JOIN US
THE NEXTWOMEN PARTNERS
£10,000 Award for Under 30 Entrepreneur of The Year
Shell’s social investment programme LiveWIRE is taking applications for “Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010″. The winner of the £10,000 award will be announced during the Shell LiveWIRE LIVE! event in London on 13th October where various speakers will be talking about entrepreneurship, including Sir Tom Farmer and Mark Prisk MP.
The panel includes entrepreneurs, experts and investors, with 5 women out of the 10 judges deciding who takes the prize home (or to the Bank):
- Emma Jones (Enterprise nation)
- Professor Sarah Carter (Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship)
- Josie Emberton (UnLtd)
- Melanie Lane (UK Retail at Shell)
- Hermione Way (Newspepper/Techfluff.TV).
If you are or know young entrepreneurs aged 16 to 30 that have been running a start-up for up to 18 months, do not forget to apply before the deadline on 6th September 2010.
You can also apply to Shell LiveWIRE’s monthly “Grand Ideas Award” for a prize of £1,000 and extended visibility and support.
Speed-Mentoring Successfully Matches Experts and Entrepreneurs
Halfway between mentoring and networking, the NextWomen launched its first Speed-Mentoring event last week, when entrepreneurs and professionals got invaluable advice from leading industry experts, acting as speed-mentors, from across various industries.
TheCube
TheCube welcomed an inspiring group of 12 Speed-Mentors and 25 Speed-Mentees, mostly founders and CEOs, for an evening of networking and mentoring in a fun and relaxed environment.
To view the full list of Speed-Mentors and their biographies, please visit the event page.
Divided into four groups: Brains, Money, Passion and People, covering most of the issues a business could face, the Speed-Mentors, of which about half were women, were invited to meet each Speed-Mentee individually for 4 minutes.
To make the most out of those 4 minutes, most Speed-Mentees were obliged to exercise their pitch, making it short and straight to the point. Although most of the issues raised involved funding and scaling one’s business, advice in all sorts of area were given such as people management or sales and marketing.
In between the two Speed-Mentoring rounds was a networking break. Although all Speed-Mentees already get the opportunity to meet the Speed-Mentors individually, the breaks allowed them to further their meeting but also enabled all attendees to network among themselves.
“I loved the fact that the number of people was
limited to a manageable number and we got sufficient time to network with all the other entrepreneurs and mentors. It was also refreshing to meet lots of other single founders and not only polished, VC ready teams as is often the case.“
Stefan Richter, Founder of Scribblar.com
After rotating through all the 12 Speed-Mentors, Speed-Mentees rated the overall group of Speed-Mentors 4.6 out of 5. 39% of the Speed-Mentees found the time spent with Speed-Mentors from the Financial Services sector and Online Marketing/Strategy area (SEO and e-commerce experts) to be the most worthwhile. Read more
Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs Discuss Leadership in Edinburgh
Fiona Murray - photo by Jonathan Littlejohn M.A.
Earlier this month The NextWomen was invited to the “New Approaches to Leadership for Aspiring Female Entrepreneurs” workshop by Informatic Ventures where female founders from Scotland and across Europe discussed entrepreneurship. The over 50 women attending proved nothing but leadership and innovation in each of their man-dominated fields of technology, yet took the opportunity to discuss new approaches with experts from the MIT Sloan School of Management and each other.
Women and Leadership - Questioning and Understanding Statistics
The one-day programme was led by professors Fiona Murray, Laura Barker Morse and Glenda Burkhart who showed amazing talent in triggering constructive group discussions – from behaviour profiles to case studies and group exercises, always trying to evaluate whether women’s leadership approaches could be generalised as such, and how they could be improved.
The agenda included very interesting discussions around the latest statistics from the Kauffman Foundation about Women in leadership roles. Why are there not more women in boards? Male environments versus executive talent pipelines. Do women not get invited to leadership roles or do they turn them down? Although most people in the room agreed to never have heard of women turning down offers to leadership and board roles. How can we accelerate women access to VC funding? Women often focus on realistic return forecasts on investment and don’t always look as appealing as their male counterparts. Are there enough female investors? Not statistically speaking, and that may impactwomen’s access to funding. Why do women founders tend to lead smaller teams? For various reasons, but is that really a problem or can it be an advantage?
Serial Entrepreneurs Confirmed for The NextWomen Speed-Mentoring Evening on June 16th
Serial entrepreneurs with experience building and selling start-ups across Europe, the US and Emerging Markets will be joining Google, Microsoft and other experts at The NextWomen Speed-Mentoring Evening.
The event, scheduled on June 16th from 6pm to 10pm, has three new speed-mentors confirmed; Serial entrepreneurs Andrew Lintell and Iqbal Gandham, known in the IT and web start-up and corporate spaces, and Markting Expert Martin Chan of Knowledge Dock.
Andrew Lintell is a serial entrepreneur in consumer web and enterprise IT, with a wealth of experience in management, operations and sales. Following his corporate career in McAfee, Computer Associates and Microsoft, Andrew was co-founder and CEO of Crisp Thinking, building it into the world’s leading technology for behavioural analysis and online safety. In less than 5 years, Crisp® technology grew to be used by many international games and media organisations worldwide.
He is now involved with launching AchaLa.com.br, the first online marketplace for domestic services in Latin America. Andrew is also Founder of SecureGrade™, an IT boutique offering Data Loss Prevention, information confidentiality and security solutions to companies of all sizes.
Iqbal Gandham is a seasoned entrepreneur with several successful Internet ventures to his credit. Although qualified as a Spacecraft Engineer, he decided a career in the Internet seemed more exciting.
Since 1994 he has conceived, executed and exited several businesses, under various guises, such as co-founder, founder and CxO. The ventures range from jobsites, webhosting, VoIP, domain registration, cloud computing, ISP’s, and location based apps.
Taking the seed idea and creating a multi-million pound entity with several hundred employees is Iqbal’s forte. He achieves this by having a rare combination of business acumen and technical knowledge.
He now splits his time between acting as a Interim CEO adviser and also working on his latest idea based around the semantic web and visual search.
Martin Chan heads up the Marketing Team at Knowledge Dock (KD), the proud sponsor of this event. His role is to devise and implement the marketing strategy for KD; this involves things such as market research, market intelligence, developing partnership marketing opportunities, devising promotional campaigns and developing new service offerings.
Martin has worked in marketing for over 10 years, across a number of sectors ranging from multinational IT companies to professional services, where he has been responsible for developing new sales channels, devising strategic marketing plans and leading on the rebranding of organisations. Prior to joining KD he also ran his own marketing consultancy working mainly for SMEs and public sector organisations, which helped him gain a deep insight into the issues facing SMEs.
He holds a BA Hons in Business studies, MSc in Marketing and a MBA in General Management.
For a full list of Speed-Mentors, and to learn more about the SpeedMentoring evening, visit the event page.
Tickets are £25 until June 06th:
International Seminar to Encourage Greater Tech Entrepreneurship Among Scottish Women
Leading international academics, experienced entrepreneurs and The NextWomen will be visiting the Scottish capital on 10 and 11 June for a high profile seminar hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s Informatics Ventures.
The two day event, entitled “New Approaches to Leadership for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs, Managers and CEOs”, will feature lectures, case studies, interactive discussions and “hands-on’’ exercises designed to help aspiring, female executives develop effective leadership styles and grow successful, sustainable companies, especially in the technology sector.
Delegates will also have the opportunity to practice “elevator’’ sales pitches to potential customers, employees and board members. The seminar will be delivered by:
- Laura Barker Morse – MD of Entrepreneurship Ventures, Inc, Boston. Laura has vast experience in the Angel and Venture Capital industry most recently Human Capital Partner at Atlas Venture in London, Paris, Munich and Boston between 1999 and 2008
- Professor Fiona Murray - Associate Professor of Management and co-head of the Technological, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management Group at MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA. Fiona is also a specialist in strategic innovation and entrepreneurship issues including development of commercialisation process within early stage and large corporations
- Glenda Burkhart – MD of Golden Seeds LLC, a US Angel Investment Partnership. Glenda is a skilled professional in the area of large scale organisational change who boasts over 30 years experience as a senior corporate executive across both profit and not for profit sectors and previously worked with Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, the subject of one of the Edinburgh workshop case studies.
- Kenneth P. Morse – Founding MD of MIT Entrepreneurship Center, Cambridge, MA and serial entrepreneur. A visiting professor at ESADE Business School, Barcelona, Kenneth is also a high performance leader in global high-tech sales and management with over 35 years experience in the field
Lead organiser Andrew Mitchell of Informatics Ventures comments: “Scotland has an abundance of first class, aspiring businesswomen across all sectors including science and technology and it’s therefore essential we give them an unfair advantage through world-class executive education and encourage them to have big, bold, global aspirations for their business ventures.
“This two day seminar, with some of the leading names in global entrepreneurship, will assist senior businesswomen to sharpen their leadership skills and style, helping them operate more effectively within the global marketplace and enable them to steer their respective businesses towards sustainable success.’’
Delegates from across Scotland, Europe and the USA will be attending the event.
For further information on New Approaches To Leadership For Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs, Managers and CEOs and to register for the event visit: http://www.informatics-ventures.com/womenentrepreneurs
Speed-Mentoring with Google, Microsoft, Legal experts & Entrepreneurs
As The NextWomen move away from regular events to a set of more specialised annual networking encounters, it launches the concept of Speed-Mentoring, in association with The NextWomen Mentoring Programme.
The new concept was created by Jana Hlistova for The NextWomen and focuses on quick hit information, to help address key issues and challenges for mentees in their business, supported by a highly experienced team of mentors.
It is the ideal alternative to entrepreneurs who need help or advice in various areas, or for those who don’t know what Mentor would most suit them. Like all NextWomen events, it is also a great opportunity to network with experts and fellow entrepreneurs in a pleasant atmosphere, over sushi and prosecco.
Entrepreneurs have 4 minutes with each of the 15 Mentors, including Maya Moufarek, regional marketing manager at Google, Bindi Karia of Microsoft, entrepreneurs having fund raised or sold businesses, as well as legal experts.
Mentees will rotate from mentor-to-mentor, split across four entrepreneurship pillars:
- Passion
- New business concepts, product and service idea
- Money
- Funding, angel investors vs private equity, cash-flow, exit strategies
- People
- Making connections, opening doors, hiring people, building partnerships and alliances
- Brains
- Planning, strategy, marketing, operations, infrastructure, outsource vs in-house
Date: June 16th, from 6pm to 10pm.
Venue: The CUBE, Studio 5, 155 Commercial Street, London, E1 6BJ
Astia: A Global Network for High Growth Female Entrepreneurs (and in London in May 2010)
As the Astia ‘Doing it Right’ Programme for women-led companies, running in London from May 4-May 7th, 2010 is approaching – and female entrepreneurs, with a high growth vision, can apply to the programme to follow workshops, panels and to become member of the global Astia Community of entrepreneurs, investors and advisers – here is a video in which Sharon Vosmek, CEO of Astia explains the ambitions of Astia for its female entrepreneurs.
To apply to Astia, be quick and join the exciting programme.
Our Next Funding & Pitching Event including Pitching Sessions for Women-Led Start-ups
The NextWomen Funding & Pitching & Networking Evening - 26 April, 2010
The NextWomen, in partnership with Astia, invite you to an event in which you can meet, interact and learn from experienced men and women that know all about funding for both start-ups and growing businesses. Spend an evening in the intimate setting of the Loyens & Loeff Law Firm offices gaining insight into how to raise the financial capital you need, whilst networking with fellow entrepreneurs over prosecco, wine and sushi.
Practice your Pitch, and Win a Seat in the Astia Doing it Right Programme in London
The NextWomen offer the exclusive opportunity to 6 women to try out their funding pitches before a Panel of Experts and Investors. It is a unique chance to profit from these experts’ insights, and to receive feedback and suggestions on your funding pitch before you throw yourselves in front of the lions. The winning pitch will have a seat guaranteed at the Astia Doing it Right Program in London on May 4-7.
Date: April 26 2010, from 6.00 to 9.30pm
Location: Loyens & Loeff in the City (near Bank)
More details and Agenda, Click here
Inma Martinez - Stradbroke Advisers
Andrew Nutter – Balderton Capital
Tracy Scribner – MMC Ventures
Maria Dramalioti-Taylor - Business Angel
Simone Brummelhuis - Astia Board & CEO of the NextWomen
Attendee Early Bird (Before April 15th) - £39.00
Attendee Late Ticket (After April 15th) - £49.00
Pitching Workshop & Competition – £75,00 (requires that you purchase an attendee ticket prior to submitting your executive summary, the remaining amount will only be charged if you are selected)
To book your ticket, click here.
If you want to pitch your business, you must purchase a normal ticket and send us an executive summary or high-level pitch for your start-up. The 6 best start-up applications will be invited to join the afternoon workshop, from 3 to 5pm, and pitch to our panel of investors in the evening. The £35 difference for the pitching tickets will only be charged if you are selected, directly by The NextWomen.
About Astia and the Winning Prize:
Doing it Right in London: Programme Overview
In Europe, select entrepreneurs can experience Astia’s hallmark Doing it Rightprogramme that has resulted in a greater than 60% funding success rate for prior participants.
Doing it Right London is a programme where exceptional entrepreneurs enhance their company’s ability to attract funding and cultivate invaluable relationships.
Through candid discussions led by local investors and seasoned entrepreneurs,Doing it Right increases participants’ understanding of the current state of venture capital and angel investment.
Entrepreneurs gain important skills and insight when Doing it Right – from developing an effective fundraising strategy, negotiating term sheets, navigating the due diligence process, to leading a successful company. Doing it Right is current, fresh and relevant.
Select entrepreneurs receive:
- Introductions to leading VCs and angel investors through investor-led panels and workshops
- Presentation skills coaching by a leading expert
- Increased business acumen and executive leadership skills
- Expert advice from VCs, angels and successful entrepreneurs
Women are Trending in Brussels Tech Leadership Conference
Clo Willaerts, Woman in Tech
This is an article by Misae Richwoods, Event editor of The NextWomen and organizer of #140conf meetup in London
Brussels is the seat of Europe and as such it has some unusual dynamics, such as:
- The population is multi lingual with the Flemish and French divide being bridged by English.
- The national mobile operators charge for handsets instead of providing it free with a contract and unlimited mobile internet hasn’t happened here yet.
- At the same time there are world renowned global brands based here like Stella Artois.
- The architecture of the city marries the most delightful stone worked terraces of yesteryear with the stark modern lines of post-war reconstruction and the towering offices that deal with the endless red tape of globalisation.
Yes, Belgium is a more traditional country than the UK and yes, many things seem old fashion. Yet there was nothing backward thinking about the first #140conf meeting in Brussels which paneled an all female speaker line up!
An all female speaker line up at #140conf meetup in Brussels!
Having organised the #140conf meetup in London since last year, it was my pleasure to introduce the concept that real time media is a game changer for business and that we need to get a dialogue started about the changes it’s going to create so that we can use them as a force for good. Read more
Launch Interview: Motivating Mums Launches their Mumpreneur Mentor Scheme
Clare Oliver, Laura Tenison and Alli Price
After mumsnet hosted live webchats last month with Gordon Brown and David Cameron, it is believed that the site can greatly improve people’s participation in politics. So it seems the Prime Minister has recognised the rising power of geek mums as they work together in communities for the greater business good, and just looking at the wealth of support coming from, and going to mums on the net, he is spot on.
Today Alli Price, Founder of Motivating Mum, launches the Motivating Mum Mentor Scheme for businessmums. Aimed to prevent the reinvention of the wheel, the scheme is amazingly cost effective and has some high-profile mentors already signed up, including Laura Tenison of JoJo Maman Bebe. Here, Alli Price talks to The NextWomen about the potential isolation when starting a business on your own, the importance of mentoring in the 21st century and how people should learn to ask for what they want.
_____________________________________________________________________
Tell us about yourself – your background and education
I have a Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management and Catering and initially worked in the marketing department of a 4* hotel in Melbourne, working my way up to Marketing Manager. After a few years, I returned to school to study Film and TV and then worked as a Production Manager in a Production Office, also in Melbourne, making TV commercials, corporate videos and pilots.
After years of talking about wanting to travel, I finally left in 1998 aged 28 for a trip to Sweden to edit a film for a friend. The film didn’t work out but the backpacking bug had well and truly bitten and five years later I had been to much of Western Europe, America, India, Nepal, Fiji, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Slovenia and Poland. Although I had worked a lot in the corporate sector, I realised that I was only truly fulfilled when helping people so trained to be a life coach. I completed my training at the same time as giving birth to my daughter and launched Motivating Mum.
What is Motivating mum? When did you launch and what are your objectives for the next three years?
Initially, Motivating Mum was a coaching service for mums, whatever stage of pregnancy, launched in 2006. However, running a business from home, coupled with looking after my daughter full-time quickly revealed how lonely and isolating it can be, being a Mumpreneur. In the belief there must be other mums out there like me, I launched the Businessmums’ Networking Lunch, a chance for mums to get out of the house, network and rest assured they weren’t the only crazy ones. The first lunch attracted 45 mums!
Following three years of mixing with Businessmums, I recently relaunched my service as a website offering support and advice to Mumpreneurs. The site consists of mentoring with established businessmums, a forum, articles and features and details of events now being held across London.
My objectives for the next three years are to provide Mumpreneurs with a service tailored uniquely to them. This includes providing mentoring and events for an exceptionally good price (as mums in business traditionally don’t have a lot of disposable income), having events offered across the UK (as although online support is great, it doesn’t combat the isolation), developing the forum to a point where mums can connect, network and help each other succeed and have each and every visitor to the site or an event walk away with whatever it is they need: a connection, information, inspiration. Lastly, it is to always be accessible. My pet hate is trying to contact businesspeople and their websites offer plenty for you to buy, but no details for contact.
What is your business model and how do you differ from your competitors?
My business model is to help Mumpreneurs. Everything I have done to date has been a case of trying to help fill a need or offer a service and I have had success with this approach as a result. I feel I differ from my competitors in that I always try to maintain approachability no matter how busy I get, I don’t charge membership fees for my services and I encourage face-to-face meetings in addition to online connections. I like to feel that my site is set up to offer support and advice, first and foremost, not to simply make as much money from people while I sleep.
What were your start-up costs and how were they funded?
My start-up costs were minimal as I only needed a website and business cards. The re-launch of my site and other investments have all been funded through money raised by the business. I am lucky in that the most expensive thing required of me for the success of my business was my time.
You are about to launch your Motivating Mum mentor scheme for businessmums and already have some great names onboard like Laura Tenison of JoJo Maman Bebe. How important do think mentoring is in the 21st century and how have you secured your mentors? Read more
BOOK NOW!
AWARDS
