Rose Lewis at Digital Shoreditch

Digital Shoreditch ran last week, with every day offering a different theme, excellent speakers, and interesting discussions. I went along to sample the event, snaffle a few sandwiches, and even take a look at some artwork. Collider12's very own Rose Lewis was there, and gave a talk on how startups can raise finance, even in this tricky financial climate. In case you couldn't make it on Thursday, here is her slideshow.

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One of the best things at the event was the 'Wall of Networking'. In the largest room, two corners were dedicated entirely to encouraging collaboration between those looking for work, or offering it. The corners always had people milling around, adding their own note or being open to networking, which created a great atmosphere. In such a digital environment, it was nice to see to handwritten notes, as well as having the chance to meet those behind them.

There was also The Great Digital Exhibition, an interaction art exhibition with pieces by over 20 East London artists. Every piece is centered around interactive technological innovations which create a tantalizing experience for all of your senses. Located in the basement, the exhibition celebrated the old (with 'Digital Archaeology' showcasing very early websites and the technology of the time) to the very new ( with ‘ArRay’, a lumino-kinetic sculpture that uses memory shape smart material – Nitinol – to bring it to life).

An All Male Panel at the BIMA startup seminar in Google Campus

On Tuesday I went to the BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) startup seminar hosted at Google Campus, in collaboration with Rackspace. The panel was a great mix of large companies and startups, who all have experience relevant to those starting up today. The panel of speakers included John Webb from Rackspace, Benjamin Southworth, deputy CEO of Tech City, Joe Stepniewski founder of Skimlinks, Damian Routley the CEO of Glow, Jean-Michel Deligny of Go4Venture, Alex Wood, the editor or Tech City News, Drew Benvie founder of new comms agency Battenhall, and the chair Justin Pearse of Bite. However, it was rather hard to ignore that all eight members of the panel were male, and indeed, so was everyone who spoke on stage, including the welcome speech from BIMA and the closing remarks from Rackspace. This was picked up on Twitter Candace Kuss and Karen Barber, and then mentioned at the very end of the session by Craig Le Grice, the Executive Committee Member of BIMA. 

I got in touch with Craig who said that "Benjamin Southworth and Joe Stepniewski were fantastic additions to our panel - but both were in place of their respective female CEOs (Joanna Shields, CEO at TCIO and Alicia Navarro, CEO at Skimlinks) who were invited first but unfortunately could not attend due to diary commitments." 

Craig went on to say that "Speaking personally, I'm a huge advocate of - and fighter for - equality in our industry. I work with a number of startups and actively encourage diversity and the building of companies based on talent, regardless of gender, race, sexuality etc. I welcome the day when no woman attends a technology or digital focused event and feels she's at a boy's club."

This situation is clearly not ideal, especially as there are more than enough women who could at least match the experience on the panel. However, it is positive that people are realising that an all male panel is no longer neccessary or acceptable, and hopefully, these all male events will become a thing of the past. In the mean time, check out these future BIMA events and get involved in the discussion.

• 6 June - BIMA Thirstday (an event held every month on the first Thursday)
  • A networking event for anyone involved in digital. Every member is invited so the group is always a diverse mix.
• 24 July - Digital Hall of Fame
  • A formal ceremony to honour the five new inductees to the Digital Hall of Fame, and the inaugural BIMA Hot 100 list of digital's biggest talents. The '100' list is voted for and so represents a great cross-section of the industry.
• 12 September - The BIMA Awards
  • BIMA's annual awards, recognising the best of the digital industry, are in September. The call for entries is open now and the judging panel has been announced. Check out http://www.bimaawards.com/judges.php to see the great mix of judges.

Collide With Rory

Tomorrow, Collider12 and the startups are having a group session with Rory Sutherland at Ingenious Media.

What makes this session a little different is that you'll be able to join in too, as we're hosting a Google Hangout. From 11am on May 1st, you'll be able to put your questions to @Rory with the hashtag #CollideWithRory, or by joining the hangout at 11.30am. It will be broadcasted on Google+ and YouTube. This is a pretty special opportunity, so get thinking and get asking.

Workshop with Matchbox Mobile

Last week the Collider12 startups had a workshop with Andrew Farrell, co-founder and CEO of Matchbox Mobile. He shared a few of tips for startups based on his experiences during the last eight years.

Sales and Relationships

• In order for any business to grow, you need someone selling your business, making a decent sales team essential.
• You need to have people speaking for you and about you at every opportunity, and this can only happen by meeting lots of people
• By building rapports you can create a mutual understanding and genuine friendship that could take you anywhere in the future.
• People can transcend companies and so one relationship could be your key to many different opportunities.
•  Never turn a meeting down, you never know where it may lead.

Maintain standards and Reputation

• The individual values behind the reason you started need to be maintained and shared with employees and customers. If you lose this vision, you’ll lose direction and your principles.

Hire the Right People to Build the Right Team

• The single biggest challenge I have ever faced is trying to hire the right people. Perhaps it’s a bit simplistic, but I've always found the pub test to be the best way to decide. If you could go and have a beer with them and happily chat for a couple of hours, 90% of the time they’re going to be the right fit for you. You need a rapport that goes beyond their skills and talents, as a time will come where you need to depend on them.
• I don’t think it is cheating to hire friends, as long as they have the skills you need.
• If you have to offer them an incentive to join your startup, they aren’t the right person to join your startup. You need people who are committed and that have the passion and interest already there. Once you start offering incentives, you have to keep it going which is a commitment you cannot make.
• How you manage your mistakes with the customers (as, trust me, everyone makes mistakes) is can be incredibly important. We have made some of our strongest relationships by handing our failures very well. You have to share your successes and failures with your customers as well as your team.

Adapt to Change

• There will always be multiple and rapid changes in and around your business that you will need to adapt to.
• There will also be changes to how your product is used, what your product is, and changes within your company. If you cannot evolve with these changes, you are going to fail.

Make Decisions

• The worst thing you could do is to make no decision at all. It is far better to make a wrong decision as that’s all part of the process to the right decision. By recognising your mistakes you can correct your course to get on the right path to success.

Being the cleverest person in the room counts for nothing if you’re unable to manage your business:

• Taking care of the business is your number one priority.

Brand Day at TechHub Manchester

After a fantastic time at Unilever House, there was no time for our startups to rest as the next day there was another brilliant opportunity to pitch to large brands. This time, the startups were beckoned to TechHub in Manchester, where representatives from Bauer Media, Telefonica O2 UK, Phones4U, Unibet, and Manchester Digital were waiting.

The Brand Day was opened by two excellent speakers; TechHub Co-Founder Ben Hookway and Rob Coupland, COO for Telecity Group. They both discussed how Manchester has a history (and a future) of being an advanced technological city, especially where startups are concerned. In recent years, successful UK startups (such as LateRooms and Myriad Group) have originated and grown from Manchester, and stayed in their home city. TechHub is championing this activity by providing much-needed space for startups to work, share ideas, and hold meetings.  Creative England were also there supporting the Collider12 companies to whom they have provided loan capitol. 

For more images of the day, head over to the Collider12 Facebook Page.