Got an email this morning from a PR crowd.
The Irish Venture Capital Association in conjunction with the Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship is holding a one and a half day course on “How to Raise Venture Capital�. The event takes place at the Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship at Citywest Business Campus, Dublin on 24th and 25th May.
The course is aimed at entrepreneurs in new or existing companies. It provides an inside track from the venture capitalists themselves on what they look for in a business, the investment process as well as how to manage exit strategies. It will provide networking opportunities with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who have been through the fund raising experience.
The cost of the course is €850 and includes all course materials, lunch, evening dinner and accommodation at Citywest Hotel on the night of the 24th May.
Maybe that’s value for money but I’d be running a free event to get as many interested parties as possible. Though I’m not a VC, am I, so maybe I’m not seeing the bigger picture. Let people pay for the dinner and meal and lunch themselves, if needs be. First time I heard of the IVCA too. Looking at their members list, am I right in thinking Trinity are the only ones to go to events such as BarCamp?
Yep you are right! Kernel were down for Waterford (and possibly Cork) but I am sure they did not make it. Brian Caufield is unusual amongst Irish VC’s in that he makes a strong effort to mix it with start-ups.
keith
The Dublin CIty Enterprise Board run free and almost free events. See http://www.dceb.ie/calendar/default.asp?itemId=17#networking for more details.
They ran a ‘Raising Private Equity Event’ in February at which Business Angels, BES, and VC funding was discussed.
Only in Ireland. Only in Ireland.
I can’t help suspecting that this is more of a fund-raising exercise than anything else…
Absolutely agree..
If I had €850 to spend on something like this I would not need VC capital to begin with….
E.
I’ve seen them mentioned b4 but u have 2 look hard 2 find them. This seems as if its one of their first attempts 2 get out there and spread the word!
Don’t disagree that they could have done it better.
Maybe if they offered you a complimentary ticket Damien u could then tell us (and rest of blogsphere) all the good work that he do 🙂
As John indicates there are other events out there but very poor at getting notice in the startup scene – duh!
Lal
Well, you have to understand where these guys come from. To a large extent, they are in the MBO business rather than the startup business. MBO is quite different – if you were thinking of doing an MBO at the place you work, you could put the whole thing on the company tab. Companies that are targets for MBOs generally have half-decent cashflow.
The reason for this is that startups are so perilous. It is incredibly difficult to make money throwing millions of euros into startups. To make any sort of turn on your money, some of the companies you fund have to grow to millions in turnover within a few years. You need to be really brainy and fairly lucky to stand a chance of doing this.
How to raise venture capital and start a business, 101:
Step One: Host a conference on raising venture capital, and charge a fortune for tickets.
Step Two: Take the money and run, fool.
I like their style. Will Backhander Bertie (and friends) be giving a sideshow on how to fund your divorce?