smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Two annual international events designed to bring together entrepreneurs, support services and investors to promote the creation and development of technology-based businesses, are being hosted in Oxford and Cambridge.

Oxford's Venturefest 2001 will combine a conference and exhibition with a series of seminars which will cover such areas as advice on setting up and running innovation-based firms and intellectual property. "This year we are anticipating particular interest in WAP and the e-business opportunities it presents," commented Tim Cook, chairman of this year's Venturefest committee. "How to" seminars will explore specific WAP-related topics including riding the bandwidth curve, negotiating funding, opto-electronics and implementing m-commerce.

There will also be networking sessions, and presentations on floating a company on the stock market, managing growth, and keeping an eye on the market's demands. Other activities will include a business plan clinic, a competition for young entrepreneurs and an exhibition of firms which provide related business services. "Our aim is to provide a forum that will help turn exceptional ideas into successful, fast-growing businesses," says Cook.

The Cambridge Enterprise Conference combines a busy conferencing schedule with networking events. Founder Christopher Sawyer said, "There are plenty of common aims between the business angel, the VC, the lawyer and the entrepreneur - they all want to see a successful business. The conference is there to encourage the talk that brings dreams and the dreams that create new businesses."

Topics focus on the current state of the economy and the future outlook, and how to ride the upturns and downturns and use them to your business's advantage. How to build your company from the inside, for example, through recruitment and team building, as well as from the outside, by growing from acquisition, will also be examined. A special session will be devoted to the biotechnology sector and will look at the impact of genomics and proteomics amongst other things.

Oxford's Venturefest will be held at Culham Science Centre on 25 and 26 June; further details can be found at www.venturefest.com . The Cambridge Enterprise Conference will be held at Robinson College, Cambridge on 10 and 11 September; further details can be found at www.cambridgeenterprise.co.uk .

With thanks to Lloyds TSB Success4Business. For more news and information visit www.success4business.com .

(30/5/01)

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