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East of England finalists to go head-to-head for running the Gauntlet Investment funding
Monday, October 31, 2005
Ten companies from across the East of England are through to the final of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) running the gauntlet business competition – giving them the chance of securing a share of £1m in investment funding and £200,000 of in-kind business services.
The successful companies were selected by the judges in this innovative competition, which offers entrepreneurs in the region exclusive free access to The Gauntlet – the new web-based tool which tests investment readiness. The companies will now go head-to-head to secure a share of £1m funding from leading East of England investor CREATE plus business services from sponsors BSG Team Ventures, Enterprise Accelerator, Grant Thornton and Taylor Vinters.
The ten finalists were selected on 31 October by a judging panel chaired by TV Dragons’ Den judge Doug Richard, Chairman of Library House and Boyd Mulvey, CEO of CREATE. All ten will pitch to the judges at EEDA’s Destination Growth conference on 17 November 2005, and a number of companies will be invited to negotiate equity deals live on stage with Boyd Mulvey – a tense climax to the day.
The running the gauntlet competition was launched in May 2005 and attracted over 400 registrations. From the 240 entrants who successfully completed The Gauntlet, a short list of 50 companies was drawn up and announced in September. All 50 were assessed on their Gauntlet report card, business plan and executive summary before the judges selected the ten to go through to the final
Boyd Mulvey, CEO of CREATE says: “The final pitch day will be the real ‘make or break’ test for the ten finalists. The running the gauntlet competition has given them invaluable feedback, insight and advice from experts to help them refine their business propositions and we expect to see some impressive proposals on the day. Our aim has been to identify companies whose innovative business concepts really make them stand out. Many of the companies that entered have interesting propositions but the finalists all have the potential to be serious commercial successes and therefore sound investments for CREATE. Selecting the most suitable investments for CREATE will be a tough choice.”
Doug Richard, Chairman of Library House and a judge in BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den, adds: “The running the gauntlet competition has been highly effective in helping us to demonstrate The Gauntlet’s ability to educate entrepreneurs and prepare them for approaching investors. Feedback has been extremely positive with many entrepreneurs feeling better equipped to pitch their business for investment funding. The final pitches on 17 November will be highly competitive and I look forward to seeing the outcome.”
Richard Ellis, Chairman of EEDA, concludes: “Running the gauntlet is an exciting ‘first’ for the East of England – indeed for the UK. The quality of business propositions in the final ten is a good indication of the strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas for which the region is known. However, it is clear from feedback that entrants at all stages of the competition have benefited. The combination of The Gauntlet, free business advice from Gateway2Innovate and master classes delivered by sponsors Enterprise Accelerator, Grant Thornton and Taylor Vinters has ensured learning benefits from the start.
“I hope that many of the entrants will now make more informed approaches to potential investors with a greater chance of success; we look forward to watching these companies grow and prosper in years to come.”
For more information about the competition and the finalists go to:www.runningthegauntlet.com
-ends-
For further information or to arrange interviews with the finalists contact:
Emily Luscombe / Paul Stelmaszczyk (Camargue) on 020 7636 7366
Notes to Editors
- running the gauntlet competition finalists are:
AMRIVOX
B-ENTERPRISE
CAPTIMAX
OASLM
ODDY MOBSTAR
ORTHOMIMETICS
SHORT FUZE
SILICON INFUSION
VIDANTI
YESPAY - The competition judges are:
Boyd Mulvey CREATE
Doug Richards Library House
Catherine Beech Cambridge Gateway Forum
Chris Smart IDG Ventures
George Kieffer EEDA
Matteus Pieterse CREATE
Max Bautin GEIF Ventures
Sandy McKinnon Pentech Ventures
Struan McDougall Cambridge Capital Group
Simon Haworth Team Ventures
Stephen Bence Angle Technology
John Short Taylor Vinters - In-kind business services have been provided by BSG Team Ventures, Enterprise Accelerator, Grant Thornton and Taylor Vinters as follows:
- International headhunter BSG Team Ventures will advise winning entrants on enhancing value through recruitment of a top team, and will support the most deserving winner with free recruitment services worth £30-50,000.
- Enterprise Accelerator delivered a master-class on presentation and communication skills for all 50 short listed companies. They will also give finalists one-to-one consultancy prior to their pitch to the ‘running the gauntlet’ judging panel of investors.
- Grant Thornton have offered a business and financial master-class, and solicitors Taylor Vinters a legal master class, to all short listed entrants, looking at the issues commonly faced by early stage start-ups. Both sponsors will also each provide £50,000-worth of in-kind advice to be shared between up to five finalists.
- The Gauntlet has been developed by Library House and the London School of Economics in consultation with a broad panel of investors and venture capitalists. It gives users practical feedback on the potential of their ideas, and highlights elements of their business proposition that they need to work on, making it an integral part of the business development process prior to that critical first meeting with an investor.
The Gauntlet asks 16 questions across four themes: Innovation, Team, Market and Investment. Every entrant completing The Gauntlet receives a personal, confidential report assessing his or her investment-readiness, with further feedback to support the assessment. Entrants are also offered business support from Gateway2Innovate, who will review their report and advice on where to find the help they need. Gateway2Innovate is a free service designed to help businesses in the East of England make the most of their new ideas by giving them access to expert advice from the region’s top business and academic brains. - The CREATE East of England Fund is a private fund managed by Create Partners Ltd (CREATE). The CREATE East of England Fund specialises in making investments in new or existing small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) that can demonstrate significant growth potential and are either based, or conduct a significant part of their business, in the East of England. CREATE is actively seeking smaller sized businesses with high growth potential across the whole range of investment stages including start-up, early stage, development/ expansion and MBO/ MBI. The Fund will provide venture capital investments, of up to an initial £250,000 with follow-on investment of up to a further £250,000 available. Once invested in a business, the Fund is capable of investing further to avoid dilution up to a maximum of £2million in any one company. CREATE is regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For further information: CREATE: Tel 01223 202 876 www.createpartners.com
- The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind economic development in the six counties of the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The vision for the East of England is to create a leading economy, founded on a world class knowledge base, creativity and enterprise to improve the quality of life for all who live and work here. For further information visit www.eeda.org.uk
- Library House is a supplier of data and research on innovation based companies. Library House discovers, measures, and monitors innovation companies as they progress through their lifecycle from initial investment to preparation for purchase, partnering or public offering. Since its founding in 2002, Library House has provided investors, corporations, universities and government the most complete view and direct access to the innovation companies in the U.K. and Europe through its database, reports, events and analysis. Www.libraryhouse.net
Library House: Tel 01223 500550 - SPONSORS
- BSG Team Ventures is an international search firm with offices in Cambridge UK and Boston MA operating primarily in Cambridge, London, Boston and New York. The company builds senior teams for tech and biotech companies that seek to grow, and for venture capitalists and financial advisors who seek to help them. Key hires include Chief Executive Officers, COO, CFO or Business Development Directors and the company has a particular specialisation in development of Non-Executive Chairmen and Non-Exec Directors.
- Enterprise Accelerator has developed a proprietary system (The EA Process) for assisting and training entrepreneurs to plan for and build successful businesses. The EA Process works with entrepreneurs individually to add skills and improve business models, the communications skills and required knowledge necessary for achievement of those goals. The EA Process is transferable to other organisations involved in assisting entrepreneurs allowing never before possible efficiencies, quality of services and detailed metrics within existing staff resources. For further information visit www.enterpriseaccelerator.co.uk
- Grant Thornton UK LLP is a leading financial and business adviser to mid-corporate businesses and their advisers with 33 local offices. We are the UK member firm of Grant Thornton International, one of the world's leading organisations of accounting and consulting firms providing a comprehensive range of business advisory services in over 100 countries bringing together 22,000 personnel in around 600 offices worldwide. Each member and correspondent firm in Grant Thornton International is a separate independent national firm. Although these firms are not members of one international partnership or otherwise legal partners with each other, they share a commitment to common standards and methodologies and provide the same high quality service to their clients wherever they choose to do business.
- Taylor Vinters is a leading law firm providing a wide range of legal services and solutions to businesses and individuals locally, nationally and internationally. Based in Cambridge, it has extensive experience in taking entrepreneurs through all the phases of development, financing and expansion and is rated as number one in the UK for the quality of its lawyers.