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The NextWomen Announce their 2010 Pitching Day
Join female entrepreneurs, managers and consultants of the Web at The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day, Tuesday 16th March 2010, in group Workshops and 1:1 Clinics to learn the art & science of pitching skills for convincing investors, customers and partners to do business with you.
 cc: flickr flyfshrmn98 |
The event, which consists of two morning workshops run in tandem, followed by an afternoon 1:1 business clinic in which entrepreneurs can tackle any business dilemma – large or small – with a selection of industry experts, allows entrepreneurs to optimise their pitching skills with a day designed to their own specific needs.
BOOK NOW
Tickets start from £75 for early bird – workshop only – and go up to £150 for full day tickets (morning Workshop + afternoon 1:1 Clinic).
Entrepreneurs can pick from one of two workshops:
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Workshop Option 1 – When, Where and How to Pitch to Investors
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How to find the Fastest Route to Funding
Learn how to:
- Choose the right financing approach for your business
- Pitch to different types of investors
- Make sure potential investors take note of your business plan
- Retain a majority stake of your business
For more information visit The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day page
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Workshop Option 2 – The Art & Science of Pitching to Customers and Partners
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What your Body is Saying Behind your Back
Learn:
- The power to influence, present and communicate your value proposition
- How we influence and communicate our business ideas to other people
- How to influence people more effectively by developing and extending your range of non-verbal skills
- How to read and adapt your style to achieve the greatest impact.
- The art & science of non verbal communication
For more information visit The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day page
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1:1 Business Clinic
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Building on knowledge gained in the previous workshops, entrepreneurs will get in-depth 1:1 help and support on issues of their choice, tailored exactly to their needs through the use of exercises and advice from an expert of their choice.
For more information on the experts in attendance, possible topics for help and how it works, visit The NextWomen 2010 Pitching Day page.
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DETAILS
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| Date: | Tuesday 16th March 2010 |
| Location: | Sun Microsystems, Regis House, 45 King William Street, London, EC4R 9AN |
| Workshops: | £75 Early bird – Before March 1st (Includes drinks and refreshments) |
| £100 Full price – After March 1st (Includes drinks and refreshments) | |
| Full Day: | £150 (Includes workshop, 1:1 time with 2 experts, lunch, two snacks and drinks) |
The Clinton Global Initiative is Empowering Girls and Women Through Information and Communication Technologies
![Laptops for children in Africa cc: Flickr Lil[Kristen Elsby]](http://thenextwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/laptop_flickr-LilKristen-Elsby.jpg "laptop_flickr Lil[Kristen Elsby]")
Laptops for children in Africa cc: Flickr Lil[Kristen Elsby
Since 2005, CGI has:
- Brought together more than 100 current and former heads of state, 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organisations and prominent members of the media.
- Made more than 1,400 commitments valued at $46 billion
- Improved the lives of more than 200 million people in more than 170 countries
- More than three million people have better access to information technology
- More than $600 million has been invested in or loaned to small and medium-sized enterprises
- Almost three million micro-entrepreneurs have been empowered through microfinance
The 2010 CGI ation areas include: Empowering Girls and Women; Strengthening Market-Based Solutions; Enhancing Access to Modern Technology and Harnessing Human Potential. Of the 12 new initiatives/commitments in place to empower girls and women, 4 focus on the advantages of information and communication technology:
Plan USA and its Partners
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Commit over the next three years to:
- Train 140 adolescent girls from Ghana in media production and journalism skills, Read more
IP Strategy: Are you getting the most out of your IP? Seminar invitation, London UK
All businesses have some forms of Intellectual Property (IP) and need to make an informed decision as to how to use IP to create a competitive advantage. Creating an IP strategy helps businesses focus on their key IP assets and how best to protect, develop and maximise the value of IP with the available budget. This event is aimed at businesses with valuable IP or who are developing valuable IP.
BOOK NOW
The NextWomen discount code: Nextwomen2010
This event will allow attendees to:
- Understand the value of their IP
- Learn how to develop their IP from an IP Lawyer, an Investor and a panel of successful entrepreneurs
- Recognise their IP in all its forms
- Finance, exploit, and protect their IP
- Understand the basics of copyright, patent and trademark law in the UK
- Appreciate the importance of an effective IP strategy
- Tackle any overseas IP issues
- Ask questions of the speakers and panel members and network with 100 fellow entrepreneurs
Where and when
- Date: Thursday 4 February 2010; 6pm to 9 pm
- Location: The Terrace Restaurant, The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NEW DAB
Tickets
- Cost: £25
- Exclusive £5 discount for NextWomen readers and members when you use the following discount code: Nextwomen2010
- Purchase online
Agenda
- IP Strategy, Introduction and Legal Issues – Robert Pocknell, Keystone Law
- IP Strategy, Investor’s and Practitioner’s Approach – Andy Tait, Pembridge Partners
- Panel Discussions
- Networking and Refreshments
To register, and for further details, including the bios of speakers and panel members, please visit the event booking page, and don’t forget the special discount code: Nextwomen2010
The 49 Most Notable Female Internet Heroes of 2009
2009 has endured the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and yet female start-ups are growing in numbers as more of our lives are spent online. We have compiled our list of notable 2009 Female Internet Hero achievements. Far from exhaustive, if you feel you should be added to the list let us know as we will be adding to the list:
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The Digital Government Hero
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Martha Lane Fox is appointed the Government’s Digital Inclusion Champion
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The Launch Heroes
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Sarah Prevette launches SprouterWhich asks entrepreneurs the question “What are you working on?” |
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Paola de Leo and Co-Founder Colin Firth launch Brightwide
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Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist launches a professional social network for Generation Y
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Mr and Mrs Tom Harrow (Former Microsoft programmer) relaunches Findababysitter.com
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Deirdre Bounds launches Parties Around the World
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Sarah Beeny launches Tepilo
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Rajeeb Dey and Leah Magoye (Africa Representative) launches Enternships
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Michelle Dewberry launches Chiconomise
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Natasha Friis Saxberg launches Mentory
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Stephanie Phair and Net-A-Porter launch TheOutnet.com
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Michelle Gallen launches Talk Irisha social network for Irish language learners. |
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Anja Beerepoot launches Female FactorA network for women who like to share and show their talents |
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The Queen relaunches the Royal websitewith a Buckingham Palace reception and guests including Sir Tim-Berners Lee.
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Kim Mance of Galavanting launches travelblogexchangeA platform where travel bloggers can congregate, offer tips, advice and support to each other. |
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Shaa Wasmund launches SmartaA combination of Linkedin, Eventbrite and Meetup for UK entrepreneurs |
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Sophie Cox and brother Charlie launch WorldekaA social network with a conscience. |
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The Fundraising Heroes
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Dr Fran Crawford secures £500k investment from the Aspire Fund for Altacor
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Polly Gowers secures £350k investment from the Aspire Fund for Everyclick
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Gina Bianchini and Ning raise $15m and named as one of Fastcompanys 20 Most Influential Women in Tech
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Marina Tognetti and Myngle secure €950,000 fundingThe online platform linking teachers and people achieves government backed funding totally almost €1m |
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Jana Eggers and Spreadshirt Announce €10 million investmentfrom Accel and Kennet Partners.
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Alicia Navarro and Skimlinks raises two rounds of fundingLed by Sussex Place Ventures, the first round was believed to be in the region of £700k and the second £900,000c |
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Lesley Eccles of Hubdub achieves £810, 000 in fundingfrom Pentech Ventures, Scottish Co-Investment Fund and additional Angel Investors.
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The Career Heroes Read more
Three Women form Partnership to benefit Women Biotech Entrepreneurs
Carola Schropp of BioTech Showcase
Women entrepreneurs that start and grow biotech companies will receive extra support from Astia, the global organisation that helps women-led companies receive funding.
Astia led by CEO Sharon Vosmek announced a strategic collaboration with the EBD group led by founder and CEO Carola Schropp and with consulting company Demy-Colton Life-Science Advisors led by founder Sara Jane Demy. The latter companies are organizers of the Biotech Showcase.
The aim of the pact is to ensure that the entrepreneurs gain the investor and industry relationships needed to successfully grow their businesses. The biotech companies that are participating in the Astia Program in Silicon Valley will have the opportunity to present at the second annual Biotech Showcase 2010, a forum providing private and public companies an opportunity to present to an audience of investors and biopharmaceutical business development executives.
“The Biotech Showcase has quickly established itself as a premier venue for companies to present their innovations to potential private and institutional investors and business development teams from pharmaceutical and large biotech firms,” said Sharon Vosmek, CEO, Astia. “Being featured at the Biotech Showcase has the potential to catapult a company several steps forward toward achieving its business goals, and this is why we view it as ‘the forum’ for the Astia companies to be showcased.”
“Astia is an organization we are excited to be working with,” said Carola Schropp, President, EBD Group. “By working with exceptional women entrepreneurs Read more
Julie Meyer Announces Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs Fund
Julie Meyer of Ariadne Capital
The internet is today awash with news of the announcement of a VC fund for early stage ventures from Julie Meyer of Ariadne Capital. The fund, that is set to raise £20 million in its first year, is surely an economic god send for internet, media technology, mobile and digital entertainment start-ups struggling to find money in the downturn.
The fund is backed by a total of ten investors, including Julie Meyer herself; a number of undisclosed investors and industry entrepreneurs such as Michael Jackson, former chairman of Partygaming; David Rowe, founder of EasyNet and Marc Worth, founder of WGSN.
With SmallBizPod reporting that:
The first £250,000 to £1 million of the Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs Fund (ACE Fund) will target ‘game-changing’ businesses – those investors consider to have disruptive technology, business models or market vision
It will be interesting to see if any of the companies invested in will be female-led. As one of The NextWomen Female Internet Heroes it is great to see Julie Meyer – who only earlier this summer launched her website Entrepreneur Country – remaining busy as ever.
Source: SmallBizPod
Women, Leadership and Economic Turbulence – Reflections from the Global Summit of Women 2009
Anna Gudmundson
Anna Gudmundson is a senior manager at advertising response company Ad.IQ where she develops and manages new products and services, the latest being their mobile internet offering, as well as heading up a product team. Here, she talks about: what she has taken from the Global Summit of Women 2009, the positives that can be taken from a recession and how these can be applied to the careers of both men and women alike.
From a balcony on the 15th floor looking out at the skyscrapers and hearing the traffic from the streets below, it would be hard to identify the city. But the mountains that tower up in the background, stealing much of the attention from the glossy buildings, remind me that I am not in London or New York. This is Santiago, the capital of Chile, with a population of 5.65 million people. The Mapocho River that runs through the city is currently almost dry which is a stark reminder of environmental and climate concerns, which seem to be on the lips of politicians meeting in nearby Valparaiso, as well as of the coffee drinkers in the many cafes across the city.
If you would allow the lack of water in the river to symbolise the difficult times we are experiencing, it surely doesn’t seem to have cracked the spirit of Chilean visionaries. Sure, the country is feeling the bite just like everywhere else, but the Chilean economy appears to be withstanding the crises better than many old economies, and the crises may well be the catalyst to push through the changes required in structures, culture and old ways of thinking, to take Chile to the next level, and maybe to break through the ‘glass ceiling’…
My purpose in travelling to Chile was to explore a business idea and to attend the Global Summit of Women 2009, the 19th of its kind. The Summit brings women leaders from around the world together, to discuss women’s economic development, leadership and political influence around the globe, to network, exchange experiences and ideas, and to take initiatives towards a more diverse and balanced global order.
With the wide range of topics that the summit covers, and the various breakout sessions to be attended, each participant can walk away with a different experience. Whether you find that the summit paints a bright and positive picture for the future of women across the globe, or if you get a sense of struggle, obstacles and hard work, is more likely dependent on your mindset rather than the program, speakers or delegates. The variety of angles, topics, countries and interests is truly broad. Read more
Female Founders to Pitch at The NextWomen Event October 7th 2009
 Karin Loeffen of Libersy October 7th 2009, will see The NextWomen play host to female founders, leaders and investors in the latest in a series of events to encourage and stimulate funding in female led businesses. Sponsored by Sun Startup Essentials and Women Inspired by Wine, the hunt is on for three tech-savvy start-ups to assume the role of Pitch-preneur. |
Date: Wednesday 7 October 2009
Time: 5.00pm – 11.00pm (evening networking starts at 9:30)
Address: London CBC, Sun Microsystems Ltd, Regis House, 45 King William Street, London, EC4R 9AN
Cost: £37.50
Or: £30.00 to members of The NextWomen LinkedIn Group
As with nature, and especially in a credit crunch, ‘Darwinian Business – Survival of the Fittest’ will look at what makes a business a financial success. Two successful female business founders will discuss their experiences – from the birth of their great idea, through its growing pains, to its funding, the maturing of the concept and finally exit strategies.
Sustenance, experience and advice will allow women, with businesses at various stages of life, to understand how their concepts can best thrive and prosper – when bootstrapping is the best solution or when it is finally time for that first round of funding and in return for what equity, large or small, to plug a gaping big leaking financial hole or just to keep the business ticking over, or when it is simply time to cash in and try something new.
In the first part of the evening, ‘Imbibe: Only Camels can Survive the Desert without Water’, attendees will enjoy an hour of informal networking with fellow internet industry professionals. Sip on some prosecco whilst investigating others’ business tales – be them of a financial desert, an oasis in an otherwise arid surroundings or a financial downpour – before settling down in the comfort of Sun Microsystems London offices for an evening of insight and intrigue.
Before the pitch-preneurs take centre stage, ‘Mutations: The Dynamic Nature of a Start-up’, will see two female internet heroes, including Karin Loeffen, CEO and Founder of online booking platform Libersy discuss the two sides to a financial coming of age: ‘The Newborn – Life Before Funding’ and ‘The Teenage Years – How to make use of your best (financial) assets’.
It will be hard not to find inspiration from these two women who have experienced the search for funding first hand. Karin Loeffen achieved an impressive €1.5m in funding through the concept creation of her online booking application, Libersy, which can now be seen on the BT Tradespace Book it Now service, and the second speaker will be equally as impressive. Read more
Deborah Meaden’s top tips for takeovers
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 third of the series, Deborah Meaden gives her top tips for takeovers.
If you dream of being your own boss but haven’t yet come up with an amazing idea for a start-up you might think about buying an existing business. I often think that just as much, if not more, entrepreneurial skill goes into turning around an existing business than it does in starting up a new one. It takes the vision to spot a business that is doing well in spite of itself and the nous to see the improvements you can make.
Here are some key questions to ask yourself when you’re considering buying a business:
Can I make a difference?
The key to buying somebody else’s business is knowing that it can do better and being able to identify clearly what changes need to be made, how long it will take, how much it will cost and – most importantly – how much profit those changes are going to generate. Having a clear plan of what it is that can be done to make it better, rather than a vague notion of fancying giving it a go, is essential.
Am I thinking about this opportunity rationally?
Buying a business can be an emotionally charged experience. However, I would urge you to try to remain rational. Being passionate about business is important, but if you can’t find the right business, or it’s not the right time, or something just does not feel right, you should walk away rather than regret rushing into something. Keep a cool head and take a long, hard, critical look at the proposition in front of you and then, if you are still totally convinced of the opportunity, get passionate and go for it.
What are the business’s strengths and weaknesses?
All businesses, no matter how badly they have been run in the past, will have some good qualities that customers liked. The trick is to find them – and fast. The best place to start is to talk to the people who already work there. I always have a round-table meeting with all of the key people in the business at the earliest opportunity and ask everyone in the room:
‘Right, what is the plan? What could you do for this business?’ Read more
VC Firm Widens its Net by Out-Sourcing Early Investments to Others
Casting a wider net
VC firm, Founders Fund, has recognised the need to move with the economic times, by giving a selection of entrepreneurs and executives from outside of the company money to invest in a tech start-up they have discovered through their own networking.
It has not gone unnoticed that funds are still becoming available for tech start-ups, with a number of seed programs launching across the globe. In March of this year, American firm Sequoia Capital, joined forces with venture incubator Y Combinator, that takes start-ups from ideas to business, to provide a new fund for tech start-ups. Yet it is this new approach from Founders Fund, that sees the early decision out-sourced to others, that makes it so interesting. The risk is still there for the firm, but the time and effort required in choosing early investments is greatly reduced.
Silicon Valley firm, Founders Fund, has realised the potential to use other peoples’ networking to their advantage. By using successful entrepreneurs and tech executives, they hope to capitalise on their business connections to more efficiently find and back start-ups. After all, a large percentage of an entrepreneurs life is spent networking, and to be able to make use of this could save investment companies a lot of time and effort when the entrepreneur is doing it as a matter of course any way.
Called the Tech Fellow Awards, the annual program has used an ‘open nomination process’ to find 12 leaders or ‘fellows’ that have achieved oustanding innovation in one of four fields: engineering leadership, product design and marketing, general management, and disruptive innovation. Each successful fellow, self-nominated or recommended by others and chosen by a commitee of 21 industry leaders, for the impact they have had in the world of start-ups, will receive $25 000 to invest in a start-up of their choice. In addition to the investment of each individuals prize money, Founders Fund will match the investment with a further $25 000 and reserve the right to increase the capital to $250 000 in the event of a good venture. Read more
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