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The Ladies go Gaga for Music Entrepreneurs
Here The NextWomen Events Editor, Misae Richwoods, waxes lyrical about Music4point5.
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Misae Richwoods (flickr cc: pevijo)
When it comes to the old sing-a-long, two girls who’ve been backing many an act are Petra Johansson and Rassami Hok Ljungberg, whose duo performances are made under the stage name of 2 Pears. Better known for their encore performances staging Tech Crunch Europe’s regular events, 2 Pears noticed that tech was starting to rock the music industry and put out a ballad called Music 4.5 to serenade the two together. Would it be an A-ha moment, INXS of expectations or Simply Red?
Panels
Held at Central London’s Cavendish Conference Centre near Harley Street, the line up was equally plush. An opening panel was made by The Guardian’s Jemima Kiss interviewing the head of The Performing Rights Society, Fergal Sharkey. Whilst half expecting him to break into a medley of ‘a good right these days is heart to find’, successive panels focussed on key topic areas and played a percussive chorus of music being a strong industry.
“Let’s get this clear,”
said Jeremy Silver of the FAC,
“all this talk of music being an industry in crisis is media hype. Look at the facts. Live music is massively on the up. Merchandising is on the up. The only area that technology has affected is recorded music and that’s the area that technology created in the first place.”
This was backed up by Chris Corey of the PRS
“From £1.3bn to £1.4bn last year in recorded, music is a growing industry and a great industry to be in”.
“The issue,” continued Jeremy, “is simply of an industry trying to modernise itself. And like the Post Office, it’s messy!” Read more
The NextWomen Invite Female Entrepreneurs to Dine with Michelle Dewberry and Chiconomise
Continuing with their ever popular series of Kitchen Dinners, The NextWomen are excited to announce their newest feast – Dine with Chiconmise on Wednesday March 24th, 2010 in London. Join Michelle Dewberry in The NextWomen’s very own kitchen for an intimate dinner and learn more about the ‘act of living stylishly for less’ from the founding Chiconomist herself. Enjoy peer-to-peer networking with successful online female entrepreneurs, a three course meal, speed mentoring and a fascinating keynote.
BOOK NOW
For more details visit our kitchen dinner and upcoming events pages and watch the video from our hugely successful Big Kitchen Dinner and photos.
MICHELLE DEWBERRY
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Head Hunted by a Major Internet Service Provider
After leaving school in Hull aged 16 with no qualifications, Michelle Dewberry started her career with a modern apprenticeship in business. Alongside this, she studied IT in her spare time and quickly moved up the corporate ladder. Aged just 22, Michelle was head-hunted by a major Internet Service Provider to manage one of their biggest international projects. Following the successful delivery of this project, Dewberry established herself as a self employed consultant, managing multi-million pound projects spanning across Europe and Asia. She was just 23 years old.
Winner of The Apprentice
Aged 24, Michelle seized the opportunity to apply for the second series of BBC’s The Apprentice and beat over 15,000 people to become the first female and youngest winner of the show.
Founder of Michelle Dewberry ltd and Chiconomise Read more
Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award Finalists Announced
Veuve Clicquot has announced the shortlist for its Business Woman of the Year Award, bringing together shining examples of female
entrepreneurship. This year the organisers say the Award places a greater focus on Corporate Social Responsibility. The finalists include for the UK:
- Victoria Stapleton, Founder of fashion retailer, Brora
- Gill Riley, Founding and Managing Directorof construction
firm, GGR-UNIC
- Laura Tenison, Founder and Managing Director of retailing
company, JoJo Maman Bebe
- Louise Wymer, Director of catering company, The Catering Academy
The judging panel is comprised of business leaders, including Martha Lane fax and Gail Rebuck, CEO of Random House Publishing House. Each nominee was judged, not only on financial results and commercial success but increasingly on how each business embedded
social and environmental responsibility within their businesses.
JoJo Maman Bebe founder, Laura Tenison, was selected because of the launch of the Nema Foundation, a Mozambiquebased charity for infant mortality. Gill Riley of GGR was highlighted because her work as a champion to equal opportunities for women in a male-dominated industry. Read more
100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day 2010 sees some Remarkable Achievements
Each year around the world, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.
As this year was the 100th anniversary of Women’s International Day 2010 it was a day full of very special achievements. We are listing them and keep updating this list. Send us your news to include in this list.
1.Kathryn Bigelow made history last night after becoming the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director.
2. Ms Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Digital Agenda will be awarded The Aletta Jacobs Prize 2010 of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. She is receiving the prize in honour of the major social developments she has supported for women.
3. Female lawyers in Saudi Arabia are embracing a proposed legal change that will enable them to practise for the first time. (Source: The Lawyer)
4. ‘100 British Women who changed the World’ have been named by The Independent , including Martha Lane Fox, Clara Furse of the Stock Exchange.
4. 49 Most Notable Female Internet Heroes of 2009 have been celebrated by The NextWomen.
Please complete the list with us! Send us your tips on simone [at] thenextwomen .com
The 7 Rules of Business Discipline to Succeed in Business
Emma Wimhurst speaking at Women Unlimited
Experienced entrepreneur Emma Wimhurst of Diva Cosmetics, who sold her business after which she started to advise startups how to grow their business, spoke today at International Womens’ Day at the Women Unlimited Conference in London, organized by Julie Hall. She shared her rules of business discipline for entrepreneurs to control, grow and add impact to their business, as follows:
Business Discipline Number 1: Business Strategy.
Focus your vision in a mission statement with maximum 50 words. Think whether you now your customers, who is buying your products and why they are buying your products. What is your value that you are bringing? You need to have it, because it is inspirational, but above all, a reason to say no to certain proposals, which are outside the mission statement
Business Discipline Number 2: Planning.
Build your business with a business plan. Make an itenary, just like you are planning a trip. Overcome fears to drafting the business plan, take time out to do so. Get knowledge on the customers, who are your potential customers?
Building Discipline Number 3: Marketing Management
Master your Management. Make materials which reflect your values. If you invest in any marketing, whether it is a newtworking evening you are going to or a flyer, know your desired outcome, and put the investment in with that in mind. Everything you do needs to have a desired outcome, and then review it afterwards, in order to know whether the investment made sense.
Building Discipline Number 4: Practical Finance. Read more
If Only We Could Bottle The Essence of These (Entrepreneurial) Women
This is a guest post by Lou Hamilton, owner of Createlab, where she makes feature films and documentaries about inspiring people. She is also organizer of a women in business networking group in London for which she created a short film series Women Talking Business.
There are so many inspiring women in business who are balancing their home, family and work lives and who are a shining light to other aspiring people. I recently want to the We Mean Business conference run by Business Link in London. The aim was for women to come together, meet, support, encourage, befriend and connect with each other. There were several keynote speakers whose passion, determination and courage were infectious, such Steph Cutler, Penny Power of E-Cademy and Shaa Wasmund of Smarta.
If life deals you lemons, what do you do? Make Lemonade!
One of them was Steph Cutler who overcame sudden blindness but defied “the bastards who wouldn’t employ me” to build a successful business helping others with disabilities. She encouraged us to see obstacles as opportunities not setbacks. In fact she says there were times when she found her blindness was to her advantage, for instance when she started public speaking she couldn’t really see the audience so it made her feel braver and now she loves it. She forced herself live with her disability in a way that meant living her life to the fullest. As she jokes- if life deals you lemons, what do you do? Make Lemonade! It has not been an easy journey but it has been a rewarding one.
Our personalities are our greatest asset, not what we are selling.
Penny Power who runs the social media site Ecademy spent 12 years building up her business, losing her family house along the way as she and her husband struggled to make ends meet. But she was determined to be a full-time mum (and a great one at that) at the same time as creating a successful business around the then entirely untried idea of globally connecting with people online. She stuck it through the tough times, held on to her dream, balanced her steps along the tightrope and finally it all came together.
She encourages us to make an assumption of trust of people- to make friends with others, to connect, to engage, to share ideas and contacts, to give, to listen, to offer yourself to the world community, to be there for others, to offer help, to ask for help. Read more
Fund Raising Secrets for Female Entrepreneurs
Female entrepreneurs who are able to find an investor for their plans are able to put a request forward to The Aspire Fund to match the investment by the investor. Everyclick, Alcator and TalentPuzzle were able to attract double funding in this way.
But what are the secrets of the business plan and pitches of these entrepreneurs? The Aspire Fund, Connect London and The NextWomen, as media partner, are organizing an event on Tuesday 9th March in London called:
“Fund Raising Secrets for Female Entrepreneurs” (Tickets to be booked click link)
Serial entrepreneur Christopher Fogg and James Garder will talk about Killer Business Plans that Raise Funds. But there will also be a talk about bootstrapping secrets for how to start and grow a successful company with almost no money.
Cary Marsh Of MyDeo: How She Raised Funds (3 times)
Moreover, Cary Marsh of Mydeo will be there to explain how she raised funds for her succesful business. Cary Marsh launched her company in response to a need to share family videos across the globe, following a DTI Research and Development grant for Technical Innovation. She announced in October 2007 that Best Buy, the largest consumer electronics retailer in the US with market cap of over $20bn, were taking a minority equity stake in mydeo, and would be using the Mydeo platform for its own bespoke video sharing service. The site has continued to grow since it’s first injection of cash, and went on to enjoy second round funding from Best Buy and a third from Best Buy Capital, and has since branched out into video streaming for businesses.
Aspire Fund: The Criteria Read more
Brazil Means Business Symposium – A 360 Degree View of an Emerging Economy
AMSTERDAM – Joana Picq, COO of The NextWomen will be speaking at the first edition of the Brazil Means Business Symposium, that will take place March 29th 2010, in Holland, showcasing some of the fastest growing Brazilian companies in the IT and Bio/Pharma sectors. If you are based in Holland or in the area on the day, take advantage of a special discount which allows all our readers a 10% discount with the code: NW
BOOK NOW
Brazil is a Great Place to Start a Business
Brazil has become an attractive market to do business in the last decade, according to the President of the Banco De Lage Landen, in the South of Brazil, Porto Alegre, Mr. Maarten Viskaal:
“Brazil is economically developing very well. Huge investments are planned for in infrastructure, energy and oil extraction. The middle-class is upcoming and pushing domestic demand for consumer goods and housing.”, and “more and more there will be a push into high-tech solutions”.
In Brazil, De Lage Landen provides vendor finance services to the agricultural, construction, healthcare, and technology sectors.
Mr. Viskaal, who has been based in the country for several years, and has witnessed the fast pace of transformation and greater economic stability, adds that the
“The scenario of Brazil diving into a deep economical crisis combined with hyper inflation and currency devaluation is something of the past. The country is economically well run and has a strong banking sector”.
Keen Interest in R&D Carried out by European Biotech Companies
There is keen interest from European entrepreneurs to export goods, biotech imagining equipment, and services to tap the huge consumers’ market that Brazil represents. And there is interest, from Brazilian companies, in biomedical R&D carried out by European biotech companies. Entrepreneurs, investors, market analysts, and technology startups interested in going to market, forming partnerships, and investing in Brazil will be attending the Brazil Means Business Symposium, to better understand how the emerging economy is poised for growth.
Brazilian Software Companies will Have a Huge Presence Read more
Bootlaw’s Courtroom Dramas and 7 Top Tips to Avoid Legal Trouble
This is a post in by Misae Richwoods, The NextWomen event reporter and a previous Golden Web Award winner who helps start ups, SMEs and independent professionals market themselves via MRMedia Group.
The story goes like this. Its a legal nightmare. EDS have a very enthusiastic salesman. He speaks to BSkyB for some work they need done and gets a deal for £50million. So far so good, only salesman has overpromised and EDS can’t actually deliver. Part way through the job they realise it’s more than they can do and stop work. Sky steps in a fix the project. The cost of doing so according to Sky is now £200million. BSkyB then sue for £700million damages. Ouch! My eyes are burning just looking at the gossip between these two!
It doesn’t stop there either! It turns out that the salesman for EDS has a degree which he claims he earned in the British Virgin Islands. What’s that got to do with anything? Well normally, a case is capped at the value of the contract. In the case of BSkyB vs EDS, that was £50million. However, it turns out that the salesman stood up in court and claimed he earned his degree fair and square and denied allegations he may have bought it through the internet. The prosecuting QC then produced a degree from the same university. It appears that the QC’s dog is a rather bright pooch, for not only did he get the same degree as the salesman; he also got a higher mark! The degree was of course bought through the internet. At this point everything the salesman said had to be disregarded. EDS are now standing accused not of negligently making misrepresentations but of fraudulently doing so. An interim damage of £200million has already been awarded while the judge figures out the true cost of damages. The story is set to go on…
Bootlaw for Bootstrapping Startups
That’s one of the fascinating stories shared by Barry Vitou (@bazv) and Danvers Baillieu (@danversbaillieu), the solicitors from Winston Strawn behind the highly successful Bootlaw community (@bootlaw). One of the things most bootstrapping start ups and tech entrepreneurs can’t afford to do is to hire lawyers to sit as part of their company the way corporations do. However being ignorant of the law is an even more costly game to play.
Barry and Danvers therefore put together Bootlaw as an effective means of solving the guidance needs of the start up community. It takes the form of a monthly talk around specific legal threads start ups need education on, followed by the chance to enjoy a few beers and pizzas whilst chatting with everyone. The sessions are free but limited to delegates who RSVP via the Bootlaw meetup group (http://www.meetup.com/bootlaw)
Bootlaw on pre-court methods of contraception
“Good entrepreneurship” began Barry, a partner at Winston Strawn, “is like good sex – if you do it well, everyone is happy! I’m going to show you some pre-court methods of contraception that may stop you getting into trouble, after which Danvers is going to share some tips on what to do if you have gone a little too far.”
Innovate!100 is an exciting opportunity for European Startups: Apply now!
If you are an internet or technology startup, and you have not heard yet of Chris Shipley, then its time to read this article.
The new company of Sillicon Valley guru Shipley and business partner Mike Sigal, Guidewire Group, is holding its Innovate!2010 global competition to identify and promote up-and-coming technology and media startups. They are looking for early-stage companies that have what it takes to be named one of the world’s most promising startups.
The top 100 companies will be featured in a prestigious list known as the Innovate!100 – and the best of the best will receive a share of prizes valued at nearly $250,000. In addition, every startup that applies will receive promotional exposure and free training designed to improve their chances of success.
And the Deadlines are approaching fast!! So apply now.
Application Deadlines
Innovate!2010 has a rolling deadline for application depending on the location of the local Pitch Slams:
- 22 Feb – Barcelona, Spain
- 24 Feb – London, UK
- 25 Feb – Paris, France
- 01 March – Dublin, Ireland
- 03 March – Milan, Italy
- 08 March – Tel Aviv, Israel
- 10 March – Berlin, Germany
- 11 March – Prague, Czech Republic
- 15 March – Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 17 March – Helsinki, Finland
- 18 March – Stockholm, Sweden
- 22 March – Istanbul, Turkey Read more
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