• Who are you and where are you located?
  Hi Thomas,
  I am a engineering student at MIT, I will graduate in 2010 and ….
• How do you know me or who introduced you?
  … I saw your presentation about “social search developments at Google” when you visited MIT in 2007….
• Why are you writing to me? What is your idea/ product/ vision/ company?
  This is your elevator pitch – do yourself a favor and spend $9 on the Pitching Hacks book.
  … Inspired by your presentation, I started to work on a product that aggregates a user social graph (FB, LN, Friendfeed), analyzes the content of posts to determine the users subject knowledge and uses that information to rank users for specific subjects. So, imagine you need to plan a wedding: You just login to FB and find your friend most likely to be helpful with weddings. Your friend might not even be aware that he/she is the most knowledgeable person you know about the subject matter in your social graph ….
• Give me additional info (attachment)
  Or even better, send me a login to your alpha site
  … Attached is a presentation/ document/ thesis/ article that explains the idea/ product in more detail…
• How can I help you and why do you think I can help you?
  … I am currently looking for $50k to work full time on the alpha product launch. You would be a great person to get on board, both as an investor and advisor given your background in social search at Google and the patent you published in 2004 …
• What is the next step?
  … If you are interested, I am in SF on …. and would like to show you an early version of the product.
• (Extra Credit) Get me excited!
  … During the visit I am also meeting with xxx (smart angel investor) and yyy (smart product person at great company e.g. google)

Another good resource was this webpage from Sales HQ – comparing the difference between a good and a bad cold email.

If you have any interesting tips, please do share (I’m expecting Jessica to jump in on this one once she recovers from CES!)

This is a guest post by Graham Mainds who is part of Edinburgh City Libraries. In this guest post, Graham highlights all the resources you can get access to when you’re starting your business.

It’s made of plastic, you keep it in your purse or wallet and it could mean the difference between your startup failing and succeeding. What is it? A library card. And you can enjoy the benefits without ever setting foot in a library.

Libraries have always had a key role in enabling investment and growth in our city, and we’re always looking at new and innovative ways of providing the information businesses need to succeed.

We want our users to be able to use our fantastic range of online resources without being constrained by our opening hours or the availability of computers in the library. This is why we’ve negotiated agreements with the providers of our premium business information databases to let our members access them anywhere, any time.

What do I mean by ‘Premium business information databases? Well here’s a taster:

Kompass allows you to build your own list of highly targeted leads from a database of over 200 000 UK companies.

Use Cobra to investigate all aspects of setting up and running a small business with easy to use fasctsheets, reports and guides.

KnowUK includes the full text of The Which? guide to working for yourself and The bright idea handbook, which tells you how to turn an idea into a profitable business. There’s also a useful events feature where you can search for trade fairs, conferences and the like.

And there’s more. We now offer so many services online that we’ve built a site, Your Library, to house them all – a virtual library if you like. And Your library is not just about business information – you can learn a new language, trace your family tree, revise for your driving theory test… you’ll also find online image collections, a 24 hour enquiry service and a database of local clubs, societies and organisations.

We’re not going to be going completely virtual of course – the recently opened Leith Business Hub at McDonald Road Library is the place to go for workshops, advice sessions and other practical forms of business support. Help is also available at the Central Reference Library on George IV where experts are on hand to guide you through the business information maze.

So in many ways libraries are providing the same services we’ve always done but now we’re using the web offer them in a different way. And we’re also looking at brand new online services – look out for downloadable ebooks coming soon.

The social web allows us to have a different kind of conversations with a virtual, and potential, audience. So follow us, speak to us, tweet us, facebook us – we’re waiting to hear what you think – and how we can help your start up.

But before that, if you haven’t already, join the library – and start enjoying the benefits today!

[http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/joinourlibrary]

The mentor-lead accelerator program, The Difference Engine, started earlier this year, has opened applications for its second programme. Successful applicants will earn themselves £20k of seed capital and a place on an intensive 13 week mentoring programme (20 September – 17 December, 2010), in exchange for an 8% equity share.

“The team spirit amongst the nine teams working closely together for the first round earlier this year made the whole experience fun as well as hard work,” said founder Jon Bradford. “Last time’s successful businesses are currently in discussions with various VCs to raise further investment capital. Naturally we’d like to continue building on that success this time”

The programme is open to any digital businesses, and around ten will receive funding places on the programme. Although these rules are not ‘set in stone’, typically those that earn places on the programme are: web-based or software oriented at version 1.0 (for more ambitious projects, a prototype can be developed within the 13 week programme); ‘disruptive’ (market changing) technology solutions that are not capital intensive; and teams rather than individuals, who must have the right to work in the UK/appropriate visas.

Although based in the North East of England, there is no geographic limitation for entrants but applicants will need to be in North East of England (Sunderland Software City) full time during the 13 weeks of the programme.  (Last time’s successful applicants came from all over the UK and two from Eastern Europe.

This times programme is funded and supported by a variety of organisations including One North East, Middlesborough and Sunderland City Councils. Mentors come from a variety of backgrounds and include serial entrepreneurs, technology experts, and professionals such as lawyers, marketing specialists, accountants and venture capitalists.

When the programme closes, participating businesses should be investor ready, and will be expected to present their businesses and products to a group of venture capitalists and angel investors at a demonstration day.

Applications should be made via the website: http://thedifferenceengine.eu/apply/ by 23 July, 2010 .

Shortlists will be made by 6 August, 2010 – twenty applicants will be shortlisted, of whom around ten will earn places on the programme.

Feel free to post your questions below! We’ll answer what we can, and crowdsource the rest

1995 was the first time we ever exhibited at a conference/trade show. A bit of a disaster really – completely unprepared – we must have looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. Strangely though we won a huge order on the back of the show – which just goes to show, that sometimes it’s all about turning up rather than having the best football boots.

Trade shows don’t guarantee new or indeed any business, but if you’re a virgin exhibitionist how do you get the most out of a trade show? Shows come in all shapes and sizes so do a bit of research first – nonetheless here are some things that we have done over the years to try and get a return:

1. Always have someone on the stand – it’s unprofessional and looks like you couldn’t care less if the stand is unmanned. So think ahead about how many people you need, you’ll need to cover lunch as well as coping with when you want to nip to the loo or attend an interesting workshop/presentation from a competitor (and yes, you DO have competitors).

2. An A4 piece of paper with the Slogan “Stand out from your competitors” printed from a mono laser jet is being ironic – not selling your services. And yes I did actually see this at a trade show, and no they weren’t being ironic. Get a proper display stand if budgets will allow – either a pull-up or a pop-up – anything from £500 to £6,000 should cover it. Hmm…. no budget, well get some decent colour posters made up to cover the back wall of the stand. Two or Three in the same style will be fine and won’t break the bank.

3. Lighting – trade show room lighting is actually very dull so you’ll need lights to highlight your stand. Electricity supplied to an exhibition stand can seem outrageously expensive – because… well it is. But without electricity you can’t run your PC/MAC/Hoover/Electric Toothbrush and you certainly wont be able to shine a light on yourself. (And take plenty of extension leads and adaptors).

4. Always have something to give away on the stand – but that doesn’t mean a 12 page glossy brochure that is destined for the bin. Branded pens are my favourite – they never go out of fashion. Yeah, I know, not exactly original – but folk will always take a pen and some folk will only come to your stand for the pens. Branded Mugs are good – but a pain in the handle to lug around. Pens!

5. Always have plenty of Business Cards (ideally printed on both sides – with a bullet summary of what you do on the reverse). And always get a business card from that special someone who has taken the time to chat. If they don’t have one then ask them to fill in a contact info form. You can buy some postcard sized blank cards and print them on your laser jet with Name, Email, Phone – cheap, professional and effective – folks will fill them in if asked. And try and discipline yourself to keep a note of what you spoke to them about so that you can follow up later. Trust me you won’t remember otherwise (sorry to all those folks that I have no clue about what we spoke about).

6. High heels and short skirts are all very well for some, but agree on a dress code with your colleagues. Are we wearing heels, suits or are we doing the Chino’s and Polo thing. If you are wearing suits then that’s fine – but try and ensure that your colleague’s suit actually fits him and that it doesn’t look like he is nipping out to the “dancing” at any moment. As for the ladies – I know better than to provide dress code advice for ladies – so go as you please… and no… your bum doesn’t look big in that.

7. Competitions are worth doing – they are an inexpensive way of gathering business cards. Yes, it is totally unfocussed, but you will have spent a fortune getting to the show so get as many cards back as you can. The typical thing to give away seems to be a Bottle of Whisky… hmmm. Why not something else – suit yourself, but something of value – if it’s a techy show then something techy. We gave away a couple of iPods recently – very cost effective and very popular.

8. If someone visits your stand and seems genuinely interested then get the diary out and get something in it. If you don’t then when you try and contact them the following week they’ll be out, busy, dead, never existed or a poltergeist – so get a date in the diary. But remember most visitors to shows are exactly that – visitors. They came because they were interested – not necessarily to get the cheque book out. In fact most business at trade shows is done between exhibitors – most trade shows bring together the exhibitors who ARE the supply chain so that shouldn’t be a surprise… doh!

9. Don’t bore your captive visitor. Offer them a chair, they are probably desperate for a seat and have painfully sore feet. Ask them what they do – people love talking about themselves (present company excluded of course). If you find out what they do and with whom then you can figure out if you have anything that they could be interested in. Exhibiting at trade shows is about the visitor – NOT about you.

10. Have something that they can pick up. By all means have a running demo or presentation on a PC – but don’t bore them with an endless demo walkthrough of your fantastic software (sorry to all the folks that I have done that to in the past). Have something they can pick up – a postcard summary of what you do is better than nothing but if you have a physical box or touchy/feely product make sure it’s there. Let them pick it up and look at it and wonder in amazement as to how your elves could possibly have made it. It’s about visitor engagement NOT about lecturing.

11. However, by now I am sure that you are bored reading this so here are some other things to do: Pre arrange meetings, invite customers & prospects, visit other stands (even the competitors), present at seminars, run a workshop, streak through the keynote, unplug you competitors demo, all fairly obvious things.

12. Ok I lied… one final thing that applies to all marketing material not just the trade show stuff – talk about the client in your copy not about you.

i.e. improve your sales with product x designed to ensure you see improved quality/functionality/performance for your growth/sales hungry business. Beat your competition with a new service that only you can offer etc. etc.

That is much better than: We are a brilliant business and we sell a great product and we have been in business for ages and we have a great team and we are nice and cuddly and we won an award once and and and – you get the idea.

If you remember nothing from this then at least remember this: trade shows and conferences are about the visitor NOT about you – unless of course your visitor is an investment hungry VC type, in which case take them hostage, tie them to the chair and beg them to invest a couple of million quid. At least that way they’ll remember you… though you might also get arrested.

Problems may range from the serious:  “So I’ve finally got customers but can’t seem to extract money out of them for services/goods provided.  How can I get them to pay without damaging the relationships I’ve worked hard to build?”  to the deliciously absurd: “My boss thinks he’s a hamster and I’m concerned about the impact that this is going to have on our company…should I raise this as an agenda item in the next team meeting?”

So write in with your questions to hello@startupcafe.co.uk and we’ll offer you our humble opinion (whether in jest or seriousness will depend on our mood or the nature of your problem). 

And if all else fails, Fury the Cat will more than happily purr in with feline wisdom.

Cheerio folks! x

The Innovators Counselling and Advisory Service for Scotland (ICASS) is an independent organisation funded by the Scottish Government to provide a free, impartial and confidential service to businesses regarding their IP. Accroding to their website, they are strictly an advisory service.

If you’re based in Edinburgh, then Alan Garratt is your man. He is based at Festival Square (just off Lothian Road) and is in the office on Mondays. You can make an appointment with him via alan.garratt@go.uk.com.

There are 6 categories that you can apply for:

• Knowledge Transfer Champion
• Impact Through Innovation
• Impact Through Innovation – Early Stage
• Entrepreneurial Spirit
• Young Innovator
• Social Enterprise Innovator

The closing date is 19th November, and you can apply here.

Personally speaking, it looks like a good programme (because that’s what it really is … ) and all entrants get the following benefits (source):

• A full programme of FREE “how to” workshops to help you take that innovation and make it a realization
• Access to VentureNavigator for a wealth of online resources at the click of a mouse button
• Access and signposting to a other innovation support organizations for help and advice on your next steps
• Feedback from our panel of experts on what you need to do to get to that next stage
• Discounted attendance for you and up to 2 guests at the prestigious Gala Awards Dinner where you can celebrate with your fellow innovators and more importantly NETWORK with potentially valuable connections.

Oh and in case you were wondering, John Logie Baird was the Scottish inventor that created the television …

At the University of Edinburgh, Launch.Ed, EPIS, Informatics Ventures are some of the departments helping students who need support to start their own venture. The interns work directly with Launch.Ed and closely with the other groups. With the University being divided into three different Colleges, each intern focused his work on one of them: the College of Humanities and Social Sciences whose intern is Hilary Singer, the College of Science and Engineering whose intern was Jeremy Klar and the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine I was looking after.

This year, SIE organised three summits: one in Edinburgh, one in Glasgow, and one in Aberdeen. These are annual events where all students are invited, and are given the opportunity to listen and learn from some incredibly experienced entrepreneurs. The events are meant to be inspiring, and aim at making students think about what they could do themselves. Past speakers include Gordon Richardson (Bean Scene), Alastair Campbell (Tony Blair’s government director of communications and strategy), Jacqueline Gold (Ann Summers), etc.

As interns, our work usually involves listening to students discuss their ideas, their dreams, etc. We then get them to think at these ideas more seriously, and direct them to one of the business mentors. The service is offered by the University and SIE, and it is entirely free. These business mentors then support these students until they are able to fly with their own wings, usually a few years later when the venture is successful.

£3000 LAUNCH Summer Company Formation Scholarships

Last chance to apply for the Company Formation Grant. This grant is suitable for recently graduated UG, MSc, MBA and Ph.D. students from the University of Edinburgh to pursue further research into the technical feasibility of a technology-related start-up idea. For 2-3 months over the summer, entrepreneurs will interact with Launch.ed and the host school, to further develop their technical ideas and assess the business opportunities. Entrepreneurs will be given office space and access to office facilities for up to 3 months. The entrepreneur is given a £3000 stipend, delivered in monthly at £1000 a month for three months. Launch.ed will offer strategic guidance in areas such as strategy, business planning and fundraising. The deadline for application is Monday 15 June 2009.

Prospekt Entrepreneurship Fellows Programme

The Prospekt Entrepreneurial Fellows Programme provides recently finished UG4, MSc, and Ph.D. students from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics with three months compensation to pursue further research into the technical feasibility of a high-growth, technology-related start-up idea. The scheme is funded by Prospekt – a four year, SEEL funded programme to provide commercialisation infrastructure and best practice for and within the School of Informatics. Prospekt Entrepreneurial Fellows (PEFs) will be based on campus in Appleton Tower at the University of Edinburgh. PEF applicants should apply as individuals but the PEF committee will consider funding entire teams as it is recognized such is important to a start-up venture.

What are the terms of the PEF programme?

The PEF programme for Autumn of 2009 will commence at an agreed upon date in September and end three months hence. During these three months, PEFs will interact with the Prospekt team and other related parties to further develop their technical ideas and opportunities. The team will offer strategic guidance in areas such as technology, strategy, business planning and fundraising from both the public and private sector, and where appropriate arrange meetings. We will also facilitate access to relevant members of academic staff within the School of Informatics. The PEF scheme is open to 4th year UG, MSc, and Ph.D. students who will be finishing their studies in the School of Informatics on or by 1st September 2009.

Preference will be given to MSc and 4th year students who have successfully completed either of the entrepreneurship courses: Informatics Entrepreneurship or The Digital Marketplace.

Proposed ventures must be genuinely innovative and have the potential for high growth and job creation here in Scotland. Employment contracts will be with the University of Edinburgh, during which time any and all intellectual property created by PEFs will be owned by the University of Edinburgh, as is the case for all other University employees. You will not be asked to assign any existing intellectual property rights to the University, although there may be advantages in doing so under certain circumstances. It is expected, however, that successful PEFs will create new intellectual property during their three month tenure, and the potential for intellectual property creation will be part of the assessment criteria for applications. If a PEF goes on to form a company, the intellectual property created during the PEF period will be assigned over to the new company shortly after incorporation, in exchange for a small equity position, typically around 1% (one percent) of founding equity, although the University’s licensing team will take a flexible approach with regard to founders’ requirements. PEFs are responsible for ensuring their own working status is legal. Generally current non-UK and EU students will hold Student Visas that allow them to work in the UK through the end of December 2009 at least.

Compensation and Review

The contract will be at Salary level UE06 Spinal point 25 (currently £25,623 gross pay, pro-rata to 3 months), at a standard 35 hour working week. Also, the PEF will be granted 2.5 days of holiday per month, and be eligible for all University holidays as well. Finally, the PEF will have the option to join the Universities Pensions Scheme. Formal reviews of progress will be completed with the Prospekt on a monthly basis. Informal meetings will occur weekly. At the end of the three month employment period, the PEF will give a formal presentation and alsosubmit a formal written report.

What happens after the PEF programme?

There are various pre- and post- incorporation funding/support programmes PEFs may wish to pursue, such as The University of Edinburgh’s EPIS programme , the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Enterprise Fellowship programme , the Scottish Government’s SMART:Scotland scheme , and private equity funding from business angel investors, private venture capital firms, and quasi-private venture capital firms such as 4ip. The Prospekt team can provide some assistance in applying for these sources of support, but each PEF should regularly monitor the websites for the schemes as most have cut-off dates for applications, are subject to change. Ultimately the PEF is responsible for his or her own destiny.

PEF application process:

To apply, please send the following via email:

Required: one page executive summary of the business venture whose technical viability you wish to further explore. Please describe technical development to date, technical plans, market opportunity, value proposition, features, advantages & enefits of your intended technology or commercial approach.

Required: a recent CV/Resume (with details of two referees, one of whom should be an academic supervisor or tutor). Please also ensure email and telephone contact details are up-to-date.

Required: 5 to 10 page slide pitch. All candidates will give a 10 minute pitch followed by feedback for a total of 30 minutes in a session at an agreed upon time. The date of this interview is yet to be determined but will most likely be the first week of August.

Required: a statement confirming that you are a current student at the University of Edinburgh and expect to finish on or before the 1st of September, 2009.

Optional: a business plan

The application is due by 17.00 on Monday 07 July 2009.

Applications should be sent to: Michael Clouser, Associate, School of Informatics . Candidates will be contacted by the 21st of July for an interview which will take the form of a pitch session to a panel, followed by a 10-15 minute presentation of their business idea to a panel. This presentation will be followed by 10-15 minutes of questions and answers, for a total session of 30 minutes.The exact date of this interview session is yet-to-be determined but will most likely be the first week of August 2009. Autumn 2009 PEFs will be informed of a decision by the Prospekt review committee on or before Wednesday, 19th of August, 2009. Candidates will have 14 days to accept or reject the offer thereafter, by Wednesday 02 September 2009. The Fellowship will start after the 2nd of September 2009 but before the 30th of September at a pre-agreed upon date within this time period.