32 business focus
Thames Valley Tech Week to drive next generation talent
This month sees ConnectTVT launch our second annual Thames Valley Tech Week, running November 9-13, writes Louize Clarke
As we continue to connect and champion the Thames Valley's fast- growing entrepreneurial ecosystem and digital economy, we’ll really be placing the importance of developing next generation digital skills at the centre of the week’s event.
Through Thames Valley Tech Week, we’re looking to build on the success of last year’s programme and the Festival of Digital Disruption earlier this year. Indeed it was last year’s Tech Week which planted the seed for the wider ConnectTVT platform so it’s a real celebration for the team here.
For 2015, we’re extending to new locations across the Thames Valley including Newbury and Slough. Our “When Green Meets Grey” sessions will bring together 200 students and 80 mentors for its Internet of Things Challenge days. Students from across the region will work with mentors from regional businesses to collaborate and generate new ideas around the Internet of Things (IoT) and its potential to benefit citizens in our towns and cities. The challenge focuses on environmental improvements, economic opportunities, and enhanced delivery of services such as transport, healthcare and energy, with winning teams awarded prizes and attending the grand finale.
We are delighted to be teaming up with some of the most exciting, fast- growing tech brands out there too. The week will see leaders from some global category-leaders speaking at events set to inspire the Thames Valley’s technology and digital community:
• Technology Working for Wildlife – teaming up with the League Against Cruel Sports, ConnectTVT is running a challenge to solve the issues holding back technology from preventing the massacre of big game. Winning teams will go on to develop a working
www.businessmag.co.uk
Finding financial support
No one could have predicted the impact on business that resulted from the banking crisis of 2008 and the recession that followed. In the midst of this, my company
Rotolight.com was launched and after two years exceptional growth, unable to get support from the bank, we had to sort out private investment, writes Helen Gammons, programme director investment readiness and financial director
prototype via a crowdfunding project, creating as many devices as possible to pilot in the wild.
• The energetic UK team from GitHub, the rapidly growing collaborative software development company, will be leading a friendly Q&A session to discuss its journey to building a community of over 11 million developers, contributing to more than 28 million projects.
• The launch of the first Thames Valley DevOps Group, will have the inspiring Scott Russell, DevOps Evangelist from Chef, the IT automation brand.
Our aim is to bring together brands that have really shaken up the industry by being innovative and bold in how they use technology and share their story with the tech community, right here in the Thames Valley. My hope is that other tech businesses will learn and be inspired by these, encouraging growth in our local digital economy.
I completely believe that talent is at the heart of this, which is why we’re putting next generation skills at the very centre of the week. We want to tap into and nurture that talent and potential in the Thames Valley’s next generation, and with our partners, shape those pathways to innovation, opportunity and entrepreneurial success.
Details: Louize Clarke
louize@connecttvt.co.uk @connectTVT www.facebook/connectTVT
‘The route we took, which was highly successful, was to seek out quality business angels. We didn’t just want the money but we wanted to draw knowledge from successful business people. We discovered that most angels don’t want to be involved day to day, but that they do need and demand an ongoing high level of quality management communications covering all key aspects of the business.
As we started developing our ‘investment’ strategy we discovered that the path was littered with significant failures. To put this into perspective out of 98,000 companies seeking angel investment in (BIS 2012) only around 2.5 % would succeed, with most falling at the first hurdle (Mason et al, 2013)
From research carried out on this area by our MD during his MBA at Henley, we developed four recommendations for government on SME funding. The need to:
1 Develop and support an online knowledge hub for best practice
2 Develop a network of ‘trusted’ third party advisers – who have had active engagement in the full process
3 Create and fund a national angel investment mentoring scheme from previously successful business angels
4 Develop a well-rounded investment curriculum far beyond just the preparation of a business plan or a shallow pitch.
Our company is doing very well, a high-growth multi- award-winning family business launched in 2010 and valued now
Helen Gammon, financial director,
Rotolight.com and programme director, Investment Readiness at Henley
in 2015 at £4.5 million. This year alone will see growth close to 80%. Our relationships with our business angel investors has been key to our success. From 2011 to the present day no bank wanted to lend to a high-growth, R&D- led, tech-based family business. On every key descriptor we were/ are considered a red flag to risk analysts.
Money is available from business angels, but it is important to understand that as well as all the facts, most want an intrinsic reason for investing. So focusing your energies initially in finding the right investor is an important element
To read a more detailed account of this investment funding journey visit
www.henley.ac.uk/ investment. Gammon has used this experience to develop the Investment Readiness programme.
Details: Diana Richards 01491-418767
exec@henley.ac.uk
Follow us on twitter: @HenleyExecEd
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – NOVEMBER 2015
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