Dream Team
Our Dream Team
At Funding Gap, our Dream Team is dedicated to turning visions into reality. With diverse expertise and a shared passion for innovation, we connect founders and investors. Together, we create powerful partnerships that drive growth and success. Let’s bridge the gap to your ambitions!
Paul de Raney
Founding Partner
Paul brings extensive experience in retail financial services, advising private and corporate clients on long-term strategies, with a focus on business exits, wealth preservation, and intergenerational financial planning.
Specialising in due diligence for investment managers, Paul developed a process to help Trustees meet their fiduciary responsibilities. This work fostered strong connections with solicitors, accountants, and other professionals, enabling a collaborative approach to address the complex financial needs of business owners.
At Funding Gap, Paul combines his expertise and senior experience with advancements in technology to connect growth businesses with capital and innovative solutions. By leveraging networks and driving impactful external investments, Paul helps clients accelerate milestones and unlock new opportunities for success.
Nat Olaiya
Founding Partner
Nat brings over 20 years of experience empowering entrepreneurs and business leaders to achieve their goals. Since 2018, he has also worked as a partner in corporate finance, combining his expertise as a consultant, coach, and deal analyst to support businesses in driving meaningful change.
With firsthand experience as a business owner, Nat deeply understands the complexities of fundraising, mergers, acquisitions, and successful exits. He has helped countless businesses navigate these challenges, offering invaluable insights through every stage of growth.
A Civil Engineering graduate from Oxford Brookes University, Nat transitioned to business consultancy after earning his MBA from Henley Management College. Following five years of consulting for blue-chip companies, he shifted his focus to scaling businesses, specialising in restructuring, funding, growth, and exit strategies.
Stephen Hawkins
Chairman
Steve Hawkins is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with a dynamic career spanning investment banking, corporate finance, commodities, and real estate. With extensive experience in strategic leadership and market analysis, he has played a pivotal role in driving growth and profitability for multiple ventures.
Steve’s entrepreneurial acumen has seen him co-found and lead several successful trading companies, where his expertise in deal structuring and risk management has been instrumental. A respected executive board member, he brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the organizations he serves, consistently fostering innovation and delivering value in competitive global markets.
Max Murdock
Research & Deal Analyst
With over seven years at Bean Partners Ventures Limited, Max has played a pivotal role in 53 consulting projects, 25 growth funding deals, and 20 M&A transactions. Holding undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Economics and Finance, Max’s early career included lecturing in London, where a passion for simplifying complex concepts and applying clear methodologies emerged—a foundation for effective client collaboration and impactful research delivery.
Since 2017, Max has partnered with ambitious founders and management teams across various sectors, uncovering actionable insights that drive business-critical decisions and long-term success. With a keen interest in the disruptive potential of technology and its influence on M&A and deal-making, Max brings a forward-thinking, data-driven perspective to every project.
Outside work, Max enjoys family life and staying active, often running through Hyde Park during lunch breaks.