What is the Difference Between ThatRound, Angel Investment Network and Other Fundraising Platforms

A smarter starting point for founders navigating a fragmented funding ecosystem

Fundraising is often pitched as a straightforward hustle: polish your deck, email some investors, launch a crowdfunding campaign. But for founders in the UK trying to raise pre-seed, seed, or Series A funding, the truth is far more chaotic.

The funding landscape is fragmented. Every platform claims to offer "access," yet few provide clarity. Some offer investor lists. Others run campaigns. But none help you answer the first, most important question:

What’s the right path for me to raise capital?

The Problem: Too Many Routes, No Clear Pathway

There’s no shortage of options for startup funding. You could…

• List your pitch on a crowdfunding site like Republic or Crowdcube (if you’ve already secured circa 50% of your raise)
• Apply to an investor syndicate or VC
• Work with a professional fundraising consultant
• Upload your deck to a database type platform like OpenVC or Angel Investment Network
• Reach out to angels, or their networks or institutional brokers

But each of these requires research, onboarding, legal admin, and trust. And most founders don’t have the time — or information — to confidently choose between them.

The result?

Confusion. Wasted effort. Cold outreach. Lost momentum. Missed opportunities.

ThatRound Comes Before the Pitch

Other platforms are where you pitch your round.

ThatRound is where you figure out where to pitch to — and how.

We sit one stage earlier in the fundraising journey. Think of us as your strategy layer — the Booking.com of startup fundraising.

Instead of guessing which service might work, ThatRound lets you:

• Compare fundraising options side by side
• Understand different fee models and outcomes
• Read verified reviews from fellow founders who’ve already worked with them
• Apply to and engage with multiples services
• Get warm introductions to investors via these services, in one place
• Use one profile to engage across multiple channels

With ThatRound, you can leave the guesswork behind and save a significant chunk of time whilst you explore all of your options.

So What Exactly Is an Online Platform?

The term “online platform” gets thrown around a lot, but it can mean very different things depending on the provider — and critically, depending on who they give you access to.

Some examples:

• Angel-focused platforms like Angel Investment Network, Connectd, and AngelHive offer founders access to networks of High Net Worth individuals
• VC-oriented platforms like OpenVC, ShipShape.vc, or FundMyPitch aim to connect startups with institutional investors or venture firms

These are all valid routes to funding — but each platform typically operates in just one part of the investor landscape. Each comes with different investor types, different processes, different costs, and wildly different success rates.

Many of them also require:

• A separate onboarding process
• Cold outreach or self-managed investor engagement
• Limited or no data on past results or founder outcomes

In short, founders are often left guessing whether a platform is right for their round — or whether they should have chosen a completely different type of service.

Why ThatRound Is Not Just Another Online Platform

At ThatRound, we’re not an online platform like those described above. We’re where you go before you pick one.

Other platforms help you pitch to a pocket of investors.

ThatRound helps you decide which route — or combination of routes — is right for you and then to manage them from one central hub.

We’re the strategic hub for founders to explore all their capital options before committing to one, or many.

And, at ThatRound, we don’t just offer the ability to compare and engage with Online Platforms…

We give you access to the full fundraising ecosystem:

✅ Online Platforms

✅ Angel Networks

✅ Investor Syndicates

✅ Fundraising Consultants

✅ Crowdfunding Platforms

✅ Institutional Brokers

You can compare them side-by-side, assess pricing and investor fit, read reviews, and then choose the services that make sense for your stage and strategy.

That’s why we describe ThatRound as the first step in the funding journey — a smarter starting point for any founder looking to raise capital.

Platform Comparison: ThatRound vs. Online Platforms vs. Crowdfunding

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More Than a Platform: ThatRound Is Infrastructure For Fundraising Strategy

Rather than choosing one route blindly, ThatRound enables founders to build their own roadmap:

• Find & compare online platforms, networks, brokers, and syndicates
• Evaluate pricing models, partner quality, and fit
• Select partners with confidence — backed by data and peer reviews
• Receive investor introductions from those partners
• Track performance across the journey and optimise your round

This isn’t about spray-and-pray. It’s about targeted, intelligent fundraising.

Inspired by models like Moneysupermarket and Rightmove, ThatRound isn’t just another startup tool. We’re building the infrastructure to make UK fundraising transparent, efficient, and founder-first.

• Founders save bags of time and reduce risk of being burnt
• Partners receive better-qualified dealflow
• The ecosystem becomes more connected, less wasteful

As more partners and founders join, and more startups raise funding and share their reviews of partners, the system improves for everyone.

Don’t Just Pick a Platform — Pick Your Path

The hardest part of fundraising isn’t finding an investor.

It’s knowing how to go about finding the right partners who can introduce you to the right investors. ThatRound helps you answer that, with clarity and confidence.

Whether you go on to pitch through OpenVC, Crowdcube, or to an angel network, or all of them plus more, we’ll help you start with strategy — not guesswork.

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