IEEE UK&RI GOLD Talk: Do you want to learn about the world of Venture Capital (VC) funding?

Here is your opportunity: The GOLD group of the IEEE UK&RI presents a talk.

When: 26 Feb 2013, 5pm onwards
Where: Room BR4.01, Computer Science building, Queen Mary University of London(Map)

Abstract of talk:

Tom Rowbotham will talk about the world of the venture capitalist (VC). This is a little like being a Dragon in the Dragons Den except the money being invested comes from individuals and institutions that have entrusted their money to the care of the professional VC, and it takes more than a five minute meeting to sort the investable from the uninvestable opportunities. And Dragons Den omits the huge amount of work that must go into mentoring the investee companies and issues relating to making money for the investors. Tom will discuss how investors evaluate companies to invest in, (the entry), the pitfalls that face a high technology startup (the rocky road) and obtaining a return for the investors (the exit).

About the speaker:

Dr Rowbotham spent much of his career in British Telecommunications, culminating in running BT Laboratories. For the past twelve years he has been a venture capitalist, managing funds on behalf of St Paul Venture Capital, Vesbridge Partners and ERAF and in that time, with his partners, has invested in over fifty early stage technology start-ups in UK and USA. He also has experience as an entrepreneur, founding KCC in 1980. KCC produced the world’s first 3D microwave circuit design software package. He has served on the Boards of over fifteen early stage technology companies in USA and UK. Those in the UK include KCC (sold to Flomerics), Fulcrum (sold to Fujitsu), ERA Technology (sold to Cobham), Flomerics (sold to Mentor Graphics) and Irisys (sold to Danaher). He is currently chairman of Diamond Microwave Devices (Leeds) and non-executive Director of Irisys (Northampton), Lumejet(Coventry) and Corvil (Dublin). He qualified in Microwave Physics from Belfast, Surrey and Nottingham Universities, and has been a visiting Professor at Nottingham and Kings College London Universities. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the IEEE, and a Fellow of IET. He received the Frederik Philips Award from the IEEE in 2003. He was the first Briton to serve on the Board of the IEEE.

For more information: please contact our student branch sb.qmul@ieee.org