Forum Amber

Amber Business Angels Network again played host to investors, entrepreneurs, and financial institutions’ representatives who gathered at the Amber Investment Forum 2010. The event took place on 21st October this year in Szczecin and attracted more than 100 participants. The Forum was preceded by Networking Dinner, during which the event’s participants had an opportunity to establish valuable business contacts.

A great interest during the Forum was drawn by Permjot Valia’s speech – a Business Angel from the United Kingdom, who talked about methods of activities while making investment decisions, verification of investment offers, and co-operation with other investors. Another guest of the Forum was Costas Chryssou from the Technology Transfer Centre at Oxford University, who presented the methods of scientific research commercialisation and encouraged Polish universities to business activities in scientific circles.

Apart from plenary meetings the Forum participants took part in discussion panels concerning the co-operation of an investor and a project initiator, the Internet business management, creating spin-off companies from universities, and also an investor’s tools and instruments necessary in an investment process. Experienced business practitioners sat in each panel. The invited guests included: Tomasz Grzybowski – Business Angel, Maciej Hazubski – President of the Management Board of IQ partners S.A., Marek Rusiecki – Member of the Management Board of Xevin Investments Ltd., Prof. Jan Lubiński - President of the Management Board of ReadGene S.A., Permjot Valia – Business Angel (United Kingdom), Arkadiusz Seńko – President of the Management Board of Red-Sky Ltd., Costas Chryssou – ISIS Innovation Technology Transfer from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom), Mariola Więckowska – Legal Counsel Office CSW Więckowska and Partners, Paweł Ciesielski – President of the Management Board of Asseco Corporate Ventures Ltd., Grzegorz Fiuk – President of the Management Board of the Szczecin Science and Technology Park, Łukasz Miler – President of the Management Board of Picco, Kamil Rudnicki – President of the Management Board of Time Solutions Ltd., Paweł Kowalczyk – Deputy President of the Management Board of Time Solutions Ltd.

- Our aim in organising the AMBER Investment Forum was to show practical examples of carrying out projects with increased level of risk. We really wanted the Forum’s participants to hear directly from experienced Business Angels how to carry out an investment process, co-operate with a young innovative company and when to leave a project – says Barbara Bartkowiak, President of the Management Board of the Polish Entrepreneurs Foundation – On the other hand, the Forum had a unique significance for innovative project initiators since it was there where they could meet companies that had already blazed the trail of co-operation with a private investor.
Investment Forum AMBER 2010 allowed to notice possibilities created by Business Angels Networks, both for young innovative companies and private investors supporting innovation in Poland. The number of business practitioners participating in the Forum and their rich experience prove that investing in companies at an early stage of development arouses more and more interest.

Meeting the needs of the market, Polish Entrepreneurs Foundation established the Amber Business Angels Network, which helps young companies to get a private investor’s capital. At present, the Network consists of more than 25 Business Angels, which were presented with a dozen or so innovative projects selected from more than 300 applications. Information about the Forum can also be found at Facebook.com in the profile of the Investment Forum Amber 2010.

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