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The inside scoop: what really happens on "market visits"?!
So, time is money? I had never really considered that this would still hold true at 7.30 in the morning, when sitting down for a croissant breakfast with 11 entrepreneurs in the Loire Valley of France. After attending a two-day market visit to Nantes in France however, never have I discovered this phrase to be so true, nor a group of entrepreneurs so enthusiastic to network and develop their businesses.
In February 2010, I joined the London teams of Enterprise Europe Network and UK Trade & Investment who took a delegation of eleven London-based biotech SMEs to find out more about the opportunities within the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors, meet potential French partners, and discover the wealth of European funding available for R&D.
So what really happens on these "market visits"? Is it really worth the time? Does success really result from these visits? Or is it just an excuse for business directors to travel to destinations which make most desk-bound employees feel just a little jealous?
After a six hour train journey from London to Nantes we arrived in France just after midnight, and had a few short hours of sleep before the two days of activities kicked off. Without any signs of tiredness or reluctance however, I was greeted at the breakfast table by two of the London entrepreneurs in a particularly in-depth discussion about their businesses, their potential for collaboration and their setting up a meeting for their return in London. It sounds absurd that two businesses located within seven miles of each other should need to travel to France to meet and identify such a major business opportunity, but market visits invariably bring together companies at similar stages who have the capacity, and are ready, to develop and grow.
The start of the day (for the rest of us!) saw the group battle through snow and visit two biotech companies based in Nantes - Arronax who hosts the largest cyclotron in Europe and works to provide a therapy for small cancer tumours, and Atlantic Bio GMP who specialise in producing a drug for correcting a form of child blindness. In the afternoon the Nantes Chamber of Commerce hosted an introductory matchmaking event for both the London and French businesses - ensuring that the evening's networking event the most suited and effective partnerships could be made. As each business presented their fields of expertise, I was amazed by the breadth of work represented and quite quickly it became apparent that there was a lot of potential in the room for international collaboration. The frantic notes being written by both sets of businesses reinforced this belief, not to mention the number of one-to-one meetings set up on the following day for the companies to discuss the minutiae of their research.
So the question is, is it worth forming European partnerships? What's the incentive? And what funding's out there if these companies do decide to work together?
OSEO, the French agency for SME funding on innovation, and Invest in Western France, wrapped up the first day with presentations on funding - one of the key issues associated with this sector, and R&D in general. Yet there is so much support out there! I could barely keep up with the number of sources, and all too easily I could appreciate how hard it must be for an SME to navigate their way around this topic. I found myself having a much greater appreciation of services like Enterprise Europe Network, and their team of experts including our EC Funding Manager, Chris Farmakis, and Consultant Rachael McCorriston, who seem able to just store all of that information, ready for imparting at a moment's notice to an SME.
So, are market visits really a waste of time? After only two days I felt like I had been working flat out for three weeks. And as for the businesses, all of them travelled back to London with a much greater idea of how to do business overseas, strategies to implement, leads to follow up, oh, and a few deals to complete. So maybe these trips do sound like a lot of fun (which they are), but don't get me wrong, they're a lot of work and for an intrepid entrepreneur, a fantastic opportunity from which a massive amount of work can stem from.
Top tips:
- Ask questions - lots of them, and to as many people as possible. It's surprising how seemingly unrelated businesses and organisations can hold such strong synergies
- Know what you want to get out of the trip, but don't be narrow minded, thereby missing out on other opportunities
- Understand the culture and business etiquette of the country you visit. In France lunch can be the best place to forge business relationships
- Make sure you set your watch (and alarm!) to the new time zone!
For more information about upcoming market visits, please email claire.c@gle.co.uk
In the month ahead
Special offers
There are still places available for London companies wishing to attend the life science full-day networking event: Biomarkers Discovery and Validation. Entry is £200 +VAT for companies with more than 150 employees, £120 +VAT for 50-149 employees, and £75 for those with less than 49 employees. Contact Lauren at l.gold@LTNetwork.org / 0870 730 8661. View the full programme
FREE profile uploads and searches on our Business Cooperation Database
Looking for business partners in Europe? You can now upload your company profile onto the Business Co-operation Database for free. This enables the rest of the Enterprise Europe Network centres to download and advertise it in their business opportunities bulletin, on websites, in trade magazines, directly to clients, etc.
Alternatively, based on your search criteria, we are able to carry out a free-of-charge search on the database, to see whether any of the company profiles match your requirements. Contact us at 020 7489 1992 / ohunt@londonchamber.co.uk
Spotlight on: Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs
Are you a new entrepreneur but not sure what exactly it takes to run your own business? ‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ is a mentoring programme established by the EU that offers young entrepreneurs the chance to acquire the skills needed for managing a small- or medium- sized enterprise. A new entrepreneur can spend up to six months in a business managed by an experienced entrepreneur in another EU country to learn all the tricks of running a successful business.
To find out more about the programme contact us on +44 (0)20 7489 1992 / europe@londonchamber.co.uk or visit the programme homepage.
Key legislation: EU Ecolabel
The EU Ecolabel is a pan-European voluntary scheme established in 1992 that aims to encourage businesses to produce products that are more environmentally friendly. Compliant products are awarded a unique flower logo in order to distinguish them from other goods on the market.
A new Regulation extending the range of products covered by the scheme and setting out the assessment criteria a product has to fulfill in order to obtain the permission to use the flower logo entered into force on 20 February.
To find out more about the programme contact us on +44 (0)20 7489 1992 / europe@londonchamber.co.uk or visit the Ecolabel homepage.
To sign up for this monthly newsletter please email claire.c@gle.co.uk
To sign up for our EU news and funding bulletin visit
www.een-london.co.uk/subscribe.php
This information is delivered byEnterprise Europe Network London which brings together GLE, LTN, and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Neither the European Commission nor the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation nor any person acting on behalf of them is responsible for the use which might be made of the information contained herein. The views in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the European Commission.
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Enterprise Europe Network London provides practical, hands-on support and information for London businesses seeking funding, hoping to expand their business into Europe, or wishing to develop technology partnerships. We offer a bridge to European opportunities, to save you time, money and reduce risk.
Enterprise Europe Network London is part of Enterprise Europe Network, which offers a comprehensive range of services for SMEs, entrepreneurs, research centres and universities across Europe, and is made up of nearly 600 organisations in more than 40 countries, promoting competitiveness and innovation in Europe and beyond.
Led by GLE, the Network is delivered in partnership with the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and LTN (London Technology Network).
Our services...
- 1:1 advice and support
- networking events
- bulletins and briefings
- innovation expertise
- discover funding opportunities
- find a business / research partner
Contact us at innovation@gle.co.uk /
020 7940 1512
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