On Monday, 14th May, we had the honour of welcoming the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and its president Mr. Vo at Innovation Warehouse. They had asked us to organise a workshop about investing in the UK and businesses in London.
Introduction and Talks
After a short introduction by Innovation Warehouse’s founder Ami Shpiro, legal and accounting experts started with two presentations about the potential of investing in the UK Partners and more specifically its start-ups.
Ami Shpiro (right) greeting the guests, and introducing Innovation Warehouse as well as its business and investment model
Chartered accountants Richard Bevan, Founder and CEO of BVN Partners, and their Client Services Manager Muhammad Alam presented eight reasons for why to invest in the UK on the macro and micro level. Apart from the great environment for start-ups and technology businesses (London is one of the fastest technology adopting cities in the world!), they specifically pointed out the tax benefits the government offers to investors.
Jeff McGeachie of Spencer Legal, corporate lawyer of over 25 years, reflected on London’s start-up ecosystem. To him, the most important factors are talent, knowledge, access to finance, government support and the desire to make things happen. The ranking of these factors varied depending on the situation described, but a central point he made related to access to finance: “All the cash makes no difference, if people don’t know how to invest.”
After a short coffee break, four of Innovation Warehouse’s great start-ups pitched their businesses to our esteemed guests.
VividQ
VividQ creates functional software solutions for 3D data processing and holographic displays. They are one of the first ever companies to have developed a compression algorithm that enables regular laptops to process 3D video material as a real holographic experience. Classic stereoscopic displays trick our eyes into believing to see 3-dimensional, causing eye strain and nausea. VividQ’s software on the other hand enables devices to project real 3-dimensional pictures onto transparent surfaces.
Emsol
Emsol tackles the silent killer air pollution by deploying an IoT solution. Nowadays, road transportation is responsible for about half of London’s air pollution (which by the way frequently exceeds its legal annual limits in the first month of the year). Deploying an internet-of-things network, Emsol can monitor and analyse the traffic of their clients’s vehicles, which in turn enables the clients to optimize and innovate to reduce their emissions.
Weavee
Weavee’s found and CEO James Grant started with surprising stats: “As far as Gallup records go, average employee engagement has remained at ~31%.” Weavee wants to change this by using a mix of data, automation and mobile technology to let managers access, understand and act upon culture. They already work with some major companies of several thousand employees, successfully informing management decisions and increasing employee engagement.
BCRemit
BCRemit aims to bring money transfers and services payment to and from South East Asia into the 21st century. Through their targeted approach on South East Asia, they can be cheaper than their competitors, and offer a variety of different services to migrant workers from the SEA region.
Networking
Networking conversations after the pitch session
After these impressive pitches, all participants of the event got together in the back of the room for networking, and the Innovation Warehouse team showed the guests around the premises. Many interesting conversations and laughs were shared, and the event proved to be a great success. Thank you so much to everyone involved!
We have learned so much at this event, particularly why London is a great way to invest. Its strong legal system and competitive tax regime creates a secure environment to take the necessary risk. The investment know-how in London is incredibly strong, making it even safer. And finally, the diversity of cultures, industries and people, and having some of the best educated talent in the world propel London to one of the top places to invest across the globe.
If you are interested to learn more about businesses in London, get in touch. We can organise a multitude of business visits, workshops and bespoke programmes around entrepreneurship, business and finance!