As Global Entrepreneurship Week draws to a close, The NextWomen reflect on the week's events:

Wednesday 18th November - The NextWomen BIG Kitchen Dinner

Organised to coincide with Women's Enterprise Day, the Big Kitchen Dinner saw 83 women and men leading and investing in web 2.0 ventures enjoy a keynote from Stephanie Phair of theOutNet.com.  To get a taste of the evening, read the detailed coverage of Stephanie Phair's speech and have a look at the complete set of photographs taken on the evening.

Monday 16th November - Pitch 2009

The Pitch 2009, which has seen five regional heats over the past six months, came to its conclusion with the grand final at the Institute of Directors on Pall Mall, where Tony Lau and Cyclehoop were declared overall winners and bagging themselves £50,000 worth of business services.


A day of free seminars included a success story from Karen Darby who gave her 'top tips on founding and running a business:

1. Listen to the heavyweights  - get yourself a mentor
2. Ignore the idiots - listen to those with experience
3. Use someone elses money
4. Employ smart people
5. Timing is everything
6. Live the brand
7. Attitude is everything
8. Don't be afraid of looking stupid
9. Put the heat on yourself

Karen was followed by a talk from Mark Prisk MP, Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise who talked about the future role of the government in finance and enterprise. An advice surgery panel - that included Gordon Mackintosh of Cisco, Pat Wood of Truffle Shuffle, Nikki Hood of Yell and Ben Heald of Sift - followed, with discussions on the quality of the UK as place to start and grow a business; their views on the Government and its support of businesses or whether they should leave it alone; social media; the recession and it's impact on start-ups; their top tips for pitching and whether entrepreneurs should wear a suit when pitching.

Bill Morrow was the last to take to the stage before the grand pitching final, when he shared his '5 Big Mistakes' (whilst seeking funding):

• Making up answers - it's best to say you will come back to the investors
• Filling PowerPoint slides with technobabble
• Believing you have no competition
• Believing your company is worth ten times its true value
• Believing your projected cashflows

Along with his 'Top 5 Tips':

• Pitch the business and not the product
• Understand the numbers
• Seek sector-experienced investors
• Have passion and be authentic, but don't be cocky
• Ask for feedback and grow from it

And his '5 Must Haves for Any Pitch':

• The idea and revenue streams
• The pain (what it is you intend to solve)
• How much you are looking for
• What you will do with the money
• Fun - show you have an interesting character

Of course Global Entrepreneurship Week didn't end here, so keep an eye out for the second part of this series.