Dragon's Den meets EiG
29th July, 2008
Clarion Gaming recently announced that the 2008 European i-gaming Congress & Expo LaunchPad Session will have a new format, including a new panel, resembling the popular television series Dragon’s Den.
The LaunchPad Session will allow start-up companies to have the opportunity to make their mark on the industry, giving their new business exposure. The format gives each company five minutes to pitch their company, which could end up making their business the next big thing.
”I think it’s a great idea,” said Mark Blandford, Valhalla Investments partner. “It very much sounds like a ‘Dragon’s Den meets Online Gaming.’ Personally, I’ll be looking for well-researched business plans with clearly defined market opportunities. As always, the Management Team will be an area of focus for me and also the macro environment in which the opportunity sits.”
After every company pitch the panel will then give their constructive criticisms, evaluating each individually, and then the audience at the EiG will decide which one is the strongest proposition. The winner will then be named “Most Popular Start Up of 2008/9.”
The panel will be comprised of four leaders in the industry, which includes Mark Bradford, founder of Sportingbet and partner of Valhalla Investments; Leigh Nissam, managing director of St. Minver; Ken Arnold, CEO of CyberArts; and Paul Kanareck, head of Fremantle Media Ventures.
Additionally, the start-up companies up for the award will include eGaming2.0, founded by Alex Czajkowski; URBet, founded by Adam Burkitt; Pikum, founded by Sean Glass; and Smarkets, co-founded by Jason Trost.
The EiG is scheduled to take place 23-25th September 2008, which should have at least 1300 attendees, according to a recent release.
By Michael
