SHOWREEL
TESTIMONIALS
Susan Benjamin:
This is an excellent programme for startups who face so many challenges and limited budgets
Matt Robinson:
Excellent Day, Interesting Anecdotes, Energetic Delivery
John Hynes:
It’s nice to hear from a man who has done the walk and is able to talk the talk
Clare Brynley-Jones:
Great day – great setting, really interesting and reassuring
Ross Wallin, Pitcher and Piano:
Great Venue, charismatic presenter and good time slots
Phillip Gibbs, Synergy Linx Ltd:
Doug Richard is great, open and has a great sense of humour. Phil Wilkinson was a very valuable addition
Vanessa Knight, 100 Percent Art:
Brilliant, loved the interactive approach with audience to give real on-the-spot examples
Joanna Anthony:
A positive day which I can highly recommend to others
Exhibitors
UnLtd – HEFCE
Dare to Be Different
The HE Social Entrepreneurship Awards Programme, from UnLtd and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) provides individuals with financial and non-financial support across Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) in England to develop their expertise, skills, knowledge base and business support structures in social entrepreneurship and social enterprise activity. The scheme will provide staff and students with support and funding for enterprising new ventures.
The Awards cover two categories: ‘Catalyst Awards’ of up to £5,000 will allow individuals to grow an entrepreneurial idea that also creates positive social change, while ‘Development Awards’ of up to £15,000 will be available to those with exceptional projects with the potential of developing to scale or becoming investment-ready.
To apply or for more information, visit www.SE-Awards.org.uk
National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE)
The National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE) empowers, connects and represents university enterprise societies and student entrepreneurs to stimulate university enterprise. Since its launch in May 2009, NACUE already engages over 50 university enterprise societies across the UK, representing in excess of 25,000 entrepreneurial students.
NACUE aims to:
* support the sustainable development of university enterprise societies and student ventures;
* inspire, educate and train university enterprise society leaders and student entrepreneurs;
* connect university enterprise leaders and student entrepreneurs online and in person; and,
* advocate for the increased support of student-led enterprise initiatives at individual universities and at a national level.
By opening communication channels, facilitating the development of new societies, providing cutting-edge national programming and supporting enterprising students and early-stage start-ups engaged with university enterprise societies, NACUE fosters an enabling entrepreneurial ecosystem to stimulate the growth university entrepreneurship.
Flyingstart
Whether it’s just an idea, an international hi tech venture, a social enterprise or a small consultancy FlyingStart is geared up to support graduates, up to five years out, realise their ambitions and support new businesses. This journey embarks with being an online member and then achieved through the following flyingstart framework.
Royal Institution of Great Britain
The Royal Institution is the leading science based community delivering balanced, relevant understanding of science and technology and its impact on our rapidly changing world. As an independent charity, it is dedicated to increasing knowledge, excitement and involvement in science and technology for current and future generations.
For over 200 years, at the headquarters on Albemarle St, the Ri has been at the forefront of science research, innovation and communication. The Ri is where scientists such Humphrey Davy, Michael Faraday, James Dewar, William and Lawrence Bragg and George Porter discovered 10 chemical elements, won 14 Nobel Prizes and made world-changing discoveries such as the laws of electromagnetism and the foundations of molecular biology. Today, the Ri continues this cutting edge research in the first ever laboratories in London.
Red Ochre
Red Ochre works closely with individuals and organisations to assist them with challenges they face with change, funding, finance, management, governance and service delivery. Since its inception it has assisted over 500 individuals and organisations and in excess of 10,000 people have attended its workshops, seminars and conferences across the UK. Red ochre is also creating an online social enterprise business planning toolkit for Business Link in London.
Enterprise Nation
Enterprise Nation [www.enterprisenation.com] is the home business website. Over 100,000 people visit the site each month to read content, watch the home business show, and meet peers in the forum. As well as the site, Enterprise Nation hosts the Home Business Awards and produces the annual Home Business Report. This year’s Award winners were announced on Home Enterprise Day, held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Visit www.enterprisenation.com and register for the free fortnightly e-news.
Social Enterprise London
Founded in 1998, Social Enterprise London is an agent for change, run by social enterprises, for social enterprises. It works to unite, inspire and lead London’s social enterprise movement.
- It unites through the London Social Enterprise Network, the largest social enterprise network of its kind in the UK.
- It inspires through a dynamic, multi-layered programme of business support, policy and research, training and consultancy.
- And it leads by demonstrating to buyers, policy makers, media and the general public that social enterprise is the future of business.
SEL has been responsible for many of the most significant developments in the social enterprise movement, including:
- Being the first social enterprise support agency established in the UK.
- Producing the Social Enterprise Journal, the only academic journal solely devoted to social enterprise in the UK.
- Developing and delivering Understanding Social Enterprise, recognised as one of the most innovative and comprehensive introductory courses to social enterprise in the world.
- Running the London Social Enterprise Network, the largest network of its kind in the UK.
- Managing the launch of the Community Interest Company, the first new business legal structure to launch in the UK for more than 100 years.
Working in partnership with Business Link in London, London Councils, the London Development Agency, the Government Office for London, the Department of Health, the Office of the Third Sector and the Mayor of London, SEL works to capitalise on its past successes and to create many more.
At SEL we know that London’s future prosperity has social enterprise at its heart, if you share that vision then get involved.
The Funding Partnership
The Funding Partnership specialises in sourcing funding for outstanding entrepreneurs from our extensive network of angels and VCs.
Our approach is unique. We engage our community of experts, drawn from world-class firms, to rally around promising new businesses in order to accelerate their funding potential. We then support the start-up’s journey through every stage of their growth.
The Funding Partnership understands that new businesses and investors have different needs, and we tailor our services to meet these requirements:
Investors – We ensure that all propositions are relevant, exciting and have the support of an array of industry experts, saving you time and increasing the ROI potential.
Entrepreneurs – We provide strategic advice and valuable contacts in order to secure funding quickly.
Sector focus: Technology, Media and Social Enterprise.
UnLtd
UnLtd holds a £100 million endowment to invest in UK social entrepreneurs. Established in 2002 by 7 leading not for profit organisations, UnLtd’s mission is to reach out and unleash the energies of people who can transform the world in which they live. UnLtd provides individuals and informal groups with cash awards and practical support that includes coaching, training and networking opportunities to help them develop community projects. UnLtd has the biggest network of social entrepreneurs in the world and has invested approx £40 million of financial and non financial support in some 16,000 individuals, impacting on many thousands more.
Venture Navigator
VentureNavigator is an online business support service that seeks to improve the success rate of businesses.
The easy to use service already has thousands of users including growing companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs. By signing up you receive impartial assessments, tailored feedback and advice on key business issues.
Originally the result of a collaborative project led by the University of Essex, VentureNavigator helps you take a strategic look at your business plan, your strengths, weaknesses and what you should do next. Available 24 hours a day, you won’t have to leave your desk or your day job to find out whether your idea is based on a winning concept!
Former BBC Dragon’s Den and founder of School For Startups Doug Richard says: “This is an invaluable service because it doesn’t focus on a simple or narrow interpretation of what a business needs to succeed. It’s able to examine and assist with a broad range of requirements including, financial, cultural and administrative factors, all of which a business needs to develop, grow and ultimately thrive.”
VentureNavigator’s easy to use online assessments cover a range of sectors and issues, including General Business Viability, Investment Readiness and Management Skills. Once you’ve completed an assessment, VentureNavigator recommends carefully chosen resources including articles and media clips that provide guidance on topics specific to your business, saving you the hassle of sifting through masses of printed and online materials.
The popular ‘Community’ area enables members to post questions relating to their own businesses and get advice from the other members who include directors, investors, lawyers, accountants, marketing specialists and entrepreneurs of all types. This combined pool of expertise means a question will receive answers from a diverse and multi-faceted group of business people.
www.venturenavigator.co.uk
Knomo
“knomo produce luxury work bags, laptop sleeves and tech and travel accessories; and are stocked internationally in Harrods, Selfridges, Nordstroms and Apple, to name a few. Designed by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, a knomo is more than just a bag. Including a padded pouch for your laptop (with shockproof protection), compartments internally & externally for your keys, phone, travel documents etc, and a unique tracker ID to help reunite you with your bag should you misplace it, a knomo is stylish and practical.
Ranging from executive bags to lightweight, canvas styles, there is a knomo bag to suit every wardrobe taste. Worn by celebrities including Samuel L Jackson, Richard Branson, and our very own Doug Richard, a knomo bag helps you manage your day by keeping everything just where you need it. knomo also produce iPod/iPhone covers, wallets and carry-on luggage. Check out our men’s and women’s ranges at www.knomo.com.”
Clearly So
ClearlySo answers the practical needs of social businesses and enterprises. We introduce them to investors, product & service vendors – and each other. We are:
- A visibility platform: Helping social businesses and enterprises raise their profile among peers, potential investors, the public and government
- A marketplace: Enabling social businesses and enterprises to trade with each other & access investment capital
- An information centre for anyone who is or wants to get involved in the social business and investment sector, helping them acquire and share expertise
- A meeting place giving social businesses and enterprises exposure to each other, key product and service providers and socially-minded investors
ClearlySo grew out of Catalyst Fund Management & Research (Catalyst), a venture capital, advisory and research firm with 10 years’ experience of writing about, understanding, advising and investing in social businesses and enterprises.
Catalyst had, over the years, collected a great deal of information and knowledge it felt could be of use to social businesses and enterprises, but it was all kept internally. The original brief for ClearlySo was, therefore, to ‘do something’ with all this information, and to make it accessible to people that would find it useful. Catalyst had no business model in mind but felt, “if we built it they would come” (from the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”), and come they did.
Since its launch (under the name socialinvestments.com) in March 2008, the site and its traffic has grown hugely in size and sophistication. Since then, we have secured investment to support our activities as well as some terrific advisors. Lastly, we developed a business model based partly upon membership fees—low enough to represent excellent value for the social businesses & enterprises and the vendors who serve them, but enough to make ClearlySo sustainable.
www.clearlyso.com