angels - november '09
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JULIE MEYERON BACKING
WINNERS
3 . 0 0
LORD ARCHERSINVESTMENT SECRETGIVING IT ALLAWAY
angelsN o ve m b e r 2 0 0 9The leading magazine for Business Angel investment
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We started making and selling wormeries for composting on our farm. Now, to reach a
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This monthManaging Editor
Richard Alvin - [email protected]
Editor
Simon Clarke - [email protected]
Online Editor
Paul Jones - [email protected]
Contributors: - [email protected]
Jim Moore, Felicity Cousins, Gavin Porritt,
Andrew Lopata, Mark Prigg, Louise Shaw,
Derek Bedlow, Andrew Price, Sophie Goodale
Production Manager
Tony Carty - [email protected]
Designer
James Conolly - [email protected]
Head of Advertising
Lawrence Carter - [email protected]
Advertising
Tracy Light - [email protected]
Tel: 020 7148 3861
Email: [email protected]
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www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
Copyright: (C) 2009 Investor Media Ltd / CapitalBusiness Media Ltd.
ISSN 1754-3096
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means without the prior consent
of the publishers. The views expressed in Angels Maga-
zine are not necessarily the views of the publishers
or Investor Media Ltd. Whilst Capital Business Media
Ltd. has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the
information contained in this publication, neither they
nor any contributing author can accept any legal
responsibility for any consequences that may arise from
errors or omissions contained in this publication or from
acting on any opinions or advice given. In particular,
this publication is general and not a substitute for
professional advice and you should consult your own
professional advisors where appropriate.
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in the news
Post firm bucks trend with 100% sales increaseIn the current economic down-
turn Bristol based ONEPOST has
seen a boom in postal activity
handling over 16m items overthe past year.
Born out of the postal deregu-
lation, onepost, is the leading in-
dependent postal advice
organisation providing cost-sav-
ing solutions to mailers, utilising
an increasing number of opera-
tors as well as innovative col-
lecting, sorting and distribution
techniques for mail in the UK.
Research from Bellwether
shows that marketers are severelycutting back their budgets as the
economic downturn deepens and
the FT has launched its ad cam-
paign last month urging compa-
nies to continue advertising.
However a recent report from
marketing agency, Epsilon, found
that Direct Marketing is playing
a key role during the economic
downturn with spend signifi-cantly increasing.
Graham Cooper, ONEPOST
Managing Director, comments
During this time it is even more
important for companies to use
channels that provide account-
ability and measurable results. In
addition our aim is to provide
postal strategies that will help
businesses save costs, maximis-
ing the benefits of their budgets.
He adds Some companiesare still unaware that there are
choices in the postal market
where significant savings can be
made and improvements gained
in the quality of service.
Skimpy skirts & open tops head fashion flopsMEN who undo one button too many on their
shirts or women who don see through blouses
are guilty of the biggest office fashion crimes,
according to a new survey.
61 per cent of 584 UK financial professionals
surveyed in the office fashion report conducted
by North West financial recruitment specialist,
AFR Consulting, find revealing clothing the
biggest office fashion faux pas.
The survey also revealed that dress down Fri-days and similar casual initiatives could be so
yesterday with 58 per cent of respondents pre-
ferring more traditional office wear at work,
such as suits, shirts, blouses and ties.
This was despite a massive 81 per cent of or-
ganisations revealing they had now introduced
a dress down day or similar policy at work,
suggesting bosses are themselves following a
social trend.
Adventurous wardrobe
The report by AFR Consulting questioned com-pany directors, financial directors, managers
and other finance professionals in a range of
organisations from the accountancy,
law, finance, manufacturing and re-
tail sectors.
AFR Consulting director
Simon Speak said: Some
people have a slightly
more adventurous dress
sense than others but re-
spondents to our survey
delivered an overwhelmingno to wearing revealing clothes
at work.
In the professional office envi-
ronment it seems directors and
managers still like to dress
smart, preferring business suits
and ties, even over the slightly
more casual look of trousers
and unbuttoned shirts. Despite
this 81 per cent of respondents
said their company now had a
dress down policy.Judging from the results of the
survey, office fashion continues to
be a hotly-debated topic in offices throughout
the UK.
Cliff Bashforth, a Master of the Federation of
Image Consultants (MFIC) and leading image
consultant for Colour Me Beautiful, said:
Your image at work can have an amazing
impact on your job prospects and it can
make or break your career.
One of the deadly sins is showing too
much flesh. Whether male or female, youngor old; covering up, even in the summer-
time, is of prime importance. Your profes-
sionalism and the respect youve gained
over a period of time can be damaged
should you succumb to dressing down
and baring all. If youre female, the guys
dont know where to look. Well, actually,
they do but its not at their computer key-
board. For the guys, lets keep any hairy bits
out of sight apart from those on your head
and forearms of course.
As well as revealing clothes, other office fash-ion pet hates, according to the survey, included
jeans, sportswear and tank tops.
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in the news
SMEs in London and South East
failing to take up government fundingAn independent research poll conducted onbehalf of Ixion has revealed that a staggering
85% of SMEs across London and the South
East have lost-out on government funding
available for their business to invest in
training.
The shocking results of the poll could partly
be put down to a need for more positive action
from the SME business base in response to con-
tact from government funded brokerage ser-
vices.
The poll, conducted among businesses with
fewer than 250 employees, found that 81% ofrespondents said that their business had carried
out some form of staff training in the past, yet a
worrying 71% had not taken any positive steps
to capitalise on a minimum of 1,500 in gov-
ernment funding available to them for training.
Graham Baker, CEO of Ixion, commented:
In an increasingly challenging business envi-ronment, investment in training is critical.
These are worrying statistics, with over half a
million* SMEs in London and the South East of
England, businesses must realise that they can
benefit from government funding available and
have access to appropriate training to enhance
their business, and in turn increase their com-
petitive advantage.
The Government has committed itself to
the UKs long term skills needs to achieve a
world class skills profile by 2020. This research
highlights that SMEs need to take some respon-sibility for making contact with organisations
such as Ixion, which provides a gateway for
businesses and individuals to access public
funds, ensuring that they get signposted to, and
benefit from, appropriate business support spe-
cialists and training that they are entitled to.
Graham Baker concluded: Businessesshould understand that government-funded ser-
vices such as the Business Link service, Train to
Gain or Ixion run Advantage East are in exis-
tence to help and advise them on business
growth and workforce development training.
This support is particularly important given the
current economic climate, where a trained
workforce can give a competitive edge.
On contact, the Ixion research uncovered
that an incredible 96% of respondents said
they would like to learn more about regional
government funded schemes such as IxionsTrain to Gain and Business Link services.
*According to Business Link, in 2006, there
were 202,580 companies in the East of Eng-
land and 304,090 companies in London with
fewer than 250 employees.
www.ixion.com
London offers opportunities for Korean businessesThink London has begun offering a new free & confidential service for
Korean businesses looking to globalise.
Think London, the foreign direct investment agency for London, is
showcasing opportunities for Korean businesses looking to expand and
grow in London as the UK capital prepares to host the Olympic and Para-
lympic Games in 2012. Londons economy is forecast to grow by $80
billion by 2012 and will offer huge opportunities for Korean companies
looking to invest in the capital.
Michael Charlton, Chief Executive, Think London is visiting Korea in
early April to meet with Korean businesses and to co-host a session with
KOTRA (the Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency) to advise com-
panies on how they can benefit from investing in London.Speaking ahead of the visit, Michael Charlton, Chief Executive, Think
London commented, We believe that many Korean businesses are well
placed to benefit from the investment opportunities presented by Lon-
dons predicted economic growth of $80 billion by 2012 as well as
those relating to the 2012 Games. We are ready to support Korean com-
panies looking to take advantage of these opportunities and globalise
their business by using London as a springboard into Europe.
London is the perfect springboard for businesses looking to go
global, with fast access to a range of customers, markets, ideas and fi-
nance all aimed at helping businesses operate on a global scale.
Outward foreign direct investment from South Korea increased from
$4.3 billion to $7.1billion in 2006, with London attracting 25 percent ofall Korean projects into Europe.
Think London provides free, confidential and comprehensive advice
to help international businesses set up and grow in London. The FDI
agency for London is able to assist companies who are interested in ap-
plying for any one of the 2,000 main contracts and the further estimated
50,000 supply chain contracts available in relation to 2012. Think Lon-
don has a well established track record of helping businesses establish
themselves in the capital and has helped more than 1,000 companies
from 43 countries since 1994. Over the past seven years, Think Londonhas assisted 30 Korean companies to set up or expand in the capital
including Samsung Design Europe, Hyundai Logistics, Hanjin and
Industrial Bank of Korea.
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8 www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
like to tell it as it is; over these
coming months I will unfold to you
the details from the grass roots end
of my businesses, and why as a social
entrepreneur I want to pass on my
skills so more people like many of you
can take a similar option.
Since my experience on Secret Million-
aire the whole environment around me has
changed: I am loving it. I learnt that I should
have even more of a social conscience in my
daily business; and so my whole businessethos has changed, whereby I focus much
more on customer needs. We are now work-
ing with The Wallich, a housing charity in
Llanelli town who help homeless and depen-
dant people get re-housed. The identifiable
need is that there is a shortage of secondary
residential rental housing to accommodate
the less fortunate individuals; therefore we
have refurbished two houses to licensed
shared housing status and have been ap-
proved by the environmental health office to
let as such. One of the buildings is dedicatedfor male occupancy and the other female.
The Wallich supply a case officer for each
tenant to help them back onto the housing
ladder and we let on a room-by-room basis
with living allowance paid by the rent office.
There is a very big demand for this type of
housing in the UK, and I urge landlords to
look into this option. In most cases, rents are
paid directly from the local council to my
bank account. The upshot is that my social
conscious is already, in a small way, satisfied
and its financially lucrative to boot.
My businesses
As you can probably tell, residentialrentals form the main long term hub of my
business; and are one of seven major
businesses that I own. We have had to
become innovative in the market; obtaining
finance has become tighter and rents drop-
ping by 18% on average across my portfolio.
Margins however, i.e. cash flow remains
strong as interest rates have dropped pro-
rata. I make money when I buy property
and every house has to cash flow from day
one of rental. I welcome the tightening up of
the law as a result of the housing act 2004except for one: direct living allowance pay-
ments to tenants as opposed to paying rents
directly to landlords. Government expected
this change to teach tenants how to handle
money; its not working. The tenant has to
be in 8 weeks of arrears before the council
will start paying landlord directly; so what is
actually happening is its encouraging tenants
to turn more to alcohol and drugs as they
spiral even more into debt and difficulty,
therefore its making the situation much
worse not better. Ultimately it will cost the
government more money as private sector
landlords are in some cases refusing to ac-
cept income supported tenants or have gonebust because of resulting rental shortfalls.
Top-down lessons
The government needs to wake up!! Our
business lost 23k in non payments last year
alone. Teach us finance and how to run a
home in school if you wish to be productive.
Our house is probably the biggest asset we
have in our lives; I find myself consistently
sitting down with consumers teaching them
how to draw up a simple asset and liabilities
cash flow plan as they have never beentaught what I believe is the most fundamen-
tal business planning.
See www.propertytrain.biz
In his new column, developer &
social entrepreneur Kevin givesus his unique take on social
conscience in business
TheKevinGreenColumn
I
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n many companies, marketing has
traditionally been seen as merely
a cost to the business.
While the sales department was responsi-
ble for bringing in the revenue, the market-
ing department, it seemed, was constantly
asking for further investment in a variety ofcampaigns, whose impact was hard to ascer-
tain.
While the common view was that market-
ing was necessary, in many businesses mar-
keting was tolerated, rather than embraced.
This is especially true in a world where a
product or service was created, and only
after its conception, was it handed over to
the marketing department. They would then
decide how best to take it to the customer base.
This approach worked for two reasons.
Firstly; we lived in a world of limited choice.Consumers, for many purchases, were lim-
ited by geographical boundaries. Whole mar-
ket sectors such as telecoms, utilities, air
travel and financial services had not been
deregulated in the way that they are today. In
this market, simply shouting that you ex-
isted, would often lead to some business.
The bigger the budget, the more you could
shout; by way of advertising, direct mailing,
cold calling etc., and the more business you
would often acquire.
Secondly; consumers were prepared tolisten to the shouting. Before the World Wide
Web and specifically Google, who made
sense of all the information that it contained,
it was quite difficult for consumers to find
out about new products and services and be
able to compare them. Traditionally, shout-
ing about your product or service was often
the only way consumers were made aware of
new developments in the market. Therefore,
while companies engaged in this activity to
sell their wares, consumers got some value
by learning about new products and servicesthat were available.
Today, this model simply does not work.
Consumers now have an abundance of
choice, which, in many cases, is no longer
limited by geographical boundaries. They
also have access to information regarding
that choice. Customers no longer want to lis-
ten to companies shouting, because there is
no longer any value in it for them. They
know that when they want to find out whats
available, they will have access to all the in-
formation they require on the internet.
In todays world, where the choice of
products and services is abundant, con-
sumers no longer take the same notice of
companies who make fantastic claims about
what they can provide.
Today, consumers make sense of all the
choice available by listening to each other.
Through social networks, blogs, messaging,
emails and forums, consumers disseminate
information and experiences about compa-
nies. It is this information that has such alarge influence on other purchasers.
Therefore, no longer is marketing just
about clever strap lines and imagery.
No longer is marketing about bombarding
the customer with messages, in the hope that
it will lead to some action further on down
the line.
With information regarding a product
or service readily available and easily
disseminated by consumers, they too
are now involved in shaping brands.
Marketing is now about being part of
that conversation.
Marketing is about helping to shape that
process. It is more about facilitation, than it
is about directing. If you want consumers to
talk about your product or service then themarketing must be built into that product or
service. For example; anyone can post a
video on YouTube for free, but every time
you do, by directing people to your video,
you are also marketing YouTube.
Marketing is no longer something that
should be thought about after the product or
service is conceptualised. It must be built
into the very essence of the product or
service. It is integral. In other words;
marketing today, more than ever before, has
to be at the heart of the business strategy.Marketing must be in the boardroom and
failing to do that is like a rudderless ship.
I
Why Marketing must
bein the boardroomBusiness marketing expert Grant Leboff looks at why marketing plans need to be front and centre
Grant Leboff is Principal of The Intelligent Sales Clubworking with companies on effective sales andmarketing strategies and lead generation; creating asteady stream of sales opportunities for businesses.For more information [email protected] or call 0844 478 0044
Marketing is no longersomething that should be
thought about after the productor service is conceptualised
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hat do Bill Gates, Warren
Buffet, Sir Tom Hunter and
Duncan Bannatyne all have in
common?The answer, apart from considerable
success, is that they're all committed
philanthropists, who have pledged to
give away the bulk of their fortunes to
good causes. And they're not alone as
with every month that passes, more and
more of the world's wealthy announce
their intention to devote their time and
their money to making the world a bet-
ter place.
So, what's driving them? Though there
are many reasons for giving, the mostoften cited is that it's an enjoyable and
rewarding experience. Victor Hugo once
said that "as the purse is emptied, so the
heart is filled", and for many, philan-
thropy does just that. It gives people
pleasure and life enrichment by know-
ing that they're making a difference. It
also allows them to achieve a
spend/give balance. For instance, while
he has had no problem in amassing his
fortune, the hedge fund manager Arpad
Busson said in a recent Guardian inter-view that his decision to embrace phi-
lanthropy was because he found it
impossible to enjoy his wealth, knowing
there are people out there who were
much less fortunate than himself.
For others, philanthropy can be the
ideal way of instilling family values and
educating their children, as showing the
next generation what a difference
wealth can make to others can help pre-
pare them for the responsibilities of in-
heritance. When asked what he wouldleave his children, Warren Buffet fa-
mously remarked: "A very rich person
would leave his kids enough to do any-
thing, but not enough to do nothing."
Worried about stifling their offsprings'
ambitions by giving them everything on
a plate, entrepreneurs in particular are
increasingly leaving the majority of their
wealth to good causes or charitable
foundations that they have created.Dragon's Den star Peter Jones has estab-
lished a trust fund to reward his children
for the good they do, their yearly al-
lowance dictated by their choice of fu-
ture career. He hopes it will encourage
them to consider professions that make
a difference to others, such as nursing or
teaching, rather than focusing purely on
those jobs with the best salaries. Like-
wise, his co-star, Duncan Bannatyne in-
tends to leave his entire fortune to his
Bannatyne Foundation. He fears thatleaving his children hundreds of mil-
lions of pounds would rob their lives of
any purpose.
Having a common goal
But as well as allowing children to fol-
low their own path, we have found
amongst our clients that philanthropy
can also bring families closer together. If
you own a successful family business,
setting up a charitable foundation can
allow those relatives not involved in theday-to-day running of the company to
work together for a common goal or
purpose.
For those that have sold their business or
are beginning to take a step back from
their profession, but are not quite ready
to sit back totally, philanthropy is an op-
portunity to apply both financial capital
and life experience in order to solve so-
cial problems. Rather than simply writ-
ing out a cheque, creating your own
dedicated fund or taking a hands-on ap-proach to the causes you support can
ensure that your money and expertise
are having the greatest impact. This can
often become a career in itself, with
similar rewards and the same sense of
achievement. When the late Anita Rod-
dick sold The Body Shop, it wasn't so
that she could sit back and enjoy the
fruits of her labours, it was so she could
devote the rest of her life to her charityfoundation.
Leaving a lasting legacy
In addition to making an impact during
your lifetime, philanthropy is also a way
of supporting a cause for the long term
and creating a lasting legacy. Setting up
a trust that will fund organisations or
charities in perpetuity will ensure that
your work will always make a difference
and will remind others of how strongly
you felt about a particular cause. For anexample look no further than Bill Gates.
At the moment he's famous for founding
Microsoft, but he hopes that after he's
gone, he'll be remembered for his com-
mitment to eradicating disease and end-
ing social inequality in Africa through
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
But whatever your initial motivation to
start giving, knowing how, where and
when can prove challenging. With so
many deserving causes, choosing the
right one is always going to be a toughdecision. And once that choice is made
there are further difficulties. How much
to give; whether to make a single dona-
tion or regular payments; how to gauge
a specific charity's performance before
supporting it and how to monitor the
impact your support is having. So if
you feel that philanthropy could be the
key to enriching your life, then Coutts
can help you develop your perfect giv-
ing strategy. From simple advice and re-
searching potential beneficiaries, tosetting up a charitable trust, our dedi-
cated philanthropy team will guide you
every step of the way, making it simple
for individuals, families and business
clients alike to start making a difference.
We look at the growing trend of the ubber wealthy entrepreneurs who are determined to give away their
wealth to help others instead of just handing it on to their future children and future generations
Giving it all away
W
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reen and Jacks a custom shirt
maker claims to be able to
read human personality from
their choice of shirts.
There have been lots of studies linking
colour to personality. Especially the research
by Dr. Max Lscher during the early 1900's is
very interesting. He studied the relationshipbetween choices of colour to human be-
haviour. Dr Lschers study has been used by
large companies, doctors and psychologists
to analyse human personality.
Green and Jacks a London based custom
shirt maker has applied colour research to
help their customers project the right image.
The colour and fit of the shirt that one chooses
gives an insight into ones personality.
What does your shirt say about you?
Crimson high energy, confident, passion-ate, sensual and brave leader
White honest, practical and natural..
Pink - confident, naughty and unconven-
tional.
Black powerful, elegant and mysterious.
Blue organised, warm, caring and intuitive
personality.
Yellow original, happy and helpful.
Grey a balanced and elegant thinker.
Brown A conventional person who loves
the outdoors.
A well fitting shirt often conveys a structured
mind and an organised personality. Choose
the fit and colour that projects and compli-
ments ones personality by visiting the custom
shirt store.
Green and Jacks custom shirt maker offer
free colour consultations. The perfect fit guar-
antee makes ordering custom made shirts risk
free to customers since alterations are free of
charge.
G
Telling who you are by
the shirt on your back
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atching up with Julie Meyer is one
thing, keeping up is quite another. The
fast-talking American is so full of ideas
and energy she reflects the equally dynamic
online and digital world she works in. During
our 45 minute meeting we cover everything
from Martin Luther to the recession and the
future of the 21st century. Do we have enough
time? she asks the start of the interview. I tellher we do, I am certainly wrong.
Confidant
Meyers business, Ariadne Capital, is, by its
most mundane description, an advisory,
investment and networking business. Meyer
will refer to it also as a marketing machine, a
revenue centre and place where
entrepreneurs back entrepreneurs. Its clients
include some of the hottest new properties in
the digital, online and media spaces. While its
50 or so founding shareholders are drawn from
the best of the UK and European digital world.
And, in the middle theres Meyer and her team
joining up the dots. My strategy with
entrepreneurs is to become their confidant and
for them never to doubt that I am on their side.Start-ups are such a hot kitchen, you have to be
the steady ship that they can lean on.
Funding Crisis
So, in the teeth of the worst recession and
financial crisis in years, are the deals still
getting done? Apparently so, Ariadne has
completed five fundraisings since December,
sees about 100 business plans per month and is
still hiring staff. Meyer also scoffs at the no-
tion that nobody is getting funded. When
people say nobody is getting funded, I thinkthey might not be getting funded by the VC
community, but theres a lot of private capital
out there; theres a lot of family offices and
entrepreneurs that have made money, and they
are looking for opportunities to channel into
their money and expertise.
This is where Ariadne fits in, working with
the start-ups and emerging businesses,
helping entrepreneurs overcome their funding
problems and build managerial capital through
its network. Meyer describes business develop-
ment in five main stages: concept, product, val-idation, scalability and sustainability and/or
exit. In order to effectively gauge a companys
valuation, she spots where the entrepreneur is
in this cycle, looks at comparable fundraisings
and gives the owner-manager the hard truth. A
lot of entrepreneurs have unrealistic expecta-
tions about valuations. But if you have them on
your side and they trust you, you can say lets
look at the deals done for companies at your
stage of development, youre not worth 10m
today, youre worth 3m, so lets get a deal
done.
Ideas V Money
The UK is no longer home to heavy manu-
facturing and huge nationalised or state-backed
businesses. Its economic future depends on the
efforts and ideas of entrepreneurs and small
businesses. Meyer believes that on this front we
have a lot to offer and sees the next century as
a period of mass entrepreneurship. But she is
less than impressed by both statesman and in-
stitutional investors, who still dont seem to
have grasped what this really means. There
are lots of great entrepreneurs in this country,
but the funding of entrepreneurship has notkept pace with it , she says.
The venture capital community needs to re-
vise how they relate to entrepreneurs and to
want to create more world-beaters. Trust be-
tween the VCs and entrepreneurs needs to be
improved and the former need to look at
owner-managers in a more positive light. Not
everybody is a Charles Dunstone (founder of
Carphone Warehouse), but theres more
Charles Dunstones in the market than the VC
community admits.
I am amazed by the amount of successfulentrepreneurs, who have made money and
want their next idea to be hit right out of the
ballpark, who say, you know what I dont want
anything to do with the VC community.
Ideas and innovation are essential
Backing winners
all the wayJulie Meyer the founder of Ariadne Capital, First Tuesday and latest
Dragon talks to Jon Card. As one of the foremost operators in the UKs
digital space she tells us about the web, whos going to beat the recession
and why being an entrepreneur is the best choice for the 21st century
C
V
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and always have been, but too much emphasis
is placed on the money, she argues. This leads
to the two groups fighting for control of the
bus theres also many cases of companies
being over-capitalised which makes profitable
exits unrealistic: It comes down to the philos-
ophy of the investor. Whos the hero of thestory? When I speak to the investors about who
they think are the important ones in the equa-
tion they say that we are the ones bringing the
money. But if you look at history it shows that
capital follows ideas, it always has and always
will.
Getting to market
So what makes a great idea or business,
Meyers draws from history to argue the
following: It isnt the best idea or product that
wins the day but the best idea/product with thebest distribution. Martin Luther had a radical
idea challenging the Catholic Church, but
without Gutenberg he would have been a mere
footnote of history.
Start-ups are front loaded needing lots ofcapital, ideas and talent right at the start to take
them out to market. For new technology-based
companies this is all the harder as develop-
ment costs can be high and consumers still
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MEYER AT A GLANCE
Born in the US, Meyer moved to Paris in
1988 and later went to the business school
Insead, which despite being in France was
just dominated by the Brits. In 1998, she
opted to move to London rather than SiliconValley, as she felt she could play a greater
role as it seemed almost possible to get to
know everybody who was working in the
internet. She founded First Tuesday, a now
legendary global networking business, which
brought entrepreneurs, suppliers and
investors together. They wore met green,
amber and red name badges respectively to
speed up the introductory process. In July
2000, she sold First Tuesday for 50m in
cash and shares and the formation of
Ariadne Capital followed in December of thatyear. She now has permanent residency in
the UK and is considering citizenship. Al-
though as an American, is not fully taken by
the idea of swearing an oath to our Queen.
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it failed to adapt and to listen to what con-
sumers were telling them. But now new com-
panies in the new media world are taking their
place and are getting funded. Look at for exam-
ple BView, an interactive review of businessescomplete with credit scoring, or Slice the Pie,
where fans can invest in musicians.
There seems to be something so much more
democratic about the companies she champi-
ons, compared to the dominant players of the
20th century. It isnt just about them making
money, but about the consumer getting a return
too. With this in mind, you start to get a flavour
of what she is envisaging when talks about afuture of mass entrepreneurship. A future where
we are all able to get the information we need,
invest in great ideas and depend on ourselves
above all.
DRAGON MEYER
Alongside Ariadne, Meyer has been
investing in companies via the online version
of Dragons Den. However, it has become so
popular that it is now scheduled for TV
broadcast this monthAs the latest addition to the Den, Meyer is
a change of direction for the show, as she
will not engage in the caustic put-downs
and withering looks that has helped to make
the show famous. I am never rude to
entrepreneurs, so I told the producers
please dont expect me to do that, as thats
not who I am. She wants to help
entrepreneurs and to explain why she isnt
investing without burying them. Apparently
this was a major breakthrough. And I was
told they liked my strategic insight, I thoughtI was just being nice to them and explaining
why I wasnt investing. At the time of
writing she has made two investments, one
survived due diligence, the other did not.
18 www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
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ooking to invest in a film, a new
band or an up and coming artist?
You could do a lot worse than spend a
day in Hospital. Want to meet up and
coming entrepreneurs? Perhaps you
should head to Adam Street.
Big business deals are moving out of the
Boardroom and into a range of different
venues. From the traditional grandeur of TheArts Club in Mayfair or The London Capital
Club in the City, to the more modern sur-
rounds of Soho and Shoreditch House and
the aforementioned Hospital Club, private
members clubs are thriving both in London
and across the country.
With the growth in the number of
entrepreneurs working from home, fed up
with looking for hotel lobbies, coffee shops
and bars for meetings, private members
clubs have enjoyed a renaissance in recent
years. While London has seen an explosionin the popularity of such venues, the trend
hasnt been restricted to the Capital. Ive
enjoyed meetings with members of clubs in
Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester and Birming-
ham among others.
A few years ago the network of which I
was Managing Director conducted an infor-
mal survey of our membership, primarily
micro and small businesses. We asked those
of our members who had also joined the In-
stitute of Directors the main reason for their
membership of the IoD. Over 85% of therespondents joined the IoD because of the
availability of their Clubs in Pall Mall. Since
that time the IoD has developed a network
of Hubs similar clubs with meeting space
across the UK, available to all members.
And its not just entrepreneurs. Business
leaders looking for a reliable, discreet venue
for business lunches, television celebrities
hammering out their latest contracts and in-
vestors looking for their next great project
can all be found enjoying the benefits of
club membership.Many members clubs are established to
cater for particular industries or professions,
encouraging like-minded people to collabo-
rate and support each other. Others boast
affiliations with similar establishments
abroad, or elsewhere in the country.
While many of the older clubs retain the
traditional rules, requiring mobiles to be
switched off, insisting on members wearing
ties and banning talk of business in manyareas, the new breed embrace business. In
many you will find members lost in their
laptops, with the Club acting as their virtual
office, while some, such as One Alfred
Place, in Bloomsbury, offer on-site PAs and
workstations.
If you are looking to find out where to
meet new people, create and develop
alliances and discover the next great deal, it
might be time to dust off your dancing shoesand go clubbing.
L
Going ClubbingBusiness networking specialist Andy Lopata looks some of the new crop of business clubs
Andy Lopata is one of the UKs leading business net-working and referrals strategists. The co-author of twobooks on networking, Andy works with companiesfrom one-man bands to global names such asNatWest Bank, Merrill Lynch, O2 and Capita to helpthem realise the full potential from their networks.
The Pool Room & Belini Loungeat The Hospital
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s new businesses are being es-tablished by entrepreneursacross the country, to suit the
market looking for more individualservice, businesses must focus oncreating a brand that can leveragetheir business financially.
Branding is affecting business more and
more everyday, so much so that it is taking over
larger shares of a business' value and becoming
an increasingly important factor when it comes
to differentiating yourselves from competitors.Brand is worth the investment successful
brands command premium positions,
customers will pay more and economic value
will be added to your organisation. A powerful
business asset, branding can be used to
strengthen customer retention and win new
clients and, maybe more importantly for the
future of business, good brands attract the right
calibre of employee something that is often
overlooked. Its estimated that 50% of Coca
Cola's worth lies in its trademark and weve
also found this with SME clients who havehoned in on creating a brand, not just a
business.
Xiros
Let's take a look at an example. Xiros, a
Yorkshire based medical devices manufacturer,
found that potential customers werent seeing
the business for what it truly was, an innovative
medical design house effectively missing out
on business they knew was right for them. After
evolving their existing brand and dissecting the
product offer, the business recorded a 700%increase in new business generation within 12
months. This has kick-started a period of
significant growth over the last two years.
Brand plays a significant part in how the
company is perceived and how it approaches
new business.
The existing customer's relationship with a
brand
As well as attracting new business, a
re-brand lets existing customers know that you
are evolving with the times and are able to
meet their changing needs in the businessworld. Selling to existing customers is the
easiest (and cheapest) way to increase revenue
and it is these customers who are most likely to
bring you new referrals.
Customers form emotional alliances with
strong brands, ultimately these brands are able
to command a higher price in the marketplace,
providing much stronger financial returns
throughout a business life cycle.
Attracting new customers
The current climate means that new
customers are much more cautious when
entering into new business relationships. They
will be on the lookout for a brand that they can
relate to, one that matches the needs and
values of their business.
This is where brand works most effectively.
Creating differentiation is one of the most
important attributes to a brand. A valuable
perception of quality in the mind of the
customer will guarantee you are competing
based on your credentials rather than on price.The current climate offers great opportuni-
ties for SMEs larger firms that sub-contract to
smaller independents are looking to cut costs.
SMEs need a good brand behind them to
leverage credibility for bigger contracts.
Interior Surfaces
Interior Surfaces, bespoke manufacturers of
solid and laminate surface products, decided to
invest in their brand as a way of attracting
larger contractors. They invested in a re-brand
because their existing image was not represen-tative of their capabilities and they wanted to
appeal to a larger commercial customer base.
They had a 5 year plan in place to double their
turnover, but achieved this in 2 after reposition-
ing the business as a complete solutions
provider. Turnover rose from 1.2m to 2.4m.
This was put down to the new brand and
strong design ideas bringing a sense of what
they were able to achieve to the company, both
within the business and externally, and have
since gone on to successfully win contractswith larger clients, and entered new markets.
Design with targets to meet
An effective brand strategy should deliver
results to the bottom line and therefore should
always have targets to meet and be measured
for performance. It should tie into your wider
marketing strategy and flow consistently within
an organisation's internal and external commu-
nications. This makes the brand a more power-
ful tool.
Branding affects business
Brand equity is turning into a corporate asset
that provides financial return and long term
profits, whilst also adding value to the cus-
tomer. From multinational companies to SMEs
the principles are the same - good brands will
be reflected in a stronger balance sheet with a
higher level of profitability for a given cost of
sales a very attractive proposition to build a
business around.
But what must be remembered first and
foremost is that a brand is not just a logo, it is
paying attention to detail to every aspect ofcommunication within an organisation, from
stationary to staff. If that is mastered then the
reputation of your company should prevail over
the competitors', and by word of mouth, you
should find yourself with a successful
business.
A
The value of a brand
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n the late 1960s there wasnt the
supermodels of the stature of Clau-dia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Kate
Moss or Naomi Campbell, but there
was a glut or normal people who were
needed to be in advertising that the
buyer could associate with.
So in 1969 Mark French founded
what was then the first character model
agency called Ugly and you could say
that he has never looked back as
steadily their roster of models grew as
did their clients.
Its name notwithstanding, Ugly does-nt just represent the odd and
grotesque, but real people. The agency
believes it is tapping into a shift in ad-
vertising trends, in which advertisers
seek models who look more like cus-
tomers, on the theory that the cus-tomers can better relate to them.
The agency now gets up to 100 e-
mailed applications per day. But photos
that give a good laugh are filed in a
desk drawer.
After over thirty years running Ugly
in the UK, Mark set about expanding
the business away from the UK. There
was only really one option as the first
venue and that was America. The land
of the free, and so French hooked up
with Simon Rogers, who after workingfor more than 20 years as a fashion
model knows the business inside and
out and had been friends with French
since they were teenagers.
Whilst it was a struggle at first as the
US is very different to the UK as there isa different union for every aspect of the
business commented French the pro-
gression has gone very well and now
Ugly NY is perhaps New York Citys
only modeling agency specializing in
booking non-professionals. A quick
look at their casting book highlights
models sized zero to 30; little people of
four feet and under; and sumo
wrestlers, old ladies, drag queens and
tattooed bikers, among others.
Other agencies avoid these kinds ofpeople, said the Shadow casting direc-
tor, Rene Torrire. Ugly has made a
home for them.
Ugly NY, which opened its doors in
Turning uglyI
Taking over
We talk to the British businesses who are leading the charge
Richard Alvin talks to Mark French about opening up his unique brand of
agency in the US and Americas facination wi th UGLY
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Americanfocus
the summer of 2007 has signed on
nearly 500 models so far and the pair
hope to expand their brand to other
cities, among them Los Angeles and
Berlin.
French actually decided to launch
the New York arm of the business as a
franchise which Rogers runs as it was alot easier using that model he explains.
That said he still spends one week
every month in New York and feels that
the inside of the BA cabin is his home
from home as he sees it so often.
Ugly NY talent representative Yvette
Ulrich says that New York is the best
city for this kind of agency.
A lot of New Yorkers, theyre not try-
ing to be anything else: this is it, they
show up as is, she said. Its not like
theyre getting dressed up in the morn-ing, thats who they are.
Ugly models can sometimes earn the
same rates as runway or other tradi-
tional models, though mainly it expects
to offer part-time gigs paying a few
hundred dollars a day.
I tell them, you can make money
being you, the way that you look, be-
cause its beautiful, Ulrich said.
Native New Yorker Najwa Moses
welcomes the chance to make money
from her appearance, whether or notthe looks she gets are flattering.
My hair is unusual and Im pretty
tall, so Im always getting looks, she
said. Some are positive and some are
negative, but theyre looking.
She was booked as an extra for the
movie version of Sex in the City be-
cause, she said, the directors liked her
different but fashionable look.
Model Betul Alganatay, featured on
Manhattan Storage ad on billboards,
says she chose Ugly NY because shedidnt want to get lost in a bigger
agency.
Ugly has a different attitude to-
wards the business, she said. They
look at it in a human way.
Anyway, theres really no such thing
as ugly, according to Rogers. Theres
boring, he said. But not ugly.
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24 www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
hile the Americans and theBritish have similar language
and culture, the two nations
are still quite different when it comes
to business.
Understanding these idiosyncrasies will
ensure you are better equipped to nego-
tiate deals and develop long-term busi-
ness relationships. There are some
primary aspects to consider:
Americans often build relationships
through business, not business through
relationships. Work out the details ofthe deal first, the relationships may
come later.
Active selling is expected, often to
a degree that may be regarded as exces-
sive in the UK.
Time is money, so be well prepared
with samples, packaging and sales
sheets. Know your return-on investment
calculations or sales forecasts, pricing
and logistics. Deadlines are real and
short; respond quickly or risk losing the
business. Know your competitive advantage
over specific US suppliers, as well as
your domestic and international track
record.
Being direct is a virtue; ask for
what you want, say what you mean and
do as you say. Being shy and
unassertive may be seen as a weakness
in the US. Americans wont take offence
to well-phrased, direct questions be-
cause they always reserve the right to
say no. Be positive. British tendency to be
self-effacing or downplay achievements
can clash with Americans can-do
attitude and tendency to take informa-
tion at face value.
Effective follow-up is essentialand often involves persistent and
repetitive attempts to make contact.
If you have called or emailed
someone 23 times and have not
heard back from them, do not as-
sume they are disinterested. In-
stead, remember that persistence
is expected in the US; it may take you
as many as 1012 attempts to get a re-
sponse, whether positive or negative.
Business conduct in the US is gen-
erally conservative, polite and succinct;it is important to clarify benefits for the
prospective customer.
The key to success is not being large
but having a strong product or service
offering and being able to clearly artic-
ulate your competitive advantage. US
buyers are time poor and bombarded
with marketing collateral and sales
pitches from hundreds of companies.
As a result, it is extremely difficult to
get their attention. Success in the
United States is often based on persis-tence. It is not uncommon for a buyer
to need to hear your message numerous
times before they can differentiate it
from all the others.
You should increase your chances of
getting noticed by keeping the message
concise and diversifying the channels
you use to deliver it, such as email,
telephone, publications, third parties
and personal visits. Americans were the
inventors of the 30-second sales pitch.
Whether you like or loathe the idea, thelevel of marketing noise bombarding
buyers and the number of competitors
makes it a necessity.
You need to be sure you can move a
US buyer from passive disinterest to
curious engagement as quickly and ef-
fectively as possible ideally in 30 to
60 seconds.
This concise pitch should include thefollowing four elements:
Articulate the problem your prod-
uct addresses, the solution it provides
and why its better than its competitors.
For example, My software solves the
problem of product tracking in the retail
industry and provides a 30 per cent
higher savings rate than my two top
competitors.
Use American English. It sounds
like common sense, but many UK busi-
ness people speak in metric units, refer-ence British locations and use British
slang in US pitches.
Try to reference companies that are
already active in the US when establish-
ing your advantage or credibility.
Whether presenting testimonials or
claims against competitors, the US
buyer needs to quickly understand who
you are in context of his or her current
environment.
Be specific about the benefits.
Avoid using generalities such as im-proven return-on-investment, productiv-
ity or sales. Instead provide specific
numbers, data and percentage increases
on aspects of business that show you
understand the buyers concerns.
W
Gaining that
competitiveedge
Use your britishness as
an advantage
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26 www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
Gordon Brown reputedly waitedmany years to step into the top job,yet when he eventually did he made
the mistake that so many other lead-ers have made before him. Gordonforgot to leave his old job behind.
It is no accident that the only major success
of Gordon Browns premiership so far has been
on the world financial stage. This is a world in
which he feels at home and so can use his
strengths and experience to full effect. He has
had somewhat less success however on the
media stage, promoting himself and his govern-
ment. So many leaders move into a new role
and fail to assess and define the priorities of the
new job, trying instead to use skills of old that
have served them so well on the upward climb.
It is this transition that can prove to be the
undoing of many a talented star who has risen
through the ranks delivering targets and achiev-
ing goals. The move into a more senior leader-
ship role often brings with it new responsibili-
ties, a broader strategic focus and the need to
consider every uttered word that may be
unpicked and analysed for hidden meaning.
Exhausting as it may seem, every decision,
every smile and every handshake must be
considered. The water-coolers and corridors of
offices can spurn discussions just as toxic as
those in the corridors of power.
Define priorities
It is in this transition that an Executive
Coach can prove invaluable. A coach can help
the new leader define the priorities of the new
job and to distinguish between what I like
doing, and what I should be doing. By chal-
lenging the rationale, the coach can bring a
unique honesty to task prioritisation, helping to
clarify the needs of the new role in the broader
organisational context. As a neutral party the
coach can also help raise awareness of the
strengths and weaknesses that the leader brings
to the role. An authentic appraisal of skills will
prove invaluable to achieving results. Only
then can the leader begin to shape the new
role and appreciate which tasks they should
take on, and which should be delegated to bet-
ter suited or more charismatic lieutenants.
Ultimately coaching is about taking action.
Priorities and awareness can only yield results
if acted on. A coach can provide the support
needed by leaders to define appropriate strate-
gies to move forward. As sounding board or
confidante the coach provides a unique think-
ing space which frees the mind from the shack-
les of fear and indecision. Helping to build an
action plan to enable the leader to travel to the
edges of their comfort zone but not beyond
their realm of competence.
Carmelina Lawton Smith, a Senior Lecturer & consultant with Oxford Brookes University
Business School looks at how to manage transition of top staff
You know you need a
business coach when...Youre facing
a transition
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30 www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
ntrepreneurs have been elevated by the media to become
role models, a position once reserved for footballers and
film stars.
Todays young people are as likely to aspire to become the next
Richard Branson, Peter Jones or Duncan Banatyne as they are tofollow in the footsteps of David Beckham or Jude Law.
The common factor among all these figures is one-in-a-million
talent. They are simply exceptional at what they do. And that
rubs off down the scale. Just as Fred Bloggs who plays for
Melchester Rovers Reserves reckons he must have that divine
talent too, so, it seems, does Joe Soap, who runs a business and
sees himself as an entrepreneur. And Mr Soap, at least, may have
to rethink.
Global business consultancy McKinney Rogers has just carried
out a survey of senior business executives and concluded that
Britains entrepreneurs should watch their backs because theyre
not as unique as they thought. There is evidence of a moreentrepreneurial generation hot on their heels, particularly from
emerging markets, which are embracing a more entrepreneurial
approach to business.
Train to be an entrepeneur
Coupled with that, a majority of respondents to the McKinney
Rogers survey believe entrepreneurship is not an innate gift and
can be developed.
The survey, which encompassed Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and
the US, was designed to gauge awareness, perceptions and trends
surrounding entrepreneurial skills in the corporate environment.
While an encouraging two-thirds of respondents (69 per cent)believe that in todays business environment it is important for
large organisations to develop a core competence of
entrepreneurship, the emergence of a more entrepreneurial spirit
in the boardroom is noticeably different in the UK from how it is
in some other regions.
The younger emerging markets are ready to embrace
entrepreneurship in a large organisation (50 per cent) as opposed
to only 27 per cent in Europe including the UK, where markets
are more established. This is supported by respondents who see
regions such as Africa having a widespread belief (88 per cent)
that entrepreneurs can be developed, compared with only 38
per cent of people surveyed in UK and the rest of Europe. Lessconstrained by tradition, these emerging markets are perhaps
more open to risk taking and creating a more flexible
environment and culture that can embrace entrepreneurship.
Key findings emerged when executives and business leaders
were asked to assess the defining characteristics of both CEOs
and entrepreneurs. There was a marked difference between the
E
The fame gameAs we all strive to be famous for more than our five
minutes, entrepeneurs are now joining the ranks of
David Beckham and gaining world-wide fame.
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two perceptions, with executives seeing more of a blurring of
the lines between entrepreneurs and business leaders,
heralding the emergence of a more entrepreneurial approach
to business from the next generation of business leaders.
Core skill baseExecutives saw both entrepreneurs and CEOs as strong
communicators, energetic, visionary, flexible, decisive,
intuitive and not independent operators. Executives also
viewed the role of a CEO as including risk taking and
flexibility, which CEOs themselves scored low in the survey as
core skills for themselves.
CEOs see entrepreneurs as passionate, energetic and highly
motivated and identified their key qualities as being visionary,
driven, persistent and decisive.
When respondents were asked which parts of the business
were important in achieving corporate entrepreneurship,interestingly, people and behaviour-related objectives, such as
encouraging ownership (72 per cent) and developing an
entrepreneurial culture (47 per cent), featured more highly
than operational focus areas such as creating and developing
new ventures (39 per cent).
Richard Watts, UK partner at McKinney Rogers, says:
What is interesting about this research in particular is the
openness to entrepreneurs by the less established markets and
also by newer industries such as technology, where the pace
of change necessitates a more maverick, flexible and
innovative approach to business.
For older, more established markets to continue toflourish, they need to keep pace and this means adopting
what is called intrapreneurship injecting some of the core
qualities of an entrepreneur into a large business and adapting
the culture to allow this to sit comfortably.
Gain a real understanding
McKinney Rogers CEO Damian McKinney says: These
results clearly highlight a real understanding across industry
that entrepreneurship has an increasingly important part to
play in driving a successful business. What business leaders
need to understand is that this isnt about recruiting a number
of entrepreneurs and hoping that they will make changes andexpect them to mould to the current culture.
The key is to identifying entrepreneurial qualities in
existing employees creating a culture that supports some of the
innovation, risk-taking and flexibility that is associated with
entrepreneurs empowering people to take ownership for this.
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You have an auditorium of people, youre administer-
ing death by PowerPoint and you know you need to
do something to engage them.
So someone in the audience has an idea and you ask them
if they could sketch it as a diagram. You take a pad over and
a peculiarly thick pen, they scrawl on the paper and it
appears on screen, in real time, as they draw it.
This is because the pen and the USB key youve put intoyour computer comprise PaperShow, a system that takes
whatever is drawn onto the special paper they provide and
puts it onto your laptop screen, and by extension wherever
your laptop display is focused. Its straightforward to use after
a slightly fiddly set-up, in which you have to deactivate your
computers Bluetooth and set up the key as a Bluetooth
receiver instead; once youre over that its a breeze and audi-
ences love it. One user we spoke to said it turned his presen-
tation into a conversation, which is exactly as he wanted it.
Auditorium and keynote speech settings are of course only
one possible use of this gadget. Any setting in which you
want extra participation will make this work. The interface is
a paper pad, so you can pass it around and unlike a white-
board with multiple inputs from tablet computers, whichcould also do the job, this costs 115 per unit. Mac users will
have to wait a few months for their release unless they install
Bootcamp or one of the other PC emulators and install a copy
of Windows, at which point it starts to work beautifully. You
can also use the memory/Bluetooth key for storage for
example, storing your presentation.
TechnologyGuy Clapperton shows you what you need to createthe right impression first time when presenting
If Spring is the season of mellow fruitfulness then the Autumn is when
the exhibitions start up in earnest.
A whole new raft of kit is required to make a companys exhibition presence fly;
this magazine is involved in Business North West and others from late October,
and locking everything down with security hardware from Kensington so it does-
nt go walkies; meanwhile youll need something for a good display, equipment
to help people interact with you in seminars and keep everything charged
Papershow
32 www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
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Laptop & Display
Logitech has released two new presenter tools for those
auditorium moments when youve seen your competitor
dashing to and from the computer and prodding away to
change to the next slide, or asking a colleague to switch
to the next image.Best for larger gatherings is the Presenter R800. This has
buttons you can operate to change slides, clearly, and also a
timer which vibrates when youre two minute, a minute and
30 seconds away from whenever youre due to finish, and
when it reaches zero it starts to count the minutes so you
know how long youre overrunning. Its reception range is
100 ft, so you can do a lot of wandering around a pretty
substantial room without losing control of your slides, and
its laser pointer is equally visible at a distance. This costs
69.99 and has a smaller sibling, the R400, which has a 50
ft range instead and fewer bells and whistles, costs 44.99
and will still control your presentation without say the tim-ing functions.
Logitech guarantees only that these devices will be com-
patible with PCs, presumably because of warranties and
suchlike; we tried one with a Mac running Powerpoint for
the Mac and it worked perfectly without any problem at all.
Some readers might have tried the PowerPoint controllers
which you can find on (for example) the iPhone. Many of
these have positive feedback and appear to work; they are
third party applications, however, and there is no guaranteethey will work when theres
an upgrade since
none are officially
sanctioned by Mi-
crosoft.
Logitech has also is-
sued some new mice
which are great when you
cant predict what sort of surface
will be available. The Performance
Mouse MX (89.99) and the compact
Anywhere Mouse MX (69.99) both workon smooth glass surfaces, which is usually
death to a mouse, by detecting tiny scratches
and irregularities on the surface.
The temptation, when there are laptops available for
around 300 or small netbooks for under 200, is togo and buy one of those and take that around with
you when youre on the road showing stuff.
The problem with that option is that the displays start to
let you down hooked up to a projector the small sub-200
models often distort the picture and the larger cheap models
are heavy and look distinctly non-businesslike.
Many people your correspondent included opt for
Apple for portability, but this is expensive and will require
an adapter (under 20 from any Apple store but another
layer of fiddling). For easy use with most peripherals like the
aforementioned pointers, mice and Papershow products it
makes sense to stick with PC for the moment, and MSis re-cent X600 laptop releases are a portable weight and have
full spec for a PC. They start at 599 for a model with 320
gigabytes on the disk and no optical drive and move to
799 if you need the CD and 500 gigs of storage as part of
the deal.
In terms of where to send the output, Apple sells excel-
lent quality large displays from its stores (try to avoid
ordering these online or
off the page, if you
can go and see one and check for dead pixels its better
than arranging a product return); many companies offer ex-cellent projectors and recent offerings from Toshiba and
Optoma offer full high-definition compatibility. Optoma
also offers a pocket projector, the Pico, which fits in the
pocket and will take a feed from a portable media player.
This is useful for impromptu presentations when there are
no obvious facilities around,
other than a
wall!
Presenter
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk 33
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"How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of
the world."
Cynical bloke, that Hamlet. Personally, I think 2009 has a lot of
promise. Im rather bullish actually. My tracker mortgage has gonedown by two-thirds and with the amount of beer I drink, 2.5 per cent
off VAT makes for a significant saving.
Seriously, money is like water it always finds its own level. Where
it flows out of one asset class and therefore deflating its price, it finds a
level in another thus inflating the price. Sounds easy, but the trick of
course is finding the new fertile pasture.
Of those assets that have been hammered, commodities have been
the most battered with the wheels properly falling off the super-cycle.
And here is my first one. Less than six months ago the price of oil was
$140 a barrel. Way too high. At the time of writing the spot price was
less than $38. Way too low and at that level the big producers will sim-
ply begin to turn off the taps and artificially inflate the price.Thus a nice big buy on a spread bet on the oil price. Shop around
for somewhere with a decent margin. In three months, you may find it
will be back towards a more natural price of around $75.
One place where our liquid money will flow in my view is Africa.
Look for companies like Cussons, which does huge retail business in
the more predictable parts of Africa particularly oil-rich Nigeria
with sensible consumer goods like white goods, non-perishable foods,
soap and household cleaning products.
Graham Benson, serial chairman & executive chairman, TriNorth
Oil that comes from places other than the Gulf , US or former Sovietterritories - already slowly moving in the right direction if still a bit
volatile.
Robbie Burns, professional trader and author The Naked Trader.
Horse weighing under 10st 10lb to win National
Buy Oil price
Buy up all non environmental 100w light bulbs left, set up internet
site to sell them later in year yielding a massive 3X profit. (20% payable
to me, please)
Jason Michelow, accountant and amateur diplomat, Essex.
2009 will show itself to be the year of the dragon.......investor. All
the bottom-of-the-cycle basement bargain prices will be achieved this
year. As a man of property my advice is "buy any high yielding stock in
the UK, USA & Germany.
Ignore claims on 'below market values. In fact, ignore values and
capital calculations completely.
Buy only on yield and rental cover (how much excess income you
have to meet your senior debt costs, expressed as a percentage. 125%is the absolute minimum banks will consider). Enter in commercial
property at risk. Residential will be where it's at as even the unem-
ployed need somewhere to live, but clearly not an office or shop or fac-
tory for the foreseeable future.
Peter Nurse, desk editor and serial poker fish, Dow Jones, London
Im old enough to remember Jim Slaters investment advice for 1974
shotgun cartridges, baked beans and Krugerrand.
But the sensible advice must be corporate bonds still bombed out,
but thats what Id do with money I needed. The big play must be infla-
tion proof assets, for when the governments strategy goes pear shaped
probably next year. 100,000 would probably buy 2 buy-to-let prop-erties from distressed sellers. You may have to wait a bit, but houses can
only remain below their building cost which is what is happening
now for so long.
Lucian Camp, advertising guru and chairman, Tangible Financial
I'd invest it in some reasonably creative and original form of pure
self-indulgence. I loved the thing that guy planned about going to eat
at every 3-star Michelin restaurant, although it was a real shame he
only got half way before something strange happened to him chronic
gout I imagine. Anyone who can string a few words together ought to
be able to make their money back on the book of the adventure, too.
If on the other hand the rules of the game insist that I have to look
for some sort of investment-style return on the money, then no question
that I'd buy land in Iceland. It's really cheap just now - and when that
global warming kicks in, it's going to be extremely attractive real estate.
Philip Martin, self-styled horse-racing genius and founder
and partner, Nucleus Financial, Edinburgh
That was the question that Stephen McDowell, editor in chief of the UKs number one investor website
interactive investor (www.iii.co.uk), asked some of his friends and some of the answers were interesting...
If you had 100,000 what
would you invest it in?
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ord Archer has been quietly
ploughing money into theatri-
cal productions since Lord
Lloyd Webbers Phantom of the
Opera.
He owns 35 per cent of the nationaltour of Sound of Music starring Connie
Fisher who won the part of Maria, the
singing nun, in a reality television show.
The biggest fish is named after Grease.
For good reason.
"I put 150,000 into the stage
production of Grease and have got back
1.5 million so far. It has been a fantastic
success," says Lord Archer. But he has not
always had the Midas touch. He lost
400,000 in a US production of Hello
Dolly.Lord Archer is working on a series of
short stories, writing in long hand with a
felt tip pen, in a study in the grounds of
the Old Vicarage at Grantchester. The
study, with its Pugin furniture, has echoes
of his time as an MP which ended in
financial ruin in 1974 and his 12 years as
a member of the House of Lords. His
second parliamentary career may yet be
brought to an end if ministers carry out
their threat to pass legislation banning
convicted criminals from the upperhouse.
On his desk is a new cover for his
1979 thriller Kane and Abel which has
been reprinted 84 times, and sold more
than 33 million copies. Lord Archer has
rewritten it to mark the 30th anniversary
of its original publication.
"I thought I would have another go at
it. I gave myself three weeks to read and
correct it." Nine months and 500 hoursand it was completed. It is now 7,000
words shorter.
"It is pacier, faster, as I am now a better
craftsman," said Lord Archer. "But the plot
and the ending are the same. Kane and
Abel changed my whole life. I bought the
Old Vicarage with it. I went from nothing
to a millionaire in 24 hours."
Lord Archer knows he will never win
an award from the critics for his prose but
if there were a Nobel Prize for storytelling
he would have won it years ago. He hassold more than 250 million books and is
in the top 10 best selling authors in the
world.
Lord Archer, by his own admission, has
had a roller coaster of a life which could
have come straight from the pages of one
of his novels. After his writing success
Margaret Thatcher made him deputy
chairman of the Conservative Party. He
stood down when he successfully sued a
newspaper which alleged he had paid for
sex with a prostitute. He bounced backagain to become a confidant of John
Major and was the overwhelming choice
of the party faithful to become the Tories
first candidate in the 1999 London
mayoral contest. But Lord Archer, hailed
by William Hague as a "man of
outstanding integrity," crashed and burned
again when he was sentenced to four
years in jail for perjury over his liaison
with that same prostitute 15 years earlier.Since his release Lord Archer has
turned his back on politics and dedicated
himself to writing and raising money for
charity as an auctioneer 2.2 million
last year. "Now that politics is out of the
way I enjoy writing even more," he said.
But he is still a member of two
Conservative associations, and has regular
lunches with members of the shadow
cabinet. He hardly knows David Cameron
but is not convinced he has what it takes
to succeed. "I was shocked by the recentopinion poll in The Daily Telegraph which
showed we have made no progress in
Scotland or the north of England. When I
was deputy chairman I could travel from
Glasgow to Edinburgh without leaving
Tory land. In a two-week period I covered
every constituency in which we had an
MP. T