Tips for Entrepreneurs from Pitch to Rich
Renaud Visage, our co-founder and CTO, was one of the judges on the panel for the Manchester heat of Virgin Media’s Pitch to Rich on Tuesday – a competition aimed at finding the UK’s next great entrepreneur.
Having been part of the Eventbrite journey right from the very start, Renaud had plenty of advice for the packed room of budding business folk – including these three tips:
- Cash is king – don’t live beyond your means because if you run out, you’ve had it.
- Having a great product doesn’t equal a great business, make sure you have a strategy that’s going to see you through the different stages of growth.
- Great employees are essential to the success of a business.
Finally, Renaud identified three qualities that all entrepreneurs share: “Being curious, clever and confident.”
These were echoed by the founder of Innocent Drinks – Richard Reed – who was another member of the panel for the event. He also stressed the importance of never giving up in what you believe in.
It took Innocent Drinks a whole year to get any kind of recognition or funding for their venture. They asked everyone they could think of – from venture capitalists, to private investors and even friends. They were knocked back time and time again, but eventually found one person who believed in them and allowed them to get their business off the ground – in 2013 they sold the company to Coca Cola, showing just how far their determination has allowed them to travel.
Renaud and Richard were joined by Katie Gallagher, Managing Director at ManchesterDigital, and Chris Barry from the Business Desk. Together they offered tips to three entrepreneurs who took to the stage to pitch their business plan and get advice on how to hone their presentations in the hope they would make it through to the next round and eventually pitch to the man himself – Richard Branson.
First up was Abdirahman Jama from Pinnacle – a local mobile advertising agency that bridges the gap between local businesses and their consumers through mobile devices. Next, the inspirational Wicker Wings – a brother and sister team which makes fashion bags created from wicker, with a bag-for-bag scheme that donates a bag filled with books and stationary to a child in China. And finally, Mark Harrison, inventor of Triple Tread – an innovative, three wheeled bicycle which aids MS sufferers to engage in exercise.
Check out the podcast of the full event here, you can hear each of the pitches as well as what the panel thought of them.
To learn more about the competition and how to enter, check out www.pitchtorich.co.uk