Sponsors

Founded in 1875 by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet in the Swiss village of Le Brassus, Audemars Piguet is the oldest Manufacture of Haute Horlogerie never to have left the hands of the founding families. Today, its range encompasses complex mechanical watches, Haute Joaillerie creations as well as a line of jewellery. At each stage in its history, the Manufacture has daringly adopted avant-garde techniques in order to place them in the service of traditional craftsmanship. This approach has earned it an unparalleled number of world firsts in the field of Haute Horlogerie.

Egon Zehnder International was founded in 1964 in Zurich and today the firm specializes in Board Effectiveness Reviews, Leadership Strategy Services and Executive Search at the Management and Board levels. The Firm has a distinctive vision and structure aimed at achieving two basic goals - placing clients' interests first and to lead its profession in creating value for its clients through the assessment and recruitment of top-level management resources. The Firm has a structure which is unique in its profession. The Firm's 385 consultants, operating from 63 wholly owned offices in 37 countries, are organized around a single-profit center partnership. This is designed to eliminate competitive barriers between offices. It allows the Firm to operate seamlessly when engagements call for multi-office, cross collaboration and knowledge sharing. Large or small, local or global, clients benefit from this structure by having access to the Firm's most relevant resources and relationships wherever they may reside.

Schroders is a global asset management company established in 1804 with EUR 133 billion assets under management. The company still bears the stamp of the founding Schroder family and focuses exclusively on asset management and private banking. The independence of its advisory and financial services is reflected in the bank’s structure: Schroders has a very solid financial base. Schroders has had a local presence in Switzerland since 1967 and the offices in Zurich and Geneva (since 1984) service a national and international private and institutional clientele. In Switzerland, Schroder & Co Banque SA provides a wide range of asset management and credit services.

Weber Shandwick is a Communications Partner of the European Tech Tour, supporting both the European level organization and the various country tours.  Weber Shandwick, a unit of The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG), is one of the world's leading public relations agencies, with offices in major media, business and government capitals around the world. Weber Shandwick is a leader in marketing public relations, public affairs and corporate communications counseling, and also provides services in advocacy advertising, market research and visual communications.

Brown Rudnick LLP - in a world of 1,000+ lawyer firms, we are a client-focused team of 200 lawyers in the United States and Europe. The firm established its London Office in 1997 and has a long-standing commitment to the European technology sector. We represent and have worked with many blue chip European technology investors and numerous European tech companies. Like our clients, we are entrepreneurs. Brown Rudnick has been a proud supporter of the European Tech Tour since its inception in 1998.

DFJ Esprit is a leading cross-stage venture capital firm that invests in European technology and media companies. Members of the DFJ Esprit team have been active in technology investing since 1985 and have experience of investing in over 165 companies and generating strong returns for investors through building valuable companies alongside the founders and management teams.
The DFJ Esprit partners have invested in many of Europe's most successful venture exits of recent years, including Buy.at, Alphamosaic, KVS and Blackspider. DFJ Esprit is the European partner for the Silicon Valley based Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) Global Network of venture funds, the largest such network in the world with $60bn under management in offices in 30 cities spanning four continents.
Encore Ventures is a division of DFJ Esprit with a dedicated team focussed on the acquisition of venture capital portolios.
DFJ Esprit has previously acquired several venture portfolios including its acquisition of 35 companies from the Cazenove New Europe Access Fund in 2006 and the public-to-private acquisition of 14 companies from the Prelude Trust with Coller Capital.

Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris. We invest in early stage companies and corporate spin-offs, in the technology and life sciences spaces:

- 460 companies financed in Europe since 1972
- Over 1 in 5 companies financed have gone public
- Over 1 in 5 companies financed have been acquired
- 40 jobs created per company on average between financing and exit
- Revenues multiplied by 8 on average between financing and exit

SAP® Solutions for Small Businesses and Midsize Companies
With more than 64,000 small and midsize customers worldwide, SAP is a leading provider of business applications and an established and highly successful player in the small and midsize enterprise (SME) market. SAP offers a broad and innovative solution portfolio for small businesses and midsize companies to meet the heterogeneous demands of SME customers.
SAP solutions for small businesses and midsize companies include SAP® Business One, a single integrated application for successfully managing small businesses; SAP® Business ByDesign™, the software industry’s most complete, integrated and adaptable on-demand solution for midsize companies; and SAP® Business All-in-One, a customizable and extensible solution for midsize companies with deep industry best practices built in.
Sold, implemented and maintained through SAP and an expanding network of qualified partners, all of the solutions are competitively priced, easy and quick to implement and scalable to customers’ growing business needs. The SAP solutions specifically designed for SMEs help enable small businesses and midsize companies to lower operating costs, improve operational excellence, gain better business insight and control, and grow their businesses flexibly. Additional information is available at www.sap.com/solutions/sme

Ciklum is a Danish innovative IT outsourcing company specializing in nearshore software development in Ukraine. We do not follow the traditional IT outsourcing model of project-based services, and instead we offer our clients to establish your own dedicated IT department in Ukraine or to outsource, completely or partially, your software development. This is equivalent to having your in-house IT specialists but for a significantly lower cost and less administrative nuisances.
Our unique business model merges the human element with IT to not only help companies to grow, but provide ongoing resources that sustain growth with the flexibility to scale up or down as markets shift. Ciklum clients can gain control over their IT processes and systems and get more value from the resources they already have.
We surround each client team, both client and IT, with knowledge sharing activities to foster a profitable and productive work environment during their entire outsourcing experience, including social events, strong infrastructure, financial and administrative support, Q & A and consulting services. Ciklum also provides project-based services and peak resources on a short-term basis to accomplish very specific tasks efficiently and with superior quality.
Established in 2002, Ciklum employs more than 900 specialists with more than 110 global teams that enable clients to work directly with developers to reach a high level of productivity. Ciklum has seven offices in the four largest cities in Ukraine as well as 2 centres in Pakistan, as well as offices in Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. We are a member of the Ukrainian Hi-Tech Initiative. Ciklum is a winner of the 2009 Red Herring 100 Europe, an award given to the Top 100 private technology companies based in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region each year.

Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, a 150+ lawyer firm based in Boston, is a leading US business law firm. Choate’s clients range from emerging technology companies, to private equity and venture capital firms, to leading global companies. Choate attorneys are based and well-connected in the US technology market, and actively represent UK and Irish technology companies in their US financings, acquisitions, partnerships, commercial and patent activities.

We have spent 40 years partnering with technology companies, providing all the resources and support they need to turn possibility into reality.
It takes more than capital to help a company succeed. It takes insights. The kind that improve your performance today, and take you further than where you dreamed you’d be tomorrow. It takes experience. Hands-on experience in every aspect of running a growth business, from strategic planning to recruiting an effective management team. And it takes connections. Well-established, influential connections that open doors with potential customers and partners all over the globe.
Imagine how the breadth of our resources could impact your company's reality. Fidelity Growth Partners provides the expertise, resources and connections entrepreneurs at early stage and growth equity companies need to take their businesses further, faster. With Fidelity as our primary provider of capital, we have the ability to access resources that make us a proven and powerful partner for companies just entering the market as well as those ready for the next phase of growth.
We commit these resources, along with the talents, passion, and energy of our people, to the success of every one of our portfolio companies. From identifying and delivering new revenue opportunities, to offering insight on everything from organisational development to global expansion, we provide whatever it takes to help make good companies great.

Maples is a leading international law firm, which provides advice on the laws of Ireland, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands to leading domestic and international corporates and financial institutions. The Maples Group comprises in excess of 800 lawyers and staff worldwide, with offices in eight jurisdictions around the world: the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg and Montreal. Since entering the Irish market in 2006 Maples has developed a substantial presence in Dublin and our 120 strong team is led by partners who are market leaders in their areas of expertise.
The Dublin office is a full-service practice advising on Irish law, which combines extensive knowledge and experience of Irish law with the in-depth strength of a global law firm. Where appropriate, our clients can draw on the expertise of other Maples offices around the world, ensuring that their businesses and transactions are structured optimally. We pride ourselves on the quality of our lawyers and their advice and further distinguish ourselves through our client-centred, responsive behaviour. In order to provide our clients with a commercially driven and flexible services, we combine the technical expertise of our lawyers with our broad commercial experience. We work closely with our clients so that we have an understanding of their business and the issues facing them.

Morgan Lewis’s Emerging Business and Technology Practice serves as an integral resource to hundreds of emerging growth companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia. We offer our clients a pragmatic, business-oriented approach to solving problems, a value-added network, and access to sources of capital. With firm offices in major technology centers and the legal resources of an international law firm, we offer emerging growth businesses localized, personalized, and effective long-term representation from startup to maturity. The practice is versed in all aspects of the emerging growth company life cycle—from company formations, financings, partnering, and collaborations to executive compensation, employment matters, intellectual property protection, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and international expansions.
Morgan Lewis’s reputation and relationships help entrepreneurs and investors make profitable decisions and connections. We keep clients close to the financing resources that fund today’s growing companies through our established relationships with the venture capital and investment banking communities in the New York, Mid-Atlantic, Silicon Valley, and international markets. Client industries served include clean technology and alternative energy; financial services, information technology, life sciences, and biotechnology; and media. Morgan Lewis has developed close professional relationships with venture capital firms around the world, acting as a committed advisor with relevant experience during these competitive economic times. For both venture capital firms and entrepreneurs, the results of our efforts are evident. Since 2006 we have participated in $3.3 billion in venture funding to emerging growth companies. We regularly advise venture capital funds on a variety of legal matters, including portfolio investments and the formation of new funds. In addition, Morgan Lewis plays a strategic role in the day-to-day operations of venture capital firms, guiding them on their path to success. We are also able to assist venture capital firms with the issues that every company faces, such as tax, litigation, labor and employment, and employee benefits.

Noble Venture Finance is focused exclusively on providing asset based and working capital finance to fast growing privately held venture capital backed companies throughout Europe.
The first Noble Venture Finance fund was launched in 2003 by Mark Taylor, one of the pioneers of venture debt in Europe. The second Noble Venture Finance fund (£100m) had its first close in September 2007 and its final close in April 2008.
Noble Venture Finance (NVF) provide working capital by secured loan and/or provide a line of credit for future equipment purchases or working capital needs, thereby preserving expensive equity capital for building the business, development work, staff recruitment and marketing.
NVF typically provides facilities from €1m to €5m and can syndicate larger amounts though its extensive connections. NVF is able to provide facilities in Sterling, Euros, Swiss Francs or US dollars over repayment periods typically up to 36 months.
To date NVF has invested more than €120m in some 90 transactions with 46 companies in 10 European countries; NVF has worked with more than 40 major venture capital firms across Europe.

SVB Financial Group provides diversified financial services to emerging, growth and established technology companies and the life science, private equity and premium wine markets. Through its focus on specialized markets and extensive knowledge of the people and business issues driving them, SVB Financial Group provides a level of service and partnership that measurably impacts its clients' success. Headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., the company offers its clients commercial, investment, merchant and private banking, as well as value-added services using its knowledge and networks. Founded in 1983, SVB Financial Group serves nearly 11,000 clients around the world through 27 domestic offices, three international subsidiaries in the U.K., India and China, and an extensive network of relationships with venture capitalists in Asia, Australia, Europe, India, and Israel.

Our business is about helping entrepreneurs create companies that can lead in International markets.
We partner with teams and individuals who can make an impact in their markets, with innovative products and business models, and build significant long-term value as a result.
Based in Ireland, we have been doing this for over 15 years in Ireland & the UK and have directly invested over €350m in ambitious companies that share our goal.

Established by Royal Charter in 1783, Bank of Ireland is a diversified financial services group with a market-leading franchise in Ireland, a well-established operation in the UK and Europe and a portfolio of niche skill-based businesses internationally, namely Global Project Finance, Mid-market leveraged acquisition finance and comprehensive asset based lending where Bank of Ireland has a competitive value-add proposition. Headquartered in Dublin, Bank of Ireland has offices in Belfast, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, The Isle of Man, Paris, Frankfurt, Stamford, Connecticut, New York, Chicago and Sydney. Bank of Ireland is listed on the Irish, London and New York Stock Exchanges.
Bank of Ireland understands the financial requirements unique to growing companies and, in the current economic climate, recognises the importance of successful risk management. As a quality banking partner, Bank of Ireland also offers a wide range of tailored treasury cash investment solutions. Key features include competitive deposit rates, flexibility on account structure and a traditional relationship-driven approach to doing business. Bank of Ireland’s unique relationship management proposition combined with our product and service quality offers a strong banking solution for growing companies.

In the UK, Deloitte LLP offers professional services to the UK and European market from offices in 23 locations throughout the UK and approximately 11,500 staff and partners in the UK and Switzerland. We provide professional services and advice to many leading businesses, government departments and public sector bodies, and publish many influential studies and thought leadership pieces. Our annual revenues in the UK reached £1,970m for the financial year ended 31 May 2009.
Deloitte LLP is the UK member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT), a Swiss Verein whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities located in 147 countries, with over 54 member firms and approximately 169,000 staff. DTT member firms’ world-wide revenues for the fiscal year 2009 were US$26.1 billion.

Endeavour Vision is European cross-boarder venture capital firm providing expertise and funding to entrepreneurs with global ambitions in technology, cleantech and life sciences. Endeavour Vision combines a team of experienced venture capital professionals responsible for investments in over 70 companies in 12 countries in Technology and Life Sciences since 1989. We are passionate about building the next entrepreneurial success story and being entrepreneurs ourselves, we have a deep understanding of what it takes to develop successful companies. Endeavour Vision’s DNA comes from three established firms: Genevest, an early European VC started in 1983, Vision Capital Europe, established in 1997 as a pioneer in Trans-Atlantic venture capital, and Endeavour, a VC formed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. To better support entrepreneurs, the firm is a main supporter of: the European Tech Tour Association, a non-profit foundation generating networking opportunities for Entrepreneurs with VC’s, large corporations and corporate advisors.

Enterprise Ireland is the Irish government agency responsible for the development and promotion of internationally focussed Irish business. Enterprise Ireland’s mission is to accelerate the development of world-class Irish companies to achieve strong positions in global markets resulting in increased national and regional prosperity.
Enterprise Ireland’s key focus for Irish companies is covered under the following five areas of activity:

• Investing in the Start up & Scaling up of new internationally focussed businesses
• Assisting client companies to build international sales (utilising an extensive range of international market development offices)
• Investing in client company product development research and broad based business innovation
• Investing in and supporting client company competitiveness through productivity and lean operations initiatives
• Driving regional enterprise

Microsoft® BizSpark™ is a global program designed to help accelerate the success of early stage startups by providing key resources when they need it the most:

• Software. Receive fast and easy access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools, platform technologies, and production licenses of server products for immediate use in developing and bringing to market innovative and interoperable solutions. There is no upfront cost to enroll.
• Support. Get connected to Network Partners around the world — incubators, investors, advisors, government agencies and hosters — that are equally involved and vested in software-fueled innovation and entrepreneurship who will provide a wide range of support resources.
• Visibility. Achieve global visibility to an audience of potential investors, clients and partners
  As a Microsoft BizSpark member, you’ll be tapping into a rich, vibrant ecosystem of peers, partners and support resources around the globe, helping you grow and succeed. Microsoft BizSpark is the quickest way to get your Startup fired up

NDRC (National Digital Research Centre) is an independent enterprise dedicated to accelerating research from idea to income. NDRC’s collaborative approach with technology and business innovators drives greater collective success while cultivating bolder attitudes towards invention and investment.
The accelerated commercialisation of research ideas is achieved through a unique range of management, legal, collaborative and evaluation tools that ensure the most effective ecosystem for multi-disciplinary and multi-party research.

The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) is a member-based, non-profit trade association and was established in 1983 and is based in Brussels. EVCA represents, promotes and protects the interests of the European private equity and venture capital industry.

EBAN - The European Trade Association for Business Angels, Seed Funds, and other Early Stage Market Players is a pan-European organization gathering over 100 member organizations from 27 countries, including business angels networks and federations of networks, early stage venture capital funds (investing less than 3 million euros per transaction, and interested in cross-border collaboration with angels). EBAN represents circa 250 angel groups in Europe via direct or indirect membership, reaching out to 20.000 angels and receiving circa 40.000 business plans a year. It was established in 1999 with the collaboration of the European Commission by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe. EBAN’s mission is to enhance the visibility of business angels, business angel networks, and early stage funds and help its members exchange good practices.

HBAN is an all-island umbrella group for the Angel Capital Industry in Ireland, dedicated to the promotion of angel investment and supporting the early stage entrepreneurial community in Ireland. HBAN actively works to increase the number of angel investors involved in investing in early stage companies and supports the formation of new and existing angel groups, both regionally and internationally, and within industry sectors. HBAN, which is a joint initiative of InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, also acts as a voice to Government, stakeholders, business and the media to promote the interests and needs of the angel investment community.

Dow Jones Private Markets (www.fis.dowjones.com) is part of Financial Information Services, a division of Dow Jones & Co., a News Corporation company. Dow Jones Private Markets offers integrated content solutions for the deal-sourcing, due diligence and compliance needs of today’s venture capital and private equity investors, fund managers, advisors, and portfolio companies. Core products include the industry-specific deal databases Private Equity Source and VentureSource, as well as the highly-respected publications Private Equity Analyst, VentureWire and LBO Wire.

Informilo is a news site that covers tech sector developments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The site covers entrepreneurship and innovation in every part of the pipeline from the smallest start-up with the best idea to big companies that embrace creative disruption. The aim is to help start-ups and venture capitalists benchmark the global competition and connect with big corporates. The site covers Internet, telecommunications, software, hardware, semiconductors, biotech, med tech and clean tech. Founded by veteran journalist Jennifer L. Schenker, Informilo vows to adhere to the highest standards of editorial integrity.

The Chilli is a unique media platform for high-tech entrepreneurs, investors and advisors. The Chilli is an established global brand in the technology entrepreneurial food chain in Europe, US and now expanding out in Asia. Our information and in-depth analysis are available through regular newsletter updates, online products and live at seminars, conferences and events.