Investor readiness workshops for IT entrepreneurs announced
A WEALTH of advice and support for ambitious entrepreneurs is being offered by Connect Yorkshire in the form of free workshops.
A series of six workshops running throughout April and May are being hosted by the organisation, which specialises in priming young high growth technology companies.
The Investor Readiness Programme aims to provide fledgling firm and individuals with the knowledge needed to take their product to market.
The workshops, which will be held in Leeds, also provide good preparation for companies who qualify to present at the Investment Forum on June 17 at York Racecourse.
Topics covered by the programme include producing the all important business plan, what support and finance options are available to early stage companies and how best to negotiate the value of a business during an investment deal.
The companies delivering this year’s programme include Grants, Lee & Priestley, Harrison Goddard Foote, Turn Key, UK Trade & Investment, Ford Campbell Freedman, The Conference Coach, HLW, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
More than 800 delegates have attended Connect’s Investor Readiness Programmes across the region in the past 12 months including Sheffield-based Data Equation.
Managing director David Worrall said: “We found the Investor Readiness Programme very useful.
“At the time we were concentrating on research and development, and looking to raise finance, which, when you haven’t had any experience of this, can be quite daunting. The fact that we could go and hear presentations from people who had been through this before was extremely helpful to us.”
Connect’s chief executive Nick Butler said: “The Investor Readiness Programme provides young companies with free expert advice from both Connect and our sponsors.
“Our presenters are all experts in their field, and companies can be sure they are getting advice from people who deal with these issues in their daily work”.
Dates for the Investor Readiness Programme are as follows; April 22 – practical business plans and research and development tax credits, intellectual property rights and wrongs, April 29 – e-marketing and going global, May 6 – effective negotiation skills, May 14 – presentation skills and May 20 – money, valuations and deal structures.
Further details of Connect Yorkshire’s Investor Readiness Programme in Leeds or the Investment Forum in York can be found at www.connectyorkshire.org or by contacting Connect direct on 0113 384 5640.
