Michael joins the ‘dragons’ for Tech Entrepreneurs Week
EMC Corporate Finance director Michael Pay is to join Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales to help pick the winner of a £50,000 national competition for IT entrepreneurs.
Michael, who is based in Hove, will be on the judging panel selecting and coaching entrepreneurs pitching for the top prize in the Investment Competition which forms a major part of December’s Tech Entrepreneurs Week, created by entrepreneur Martin Warner from talbiznow.com and Cabo Films.
The competition is aiming to open up the venture funding gap in the UK by demonstrating the country’s strong technology heritage and its potential to create the next Google or Facebook. The prize will guarantee one business £50,000 worth of capital funding and a likely venture capital investment as well.
Michael, who is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a non-executive director of a number of local tech companies as well as advising on international corporate finance transactions in the sector, will play a key role in deciding the outcome as a judge.
He will spend four days at the competitors’ ‘boot camp’ in North London, where 200 companies will pitch their businesses to the judges, chaired by Jimmy Wales, to decide the 15 who will go through to the Finals Day at the Dorchester Hotel on 9 December.
There they will have the opportunity to present their business to some of the world’s largest venture capital funds who will select the winner.
Michael said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for people to pitch their technology business plans to real venture capitalists who have invested in some of the most successful tech companies in the world including Facebook, 99designs and Spotify.
“Because all the finalists will get to meet and talk to the venture capitalists, any of them could get funding. But only one will be guaranteed a £50,000 investment.
“I am passionate about entrepreneurs and how they create and develop world-class businesses, so I am thrilled to be part of a scheme that could help to unearth the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg.”
Tech Entrepreneurs Week runs from 5-9 December. For more information visit www.techentrepreneursweek.com