As 2026 approaches, the landscape for entrepreneurs is rapidly changing, marked by AI disruptions, rising costs, cautious investors and more demanding customers.
But for British entrepreneur and investor Matt Haycox, the fundamentals of building a strong business remain the same: clarity, cash flow and character.
“Trends change every year,” he says. “Principles don’t.” “If you can manage money, manage people and keep promises, you will still win, whether it’s 2006 or 2026.”
Best known for his direct investment advice and practical mentoring, Haycox has spent more than two decades building, supporting and turning around businesses across the UK. Through his funding platform Funding Guru and portfolio projects within the Matt Haycox Group, he has helped raise and arrange over £1 billion for small and medium sized businesses.
He’s also one of the few investors who openly admits that failure, not hustle, has taught him the most. “I learned more from losing my first business than from any that came after it,” he says. “If you have to start over, you get perspective.”
A more selective market
Entrepreneurs heading into 2026 face a funding market characterized by selectivity rather than scarcity. According to Crunchbase’s Global Venture Funding Report (Q3 2025), global VC investments reached $97 billion, up 15% year-over-year, but the number of deals fell nearly 30%. The money is still there, says Haycox, it’s just harder to earn.
“Investors haven’t disappeared.” “They just do more homework,” he explains. “If you can show real resilience, money discipline and a credible plan, capital will still find you.”
This is in line with data from the British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker (2025), which reported that UK deal volumes fell for the second year in a row, although the average investment size increased. “It’s about the survival of the focused,” adds Haycox. “Companies that know and can prove their numbers will continue to grow while everyone else blames the economy.”
AI, automation and the human advantage
Artificial intelligence has become the defining force of modern entrepreneurship. A recent report from PwC UK (October 2025) estimated that AI integration could add £230 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2030. However, Haycox warns that technology alone does not determine the success or failure of a company.
“AI is a tool, not a strategy,” he says. “It can speed you up, but if you go the wrong way, you’ll just get lost faster.”
He believes the winners of the next decade will be entrepreneurs who combine automation with emotional intelligence. “Your advantage is human,” he says. “Empathy, negotiation and leadership cannot be outsourced, at least not yet.”
According to LinkedIn’s Global Future of Work Report (2025), 74% of employers say soft skills such as adaptability, communication and leadership are now more important than technical expertise. This insight is consistent with Haycox’s business coaching philosophy: technology should serve people, not replace them.
Cash flow over headlines
Haycox’s own lending business, Funding Guru, is based on one principle: liquidity. “Cash is oxygen,” he says. “You don’t die from bad ideas; you die from running out of money before the good ones pay off.”
The Bibby Financial Services SME Confidence Tracker (Q3 2025) supports this view, with 47% of UK SMEs citing cash flow and profitability as their biggest challenges in 2026, the highest level in four years. Haycox believes many founders still underestimate how quickly growth eats up cash. “Everyone is looking for greatness,” he says. “But if you don’t understand your burn rate, growth becomes your biggest risk.”
His advice to new founders is simple: track daily cash movements and never assume that tomorrow’s revenue will pay off today’s debt. “Confidence doesn’t pay bills,” he says. “Collections do.”
Beyond the pitch deck
Another emerging trend that Haycox highlights is increasing “founder transparency.” Investors, he says, value authenticity over theatricality. “We’ve had perfect LinkedIn stories for 10 years,” he says. “Now people want to know who you really are, especially the people who fund you.”
This shift is reflected in LinkedIn and Edelman’s 2025 Global B2B Thought Leadership Report, which found that content that conveys real lessons and pain points from business leaders received 47% more engagement than polished promotional posts. “If you can be honest about what went wrong and how you fixed it, you will gain more trust than any glossy pitch deck ever will,” says Haycox.
The rise of “conscious commercialism”
Looking ahead, Haycox predicts that in 2026 more founders will focus on long-term value creation rather than hype. “We are entering an age of conscious commercialization,” he says. “Entrepreneurs are starting to care about profit and principles, just like customers.”
According to Deloitte’s Global Consumer Pulse Survey (Q4 2025), 57 percent of British consumers now prefer brands that demonstrate social responsibility and transparency over brands that simply offer low prices. For Haycox, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. “Good values are not marketing,” he says. “They are an operating system.”
Its own investments reflect this mindset, supporting SMEs that combine profit with purpose, from regional hospitality companies that prioritize local sourcing to fintech firms that develop fair lending products for underserved communities.
Timeless principles for a new era
Despite all the changes that modern entrepreneurship brings: AI, changing markets, new financing models, Haycox insists that the basic principles of business have not changed. “Money still follows trust.” Teams still follow the leaders. And success still follows implementation,” he says.
He encourages entrepreneurs to focus less on trends and more on timeless habits: know your numbers, build strong relationships, communicate clearly, and treat setbacks as data rather than disasters. “If you can do these four things consistently, you will always be relevant,” he says.
He continues to share practical funding advice, mentoring advice and case studies from across his portfolio on Matt Haycox’s official website and through his lending platform Funding Guru.
As we enter 2026, his message to founders is simple but hard-earned: “Forget the noise.” The future does not belong to whoever moves fastest; it belongs to the one who moves best.’
