Thank you to everyone who came out to Idea Idol 2009 last Thursday! We gave away £10k in cash, £2k in legal support from Henmans llp and many other prizes in a gripping finale attended by over 350 Oxford Entrepreneurs – concluding both our Ideas2Market programme and our Idea Idol competition. Click here to read the summary and click here to see the the pictures.
March 5, 2009 – 6.00pm, Said Business School
Click here to register
Idea Idol is the flagship ideas competition run by Oxford Entrepreneurs where we give away up to £10,000 and many other prizes. On March 5, 2009 the 7 finalists are going head to head with a star-studded panel of judges – including Julie Meyer (CEO of Ariadne Capital), Ian Robin (Director of Skype for Business), Will Ghali (Marketing Director of Cobra Beer), and Ian Carnegie-Brown (MD of Investment Banking at Credit Suisse) for their chance to win 10k. Come along for free giveaways, cobra beer and food, a start-up exhibition, and your chance to meet some of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the country.
This is the OE event of the year – an event not to be missed!
February 26, 2009 – 5.30pm Said Business School
REGISTRATION FULL
James Caan is CEO of private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw and has been building and selling businesses since 1985. Having founded the Alexander Mann Group in 1985 and co-founded executive head-hunting firm Humana International with his partner Doug Bugie, 2001 Caan was awarded the BT Enterprise of the Year award and the PricewaterhouseCoopers Entrepreneur of the Year 2003.
Setting up London-based Hamilton Bradshaw in 2004, the private equity company specialises in buyouts, venture capital, turnarounds and real estate investments and development opportunities in both the UK and Europe. In October 2007, Caan joined the panel in the fifth series of BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den and filmed series six transmitted this Autumn soon to be followed by with a 1 hour special ‘Outside of The Den’ following up on Den Investments as well as exploring both his business and personal journey. September 2008 saw James publish his Autobiography The Real Deal – an incredible story of his remarkable life. From his childhood as a Pakistani immigrant to the phenomenal success of his first company, this book traces James’s journey to both financial and personal maturity. Published by Virgin it deals with his fear at realising his goals too early, and offers a frank account of what success at 30 really means.
A married father of two daughters, Caan has homes in London, the South of France and Pakistan.
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February 16, 2009 – 6.30pm University of Oxford Careers Service, 56 Banbury Rd.Being able to sell effectively is an essential pre-requisite to being an entrepreneur. A successful business needs clients, partners, investors, and staff all of whom need to be successfully sold to. Sales is often a mis-understood and much maligned part of business. However it is far more than the “gift of the gab” and is a professional skill which can be developed. In this seminar John Thompson explains why sales skills are so important, and how having effective sales skills can positively impact business, careers and life generally. John will outline some of the key elements of the sales process and some of the essential skills and techniques needed to make sales and make a difference. Click here to register.
John Thompson, 37, is a computer science graduate of the University of Wales, and started his career in software research. He discovered sales four years later, and began selling for a successful software start up in Oxford in 1996. John increased his earnings by 6 times in his first year in sales, and went on to be a top achieving sales person and sales manager increasing sales by 1000%. In 2001 he co-founded Commerce Decisions and was its CEO from inception to its sale in an all cash £12m deal in 2008. John’s approach to selling was instrumental to getting the company started, staffed, funded, growing and profitable. The company has won many major Government Departments and blue chips as clients. |
February 2, 2009 – 6:30pm University of Oxford Careers Service, 56 Banbury Rd.
There has never been a better time to build an ‘ideas’ culture. Mike Skidmore is what is known today as a ‘pluralist’, specialising in brand strategy and the employer brand, creative facilitation and coaching, and portrait painting. Mike believes that business cultures must be innovative and capable of change, and that creativity is no longer a luxury, it is an essential component of everyday business life – where those businesses that prosper will have a reputation for innovative solutions and be underpinned by an ‘ideas’ culture.
In this seminar, Mike draws on his experiences to explore the creative opportunities that exist within businesses, particularly in a recession, methodologies for development and overcoming barriers to success. With experience in many sectors, from the Investigating Innovative Ideas programme for the DTI, to blue chip retailers, education and cooperation initiatives for the UN, he has some interesting insights into making creativity work. Attendees will explore new approaches to: develop and apply their creativity, get the best contributions from colleagues, and create an ‘ideas culture’ in the successful businesses they intend to create. Click here to register for the workshop.
January 29, 2009 – 3:30-5:00pm
The Vaults & Gardens (Radcliffe Square)
Join Oxford Entrepreneurs, SIFE Oxford and OxHub at the Vaults and Gardens and meet some of the most innovative social entrepreneurs from Oxford. If you have a social enterprise or lead a socially-minded organisation and wish to have a display and distribute literature at the event for free, please note this in your registration. Please register your attendance by emailing SIFE@oxfordentrepreneurs.co.uk.
January 22, 2009 – 7pm
University of Oxford Careers Service, 56 Banbury Rd.
Idea Idol is the flagship ideas competition run by Oxford Entrepreneurs. We are giving away up to £10,000 and many other prizes for your ideas. Come along to the Idea Idol Information Session on January 22, 2009 to learn about the competition and to hear from last year’s winners. Click here to register for the session.
The deadline for Idea Idol 2009 Entries is February 1, 2009 at 17:00. Click here for more information on Idea Idol 2009 and to submit your entry.
The Bridge, 8-10pm – Hythe Brige Street, Oxford
Join the OE Commitee for a Night at the Bridge! In celebration of our first term’s success, the Oxford Entrepreneurs Commitee would like to invite you to a festive drinks evening at the Bridge on Tuesday, Decemeber 2nd from 8-10pm. Join our guest list, and wile away the hours with jump-the-queue passes and exclusive entry into the VIP section.
The first 50 people will receive free OE Cocktails. Arrive by 8:30 to jump the queue!
Click here to get on the guest list!
| November 27, 2008 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Said Business School, Rhodes Trust Theatre
For many young entrepreneurs starting a business, the biggest challenge is raising the funds to get the business off the ground. Are you looking to raise capital for your start-up, but don’t know where to begin? What funding options are available and which one is best for you? What are investors looking for and how can you best position yourself for success? Join OxPEN and OE for Into the Dragon’s Den, a panel discussion that explores the merits and drawbacks of possible sources of funding and provides insights on what to say and do to land investment.
Click here to register while places are still available!
Enterprising Women Series
Oxford Entrepreneurs Enterprising Women Series
November 19, 2008, 7-9pm
SBS, Reception Hall
On Global Women’s Enterprise Day, join OE and Oxford Women in Business for an evening workshop with OxWIB Founding Patron Sue Stockdale, a lecturer on entrepreneurship and leadership and the author of best selling books Kickstart Your Motivation and Secrets of Successful Women Entrepreneurs. Her business career extends from a senior management role in Corporate Training in a UK Utility, to leading a major improvement project within the United Nations in the Former Yugoslavia. As a successful polar adventurer and athlete, Sue was the first British woman to walk to the Magnetic North Pole, has participated in expeditions to the Geographical North Pole, Antarctica and Greenland, and has represented Scotland in 3000m and cross country events. In 1997 she founded Mission Possible, a company providing a range of support for corporate and entrepreneurial women across Europe. She is passionate about supporting women and is a Women’s Enterprise Ambassador. In 2003 Sue was recognised as a Pioneer to the Nation by HM The Queen.
