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• Imperial Entrepreneurs

  09 March 2009
• 

• Table of contents:

  1. Seize this unique opportunity to get professional feedback
  2. Mentor Profiles

• 1. Seize this unique opportunity to get professional feedback

  Hi everyone!!
  
  As promised a list of mentors that are keen to help you find, rethink and refine your ideas for the IDEAS EMPOWERED challenge.
  Seize this chance to get feedback and bounce off ideas with professional entrepreneurs or investors.
  Find their profiles on the below and make sure you make the most out of their respective field of expertise.
  If you are developing a Biotech idea it makes more sense to choose someone with that background.
  
  We are very grateful that our mentors are so generous to share their knowledge and time.
  Consider that they may have limited time to give and do respect the fact that they may have other priorities.
  
  Choose your preferred mentor on the form below and we will make the connection (more mentors to come!)
  
  
  http://niccolo.wufoo.com/forms/meet-your-mentor/
  
  
  From then onwards it will be your responsibility to manage the relation.
  
  Make the most out of this unique opportunity!
  
  N
  
  
  

• 2. Mentor Profiles

  
  
  Chris Padfield
  Investment Manager
  London Business Angels & London Seed Capital
  
  As Investment Manager for London Business Angels, I act as the ‘gatekeeper’ to the oldest UK angel network. The network comprises of 130 high net worth individuals, around half of whom are cashed out entrepreneurs, looking to invest into early stage high growth companies. The network receives over 800 business plans a year, of which I select the best 42 to present across 7 company presentation events. The network raises approximately £5m in new capital per year for companies seeking between £100k and £750k.
  Alongside London Business Angels I act as the Investment Manager for London Seed Capital; the first Early Growth Fund, a £5m co-investment fund typically doing first round deals of £100k. All investments have been made into companies that have presented through London Business Angels.
  
  Prior to becoming investment manager for LBA and LSC and whilst completing my BA (hons) at Oxford in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, I formed the company Headstart Solutions Ltd to capitalise on the growing automation in customer self service help and business to customer support. The company has developed an innovative CRM product targeting a broad range of industries and company types from multinationals (including Deutsche Bank, T-Mobile, Lycos, Fujitsu, AT&T, EDS and Cable and Wireless) to SMEs, schools, universities, government departments and other public sector institutions. Hundreds of thousands of people use the software every day, with the software acting as the key interface between companies and their customers. The software has evolved to embrace new technologies, market trends and competition and has taken advantage of the movement towards SAAS software delivery and cloud computing. I developed the original product and have formed a core team of management and developers to drive the company to continued growth.
  
  
  
  
  Clive Coker CEO Lion Bridge Ventures
  
  Clive Coker established Lion Bridge Ventures as a UK based biofuel feedstock supplier. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Jatropha Africa, clients can be supplied with non food biofuels, derived from oil seed bearing trees, cultivated close to Lake Volta in Ghana.
  
  Under Clive’s leadership, Jatropha Africa has worked with the tribal councils of 3 villages in Ghana to agree land leases and working arrangements for the development of previously unused land, for Jatropha cultivation. This led to the establishment of plant nurseries, and the nomination of Jatropha Africa by the Ghana Ministry of Energy to be the private sector partner of a UNIDA funded project for the electrification of rural communities
  
  The land cultivated by Lion Bridge Ventures has not previously been used for food crops, and is being brought into use under profit sharing lease agreements covering 50,000 Hectares of land which is at best marginal for food production.
  
  Since 2008, Lion Bridge Ventures began generating revenues from the sale of oil seeds to research centres and biofuel refiners.
  
  Prior to establishing Lion Bridge Ventures, Clive successfully managed UK government funded innovation projects, working with UK universities and the DTI Innovation Unit. His first career was as a Chartered Engineer managing construction projects in the UK, Germany and the Falkland Islands. Such projects included the design and construction of aircraft support facilities, hospitals and oil fuel depots.
  
  Since 2004, Clive has been an innovation consultant to Universities(Including Imperial Innovations), Colleges and companies, mostly through London Development Agency funded initiatives in support of knowledge transfer.
  
  Clive holds an MSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Glasgow, and an MBA from the Open University.
  
  
  
  Jonathan Pfahl is the owner and Managing Director of the Rockstar Group of Companies. Originally from Sydney Australia, Jonathan has spent his entire business career in setting up companies and investing in both shares and property.
  After completing a triple major degree of Applied Economics at the University of Sydney, specialising in finance, he moved straight into his career as a professional investor
  His investment career began at Goldman Sachs Australia where he worked there as an investment advisor for four years. He enjoyed his time thoroughly there and still believes; "it was a fantastic start to my investment career, I learnt alot from the senior advisors in my team about what makes a quality company and therefore a quality investment. I'll always be grateful to the time those guys spent with me when I started out," Jonathan says.
  Jonathan moved to London in January 2005 and began work on his newest company group, Rockstar. He says, "When I first arrived in London, I absolutely fell in love with the city. I found there were so many switched on, like minded entreprenuers I couldn't wait to get started!"
  His first company was a share trading business which involved spreadbetting the US markets as well as teaching other people how to do so, as a consultant. "The share markets have always been a part of my life since I was a kid as my old man has been investing professionally in markets since I can remember. I owe alot to him for his guidance and mentoring over the years." Jonathan says.
  He then was introduced to property investing in the UK and instantly saw it as an opportunity. "What I love about property over share trading is the 'people' aspect of it. Unlike trading where you simply look at a screen all day, I love the negotiations, I love being able to find a common ground with the seller then putting together a deal that benefits us both." However before venturing out into the streets and buying property, Jonathan found a property mentor. "I happily invested nearly £10 000 to spend 2 days in the field with someone I knew I could learn from fast, a chap who had built a portfolio worth more than £40 million! Some people may see that as alot of money, as an investor you can never focus on cost, you have to focus on return. We did a deal on day 1 that made me £30 000 back in 3 months and cashflowed over £100 a month! - not a bad investment!" These days Jonathan still invests heavily in both property and shares but as opposed to just holding on and hoping they will increase over time, he produces strong monthly cashflow from both assets through HMO's and writing covered calls over his shares.
  But in every business Jonathan has ever built, he has always sought out a mentor to show him how to do it properly. "To me, it just makes so much sense", Jonathan says, "Why go into something new, with no experience, (like a new business venture) with such a small chance of success, where you can have someone hold your hand through the process and show you how to do so successfully. I have had a mentor in every new venture I ever got involved in, it worked for me, so I then wanted to put something together that would allow others to do the same."
  Constantly being in an environment of like-minded entrepreneurs and people who are wanting to become entrepreneurs, Jonathan realised very swiftly that there are so many switched on, like minded entrepreneurs in this country, who have fantastic business ideas, but simply lack the experience and support to turn their business dreams into reality. "That is essentially what Rockstar is all about. My aim is to show anyone with a business idea, or with a small business which they are looking to grow that it IS possible! you just need the right support to make it happen."
  The Rockstar Group offers affordable mentoring for entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their business. Through a combination of one to one mentoring, promotion of your products and services to key customers and access to private funding, the team at Rockstar are dedicated to seeing their members businesses succeed.
  When asked why he called the companies Rockstar, he admits honestly, "It originally came about as I am passionate about music and always have been. I used to be the lead singer of a rock band (whilst I was working at Goldmans) and thought it was a word that I could turn into a reputable brand and so far so good. I also like to think that we help our members become the stars of their industries."
  Name: Jonathan Pfahl
  Hobbies: Golf, Music
  Passions: Mentoring, Music, Rugby
  Favourite Quote: "This is no dress rehearsal, this is it!"
  Favourite Books: "How to get rich", Felix Dennis, "Anyone can do it", Duncan Bannatyne (because they both tell it how it is - in their own charismatic way
  
  
  
  Henri Mori
  
  At only 24 years old, Henry brings a rare and sought-after combination of sharp academic acuity and practical business experience to the Ideas Empowered Challenge. Previously Vice President and presently Chairman of Imperial Entrepreneurs, an alumnus of the Management one-year Joint Honours stream at Imperial College Business School (achieving one the highest Entrepreneurship grades ever awarded) and replete with frontline experience of working in Silicon Valley, California (setting up a US subsidiary for Global Soken Inc. immediately following graduation), Henry has a wide experience base in the writing and execution of winning business plans, particularly strategic positioning and marketing.
  During his time in Silicon Valley, Henry successfully conceived and executed a blueprint for Global Soken Inc’s large trade stand at Plug In 2008, and was subsequently responsible for overseeing the direction of a Strategic Alliance with a high-profile Californian company, for the development of next-generation batteries to power electric and hybrid vehicles. Since the successful establishment of Global Soken’s US subsidiary and Strategic Alliance, Henry has returned to Cambridge, UK, to pursue his long-held passion for Biotechnology – currently, he is interning in the Marketing Department at Abcam Plc (www.abcam.com), helping to increase revenues across its product lines despite inclement market conditions. Long-term, Henry seeks to work on the commercial/technical frontier of a Biotechnology Spin-Out company
  
  
  Maximilian Roos
  
  Currently Associate at the Boston Consulting Group
  
  Past Experience
  
  • Executive Director, Founder
  UniBooks LLP
  (Partnership; 11-50 employees; Consumer Services industry)
  March 2005 — March 2007 (2 years 1 month)
  • Analyst
  IBM Business Consulting Services
  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; IBM; Management Consulting industry)
  July 2003 — September 2006 (3 years 3 months)
  • Junior Associate
  Montagu Newhall Associates
  (Partnership; 1-10 employees; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)
  June 2003 — August 2003 (3 months)
  ________________________________________
  Maximilian Roos’s Education
  • London School of Economics and Political Science
  Management Sciences,
  • Eton College
  
  
  
  Torsten Kolind
  
  Danish, 28, Biotech graduate, working at YouNoodle
  WORK EXPERIENCE
  Employer: YouNoodle Inc.
  Position: Consultant
  Time period: January 2009 - Present
  
  Employer: Venture Cup Denmark
  Position: Director/CEO
  Time period: June 2006 - December 2008
  Description: Venture Cup helps Danish students and faculty become entrepreneurs. By running the annual national business plan competition, Venture Cup, it is one of the most influential entrepreneurship organisations in Danish higher education. 10 employees, 5 locations, 6 member universities, and 200+ teams participating every year.
  
  Employer: NALIA Ltd / University College London Hospitals
  Position: Researcher
  Time period: September 2005 - June 2006
  Description: Working on project NALIA, a continuation of my MSc thesis research project, see publication listed below. In charge of assay development and validation for systemic lupus erythematosus diagnostics and screening, in cooperation with UCL Hospitals.
  
  Employer: Novozymes A/S
  Position: Summer intern
  Time period: June 2001 - August 2001
  Description: Student intern in Danish enzyme producer Novozymes’ eBusiness Operations department.
  
  Employer: PreVenture A/S
  Position: Business Plan Screener
  Time period: November 2000 - May 2002
  Description: Business proposal screener and co-developer of the proprietary Growth Model concept for early-stage venture project management
  
  Employer: Innovative Business Software
  Position: Web developer
  Time period: September 2000 - May 2001
  Description: Part-time work for a Dallas-based software company while at SMU
  
  Employer: WorldWeb ApS
  Position: Co-founder
  Time period: September 1996 - May 1999
  Description: Co-founder and manager of a small Danish web design company, WorldWeb.
  
  EDUCATION
  University: Technical University of Denmark
  Time period: 2000 - 2005
  Degree: Biotechnology, MSc
  
  University: Universidad Santa Maria
  Time period: 2004 - 2004
  Degree: Semester abroad, Chile, None
  
  University: University College London (UCL)
  Time period: 2002 - 2003
  Degree: 1-year exchange, None
  
  University: Southern Methodist University
  Time period: 1999 - 2000
  Degree: Freshman year, business focus, None
  
  

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