Funding & Pitching Event – February 2009

ANDREA COCKERTON

Founder Mudhut

Andrea Cockerton, pitch expert

Andrea is founder of Mudhut, the Cambridge-based venture market consultancy that has worked alongside almost 300 entrepreneurs on pitching for venture funding and for business critical commercial deals.

Previously a director of the Great Eastern Investment Forum, one of the leading business angel networks in the UK, and prior to that one of the original management team behind Virtual Business Network, some of Andrea’s recent projects include recurring projects with Microsoft on the global Imagine Cup competition, pitch workshops for around 50 entrepreneurs as part of Running the Gauntlet, working closely with various fast growing SMEs in sectors including telecoms, games, biotech and the events industry on both commercial & investor pitches, working with a UK university on a pitch to Richard Branson for project funding, and helping three young entrepreneurs pitch directly to Bill Gates in Seattle.

Andrea is a frequent public speaker on the subject of investor pitches and communicating business critical information under pressure.

ANNA SOFAT

Founder and CEO Addidi Business Angels

anna sofat, founder

Anna Sofat is founder and CEO of Addidi,  a financial advisory firm with a women-only clientele for lifestyle, financial and wealth management needs.  She launched  Addidi Business Angels at the end of September 2008. Its a group of 100 women who will invest an amount of 1 million pounds per annum in start-up ventures. The Online Cultural Marketplace Mesh is their first investment. Kay Vasey, Director of Mesh said “the angels have been incredibly helpful, well-organised and understanding”.

JUDY GIBBONS

Partner, VC Accel Partners, CEO Mippin

Judy Gibbons, CEO Mippin

Judy Gibbons has been in the internet and technology sector since the early days of online. She worked for big companies such as HP, Apple and Microsoft, launching the latter’s MSN business in the UK, something she calls ‘ highly entrepreneurial’.  She then went on the become MSN Corporate VP in charge of all 40 of MSN’s global businesses and US sales & Marketing. Two years ago, realising that she wanted to do something with new technology in the consumer internet sector, she got involved as a VC with Venture Capital Firm Accel, investing in technology businesses. At the moment, she is CEO of one of Accel’s ‘high hopes’ Mippin

SHÁÁ WASMUND

CEO Smarta.com

Sháá Wasmund, CEO

Sháá’s entrepreneurial career had an unusual start. Having won a competition to write for Cosmopolitan magazine, she interviewed World Champion Boxer, Chris Eubank but ended up being offered a job promoting his next fight by the end of the interview. A series of entrepreneurial ventures followed: in 1994, she set up her first business, a PR and Marketing company, in late 99 she was one of the founding directors of travel company deckchair.com and then in 2000, she raised substantial funds to launch mykindaplace.com.  Now CEO of Bright Station Ventures, an investment company with $100 million of capital dedicated to investing in information technology companies, it can be said that “Sháá is an intrinsic part of the new wave of UK Entrepreneurs.”

Bill Morrow

CEO of Angelsden

Bill Morrow, CEO

Angels Den offers links those who are trying to obtain business funding and small business finance – and those private investors (the business angels) looking for exciting business ideas to invest in. Angels Den was set up by Bill Morrow and Lois Cook after Bill himself had trouble securing funding and wasted almost £15k on traditional angel networks co-founders. Bill Morrow is the “token male”, in an otherwise female company. Bill’s background is in City banking and funding, and is a firm believer that there is plenty of funding around for really good business ideas. Bill has a Business Degree and started life as an accountant with Virgin.

Emmet Kilduff

CEO of CMYPitch

Emmett Kilduff

cmypitch.com is a social network for small business, connecting entrepreneurs with investors and service providers.The video-based website has five distinct business communities for anyone starting, running, growing or selling a business.

Emmet Kilduff spent eight years at Credit Suisse working in the Equity Capital Market and Corporate Broking teams before he resigned to launch cmypitch.

Julie Meyer

CEO of Ariadne Capital

Julie Meyer

“Mass entrepreneurship is the big idea of the 21^st century” says Julie Meyer, founder of high-profile network First Tuesday, a meeting place for entrepreneurs and investors, and founder and CEO of investment and advisory firm, Ariadne Capital. Julie would know, as an entrepreneur, advisor and investor in the internet world, she has seen many of the 20^th and 21^st century technology and digital successes up close. Julie has worked for Hewlett Packard and 3Com, later moving to Boston to work with Motorola on the Power PC project, then UK internet investment house NewMediaInvestors (now Spark Ventures) which funded lastminute.com and WGSN