On Friday 5 June, the Nyuko structure was the venue for the launch of the 4th annual Seed4Start Luxembourg, the border venture capital forum, with start-ups from throughout the Greater Region having until 25 September to submit their applications.
"For many investors, the proximity is fundamental because it is important for them to be part of a trust and power relationship that fully assist companies in which they invest. This proximity is especially necessary at the level of the Greater Region as language, tax or legal differences can be seen as the brakes. It is our ambition with the cross-border venture capital forum Seed4Start that the lines are moving, to foster cross-border investment and bring investors and entrepreneurs wanting to raise money, together" said Boris Ouarnier, CCI O2 Balance manager Lorraine, the Seed4Start structure driver in Lorraine, at the presentation of the 2015 edition, in the presence of fifty entrepreneurs.
The new 2015 Edition
An edition that comes with some new features. Firstly, the training courses to introduce entrepreneurs to the expectations of investors and subtleties of the pitch art (the companies have 10 minutes to present themselves to investors), had previously been handled in French, will also be offered in English.
Secondly, support for entrepreneurs is strengthened, especially after the pitch of the day, "Pitching Day". "We will set up a debriefing to help entrepreneurs exploit the contacts made. It's not easy when you have your head to the grindstone, revive contacts and meet investors. But it is important to do so at that time which is doubling the chances of successful negotiations," said Boris Ouarnier.
"During the first three years the scheme has received financial support from the EU at 50%, the other half being supported by the various organisers and sponsors. As expected, Europe's financial participation stops this year. We must find other sources of funding. The start-up will have to bear part of the costs, but we were careful to set up a device that fact that they are especially sought if their fundraising results. The organisers and their partners continue, meanwhile, to take over half of the budget," said Boris Ouarnier.
€7 million
Since 2012, hundreds of companies from throughout the Greater Region have submitted applications to participate in Seed4Start. On this hundred applications, 55 startups were selected to integrate the device. Half of them have managed to raise funds for a total amount of over €7 million. "More than 700 investors, directly or indirectly (via their network), participated in various meetings held with startups. In 2014, investors have, on average, reported 13 expressions of interest to start-ups selected for the final pitch, "said Boris Ouarnier.
See www.seed4start.org. The deadline for entries is 25 September 2015.
