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Founders and Funders are Matched via Newly Launched Growvc.com
Grow VC launched today via invitation-only private beta to enable early stage mobile and web startups to match with investors. The company aims to become the web’s first truly international community-based, open and transparent matching website for early stage investing, answering the problem of traditional venture capital being locally-focused, difficult to obtain, uninterested in smaller investments and structured by a rigid model. Emily McDaid, Head of Communications gave The NextWomen access as follows:
For the readers of The Next Women readers there is an unique code with 50 invitations behind it for a free membership. The code is TNWO50.
Web entrepreneurs who are in the process of finding seed money ranging from $10,000 – $1m USD, should find in the website a community where investors and startups are equals without borders. Grow VC is a web service for private investors, entrepreneurs, and start-up companies, where they can meet each other, discuss companies, business plans, and funding, rate companies and investors, and use tools to help investment process.
Similar companies that have launched recently are TheFunded, Angelsden, CMYPitch and E-factor. In the Netherlands Equitalis and Videoo launched last year to match companies and investors. But these competitors do no seem to bother the new startup: “Cmypitch is only partly based on matchmaking between angels and startups which is Grow VC’s core area. TheFunded is more of a reputation and voting service on VCs, whereas Grow VC is all about early stage funding and much of this will be through angels, not VCs, since VCs are primarily interested in larger deals – this is one of the big barriers to obtaining funding in early stage and one of the problems we are trying to combat. The reputation / commentary part is similar in Grow VC though. VatorTV has similarities in that it also enables startups to gain visibility and build profile with potential investors.
Having a truly transparent approach, Grow VC is founded on the premise that financial investment should be rooted in the same interactive, community-mindset that the Web 2.0 world is noted for. Hence an open, information-finding and reputation-building source is the heart of Grow VC’s groundbreaking model, according to co-founder and CEO, Valto Loikkanen.
“We call it ‘venture capital 2.0’ because it’s the first service with a live, continuous, interactive, open approach to funding,” said Loikkanen.
“Anyone who is passionate about finding and growing the Internet’s next big thing can benefit from joining Grow VC. We are growing a quality, vetted, and respected community and sustainable business model to support the Web’s next rock stars by giving power to the people”.
“Any startup who has become frustrated with the one-sided VC process, as well as any investor who needs one place to find new innovative companies, now have a community to call home.”
And Emily McDaid added: “Grow VC is squarely focused on helping mobile and web 2.0 startup stars secure early stage funding for their business. We are the first to atttempt this startup/angel matchmaking service globally and at low cost (we are a lot less expensive than some of the alternatives). By globally we mean our initial focus is on Europe, US and Asia. Also, we are very pro startup and treat startups and investors as equals. The service is meant to be one community for both sides to meet.
The primary benefit to a startup would be that they can connect with investors who *they want* to work with, no matter where in the world that investor is based. At the heart of Grow VC is the ability to meet and invest with individual investors (people not companies or groups) from anywhere who might have experience or drive to invest, and who can benefit from global divestiture of risk, almost like a kiva.org concept. Angels don’t have to already be in groups. They form their own profiles and their own reputations based on experience and what they’ve invested in previously. This gels with the concept that angels are not who many people think they are: they are not always HNW, retired bankers – they are anyone with an interest in business, of any age and education level.”
UK Innovation Investment Fund for High Growth Tech Startups is Announced
After the Aspire Fund for women-led companies with only £12.5 million pounds, and the £75 million Capital for Enterprise Fund, the government has stepped up its generosity by launching a £150 pound government-backed UK Innovation Investment Fund to invest in technology businesses with high growth potential. In 10 years time, the fund can grow to a £1bn fund. Startups, small ventures and spin-outs, with a focus on digital services and life sciences, clean technology and advanced manufacturing will be able to benefit from the funds.
However, the new UK Innovation Investment Fund will most probably invest into other existing technology funds rather than invest in companies directly. This means that companies could not apply directly to the Fund.
According to theVNUnet news source, some £150m will be provided by a pool of backers comprising the private sector, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Health.
The new fund is part of the yesterday unveiled Building Britains Future policy programme of Gordon Brown:
“The fund will provide much-needed support for promising startups and small businesses at a time they need it most. Venture capital finance is the lifeblood of innovation and crucial to ensuring the commercialisation of the discoveries coming out of our research base. The fund will boost future UK competitiveness.”
The last couple of months, there has been much to do, about the diminishing activity of VC’s in the UK. According to Lord Mandelson, the fund is a challenge to UK venture capitalists to follow the governments lead in backing British entrepreneurs in building exciting new companies, investing in new technologies and creating jobs, he said.
Jules Pieri puts Products and their Stories at the heart of her Startup
Jules Pieri from jules.dailygrommet.com
Jules Pieri is founder and CEO of Daily Grommet, which connects shoppers with one unique product – a Grommet- a day by sharing the story behind its creation in a short video. Creatively, the definition of a Grommet reads as follows:
* It’s a wonderful product still waiting in the wings, just ripe for discovery.
* It has great utility, or style, or invention. Or, very often it has all three.
* It comes from a designer, or inventor, or artist, or manufacturer who is clearly passionate about what they create. Someone who loves to share their creations and talk to people about why they do what they do.
* It comes from a company that treats its customers well.
* Finally, like any intelligent or beautiful product, it has a great story, ready to be told.
Eventhough the company puts the product and the story at the core of their business, and thus says that those products, and their creators, and the people who love them (the products, that is) are the real heroes at Daily Grommet, it is Jules who came up with the refreshing concept, based on her long term expertise in strategic products development.
Jules has been building consumer brands and developing innovative products for over twenty years. She held positions in Strategic Planning at Stride Rite Corporation and in Strategic Marketing and Licensing at Keds Corporation. She also worked with Playskool as product strategy consultant, and at Design Continuum, a leading international product design and engineering consultancy. She lived in Ireland from 2001-2005, where she consulted to consumer facing enterprises. Jules’ expertise and enthusiasms span social media, retail, brand, and product strategy.
As a consumer products expert, she considers her core competency to be cultural anthropology; in other words, figuring out why people do the things they do, and making businesses and products that respond to real consumer behaviours and needs. Jules often writes about these topics on her blog, and also contributes to Intent.com, a wellness destination for capturing and sharing peoples’ intentions – personal, social, spiritual and environmental.
Jules studied Industrial Design, Graphic Design, and French at the University of Michigan, and was conferred an MBA degree by Harvard University, where she was selected by faculty members to receive the Ellis-LeBaron Fellowship. Following her blog gives you insight in the design, social media, cultural anthropology and her own start-up.
Vote now for the Addidi Inspiration Awards celebrating Female Entrepreneurs in History and their Modern Champions
Entrepreneur and Champion
Voting is open for the Addidi Inspiration Awards, celebrating business women living in times (1650-1950) when it was not common for women to be running businesses. The Award will be awarded to the Female Entrepreneur polling most votes in an online poll. The Winner will be announced at an Award Reception on Thursday July 2nd.
Five businesswomen in history have been short listed and five modern day entrepreneurs have been invited to champion each of these extraordinary women from history.
Vote online for your favourite woman entrepreneur. The closing date for voting is Tuesday 30th June 2009.
Beatrice Gordon Holmes (1884-1951), Britain’s first female stockbroker. She is supported by Modern Day Entrepreneur Judy Gibbons, VC at Accel Partners and CEO at Mippin and speaker at The NextWomen Kitchen dinner.
“I love that Beatrice did it on her own. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. In that generation and even now, some remarkable women broke through, but very often you do find that they had the advantage of a high-class education and a social network of contacts. She didn’t. The male culture too made her always an outsider, but rather than be overwhelmed by the social etiquettes of the day, she didn’t assimilate. She did it without the clubs, without the advantages of that network, and she was probably twice as good.”
Eleanor Coade (1733-1821), Owner Stone Business.
She is supported by Modern Day Entrepreneur Lisa Tse, is a creative businesswoman and designer, and founder and CEO of the Lisa Tse Ltd design agency.
“Eleanor was also one of the first women out there who branded herself. She was aware of the ‘brand’ and how to put her own stamp on everything she did. She named the stone and the company after herself and then promoted it through her own life and hard work and networks, so that the two became synonymous and stood for quality. That was a very innovative and visionary thing to do and is one of the elements that set her apart from her counterparts.”
Hester Pinny (1658-1740), Successful lace trader, family banker, and financier.
She is supported by Modern Day Entrepreneur, Founder and Director of Buy:Time, a lifestyle management and concierge business.
Hester’s sheer achievements and abilities are outstanding even for today. The financial world is still male-dominated, but to go into the financial markets when it was brand new and actually advise people at a time in which it was just beginning, is incredible. But Hester recognised possibilities, and she made them happen. She didn’t have the education, but her social skills and her networking really took her forward. That’s a huge message to people now: to focus on your strong points and not let the uncontrollable get you down. She’s still such a relevant role model. Like so many women today, she felt the tug of her family, and she was torn, but what is amazing is that she found the balance.”
Rosa Lewis (1867-1925), a highly successful catering business and hotelier.
She is supported by Modern Day Entrepreneur Sally Preston, a qualified food scientist and Founder and MD of Babylicious Ltd
“Rosa typifies the can-do attitude of so many incredible woman – just because something wasn’t usual didn’t mean she couldn’t do it, she was determined, she worked hard, she acquired skills, and she innovated her own twist on her industry to make herself modern and relevant. She combined femininity with the grittiness of business in a way that’s so pertinent. Today, the power suits and shoulder pads of the 80s are gone, we know you can get the same outputs using the softer skills that women have. But Rosa realised this way back then.”
Margaret Haig Thomas, Vicountess Rhonda (1883-1958), director of 33 companies, member of the London Chamber of Commerce, and financier and founder of ground-breaking organisations.
She is supported by Modern Day Entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund, online strategist and Founder of Smarta and speaker at The NextWomen events.
“She ran multiple businesses hugely successfully – and through that women like Margaret made so much possible for women today, but even when one of her businesses turned into a loss-making venture, she stuck to her principles and didn’t compromise on what she believed in. The feminist movement was the single most important aspect of her life. It was what it was all for. Of course she wanted to be
successful, but more than that she wanted to change things for other women, particularly those who weren’t as privileged as she was.”
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The Award is the brainchild of Addidi to mark the opening of its private equity club, Addidi Business Angels. Currently less than 5% of business angels are women and the club has been launched as a vehicle to make angel investing more accessible, convenient and fun for its female members.
Anyone who wants to be part of the Awards night, mail simone[at]thenextwomen.com
Television’s Impact on The Status of Women in India
Co-author Emily Oster (Integral Options Cafe)
A recent study from the University of Chicago has shown that simply turning on the television can greatly influence a woman’s social standing in rural India. While the study’s focus did not include the effects found from access to the internet, it is clear to see that by providing a portal into a world across the globe, that women’s lives could be greatly improved.
June 2009. In their paper, “The Power of TV: Cable Television and Women’s Status in India,” University of Chicago Department of Economics professor Emily Oster and Robert Jensen of the University of California, Los Angeles, explore the effect of the introduction of cable television in rural areas of India on a particular set of values and behaviors, namely attitudes toward and discrimination against women.
Measuring the Power of Television
The authors’ analysis is based on a survey of 2,500 women in 180 villages in India; they were interviewed once a year for three years in 2001, 2002, and 2003. These years represent a time of rapid growth in rural cable access. During the three years of the study, cable television was newly introduced in 21 of the 180 participating villages. The analysis in the paper relies on comparing changes in gender attitudes and behaviors between years across villages based on whether (and when) they added cable television. The authors used several measures of the status of women. They began with two measures of attitudes: attitudes toward beating and son preference. Attitudes toward spousal abuse were measured by asking women whether beating is acceptable in six possible situations (if a woman neglects children, is unfaithful, etc.), and counting the total number of situations in which she reports beating is acceptable. Son preference was measured by asking women who want more children whether they want their next child to be a boy.
Jensen and Oster found large effects of cable on both of these variables. Women who live in villages that introduce cable see large declines in both the number of acceptable beating situations and son preference; villages that do not introduce cable see no change. This change happens between 2001 and 2002 for villages that introduce cable in 2002, and between 2002 and 2003 for villages that introduce cable in 2003. In other words, the timing of the change in attitudes lines up with the timing of the change in cable access.
How cable television affects status
Soap operas are among the most popular shows on cable: the most popular show in both 2000 and 2007 (based on Indian Nielsen ratings) is “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,” (Because a Mother-in-Law was Once a Daughter-in-Law, Also), a show based around the life of a wealthy industrial family in the large city of Mumbai. Many characters on popular soap operas have more education, marry later, and have smaller families – all things rarely found in rural areas; and many female characters work outside the home, sometimes as professionals, running businesses, or in other positions of authority. By exposing rural households to urban attitudes and values, cable and satellite television may lead to improvements in status for rural women. It is this possibility that Jensen and Oster explore in their paper. In particular, they evaluate the effect of the introduction of cable and satellite television on a variety of measures of women’s status: autonomy, attitudes toward spousal abuse, son preference, and fertility. In addition, they explore the effects on education for children, which some authors have argued will increase when the status of women is higher.
“That simply turning on the television can improve a woman’s life as well as that of her children is particularly intriguing in light of the traditional and somewhat more complex approaches to promoting education and enhancing women’s standing in society,” said Oster. “For instance, calls to “empower women” are often vague. Reducing poverty, building schools, and improving teacher quality in order to boost enrollment may be as difficult to accomplish as the problems they are attempting to solve.”
Julie Meyer’s Entrepreneurs Country for European Entrepreneurs (re)Launches
One of our favorite Female Internet Heroes, Julie Meyer, has launched her website Entrepreneur Country during a conference last week we attended in London at the Institute of Directors. As owner of Ariadne Capital, Julie sees many start-ups, SME’s and other ambitious entrepreneurs who are rarely covered by the media.
If you open the newspaper on any day of the week, you’ll see that the media focuses on the FTSE 100 – old, established, “big business”, and on governments who are actively defrauding the “little guy.” The media don’t really start paying serious, regular attention to any emerging company until it has arrived in a big way.
However, as she says, the average company owner, the SME entrepreneur, the Individual Capitalist goes to work each day in a fictional place – let’s call it – “Entrepreneur Country”, which is hardly covered by the media. Entrepreneur Country’s mission is thus to become the entrepreneurial home – the must-read, and the must-contribute-to place – for Europe’s entrepreneurs. One of the first things, Julie had the following recommendations for a prosperous Entrepreneur Country:
1. Individual Capitalism has come of age
The rise of the serial entrepreneur, the micro entrepreneur, the young entrepreneur, the portfolio entrepreneur and the lifestyle entrepreneur has been unmissable over the past decade in the UK. The trend has arisen due to “Individual Capitalism”, a form of business where the basic unit is the individual rather than the corporation, and it has gained enormous momentum. And yet small does become big, and start-ups do change the world, in the process creating jobs, new industries, wealth and pride in our ourselves.
2. Reduce the size of government in order to reduce the tax burden on SME’s
The high PAYE and NIC amounts to HMRC are one of the most debilitating factors in running a private company.
3. Challenge the Media to step out of their comfort zone
Open any national newspaper, and count the number of articles on SME’s or start-ups, and you’ll have to look hard. As consumers of media, we must demand that more coverage of the emerging giants is given to high-growth businesses which are creating new industries.
4. Treat the SME as your corner store Read more
Deborah Meaden’s Experience of a Failing Business
cc Deborahmeaden.com
If you decide to make the jump and set up your own business, chances are you’ll be offered tons of well-meaning advice. Some of it will be helpful, some of it will be rubbish, a lot of it will be contradictory. In Common Sense Rules, the new book from Deborah Meaden, the denizen of Dragons’ Den sets out to question the truth behind the clichés. Meaden believes that it is only by busting the myths behind these clichés that the business world can really move on.
In a series of 4 articles, Deborah Meaden will reveal to the The NextWomen her best tips for Success as an Entrepreneur. Here, in the second of the series, Deborah Meaden gives her top tips for securing investment.
My first business was a financial failure. When I was 19 years old, fresh out of business school and after a brief stint as a fashion showroom model, I had moved to Italy. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do – I just had a burning desire to run my own show. I have always loved art and sculpture and was incredibly inspired by what I saw during my time in Florence. The craftsmanship, style and breathtaking beauty of what was on offer moved me to make the decision to set up a glass and ceramics import business.
The next few months were a heady mix of dashing around the Italian countryside to visit factories where the air was filled with an intoxicating mix of rich tobacco smoke and chemicals, followed by endless sunny days stumbling down cobbled streets in historic cities to negotiate with immaculately turned out businessmen and women. Eventually I secured sole agency distribution rights with a good number of Italian businesses and immediately set about organising the next stage of my plan. I decided to launch my exciting new venture by exhibiting my prizes at the prestigious Top Drawer retail gift fair in London. On my trip back to the UK I was strangely nervous and apprehensive. I wondered if I had my timing right and whether the British public would be ready to recognise the extraordinary style of these Italian works and, more importantly, welcome them into their homes. Read more
Businesses Meet CSR Requirements whilst Helping Teenagers
Jo Roberts (wild.org)
Through Corporate Social Responsibility, businesses with both large and small turnovers can make a sustainable difference to project and charitable work both locally and nationally.
A project winning awards in Essex – twice winning an award from the High Sherriff of Essex, and last year the eastern region Nationwide Community and Heritage Award for community volunteering – is TurnAround, which works with vulnerable youth and community mentors.
TurnAround is the brainchild of CEO Jo Roberts, a South African who has now been living as long in Britain as in South Africa, and who has captured the heart of some remarkable projects from the developing world, that have been freshly innovative in the field of working with young people at risk.
The project works with youth who are excluded from school, in trouble with the police and simply not coping with life. Most have chronic anger management issues as a result of high personal frustration levels and little self control, which can lead to more of the same in their adult lives.
Working with these young people for two years, Jo says,
‘It is always incredible to see the fast track progress these young people make, given the simplest of support which is endless time and attention, a genuine affection for their age group and a keenness to understand their issues and perspectives. This costs almost nothing but personal time, and yet is worth its weight in gold bars if one considers the cost of these young people having to be put in Youth Offending Institutes or going into care. Just one year in an Institute costs a minimum of £47,000 to the tax payer.’
The focus of the programme is wilderness therapy, led by psychotherapists, wilderness guides and the mentoring team. Two extended wilderness trails take place on the programme at the beginning and the end, with community mentors taking part in the first. This is a challenging experience heading up into the Scottish highlands for ten days with simply a pack on their backs, all their food and equipment for that period, and the young people!
TurnAround is a project that believes young people need the support of a community, particularly when parents, for whatever reason, seem unable to cope. This is found through community volunteer mentors who work with individual youth for a year initially and then by choice, into the future.
Mentors seem to get as much from the programme as the youth. One mentor, Zoe Cranley an artist working in the film industry said:
“I just feel so privileged being trusted by these youngsters, many who have no reason to trust anyone at all after their life experiences. It humbles me to see how well they have coped with their life issues and it puts mine into perspective! I am now doing my second year with TurnAround because I love the work.’
Another mentor, Ali Moran, an employment law specialist was heard to say: Read more
Tribute to Charlie’s Angel: Farrah Fawcett
Of the two icons died yesterday, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett, the latter gets less attention than deserved. Bloggers, like Kara Swischer of All Things Digital, pay tribute to her and call her a genuine cultural phenom–from her famous poster to her feathered hairstyle to her always glamorous declarations of “Freeze!” on the television show, “Charlie’s Angels.”
We agree at The NextWomen: Charlies Angels were of -course uber-beautiful-, but most of all they were fierce, strong, smart business women, who chased criminals and solved crimes, and who who used their feminine site to get things done. In the next series they would be the boss! At Respectance, a website where memories are shared about death people, you can add your tribute to her page. Here is a tribute to Farrah Fawcett, (and indeed, I had these hairdo once..)
Interview – Susie Ambrose of Seventy-Thirty.com about Matchmaking the Rich and Beautiful
Seventy Thirty is a matchmaking and headhunting company, so called as it refers to the optimal work-life balance required for success in life. Here, Susie Ambrose, an experienced psychologist and founder of the site, talks to The NextWomen about: the concept behind the business; establishing a client base and why her users would never go to a traditional dating agency.
Susie Ambrose of Seventy Thirty
When did you come up with the idea of Seventy Thirty and what was your perceived gap in the market?
I was running my own successful psychotherapy practice where some of my clients were wealthy, successful, attractive people, but because of their busy lifestyles, had difficulty meeting a compatible partner. I tried to find an introduction agency to refer one of my clients to and soon realised there was nothing out there that I had any faith in. There didn’t seem to be any service specifically catering for wealthy, busy and…well, to be blunt, fussy people. I saw a huge need to develop a high-end service delivered by psychologists, with complete discretion and confidentiality, and most importantly, that exclusively matched truly exceptional people.
How did you go about setting up the agency and what kind of brand building activities were in your strategy?
My focus has always been towards building the brand through word-of-mouth. I had enough contacts within my network to launch the service, and I got stuck in with making select introductions myself. With time, dedication and a lot of networking with highly successful people, Seventy Thirty became increasingly well known as being the place to go if you wanted to find the ultimate partner. I brought in a team of young, dynamic psychologists who have genuine passion and confidence in dealing with some very powerful people.
How did you position yourself as an upmarket matchmaking agency for the time poor, cash rich, and has the credit crunch affected you?
I made a bold decision to set Seventy Thirty apart from any other agency by introducing a financial criterion for joining. We expect our members to have assets in excess of £1million and also to have achieved something significant in their lives.
The credit crunch has altered the incentive for people to join Seventy Thirty, but has not affected the number of new members joining. Before the recession, people joined because they were simply too busy to do conventional dating. Since the recession, however, the biggest incentive is the desire to create a strong family unit. The recession has a similar impact to war time. People re-evaluate what is important in life and turn their attention to people rather than money or material goods.
How did you manage to get your client base going?
I already had some key contacts in London, and so invited a few to join with a small introductory fee until I had built up my critical mass.
What criteria do you use to match people, and is it all done by your staff or is there any psychometric testing involved?
We match on many factors, including background, lifestyle, attraction and relationship goals. However, fundamental to these factors is having an understanding of each person’s values, motivations and outlook in life. Our psychologists conduct specifically designed profiling interviews, but we only use psychometric testing as part of our life coaching services.
What kind of capital did you need to start and what are the major costs of running this kind of business?
I invested £50K when I started. The majority of costs are due to salaries for the highly educated and experienced people I employ, followed closely by those associated with their ongoing training and development.
How do you screen your clients?
We ask our members to prove their identity, age and address. They also need to prove their net worth exceeds £1million.
You don’t have your prices published on the website, what is the reason for this? Is it to do with being a discreet agency?
Our prices are set and available to people who make genuine enquiries.
A lot of traditional dating agencies have found the competition from online dating sites hard to deal with as people prefer the ease of choosing for themselves, have you found this a challenge or is this not the case for the upper end of the market?
I don’t believe other online dating services have any impact on Seventy Thirty, because our members simply would not be interested in having their details publically available. They are also incredibly selective about what they seek in a partner, and have no desire to find a life partner through a casual online dating site.
What are your expansion plans for the future, and do you have an exit strategy?
We will look at opening a few more offices and developing our life coaching service. I plan to exit in a couple of years, although not yet, as I have so much fun and pleasure running this wonderful business.
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