston
Founder & CEO, DustID
Tech Startups › Tracks › Fundraising
For fundraising tech founders · de-risk before you raise
De-risk your tech startup before you raise a round.
Validate, build, launch and generate revenue with 68,000+ SkilledUp Lifers. When you pitch investors, you bring evidence, not just an idea. Arrive at the table already de-risked.
You only pay a subscription. Volunteers are never paid. There are no other fees.
Your raise teamDe-risking
RS
✓ joinedEN
✓ joinedFR
✓ joined+
→£1.6M + £5.2M
Cytix seed and Series A raised
Cytix seed and Series A raised
A global engine of Volunteer talent, collaborating alongside ambitious tech founders.
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Tech Startups helped
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In operation
The challenge
Investors don't fund ideas. They fund evidence.
Before writing a cheque, investors want proof: validated demand, an operational product, real users and ideally revenue. Building all of that with a tiny team and limited personal capital is the single biggest barrier to raising your first round. SkilledUp Lifers change the maths.
📉
99% rejected
Tech Startups that pitch without traction get turned down. Investors back evidence, not slides.
💸
£50K+ to build
Typical cost to build an MVP with freelancers or an agency, unless you vibe code it alone.
⏳
9–24 months
How long it takes to generate the traction and metrics investors actually want to see.
The de-risk journey
Eliminate investor risk before you fundraise.
Build teams of SkilledUp Lifers to carry your tech startup through every stage investors care about, generating the evidence that proves your raise is a safe bet.
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Stage 01
Validate the idea
Run customer discovery, competitive analysis and market sizing to demonstrate genuine demand exists for your tech startup.
Validation team →🛠️
Stage 02
Build and launch
Assemble engineering, design and product teams to build your MVP and ship to real users without burning £50K+ in agency fees.
Product team →📈
Stage 03
Acquire and monetise
Deploy marketing, sales and customer success teams to acquire users, convert to paying customers and generate MRR.
GTM team →
Teams you can build
Build every team your startup needs, including fundraising.
Access 68,000+ Volunteer professionals across product, growth, sales and the raise itself. Build the team you need to hit the milestones investors reward.
💻
Product and engineering
Software engineers, product managers, UI/UX designers and QA testers to build and ship the MVP investors can see.
📣
Marketing and growth
Content marketers, SEO specialists, social media managers and growth hackers to acquire users and prove traction.
🤝
Sales and revenue
SDRs, account executives, customer success managers and partnerships leads to convert users into real MRR.
💰
Fundraising
Investor relations, pitch deck designers, financial modellers and outreach coordinators to run your raise.
Case study · Cytix
Real founders. Real rounds. Real proof.
De-risking is not a theory at SkilledUp Life. It is how tech founders at SkilledUp Life turn evidence into investment.
£1.6M + £5.2M
Cytix seed and Series A raised
Cytix seed and Series A raised
Seed round closed
Series A closed
Cytix raised £1.6 million in Seed Investment after de-risking for 20 months through SkilledUp Life. Recently raised £5.2 million Series A.
£1.6M
Seed investment secured
20 mo
De-risked with SkilledUp Lifers first
“SkilledUp Life was a great way to punch above our weight by acting as a force multiplier, giving us access to talent that a fledgling startup like ours would never normally get access to.”
Thomas Ballin
Co-Founder, Cytix
If they can, so can you.
Get started now →
How it works
From idea to investor-ready in three steps.
A short, repeatable loop to de-risk your startup before you raise.
1
Subscribe and map your raise
Choose a plan, set up your company profile and map the teams you need to validate, build, launch and grow.
2
Post and build teams
Post Volunteer Opportunities across product, growth, sales and fundraising. Review applications from 68,000+ professionals.
3
De-risk, then raise
Validate, ship product and generate revenue. Only then approach investors with metrics, customers and a proven team.
Trusted by ambitious tech startups
"Through SkilledUp Life, we've connected with some genuinely talented volunteers who've made a real contribution to Potentialisation. It's been a valuable channel for finding people who care about mission-driven work."
Jon Twigge
Co-Founder & CEO, Potentialisation
"So far we've partnered with some amazing people, with fantastic work ethics and ambition. I tell all the founders on my accelerator about SkilledUp Life."
Adam Botterill
CEO, Equal Employer
Included in every account
Built by SkilledUp Lifers, for the benefit of many.
Giving every tech entrepreneur an equal footing to start, grow and scale.
No restrictions
Reach any of the 68,000+ SkilledUp Lifers by direct message and invite them to apply. Filter by category and skills.
No extra costs
You only subscribe to use the service. Volunteers are never paid, there are absolutely no other fees involved.
Volunteer Agreement
No volunteering starts without both parties signing an agreement covering IP, non-disclosure and terms of engagement.
Platform dashboard
Keep your company profile updated, find the best-fit Volunteers and manage Opportunities and applicants in one place.
Knowledge base
Comprehensive guides and best practices so you get the maximum value from your subscription.
Support
Dedicated support to help you maximise value and build your team fast.
Offboarding
Manage offboarding, including terminations, directly through your Dashboard. Provide feedback for Volunteers who have helped your tech startup.
Founder access
A direct link to our Founder and CEO for additional help and guidance.
Product iteration
Provide feedback on how to improve the product, for the benefit of all tech startups on SkilledUp Life.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do get in touch if your query is not addressed here.
Do I pay for Volunteers in addition to the subscription?
Absolutely not. Once subscribed, Volunteers are completely free. Your subscription covers publishing Volunteer Opportunities, dashboard access and support. You are not allowed to offer payments or benefits in kind to Volunteers, or make promises of future paid engagement during recruitment or volunteering.
Is there a free plan or free trial?
No. SkilledUp Life is a Human Capital Platform, not a standard software product, as we deal with humans. You need to select a pricing plan, subscribe and build your company profile before you can post Volunteer Opportunities.
Could any business sign up and subscribe?
No. Only tech companies building scalable digital products can benefit from SkilledUp Life. eCommerce companies and marketplaces are allowed. If a business is developing a scalable digital product it qualifies; a service business does not.
What businesses are excluded?
Service businesses including consultancies and agencies such as digital marketing, software development and digital transformation companies do not qualify. Manufacturing and engineering companies are excluded as well. If in doubt, please ask before signing up and subscribing.
How does fundraising fit in?
Build the team that hits the milestones investors reward first: validate demand, ship the product and generate early revenue. You can also recruit fundraising Volunteers across investor relations, pitch decks and financial modelling to get your round pitch perfect before you raise.
Can I start without signing a Volunteer Agreement?
No. After successfully recruiting a Volunteer, no activity should take place before both parties sign a Volunteer Agreement covering terms of engagement, Intellectual Property and non-disclosure.
What is a Volunteer Term?
Up to a maximum of 3 hours per day, Monday to Friday, for 60 Volunteer Days over a 3 month Volunteer Agreement.
Can the subscription be cancelled any time?
Yes. After the end of the current subscription period (month or year, depending on the plan you chose), no further payments will be taken once you have cancelled. See the full pricing plans for details.
Ready to de-risk and raise on your terms?
Join hundreds of pre-funding tech founders using 68,000+ SkilledUp Lifers to validate, build, launch and grow so that when you raise equity finance, investors compete for the opportunity.