British startups: Develop your US operations and meet VCs on the Like Minds Mission

If you’ve been giving some thought to expanding your British startup into America, you might consider participating in the upcoming Like Minds digital and mobile mission to New York. It’s £1,500 per company (plus your hotel/flight) which, when you read down the list of events and benefits, looks like rather serious value — not least the opportunity to have the highly connected Like Minds team (and the UK Trade & Industry team) working on your behalf to get you connected.

If there’s a particular company (or series of companies) that you’ve got your eye on in NYC (or beyond), I recommend picking up the phone and having a chat with the Like Mind team. I’ve spoken at one of their events and I very much identify with the “intellectual playground” philosophy underpinning the Like Minds movement. Plus they’re very nice people, too.

Here’s a bit more detail:

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The next Like Minds digital and mobile mission to New York takes place during Social Media Week Monday 23rd to Friday 27th Feb.

In collaboration with the UKTI team at the British Consulate Like Minds are looking for UK companies to take to New York during Social Media Week in February to meet investors, prospects, partners and other Like Minded companies to help them develop their operations and business in the US. In addition to general networking activities the objective is to help prep them for market entry and set up meetings with specific companies or contacts identified by delegates. These could be US sales prospects, business partners, industry influencers/analysts or potential investors. Like Minds will contact them on behalf of delegates through their partners in New York at The British Consulate, and connect with them to arrange meetings where possible. A full schedule will be available by the end of the month, but the outline is as follows:

• Presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions covering:
  • Overview of UKTI services / US economy
  • Immigration, corporate law, tax, accounting and IP protection;
  • Connecting and partnering with major corporations;
  • Views from British companies who have successfully expanded to the US;
  • Founder Fireside Chat: NYC founders discuss the opportunities for growth in New York ;
  • Tech Talent & ecosystem Fireside Chat;
  • Funding Fireside Chat.
• An opportunity to pitch to a group of hand-picked investors from the New York VC and investor community.
• An evening Networking event with key New York tech. industry figures, press and contacts of the British Consulate General
• A day spent at a major New York Advertising, Marketing and Media agency event discussing “Grown-up Social”
• An invitation to attend an exclusive event on SoLoMo delivered in association with New York digital agency, Tenth Wave.
• Opportunities to visit and meet specific contacts, as well as some of the major New York Tech hubs, digital and tech. communities, incl. BetaWorks.

The full program for the mission is on Like Minds website. Mission media partners, The Drum, are covering it so there will be plenty of opportunities for businesses to raise awareness and profile: 

To register your interest send an email to LMNY2015@wearelikeminds.com

More on Like Minds

Voted one of the 10 best ideas festivals in the world.  Through insights, workshops and networks, Like Minds is a world class ideas event bringing people and businesses together to peer into our social and digital future, examine the shifting media landscape and discuss how our inter-connected culture is changing just about everything.

“Like Minds is an intellectual playground where thinkers, strategists, agents provocateurs, innovators, challengers and mavericks can open up, share ideas and be inspired in a warm, welcoming and world-wide environment. If you haven’t been, go. You’ll see the future there; most likely, yours.” – Robert Bean, The Robert Bean Branding Company

Voted by The Guardian in their “Top Ten Global Ideas Festivals to attend” 

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If you are wavering — get on the phone to Andrew Ellis at Like Minds. Tell him I sent you and that you’re thinking about participating — and ask him for his views on what you’re doing. Probably the quickest way of contacting Andrew is via Twitter (@drewellis). Alternatively use the email and see how you get on.

My own view is that £1,500 is a small price to pay for just the networking experiences listed above. If you then include the opportunity to leverage the various little black books to get to speak to the folk you want to — and the fact The Drum will be covering it all — I think it could very much be money well spent. You’ll need to factor in, what, £2,000 to cover a flight and hotel.

Update: I stand corrected. I had a look on Expedia and came across this deal for the week (flight and hotel) at £1,105 all in. £2,605 total fixed cost then, plus the odd meal and drinks, although it sounds like a lot of that will be covered at the events.