New speaker announced for Like Minds Festival
The CEO of investment crowdfunding platform Crowdcube has confirmed he will be taking part in the Like Minds Ideas Festival.
Darren Westlake, co-founder and CEO of Exeter based Crowdcube, will join a host of speakers from global organisations, such as Lego, Beano Studios and LinkedIn, as Like Minds returns to Exeter for its Ideas Festival in September.
Darren will be taking part in the panel debate on the main stage, joining Janet Coyle of London & Partners and John Courtney of Stockwood Ventures. Together, they will be debating the subject of How to Build a High Growth Business and Brand.
Later on in the day, Darren will spearhead ‘Pitchfest’ alongside Bindi Karia, founder of Bindi Ventures. Six regional startups will be given the opportunity to pitch their entrepreneurial ideas to an audience of investors from the UK Business Angels Association, as well as other Angel & Venture networks, for a share in £250,000+ worth of investment.
Darren launched two companies before setting up Exeter based Crowdcube, the world’s first investment crowdfunding platform, in 2011. As a serial entrepreneur, with over 20 years of experience in the internet and telecoms industries, Darren has been listed as one of City AM’s 2016 ‘Top 100 Influential Leaders in Fintech’. He was also included in Debrett’s ‘500 Most Influential People in Britain’ in two consecutive years.
Following the success of last year’s event in Bristol, the Like Minds Ideas festival will be returning to its hometown of Exeter for a full day of inspirational speakers and immersive masterclasses. The International Festival has also held events further afield in London, Helsinki, Shanghai and New York.
Like Minds founder Drew Ellis comments:
I’m delighted Darren can join us this year and Crowdcube will be taking an active part in our “PitchFest” session where regional startups can pitch for investment from the business angels in the audience from the UKBAA.
The Like Minds Festival, entitled from ‘Start-up to Scale-up’, will take place on Friday 29 September, at the Rediscover Building, Northernhay Street in Exeter. Guests will enjoy breakfast, an informal and interactive guest speaker segment, immersive masterclasses and Q&A sessions. The list of confirmed speakers includes:
James Poulter, Head of Social at Lego
Oli Barrett MBE - Co-founder, Startup Britain
Minter Dial, Founder, The Myndset
Glen Woodcock, Exeter City Futures
Jason Miller, Global Content Marketing Leader, Linkedin
Janet Coyle, Director, London & Partners
Robert Camp, Managing Partner, Stephens Scown LLP
Chris Moss, Co-founder, MAV3RICK
Glenn Le Santo, Orange Business Services
Karime Hassan, CEO, Exeter City Council
Deri LLewellyn-Davis, Founder, Strategy on a Page
Stephen Bateman, Founder iGlimpse
Dan Simmons, Founder, Propelia
Kate Doodson, Joint CEO, Cosmic UK
Julie Hawker, Joint CEO, Cosmic UK
John Courtney, Founder, Stockwood Ventures
Bindi Karia, Founder, Bindi Ventures
Katie Bell, Commercial Director, Beano Studios
Karen Eccles, Managing Director, Beano Studios
Whilst all Early Bird discounted tickets have sold out, a Summer ticket offer is running until the end of August with full day tickets priced at just £95, a saving of £200 on the full price ticket. There is also a ‘buy 10 and get one free’ offer available for buisnesses. To apply to take part in the “PitchFest” please email: pitchfest@wearelikeminds.com
For more information and to book tickets, please visit: http://likeminds.live
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