Enternships Blog

#KeepLordYoung: why Lord Young's resignation is bad news for entrepreneurs Posted on Friday 19 November 2010 at 14:19PM by rajeebdey

Having heard Lord Young speak at The Institute of Directors for The Pitch 2010 Grand Finals on Tuesday I have to say that I am quite disappointed to hear that his resignation has been accepted by the Prime Minister David Cameron.

Whilst I accept that the comments he made on job cuts and the recession may have caused offence and were insensitive at a time where we are facing high levels of unemployment and tough financial times, however Lord Young was quick to apologise and admit he had made a mistake. We all make mistakes.

We have to remember why Lord Young was brought into this role in the first place - to review the state of entrepreneurship in the UK. Entrepreneurship is ultimately going to be the road to recovery for our economy - future jobs and wealth will come from entrepreneurs.

Lord Young seemed like a breathe of fresh air and exactly what we, as entrepreneurs need right now. As a young entrepreneur I had my preconceptions as to what Lord Young would have to say and 'bring to the table' during his review on Entrepreneurship. However my preconceptions were quickly challenged and proven to be misconceptions after hearing about his experiences of not only running his own startup and taking it to exit, but also being  Chairman of various blue-chip organisations and also being an angel investor.

Lord Young seemed to have the broad range of skills and experience needed to do a credible and comprehensive review of entrepreneurship. Whilst some may have felt he would be 'out of touch' with the latest trends in technology and issues in business  Lord Young is a technologically savvy investor who has invested in numerous tech startups. More importantly however Lord Young seemed willing and eager to listen. He was aware that he may not know all of the issues entrepreneurs today are facing but was very clear in his desire to listen and find out what problems startups/SMEs are facing.

I was very much looking forward to finding out the outcome of Lord Young's review (due to be published in Spring 2011) and sharing my own thoughts on the state of entrepreneurship in the UK with him. It is a shame that he has had to step down, as someone with his breadth of experience both in the world of business and politics is hard to come by. I watch with interest who will be appointed to step into his shoes.

With Global Entrepreneurship Week coming to an end I see Lord Young's departure as a big blow and would urge the government to review their position and "Keep Lord Young"! #KeepLordYoung

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Guest Post: Jaime Novoa on the "Enternships Extravaganza" Posted on Thursday 18 November 2010 at 17:58PM by rajeebdey

The Enternships Extravaganza took place yesterday and here we hear the reactions from one of our delegates & guest-blogger Jaime Novoa:

Some things, sometimes, are hard to explain only with words. One of those things was being yesterday at the Enternships Extravaganza, a conference that brough together the UK’s top entrepreneurs, business journalists and entreprenurial movers-and-shakers.

What happened at this event is hard to explain if you were not there, because as soon as you stepped through the main doors of the Orrick London Office you could sense something different in the air. It is that kind of component that often surrounds entrepreneurs, and bright minds alike, that not only gets your creative side of the mind going, but also helps you understand what is needed to be successful and how to try to achieve that goal that most of us have to create something meaningful, helpful, and why not, big.

And this, of course, is also applicable to the crowd that came to see what Rajeeb Dey and his friends had to say. Because conferences like these mean a lot more if those that are there are really interested in the topics that are going to be discussed, and that was the case yesterday at the Enternships Extravaganza.

And there was plenty of time for every topic that needs to be discussed in these kinds of conferences or events. From the stories of some of the most successful, young and prolific British entrepreneurs to other aspects which usually are considered less important (when they are not).

For example having an exit strategy for your start-up or learning how to maximize the value of your company when it’s time to sell. How the media views start-ups, how they can get noticed by the press and how to know when is the right time to contact them. How TV, in this case the Dragons Den, can help (or not) your business and whether it is a good decision to be in that kind of shows and exposure.  What makes entrepreneurs keep pushing and try to create new things even after they’ve already created  successful ones, etc etc.

But entrepreneurs are not made of something different, they are like most of us. And so they make mistakes, they learn from failures and they also try to help those struggling, those who were never offered a chance to success or build up their ideas to a business. Because remember, "there's always time to come back" and no “idea is dumb enough, follow your gut feeling”.

All in all a great day with great people. I can honestly imagine most of the attendees leaving the building being inspired, their brains spinning and thinking: “If they can do it, I have to push myself too. I have to achieve my goals”

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Enternships Extravaganza: Wednesday 17th November Posted on Sunday 14 November 2010 at 13:02PM by rajeebdey

[caption id="attachment_518" align="alignleft" width="210" caption="Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010"][/caption]

We will be celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week 2010 (GEW 2010) in style this Wednesday (which also marks the 1 year anniversary since our launch party during GEW 2009).

Due to unforseen circumstances The E2 Live at the Excel (where the Enternships event was due to be held) has been postponed by the organisers to April 2011. However as they say... the show must go on.

Thanks to our friends at Orrick we will be holding our day-long Enternships Global Entrepreneurship Week event at the Orrick London offices.

Here is what we have in store:

9.30am – 10am: Registration

10am – 11am: Creative Careers Panel

We have brought together the UK’s rising stars from the Creative Industries to share their stories:

Chair: Martin Bright (Founder of New Deal of the Mind, Former Political Editor of The New Statesman)

Panellists: Jonathan Fren (Hockeystick), Samata Angel (Samata’s Muse), Shed Simove (The Talent Shed)

11.30am – 12.30pm: Tales from Dragons Den

We hear from 3 entrepreneurs who have had very different experiences of the Den both on the TV show and Dragons Den online – what impact does Dragons Den really have on entrepreneurs?

Chair: Richard Tyler (Enterprise Editor, Daily Telegraph)

Panellists: Amanda Jones (Red Button), Suleman Sacranie (99p Shopper.com), Carol Savage (MyDish)

12.30pm – 1pm: Lunch

1pm – 1.45pm: “Speed Networking” with Oli Barrett

We will hear from Oli Barrett – one of the UK’s most well known entrepreneurs and the ‘father’ of Speed Networking. He will host a Speed Networking session to give you the chance to meet each other and interact with the speakers.

1.45pm – 2.45pm: Surprise master-class with Shed Simove: “How to get away with it”

We have an entertaining session planned with the illustrious Shed Simove - all will be revealed on the day!

3pm – 4pm: Getting to Exit

We hear first-hand how our multi-millionaire panellists made their fortunes and how their got their business to ‘exit’ including Founder of Multimap.com who sold his business to Microsoft and Dan McGuire of Broadbean who sold to the Daily Mail Group.

Chair: Kamal Ahmed, (Business Editor, Sunday Telegraph)

Panellists: Dan McGuire (Broadbean Technologies), Lara Morgan (Pacific Direct), Sean Phelan (Multimap.com)

4.30pm – 5.30pm: Entrepreneurs in the Media

With so much hype in the media now about entrepreneurs this panel assesses the media’s view on start-ups and entrepreneurs as well as sharing tips with the audience on how start-ups can get noticed by the press.

Chair:  Michael Hayman (Seven Hills Group)

Panellists: Katie Prescott (BBC Business Unit), Dan Martin (Business Zone.co.uk), Lucy Tobin (Evening Standard)

6pm – 7pm: Serial Secrets: Careers in Tech & Serial Entrepreneurship

We hear about serial entrepreneurs all the time but what is the secret to their success and what gets them going? What role does technology have in entrepreneurship?

Chair: Milo Yiannopoulos (Technology Columnist, Telegraph.co.uk)

Panellists: Kieran O’Neill (Playfire), Simon Campbell (ViaPost), Sara Murray (Confused.com & Buddi)

7pm: Event officially ends

A strict guest-list is in operation and the event is at near full-capacity, however we are doing our best to accommodate as many people as possible. If you have previously purchased a ticket to Enternships @ The E2 / The E2 Live and would like to attend please email: events@enternships.com by 10pm on Monday 15th November and we will add you to our waiting list.

Otherwise you can get hold of a ticket to the Enternships.com Global Entrepreneurship Week Boat Party (in association with Kings College London Business Club, LSE Entrepreneurs, Imperial Entrepreneurs and UCL Entrepreneurs) which kicks off at 9pm on HMS President. Only a limited number of tickets still available so to avoid disappointment get yours today!

We look forward to seeing you on the 17th!

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