PRESS RELEASE
23 May 2005

East of England Development Agency launches UK's biggest business competition 

UK’s biggest business competition offers East of England entrepreneurs a share in £1,000,000 investment.

Entrepreneurs from across the East of England have an exclusive opportunity to secure significant funding for their ideas in the UK’s biggest business competition – Running the Gauntlet – offering up to four companies a share of £1,000,000 investment funding provided by CREATE, a leading investor in East of England businesses.

The Running the Gauntlet competition is based around The Gauntlet – a ground-breaking new web-based service which, for the first time ever, enables entrepreneurs to test their business proposition before exposing it to the make-or-break judgement of real investors. The competition sees the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) leading the way in the UK by giving entrants access to The Gauntlet free of charge (this would otherwise cost £199 per complete run-through).

The Gauntlet has been developed by Library House and the London School of Economics in consultation with a broad panel of investors and venture capitalists. It gives users practical feedback on the potential of their ideas, and highlights elements of their business proposition that they need to work on, making it an integral part of the business development process prior to that critical first meeting with an investor.

Business guru Doug Richard, from BBC2’s Dragons’ Den, is part of the team behind ‘The Gauntlet’ and will co-chair the competition panel. He explained:

“Through my work with early-stage innovation companies looking to attract venture capital, it became obvious that many had not done enough to make their ideas sufficiently attractive to potential investors. It was only after going through the gruelling process of presenting to investors, being torn to shreds and finally realising their shortcomings, that businesses were able to understand what being ‘investment ready’ really means.

In developing ‘The Gauntlet’, we wanted to create something to help entrepreneurs get smart before the event and not wise after, when it is too late. By Running the Gauntlet, businesses in the East of England will get relevant feedback on their ideas early on in the process, providing them with the sort of the insight they need to deliver a viable investment proposition.”

Boyd Mulvey, chief executive, CREATE agrees:

“As a leading investor in SME’s in the East of England, CREATE sees a large number of businesses looking for funding, many of which are not investment ready. We aim to invest in companies with high growth potential and to add value to our investee companies by our hands-on support post investment but we do not have the resources to get them investment ready.

"Therefore we see the Gauntlet as an exciting opportunity for businesses of all stages in the East of England which are looking for funding to learn what investors need. We hope that as a result of this competition, more businesses in the region will become investment ready and that we can announce some substantial investments in innovative high growth companies.”

Running the Gauntlet gives entrants free access to The Gauntlet where they will be asked 16 questions across four themes: Innovation, Team, Market and Investment. Every entrant completing The Gauntlet receives a personal, confidential report card assessing his or her investment-readiness, with further feedback to support the assessment. Entrants are also offered business support from Gateway2Innovate, which connects East of England businesses requiring innovation support to organisations and networks that can offer help.

Every entrant gains something from running the gauntlet – starting with the report card, feedback and business support - but the benefits increase the longer you stay in the competition. 50 business ideas will be short listed by a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs and investors, offered master classes to help them develop their business model and invited to submit a business plan. Then a further ten will be asked to present to a panel of top UK venture capitalists and entrepreneurs chaired jointly by Doug Richard and Boyd Mulvey of CREATE. They will be eligible for a share of the £1,000,000 investment and £100,000 worth of business services. The winner(s) will be announced at EEDA’s business conference – destination growth – on 17 November 05.

Competition details can be accessed online at http://www.runningthegauntlet.com and businesses have until 2 September 2005 to enter.

EEDA Chief Executive David Marlow commented:

“This is a fantastic, no-risk opportunity for East of England entrepreneurs to use this groundbreaking software free of charge. There is nothing to lose and so much to gain with the potential for securing significant investment funding.

“The East of England is one of the fastest-growing UK economies and the only region to rank in the European Union’s Top Ten Research & Development spend. It is therefore a perfect fit for this exciting competition and we look forward to seeing the business propositions that evolve from running the gauntlet.”

To find out more about the competition, go to: http://www.runningthegauntlet.com/

For further information contact: Paul Stelmaszczyk/Emily Swinburn (Camargue) on 020 7636 7366 or Marcie Bell (EEDA) on 01223 484689
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Notes to Editors

EEDA
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind economic development in the six counties of the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The vision for the East of England is to create a leading economy, founded on a world class knowledge base, creativity and enterprise to improve the quality of life for all who live and work here. For further information visit http://www.eeda.org.uk

The East of England as a leader in innovation
• The East of England is home to more than a fifth of the world’s Nobel Prize winners in medicine and chemistry
• the region’s companies secured more than 25 per cent of the UK’s venture capital investments and more than 8 per cent of the total in Europe in the first half of 2004
• Cambridge is host to Europe’s largest concentration of hi-tech firms and the centre of a dramatic development of entrepreneurial activity
• Around 1,200 technology-based firms are located in the area, from young start-ups to giants like ARM and Microsoft
• Initiatives such as Cambridge Science Park and St John’s Innovation Centre are outstanding examples of the vibrancy of the Cambridge business community

CREATE
The CREATE East of England Fund is a private fund managed by Create Partners Ltd (CREATE). The CREATE East of England Fund specialises in making investments in new or existing small and medium-sized businesses (SME’s) that can demonstrate significant growth potential and are either based, or conduct a significant part of their business, in the East of England. CREATE is actively seeking smaller sized businesses with high growth potential across the whole range of investment stages including start-up, early stage, development/ expansion and MBO/ MBI. The Fund will provide venture capital investments, of up to an initial £250,000 with follow-on investment of up to a further £250,000 available. Once invested in a business, the Fund is capable of investing further to avoid dilution up to a maximum of £2million in any one company.

The Fund may invest alongside private investors, Banks, or seed corn venture capital funds. The East of England region includes the following counties: Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk.

CREATE is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

For further information: http://www.createpartners.com

Library House
Library House is a supplier of data and research on innovation based companies. Library House discovers, measures, and monitors innovation companies as they progress through their lifecycle from initial investment to preparation for purchase, partnering or public offering. Since its founding in 2002, Library House has provided investors, corporations, universities and government the most complete view and direct access to the innovation companies in the U.K. and Europe through its database, reports, events and analysis. http://www.libraryhouse.net

The London School of Economics and Political Science

LSE studies the social sciences in their broadest sense, with an academic profile spanning disciplines from economics, politics and law, to sociology, information systems and accounting and finance. Founded in 1895, LSE has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. A total of 97 per cent of academics are actively engaged in research. LSE staff advise governments, serve on Royal Commissions, public bodies and government inquiries, and are seconded to national and international organisations.
www.lse.ac.uk

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