Event Review: The 5th Cambridge Enterprise Conference
By Kate Opekar, Deputy Editor

However, the Cambridge Enterprise Conference - commonly known as the CEC - is not just about providing a transition from the laboratory to the commercial markets. Linda Allan, Chief Organiser of the event, explained, “the Conference was founded by Christopher Saunders, a Cambridge entrepreneur and business angel, and Walter Herriott, Managing Director of the St John's Innovation Centre in Cambridge, to encourage entrepreneurial initiative and to help create an environment where more entrepreneurs emerge and are likely to be successful.  It was set up entirely independently from the university, and entrepreneurs come to the conference from all over the world to learn how to grow their businesses more successfully.  Getting advice from experienced business people can help a lot in making a venture successful, and so the CEC is really designed to help improve the performance of new, growing businesses”.

Now in its fifth year, the CEC - a non-profit making, annual event - provides a community for practitioners and experts from around the world to discuss and debate how to enhance and encourage enterprise.  The first two days of the 2002 Conference featured speakers ranging from government officials to experienced entrepreneurs, while the third day, a newly introduced “Deal Day”, was devoted to networking and presentations by entrepreneurs to those who can help them build their business.

The Enterprise Launch Pad Competition, also new this year, gave entrepreneurs a chance to submit their business plans for consideration by an independent panel, with the top 12 pitching to the delegates during the Conference, and the top 100 entries being invited to participate in the Deal Day.

Using an electronic voting system, delegates voted in real time for each of the 12 competition finalists chosen from 175 entries from around the world who represented new technologies in electronics, internet, life sciences, materials, software and telecommunications.  This year’s first prize went to Warwick Effect Polymers Warwick, a spin-out from Warwick University that is developing a patented technology to produce polymers with far greater control and precision. First prize gives the Company £5,000 and the opportunity to talk business with the UK’s entrepreneurial and investment community. 

“We are delighted to have won the competition,” said Professor David Haddleton, Founder and CEO of Warwick Effect Polymers.  “The opportunity to participate in the Conference has given us excellent opportunities to network, particularly as we are currently looking to raise new funds for expansion and bring business expertise into the company.”

The runner-up in the competition was Avecho, a software company that has developed a new and unique technology, Avecho GlassWall, which ensures its users never receive or transmit email viruses.  Third place went to Climate, a company who have applied established technology to make dramatic improvements to the management of clinical trials of pharmaceuticals.  Other finalists were Brain Juicer, Cambridge Cell Networks, Deltaseal Software, Home Media Networks, KeCrypt, Neurotargets, Sphere Medical, SROM and YYY Systems.

John Croft, CEO of Home Media Networks, one of this year’s finalists, explained how the CEC had helped him gain valuable contacts for his company: “I entered a business plan and made it to the final twelve….[allowing me to] network during the CEC. As a result, I have met about half a dozen interested VCs during the course of the conference.” Home Media Networks  has developed a software application that allows users to control their entertainment needs – from CDs to video to internet – through one simple interface usable on PCs or TV. “We’re seeing a convergence between PCs and TV”, Croft explained. “We’re betting on the ‘networked home’ where people will use PCs that they can access from anywhere in their house for entertainment applications. It also makes a lot of sense for upmarket hotels wanting to offer PCs, music and video in one interface for their guests”. Home Media Networks was established two years ago and recently signed a deal with Hewlett-Packard to include the software in HP Pavilion PCs from this fall. Asked about what advice he would give other entrepreneurs, Croft said: “Of course it is important to believe in what you are doing. But you also have to recognise that companies go through stages. While it’s enough to be passionate about the technology at the beginning, as you develop, you need different skills – such as business development and marketing – at different times.”

Overall, the 5^th CEC showed that there was still a great deal of interest in developing start-up companies despite the economic downturn. “People understand that technology is a key driver in the economy”, commented CEC Committee Chairman, John Snyder. “There are real opportunities right now for innovators. Valuations are cheaper but that doesn’t affect the start-up level – in fact, we’ve seen ticket sales for the CEC grow by 150% from last year.”

In addition to providing networking and mentoring opportunities for start-ups, Snyder sees one important role of the CEC as involving policy makers so that they can develop a better appreciation of what it means to be a high-technology entrepreneur; to this end, the CEC has organised a Policy Day two weeks after the Conference itself, in which regional and national policy makers and representatives of the UK entrepreneurial community debate the areas where government can make an impact on enterprise.  A report of the outcome of these debates is to be sent to the DTI and other relevant offices.

In her keynote address during the conference, Ariadne Capital Investor Member, Candace Johnson, summarised the essence of the CEC well: “[To auger] the Age of Enterprise by fostering, encouraging and sponsoring Entrepreneurs to build and secure the Next Generation.”

The entrepreneurial spirit certainly seems alive and well in Cambridge.