Philip’s blog

These are quotes from the conference.

Part 1

Intel business plan was one page

Silicon Valley business plans are 20 slides, light on text

VCs want proven traction - only three deals each year

Concentrate on getting the team together

Drive interest, drive learning, enter business plan competitions

Detailed business plans for ideas with high product liability

With the Internet, do not pay for distribution - use facebook

Layer in revenue to cover costs so you do not need to go to investors

Raise money to get scale

You are walking dead and try to get a life!

Starting is like jumping off a cliff whilst assembling the aircraft

Hardest decision - “Is it good enough?”

Think customers, customers, customers

Internet - speed of motion

From the BBC site:

This article includes this great quote which so applies to the companies the Cambridge Cluster:

“Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.”

Bill Gates: The skills you need to succeed

By Bill Gates
Chairman, Microsoft

One of the most important changes of the last 30 years is that digital technology has transformed almost everyone into an information worker.

A lot of people assume that creating software is purely a solitary activity. This isn’t true at all.

In almost every job now, people use software and work with information to enable their organisation to operate more effectively.

That’s true for everyone from the retail store worker who uses a handheld scanner to track inventory to the chief executive who uses business intelligence software to analyse critical market trends.

So if you look at how progress is made and where competitive advantage is created, there’s no doubt that the ability to use software tools effectively is critical to succeeding in today’s global knowledge economy.

A solid working knowledge of productivity software and other IT tools has become a basic foundation for success in virtually any career.

Beyond that, however, I don’t think you can overemphasise the importance of having a good background in maths and science.

If you look at the most interesting things that have emerged in the last decade - whether it is cool things like portable music devices and video games or more practical things like smart phones and medical technology - they all come from the realm of science and engineering.

The power of software

Today and in the future, many of the jobs with the greatest impact will be related to software, whether it is developing software working for a company like Microsoft or helping other organisations use information technology tools to be successful.

Lifelong learning is vital

Communication skills and the ability to work well with different types of people are very important too.

A lot of people assume that creating software is purely a solitary activity where you sit in an office with the door closed all day and write lots of code.

This isn’t true at all.

Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.

I also place a high value on having a passion for ongoing learning. When I was pretty young, I picked up the habit of reading lots of books.

It’s great to read widely about a broad range of subjects. Of course today, it’s far easier to go online and find information about any topic that interests you.

Having that kind of curiosity about the world helps anyone succeed, no matter what kind of work they decide to pursue.

Bill Gates is chairman, chief software architect and one of the founders of Microsoft, the world’s largest software company. From July 2008 he will end his day-to-day involvement in the company and focus on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and its global health and education work.

Lancaster University

JOB DESCRIPTION

A958

Job Title: NESTA Project Research Associate

Present Grade: 6

Department/College: Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (IEED)

Directly responsible to: Dr Frank Cave, Principal Investigator, “Understanding UK early-stage finance using Equity Fingerprint Methodology”, Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development

Contacts:

Internal: Project collaborators, Dr Frank Cave and colleagues within the Institute and the Management School; students; colleagues in other faculties; central administration; ISS; library.

External: Professor William Fitzgerald and research staff of Cambridge University Engineering Department, Mr Philip Baddeley of Equity Fingerprint, staff of NESTA in particular Albert Bravo-Biosca.

Purpose of job:

To conduct research on the Understanding UK early-stage finance using Equity Fingerprint Methodology in accordance with the contract

Major Duties:

· To coordinate and undertake research on the project : Understanding UK early-stage finance using Equity Fingerprint Methodology

· To liaise with academic partners and colleagues within the University and externally, particularly with Cambridge University’s Engineering Department (CUED) and NESTA

· To carry out specific tasks within the project plan, including:

· Discuss with NESTA staff and consultant acceptable definitions of success and failure.

· Establish sectors and geography of specific interest and coordinating access to additional company lists.

· Resolve anomalies in the current method and define methods/procedures to be used.

· Build a database of target companies

· Construct Equity Fingerprint frameworks for each company

· Perform visual analysis of Equity Fingerprint frameworks with the consultant

· Work with CUED on analysis and interpretation of the Equity Fingerprint framework

· On completion of analysis compile findings and produce report

· Deliver Equity Fingerprint tool to NESTA

Other

· Attend project meetings at the University and at CUED or NESTA as appropriate

· Publish top-quality academic articles and contribute to books and other publications arising from the project for academic and wider policy/business audiences;

· Attend and present papers at academic conferences and policy events;

· Any other duties, appropriate to the grade, as allocated by the Principal Investigator.

Person Specification

NESTA Project Research Associate

Specific Skills, Experience, Knowledge

Tested by:

University research experience and experience of carrying out field-work.

Essential

Application Form

Experience of organising and analysing research data;

Essential

Application Form

Experience of using quantitative analytical tools.

Desirable

Application form/interview

Knowledge and research experience in one or more of the following fields: entrepreneurship, management, innovation policy, entrepreneurial venture finance.

Essential

Application form/interview

Research and publications abilities and developing track-record, including clear plans for future development

Essential

Application form/interview

Postgraduate teaching experience in relevant field

Desirable

Application/CV/Interview

Commitment to public policy and user-engagement of research

Essential

Application/ Interview

Personal Qualities

Tested by:

Excellent written and oral communications and interpersonal skills

Essential

Application/CV/Interview/Refs

Experience of working collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary research team

Desirable

Application form/Interview

Ability to develop links with external organisations in the public, private sectors

Essential

Application form/Interview

Qualifications

Tested by:

Doctorate, or equivalent, in management or innovation

Essential

CV

Capacity for Career Development

Tested by:

An interest in developing an academic career as a management scholar and teacher

Essential

Interview

I have read the article in the Daily Telegraph about the Lazy House Husband.  It seems more or a frustrated rant of a man at home than a joy of being with the family all day.  It is strange.

No sign of the business creation team at CUTEC for all the talk of business ideas coming out of the University.  Disappointing that neither of the two investments which the team (ten people?) made in the last report filed were not high-lighted.  Perhaps next year we will see the fruits of all their hard work! 

Mind you, they do not stand much chance when the likes of Kleiner Perkins hop over from the USA and sign companies up in the labs.

Sometimes you go to conferences and it is so dull.  At CUTEC the organisers had done the hard work and put together some great panels.  “Funding and Early-Stage Innovations” had:

- Anne Glover, Amadeus, better know as Herman Hauser’s VC company

- Saul Klein, Index Ventures, just out of Skype and last.fm

- Robert Sansom, Cambridge Angels

- Laurence Garrett, partner of 3i

- Alain-Gabriel Courtines, Intel Capital

- Christopher Spray, Atlas Ventures, who bought modern VCs to the UK.

All brilliant.  Saul so modest but showed his mettle when taken to task by Geoff Jones.  Geoff was very impressed.  Index Ventures should run CUTEC next year!!  Saul said web1.0 was very USA based whereas web2.0 is about a global comunity.

Laurence Garrett asked why would anyone with any sense want to be an entrepreneur!  Great entrepreneurs need great VCs to turn down big offers on the road to stardom as with CSR.

Prior to 2002, the Cambridge Cluster was powered by one angel, Herman Hauser.  He is now joined by Cambridge Angels which has invested £10million in 24 businesses.  Let us hope that they have a big pay-day soon to keep re-cycling the funds.

Robert Sansom is the chair and founder of Cambridge Angels.  He built up and sold FORE Systems for $4billion. 

Pearls from Robert:

- King’s Cross will be the next big cluster in the UK; lots of offices and rail links

- angels invest in groups to make sure the pockets rules the heart!

- never easy to raise money, make the entrepreneur work!

 Five types of business:

- no investment, service, financed by customers

- angels only as no huge exit

- angels and VC if big uplift in value after angel round

- only VCs like chip companies as angels will always lose out

- those that should never be started; “It will never work!”

All summed up in Dill’s brilliant illustration, the Journey Planner.  The last ones are digging the hole in the ground!

Great CUTEC event in Cambridge with inspirational talks from Seth Sternberg of Meebo and Martin Varsakvsky of FON. 

Meebo is Seth and his team’s third attempt at a web2.0 site.  They started up whilst working for others and taking great care not to use any of their employees time and resources.  Then a small angel round with three people, lots of traction and then the $3millin VC round.  Now they are in the big time.

Martin just gives an inspirational talk - is YouTube still only in English?  So many leassons learnt.  Wish you had been there?

Here is our top “Hat Tip” at reboot 2007 in Copenhagen.  Hope to meet Geofones soon to catch up on all the latest news and views.

Grant  sent me some great pictures of the Northern Lights - a trip of a lifetime for a very special person.