Business Incubation, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Investment London UK » Stephen http://www.ortegra.com Business Incubation, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Investment London UK Wed, 03 Nov 2010 04:00:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 A bird in the hand http://www.ortegra.com/blog/668-a-bird-in-the-hand.html http://www.ortegra.com/blog/668-a-bird-in-the-hand.html#comments Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:44:10 +0000 Stephen http://www.ortegra.com/?p=668 Time and time again I hear of startups or small early stage businesses not taking investment when it is offered. This is normally due to a difference of opinion in valuation. The owner/founder always thinks his/her business is worth more than the investor.


The reality is that the startup or early stage pre-revenue business is only worth what value someone puts on it at the time. There are no metrics to value a business on an idea or on a website or anything pre-revenue. Investors who offer money in pre-revenue situations are very difficult to find and if you find them …take the money! Do not get hung up over 5% or even 10% difference in the amount of shares they are asking for.


With the startup investment you can move your business forward.


Without it you are still on the starting line.


Investors who back start-ups are brave risk takers and should be admired just like entrepreneurs with great ideas.


So remember: a bird in the hand is worth at least two, if not many more, in the bush!!

]]> http://www.ortegra.com/blog/668-a-bird-in-the-hand.html/feed 0 Money is like gold dust… http://www.ortegra.com/blog/644-money-is-like-gold-dust.html http://www.ortegra.com/blog/644-money-is-like-gold-dust.html#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:56:46 +0000 Stephen http://www.ortegra.com/?p=644 Money is like gold dust…particularly when it’s invested into a startup


One of the most galling issues for me over the years has been how quickly investment has been eaten up by poor cash management.


It is more often than not that the amount of money raised by entrepreneurs is underestimated and overspent.


Normally a plan is put together which overstates sales expectations and understates costs. Then, when reality bites, the two cross over and all hell breaks loose!


If you are looking for investment money, CUT your costs to the bone, do not take high salaries and ensure that the money you raise is the minimum you need to get you from A to B….. and make sure the investor knows this!!


More to follow….

]]> http://www.ortegra.com/blog/644-money-is-like-gold-dust.html/feed 0 Manifesto for Entrepreneurs http://www.ortegra.com/blog/640-manifesto-for-entrepreneurs.html http://www.ortegra.com/blog/640-manifesto-for-entrepreneurs.html#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:11:29 +0000 Stephen http://www.ortegra.com/?p=640 As a follow-up to my last week’s blog  on the 20 issues every budding entrepreneur must be able to address, I would now like to talk about Doug Richards’ “Manifesto for Entrepreneurs”, a call-to-action document released at last week’s event.


According to Doug, a former TV Dragon, entrepreneurs are key in leading us out of the recession but in order to succeed, the Government needs to make some radical changes.


98% of businesses in this country are small businesses and it is their activity that are responsible for the nation’s wealth. “The innovators who open new markets, create new products, deliver new services and change the processes of business itself; by the very act of creation, destroy less efficient industries, create greater productivity and as a direct result create all new wealth.”


To encourage entrepreneurs, the government needs to change its priorities – by reducing the time it takes to start a new business; streamlining or exempting the smallest businesses from complying with regulations; providing direct tax credits and freeing up the savings of families, friends and communities who wish to use their own small capital in start-ups.


The current government funded industry of business support should be replaced by an institution that simplifies the burden on startup firms. The manifesto also suggests that the government should adopt a requirement that a specific percentage of its procurement budget is set aside for small and medium businesses.


At Ortegra our business is to turn thoughts and ideas of budding entrepreneurs into reality, facilitating the whole process of starting out. Thus we know first hand  the challenges and obstacles faced by startups and stand by Doug’s suggestions that it is time to change. If, like us, you share the same views, spread the word. After all we also agree with Doug that “staying silent is part of the problem”…

]]> http://www.ortegra.com/blog/640-manifesto-for-entrepreneurs.html/feed 0 Growing a successful social enterprise http://www.ortegra.com/blog/611-growing-a-successful-social-enterprise.html http://www.ortegra.com/blog/611-growing-a-successful-social-enterprise.html#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:55:12 +0000 Stephen http://www.ortegra.com/?p=611 On Tuesday I attended an excellent seminar entitled “Growing a successful social enterprise http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk/2010/01/20/growing-a-successful-social-enterprise-3/” run by Doug Richard’s School for Startups. The event centred around socially aware and ethical enterprises but the messages apply to all businesses starting out on the long road to success.

Doug has a charismatic delivery style and was great at getting across his key points which I intend to discuss in more detail over the coming weeks. In the first session he covered something vital to all entrepreneurs who are starting out with a new idea. Entitled “The top 20 issues every entrepreneur must be able to address” he summarised the key points everyone should tackle when starting out.

We at Ortegra talk to many entrepreneurs about what they consider to be a “great idea”, but how many have asked themselves these 20 questions and been honest in their answer? At the end of the day the key success criteria for a new business is making sure that there are enough people who are willing to buy the product or service at the price being asked. Is there enough differentiation between your offering and the competition? What is your uniqueness? Will people talk about your product or service behind your back? If they do, you have something worthwhile, unless of course it’s negative!!!

I urge all budding entrepreneurs to ask themselves Doug’s 20 questions:
Innovation questions

1.    Make something people want or need. Have you?

2.    Is that enough ?

3.    How do we know?
Make something people want
4.    What does it do that other products don’t? Is it enough?
Make something worth talking about
Customer questions
5.    Who are they?
Market questions
6.    How many are there (market segments)?

7.    How can we reach them?

8.    How many can we reach?
Pricing questions
9.    How much is this worth to them?

10.  How much does it cost us?

11.  Who should pay?
Industry questions
12.  Why are we better?

13.  Can they catch up?

14.  Are we all losers?

· threat of substitutes

· threat of new entrants

· buyer power

· supplier power

· intense competition
Team questions
15.  Am I on a mission?

16.  Am I the woman for the job?

17.  What must we do?

18.  What will we be good at?

19.  Who do we need to know?

20.  What makes an entrepreneur successful?

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