Philip’s blog

Rebecca Mears said that she helped to “hang” this exhibition but did not explain that she was one of the artists.  It is a little confusing to a geek.  By dividing a symmetrical space with doors which open onto doors which then allow you to step into the other side where you find you are in exactly the same space as the one you have just left.  It was all very confusing until the artist in residence, Emma, at the Friends School , Saffron Walden, helped me through the artistic experience.

I was left with thinking that the doors could have been called MySpace, Bebo and Facebook - what do we find when we open their doors…….  How do we help people open the door to Equity Fingerprint?

Adam Andrews is CEO of f2b.co.uk and was recommended by Dill.  They produce fantastic sites and have also met Grant Dain, better known as Dainomite.  A little bit too much Flash for me but their clients love it.  Not clients, but Dents and Knomo (I had just bought their bags from TK Maxx who also love Flash) use so much Flash that it makes the sites very slow to use - perhaps they are more interested in image; there sites are certainly very different from social sites like Bebo.

The Equity Fingeprint site needs to be revised to encourage more repeat visits, it needs direction and “calls to action”.  It needs to become “The World’s #1 for Entrepreneurs!!”.  Should it become a portal site for entrepreneurs?  These are the people to make the website happen.  But first we need some hits.

Now here is someone special.  She is so good that her clients take her with them to events.   Carissa of Bubworks helps get her clients get the message across - if you see what I mean!

In a few simple and deftly put questions, she helped me to realise how much Equity Fingerprint needed her skills to get the message simple and across; very, very impressive.

Perhaps she could help some of the panelists and their website some of which were anythng but clear in their messages or their websites.

It is a pity that she was not able to regist www.bub.com but that is held by ”Pipes for the chrome and steel heart of your motorcycle”.   I guess it is all about communication and hot air so they have something in common.

At the Ariadne event, Rene Carayol was in fine form with lots of advice for anyone hoping to go on televison - smile a lot and the people smile with you.  His response to an e-mail is to reply with a standard e-mail saying that you have been lucky enough to join his mailing list and can expect the next edition of his newsletter very soon.  It must be sad when you are too busy to reply to all the thousands of e-mails you receive every day from the people you met the day before.  Rene should carry a fancy phone with him and bluetooth the data straight into his database!

But with his smile you can go a long, long way!!  We all love him and he is inspirational - so it says on his website.  You can find the URL yourself!!!

Very honoured to be invited by  Julie Meyer, Founder and CEO of Ariadne Capital to attend the celebrations of their 6th Anniversary.  What a party with a very interesting panel of speakers incuding Lars Christianson, Founder and CEO of Saxo Bank; Alastair Lukies, Founder and CEO of Monitise; Christopher Samuelson, Founder of Mutual Trust; Christina Domecq, Founder of Spinvox; Kevin Meagher, Founder of FON; Glenda Stone, Founder and CEO of Aurora.

Aurora were welcomed as a highly profitable company -unusual in the high-tech world.  Spinvox claimed that they have raised some $35million from private investors, would they have done better with VCs?

One delegate asked for comments on his idea of building a company but retaining all the equity.  The panel responded with comments ranging from equity was like blood and to kept at all cost, to of course you have to share and ought to share.  Another application for Equity Fingerprint to be rolled out as there was little in the way of informed comment and no research.

Julie Meyer is a very special person to organise such a gathering.  The only complaint was that the finger food of Fish & Chips was not up to the standards of Chatteris but probably cost slightly more!

In Pall Mall there is a monument to Captain Scott.  The Scott Polar Research Institute is in Cambridge so Philip did not feel too far from home.

I could not find the Oxford and Cambridge Club - perhaps it has nothing as vulgar as a sign outside!  Oneday…..

Chatteris is in the Fens and is not normally associated with culinary delights.   Petrou Brothers’ in Chatteris who were crowned ‘Fish & Chip Shop of the Year.  Philip was in Chatteris recording the video for the Peter Jones Tycoon show.  On arrival at around 7:30pm, after watching the dismal English performance in the rugby and missing the “handbags” in the football match, Philip was made most welcome with a lovely smile and told that if he had arrived an hour earlier he would have been queueing out of the door.   There were two counters to pla(i)ce the order.  I never discovered the difference but a pleasand man pointed me in the right direction.  Not long to wait and it was back to the car to settle back and enjoy “the best” - already looking forward to my next visit.

It was great to see Dave Hampton back in Cambridge.  He is working in Holland and enjoying life.  We have a pleasant lunch at the Hat and Feathers on Barton Road.  Camstent is progressing as a part time operation.  I am assured that new stents will be a large growth market in this decade.  From the Camstent site, here is a good picture of the two founders, David and Gerhard Symons.

Peter Jones of Dragons Den fame is searching for a Tycoon for his ITV Show.

Peter is searching the UK for Tycoons with a Great Idea.  Hurry as the closing date is Friday 2 March which is only a week away.  Peter is a key speaker at the  Business Start Up exhibition and I hope he finds lots of future Tycoons.  Will Equity Fingerprint make the grade?

Winged Pig has created StartUpping for Internet entrepreneurs to help them get goind and it also includes great tips from those who have done it or living it right now.  Another tip from Geoff.

I like the quote about Web 2.0 businesses “Some up-and-coming revenue ideas include selling e-books, eCourses and eSeminars.”  It is looking good for Equity Fingerprint.