It’s
6.15am and I’m fighting the alarm clock. Just four hours earlier,
I had checked to make sure it was set for the morning. Lazing in
bed for the next 15 minutes, I was making a number of plans concurrently
– send a note to Microsoft’s CEO about an investment opportunity;
send the PowerPoint about a London mobile entertainment service
company to Martin, an investor in Geneva ahead of a 3.00pm conference
call; follow up on my action items from the 2.00am call last night
with Stefan from Aplaud Technologies in California.
Ten minutes later and I’m still struggling to get out of bed. Need
to get more than four hours sleep a night. Can’t think about sleep
right now – must get up. It’s 6.30am – BBC TV news has just
started. That’s good to watch (and a good reason to stay in bed!).
Okay, it’s 6.40am – time to head for the shower.
Half an hour later, I’m checking my email on my laptop as I sit
on the dining table – a home wireless high-speed Internet connection
is a beautiful thing. Slurping sounds from a bowl of cereal accompany
the clicks of my keyboard. Quick-fire responses to my emails compete
with the scant attention I’m paying to finish that PowerPoint for
Martin – have 20 minutes before a car picks me up to take me to
the office.
The presentation leaves my laptop as I gulp my last few sips of
coffee. Minutes later I’m headed for the City from South Kensington.
At 7.30am we’re just about beating the traffic that builds at 8.00am
when kids are being dropped to school. It’s a great time to catch
people early in the day on their phones. Today’s call en route to
the office is to JP, the chief information officer at Dresdner Kleinwort
Wasserstein.
JP is at Heathrow, getting ready to board a flight for Frankfurt,
where Dresdner’s head office is located. We talk briefly about a
project we’re working on. That’s going to involve an Allianz (Dresdner’s
parent company) board member so JP suggests talking at 8:00am the
following day when he can do a conference call with the Board member
and myself.
At the office at 8.20am, I bump into David Johnson, an executive-in-residence
at Ariadne Capital, outside the front door. David leads our activities
whereby we help companies validate their products in the market
and secure top customer accounts. A coffee chat with David is a
great way to start the day.
Our first meeting starts at 9.00am with five of the company staff
including the CEO, Julie Meyer, previously founder of First Tuesday.
We’re discussing dates for a possible trip to India with CIOs of
top European companies whom we’re helping set up offshore subsidiaries
in India.
An hour later, I find myself on a conference call with Amadeus Capital
Partners, a Cambridge, England-based venture capital firm, founded
by Hermann Hauser who is one of the leading lights of the European
technology arena. Amadeus has been approached by Stefan’s company
Aplaud Technologies in Cupertino, California, which is seeking new
investors for its next financing round. Since we’re investors in
the company, Amadeus contacted us to better understand its proposition.
At 11.00am, Julie and myself meet a potential investor for another
California company we’ve invested in – NanoMuscle. The company makes
small motors using nanotechnology. A year ago, I knew little about
nanotechnology or auto technologies. Today, I’m a semi-expert.
At 1.30pm, I’m back at my desk. Lunch is a Pret-a-Manger sandwich
while I’m catching up on paperwork. A note to Morgan Crucible, a
large listed industrial company; a note to Nokia Ventures; another
one to IDG Ventures, another nibble at the note to Microsoft’s CEO.
Before I know it, it’s 3.00pm and I’m on the conference call to
Geneva with Martin.
At 5.15pm, we start the late shift, otherwise known as the California
shift. A conference call with Stefan to go over the new financial
plan lasts an hour. This is an ambitious plan. This could be the
next eBay. It has $4.5 million of investor money, including some
from us.
At 6.30pm I’m off to an evening organized by the European Tech Forum
where Sir Peter Bonfield, former CEO of BT, is speaking.
Over cocktails and canapes, networking begins. There’s Diana Noble,
the head of Reed Elsevier Ventures. There’s Laureen Cook, formerly
head of the telecoms group at KPMG. Sir Peter and I get into a conversation.
As a board member of Ericsson, he’s interested in the NanoMuscle
product as it can power zoom lenses for camera phones. Another good
deed for our portfolio company today. I then get a cab back to the
office. The journey gives me an opportunity to call my parents in
Canada.
At 10.00 pm, I have a conference call with Stefan with a Japanese
investor interested in Aplaud. After that I have to prepare for
a three-day trip to Milan and Venice next week. And yes, must finish
that note to Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. It’s only 1:30am. Still
have another hour-and-a-half to bedtime.
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