BLN News – The BLNN

The BLNN brings you curated news about entrepreneurial business that you might find interesting.

Clicking on a headline takes you to alternative (and more indepth) source for the story.

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BLN Recruiting – Events/Membership Manager

The Business Leaders Network (BLN) runs events – workshops, dinners and conferences - for entrepreneurs and investors engaged in building growth businesses. Founded in the month prior to the Lehman Bros crash, we have grown steadily over the past 18 months in a tough market environment. We now need some more people to help us! The Role Building on our reputation and existing event programme, we are now looking to develop our event programme and membership model. We are looking for support, initially part-time, to help manage a busy office, take control of the development and delivery of specific events and to develop a membership programme. We require an individual who is capable and eager to take ownership of tasks to ensure that not only are deadlines met, but with the highest quality results. With too much to be done every day, we can tailor the role to suit the right candidate’s skill set. You will liaise with existing and prospective BLN members, as well as working with other professionals. You will be able to pick new things up quickly and be prepared to work in a small team. The role will also involve putting together event booklets and delegate material, as well as managing project plans. Candidates are likely to have experience in some of the following: event management; conference production; membership management; investor relations; corporate finance; event marketing; web site management; blogging. This is a role for a candidate who is looking to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment for 2 days per week, with the potential for additional work opportunities from home. Core deliverables: -          Communicating regularly with clients & responding to enquiries -          Maintaining & updating current records -          Identifying potential future BLN members from a range of sources -          Helping to secure attendees for events -          Ensuring a high degree of accuracy in the production of BLN documents/reports -          Ad-hoc project flexibility -          Event management assistance Hours We will be as flexible as possible in terms of working hours – we recognise that sometimes the best people for a role don’t have the luxury of a 9-5 lifestyle. The role could be particularly suitable for example for a parent who is looking to move back into the real world. How to Apply: To apply please simply send your CV and a covering letter via email to darren@TheBLN.com. We will review all applicants and respond back to you. Successful applications will be called for interview shortly afterwards.
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Richemont to buy Net-a-Porter for £350 million

It was reported in the Sunday Telegraph this week and confirmed by insiders today. Richemont has been an investor in Net-a-Porter for many years and hold a 29% stake so it is not the biggest surprise that they have emerged as the purchaser of Net-a-Porter. They have had plenty of time to size up the business and the price seems reasonable given both the growth and the brand. A good day for Natalie Massanet and Mark Sebba, the founder and CEO respectively.

BLN Internship Opportunities

Internship Period: Ongoing and urgent requirement! Can run for 3-4 months depending on candidate. The Business Leaders Network (BLN) is a national network for entrepreneurs and investors engaged in building growth businesses. We promote and arrange introductions for our members; we run a blog covering high growth business for the entrepreneurial community; we run events across the UK that promote interaction, investment and discussion between the individuals behind the UK’s most active investors, businesses and innovation clusters. BLN is looking for a couple of bright and enthusiastic team players for intern roles. Roles will involve researching, planning and delivering projects in a number of interesting sectors. They all require individuals who are capable and eager to take ownership of tasks to ensure that not only are deadlines met, but you deliver the highest quality results. You will spend the majority of your time researching, evaluating and engaging with fast growth companies but will also have the opportunity to work on the BLN event programmes. Successful applicants will have responsibility for creating and implementing multiple projects across sectors including ecommerce, SaaS, Cleantech, Digital Media, gaming etc. Other projects include developing a membership services offering, and working on a national entrepreneurship competition. Candidate Requirements:
  • Previous undergraduate work experience, preferably in contacting/interviewing people on the phone and performing research over the web
  • Professional attitude and ability to interact with senior-level executives (CEO, CFO, and VP) over the telephone, and in person
  • Strong follow-up and time management skills, as well as the ability to work on multiple projects at the same time
  • Self-motivated, "can-do" mentality and structured work habits
  • Fluent English (verbal and written)
  • Blogging experience an advantage
  • Competence with standard Office applicaitons, interest and engagement in social media and web
  • Ability to work as part of a small, focused team and have FUN.
How to Apply: please simply send your CV and a covering letter via email to darren@TheBLN.com. We will review and respond to all applicants. Successful applications will be called for interview shortly afterwards. EU nationality or a valid residency and/or work permit is required prior to the internship.
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Kublax, UK’s answer to Mint.com going into administration as it fails to raise funding

Kublax, the UK's answer to Mint.com is to go into administration as it reportedly failed to raise further financing. Kublax was one of the most interesting outputs of Seedcamp 2007 and promised to allow you to manage all of your bank accounts and credit cards in one place. Despite a reported $1 million first round and some of the most established early stage internet investors on board, the business could not raise further finance. Sad news that highlights just how hard, and expensive, it is to create a business from scratch in the web space.
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Real-time location going mainstream with British firm at forefront

Airbus and Ubisense announced a ten year partnership to deliver precise real-time location systems at multiple Airbus facilities. Simply put, Ubisense helps companies like Airbus keep track of valuable stuff across large facilities and locations. The take up of real-time location systems has taken a while, largely because most of the solutions have been technology, rather than solution led.  Ubisense uses its own proprietary technology alongside other best of breed solutions to solve real problems for diverse industries including agriculture (precise real-time cow tracking anyone?), the military, manufacturing and aerospace.

Cleantech? Tesla CEO flies private jet to Washington to ask congress for loan

The irony. Congress berates Big Three automotive companies for flying one their corporate jets to ask for bailouts. while Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors flies into Washington on his private jet (and takes 10 flights in the year charged to Tesla the company) to finalise the details of Tesla's loan. Victory for capitalism? Greenwash? Hypocrisy?

AMEE closes $5.5 million Series B to measure the carbon footprint of everything

Amadeus Capital Partners led a $5.5 million round of investment into AMEE. AMEE aims to build a system that can measure the carbon footprint of anything. As regulatory and consumer pressure increase in an effort to tackle climate change, this is an emerging sector that could be worth up to $4 billion a year by 2017 according to some analysts.
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Cognitive Match pulls in $2.5m for realtime content-matching

The Cognitive Match startup is applying artificial intelligence, learning mathematics, psychology and semantic technologies to match content (product, offers, or editorial) to realtime content. Last year it raised a Series A investment from Dawn Capital, rumoured to be in the $1m+ ballpark. Today Dawn has stepped in again with a follow-on Series B investment of $2.5m which the company will use to accelerate its growth. That takes it’s war-chest to around $3.5m

Rumour – GSK to close Harlow facility and neuroscience across UK

Rumour: GSK, following their announcement reported in the FT on 31st January of a likely 3,000 job cuts globally, are to close their Harlow branch, formerly the Smith Kline Beecham flagship facility, with the likely loss of 2,000 jobs. Workers at the facility were told they would be made redundant on Thursday.

Autonomy raises guidance. Economic climate is, “winter with snowdrops”

Get behind us recession! Autonomy Corporation raised guidance on 2010 earnings and reported 43% rise in pre-tax profits. Saw spending on discretionary items up in fourth quarter of 2009. Mike Lynch anticipates increasing guidance further, 'if things carry on as they are'. He described the economic climate in their annual results presentation as, 'winter with snowdrops, just short of a full spring revival'.
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Bridgepoint sells Pets at Home to KKR for £995 million

Good news! And so private equity lumbers into action again. Pets are big business.

$350 million of VC funds hope they have found a Better Place for ROI

Following on from a $200 million funding round in 2007, Better Place has raised a whopping $ 250 million Series B round valuing the business according to investors including HSBC, Lazard Asset Management and Morgan Stanley Investment Management.  Better Place was founded by Shai Agassi. Better Place plans to set up battery swapping stations allowing consumers to lease batteries and swap them as they get low with freshly charged ones. Definitely innovative but if this gets big, you can expect them to have serious competition from all sorts of angles. Not for the faint hearted. The company does not expect to have product in the market until 2011.

Atlas shrinks the world

One of Europe’s original Transatlantic venture funds, Atlas Venture,  is consolidating in Boston. The redoubtable Fred Destin will relocate where he will focus on levering his European experience by building US companies. Christopher Spray, Managing Partner  of the European operation will remain in London to manage the European portfolio. Graham O’Keeffe and Regina Hodits will transition to Venture Partner roles.

Corporate venturing back? Alstom & Schneider Electric launch venture fund

Alstom and Schneider Electric launched a EU 70 million fund to invest in early stage  environmental and clean technologies.

News Apps – another way for entrepreneurs to ’steal’ someone else’s news?

Many of the popular paid for news reading apps are NOTHING to do with the organisations whose news deliver - the two most popular New York Times Apps are not made by the New York Times, the BBC Mobile News Reader is not from the BBC. Industries in flux are truly profitable places to be if you are a fleet footed entrepreneur - or a lawyer.

Microsoft & HP to invest $250 million in cloud platform

Or as their pres release says, "HP and Microsoft Simplify Technology Environments With Solutions Built on New Infrastructure-to-Application Mode". Snappy.

Plastic Logic closes $35 million financing prior to launching at CES

Venture funded Plastic Logic has closed a further round of $35 million from existing investors prior to launching their first product, the Que, at CES.

Cisco is acquisition king of the noughties. Race for the teens already underway.

Congratulations Cisco Systems. According to the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones VentureNews, these are the 10 most acquisitive technology companies over the past decade. (Number of acquisitions in parentheses).
  1. Cisco Systems – 48
  2. IBM – 35
  3. Microsoft – 30
  4. EMC Corporation – 25
  5. Oracle Corporation – 23
  6. Broadcom – 18
  7. Symantec – 18
  8. HP (Hewlett-Packard) – 18
  9. Google – 17
  10. Sun Microsystems – 16
Cisco have also been spending a lot of money. Their deals include Arrowpoint Communications, ($5.7 billion, 2000), Scientific Atlanta ($6.9 billion, 2003) and WebEx ($3.2 billion) as well as Starent Networks ($2.9 billion, 2009) and Tandberg (reported $3 billion) in 2009. While this is enough in 2009 to make Cisco one of the primary acquirers by value in 2009, these are the only two deals they completed in 2009. Bear in mind that these numbers are for a decade. The picture is different for 2009 where some less traditionally 'tech' businesses come in like Abbott Laboratories and Amazon.com:
  1. Oracle – 5
  2. EMC Corporation – 4
  3. Thomson Reuters – 3
  4. Google – 3
  5. IBM – 3
  6. CA – 2
  7. Barracuda Networks – 2
  8. NCR – 2
  9. Cisco Systems – 2
  10. Texas Instruments – 2
  11. Amazon.com – 2
  12. Abbott Laboratories – 2
  13. BakBone Software – 2
  14. Nuance Communications – 2
  15. Versata Enterprises – 2
  16. Sparxent – 2
  17. Informatica – 2
  18. Boku – 2
  19. Intuit – 2
  20. McAfee – 2
  21. Medtronic – 2
The public information released by Dow Jones does not give information about the specific deals or the values associated with them which makes seeing what has been missed tedious but there are a couple of implications for entrepreneurs.
  • In reality, it is not very common to get bought by a large technology company. Over the course of the first decade of the millenium, over 258 companies were purchased by the 10 most active technology acquirers. That is an average of 26 per year globally. That is not very many acquisitions given there are probably 10,000 startups per year that are basing their exit strategy on an acquisition.
  • To be part of the acquired group, you need to have customers, technology or something less tangible that an acquirer REALLY, REALLY, wants.
The List in 10 years from now It is possible that 2009 shows the start of another trend and it would be fascinating to consider what this list looks like in 10 years time which would be really useful information to have right now. I would expect to see Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Salesforce figuring as they move into more mature phases of their existences and drive into new markets. These would come, possibly at the expense of Sun (duh), Oracle (will probably need to make fewer bigger acquisitions as it reinvents itself), Symantec (future of cloud computing may have significant implications for the business) and HP. Of course, like all predictions, others may have a view. Would love to know your thoughts on the Top Ten Tech Acquirers 2020. A bottle of champagne to the most accurate prediction!

Jajah bought by Telefonica for $207 million. Silicon Valley bought by European

Jajah, the Israeli founded IP telco that moved to Silicon Valley and has been rumoured to be in discussions with O2 and other major European Telcos has been purchased by Telefonica (owner of O2) according to the FT.

Lloyds Banking Group admits missing lending target

Lloyds TSB Bank admits that it has missed its lending target set by the government as part of its bailout. This will only come as news or a surprise if you are a senior banker or member of the government.

Plastic Logic closes $35 million financing prior to launching at CES

Venture funded Plastic Logic has closed a further round of $35 million from existing investors prior to launching their first product, the Que, at CES.

Abu Dhabi bails Dubai out with $10 billion

Abu Dhabi comes in with $10 billion to allow the Dubai government and Nakheel to service payment on Dubai World's non-interest paying Sukuk. Hands up if you are surprised? Thought so.

Real life eBay for Pirates. You can’t fault the enterprise.

Free enterprise is alive and well in Somalia, seemingly the spiritual home of piracy in the Horn of Africa. Just shows you will never know when evidence of entrepreneurial spirit will pop up and surprise you. This report from Thomson Reuters reports on the pirate exchange that has been set up in Haradheere, Somalia that enables locals to invest and profit from the activities of pirates operating off the coast. "Piracy-related business has become the main profitable economic activity in our area and as locals we depend on their output," said Mohamed Adam, the town's deputy security officer. "The district gets a percentage of every ransom from ships that have been released, and that goes on public infrastructure, including our hospital and our public schools."

Chelsea and Yorkshire Building Societies discuss merger

Well I suppose they have such similar cultures...

Whitfield Solar completes £2.7m funding round to drive commercial roll-out of its concentrated photovoltaic platform

Strata Partners advises Whitfield Solar Limited on a £2.7 million private placement. The funding round was led by an undisclosed private syndicate of new investors and supported by existing investors Carbon Trust Investment Ltd, the Cascade Fund and Kilsby Ltd.
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