Apologies, I have been remiss in keeping this blog up to date. Who would have thought that I would get too busy to blog? If I am honest, the other reason is my feeling that I send these words out into the ether and there they stay, trapped and unread! My inspiration came when a friend told me in the pub that she had read my blog! Imagine my surprise, she's not connected to SPEED at all, I had sent the initial posting to my long suffering friends and forgotten about it.
Did you know there is a Hive in Mansfield too? http://businesshive.ntu.ac.uk/event2.asp Based at the i-centre, hive@mansfield has been created to to support entrepreneurs in the north of Nottinghamshire. Mike Huxley, the Outreach Project Manager based in Mansfield has provided this link for finding suppliers of various products from China, India and Turkey for several Hive participants http://www.alibaba.com/ I believe our very own Dave Hammond http://www.muddesigns.co.uk/ has used this site for finding overseas suppliers of planters.
Another area we have been receiving many enquiries about is funding and finance. (oh yes, that old chestnut!) I had the following information from Claire Cox, Hive Operations Manager.
'You may be aware that The Hive’s Seedcorn Fund, a joint programme between EMDA and Nottingham Trent University has now concluded and is not likely to be repeated, at least in the short to medium term. We are therefore, looking for other options that might replace it but cannot suggest that there will be anything soon. Therefore, in the meantime can I remind everyone of EMDA’s East Midland’s Early Growth Fund (EMEGF) which might be an appropriate source of investment funding for some business ventures, at the right time.
The EMEGF is a £5m regional Venture Capital fund, sponsored by the East Midlands Development Agency, with the intention to support young start up and early stage companies in the region. The fund may provide funding in the region of £20,000 to £200,000 per company, in return for any equity stake. In addition, the fund expects their funding to be matched by other sources of finance, which may include the founders, Business Angels or other Venture Capital. http://www.earlygrowthfund-em.co.uk/main/default.aspx
As with any funding, it's a good idea to talk through with us before making any approach, as we may be able to point you in the right direction and even help you in drafting your application!
There is also to be another round of the Anubis Project http://www.anubisproject.co.uk/ aimed at technological (is that a real word?) innovators
That's all I can fit in for now, pics of the (v wet) holiday in Wales to follow...
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