"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 founders · de-risk before you raise
De-risk your startup before you raise a round.
Validate, build, launch and generate revenue with 66,000+ SkilledUp Lifers — so 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
Cytix seed raised
Cytix seed raised
A global engine of Volunteer talent, working alongside ambitious tech founders.
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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, a working 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
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 startup through every stage investors care about, generating the evidence that proves your raise is a safe bet.
🔎
Stage 01
Validate the idea
Run customer discovery, competitive analysis and market sizing to generate the evidence that genuine demand exists.
Validation team →🛠️
Stage 02
Build & launch
Assemble engineering, design and product teams to build your MVP and ship to real users — without £50K+ agency fees.
Product team →📈
Stage 03
Acquire & monetise
Deploy marketing, sales and growth teams to acquire users, convert paying customers and generate your first MRR.
GTM team →
Teams you can build
Build every team your startup needs — including fundraising.
Access 66,000+ Volunteer professionals across product, growth, sales and the raise itself. Build the team you need to hit the milestones investors reward.
💻
Product & engineering
Software engineers, product managers, UI/UX designers and QA testers to build and ship the MVP investors can see.
📣
Marketing & growth
Content marketers, SEO specialists, social media managers and growth hackers to acquire users and prove traction.
🤝
Sales & 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 isn't a theory here — it's how founders on SkilledUp Life turn evidence into investment.
£1.6M
seed raised
seed raised
Seed round closed
Cytix raised £1.6 million in Seed Investment after de-risking for 20 months through SkilledUp Life.
£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 & 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 & build teams
Post Volunteer Opportunities across product, growth, sales and fundraising. Review applications from 66,000+ professionals.
3
De-risk, then raise
Validate, ship, acquire users and generate revenue — 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 66,000+ 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.
Ready to de-risk and raise on your terms?
Join hundreds of pre-funding founders using 66,000+ SkilledUp Lifers to validate, build, launch and grow — so when you raise, investors compete for you.