In need of inspiration for Ideas? Idea 2.0!

Check out this site which collects new and innovative products in a nice way, there's also a blog on the topic. Stuck in internal innovation? Go here (only in Dutch). All these are cool online initiatives of Belgium Innovation company Creax. As they say it themselfs:"Very few innovations are completely new, most innovations are combinations of several existing concepts or apply what has been used somewhere else in a new solution. The MoreInspiration site and blog makes innovation easy by showing you what others have done so it can boost your creativity and inspire your thinking."
Don't want or can be innovative yourself? Check out Dutch Springwise.com a trendspotter network of over 8000 spotters worldwide!! It brings you all kinds of business ideas from around the globe on a daily basis which you could adapt and copy locally! Or check out Idea-A-day a online Idea drop box freely usable. Now who said life wasn't easy....?

European VC investments picking up!

2006 finally beat the €4 billion mark after having flirted with it for three consecutive years. Total VC investments in European and Israeli technology companies reached €4.7 billion!! the largest amount raised in a single year since 2002. The upswing continued in the first quarter of 2007, which led to levels of activity unmatched in the past years.

The Tornado Insider Research Online Data counter for Q1 2007 stands at 286 deals. You have to go back to Q3 2001 to find more investments in a single quarter. January recorded most deals in the quarter: 113. This is the second highest monthly number since September 2001 - 104 deals were reported in March 2004. The total amount of funding raised in Q1 reached €1.59 billion. The last time quarterly investment surpassed the €1.5 billion mark was Q1 2002.

Ideabroker at Xing Meeting Rotterdam

Ideabroker hosts another Pitch session at the Xing meeting on the 19th of April in Rotterdam.
From 20.00 to 21.00 hrs you can pitch your concepts & idea's in front of a experienced jury, investors and a room full of entrepreneurs.

You get 3 minutes to pitch and no more! Maximum of 8 pitchers so hurry!!

Come prepared, practice your timing and do the mother in law test (if she'll get it, we probably will too) and have your presentation and figures well tought out and researched. End your pitch with what you need from the audience and or the investors. Over 90% of all pitchers forget to do this!!!

Wanna give it a try? Send your pitch in ppt/word or pdf format to us
Register here for the event, updated info you'll find here

If you just want to visit this great fun event and you haven't been invited, email edgar with the subject 'invite plz 19th april'

Climate Change

I've got humans, said one planet to the other. O dear said the other planet, that's so irritating but don't worry it will go away all by its self eventually.

Dragons Den Holland

Ideabroker fully supports the Dutch version of Dragons Den "the put your money where your mouth" is Pitch program. Hosted in Holland by Jort Kelder who's whitty sharpness and feel for people is always on the dot. Dragon's are: Henk Keilman made his fortune with selling US telco MTC, Annemarie van Gaal who made her fortune with publisher Independent Media in Russia!, Jan Pieter Melchior who got rich thru a buy-out from Dutch Lostboys and investing in Telfort, Willem Sijthof who's coming from a publisher family and owns both local and Norwegean media and Arjen de Koning who founded Paradigit a computer retailer in Holland. The show airs every Friday on Dutch channel Nederland 3 at 20.25 hrs. Potential Dutch pitchers and entrepreneurs should watch this show or it's UK mother show to learn from others mistakes.

Prepare well, use the mother-in-law test, (if she gets it, you'll stand a much better chance at the dragons!) have your figures sorted out and present your concepts short and snappy are the main tips you can take with you from these shows.

These are excellent initiatives for entrepreneurship and innovation and above all entertaining shows to watch!