EASY Milão por Modwenna Rees-Mogg

Artigo sobre o EASY Investment Forum de Milão, preparado por Modwenna Rees-Mogg, editora da Angel News

 

Early February saw over 150 angel and venture capital investors fly into Milan, perhaps the original home of enterprise finance. Milan, built on the success of trading and financing by the Sforza and other great banking and trading families in the 14th and 15th centuries, was a particularly good place to hold the fourth EASY investment event, where 22 companies from four key sectors pitched for investment. Accompanying them were 15 younger, but equally innovative companies who participated in a parallel investment marketplace exhibition at the Conference Centre of the Palazzo delle Stelline on 25th and 26th February 2008. These companies were selected from dozens of applications by entrepreneurs Europe. They were selected by a panel of expert investors looking for businesses with explosive growth potential, a defendable market position, strong IP and great management. 

 

Companies involved in the widest range of activities from designer jewellery to a new concept helicopter, saw high levels of investor interest. Both entrepreneurs and investors have now returned home with 90 requests for follow-ups following initial investor meetings held at the end of the Milan event. 

 

Investors who came to the event will be assisted in the investment process by having online access to the details of the companies seeking funding via the EASY project at www.earlystageinvestors.org.

 

The EASY Project is not just about formal investment pitches and investor meetings. An important element of pan-European angel investing is building trusted relationships with investors from overseas countries. Much of this takes place during informal networking events during each EASY event. Both the networking drinks the evening before the investment day and the celebratory dinner afterwards provided plenty of opportunity for investors to engage with one another in the convivial surroundings of some of Milan’s best venues, the Residenza Vignale and Osteria dei Binari.

 

The organization of any EASY event is a major project – liaising between the 17 partners involved in the Project and hundreds of investors and entrepreneurs, for many of whom it is their first exposure of the pan European investment experience. 

 

Angela Pugh the manager of the EASY Project said,

 

“It is excellent news that there is such a strong following for pan-European investment. We deal with the challenge of liaison between so many people by looking for efficiencies in how we manage the events. Each of our Partners takes responsibility for helping us find investment opportunities and investors prior to each event. Afterwards they manage the follow-up between interested parties. To support the partners we survey investors after the event to find out which companies they are interested in and what further support they need.

 

We have also built a highly effective website which enables everyone to stay in contact in the meantime. In fact, from the moment an entrepreneur or investor shows interest in pan European angel investment, they can use our website to connect with us and others.”

 

With a strong sense of momentum now established, planning at the EASY Project Secretariat is now in full swing for the next EASY event in Barcelona on 21st and 22nd April and also for the tax summit that will be held in Ljubljana in May 2008 to coincide with Slovenia’s presidency of the EU.

If you are interested in finding out more about the EASY Project you can go to www.earlystageinvestors.org or contact Gesventure (Portuguese EASY Partner) by e-mail webmaster@gesventure.pt or phone: 21 441 64 60

 

 


Licenciado e Mestre em Gestão de Empresas. Presidente da Gesbanha, S.A., especialista em capital de risco e empreendedorismo, investidor particular ("business angels") e Presidente da FNABA (Federação Nacional de Associações de Business Angels). Director da EBAN e da WBAA

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