BKI Media is Running The Gauntlet and in the final 50!
Rating: Dragons Den
This has been a really exciting week for BKI Media’s GoMo News.
About two months ago I got an email from a client asking me for the company postcode. I gave it to him and thought I am probably going to receive a letter or something. But I didn’t. He immediately sent me a link to Running the Gauntlet and said, “Bena. Apply. You have a great chance and GoMo News is a volcano waiting to explode?”
At that time I had no idea what Running the Gauntlet was and no idea what he was talking about. About a week later, I finally found the time to take a look and…
Running the Gauntlet is an initiative from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) its an investment competition and education programme.
About the programme and its leaders:
Richard Ellis, EEDA’s chairman said:
“The East of England is fortunate in having one of the country’s highest concentrations of entrepreneurs. The diverse interests of our four investors who span a wide range of sectors from green energy and IT to healthcare and biotechnology should inspire wide-spread interest from innovators across the region. I look forward to seeing who comes forward and who will make the most of the opportunities ‘running the gauntlet’ offers.”
Chairman of the panel of investors, Doug Richard said:
“Being entrepreneurial involves being agile, acting quickly and being prepared to work harder than the competition. There is a ‘readiness gap’ among entrepreneurs at the moment, in other words there are not enough businesses ready for investment or for the scrutiny this entails. ‘Running the gauntlet’ is designed to address this gap through its high quality education programme and the involvement of investors eager to work with high-impact entrepreneurial talent. I commend it to all entrepreneurs who harbour a burning ambition to succeed.”
So, I applied first. Then Annie applied as well a few weeks later. My proposal was raw. Annie’s we both spent a lot of time on. But my first initial proposal seems to have done the trick and we are now in the next round.
The original proposal focuses on GoMo and not BKI Media. To be honest, BKI Media is doing well and we are happy with the way it is developing. But GoMo News was my one person blog that suddenly grew phenomenally with no investment and not trying. During 3GSM in February we even managed one million hits in one month. We get that many requests for interviews and briefings and event blogging that we can’t say yes to everything. The blogosphere is still developing and maybe GoMo can ride the wave..
Out of 350 entrants little BKI Media is in the final 50 and its all go from here. On Monday before 4pm I have to submit a business plan; on Tuesday I am going on a Dragons Den style training course provided by the group and on the 25th I will present my business plan to approximately 21 investors.
OMG. The business plan is finished as is the executive summary – I have asked a guru friend of mine who is Advisor to several mobile and operator businesses to look over it and send me some feed back and then first thing Monday I am going to send it in.
Am I nervous?
Hell yes. Even though this isn’t my first time playing with VC’s and investment. Seven of our readers of BKI Media analysis come from the investment space and I have learnt how to answer their specific questions on how to buy and invest. Moreover about 18 months ago I won some small Angel investment and I did create two killer business plans that I did the rounds with for GoPolski and BlackM (but didn’t get anywhere as the MVNO market was hit and miss).
Do we expect to win? Well I am not thinking about it – we are in the final fifty and I am now in Power Rangers Mystic Force mode and am going to give it my all.
Will I be upset if we don’t win?
Of course. But this might give me the confidence I need to keep going and fulfil my dream to make GoMo News bigger, stronger, better and sexier.
One thing is for sure – I love being called an Entrepreneur!
Thank-you Running the Gauntlet, EEDA, Nicola McKinlay and Trine Nielsen and good luck myIota – I recommended the EEDA to them and they are also in the top 50.
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3 Responses to “BKI Media is Running The Gauntlet and in the final 50!”
This sounds really exciting Bena - wishing you the best of luck and look forward to reading about the experience here on GoMo.
Comment made on September 17th, 2007 at 8:44 amGreat stuff Bena - go for it.
And I think I’m seeing your business advisor friend tonight.
Gomo News is the one mobile blog site I look at every day and it always - and I mean always - tells me something interesting and relevant or sends me off to another site that has something and interesting and relevant…
I can’t tell you how many times I have forwarded links or snippets to my clients that I have found thanks to Gomo… but that, I guess, is the viral power of the blog… as long as the content is good of course.
Comment made on September 17th, 2007 at 5:38 pmThank-you - both of you -for your nice comments. I really, really appreciate it esp. now we are under investigation!
Kevin - you have guessed who the advisor is - was it that easy? Looking forward to seeing you on the 2nd. Bena
Comment made on September 17th, 2007 at 7:08 pmLeave a Comment