Hosting our second Mini Seedcamp in TelAviv this year has proved very popular with startups, not just in Israel but right across the EMEA and beyond, with teams applying from as far afield as Singapore, New York and the Ukraine. Once again, the quality and diversity of the teams applying was impressive from a broad mix of sectors including gaming, health, cloud computing, security, education and social networking.

With that in mind, we are delighted to announce the top 20 teams attending Mini Seedcamp TelAviv on 6th May 2010 at Afeka College:

Any.Do – Tel Aviv, Israel CUIN – Tel Aviv, Israel Customer Win – Haifa, Israel Fooducate – Israel / USA Gpustream – Israel Happy /Not Happy – Tel Aviv, Israel/London, UK INEZE – Mazor, Israel IT Analyzer – Nez-Ziona, Israel Itweetlive – Savyon, Israel Kehalim Ltd. – Ra’anana, Israel New Global Markets – Kfar Ya’avetz, Israel OneToYou – Shoham, Israel PortfolioFrontier – Haifa, Israel Qliqa – Petach-Tikva, Israel Secure Erasure – Herzliyya, Israel SilverCompass – Haifa, Israel Smart-Up – Naayaria, Israel Sparkeo – Tel Aviv, Israel Tomedes – Holon, Israel Tucoola – Ra’anana, Israel

The teams will have the opportunity of a lifetime to strut their stuff and engage with distinguished mentors such as:

Adam Fisher, Bessemer Alon Carmeli, Babylon Anil Hansjee, Google Avichay Nissenbaum, Yedda/AOL Avishai Abrahami, Wix Eyal Magen, Gigya Gideon Mantel, Commtouch Gilad Japhet, MyHeritage Giora Kaplan, Wix Guy Bendov, Sidekick Itai Zilbershtein, Avaya Jeremie Berrebi, Kima Ventures Orey Gilliam, Bulloonz Ronen Nir, Carmel Roni Hefetez, Walden International Sani Sanilevich, Yatir Saul Klein, Seedcamp Tim Jackson, QXL Yaniv Golan, Yedda/AOL Yaron Carni, Tel Aviv Angels Yoav Andrew Leitersdorf, YL Ventures Yossi Vardi Ziv Koren, Amdocs

Along with this impressive list, there will be 40 other top local and European industry movers and shakers including VC’s, Investors and product specialists in HR, PR, Product, Marketing and Business Development.

We look forward to meeting the teams face to face and being wowed by what they have to offer.

See you in sunny TelAviv!

Introducing “SmartCamp

Seedcamp’s model of accelerating web startups’ growth focuses on mentoring by experienced entrepreneurs and investors, and seed investment. It has proven successful over the past three years with the 21 Seedcamp companies building some great businesses, such as ERPLY, MyBuilder and Plink. So why not apply this model to building clean energy technologies and smarter cities? This is what IBM’s SmartCamp seeks to achieve. Given the analogous approach Seedcamp is helping IBM’s initiative by using the knowhow and systems we have developed that helped to make Seedcamp so successful.

Here is some more information from SmartCamp on what they are aiming to do and how to apply.

Smartcamp is focused on start-ups who are active in areas like energy, water management, transportation, healthcare, etc. Anywhere software and technology can be used to make our systems more intelligent. A good example is a city. Think about how technology can reduce energy waste, improve traffic flows reduce water leaks, or improve public safety in your city. These are just some examples however these solutions based on software, sensors and cloud computing can apply to many areas. We have found the most exciting start-ups in diverse areas like forestry (Treemetrics) and waste management (Green Diamond) last year.

SmartCamp is being rolled out in 7 cities in 2010. Each event is similar to a mini seedcamp with some minor changes. In each location, five companies will be selected to spend one day networking with 25 world-class entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts. Selected companies will be invited to the global finals week to be held in Nov.

What’s in it for you?

SmartCamp aims to accelerate the expansion and internationalization of promising companies and has successfully
achieved this in the past.

We do this a number of ways. Firstly, selected companies receive 12 week mentoring were we identify all the appropriate resources IBM has in terms of technology, marketing and go-to-market. Secondly, via our Venture Capital team we work with leading investors. As an example, last year 80% of selected companies received funding or investment offers from our partners.

In addition, these events will be covered by leading press which will offer the companies great visibility and exposure. We are also working with many of the companies as both go-to-market partners and reference customers.

In Europe we are partnering with a number of leading groups including Seedcamp, Kauffman Fellows, Innovate100, Enterprise Ireland, and STING to name but a few.

What types of start-ups are we looking for?

SmartCamp is interested in early stage technology companies who are helping to build a Smarter Planet – this includes:

• Networking and Mobility
• Enterprise Software Applications
• Internet & SAAS
• Cloud and IT infrastructure
• Healthcare & IT related
• Analytics and Modelling
• Energy efficiency and Smart buildings
• Carbon and Water management
• Transportation systems
• Smart Cities including – transportation, education, and public safety
• Risk management

Presenting companies will be at the seed or start-up stage. In all cases the process is open to companies with revenues
less than $1m in the last 12 months.

Next Steps – Apply today

Smartcamp is now open – the deadline for the first applications is 10th May where the event will be held on the 20th May in Stockholm. Register here.

Additional locations include:

Stockholm 20th May
Boston 3rd June
Tel Aviv 24th June
London: 21st July
Silicon Valley: 8th Sept
Paris: 16th Sept
Dublin: 15th Nov

Note: deadline is typically 10-14 days before the event

More info and examples read here.

Repost from Fred Destin’s blog, please help campaign against this this directive which would damage VC investments in startups.

——————–

Euro Entrepreneurs, time to lobby !  By this Sunday night, April 25, we need to get a significant number of European entrepreneurs to help the European Venture Capital Association in lobbying the EU and signing a petition against this damaging Directive.

Vote against an extensive Directive that will damage European Venture:
The directive sets out a number of measures ill-suited to venture capital and the financing of innovation.  This is because it is designed to be a catch-all regulatory blanket that encompasses everyone from hedge funds to venture firms.  The impact on both VC firms and startups is potentially significant:
  • Discriminatory disclosure requirements and administrative burden affecting startups backed by venture capital
  • Cost of compliance estimated at €30,000 per year for your companies
  • Absurd capital requirements imposed on venture firms
  • Requirement to use outside depositaries (i.e. custodians) and independent valuation agents, adding cost and complexity
There is a detailed review of these measures on EVCA.eu under “AIFM Directive”.  Link.   In a striking survey, the EVCA finds that 2/3 of investors questioned would reduce allocations to venture as a result of proposed regulation.  Link
By emailing EVCA you will become a co-signatory to a letter published below, prepared by a fellow entrepreneur, Tom Van Aken of Avantium:
We represent a slice of the 25,000-plus population of European businesses that currently benefit from private equity and venture capital support. We are therefore increasingly alarmed by proposals within the EU’s draft Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive that would prejudice private equity and venture capital-backed companies such as ours, and ultimately restrict access to finance for Europe’s growth companies.
Act now:
Send a mail to replies@evca.eu stating name, company name and HQ location and titled “Entrepreneur Petition against AIFM Directive”
Thanks!

AIFM – SME Petition Letter 200410

Copenhagen has long been known as one of the most environmentally friendly cities on the planet, providing great quality of life to its citizens. It is also known as a regional centre of business and media and we are hoping to tap into the wealth of talent across Denmark and the rest of the Nordics when we visit this pretty city hub on 27th May 2010 for our first ever Mini Seedcamp Copenhagen, which is kindly being hosted by NorthCap Partners and supported by Rainmaking. The programme will be held at the uber cool premises of 5th Unit.

Last year saw us in Helsingborg, which was a great success and brought us face to face with quality teams across the region and beyond. We’re urging teams from Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Iceland and Norway that are confident and ready to apply to Mini Seedcamp Copenhagen. Of course, our open door policy means that any team from anywhere can also apply.

Mini Seedcamp Copenhagen will connect 20 top quality, early stage web tech startups with over 50 regional and European esteemed, sought after and highly experienced entrepreneurs, investors and developers. Through an interactive panel discussion and informal 1:1 sessions, teams benefit from engaging with and listening to a variety of distinguished mentors and industry leaders from PR, HR, product development, business development, marketing to name but a few.

Mini Seedcamps provide the best way to have a chance at winning a spot as one of our top teams that receive investment in 2010 and to leverage the value the programme brings. As such we encourage startups to apply to any of the Mini Seedcamps that best match the timing and progress of your business.

Past winners have been blogging about the importance of attending a Mini Seedcamp and also what to expect from a Mentor Session, which gives a good insight into how the day is run and what to expect.

As always, we are looking for strong, quality startups that have the talent, drive and capacity to fully embrace the opportunities that participating in a Mini Seedcamp brings. Which is receiving quality advice from top industry leaders and start building those key relationships to help drive your business. Relationships that normally take years to build, you’ll have access to in one day. Mini Seedcamps are not a conference, but an entrepreneurial ecosystem of support and a program designed to strengthen and catapult your ideas into a viable business.

Check out our resources page that is full of advice and videos, blog posts, and follow us on Twitter , the hashtag for the event is #seedcampCPH, and Facebook to see what we’re looking for, what teams get out of it and what you can do to improve your chances in winning a spot on one of the most prestigious and rewarding web tech programs that is helping to drive and shape the European startup scene today.

You will gain invaluable insight and a solid foundation to help kick-start a viable business in Europe today. Not to mention being inspired by fellow entrepreneurs and a chance to broaden your scope within the European startup ecosystem.

Applications are now open and close at midnight on 13th May 2010. For full details, updates and how to apply go to the mini site.

Mini Seedcamp Paris was a melting pot of startup activity with the 20 finalists meeting with some of the best entrepreneurs, investors, and experts from all over the region. Mentors commented that the quality of startups was particularly high so we are excited to announce the top five teams (in alphabetical order) as decided by popular vote of Mini Seedcamp Paris participants are…

English Attack! (Paris, France) – an innovative English learning online tool targeted to 15-35 year olds that uses rich media, gaming, and social networking concepts to teach English

Hypios (Paris, France) – an innovative way to solve complex problems for corporates by going beyond the business unit or company. Uses intelligent crowdsourcing to solve R&D problems

Openways (France) – revolutionizes the use of keys to opening doors. Instead of traditional keys (which can get lost) or key cards, people can now open doors with keys from their mobile phones. Think mobile board passes for airlines now as mobile keys for opening doors

Tigerlily (Paris, France) – helps brands manage Facebook pages to start with. A freemium model is offered with monthly and annual subscriptions. 3K people use their FB CMS currently

Tryane (Paris, France) – tools to measure how well your organisation is collaborating – includes the ability to assess stress levels of employees. Based on a software as a service model for organisations of around 2-15k employees costing 1-2 EUR per employee.

The panel discussion focused on early stage investment and entreprenuership in Europe and was moderated by Mark Esiri of Venrex, an early stage fund based in the UK that invest in Internet and often in the e-commerce space.  The discussion covered a wide range of issues such as what investors look for in an entrepreneur, the types of opportunities they go after, and what startups should look for in an investor.

Also on the panel:

Xavier Lorphelin of Serena Capital – a new seed fund in France. He has in the past worked for Flextronics and co-founded a company called JSource. These days he also teaches on entrepreneurship in France.

Jonathan Benassaya co-founder of Deezer, France’s #1 music streaming service.

Marc Brandsma – co founder of Netvibes and now also angel investing.

Stefan Tirtey of Doughty Hanson Ventures, who are active in early stage throughout Europe and Stefan is based in Germany.

Congratulations to all the teams who took part and thanks to all the mentors and our sponsors, Microsoft France, Cap Digital, Elias Partners, Sun Startup Essentials, and UKTI GEP.

With just over a week left to apply for Mini Seedcamp TelAviv, we are calling on all talented, strong teams with world-changing ideas in the region and beyond to apply. This sunny city hub proved very popular last year and attracted some heavy-hitting local and European industry mentors. This year looks to be even better with mentors attending such as:

Saul Klein – Founder, Seedcamp
Yaniv Golan – CTO, Yedda/AOL
Eyal Magen – Co-founder & CSO, Gigya
Guy Bendov – CEO, Sidekick
Ruby Chen – Amdocs Ventures

At Seedcamp, we are always striving to balance the different geographies and backgrounds across the EMEA and look for mentors who have started or grown their own companies and understand the unique challenges facing entrepreneurs today. We also bring investors in who can provide practical advice, not just on raising VC money, but what to do once you have it.

We recently posted on what a startup can expect from a mentoring session from one of our Seedcamp Week finalists. This is the chance of a lifetime to bring the 1st time entrepreneur together with experienced and distinguished company builders from the tech industry and the world’s top entrepreneurial movers and shakers. As we are mainly choosing teams to attend Seedcamp Week this year through our Mini Seedcamps, we are encouraging all talented startups, who feel ready for the challenge, to apply to Mini Seedcamp TelAviv.

If you’re an entrepreneur out there with a great idea, want to get advice from some of the best mentors around, and get a real jumpstart for your startup, apply now for Mini Seedcamp TelAviv! Applications close at midnight on 22nd April 2010.

With the eagerly anticipated Mini Seedcamp Paris just around the corner, we are excited to announce the top 20 teams going through to Mini Seedcamp Paris, being held on 15th April 2010 at the new and prestigious Microsoft Campus.

Once again we had a record number of applications for this popular city hub, with very strong, top-notch teams that applied from right across the EMEA. With our chosen teams hailing from notable regions outside of France including Italy, Greece, Switzerland and Hungary, we are happy to be seeing continued diversity in both geography and innovation.

Here are our top 20 teams for Mini Seedcamp Paris:

A World For Us – Paris, France Agrycult – Larino, Italy CashCollie – Antwerp, Belgium DealMeeting – Paris, France English Attack! – Paris, France Hear a Blog – Zürich, Switzerland Hop-Cube – Paris, France Hypios – Paris, France Kadeal – Paris, France Megaventory – Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece Mobnotes.com – Milan, Italy NETSAS – Paris, France Openways – Feucherolles, France Plyce – Paris, France SecludIT – Sophia Antipolis, France Tigerlily – Paris, France Tryane – Paris, France VisualSport.com – Milan & Brindisi, Italy Waliiday – Paris, France WebLib – Budapest, Hungary

The teams will have a chance to show off their talent and engage with distinguished mentors and learn from over 50 top European industry movers and shakers including VC’s, Investors and product specialists in HR, PR, Product and Marketing.

We look forward to meeting the teams in a few days and wish them the best of luck in Paris!