Ready Steady Grow! 2019 is the best opportunity for entrepreneurs, investors and business advisers to meet and share knowledge on all the exciting funding options and growth financing for start ups and SMEs. We are now delighted to announce our new event partners, Seedrs
Here at the TechHub, 1-15 Clere Street, London EC2A 4UY we are bringing together small businesses, investors, funders, entrepreneurs and business advisers – all in one place to hear expert opinion from SME industry experts.
Speakers:
Roderick Beer, UK Business Angels Association
Roderick’s career spans over 15 years of managing, founding and growing angel groups and investment platforms that have collectively deployed over £100m of equity investment in more than 500 startup and scaleup businesses. He started his career at Beer & Partners, one of the first and largest angel groups in the UK, and later helped form and grow a corporate finance firm as their COO. He is now the Managing Director of the UK Business Angels Association, the trade body for angel and early-stage investing, representing over 200 organisations and 18,000 investors around the UK.
Nick Hawkins, Grant Thornton
Nick works in Grant Thornton’s national Growth Finance business, providing a range of support services to businesses seeking up to £10m in external finance and representing the firm in the early-stage investment community. Nick has worked on a number of EIS and has worked with companies all through the process, and has recent experience helping companies navigate the risk to capital rules and in issues arising in valuation with EIS funders.
Emma Fadlon, The Knowledge Transfer Network
As a member of the Access to Finance and Funding team, Emma supports KTN’s early stage investment activities, including investment readiness and pitch training programmes. She helps companies to evaluate their business, commercial and to-market plans and links them into the relevant support, funding and investment networks. With a PhD in tumour immunology, Emma’s background encompasses a range of health applications, including vaccines, medical devices, and mental health programmes. Prior to joining KTN, she was Head of Business Development at The Pirbright Institute.
Henry Whorwood, Beauhurst
Henry leads Beauhurst’s Research & Consultancy team. He is an expert on business finance and has worked on briefs for clients including the British Business Bank, Penningtons Manches, Syndicate Room, and Innovate UK. Henry regularly gives presentations on market trends at events around the country. He studied Classics at the University of Oxford
Pitching their BIG IDEA:
Charlotte McMillan, Storychest
Charlotte is the founder of Storychest Limited, an early stage consumer tech business offering a solution to families for saving and privately sharing memories. The Storychest iPhone app launched in December 2017 and is in the early stages of growth. In this role, Charlotte has created a consumer proposition with privacy as its core. Prior to starting Storychest, Charlotte had a 15+ year career as a lawyer and held senior legal positions in the communications and media sectors, including at Channel Four and Virgin Media.
Judges:
Lisa Boden Shah, Edition Capital
Lisa is a Partner at Edition Capital, an investment house that specialises in leisure and entertainment. At Edition, Lisa is responsible for sourcing new investment opportunities and deal execution. Prior to Edition, Lisa worked as an Investment Manager at a specialist investment house where she led investments in live entertainment, comedy and leisure, and at global accountancy firm Mazars where she worked in corporate finance and assurance. She is a fully qualified Chartered Accountant and is a member of the Edition Investment Committee.
Hugo De Stacpoole, Seedrs
Hugo de Stacpoole is responsible for the initial contact with businesses interested in using the Seedrs platform. He is always on the lookout for innovative and disruptive startups that are a good fit and suitable for equity crowdfunding. Having successfully founded a business before, he has first-hand experience of the rigors and challenges of successfully fundraising and he uses these skills to help entrepreneurs navigate the fundraising landscape.
Ian Merricks, White Horse Capital
Ian Merricks built and sold media and digital businesses between 1996 and 2007, before moving into early stage investment (from seed to Series B). He is a founding partner of White Horse Capital, which provides capital, advisory services and M&A support for high growth tech companies, helping clients to raise £300m+ so far. He also now proudly chairs The Accelerator Network which runs a variety of accelerator programmes usually with government and corporates, which have supported 1,000+ startups & scaleups, predominantly raising equity under S/EIS. As a result Ian was named in the Top 100 most influential Global tech accelerator leaders. Ian remains an active investor with a broad portfolio of early stage tech investments. He is a member of the advisory board of the UK Business Angel Association, as well as a General Partner of the British Venture Capital Association and a founding shareholder of the Startup Funding Club £10M SEIS fund.
Prashant Shah, o2h Ventures
Prashant is also the co-founder of o2h which has three core business segments covering ventures, discovery and technology. The team at o2h is curious about seeding new ideas at the intersection of life science and technology. o2h is located out of two proprietary research centres in the UK and India which have been purpose designed for seeding early stage innovation. Prashant has previously co-founded companies in the life science and technology sectors and began his career with the Strategy group of Accenture in London where he worked across various industry groups. Prashant has a BEng, MSc and an MPhil in Management from the University of Cambridge.
Through practical seminars, Q&As, panel discussions and networking, we review a wide range of funding options, including the government-backed Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
We will also explore:
- Funding challenges facing small businesses
- How to make yourself ‘Investor Ready’
- How funding options such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme, Venture Debt, R&D tax credits and government funding can support you
- How investors and advisors can gain access to exciting new companies with strong growth potential!
Other Ready Steady Grow! 2019 events are taking place in:
MANCHESTER/LIVERPOOL/EDINBURGH/BELFAST/BIRMINGHAM/ BRISTOL/LEEDS/CARDIFF
FAQs
Who should attend this event?
Entrepreneurs looking to start a business, or access funding to take your business to its next level
Investors looking to invest in the ‘Next big thing’
Professional Advisors who want to help SMEs develop and grow.
Is there the opportunity for me to pitch my ‘Big Idea’?
Yes! If you are an entrepreneur looking for investment in your big idea, you can pitch your plans to investors and business advisors at this event – with just 5 minutes to pitch to our panel, they will offer you insight and advice directly relevant to your business idea! Email us Mark Brownridge or Ceri Evans to secure your pitching spot!
Will refreshments be provided?
We will be serving pizzas, as well as beers, wine and soft drinks!
Register here