Ready Steady Grow! 2019 is the best opportunity for entrepreneurs, investors and business advisers to meet and share knowledge on all the exciting funding options and growth financing for start ups and SMEs. We are now delighted to announce our new event partners, Seedrs.
Here at the Barclays Eagle Lab Liverpool, 17 Mann Island, Liverpool L3 1BP we are bringing together small businesses, investors, funders, entrepreneurs and business advisers – all in one place to hear expert opinion from SME industry experts.
Speakers:
Hemant Bedarkar, Seedrs
Hemant is Head of Investor Services at Seedrs, responsible for the flow of capital from institutional and intermediary investors to Seedrs opportunities. This ranges from securing institutional funding for portfolio and platform companies, through to the creation of fund and portfolio services for B2B and D2C investors.
Hemant began his career in finance at Lehman Brothers and subsequently in asset management as a director at Neuberger Berman. Hemant worked across business development roles covering multiple investor channels including: insurers, pension funds, family offices, asset managers, global financial institutions and wealth managers.
Janice Mears, Head of Business Growth, Liverpool LEP
Janice has over 18 years’ experience delivering business support across a range of roles within the SME market through to the Corporate market. As Head of Business Growth within the LEP Janice is responsible for leading the implementation and future development of the Growth Hub for Liverpool City Region. This is a key role, mixing delivery and strategy development. The Government’s recent Industrial Strategy put Growth Hubs at the centre of business support and confirmed continued support for them to expand and grow. All aspects of the Local Growth Hub are inter-linked and, in this role Janice is responsible for building strong links with colleagues and stakeholders involved in delivering programmes that deliver the LEP’s strategic objectives. Janice has worked across a range of business development disciplines. These have included roles with Economic Development, Inward Investment and Corporate Banking.
Ian Tracey, Head of A2FF, The Knowledge Transfer Network
Ian is Head of Access to Funding and Finance at Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). He is responsible for growing and developing KTN’s strategies for assisting innovative companies through the application and raising of finance – lending, grants, or equity based. Ian is the Secretary-General of HEPtech network at CERN. Formerly he was External Technology Transfer lead at the Science and Technology Facilities Council, where he also co-created the UK Innovation Forum, to find the management required by UK research institutions to fill posts in their spinouts, or otherwise participate in the commercialisation of new technologies. He started his career at BT Research Labs, in Martlesham.
** PITCHING COMPANIES TO BE ANNOUNCED**
Judges:
Andrew Aldridge, Head of Marketing, Deepbridge Capital
As Head of Marketing, Andrew oversees all Deepbridge communications and messaging. Andrew has a wealth of experience marketing financial and professional institutions, with over a decade of experience building credible brands and delivering real growth. Andrew is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing and holds a BSc in Business Economics and Marketing from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Andrew is also a trustee of the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation.
Kealan Doyle, CEO, Symvan Capital
Kealan is CEO and co-founder of Symvan Capital. He has worked with venture capital companies for 15 years, both in a corporate finance advisory capacity as well as a fund manager. He prefers to invest in a wide range of technology companies, but is also very interested in finding synergies within the Symvan portfolio of companies. Company interests include big data analytics, fintech, SaaS, 3D printing and network security. Before his involvement in venture capital investing, Kealan previously lead a structured equity products team at HSBC, and has worked at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and UBS. Together with Nicholas, he has since founded his own entrepreneurial businesses to focus on VC investing. Kealan holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Toronto.
Alistair Marsden, CMO, We are Nova
Alistair is the Chief Marketing Officer of Nova. Nova partner with talented people to conceive and scale digital business models that open new markets or disrupt existing ones. We have a seasoned team of over 200 professionals experienced in successful digital innovation. Nova co-invest alongside angel syndicates and fund managers to partner with accelerators and incubators. Through this “Cofoundery”, we discover and mentor entrepreneurial talent and opportunity. Nova partner with founders to complete a trusted cofounder team. We then deliver capability, knowledge and experience to conceive and scale a successful digital business. We enable our founders to leverage their domain expertise and business network to successfully identify real problems and engage with real users. At the same time, our cofoundery team work on creating a solution with a viable business model. Nova have developed a scalable methodology that increases the chances of investments succeeding and we make active investments in seed stage opportunities. Consequently, 48.85% of our startups are succeeding.
Through practical seminars, Q&As, panel discussions and networking, we review a wide range of funding options, including the government-backed Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
We will also explore:
FAQs
Who should attend this event?
Entrepreneurs looking to start a business, or access funding to take your business to its next level
Investors looking to invest in the ‘Next big thing’
Professional Advisors who want to help SMEs develop and grow.
Is there the opportunity for me to pitch my ‘Big Idea’?
Yes! If you are an entrepreneur looking for investment in your big idea, you can pitch your plans to investors and business advisors at this event – with just 5 minutes to pitch to our panel, they will offer you insight and advice directly relevant to your business idea! Email Mark Brownridge or Ceri Evans to secure your pitching spot!
Will refreshments be provided?
We will be serving pizzas, as well as beers, wine and soft drinks!
Register here