Attracting Investors to Your Startup by Standing Out and Proving Your Worth

One of the most exciting, and most frightening time for a team that is launching a startup is when it is time to pitch your products or services to potential investors. In fact, it is a bit like presenting your baby to the outside world and hoping everybody loves it as much as you. When you work to attract investors to your startup, you actually have several things to accomplish. The first, and most obvious is obtaining the funds you need to get your company to the next stage. However, in addition to this, you also want to get the best terms possible, and maintain as much control over your business as you possibly can. In order to accomplish these goals, you have to convince potential funding sources that you are capable of running a business that is successful enough that they will make a profit from their investment. Fortunately, if you have great product or service, the skills required to run a successful business, and a solid plan for attracting investors, you have a great chance at succeeding.

Show Proof of Market Traction

Market traction is your ability to convert customers, and grow quickly. For investors, proof of market traction indicates to them that they will be able to get returns on their investment relatively quickly. If they do not find evidence that your startup has traction, they aren’t going to invest.There are many ways you can prove traction. For example, you can provide investors with information about the success you have had with test releases and selling your product at trade shows. However, the best way to prove market traction is to simply tell the story of your product or service in the right way. For example, if you tell a potential investor that you have sold 50k units in 5 years, that may not seem like very much to them (depending on your product). On the other hand, if you tell them that you did your first manufacturing run and sold 15k units in the first two years, spent a year in redesign, launched again, and have sold 35k units in two years, that tells an entirely different story. The first is slow growth. The second is demonstrable growth and proof of traction.

Prepare a Well-Written Value Proposition

Your value proposition is a written statement that clearly defines what it is that you do, who will benefit from your product or service, and why they would select your business over other businesses in your niche. You begin this process by clearly outlining the problem that you are solving, as well as why that is a problem. However, you cannot simply show that there is a problem. You have to show that the problem is worth building a business solving. This means showing that the problem is widespread, or that has deep impact on those it does affect. Finally, you will need to show that your solution is in some way better than solutions that are currently being provided. Not only is a well-written value proposition impressive to potential investors, writing one will help you to solidify your vision as well.

Put Together a Dream Team

Since your company is only at the beginning of its destiny, there isn’t a lot of proof that you can give that truly guarantee you have a hit on your hands. This is why many early stage investors focus on the skills and talents of the team you have, almost as much as they do your products and services. When you make your pitch, be sure you can show investors that you have put together a team that can become successful. You can do this by talking about each team member’s skills and  how those benefit the company. If you have had past successes working as a team, you should bring that up as well. Investors want to see a deep and varied skill set, that every member has a role and is making contributions, and they want to see proof of cohesiveness..

Consider Crowdfunding

If you don’t think your best way to get funds together is through traditional sources like VC, you might consider starting a crowdfunding campaign. Crowdfunding is a way to earn small amounts of money from a large number of people. This can be a great option if you lack proof of  market traction, or are still in the incubator stage. However, if you choose to go this route, it is important to understand that there is much more to do than simply creating a crowdfunding page and then telling your story. You’ll need to determine how you are going to demonstrate your product or service, who the targets of your campaign will be, and create a plan for launching and promoting your campaign. You’ll also have to shoot and edit video and determine what it is you will offer those who fund your startup. You will also have the challenge of selecting your crowdfunding platform.

When crowdfunding does work, the results can be absolutely amazing. One startup, Chilango, a Mexican burrito restaurant successfully raised 2.1M Euros in order to launch their fresh, Mexican cuisine based operation.

Create Barriers to Entry

If investors believe that anybody can jump into your space and replicate what you are doing, they aren’t going to be compelled to invest in you. This is why it is so important to create barriers to entry. Barriers to entry are essentially roadblocks that you put up to make it difficult for others to become your competitors.You can create barriers to entry by setting up exclusive deals with vendors and retailers, getting patents on your technology, creating proprietary technology, truly being the first in your space and growing quickly, developing strong branding, or earning strong customer loyalty. Every barrier to entry that you can create makes it less attractive for potential competitors to come up against you. If you create enough barriers to entry, you can make it nearly impossible for them to do so.

The post Attracting Investors to Your Startup by Standing Out and Proving Your Worth appeared first on Small Business Can.

This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/attracting-investors-startup-standing-proving-worth/ on
thinkbusiness

Help entrepreneurs to grow, mentors wanted

Helping 80 entrepreneurs to grow

The World’s largest free business accelerator, Entrepreneurial Spark, is opening its doors to exciting and dynamic businesses in Belfast this February (and we can’t wait!). Powered by Ulster Bank, we are offering free office space, a 6-18 month programme of hands-on enablement, a start up boot camp and regular events that will help the 80 entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses.

Looking for mentors

In addition to all of the above, we are on the look out for experienced mentors to support, coach and help the businesses- are you the person to make this happen?  The right mentor can provide expert support and ultimately increase the likelihood of businesses becoming a roaring success and we are looking for passionate people who have the skills and experience to share with Entrepreneurs, giving them the extra edge.

You are invited

Join us for a light lunch to find out more about the programme and see our state of the art Hatchery. It’s also a brilliant opportunity to tell us a bit more about you and how you could support the entrepreneurs, as well as meet other potential mentors.

WHEN
Wednesday, 10 February 2016 from 13:30 to 15:00 (CST) Add to Calendar
WHERE
The Belfast Hatchery – Lombard House. 10-20 Lombard Street. Belfast, Antrim Bt1 1RD GB

BOOK HERE

Hope to see you there.

The post Help entrepreneurs to grow, mentors wanted appeared first on Small Business Can.

This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/87910-2/ on
thinkbusiness

5 Essential Customer Service Skills Your Team Needs

Customer service is an extremely important aspect of running a business, which is why companies invest huge amounts of time and money in customer service courses and training methods. However, building a strong team can be a real challenge, as there are a number of essential components.

Here, we take a look at five skills that any good customer service team needs.

1. Communication Skills

The ability to communicate effectively is an absolutely crucial customer service skill for your team to possess. This includes having team members who can convey information in a clear way – whether it is through speech, letters, emails, or on social media – but also requires the ability to obtain and retain information from customers as well.

Someone with good communication skills will be a good listener, will utilise positive rather than negative words, and will make effective use of body language. Ideally, they will also have a strong talent for persuasion, allowing them to convince interested customers that your products or services are right for them.

2. Knowledge of Products and Services

While it may seem like an obvious point, good customer service relies heavily on the individual team members knowing what they are talking about when dealing with customers. This, in turn, requires a detailed knowledge of the products and/or services your business has to offer.

For that reason, a huge part of your customer service training should focus on educating staff members. Their knowledge should be based on what a customer may want (or need) to know, meaning it probably won’t include the intricacies of how a product is made, but must include a deep understanding of how a product actually works.

3. Patience

Patience is a vital asset for anyone working in a customer service role and its importance should be stressed to your team. Customers will often only reach out to staff members if they are angry, confused or desperate, and patience makes dealing with emotionally charged people significantly easier.

“Also be sure to take the time to truly figure out what they want,” says Gregory Ciotti, a marketing professional for Help Scout. “They’d rather get competent service than be rushed out the door.”

4. Attentiveness

When it comes to discussing examples of poor customer service, people often cite times when they felt ignored, or as though their needs were not deemed to be important. Repeated studies have also shown that ignoring customers is extremely damaging to the relationship between a business and its clients, so avoiding it should be a priority.

In fact, research carried out by Conversocial found that more than 1 in 4 customers would stop doing business with a company if they were ignored, while almost half would be less likely to do business with a company if they saw other customers being ignored. Therefore, it is important to have attentive staff, who are always willing and able to offer help, anticipate problems and generally engage with your customer base.

5. A Calming Influence

At those difficult times when things become heated, staff members who have the ability to defuse a situation are invaluable. As a result, you need team members who are not only able to keep their cool under pressure, but who also have a calming influence on those around them.

The ability to stay calm, no matter what the situation or how intense a customer is, can help to make sure any solutions are completely rational and carefully thought through. Moreover, that calm approach can easily rub off on other staff members and on customers, making the entire situation a whole lot less volatile.

The post 5 Essential Customer Service Skills Your Team Needs appeared first on Small Business Can.

7 Great Tips for Better Invoicing for Start-ups

Invoicing is among the most important aspects of operating a small business.  However, it can be such a big hassle at times- particularly if you are a start up company and new to the process.

So what is the best way to avoid having to spend so much time on the minor details of generating and sending out invoices and needing to chase late payees down, so that you have more time to focus on the important aspects of your business?

Looking Professional – Stay Consistent With Your Brand

Whenever you are generating invoices, it is very important to ensure that they look as sharp as possible.  If you send a customer something that has an amateurish and cheap appearance, they might not feel so inclined to pay you as fast as if they receive a more professional-looking bill.

Make sure that your invoices have your logo on it and also ensure that the amount you are owed is clearly spelled out.  Your brand should be reflected in the wording and colours of the document.  For example, if you happen to be a copywriter and using plain English is something you take great pride in, don’t add a lot of legalese to your invoice.  Save that for your terms and conditions, or have a good lawyer translate the legal terms into plain English.

Keep Things Legal

You want to ensure that your invoice is correct and in compliance with VAT requirements and with company law rules as well since it is a legal document.  If your business is a limited company or LLP, your business’s registered number and address should appear on the invoice.  It should also show any directors or members as well.  Fortunately, if you are using an online accounting system, it will all be done automatically for you.

Consider The Numbers

According to HMRC rules invoices are required to have “unique sequential reference numbers.”  However, the same sequence does not need to be used across your entire business.  For example, a different sequence can be used for every project or customer.

Select Your Pricing Structure

There isn’t anything illegal that prevents you from requesting a deposit from your customers, or for full payment upfront prior to you doing the work.  It confirms that your customer is committed to the project as well as being easier on your cash flow.  It also helps to spread financial risk between your customer and you.  If your customer isn’t required to pay until the work is complete, and then refuses to pay or disappears, you won’t have leverage any longer to stop the work- since it is done already.

If you are concerned that you may lose customers by asking for an upfront payment, then think about offering your customers a money-back guarantee if they aren’t satisfied with the service that you provide.

Make Sure Your Payment Terms Are Clear

Before doing any work, you should have informed your customer about what your payment terms are.  However, it still is important for this information to be included on your invoice.

If you have a 30-day payment period set and are expecting your invoice to be paid by the deadline, be sure this information is included on your document to make things as clear as possible to ensure that your client sees it.  Also, if you plan to make any late payment penalties or charges, be sure to make them as clear and prominent as you can directly on the invoice.  That way your client will have a reminder that the bill needs to be paid promptly.  Here are some good tips.

Follow Up On Invoices Right Away

Get into the habit of doing your bookkeeping at least once a week.  You should invoice at least that frequently.  Your invoices should ideally be sent out as soon as you have completed the work (unless your customer already paid you in advance).  That way, it will be one less thing that you need to worry about.  However, hopefully your customers will be pay you sooner than that.

Also make it as easy as you can for your customers to pay.  Include payment details, such as an online payment link or your bank account information, either on your covering email or on the invoice itself.  If you use a specific invoicing system for generating and sending out your invoice, check to see whether you can set automatic emails up to follow up on late payers.  That will help you save additional time.

Get A Technological Boost

Remember that it isn’t necessary for you do your invoicing from scratch on your own.  If you can possibly afford it, you should invest in specialist accounting or purchase management software to make this process much easier and convenient.

It can be especially useful if you will be send out invoices on a regular basis to the same client (for example, a monthly retainer fee) and would like to set up recurring invoices that are automatically sent.  Or if you want to include multiple expenses and would like to easily and quickly attach digital copies to your invoice of your expense receipts.  If you would like your client to pay faster, you might want to include a link to Stripe or PayPal, or some other online payment option so that they can pay you with one click of a button.

Be sure to do your homework first and check out all of the different options that are available to you to figure out which system will work the bet for your business’s requirements and you.  Over the long run, it can help to save you many hours of hassle and administrative work.

Invoicing is a crucial aspect of any business’s administration, since without invoices there isn’t a way for your customers to know how much to pay you, and if you don’t have money coming in, your business won’t be able to survive for very long!

The post 7 Great Tips for Better Invoicing for Start-ups appeared first on Small Business Can.

This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/7-great-tips-better-invoicing-start-ups/ on
thinkbusiness

How Big is Your eCommerce Market?

After only 30 years of the internet, there are now just under 1 billion websites in the world. Of those, only 173M+ are currently active. That may seem like an overwhelming number when trying to find new leads online and quantify the size of your eCommerce market, but this task doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming, writes Liz Fulham from SalesOptimize.

Do you know how many eCommerce websites there are in the world? Less than one percent of the active internet is eCommerce i.e. 1.7M websites and growing. For sales executives and businesses in all industries, it often feels like you’re searching for a needle in a virtual haystack the size of Mount Everest. A person can only qualify 100+ websites a day, which is a big problem facing companies when trying to find sales leads using conventional search engines.

How Does this Impact Your Business?

Let’s say a camera manufacturer, Max Speed, a jovial fellow, would like to know the true size of his worldwide market online. He wants to know how many websites in the world might be interested in reselling his Max Speed cameras.

The Average Joe Way: Max Speed enters “Camera shops” into a search engine and it returns about 624,000,000 results. So many of these results are duplicates. Remember there are only 173M + active websites. That’s an almost infinite amount of man-hours of work for the (no-longer) jovial Max and his newly hired team to sift through, pull their hair out and silently scream about.

Lead Generation – Where Do You Find Your Next Sales Lead?

After finding some quick wins using Google, Max’s team wants to find more sales leads. Businesses can look to LinkedIn, Kompass, Experian, Dun & Bradstreet etc. to do this. While these options are better than a Google search, the complete answer is still not there. The reason is that thousands of eCommerce sites are missing from these searches. eCommerce merchants live in the world of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter etc. How does Max and his team search these platforms for eCommerce sales leads?

New Options

The good news is that there are major developments in data mining and deep web analytics. This is a big investment area globally. Using some of the new search engines, Max and his team can now enter “Camera shops” into a business search engine and, in just a few seconds, they can find thousands of results for camera shops that are active and selling to his market right now. As a result, Max gets rich all by himself, keeps his hair and gets home early! He no longer needs to hire an army to search the internet to find quality sales leads.

It is estimated that 2015 saw over $1.7 trillion traded by online businesses. In the UK, Black Friday broke the £1bn ($1.4bn+) threshold in sales. When you look at the global sales opportunity of $1.7 trillion, only a very few of the large online merchants pull in more than $20 million a year. Instead, the large sales figures come from a combined larger number of online businesses (albeit lesser-known) that are consistently doing in excess of $250K a year.

Again, this goes to show that there are lots of sales leads out there still to be found – and a need for much more refined search engines/databases to identify those sales. Of the ones that are out there today let www.SalesOptimize.com be an option for consideration.

Finding new sales leads can be challenging for many businesses, but the advances in data mining and analytics means there are new opportunities for savvy business owners to narrow down their potential eCommerce market and identify leads to foster further growth.

Written by: Liz Fulham, Founder and CEO, SalesOptimize – helping businesses to quantify the true size of their B2B eCommerce market and identify new online shop leads.

The post How Big is Your eCommerce Market? appeared first on Small Business Can.

Three Business Ideas to Start from Home

Today, there are thousands of people who are considering starting a business from home. On average, people can expect to have two or three careers during their working life, and those leaving one career often consider moving their second or third career to their own home and working as their own boss. People who have been working as part of the traditional nine to five workforce and are on the brink of retiring from that life are often thinking of what to do next, and looking for a change and more flexibility and control. The good news is that starting a home based business is within anybody’s reach, providing that there is the motivation and commitment there to take a risk and work hard.

Consulting

In order to be a consultant, you will need to have an area of expertise so that you can market yourself as an advisor to others looking to work in that area. This is an exceptionally good home based business option for those who are on the brink of retirement, but don’t want to finish working just yet. Perhaps during your career you managed the marketing for a large business, or set up a chain of shops or restaurants. Whatever experience you have had, you can use this to help others to achieve similar without making the same mistakes that you did along the way. Depending on your area and level of expertise, the amount that you will be able to charge for your services may vary. Many consultants find it helpful to start a blog related to their field of expertise in order to attract clients hungry to learn more.

Forex Trading

Trading currencies on the FX market is becoming more and more of a popular home based business idea. Initially exclusive to investment bankers, trading Forex is becoming an option for the general public and many people are picking up on it as a viable and flexible way to make money from home. With many Forex trading platforms having both mobile and web-based applications, it’s possible to trade Forex from any location with an internet connection, making it an excellent option for anyone looking for a flexible lifestyle. See CTrader Platform for more information.

Editorial Services

With so many websites out there needing content and many magazines and newspapers expanding their online presence, there is no shortage of demand for talented writers and editors. If you have a good grasp of the English language and are good at stringing sentences together to create interesting and engaging content, your skills can take you a long way when it comes to making money from home. There are a great range of different editorial services which you could choose to offer, including content writing, copywriting and copyediting, proofreading, ghost writing, and even book and e-book writing. The possibilities are endless.

When it comes to working and making money from home, there is a vast range of opportunities for freelancing and entrepreneurship. Whichever you choose, hard work and dedication is essential to get your business off the ground.

The post Three Business Ideas to Start from Home appeared first on Small Business Can.

This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/three-business-ideas-start-home/ on
thinkbusiness

Steps to be Successful at Guest Posting

You have been writing guest posts for various blogs and websites and yet you are not getting the response you desire. You want to guest post; after all, there are a number of perks you can enjoy when you use this tactic. For instance, it can increase the traffic to your own blog or website, it introduces you to new communities that eventually helps your platform grow and not to mention how good it is for boosting search engine rankings. Yet, you are not able to reap any of these rewards because your guest posts are not being accepted or getting any response. Why is that?

It could be because you are ignoring some of the inherent rules of guest posting. You have to understand that you either have to hire an expert blog posting service or follow certain important steps to be successful at guest posting. Are you ready? The steps are outlined here:

Step 1:
First things first, you need to go over the guidelines carefully. Lots of established blogs, especially ones that accept guest posts regularly, have a list of guidelines set out for anyone who wants to post on their blog or website as a guest. You need to be aware of them and ensure none are being violated or else you will not gain the acceptance you are looking for.

Step 2:
Always choose a blog for writing a guest post after considerable research. You need to select a good blog where you know you can find your target audience. You need to research and find out the voice and tone of the blog and also look for topics that haven’t been studied as yet. This is important because you don’t want to be repetitive and you want to select something that you know will appeal to the audience and will give you a positive response. Furthermore, it could also convince the blog owner to publish your post if they enjoy the subject matter.

Step 3:
Once you have done your research, you can get in touch with the blogger. The best way to contact is via email and you should get right to the point instead of beating around the bush. You can simply pitch your idea or if you have already written a draft, you can send that in. Don’t waste your time with self-deprecation and don’t apologize. Avoid being arrogant as well.

Step 4:
It is time to create the best post possible you have ever done. You don’t just want to blow the blog owner away, but you also want to make a huge impact on the audience. According to experts from  blogger outreach services, the first opportunity could be the last so you need to come up with the right content.

Step 5:
You should give the blogger some time before following up. Usually, the guidelines will mention how long it will take for you to get a response.

Step 6:
If your post is published, you should remember to thank the blogger and then start working on your post. This means sharing, tweeting and emailing to get exposure.

The post Steps to be Successful at Guest Posting appeared first on Small Business Can.

Effectively Increase Brand Visibility With These 4 Tips

In order for your marketing efforts to be successful over time, you need to be seeing a constant increase in brand visibility for your business. This consistent growth will ensure that your business is on the right path and that your brand is always fresh in the minds of your customers. While there are certainly many factors that contribute to the success or failure of a business, few can match the importance of brand visibility. If you want to learn how to effectively increase brand visibility, then follow these four great tips.

1) Excel At Social Media

Effective social media marketing is absolutely critical to the success of any business in the modern world. If you are not yet using social media to spread the word about your business, then you should change that immediately. Social media communities are gaining more users by the day, meaning that your brand should be prominently displayed there for them to encounter. Interacting with your customers through your business social media accounts is also a great way to get direct feedback about your business from your customers, as well as connect with new potential customers. Social media success for businesses is all about transparency, providing high quality content and engaging with followers consistently. While posting on your social media accounts, make sure to use various types of content, including photos, videos, news articles and more. Within each type of posting there are strategies that work best. For example, if you post a video about your business, subtitling in different languages will show the best results, as people who speak a variety of languages could be interested in your products.

2) Improving Your Search Engine Optimization

These days, people use search engines to find everything imaginable. What this means for your business is that you need to be featured at or near the top of search listings for search phrases that are relevant to your business and industry. This is accomplished through a process called search engine optimization, or SEO. Establishing good SEO practices will increase the visitors to your website from organic search results dramatically. Anyone who manages the website of your business should be fully versed in the latest search engine optimization techniques and best practices. One of the best things about SEO is that even minor changes can create potentially fantastic results, so getting started on your SEO campaign as soon as possible is a good idea.

3) Attend Local And Industry Related Events

While Internet-based marketing methods are all that anyone seems to talk about today, some seemingly outdated strategies are actually still highly effective and should absolutely be included in your brand visibility campaigns. Attending events around your community and gatherings within your industry, such as trade shows and conferences, is a perfect example of this, as these are things that can greatly improve the results of your marketing efforts. At events such as these, you will have the opportunity to speak with others working in your industry, as well as spark conversations with potential customers and members of the community that surrounds your business.

4) Build Off A Fresh, New Design

Something that a lot of businesses today are finding effective as a brand visibility tool are new designs and logos. Having a business logo that is current and up to date with the latest design trends is critical. A logo is something that every customer you have sees each time they encounter or purchase your product, meaning that the better your logo is at sticking in their minds, the better business will be in the present and in the future.

By following these four tips, you will set your business on the right path when it comes to brand visibility. As long as you stay proactive in your marketing efforts and always stay conscious of the constantly changing nature of the marketing world, your brand will become more recognizable and successful than ever before.

The post Effectively Increase Brand Visibility With These 4 Tips appeared first on Small Business Can.

This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/effectively-increase-brand-visibility-4-tips/ on
thinkbusiness

Where To Go When The Banks Say No

It’s becoming much harder to get loans from the bank. Their approach has become increasingly conservative and this is unlikely to change as they try to rewrite their pre-recession reputation.

The good news is, the alternative finance market is predicted to grow tenfold in the next five years. However the options can be overwhelming. Here are a few to consider when the bank just won’t help.

When the banks say no…

Peer to peer lending

The great thing about peer to peer is speed. You can get quick decisions and access to funds within days rather than weeks. What’s more, it’s much more receptive to quirky and tech-led companies because the investors have the insight to recognise the opportunity banks are often blind to. However to make peer to peer an option you really need to establish a network of mentors. Not necessarily people who have the money to invest themselves, but people who are well connected and can recommend you to associates looking for low-risk, high-return investment opportunities.

Crowd funding

The huge pro to crowd funding is that investors usually just require monetary return. They don’t want to be involved in making the day-to-day business decisions. Which means you can continue to run the business to your rules. What’s more, the people interested in crowd funding tend to appreciate the zeitgeist: those ideas that seem too much of a gamble for the bank to finance but see risk takers more than happy to pay £1,000 to see if it will come off.

Venture capital

Venture capitals are currently rich with investors hungry for a slice of the next best thing but who don’t have the time, energy or idea to get something off the ground. Plus, if your plan is strong enough, this route can help you raise up to £1m.

Attracting investment of this kind though comes around to who you know. Venture capitalists hate unsolicited bids. My friend who works in the industry says he’ll look for flaws in every pitch submitted by email. Whereas, if a contact recommends a new start-up, he’ll do all in his power to make it work. So it’s really important that you actively seek well-connected mentors who can open doors.

The one exception to this rule is speed-funding events such as Angels’ Den. This is where you have three minutes to pitch an idea. Very Dragons’ Den, but worth a punt.

Bridging loans

This obviously comes at a premium. But if successful, they can be lucrative for you as well as the funder. Usually the bridging loan company wants their money back within a year. However this gives you time to use the investment and make a difference. Which, in turn, gives you something with a proven track record to instil confidence in the bank next time you approach them for a loan.

The post Where To Go When The Banks Say No appeared first on Small Business Can.

Export, scaling Irish technology companies in the UK market

Market of 60 million people

The British Irish Chamber of Commerce and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), in partnership with PwC, will be hosting a morning seminar to explore the export opportunities for scaling Irish technology companies in the UK market.  Access to a market of 60 million people, a competitive entrepreneurial tax regime and the benefits of the wider ecosystem of supporting services for entrepreneurs on your doorstep creates a compelling offer for Irish companies.   

UK’s Trade & Investment Minister Lord Francis

The UK’s Trade & Investment Minister Lord Francis Maude will lead a discussion with entrepreneurs on the opportunities for Irish companies in the UK.

Panel Discussion

The panel discussion will be moderated by Anthony Sheehan, UKTI expert in tech finance, tax incentives for entrepreneurs and establishing global operations.

  • Joseph Thompson – Peace by Trade – successful Bitcoin company now established in UK
  • Sonya Lennon- Frockadvisor – unique cross platform digital service for independent fashion retailers
  • Shay Garvey – Frontline Ventures – vastly experienced early stage technology investor
  • Pat Flood – Chair of British Irish Chamber ICT Policy Committee – exploring potential for future partnerships and collaborations in the Ireland & UK Tech space

The session will conclude with continued networking allowing you the opportunity to share experiences and ideas with your peers as well as the speakers. PwC members as well as UK Trade & Investment staff will also be on hand for meetings, should you have specific questions related to your own business.

Timing

7.30am:   Registration, breakfast and networking

Opening Remarks by Lord Maude, UK’s Trade and Investment Minister

Presentation by Ronan Finn PwC

Panel discussion

Q and A

9.15am:   Event concludes

Location:

PwC Ireland,

One Spencer Dock,

North Wall Quay,

Dublin 1

Ireland.

Interested?

If you would like to attend this event please reply to this email or email Darragh at darragh.otuathail@britishirishchamber.com by 25th January.

The post Export, scaling Irish technology companies in the UK market appeared first on Small Business Can.

This post was originally published here - http://www.smallbusinesscan.com/export-scaling-irish-technology-companies-in-the-uk-market/ on thinkbusiness