Digital Mission to New York: the London mixer

Before that long flight to New York we thought it would be a great idea to get all the companies coming along on the Digital Mission together in one place so that we could break the ice before meeting each other at Terminal 4.

And so it was off to the offices of Sun Microsystems Ltd, one of our sponsors for the trip, to get the introductions underway. Even with the copious amounts of wine and nibbles floating around, the night’s meet and great turned out to be a very civilised affair.

First up, each company talked a bit about themselves and what they hoped to get out of the trip to the US. For Stewart Townsend of Sun Microsystems Ltd, the mission is all about:

"contributing back to the UK start-up industry"

The Digital Mission, for Stephen McGowan of the UK Trade and Investment, is primarily a chance for “a strategic look at how we can help move British web 2.0 companies into the US market.”

On the other hand Winston & Strawn, also sponsoring for the Digital Mission, the trip is as much about promotion as it is strategic expansion:

"It’s about actively promoting the UK tech industry abroad"

Reasons for the trip varied between companies but for the majority of those involved, the chance to make influential contacts was top of the list. Other organisations, like Harvest Digital, are looking for US investors to help spear-head their expansion into the states, while Veedow, the social media shopping platform, are wanting to build on the success of their existing American customer base. For a full list of the Digital Mission companies check out the mission blog.

At the very top of the list are the opportunities for investment and strategic partnership available to all those heading on the Digital Mission to New York who will be perfectly positioned to take advantage of the buoyant east coast talent pool.