Ethos of the Forum is shared wisdom

Jan 28 2008 By The Journal

THE Entrepreneurs’ Forum was created by a group of the region’s leading business people.

The idea was simple – to create a cross sector peer group of like minded individuals to come together within a communicative and confidential environment to share business challenges.

The underlying philosophy of the Forum is that entrepreneurs learn from fellow entrepreneurs, those who have been there, done that and wish to share their wisdom.

It provides a non-trading environment where real business is discussed and introductions are welcomed.

It is somewhere younger entrepreneurs can tap into the experience of those who have established successful businesses, to learn from their mistakes and soak up invaluable business knowledge.

It provides a transfer of wisdom that supports growing businesses, nurtures emerging talent and helps to create the wealth, jobs and opportunities that are a major contribution to the sustainable transformation of our regional
economy.

Sir Richard Branson launched the Entrepreneurs’ Forum concept on behalf of its local founder members in February 2003.

The growth of the Forum, which has seen more than 260 entrepreneurs join forces in almost five years, proves that the concept “by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs” works and works superbly well.

For more information, visit www.entrepreneursforum.net

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Conference Agenda

AM session 9.30am – Registration

10am – Welcome and Introduction - Judith Hann – Making technology accessible

10.10am - Trevor Baylis - ‘Clock This’: marketing technology ideas

11.05 – Break

11.15am – Roy Stanley, The Tanfield Group – Growth and Globalisation

12.15am – Marion Barnard, NorthStar Equity Investors - Routes to Finance

12.45 – Buffet lunch

PM session

1.30pm - Welcome and Introduction - Judith Hann

1.40pm - Creating a Successful Culture

2.10pm Will Dracup, Nonlinear Dynamics - Commercialising Your Ideas

2.45pm – Break

3pm - James Bellini – Forecast for the Future

3.40pm - Panel Event – an opportunity to ask questions

4.45pm – Close

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Dr James Bellini

CONFERENCE delegates will be taken on a journey into the future by the final speaker of the day, Dr James Bellini, a leading futurologist and business trend spotter.

The internationally acclaimed author addresses current issues affecting business and provides a startling projection of the future in order to help the leaders of organisations start planning their history.

Dr Bellini is an expert in technology and the future outlook for business within the context of the Internet, virtual markets and related developments in e-culture and business re-invention.

He focuses on key management challenges related to issues of collaborative commerce, new business ‘eco-systems’, future consumer trends and concerns about the security of digital information flows and transaction data.

Some of the topics he may cover include: the future of work; retail issues for the 21st century; business strategy for future growth; and social, technological and economic trends.

After gaining a Masters from Cambridge University, a PhD from the London School of Economics and a spell as a university teacher, he was the first British member of the renowned futurology think-tank, the Hudson Institute, founded by Dr Herman Kahn in the USA.

He is a regular broadcaster and is in demand as a corporate speaker, providing lectures on future trends for businesses and governments.

His published work includes High Tech Holocaust; Europe’s Changing Markets; and Rule Britannia: A Progress Report for Domesday.

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Will Dracup

ESTABLISHED in Newcastle in 1989, Nonlinear Dynamics is a North-East success story, growing into a leading worldwide provider of bioinformatics solutions to life science industries.

Having started in a shed with funding coming from credit cards, its customers include major pharmaceutical organisations, high-profile research centres, biotechnology companies and academia throughout the world.

Nonlinear Dynamics helps scientists sort data and put it to good use. Products such as TotalLab and modas offer analysis and data mining tools for 1-D and 2-D electrophoresis gels and microarrays – the essence of genomics and proteomics.

Its Progenesis Discovery Informatics platform is used by contract research organisations and biotech and pharmaceutical companies researching the uses of proteins to treat diseases. Nonlinear provides valuable employment opportunities for developers from all over the UK to settle in the North-East.

Will Dracup is founder and chief executive of Nonlinear Dynamics.

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Marion Bernard

MARION Bernard is chief executive of NorthStar Equity Investors Ltd.

Based in Newcastle, NorthStar Equity Investors, a subsidiary of NStar, is a venture capital firm specialising in early stage high growth technology opportunities in the North-East.

It currently manages two dedicated funds focused on investments in the region: the £10m Proof of Concept Fund (POC), which is targeted at the pre-seed stage of investment, supporting entrepreneurs with up to £90,000; and the £23m Co-Investment Fund (CoIF) which specialises in high growth technology investments of up to
£1.5m.

To date, a total of £19m has been invested in 131 POC projects and 23 CoIF projects covering a wide range of technology from IT, healthcare and communications to new technologies developed for the oil, gas, water, automotive and food retail sectors.

This figure expected is to grow to £33m by the end of 2008. An additional £32m has been raised on the back of these deals, creating over £50m worth of investment in the North East.

Marion has 14 years experience in debt and equity finance, including a decade investing as a venture capitalist in early stage companies.

She graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne after which she joined Barclays Bank plc where she focused on corporate banking and acquisition finance. This was followed by six years with 3i Investments, investing in technology businesses, based in their Newcastle office.

After being appointed as CEO of NorthStar Equity Investors Marion has since built a team of experienced investment professionals with university tech transfer, industry and venture capital skills, to work closely with businesses across the region to help them to achieve their growth objectives.

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Judith Hann

JUDITH Hann is best known as a television presenter on the BBC’s ground-breaking Tomorrow’s World programme, for 20 years giving viewers a glimpse into the future.

A leading science journalist and broadcaster, from 1974 to 1994 Judith fed the nation’s appetite for innovation by demonstrating inventions from around the world, her friendly style helping to make technology accessible to the masses.

Her North-East credentials are strong too – Judith graduated from Durham University with a degree in zoology, trained on regional newspapers as a journalist – and went on to win the Glaxo Award for Science Writing twice.

She presented other television programmes on technology, health, food and the environment and has written books on subjects including science, child care, cooking and healthy lifestyle.

Judith’s most recent publication, 'How Science Works', has become an international best-seller, having been translated into more than 20 languages and selling more than one million copies worldwide.

Her other work has included TV commercials – she appeared in a Shredded Wheat advertisement in which she used her scientific judgment to inform viewers that the product could possibly help keep their hearts healthy – and recently presented a programme on BBC Radio 4, “Two’s A Crowd”.

Judith is in great demand by decision makers eager to benefit from her views on information technology and new technologies, health care, nutrition, futurology, telecommunications, conservation, the environment and ecology matters.

She regularly chairs conferences for major companies both in the UK and internationally, as well as for government departments and the European Commission.

The government recently appointed her to sit on the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (A.E.B.C), set up to advise on future scientific developments in agriculture, including the genetic modification of crops and farm animals.

Judith runs her own farm and, with her husband television news specialist John Exelby, a media training and presentation skills centre –- Media Advantage – coaching people in how to make the most of themselves and teaching companies how to make the most of the media.

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Roy stanley

ROY Stanley is a visionary entrepreneur who founded The Tanfield Group in 1996.

Under his leadership, the group has grown from an engineering company with 10 employees into the world’s leading manufacturer of zero emission commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms.

Tanfield employs more than 1,200 people worldwide, with manufacturing capability in Kansas, California, New Zealand and the UK, plus sales and distribution subsidiaries in Japan and Australia. Sales have grown from £12m in 2004 to more than £40m in 2006 and estimated to exceed £100m this year.

Tanfield Engineering Systems has developed from a sub-contractor with a short horizon order book to one that delivers specialist technical assembly solutions on long-term contracts. It also supports the company’s two main divisions, Specialist Vehicles and Powered Access. The commercial electric vehicle division – Smith Electric Vehicles – was founded in 1920 and is the world’s largest manufacturer of road-going commercial electric vehicles.

Smith has an unrivalled UK-wide service and support network, which maintains more than 5,000 vehicles for major fleet operators.

In June 2006, Tanfield acquired UpRight Powered Access, another company with a proud tradition of innovation, dating back to its inception in 1947. Production has been transferred to a new 250,000sq ft facility helping to increase machine output and build quality; improve spare parts availability; grow the distributor network; save key product lines from deletion; re-launch old product lines and introduce new machines to the UpRight range.

Tanfield’s historic aerial work platform business, Aerial Access, has been fully integrated into UpRight Powered Access.

Roy floated The Tanfield Group Plc on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange in December 2003 and the company now has a market capitalisation in excess of £500m. As Chief Executive for much of the group’s life, Roy’s “can-do” attitude still permeates every layer of the company today. He built a strong Board of Directors and senior management team and has overseen every facet of Tanfield’s fast growth. Roy also played a lead role in identifying and developing Vigo Centre, the company’s headquarters in Washington, Tyne & Wear, as a world class manufacturing facility for Tanfield. He moved from Chief Executive to Chairman in September 2006 in order to concentrate on his other successful business interests.

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Trevor Baylis OBE

A CHARISMATIC and passionate advocate of invention and creativity, Trevor Baylis invented the clockwork radio which has given millions of people in Third World nations life-saving information, putting them in touch with the outside world.

He came up with the idea in 1991 after seeing a television programme about the spread of AIDS in Africa.

His first working prototype ran for 14 minutes and in 1994, was featured on the BBC's Tomorrow’s World programme.

Much more than an inventor, however, Trevor took his idea to Cape Town, South Africa, where with luck and business acumen he established a factory which today produces all his Freeplay® wind-up radios.

The BBC programme QED filmed and broadcast an award winning documentary about Trevor's development of the radio and2 in June 1996 the Freeplay® radio was awarded the BBC Design Award for Best Product and Best Design. In the same year Trevor met Her Majesty The Queen and Nelson Mandela at a state banquet and journeyed to Africa with the Dutch Television Service for a programme documenting his life.

In 1997, the new generation Freeplay® radio rolled off the production line. Smaller and lighter than the original model, the new radio was updated to include a solar panel and to run without assistance while the sun shines. Designed especially for the Western consumer market, the radio ran for up to an hour after only 20 seconds winding.

Trevor has gone to receive many more accolades for his achievements including a Presidential Gold Medal from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and Export Times’ Export of the Year award.

In 1997 he was awarded the OBE by The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace, where he was also surprised by Michael Aspel and whisked off to be featured on “This Is Your Life".

Before inventing the clockwork radio, Trevor was a professional swimmer and stuntman. In 1970, he patented a learner swimming pool which he sold to more than 350 schools, winning the recognition and funding to concentrate on a career as an inventor.

He was a presenter on The Channel 4 ‘Big Breakfast’ television programme which featured inventors and their inventions and presented the popular BBC programme ‘Best Inventions’ attracting an audience of more than four million viewers.

In June, 2001 he completed a 100 mile walk in searing temperatures across the Namib Desert to raise money for the Mines Advisory Group while demonstrating his new invention, the Electric Shoes.

Five years ago Trevor teamed up with a group of experienced business professionals to create ‘Trevor Baylis Brands’, a company formed to help inventors learn more about their inventions, how to go about protecting them and how to seek routes to market for the commercially viable ideas. The business successfully became a plc a year later.

Trevor is renowned for his charm and radiates an enthusiasm for invention which is thoroughly contagious. He is a fascinating speaker, with a desire to help everyone to be creative and innovative.