Milking It
Friday, 15 November 2019
Dear <<First Name>>,
What do you want to ask Britain's leaders? If Lord Ashcroft's focus groups are anything to go by, perhaps why Boris he puts the milk in before taking the teabag out? Or who's going to pay you for a four-day week? (Or something even more amusing, if unprintable)
On 25 November you'll have the chance to ask some of the UK's political heavyweights your burning questions, when we join forces with Enterprise Nation, IPSE, Coadec and ICAEW for a hustings in Moorgate.
The 2019 General Election Small Business Debate will be chaired by the FT's Dan Thomas, and will feature: Liz Truss (Conservative), Ed Davey (Lib Dems), Bill Esterson (Labour), Amelia Womack (Greens), and Benyamin Habib (Brexit).
Find out more here, and sign up here. You'll need the code 'TENHUSTING' to get your ticket. I hope to see you there!
(NB. I'll update you next week with details of the live stream, as well as IPSE's Scottish hustings.)
Members' Manifesto
I'm not sure why it's taking the major parties so long to produce their manifestos. We managed to write ours with Coadec in a week. It's a blueprint for any new government that wants to unleash the dynamism of Britain's ambitious startups.
We will launch it in about a week, but before this we're asking entrepreneurs to sign a letter to back the policies. If you want to take a sneak peek at the Manifesto with a view to signing the open letter, please sign up here for FREE to become a Member of The Entrepreneurs Network.
By backing us, you are backing Britain's entrepreneurs.
Queen of the castle
New research from Octopus Ventures ranks universities on the number of high quality spinouts they produce. Queen’s University Belfast tops the list.
The size of the opportunity for the UK to capitalise on more academic spinouts is massive. In the US, MIT alone has been the genesis for 26,000 companies with a combined turnover of $2tn (65% of UK GDP).
Trevor Clawson has written about it for Forbes, and you can read the full report here.
Wise Words
James Wise of Balderton has created an open sourced list for those interested in the tech policies being debated and proposed by the parties in the run-up to the election. Feel free to add policies, discuss and vote for favourites here.
News and Views
Boris Johnson has pledged to double public funding for R&D if he’s re-elected
Related: Nearly a third of US patents rely directly on US government funded research
Everything you ever wanted to know about how broadband in the UK compares internationally
What we never hear is a promise to simply stop piling on new costs – a moratorium, say, on any measures that raise the cost of doing business for smaller companies for a couple of years”
New businesses registrations in France were up 15.7 per cent in October (Paywall – FT)
According to the general public, technology companies are twice as trustworthy as the media
“Here are the five policy areas that business leaders and industry lobby groups have told the Financial Times they would most like to see addressed by the winner of next month’s general election” (Paywall – FT)
“In a scathing review of the parties’ proposals to reduce in-work poverty, the IFS said less than one in five of the people who would benefit from a higher minimum wage lived in low-income households”
Exposure to more VC judges at Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition increases male participants’ chances of founding a VC-backed startup after HBS much more than this exposure increases female participants’ chances. Why? In part because male participants more likely to proactively reach out to VC judges after the competition.
Nesta on what to do to maintain the UK’s international innovation standing
The unexpected effect of high-speed trains on board talent
David Cameron on regulating tech, criminal gangs and the Wild West internet
Eric Schimdt is spending $1 billion to identify and support young talent: ”Among a range of pursuits, we envision that Rise winners will create policy, build new enterprises that benefit the public, catalyze new interdisciplinary areas of study, and develop new solutions to the world’s hardest problems”
(If you like your ideas BIG, check out our latest Three Big Ideas newsletter on Competing with China, AI regulation, and declining sound quality, and make sure you don't miss another by signing up here.)
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EVENTS
Finding Product-Market Fit with Co-Founder and CEO of Slido and Hoxton Ventures
20 November 2019
6:30pm to 9pm
Wework, 8 Devonshire Square, London
£15 (+VAT)
Find out more
Peter Komorník is the co-founder & CEO of Slido, an audience interaction platform that transforms the world of meetings and conferences. Since 2012, Slido has been used at over 400,000 events including customers such as SXSW, World Economic Forum, BBC, etc. After the talk with Slido we will have an Investment Q&A with Partner of Hoxton Ventures, Hussein Kanji and serial entrepreneur Kenneth Siber.
What Next for Monetary Policy?
27 November 2019
1.30pm to 5.30pm
Portland Communications, London
Free
Find out more
Since the 2008 financial crash, monetary policy has played an outsized role in political economies around the world. Speakers include Martin Wolf CBE.
IoD Liverpool – Christmas Social
11 December 2019
5.30pm to 8.30pm
Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool
£15 (+VAT)
Find out more
Celebrate with other local business leaders over drinks and festive food.
Best,
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