“He introduced me to seven to interview. I’m delighted to now have three new mentors.”

equiwatt connects to a household's smart meter and rewards users for skipping consumption during peak periods. Users earn points, the grid balances itself without heavy infrastructure spend, and electric vehicles, smart plugs and appliances can be managed automatically at the moments demand spikes. By September 2022 the company had a working product, two-year-old seed funding behind it, and a National Grid commitment to reward peak-time energy savers giving it a meaningful tailwind.

Johnson needed mentors with real scars from raising the round he was about to attempt. He came in via Charlie Wainwright, one of his earlier advisors, who recommended reaching out for mentoring. “He introduced me to seven to interview,” Johnson said. “I am delighted to now have three new mentors who all bring different facets and experience with them.”

The three: Sarat Pediredla, founder of Hedgehog Labs (scaling a tech company); Nicola Short, previous CEO of Entrepreneurs Forum (positioning); Tony Beddard, CTO of Power Roll (commercialisation). Each one bringing the specific lived experience equiwatt needed at the door of its next funding round.

Johnson’s target: over £1m in seed investment in the following six months, taking equiwatt to mass market. The product’s relevance — set against a UK cost-of-living and energy-price crisis — has never been sharper.

Mentoring at this stage isn't about validating a pitch deck. It's about three people who have been inside the next room telling you what to expect when you open the door.