Blogs

As the second biggest economy in the world, China poses significant opportunities as well as challenges for startups from the west, including the United Kingdom. The opportunities that await startups in China needs no introduction - Sam Michel wrote about this recently in his column for Chinwag.

Last week, frustrated by the difficulty in navigating what's happening during London Tech Week 2017 (12-16 June ie. next week), I put together a spreadsheet listing all the events (I could find) for speedy scanning and booking.

For the cheapskates cost conscious amongst us, here's a listing of all the free events taking place next week. A few have started to fill up, so probably worth booking now or forever lose your spot.

Startling economic growth, a colossal population with staggering spending power and a large, active and growing investment community are just a few of the reasons why startups are beginning to ponder the opportunities in China.

UPDATE: Further information and the official application form for Digital Mission China Fintech 2017 are now live. Visit the website for more info.

Digital Mission China Fintech 2017 is designed to connect the UK's world-leading Fintech startups, advisors and investors with their peers in China. 

Following the establishment of the UK China FinTech Bridge, the mission will bring together the two ecosystems that are transforming financial services. This week-long trip to Shanghai and Beijing will provide a deep-dive into China's Fintech ecosystem exploring the speed, sophistication and rapid disruption taking place.

Fancy taking part? We'd love to understand your objectives so the mission programme can be tailored into the best possible knowledge gathering, networking and inspiring experience.

Looking to raise investment in the US? A big focus for the recent Space Mission UK trip was understanding the funding landscape, meeting and pitching to investors in Silicon Valley and LA.

What did they learn? Plenty. Here's the (slightly less than) 3 minute video download:

Witnessing the US election up close was surreal. I was lucky enough to spend that week travelling the length of California with ten of the UK’s top “New Space” companies for the third Space Mission UK trip.

UK businesses working in space and satellite technologies have an opportunity to meet potential overseas customers, partners and investors.

Up to 15 new and innovative businesses with high-growth potential working in the space sector will take part in a trade mission to California in November.

"Pitch LDN was one of the best pitch events for us - within a week of the event, we had 3 VC meetings lined up." - Ruzbeh Bacha, Founder & CEO, CityFALCON

2 VC panels. 14 companies pitching. 150 delegates. The first ever Pitch LDN, taking place during London Tech Week, served to highlight London's position as a top tech destination with companies hailing from the US and Spain as well as a great showing from the UK.

Covering Fintech, MADtech, Ecommerce, VR, Analytics, Big Data, Cyber security, mobile apps and Edtech, the companies (lookbook here), all at post-seed investment stage presented to feedback panels of VCs from Passion Capital, BGF Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and Beacon Capital.

Last call. Interested in European expansion? Is your company scaling up? Focused on Fintech / Cybertech / Datatech? Read on, for a trade mission that might be just the ticket.

The Mayor of London's International Business Programme (yup, quite a mouthful, but also very useful for London firms) is running a short European market visit in June. As the name suggestions, for fast-growing London-based tech firms.

We’re delighted to announce the inaugural Pitch LDN, taking place on Wednesday 22 June with our hosts KPMG at the beautiful new Huckletree building in Shoreditch.

Similar to Pitch NYC, the event provides a pitch platform for later-stage startups looking for their next round of funding. Innovative companies coming to London for London Tech Week from in and around the UK are encouraged to apply who work within the following sectors: Fintech, Cybersecurity, Enterprise, Analytics, Consumer, Marketplaces, FashTech, Ecommerce, Apps, Gaming, HealthTech, IoT, Big Data and AI/Machine Learning.

The Digital Mission NYC is almost here (22-26 Feb) and you're in luck, there's a couple of places up for grabs if you'd like to join some of the UK's top tech startups and agencies in the Big Apple. Apply here.

The trip organised by Chinwag and UK Trade & Investment USA includes a specially-designed week long programme of the Big Apple's top tier digital media, marketing and advertising players including Facebook, VaynerMedia, WeWork, PSFK, a VC panel, a VIP reception at the HM Consul General's residence in NYC and lots more.

Based in London? More good news. Thanks to UKTI London there are a limited number of grants towards travel/accommodation.

The mission also takes in Social Media Week NYC Insider Pass providing access to 150+ speakers, workshops, the exclusive opening event and the infamous closing party.

The Digital Mission series is back for 2016. Our first adventure will be the Digital Mission NYC to attend Social Media Week NYC, 22-26 Feb 2016.

This week-long trip, organised with UK Trade & Investment USA, features a programme specially designed for both tech startups and agencies covering media, marketing, content, mobile and social media including AdTech, MarketingTech, MediaTech, analytics and, of course, social media.

It’s almost the holiday season! Christmas is coming and we’re hard at work creating some new and exciting Digital Missions and events for 2016.

We like to keep it simple, so we’ve put it all into one easy calendar (sorry, it doesn’t contain any chocolate :-()

We’d really like to know if you’d like to join a Digital Mission, Pitch NYC or have any suggestions / other destinations you’re considering for international expansion.

Chinwag's new project, Pitch NYC kicks off next Thu evening (10 Sep) in London with a free evening event, Success in the US. The event features speakers from across the US as we explore how to raise investment and develop a commercial strategy on the other side of the pond.

The event marks the start of Pitch NYC, a new initiative supporting the UK's top tech startups in raising investment from US investors. The programme features an intensive Investor Readiness Bootcamp in the UK, followed by further training and Pitch NYC itself on 11 Nov in New York City.

The second annual Open Data Awards are almost upon us but there's still time to noiminate your open data heroes (or yourself) at least until the deadiine this coming 09:00 BST Monday, 8 June.

The impact of open data across government and business is dramatic, new research from the Open Data Institute shows just how large the impact can be. Now in their second year, the Open Data Awards celebrate innovation and excellence in open data across the world.