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TALENT THAT MAKES CAPITAL DANCE - November 2003 'Gene pools', 'ecosystems' and 'DNA' are not expressions that you would normally hear at a breakfast meeting for business angels. However, these were just some of the metaphors used by Julie Meyer, CEO and founder of Ariadne Capital while addressing a packed audience at the latest Great Eastern Investment Forum (GEIF) breakfast meeting. Julie's experience in setting up First Tuesday and more recently in the founding of Ariadne Capital, which exists to drive and develop the role of UK venture capital into Europe and the USA, provided a fascinating insight into both how the right amount of capital at the right time can make talent 'dance' and how crucial the right talent and people are in forming and developing the global successes of tomorrow. "If the team DNA isn't working then the entrepreneur will be forced to focus on internal issues rather than use the business to occupy the maximum amount of space in the marketplace. And when that happens, companies fail to spot market changes, competitors see them falter and move in to take the space themselves." The talk, focused on the role of business angels VCs as 'agents of change', also scrutinised the characteristics of the entrepreneurs driving the high-growth, global companies of tomorrow and provided a unique insight into the mind and experience of a businesswoman that shares the entrepreneurial restlessness and drive identified as inherent in entrepreneurs. However, Julie's aspirational comments were matched by cautionary, practical advice to the business angel audience as she warned against creating over complicated, one sided investment deals that cripple investee companies looking for follow-on funding at a later stage. The Great Eastern Investment Forum, part of the NW Brown Group, runs a quarterly breakfast meeting programme for the investment community in and around Cambridge, and also holds quarterly Investment Days where businesses seeking angel funding are able to meet active business angels seeking quality investment opportunities. For more information on forthcoming GEIF events, please call Marie-France Vincent on 01223 720316 or email marie-france.vincent@nwbrown.co.uk Ariadne Capital Ariadne Capital is a European venture capital firm, which invests in and advises early-stage private as well as later-stage private and public companies undergoing significant growth or change. Ariadne Capital provides portfolio companies and strategic partners with access to its network of industry executives and investors, hands-on management, and Board-level assistance to implement strategic, operational and financial plans. Ariadne helps companies access capital, secure executives, leverage innovation and generate sales. For more information, visit www.ariadnecapital.com
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