First techmesh event a great success

We held our first techmesh event last night in The Loft in Leeds and were delighted with number that attended – more and 100 of you.
Food, fizz and jazz were excellent. As were the speakers - Marco Potesta, director of The NetStart a former director of IT reseller Insight and a founding director of Yorkshire’s most successful internet service provider, PlusNet and Conrad Poulson, Head of Start-up Business Development at mobile telecoms group Orange.
You can find the full story here. Videos of the speakers will be available shortly.
However, we would love to know what you would want from a future techmesh event. We are planning to run them around the region. In which towns or cities would you like an event? What sort of speakers would you like to hear? Any special topics? Would you prefer an OpenCoffee/GeekUp/BarCamp event or something more formal?
Leave a comment and let us know. Meanwhile here are some pictures from last night.

First techmesh: Sheffield

Could you benefit from collaborating with other businesses and getting to know what others are doing?
Would you like to have the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with others?
techmesh brings you techmesh:Sheffield a collaboration networking event.
Attend techmesh:Sheffield and expand your business connections. This event is about encouraging collaboration and making new contacts. techmesh:Sheffield will put you in touch with other IT and Telecom organisations that will be able to provide you with the skills that you are missing. Remember; it might not just come from the people you get to meet, but from who they know!
This networking event will offer you the possibility of greater relationships, further collaboration, more partnerships and mutually beneficial business relationships.

Date: Tuesday 23 February 2010
Time: 18.00-20.00hrs
Venue: Showroom and Workstation, Paternoster Row, Sheffield. S1 2BX Map
Includes: Food, drink and chat
Who should attend: IT & Telecoms professionals and entrepreneurs.

For further information, please contact Dawn on 0113 384 5641 or dawn@techmesh.org or register here.

Open invite to first techmesh event

We are holding our first event in the new year on Wednesday 27, January - if you work in the Yorkshire and Humber digital, IT and telecommunications sector you're more than welcome to attend.
Backed by Yorkshire Forward, techmesh is a new business network for the region’s fast-growing digital sector - the largest outside of London
The first techmesh event will take place on Wednesday 27, January 2010 at The Loft, Cross York Street, Leeds at 6.00pm and is free to attend for those operating in the regions IT and telecommunications sectors.
Guest speaker on the evening will include Lee Strafford, Executive Chairman of theNetStartup and founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Sheffield-based internet service provider which was sold to British Telecom in 2007 Mr Strafford is also Chairman of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
He is joined by Conrad Poulson, Head of Startup Business Development of Orange, which has several divisions in Yorkshire developing mobile software.
This will be techmesh’s first formal event and provides an ideal opportunity to introduce the regions digital professionals to a new and vibrant business network.
It is also a great opportunity for guests to network with other delegates and swop business ideas. Both our speakers are very accomplished and have witnessed how start ups can quickly grow to become major companies and employers.
If you're planning to come along remember to register here.

Meet the techmesh team

Meet the techmesh team. From left to right there is Edward Lamb, Sales Executive; Dawn Kelly - Events Coordinator; Nick Butler, Chief Executive Officer; Gary Rowbotham - TechMesh Programme Manager and Danielle Ward, Marketing Executive

techmesh gets backing from Yorkshire Forward

This is our first official post on the techmesh teams' blog and will, hopefully, be the first of many now that Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency, has awarded the contract to Connect Yorkshire to create and run a new business network for the region’s IT and Telecommunications sector.
Yorkshire & Humber has the fastest-growing digital sector in the UK outside of London, and is recognised as a leading centre of excellence in the digital and new media industries. With IT and Telecommunications set to make a major contribution to the Yorkshire and Humber economy techmesh will provide a business network for companies, organisations and individuals working in these sectors to meet, exchange information and share best practice.
As a business collaboration network techmesh will act as an umbrella organisation, bringing together existing networks in the region and will signpost businesses to other sources of funding information, market intelligence, emerging technologies and research and development opportunities.
Watch this space for announcments on forthcoming events, get togethers, seminars or a few drinks out of an evening. techmesh will very much be owned and directed by the membership so do get in touch and let us know what you think or leave a comment here.

Pitch Perfect

Our Winter Investment Forum is fast approaching and we are now seeking applicants to present and exhibit. A fundamental part of the process leading up to the event, is that we provide 'pitch' mentoring to help companies hone their idea into something non-specialists in their field can understand.

We often find that young ambitious companies have the ability to talk about their proposition and the technical aspects, but often lack the ability to discuss this in layman's terms as this is what these companies do day in day out. However when it comes to raising investment it's crucial.

This is also an invaluable opportunity for presenters to get feedback, share good practice and see the other side of presenting an understandable pitch. Often it is not until you have tried to explain what is so sparkling about a proposition that you realise it isn't polished enough!These Company Assessment Groups (CAGs) are made up of the mentors that are assigned to each company that are drawn from our sponsors. The companies get high-quality feedback from people who have heard it all before. So when they present at the Forum, they have the best possible chance of winning over investors and raising the finance they need to take their business to the next level.

This mentoring and support is a key part of the Connect model.

We are also offering exhibition space at the event to companies who do not wish to make a presentation on this occasion but who wish to raise finance in the next 6-12 months.

If you are interested in getting your business plan more polished or pitch perfect, do get in touch...

Aspire to Inspire in Leeds and Sheffield

Elizabeth Jackson, Chief Executive of Directorbank, the UK’s leading private equity recruitment specialist will be inspiring young leaders and business people from Leeds and beyond at the Aspire to Inspire event on 30th September.

Guests who attend this event will also hear from other inspiring speakers including representatives from The Aspire Fund, Forward Ladies and SYIF.

We are working in partnership with The Aspire Fund Manager, Capital for Enterprise Ltd, and Forward Ladies to promote the fund amongst female entrepreneurs in the region.

The Aspire Fund was established with the objective of increasing the number of successful women- led businesses in the UK. The Fund is able to make equity investments of between £100k and £1m, on a co-investment basis, in order to strengthen business and underpin growth.

A key element of the fund is to seek to improve the linkage between those providing funding and those providing investment readiness support; which is where we fit in.

We are honoured to be working with so many proactive and successful businesswomen. We hope that many women-led businesses will join us at the event and hear about how Elizabeth built a successful business, leading to a secondary buy-out of Directorbank.

This event is kindly being hosted by DLA Piper. We do hope that you will be able to join us and if not then we are also running a similar event in Sheffield on the 5th October. To reserve your place visit: www.forwardladies.com/networking-events