Entrepreneurs pit wits against bosses
Nov 30 2007 by Chris Knox, The Journal
SOME of the region’s budding entrepreneurs have been pitting their wits against some top investors at St James’s Park in order to help get their businesses off the ground.
The Dragons’ Den style event was held at the Newcastle United football ground by investment group NStar and gave six of the region’s start-ups the chance to pitch their business proposals to a panel of experts.
Unlike the TV show, deals were not done on the day, but the entrepreneurs were able to benefit from the advice of a number of NStar representatives and local business figures.
Among the panel, which included Duncan Lowery of Gateshead-based NEL Fund Managers, and NStar’s Jonathan Neal, was North-East businessman Neil Loxley, the former chief executive of X-ray technology firm Bede, who is now non-executive director at three companies, including Newton Aycliffe-based product development firm Product Futures and energy-saving firm Garfold in Newcastle.
Mr Lowery said: “This is an excellent way for entrepreneurs to improve their pitch to potential investors. It can be difficult for businesses during the early stages and being able to present themselves well is vital.
“By watching each other’s presentations, the entrepreneurs have learnt from each other’s styles and approaches and benefited from the comments of the panel.”
This is the second NStar business event that Mr Loxley has attended this year after the first one got him in touch with a number of promising new businesses, one of which he has become involved with.
The event was part of a two-day NStar ‘Funding your Business Needs’ course at the stadium, which looked at issues such as sources of finance, understanding risk and how to get what you want from investors.
Caroline Hughes, manager of NStar Finance and Business, said: “Funding your Business Needs is about entrepreneurs receiving professional, practical business advice from experts.
“Many businesses have great ideas, but attracting funding is often difficult. The advice and guidance we can offer can help to make them commercially more attractive to potential investors. We’re looking for small businesses that have real potential for commercial success.” Grant Dench, commercial director at Cramlington-based healthcare company Applied Neurodiagnostics, was one of the entrepreneurs looking for financial support to grow his varicose veins prevention business Mailsigns.
He said: “Everyone involved got something out of the day and received some useful advice.
“The panel was very honest and made me aware of a few mistakes in my pitch such as overestimating how much investors would get from the business.
“However, this proved a useful learning curve and definitely something that will help me improve my business proposal in future.”
