The Bottom Line: Cutting grass, cutting crime, cultivating futures

We provide a free gardening service for vulnerable people in the community and community groups while providing life skills, accredited qualifications, work experience and employment to those disadvantaged in the labour market.

Four years on from our small neighbourhood watch pilot we expect to turnover close to £500,000 this year and replication is moving forward at an organic rate. Capacity has grown, trademarks filed, long-term contracts in place, know how licences secured and our networks established. Indeed, we are proud to be one of the few handpicked successful UnLtd Level 3 awardees with branches popping up all over the UK.

As we graduate from UnLtd, we are confident of our product and have now established The Grow Organisation UK to seize further opportunities with our sister projects - Trade & Grow, Catering & Grow, Learn & Grow, Recycle & Grow, Mechanics & Grow, and our famous Hospitality & Grow (working title Casino & Grow).

The outsider might look in and say we've diversified too far, but we manage our risk carefully. We take an existing product to a new market or a new product to an existing market, but never a new product to a new market. This philosophy has served us well and we're told has helped many others who have sought our advice to date.

As we leave the safe port of UnLtd and tie ourselves to the mast of the good ship Grow UK, we're setting sail on the seas of the third sector.

We can't help marvel at the different opportunities presenting themselves, Futurebuilders, Impetus, Bridges, Big Issue Invest, Triodos to name a few... all candidates to flirt with and fight for their affections.

We tell them they don't need money to survive, we trade...we need money to expand and deliver greater social impact, we know how to sustain ourselves.

The problem we now face is that we can deliver a master class in writing bids, but we just don't apply for that many now as we don't need them. Our skills have become redundant somewhat.

What we need is to know:

Who talks to whom in the investment world?

Who will sit on our board and help not hinder us?

Who will work with whom?

Which investment agency will help build capacity?

Who's quasi equity?

Who wants their pound of flesh?

Who are the pirates we need to avoid?

I haven't seen the guide to investment readiness written yet. We are ready to set sail - a young, dynamic social enterprise waiting to land that first investment.

So here we are popping our head above the parapet. Visit us atwww.thegroworganisation.org

Better still, come and invest in us... All hands to the deck.

Trevor Lynn is the CEO of Mow & Grow and co director of the Grow Organisation UK. He was the edge upstart Social Enterprise Mentor of the year 2007 and has won enterprise of the year 2006 and 2007. Holder of the ARCH award his social firm has won Greenest Business Award 2009 and is the currently a shortlisted finalist for the National Crimebeat award and the BITC awards 2009.

Trevor is possibly - the UK's most successful 'anti-social entrepreneur' for his work with crime prevention, probation and youth offending.