startups

Dave McClure exports the experts.

His brainchild, Geeks On A Plane arranges to ship VCs and experienced entrepreneurs and journalists to far flung places in order to research and invest in foreign startups. 

This month, they came south to New Zealand and I met the team at a speed pitching competition hosted by the Icehouse Incubator.

A couple of weeks ago, we posted about the Making it Mobile Awards -  and having received a record number of entries, The BLN have announced the 15 finalists due to present this week on the 28th November.

With some fantastic entries, it's been a tough competition and to quote one of the judges, Nick Lansley, Head of R&D at Tesco:

“Goodness, you know how to make life difficult! I had a challenge even choosing a top 20 (with many others 'bubbling under') and it has been a formidable job narrowing my votes down... Every company who entered this competition should know that they really have created some incredibly innovative mobile products & services, and I wish them every success. British innovation in mobile rocks!”

It’s no surprise that tech startups are fast approaching a level of popularity previously ascribed to Katy Perry. The Social Network - a look at the meteoric rise of the now-ubiquitous Facebook - has helped fuel this growth and encourage university students to consider a path through the startup world.

Eschewing banks and briefcases for mockups and moleskins, many university students are keen on the idea of joining a startup, but are largely unaware of just how to go about doing such a thing (though some, like the university-aged founders of GoSquared - a real-time web analytics service - are a few steps ahead).

It's an issue, a challenge, an opportunity that's been highlighted during today's Enterprising Fashion conference - just how are people finding, trying and buying? What is the future of the bricks'n'mortar store and where's the innovation coming from?

One of today's speakers, Paul Bay, founder of citizenbay has produced a mindmap of thinking around the topic. And you know how we like an infographic, especially when there's some smarts involved.

This Friday, Enterprising Music will bring together experienced entrepreneurs, recent startups and individuals eager to join the music business.

Social and digital technologies have been at the heart of a dramatic shift in the music industry and while the old order has been challenged, high-speed connectivity, frictionless sharing, the rise of peer-to-peer and social networks have turned crisis into innovation.

The full programme has just been announced, get ready for a busy & insightful day!