B3N Capital

Capital and hands-on help for businesses that already have customers.

B3N Capital is building long-term partnerships with owners of service businesses and small software companies. Where it helps, a partnership can include capital, alongside operating work we do with you: clearer finances, more returning customers and steadier operations, so the business earns more reliably.

Early stageWe are taking first conversations with owners. There is no open fund and no standard offer yet.

Discuss a business partnership How a partnership works

Who Capital is for

Many businesses with loyal customers are held together by one owner who looks after the customers, the staff, the bills and the books. Demand is there, but cash is tight, records are thin and the owner's own income rises and falls with the month.

Money alone rarely changes that, and money spent only on marketing can make it worse. We think the right partner brings patient capital and does the operating work alongside the owner.

The aim is practical: a steadier income for the founder, a business that is easier to run, cash left over to reinvest, and continuity for the staff and families who rely on it.

The businesses we look at

These are different kinds of business and each needs its own approach. What they share: a service customers value, customers who come back, cash flow you can follow, and clear ways the operation could run better.

Repeat-use consumer services

Salons, barbershops, car washes, laundries, gyms.

Customers come back every few weeks. Gains usually come from more repeat visits, better use of chairs, bays or machines at busy times, fair pricing and service that does not depend on the owner being in the room.

Professional and independent services

Clinics, accountancy practices, agencies, training providers.

Revenue follows people's time and client relationships. Gains come from pricing, how fully people's time is used, collecting what is owed on time and earning more referrals.

Small software businesses

Products that customers pay for every month.

Recurring revenue from a product people rely on. Gains come from keeping customers longer, pricing, a steadier sales process and focusing the product on the customers who stay.

What capital would be used for

Capital goes to whatever is holding the business back, agreed with the owner. New customers who do not come back cost money twice, so acquisition comes after the business can serve and keep them.

Working capital: Stock, wages through a slow month, or the gap between paying suppliers and being paid.
Capacity: Another chair, bay, room or staff member where demand is already being turned away.
Equipment: Replacing what keeps breaking down or holds back quality.
Tools: Booking, point of sale, accounting and customer records that save time every day.
Retention: Loyalty, reminders and follow-up that bring existing customers back.
Customer acquisition: Once the business can serve and keep new customers well.

The operating work that comes with it

This is where B3N's experience running products and businesses comes in. The same team builds software such as Repeatable, our product for repeat purchases and referrals.

Financial visibility: Accounts closed every month, a simple weekly view of sales, costs and cash, and business money kept apart from personal money.
Cash planning: A rolling view of the next three months, so a tight month is spotted weeks before it arrives.
Accounting and tax: Proper bookkeeping, with qualified accountants and tax advisers handling filings. We arrange and oversee them; we do not replace them.
Pricing: What each service earns after its costs, which prices are out of date, and whether packages or memberships make sense.
Customer records: Who your customers are, when they last came and what they buy, kept in one place.
Repeat visits and loyalty: Rebooking at checkout, reminders when a customer is due, and loyalty or referral rewards.
Follow-up and upselling: A message after each visit and a sensible recommendation for the next service.
Operating consistency: Opening and closing checklists, service standards and staff rotas, so quality holds on the owner's day off.

From revenue to cash you can use

More revenue does not automatically mean more cash. A business can grow its sales and still run short, if each new sale needs stock or staff paid for before the customer pays. That is why we look at every line, not just the top one.

The money that matters to an owner is what is left at the bottom: what can be paid out as income, and what can go back into the business.

RevenueEverything customers pay.
minus direct costsProducts used, commissions and staff time for each service.
minus overheadsRent, salaries, utilities, software.
minus working capitalCash tied up in stock or in customers who pay later.
minus loan repayments and taxWhat has to be paid before anything is shared.
equals cash availableSplit between owner income, reinvestment and any return to partners.

What a partnership has to settle

Every partnership is agreed business by business. Depending on the business and the owner's goals, it could take the form of a minority stake, a share of revenue for a set period, or something else. We do not have standard terms, cheque sizes or return targets to publish.

Your goals: More income, more time, growth, or a plan for handing the business on.
What B3N contributes: Capital, operating work, tools and people, and how much of each.
Who runs the business: Day to day, the owner normally keeps running it. We agree exactly what each side does.
Financial reporting: What is shared, how often and in what form.
Decision rights: Which decisions either side can make alone, and which need both.
Reinvestment: How much of the cash goes back into the business before anything is paid out.
Returns: How each side is paid back or shares in the results.
Continuity and exit: What happens if either side wants to leave, or the owner wants to step back.

From a first conversation to a decision

A first enquiry needs no confidential documents. Tell us what the business does, where it is and what you want from a partnership.

The programme is new, so a conversation does not guarantee an offer. If we cannot help, we will say so early.

1An introductory conversationAbout the business, how it started and what you want from it. No documents needed.
2Getting to know the businessA visit, time watching how a normal day runs, and a conversation about customers and staff.
3Looking at the numbersOnly once both sides want to continue, and under a confidentiality agreement.
4Fit and a written proposalWe say plainly whether we see a fit. If we do, you get a written proposal covering every question above.

How we would approach a five-chair barbershop

An illustrative example written for this page. B3N has not invested in this business; it shows the kind of work a partnership involves.

Illustrative example

A popular barbershop with five chairs and loyal customers. The owner works every day, takes home a different amount each month and wants to open a second branch one day.

Understand repeat visits: How many customers come back within five weeks, and who has stopped coming.
Measure chair use: Which chairs are full at which hours. Queues on Saturday and empty chairs on Tuesday call for different fixes.
Improve follow-up: Offer the next booking at checkout and send a reminder when a regular is due.
Check pricing: Compare each service's price with the time it takes. Long services are often the most underpriced.
Make cash visible: A weekly view of takings against costs, with rent and wage dates marked, and a fixed monthly income for the owner.
Where capital might go: A booking and customer-records tool first. A sixth chair, or a second branch, only once the busy hours are consistently full and the first shop runs well without the owner.

Tell us about your business and what you want from it.

No financial documents are needed for a first conversation.

Discuss a business partnership