27 Feb 2014

Mobile Miscellany, 27th Feb 2014, MWC Cinderella Special


Whether you're a stay-at-home this week, eschewing the tapas scene in Barcelona or you're making like Cinderella while your ugly sisters enjoy that tapas scene - or even if you've been there, done that, and are now returning home replete with all that MWC has to offer ... we have a short Mobile Miscellany for you with the usual mix of news and offers ...

Last Event, 17th Feb Acceleration and Finance

A packed house last week to hear our super star line up of Simon Cook of DFJ Esprit, Jon Bradford of Techstars, Simon Devonshire of Wayra, Jessica Stacey of NESTA, Brian Taylor of PixelPin and Diane Perlman of Microsoft Ventures superbly chaired by John Spindler of Capital Enterprise. You can read all about it thanks to Simon Andrews of Addictive with video interviews by Tim Green and a full podcast thanks to Mark Bridge of The Fonecast ... all that plus the much asked about presentations by John and Jessica can be found here.

Google Cloud Platform Briefing, this Friday 28th Feb

Google Cloud Platform is holding an event that will be interesting for technical leaders in the mobile community.  It includes the opportunity for 1:1 consultation on building a backend for your mobile app. At 123 Buckingham Palace Road, it's free. Register here.

Starting Soon...The Mobile Academy Spring 2014, 25th March to 27th May

“Need to Know Mobile” Talks, Workshops and Surgeries with Industry Experts in Business, Design and How to work with Technology on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Based in Shoreditch, co-hosted by Mobile Monday London and UCL, it is also CPD Certified and the only course of its nature in London.

More information and testimonials: themobileacademy.org.uk, 20% off with this link

London Fintech Week, From March 24th

London FinTech Week is just around the corner. It’s a 10 day celebration of innovation in financial services. Don’t miss out on the biggest line-up of start-ups and large financial enterprises London has ever seen. Mobile Monday Members can benefit from a 30% by using the discount code: MOMO1. Space is limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

DCMS Solicits Our Views

The Department for Culture Media and Sport is looking for feedback on the terms of reference for the communications infrastructure strategy that it plans to create. Find out more here and make your views known.

TSB offers 75% funding towards £33k Feasibility Studies

The Technology Strategy Board has £2M to award to feasibility studies from small and micro companies. You can get up to 75% public funding for projects up to £33k. If that's interesting, read more, deadline is 5th March.

DevLab LIVE - win £2,500 or even £10,000

Check out DevLab LIVE which is a 3 day event 28th - 30th March. Talks on the Friday then a weekend hackathon in which you will work some of the UK's leading brands to tackle their challenges. More info and sign up at Eventbrite - 50% off before 7th March.

That's it for now, we'll be back with more - especially on our next events - shortly.

Jo

19 Feb 2014

What happened at Acceleration & Finance, 17th Feb 2014

Everyone is still talking about this event! Thanks so much to event partners ICT KTN, all the lovely volunteers, our brilliant chair and the wonderful panelists.

As promised, you'll find below the presentations from both John Spindler and Jessica Stacey PLUS a write up by our champion guest blogger Simon Andrews @addictivemobile - if you don't subscribe to his weekly Mobile Fix, well, you are missing out!

Also we are lucky to have some supersonic interviews from Tim Green @timgreen64 ahead of his new video-based website The Mobile View (watch this space!) and finally, if you want to hear the whole thing: The Fonecast podcast.

Here's Simon's take on the evening.



Accelerators, Finance and Good advice

Mobile Monday London held a fascinating event on Monday February 17. Titled Acceleration and Finance, the team put together a great panel representing accelerators, VCs, entrepreneurs and Nesta (see below for the full list)

Now when you mention money to the mobile community, you get their attention and the event at Centre Point was packed.

The chair John Spindler kicked off with a whirlwind look at the overall VC and accelerator space, and a blizzard of stats and links to resources and more information. Even with 40 slides in 10 minutes, he got a lot about the shape of the market over, making the point there is no shortage of people / organisations that want to help. His full deck is here and deserves some close reading.


John Spindler's Presentation

The key point we took away was that across the US there are around 69,000 seed fundings on $100k each year. In the UK last year there was probably only around 1,500. So there is a way to go yet.

Next up Jessica Stacey from Nesta took us on a little less frenetic tour of the ecology, summarising the accelerator space and drawing upon some of the research Nesta has done in the space. Again a clear message that there is no shortage of resources.

She had a neat summary that we liked, suggesting there are essentially three types of accelerator  - ecosystem, matchmaker and investor. Again Jessica has shared her slides and they are well worth a read.


Jessica Stacey's Presentation

We then moved to the panel and this session opened with each of the panellists introducing themselves and their organisation.

Jon Bradford of Techstars went first and whilst the Techstars model is pretty well understood he also talked about their partnerships with corporates and how important he thought that was. They are currently doing programmes with Barclays and Disney, whilst there is no investment a clear focus on the appropriate vertical is ideal for some start ups.


Building on the corporate venturing theme Simon Devonshire of Telefonica's Wayra went next. With bases in numerous cities the Wayra initiative is proving a success in terms of number of applicants and the progress of the teams accepted.

Rather newer is the Microsoft accelerator and Diane Perlman spoke about their experience in other markets and their ambitions for the new programmes across Europe. Jon Bradford suggested – tongue in cheek - that they had stolen the idea after Techstars ran a programme for Microsoft.

Both Simon and Diane were at pains to point out that teams were not locked into the sponsoring corporate; Simon said they would and had facilitated deals with Vodafone etc. and Diane stressed that the teams on the Microsoft programme could build on any tech platform they liked – although clearly links with xBox were a huge advantage for gaming start ups.


But what is it like for an entrepreneur? The next panelist was Brian Taylor who has a start up called PixelPin and is currently navigating the world of accelerators and funding. He talked about the benefits of grants and match funding but emphasised the need for persistence – a point that kept coming up. His view on the key advantage of accelerator programmes? The connections that they open up – he mentioned that he has met 10 banks in then last few weeks – something that would have taken years without the contacts of his accelerator.

Last up was Simon Cook of DFJ Esprirt – the European arm of legendary valley VC Draper Fisher. The track record of both the US and Europe is amazing and he talked from the viewpoint of later stage investing.  He thinks the key role of accelerators is to teach entrepreneurship – giving people the skills to build a business.

His general view probably resonated most with us – he believes there is too much focus in fundraising as a measure of success; there are 10 million SMEs across Europe that people have started and made a success of – compelling evidence of entrepreneurship.

All the panellists spoke of the intense competition to get into their programmes and when asked what were the factors that differentiated the chosen few there was some consensus; it’s all about the team. Jon put it best when he shared his 5 criteria for selecting someone into Techstars:

Team, Team, Team, Opportunity & Team

The questions dug a little deeper into these issues and Simon Cook made an interesting point – despite the rapid expansion of accelerators and the buzz around start ups the actual number of a Series A funding has stayed really constant at around 1,000.

The best advice from the panel? Probably Jon's advice to find the 3 smartest people you know and go buy them a coffee and ask them to tear your idea apart. Then ask them to suggest another 3 people to do the same with. This way you quickly start to find the issues you need to address.

And Simon Cook ended by pointing out that even the biggest successes gave been through tough times. He talked of board meetings where it was feared the next salaries could not be paid – yet these companies had gone on to huge success.

Our take is that too many people focus on the quick win of an accelerator place and funding. The reality is that these are lottery wins – great when they happen, but not something to rely on.

Smart entrepreneurs get their team right and build a business around solving a problem. Getting people to pay for your solution validates your idea and demonstrates you have the grit and persistence to make a success of your business. And that story could well open the doors to the accelerators and the funding.

Good luck.

Chair - John Spindler, CEO of Capital Enterprise (@CapEnterprise),

Jessica Stacey - @JessStacey - Programme and Research Manager, Accelerators and Early Stage Businesses, NESTA
Jessica has been working on an update to NESTA's report on start-up acceleration and will be sharing some of their conclusions.

Simon Cook - @venturejedi, CEO and Co-founder DFJ Esprit
DFJ Esprit are leading VC investors on the London scene. Simon, who has been described by Esquire as "A rock 'n' roll figure with a blonde faux-hawk and some billion-dollar swagger" will hopefully share with us what they look for and how they view acceleration.

Brian Taylor - @Brian_PixelPin, CEO & Inventor PixelPin
PixelPin goes from strength to strength - a graduate from the Wayra London Academy, PixelPin has now gone on the the Fintech Innovation Lab and has interesting stories to tell about raising finance on the way. Not to mention that we're proud that Brian is a graduate of The Mobile Academy.

Diane Perlman - @Diane_Perlman, Microsoft Ventures, Start-ups Lead
Microsoft's own London acceleration programme has just started at Central Working. Diane will undoubtedly have lots of say about selection of candidates and differentiation of programmes.

Simon Devonshire - @simondevonshire, Director, Wayra Europe (Telefonica)
Simon has been responsible for setting up Wayra Academies across Europe, you might call him a serial accelerator creator. He's certainly in a good position to comment on the value created.

Jon Bradford - @jd, MD, Techstars London
To say that Jon has been on the inside track of the start-up, acceleration and investment scene here in the UK and else where would be to miss the point. Jon has promised that his contribution will be "fun and lively" ...

11 Feb 2014

Mobile Miscellany, 12 Feb 2014, Next Event 17 Feb, MWC, Free stuff, Grants, Prizes and much more ...

In this bumper Miscellany - a few spaces left for our super star line up on Acceleration and Finance on Monday, a £10,000 prize, some free tickets to WIPJam at MWC, discounts, info about funding and well, read on ...

Next Event: Monday 17th Feb, Acceleration and Finance

We couldn't really have a more impressive line up for Monday's event to discuss Acceleration and Finance, representing Techstars London, DFJ Esprit, NESTA, PixelPin, Microsoft Ventures and Wayra Europe. We have a couple of spaces left, more details and registration at Eventbrite.

Google Cloud Platform - Up Close and Personal

Our wonderful annual sponsors Google Cloud Platform are holding a morning event on 28th Feb at their offices in Victoria to help technical leaders understand more about their impressive offering. As well as in-depth sessions there will be 1:1 architectural guidance and networking.

Find out more and register here. Limited places, hurry!

Developer Economics - State of the Developer Nation

The team over at Vision Mobile has once again done a fabulous job of preparing Developer Economics Q1 2014 report. I do find this "essential" reading to track what people are thinking about the platforms for their product developments. If you're into Apps or Mobile Web products this is an absolute Must Read, and it's free!

GSMA MWC WIPJam Ticket Giveaway

Our friends over at GSMA have a number of free passes that they'd like to provide to Mobile Monday London members and The Mobile Academy alumni.

This is what you get:

  • 3 days of WIPJam Devcon & Hackathon from Monday to Wednesday in Fira Montjuic (Hall M5)
  • 1 day of  WIPJam Awards, Wrap-up and Swagathon on Thursday at Fira Gran Via 
  • 1 day EVP pass to MWC on Thursday

Note: If you already have an MWC pass, you will have free access to WIPJam so don't apply! Find out more about WIPJam and more importantly enter here for a chance of winning one of the free passes! First come, first served.

TSB offers 75% funding towards £33k Feasibility Studies

The Technology Strategy Board has £2M to award to feasibility studies from small and micro companies. You can get up to 75% public funding for projects up to £33k. If that's interesting, read more.

EU €79bn Research and Innovation Programme Horizon 2020

Horizon 2020 launched 31 Jan - promising less red tape, more attractiveness to small businesses, so what's holding you back from seeing what might be in it for you?

DevLab LIVE - win £2,500 or even £10,000

In case you're not showed, jammed and hacked out following MWC, or alternatively if you're not going to MWC, check out DevLab LIVE which is a 3 day event 28th - 30th March. Talks on the Friday then a weekend hackathon in which you will work some of the UK's leading brands to tackle their challenges. More info and sign up at Eventbrite - 50% off before 28th Feb.

NaturalMotion and DeepMind: UK tech start-up exits

Since our last Miscellany it's been announced that NaturalMotion (who appeared at Demo Night April 2011 and spoke at our Jan 2012 event on Mobile Games) sold to Zynga for $527M. They join DeepMind who sold to Google for $400M earlier. Heady news and much to celebrate - hearty congrats to both and especially to NaturalMotion (can we call you alumni please!) - read more about this over at Monday's FT.

So what better news could there be to return to the topic of Acceleration and Finance? Hope you're feeling suitably challenged and emboldened, register now for Monday. Also check out The Mobile Academy the course we co-host with UCL for people developing new products & services - next course starts 25th March - speak to julia@mobilemonday.org.uk for more info.

Look forward to seeing you Monday and I do hope that like NaturalMotion your name will appear in a future Miscellany!

Jo

5 Feb 2014

Next Event: 17th Feb 2014 - Acceleration and Finance

A super star line up for our next event which is the latest chapter in our long running series on Finance for Start-Ups and once again we are working with our event partner ICT KTN.

The focus of this event is accelerators. There are lots of them, there will soon be more. The questions: "What does it take to get on an Acceleration programme?" and "How much do investors value them?" will undoubtedly be among the topics of discussion.

Once again the inimitable John Spindler, CEO of Capital Enterprise (@CapEnt), will be in the chair. Before we get into the discussion, John will be giving us an updated lightning tour of funding options and Jessica Stacey from NESTA will be giving us some insights into NESTA's research into acceleration. For a flavour of the event, check out last year's event roundup.

Joining John on the panel:

Jessica Stacey - @JessStacey - Programme and Research Manager, Accelerators and Early Stage Businesses, NESTA

Jessica has been working on an update to NESTA's report on start-up acceleration and will be sharing some of their conclusions.

Simon Cook - @venturejedi, CEO and Co-founder DFJ Esprit

DFJ Esprit are leading VC investors on the London scene. Simon, who has been described by Esquire as "A rock 'n' roll figure with a blonde faux-hawk and some billion-dollar swagger" will hopefully share with us what they look for and how they view acceleration.

Brian Taylor - @Brian_PixelPin, CEO & Inventor PixelPin

PixelPin goes from strength to strength - a graduate from the Wayra London Academy, PixelPin has now gone on the the Fintech Innovation Lab and has interesting stories to tell about raising finance on the way. Not to mention that we're proud that Brian is a graduate of The Mobile Academy.

Diane Perlman - @Diane_Perlman, Microsoft Ventures, Start-ups Lead

Microsoft's own London acceleration programme has just started at Central Working. Diane will undoubtedly have lots of say about selection of candidates and differentiation of programmes.

Simon Devonshire - @simondevonshire, Director, Wayra Europe (Telefonica)

Simon has been responsible for setting up Wayra Academies across Europe, you might call him a serial accelerator creator. He's certainly in a good position to comment on the value created.

Jon Bradford - @jd, MD, Techstars London

To say that Jon has been on the inside track of the start-up, acceleration and investment scene here in the UK and else where would be to miss the point. Jon has promised that his contribution will be "fun and lively" ...


All in all a fabulous line-up!

Agenda

6.00pm Arrival
6.30pm Opening talks from John Spindler and Jessica Stacey
6.50pm Panel Discussion
8.00pm Networking
9.30pm Close

Registration

Registration is now open. As usual attendance is free, but registration is required at Eventbrite.

Location

The CBI Conference Centre at Centre Point, the very tall building immediately above Tottenham Court Road tube station, on the Central and Northern Lines. Please use the entrance at street level under the bridge formed by the building itself.

2 Feb 2014

Mobile Miscellany, 3 Feb 2014, Next Event, 17th Feb, Finance and Acceleration, Google to sponsor MoMoLo ...

January really was the wettest on record, well done weather, how about celebrating that success by taking a break for February? While we cross our fingers on the weather, we have some things to look forward to in the coming month.

Google Cloud Platform are Annual Supporters
To say that we're delighted to welcome the Google Cloud Platform team as annual supporters of Mobile Monday London would be to understate our emotion! Please join us in welcoming them on board, we're really looking forward to working with them.

Last Event: CeBIT Stand Competition Finals
Next, let's congratulate the worthy winners of the competition for free stand space courtesy of UKTI at CeBIT Hannover. Read about what happened at the competition in the event round up, here.

Next Event: Acceleration and Finance, 17th Feb
Our next event is the latest chapter in our long running series on Finance for Start-Ups. Once again the inimitable John Spindler will be in the chair, but before he sits down he'll be explaining what the options for funding are in his updated 15 minute whistle stop tour. John's presentation is a national treasure, or should be, it contains an amazing amount of information in a very short space.

The focus of this event will be Accelerators. There are lots of them, there will soon be more. The questions: "What does it take to get on an Acceleration programme?" and "How much do investors value them?" will undoubtedly be among the topics of discussion. 


We'll be announcing who will be joining John shortly, and we'll open registration in something over a week.

The Mobile Academy Spring 2014 – 25th March to 27th May
“Need to Know Mobile” Talks, Workshops and Surgeries with Industry Experts in Business, Design and How to work with technology on Tuesday and Thursday evenings 
  • 20% off with this link
  • More information and testimonials: themobileacademy.org.uk 
  • Co-hosted with UCL with many expert tutors from our the MoMoLo community, it is also CPD Certified

API Architecture Summit (Free Event) – Feb 6th
The Mobile Academy Tutor Ronnie Mitra, Layer7, is organising this event, register here

Start-ups with something to show off at Mobile World Congress…
20 developers per day to show off their apps, services or tools at the WIPJam Developer Showcase - apply by midday 7th Feb - wip.org

UKTI ICT KTN Talks at MWC
And if you are going to MWC, check out the talks being staged by our friends over at UKTI and ICT KTN - an interesting and mixed agenda - check it out and register here.

Discounts to SES London, 10-13 Feb 2014, Europe’s leading digital marketing conference
"Built for digital marketers by digital marketers", we’ve managed to secure a discounted rate of £400 ticket prices - quote SESL14016 at registration. Visit seslondon.com to find out more and stop by to see our academy tutors, Alex Meisl and Meaghan Fitzgerald at the Meet the Experts "Mobile Marketing" session on the Tuesday

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
Aimed specifically at growth businesses - around £1M turn over (not start ups or corporates), this programme is fully funded, there is a selection process (you cannot pay to attend). Find out more, including briefings in February and March, here.

Smartphone Sales Topped 1 billion in 2013
Personally, I'm still sad that the UK billion is now the same as a US billion (geeky link), but that's because I'm a linguistic irredentist and that isn't relevant to this factoid. If you missed the news you can read about it here. Samsung in with 31% market share ... that's an awful lot of phones.

Keep dry
Jo