JOIN US
THE NEXTWOMEN PARTNERS
Zoover and Layar named Leading Online Entrepreneurs of the Year
Stephan Bosman of travel portal Zoover was named as the Leading Online Entrepreneur of the Year in The Netherlands in the first LOEY Awards. Claire Boonstra of Layar and her team received the Starters Award at the LOEY Awards.
Zoover has become one of the largest recommendation & review travel sites in Europe, receiving one million visitors per day who write 1000 travel reviews each day. The company started in 2005 with a team of four and currently employs 60 people, it has a turnover of in excess of 2,5 million Euro and is active in 21 countries. Its software development is done in Romania. Competitors of Zoover are Tripadvisor and Holidaycheck. Read more
Interview Nathalie Gaveau of Priceminister.com: What’s Next after a Successful Exit?
This week we interview French entrepreneur, Nathalie Gaveau in our 100 Interesting Roles a Woman Can Take in Tech. Currently, she is starting her second venture in e-commerce after a successful exit of Priceminister.com, which she co-founded in 2000 in a tiny kitchen in Paris and sold in June 2010 to Rakuten.
Nathalie talks about starting out quickly, finding and growing a team and advisers, getting funded, the steps to and after the exit and the -eternal question- what’s next? And what Bruce Lee taught her….
Q. Co-founding and exiting: a dream for most entrepreneurs. How do you feel?
NG: I feel great. It’s a wonderful achievement, rewarding a massive collective effort from the whole PriceMinister team. Since day one, I’ve always been very proud of the company, knowing it had huge potential.Over the past 10 years, we’ve been approached to sell the business but it was more interesting to grow it further.
To me, it shows that there are still big business opportunities in e-commerce, for both entrepreneurs and investors. Just yesterday, I was reading the U.S. Comscore report saying retail e-commerce market enjoyed healthy double-digit growth rates. The dream just started…
Q. How did you start, how did you find the idea for the company?
NG: We started in a tiny kitchen in the centre of Paris, as a team of three co-founders. We became five very quickly as we brought on a CTO and CMO.
I knew one of the other co-founders (Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet) from business school. We both graduated from HEC Entrepreneurs in 1999 and were very good friends. He found the idea while he was in the U.S.
Our initial model was Half.com, a fixed price trading platform, which eBay bought in June 2000 for $350 million. It was a great business model: commission-based, no stocks or logistics, cash positive. We decided to adapt it in France.
3. How did you find your team? What was the USP of your success as a team? And your role?
NG: The co-founding team was through close connections and friends’ recommendations. The USP (unique selling point) is that we got along very well, being both complementary as well as totally aligned on the project deliverables.
My role was MD and I was looking after the commercial aspects of the site – including sourcing products, managing the offering and our network of sellers. We launched the site with 100,000 products available for sale. I was very involved in the seed funding and website development as well.
Q. Customer first of funding? What was your route? How many investor talks before you hit it?
NG: In September 2000, the dot-com bubble had burst so it was not easy. We met a few VCs but quickly realized that it would initially be faster to get angels. We first chose the route of bringing on board great individual investors. Not only did they fund us, but it also created a unique ecosystem around PriceMinister. We got VCs (3i) only a few years later.
Q. When did you start thinking about selling, and what did you do for it? Read more
Apply now to Business Pitch Competition for Female Tech Entrepreneurs
Female Internet Hero and angel investor, Esther Dyson, will participate in a new Busines Pitch Competition organized by Vator.tv and Girls in Tech for women with great ideas who want to ignite their companies’ visibility and growth.
Fifteen women chosen by their peers and vetted by blue-chip VC judges will have the opportunity to present onstage at the first-ever Amplify event on November 18 in San Francisco.
Bambo Francisco of Vator Tv: “Even if you’re not raising funds, it’s a great opportunity to raise awareness. And, it’s free to participate in the competition.”
Vator.tv, a leading platform for innovators to connect and learn from one another, and provider of news and information through VatorNews, and Girls in Tech, a social network enterprise focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of like-minded, professional, intelligent and influential women in technology, are hosting an exciting opportunity for innovative technology startups with female leadership.
The BlogHer10 Conference in New York – It’s All About the Communities
Diane Hayman is the Editor and co-founder of PowderRoomGraffiti.com an online women’s community that brings honest, irreverent insights to a global audience. She writes this article as a guest editor for The NextWomen.
Attending a BlogHer conference is all about the chance to meet and talk face to face with some of the most interesting and lively women you can find online – or in real life.
It’s 1 a.m. and I am collapsing into one of New York City’s famous yellow cabs wearing a tutu and carrying a giant tote bag filled with cookies, skin cream and business cards. I’m hoarse, exhausted, and my feet are killing me. But this is only Day 1 of the 6th Annual BlogHer Conference – I’ve got more of the same coming up tomorrow.
‘Where are all the women bloggers?’
In 2005 when Lisa Stone, Jory Des Jardins and Elisa Camahort Page the founders of BlogHer organised a conference to answer the question: ‘Where are all the women bloggers?’ They managed to attract 300 women to San José, California. Their mission was to ‘create opportunities for women who blog to gain exposure, education, community and economic empowerment.’ Their success in accomplishing this is evident, as this year’s conference attracted 2400 participants and sold out months ago.
This is my 2nd BlogHer conference – I am no longer a ‘newbie.’ I know that like any other conference there will be keynote speeches, content sessions, and break-out groups. But I also know that, unlike most conferences, there will be groups of women hugging and squealing, several people in costumes and tiaras, and a Lactation Lounge.
The emphasis within the conference is all about ‘the community.’
In fact, as the number of women online increases and becomes more vocal, so do the number of interest groups or tribes within that community.
This year there are conference sessions devoted to (among others) Latinas in social media, Fashion bloggers, Autism bloggers and Sex bloggers. In addition, the ‘Birds of a Feather’ lunchtime tables encourage bloggers who write about specific topics to congregate together and chat informally while they eat their lunch.
Stories of greedy Swag Hags Read more
Why Business Plans are Not as Important as you Think
This a an article by Paul Grant, founder of The Funding Game and NextMentor in the Mentoring Programme.
I remember my first business plan too well. It was such an unforgettable document for two reasons. First, it took nine painful months to write. And second, I found out that no-one ever read it.
Despite that, I managed to raise both business angel and bank funding for my fledgling company. And my plan? I filed it away when I started the business – only to look at it again a few years later and discover that it in no way resembled how my company had actually developed and grown.
Later on in my career, when I was running a business angel network, it began to dawn on me that my experience wasn’t unique.
Although huge amounts of time and cash are spent churning out detailed business plans for potential investors, I found that very few were getting read.
Curious, I asked the business angels, VCs and bankers I came into contact with: “Do you actually read business plans?” As it turned out, most of the investors I spoke with said they made their decision to meet an entrepreneur on the basis of a well-written executive summary. They would then decide to invest in a company after a series of meetings with the founding team which tested how they interacted with one another and how they responded to probing and often very challenging questions.
So does that mean you don’t have to write a business plan when seeking investment for your business?
Sorry – I wish I could say yes. Investors still want to see some reassuring figures and words that demonstrate you have thought through your market, the need you are trying to meet and how people will find and pay for your services. But here is the good news: your plan does not need to be the soul-searching, nine-month, 100-page ordeal it was for me – and for many entrepreneurs seeking funds for their new ventures.
There is a plethora of business planning books, business plan consultants, software programmes and websites that will tell you how very important and crucial your business plan is when raising investment. Follow this path by all means, if it feels right for you, but the evidence shows that your search for capital might well turn into a long, frustrating and rather dull experience with a very limited chance of success – less than 1% in fact.
Sure, you need some kind of plan.
But before you begin, save yourself time, effort and possibly money by considering the following three points:
- Accept that your business plan is unlikely to get read. With this in mind, keep it focused and concise (no more than 20 pages).
- Do your research thoroughly but don’t spend more than a couple of weeks on your plan. After that, focus more on doing than planning.
- Remember that the most important part of your plan is the executive summary, which will get read by anyone who is interested enough to invest in your business. So spend most of your planning time creating one that gives the facts and shows your business in its best light.
There are thousands of entrepreneurs looking for capital, doing the rounds of investors with a beautifully bound, phone-directory-sized business plan in hand.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs who spend just a few weeks creating a concise plan with an outstanding executive summary have spent their time more wisely. They are giving most investors what they want: fewer attempts at planning the unpredictable – and more evidence of the action they have already taken to build or sell something of value.
Paul Grant is founder of The Funding Game and is running a series of workshops on the topic of raising capital for start-up. The next workshop: How to find an Angel Investor will be held at the British Library on Tuesday, 31st August 2010 from 4.30pm-6.30pm. There is a special 25% discount for all The Next Women readers. Enter “nextwomen” when booking, or click on the link below:
| http://howtofindangelinvestor3108.eventbrite.com/?discount=nextwomen |
For the latest Funding Game events for UK entrepreneurs follow @thefundinggame on Twitter
Top 50 High-Flying Female Executives in Mobile Content
credits photo: CGPGrey.com
Tim Green of Mobile Entertainment Magazine has again compiled a list of the top 50 high-flying female executives in mobile content, and he has kindly permitted us to publish the full article, with all the credits for him and his magazine.
Its an impressive list of female business heroes who have started companies as pioneers, such as Claire Boonstra of Layar, or who have exited their company, such as Cheryl Dalrymple, CFO of Admob (sold to Google for almost 1 billion…!)… and we want to interview all of them!
The names and text below is republished from ME.
TOP 50 High-Flying Female Executives in Mobile Content
Julie Ask, principal analyst, Forrester
When ME asked its audience to suggest names for this list, Ask came up more than most. One of the analysts that wields true influence in this space.
Kate Barry, general manager, PlayPhone
PlayPhone is one of the big winners in the post-D2C era, one of the few to flourish in transferring its skills to B2B, social media more. Barry is one of its key players.
Balbir Blugan, app acquisition manager, Sony Ericsson
As part of its reinvention as a maker of sleek touchscreens, Sony Ericsson is also looking afresh at apps – with former THQ exec Blugan in charge.
Claire Boonstra, co-founder, Layar
AR is undoubtedly mobile’s new new thing. And Layar, the firm founded by Boonstra, is its biggest champion.
Jennifer Byrne, director of business development, Verizon Wireless
Verizon has always been associated with content, thanks to Get It Now and V-Cast. Byrne was involved with all of this, and is now taking the operator into new areas.
Laurel Chamberlain, director of digital engagement, Turner Broadcasting EMEA
Under Chamberlain, Turner has become deeply committed to mobile, and thanks to brands like Ben X, it has serious clout.
Erica Chriss, VP of strategy and biz dev, Greystripe
In the midst of the Apple/Adobe spat, Greystripe made much of its Apple-approved rich ad formats. Nice one, Erica.
Cheryl Dalrymple, CFO, Admob
$750m sale to Google? AdMob must have a decent CFO. Step forward Cheryl Dalrymple, one of the original AdMobbers.
Mary Dillon, CEO of U.S. Cellular
The only female CEO of a US wireless carrier – albeit it a tier two carrier. Just a few months into the job. Will be interesting to see her approach to content
Julia Dimambro, MD, Cherry Media Read more
Seedcamp Week 2010 sees Increasingly Savvy and Female Entrepreneurs
Seedcamp Week 2010 will take place on September 13-17 in London, and the participating teams will come from all over Europe. According to Seedcamp, among the applications this year the following trend was found: technology + fashion, SaaS, further geographic diversification, more female entrepreneurs, and increasingly savvy entrepreneurs.
Seedcamp was started 3 years ago, it is a for profit micro-fund with large investors behind it, such as Balderton Capital, Daughty Hanson, Nesta and Index Ventures, and a large pool of volunteering mentors.
The increasing prominence of Seedcamp has been described by Saul Klein, the founder in a very lengthy and interesting article, called Seedcamp: thoughts on the evolution of a startup, in November 2009 on his blog.
Seedcamp Week is an intensive week-long event held in London every September and is targeted at young entrepreneurs from across EMEA. At the end of the week, the fund will make the funding decision to invest up to €50K each in 5 teams for a small equity stake (8%-10%).
To get into Seedcamp week, teams apply to the regional mini Seedcamps happening all over Europe during the year. The best teams from this selection will then be determined by a judging committee which will select up to 20 teams to participate in the event.
Since 2007, Seedcamp has handled more than 2,500 applications, hosted 25 events around the world, mentored 540 teams and made 22 investments. The portfolio and alumni have attracted follow-on investments by from top tier firms including Union Square Ventures, Redpoint, Index Ventures, TAG and Eden Ventures. Read more
Interview with a Multi-Tasking Female Investor, Entrepreneur and Mentor
As a business hero in her own right, she founded two companies and sold one, she invested in four other companies, she is non-executive director in various companies, such as Six to Start and First Flight (Placements); she has been managing director of the company that acquired her venture, and she had an interim COO role with Ariadne Capital of female internet hero Julie Meyer.
Jo Goodson is the real multitasking business women and mentor in The NextWomen mentoring programme.
In this interview, she talks about the various roles, the business plan she sees, the companies she advises, about the support of Business Link, and also about women looking for funding for their business and women investing in startups.
In general, I feel that where possible, it is good to create as much value in the business as possible before looking for external investment otherwise as the entrepreneur you end up giving away a huge chunk of the equity at the outset.
Entrepreneur, Non-Executive Director, Consultant, Investor, MD, Interim Manager… You have had many roles, what are the pro’s and con’s for each role?
I have to say I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the roles I have had and they have suited different stages in my life. When I ran Broderbund’s European Sales and set up MediaGold I was so driven to build those businesses and enjoyed the long hours and extensive travel.
Now, whilst there are some frustrations in the Non-Executive, mentoring and Investor/Advisory roles that you are not totally in the driving seat, the compensation for that is that it is easier to step back and find a work/life balance whilst still contributing to the growth and success of other businesses.
Although they appear very different roles, my approach for each of them has always been the same ….I have always become really actively involved in the companies I am working for and tried to pull everyone in the same direction…..
What always amazes me is how similar companies are when you get below the surface. They may be offering very different services, making or selling different things but the fundamental business principles are the same.
And what is your best skill?
I think if I had to choose one skill in the role I find myself in today, it would be my ability to cross the boundary from detail to strategy easily.
It is easy to get carried away with strategy or bogged down in detail (particularly in the finances) but the key is balancing these and helping the management teams of the companies I work with to do the same.
How do you work as an Investor?
Often, but not always, as an Investor, I will take a Non-Executive or Advisory role in the investee company so that I am able to manage my investment a little more closely and give help where required.
How many business plan do you see, and what are the criteria to invest for you? Read more
Saska Graville from Red Magazine Advises Female Business Owners on a Successful PR Pitch
For the 10th Kitchen Dinner, The NextWomen received Saska Graville, deputy editor of Red Magazine as the special guest of The NextWomen Summer Kitchen Dinner. The 25 women who were gathered for this intimate and relaxed networking include many business founders and directors. Indeed, 76.5% of them own or lead a company.
As the attendees arrived and prosecco and canapés were served, each person had to introduce herself to the rest of the group and this showed that once again, The NextWomen Kitchen Dinner received a group of very inspiring business women.
Editors Career Path: via Sydney, Newspapers and Redundancy back to the UK
After the starter, the set of ambitious women had the honour to receive a keynote from Saska Graville, deputy editor of Red Magazine, launched in 1998 for “women growing out without growing old” and which is followed by 225 000 readers monthly. Red Magazine has currently a UK and a Dutch issue.
Saska gave an overview of her magazine oriented career before joining Red Magazine. At the end of her 20s, Saska moved to Sydney. She was hired at the New Woman magazine where she shortly had to be made redundant as the magazine had to be sold.
In her today’s opinion, she couldn’t agree more with what one of her managers told her:
“Everyone has to be made redundant at least once in their career”.
This led her to work for one of Australia’s best selling newspapers Sydney Morning Herald but with her magazine background, little was expected of her. However, she managed to give a touch of lifestyle to the newspaper that actually turned into a surprising success.
Red Magazine: Proud of “Grown-up” Work Experience and – finally- ONLINE
Before she turned 40, she decided to come back to the UK as media is quite a “young” industry and that is when she joined Red magazine. With a lot of competition from other woman’s lifestyle magazine, Red managed to grow rapidly by reflecting the reader’s thoughts and responding to the audience’s needs. Today, Red Magazine is expanding its brand through its Red Hot Women Awards, “Grown-up” Work Experience, Red Direct and – as one of the last print magazines- by going online.
Business Matching and Business Issues of Female Business Women Read more
Fashion Pioneer Natalie Massanet Takes you on a Tour of Net-a-Porter’s Offices
Last month, Natalie Massanet opened up Net-a-Porter’s 44,000 square foot headquarters in West London to the founder of online magazine Business of Fashion in its series of Fashion Pioneers and a video was made. Very inspiring.
BOOK NOW!
AWARDS
