JULY 2012

One Day I’ll Fly Away

-The PAL-V Flying Car

CROCS or JIBBITZ?

RISK & REWARD

PIXEL ADVERTISING How a 21 yr old student made

$1 million WHAT’S THIS?

SEE Page 16

EXTRAORDINARY STORIES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE

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CROCS v JIBBITZ

Do you create a trend....or improve an

existing product?

Pages 6 - 7

Successful Inventions of

the Past.

Windscreen Wipers - Page 19 Brazen Bull - Page 25 Coca Cola - Page 28

Tupperware - Page 32

Inventions on the verge of success.

Anaya Cosmetics - Pages 8 - 9 PAL-V Flying Car - Pages 14 - 15 Blockage Buster - Pages 22 - 24

Ordimo - Page 27 Pizza Ball - Pages 30 - 31

Pipfrog - Page 33 Vest

The Dragons aren’t always right!

Page 11

Up and coming Entrepreneurs.

Thijs de Boer - Pages 12 - 13

A selection of franchises Oven Rescue - Pages 36-37 Business Doctors - Page 38

O2PPS - Page 39 PVC Wizard - Pages 40-41

Riverford Organic Farms - Page 42 Snack in a Box - Page 43

Razzamataz - Pages 44-45 Minters Fine Foods - Page 46

Suit the City - Page 47 Sure2Dorr Leaflet delivery - Page 48

Techs Direct - Page 49

Letters from readers - Page 50 - 51

Young Entrepreneurs. - Page 52

Jacobs’ Ladder - Page 53

Orange Rabbit - How a single mother of 5 can

set-up and operate a successful business from home......and we can highly recommend her!

Pages - 34-35

PIXEL ADVERTISING How did a hard-up student devise a cunning

plan to make $1 million which became one of

the most brilliant internet phenomenon’s of our

age and spawned a new concept in advertising Pages 20 - 21

Casey’s Story -

Should you enter the Den?

Should you concentrate on

one product?

WHAT I DID AND WHY -

Pages 4 - 5

How A man traded a paperclip

for a HOUSE.

Big Red Paperclip - Pages 16 - 17

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So WHAT’S MY STORY?

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TELL US

YOUR STORY

www.inventorsshowcasemagazine.com

WE GET A STORY

YOU GET PUBLICITY

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As we all know, business funding is a risky business and by the very nature of the programme, even more so on Dragons’ Den. It is not surprising that there will occasionally be:-

Business opportunities that the Dragons DO NOT invest in, that go on to be huge financial successes Business opportunities that the dragons DO

invest in that turn out to be failures But one thing that nobody would ever have expected would be that the Dragons could or would be conned! I have personally been through the BBC screening for this programme and can testify that the production team are absolutely meticulous in their research. No stone is left unturned and every aspect of the business is checked. When a contestant enters the Den, the Dragons have no pre knowledge of the idea or the person pitching. But they have comfort in the knowledge that anything that is stated as a fact has been checked by the researchers beforehand. All the more shocking then that they should not only have been lied to, in front of 6.5 million viewers, but also tricked into handing over £100,000 more than they had committed to! How did it happen? The contestant, that turned out to be a conman was 50 yr old, Swiss born, Jean-Claude Baumgartner. On a special Sport-Relief edition of the programme, he convinced Peter Jones and Theo Pathetis to invest £130,000 in a Satnav device for skiers. Answering all their technical and business questions and backing up with impressive letters of support and future orders. However, within a few months he stood before a Judge in Blackfriars Crown Court accused of swindling the Dragons out of a total of £230.000. Which the prosecution proved had been spent on a lavish champagne lifestyle for himself and his girl-friend, with whom he had rented a luxury house in Hampstead. Sentencing him to two years and eight months in jail, Judge Aidan Marron QC, said: ‘The fact remains that you have been responsible for persistent dishonesty.

'You may well in fact have intended to operate a legitimate business but the means that you chose to establish that business were in my judgement thoroughly dishonest. ‘You lied about the ownership of crucial equipment which was pivotal to your pitch on TV. 'You created a wholly false trail of documents to deceive well intentioned people. ‘You have lied so many times about so many features that in my judgement I am entitled to regard that as an aggravating feature. ‘It is clear to me that from an early stage you were redirecting monies and indeed appropriating funds for your own purposes, you were responsible for a num-ber of different frauds within that main fraud.’ But Baumgartner blamed the failure of the business to take off by claiming he had not received the support, advice and expertise the Dragons had promised. Rebecca Trowler, defending, said he had already invested over £250,000 in the product which had been designed by his business associate Paul Burrowes. Ms Trowler said: ‘He certainly felt that he did not receive the support, expertise and resources that had been promised and is regularly promised to those on Dragons Den, to those who give up a substantial percentage of their business. She said he ‘genuinely believed’ in the product and the business and thought it would work out so ‘in desperation’ got the extra cash. She pleaded with the judge for a suspended sentence so that her client could continue to launch his ‘fabulous creation’, the ski satnav. She said the father of two believed that if freed he could pay the Dragons back within six months. He admitted he had lied to get the loan but ‘within weeks of the pitch’ he got the sole rights to the Sat-ski, which had won a gadget show award, as promised, she told the court. The episode of the hit BBC show was filmed in June 2009 but was not aired until March 2010 when the business had already encountered trouble. It was then discovered that a company he was part of, Piste Activities, had hit the rocks with £200,000 losses and over £100,000 debts. As a result of the revelations, the already suspicious investors looked into the accounts and uncovered the fraud. Judge Marron added: ‘You could have enjoyed a privileged existence without resorting to dishonesty.’

The Dragons don’t always get it right!

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THE TRADES

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STAR LICENSING OPPORTUNITY

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INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

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INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY

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A New Business Opportunity

Oven Rescue was started by

Mike Harris in 2008 after he was

made redundant twice in one

year!

Whilst on holiday in Spain to

discuss with his wife what to do

next, he met a businessman who

had retired to the continent after

selling his oven cleaning business.

Following significant research,

training and encouragement from

friends and family, Mike decided

to start Oven Rescue in Horsham.

The business took off quickly,

thanks in part to Mike’s 20 years

of experience in marketing.

Initially he delivered leaflets, and

within two hours his phone started

ringing!

Within one month he was

cleaning an average of two ovens a

day. This has now increased to an

average four a day, and Mike can

Mike has 3 key targets that he

looks to achieve each day:

● To maintain existing clients he

always sticks to best practice,

ensuring every client is pleased

with the service and more than

happy to recommend Oven

Rescue, and rebook themselves.

● New clients are attracted by

leaflet drops, follow-up referrals,

and advertisements in local media

to guarantee future success.

● Each day’s business is managed

on the same day. Before closing

the day, all enquiries and paper

work is completed so Mike is

always ready for the next day’s

business.

Oven Rescue is now a fantastic

opportunity. Mike is looking for

people who are motivated,

enthusiastic, and conscientious,

with a good level of personal

fitness.

You must have a full driving

license, good interpersonal skills,

smart appearance, honest and be

able to work on your own.

This business opportunity is

available for as little as £8,500!

Franchisees benefit from sole

rights to a given territory, start-up

support, two weeks initial training

and further ongoing training, in

field support, business

development, marketing, branding

guidelines, updates and

management systems to schedule

repeat business.

Tel: 01403 820996

Mobile: 07772 991726

www.ovenrescue.co.uk

Mike@ovenrescue.co.uk

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franchise your own area of oven rescue group…

find out how to go about this…

Firstly I would recommend thinking about whether this is for you. Are you motivated, enthusiastic, conscientious? Are you able to communicate face-to-face and over the telephone? Can you manage time and work on your own?

Oven Rescue wish to expand it's oven cleaning business across all regions of the UK with the initial focus being on the South East. As a Franchisee, you will be buying into a business that has repeat custom. Your investment will provide you with the following benefits:

Respected brand identity, local marketing

literature including business cards

Knowledge of both the domestic and com-

mercial range of ovens

Pricing structure guidance and support for

your area

High standard of training and support

So come on, take control of your destiny with Oven Rescue Group!

mike harris, managing director

You will need to be able to operate the day to day business, put in the hours to meet your targets and provide feedback to head office weekly, as well as comply with the franchise agreement and stick rigidly to our best practice terms. Next, you need to draw up a list of any questions you may have and a list of reasons why the opportunity is right for you. Why do you believe you will be successful? We will meet to discuss your commitment and what Oven Rescue Group do to support you. We also need to agree your territory, produce a budget and business plan. Training will also need to be scheduled in, then signing of the franchise agreement. We will always be there of offer support and advise. We want you to feel part of a team and to use our knowledge and experience to guide you. Tel: 01403 820996

Oven Rescue Group is the holding company for the South’s most rapidly expanding oven cleaning franchises. We love oven cleaning and take great pride in bringing ovens back to their former glory! Customer service and satisfaction is our top priority. 90% of our customers come back to us each time they need their oven cleaned which is fantastic.

Oven Rescue Group began with one van covering West Sussex but now everything is in place for the Group to grow from strength to strength to cover the rest of the UK with franchi-sees buying into the business. Our franchisees are very important to us and we pride ourselves on excel-lent training and first class support during the whole process. If you would like to view a prospectus please contact us. Once you have looked through it, we can meet to discuss your ambition of having your own franchise.

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Imagine this... Being in control,

Owning your own business, total control of your income, feeling that well deserved satisfaction you get from the time and effort you have contributed to your bright future achieving financial security in your life. So, no doubt for quite some time now you have considered taking that step forward in order to generate your own income, you watch many other individuals doing so, so you ask yourself, WHY NOT ME? but, there is that niggling voice in your head constantly nagging at you... Are you sure?, what about the costs?, can I raise the funds needed?, will I have the time to market myself?, and to add.. I need the customer base in order for this to work. Well, this is why O2PPS window cleaning fran-chise services is probably the right choice for you, I know this because I’ve actually gone through this journey personally.

Whilst growing my own business I realised there is a lot to learn and through experience I have been able to iron out the mistakes or bad decisions including over spending in areas which were not needed. I am now in a position in the business where all the experiences whether great, good or bad have been compiled together to allow us as a team to be able to provide you with all that is required to make your business successful in as short a time as possible and to add, ensure you do not waste hard earned money in the areas not needed. O2PPS will place you in the right direction for you to grow a successful business with an annual turn over from £39k to £60k with profits of £20k plus in your first year alone! (Please note: these figures are only based on window cleaning alone, there are many other cleaning require-ments that automatically will be offered to you via your loyal customer which really does boost your overall profit margin). As the franchisor we will provide you with everything needed for you to succeed, this can include a Brand new sign-written vehicle, Reach & Wash Equipment, online Work data base, back office support, accounts production and even the marketing and canvassing of the work if you require. The Franchisees we work with come from various working backgrounds and some had never cleaned a frame & pane of glass before. They now run their own window cleaning businesses and have never been more stable in life or financially.

Each franchisee has tailored their business to suit them personally. Some franchisees are money orientated oth-ers not so, but they are all In Control of their future. We at O2PPS hope this short read will allow you to be in touch with us. We strive as a business to secure our future, and we promise that we will work with you to secure yours.

Window Cleaning Franchise.

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BECOME A PVC WIZARD FRANCHISEE Grab This Opportunity

This is a fantastic business opportunity in a huge, untapped

market - PVC Wizard has shown that the market exists for a

skilled and professional company with a proven operating

system.

It is ideal for first-time business owners or people changing

careers. No business experience, tools or equipment is neces-

sary - we will provide everything you will need to set up in

your area.

PVC Wizard is the first nationally franchised operation of con-

servatory cleaning specialists and our aim is to be the clear

market leader. With your help PVC Wizard will always be rec-

ognised as the best.Be your own boss by running a PVC conser-

vatory specialist cleaning company with the best brand in the

business.

Help Us Create More Brilliantly Clean Conser-

vatories

Like working outside?

Prefer working with your hands?

Enjoy meeting new people every day?

Motivated to drive your own success?

Being a PVC Wizard franchisee could be for you. The Market

Take a look around any housing estate and you will notice the large

number of conservatory and PVC installations. With over 200,000 con-

servatories due to be installed this year, all of which would benefit from

regular cleaning, the market continues to grow. With 23.5 million

households having some form of double glazing the PVC cleaning

market is even larger.

Over the last six years, we have consistently proven that the market for

a professional and expert cleaning service exists.

Our customers enjoy the confidence that dealing with a professional

company brings, safe in the knowledge that their conservatory is in

our expert hands. That is why we are asked to return year after year

and are always highly recommended

Our goal has always been to provide the complete business package –

all in the back of a van. We think we have achieved that. At the end of

your comprehensive training package you will drive off with everything

you need to establish and run your PVC Wizard specialist cleaning

company.

Advertising and Promotional Support

Our marketing support is provided by the acknowl-

edged leaders within the conservatory and PVC

industry and is the most advanced in the PVC

cleaning sector. Access to the professional brand-

ing, marketing and advertising material is all in-

cluded within your franchise package

Why Clean Conservatories & PVC?

John Feeney, who established the first specialist conservatory & PVC cleaning company in the UK, previously had extensive

experience working for some of the biggest and best names in the Conservatory & PVC industry.

After carrying out market research through the industry he realised that there were a large number of conservatories being

installed with no thought to how they may be cleaned in the future. This represented a huge opportunity to earn a great living

by providing a valuable service to homeowners while enjoying a good quality of life.

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BECOME A PVC WIZARD FRANCHISEE The Package

A high-quality package of specialist equipment to get

you started - tools, applications and ladders

Start-up stock of our unique Magiclean branded products

Branded workwear and all-weather kit from Berghaus

Marketing material & leaflets

Perhaps more importantly, you will receive our PVC Wizard guidance, training and support including access to our unique

M.A.G.I.C. standards of operation detailing how to consistently perform to the highest standards.

Why Franchise?

Research by the British Franchise Association has shown that a new franchise has a 90% chance of success after 5 years,

whereas a stand-alone start-up business has an 80% failure rate after 5 years.

Advice from the HSBC website states: “Franchising is a well established and successful method of doing business. It is a

way of setting up in business for yourself, but not on your own.”

Proven Format

We know conservatories and PVC in detail, inside and out - and we’re experts at cleaning both. Of course, as the leading

brand in this industry you would expect that. However, we are also experienced at establishing franchise businesses and

have proven that we can train people who have no previous experience to run their successful specialist cleaning business.

Training and Support

For the right person, running a conservatory and PVC cleaning company could be the key to realising their dream of run-

ning their own business. However, it is a specialist area and there are some challenges to making that dream a reality.

Climbing on a conservatory roof for the first time can be difficult and dangerous for those who don’t know what they are do-

ing.

Setting the pricing structure too low will potentially cost a great deal of money.

Marketing poorly will reduce your return on investment and is one of the key reasons why businesses fail.

Doing a poor job will at best cost you repeat business, at worst could result in damaging the homeowner’s property.

Our comprehensive training package and ongoing support cover all these issues and ensures you earn income from the

first week.

Finance

Because you have the benefit of a proven business format behind you with financial projections based on reality and ex-

perience, were you to approach a bank for capital they are more likely to look favourably at your proposition. Lloyds TSB

and HSBC have assessed our franchise proposition and consider financial assistance and banking services to PVC Wizard

franchisees, subject to status. They are willing to lend up to 50% of the franchise fee. 41

Riverford franchising - call us on 01803 762015

Vegboxes are about sharing the very best from our fields with as many people as possible; keeping it seasonal and affordable, and the service local and personal. And that’s where you might come in. We need franchisees (vegmen and ladies) to help bring our fields into our customers’ homes, connecting them to how their

food was grown and helping them enjoy it around the kitchen table.

All businesses need to be profitable to

survive, grow and keep relevant to the

needs of their stakeholders. Sustained

profits come from a commitment to

being genuinely useful, generating long

-term value for customers, staff,

suppliers and the world at large.

Business should be fun, so we are

looking for franchisees who we like,

trust and who share our ambition for a

world where good food, good farming

and good business are the norm.

We need people who are hard working

and well organised, with the confidence

and willingness to sell and develop the

business with us. An enthusiasm for

food and interest in how it is produced

will help to sustain you through the

harder times.

You should be independent and self

motivated, but also able to appreciate

the benefits and accept the compro-

mises that come with being part of a

larger organisation.

We don’t like to blow our own trumpet too much but we think that, whatever you’re looking for, our franchise opportunities tick all the right boxes (vegboxes of course).

After all you’ll be growing you own business, enjoying fresh chal-lenges on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis and benefiting from all of the support that you’ll need to become the vital link between our

farms and your customers.

Sure, it can be tough, backbreaking work with long hours and early starts too. But add in the opportunity to become a valued and trusted member of your community, together with excellent earning potential, and joining us could be as good for you as it is for the people you’ll serve.

Most customers order weekly or fortnightly, so there’s repeat business as long as you continue to provide a first class service. It’s not just fruit and veg that we supply though. Our franchisees now sell an ever-expanding range of organic produce, from meat, milk and eggs to pasta, juice and wine. It’s great for our customers but just as beneficial for our franchisees too, giving them even more opportunities to spread the word, serve and satisfy

(growing their business and profits along the way).

Most of your sales will come from regular satisfied customers who’ll pay weekly or before their delivery, so your business will be ‘cash rich’ from day one. Naturally, like us, you’ll want to build your business too. So we’ll expect you to devote plenty of time to spreading the word about our fruit and vegetables, service and philosophy, securing a steady stream of new customers along the way whilst continuing to provide your regulars with an unbeatable experience. Your daily orders will be processed centrally at your regional farm then picked, packed and dispatched overnight in chilled vehicles to refrigerated collection hubs near you, keeping everything nice and fresh. You’ll manage marketing activities, customers’ accounts and orders through an extranet database, linking our offices to yours at home. It’s an easy system to learn and use and all you’ll need is a broadband connection at home and an up to date computer.

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Are you a Franchisor? -

tell us about what you offer.

Are you a Franchisee? -

Tell us why you went into the business and how you have fared.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHERS? 45

Welcome to Minter's Fine Foods

Minter's Fine Foods are a franchise operation in which each designated area is owned and run by a highly experienced and dedicated franchisee operator.

The franchises were established by Sean Minter whose family has over 150 years combined experience in manufacturing and providing quality fine foods alongside unrivalled excellence in customer service. Whilst many businesses portray to offer quality foods with great service, very few in reality really do.

Minter's Fine Foods has been established to address these values of quality produce and exceptional customer service.

Franchise Opportunities

Franchise opportunities available nationwide.

Telephone 01477 505867

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Franchise Opportunities with Suit the City

At Suit the City we believe in entrepreneurs!

There are 2 ways in which you can work with us. Firstly as a franchisee or secondly as an agent.

1. Franchisee

2. Agent

Have you always dreamed of running your own business? Do you love fashion and style? - but don’t

know how or where to start your business?

We can help -

You can become a Suit the City franchisee for a minimal investment of £14,950 plus VAT for the

regions, and £19,950 for London.

You will be able to start earning after your initial training period with the potential to earn over

£50,000 per annum.

Suit the City will support you all the way with training, samples, marketing, inspiration and advice.

Everything will be covered including –

“ How to manage a business ” “ How to measure ”

“ Client Management ” “ Marketing ”

“ Book-keeping ” “ Growing your business ”

“ Event Management ”

If you already run your own business, we would be interested to talk to you.

You are probably already working as an image consultant, dress maker or alterations specialist and

your clients are asking for tailored suits and separates and you would like to help them.

Suit the City offer joint marketing programmes and support to grow your business.

We are happy to come to your studio and hold client evenings so that your clients can view, be

measured and choose their suits, separates or shirts so that you can start earning immediately.

Contact - kcj4324@aol.com

EDITORS CHOICE

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Sure2Door

leaflet distribution service

Running a Sure2Door business gives you the opportunity to generate a

substantial income.

With our help, you will be able to easily create your ideal work / life balance. We have three franchise levels and each one is tailored to different requirements. You can also choose to work in the business or employ a manager to run the day-to-day logistics – the decision is dependent on what you

want to achieve from your business.

Before you’re accepted onto our franchise program we will sit down with you to help you create your business plan. This will enable you to understand if the business is the right fit for you and whether the territory you are considering can realistically achieve the income you require.

Comprehensive Franchise Support Program

Including:

Exclusive, mapped-out territory

Full training to get the business up and running, including business management, planning, Sales, HR and Administration

Comprehensive Operational Manual, containing all of the information you need to run the business

GPS loggers with software to track your deliveries and provide reports for your clients

Sure2Door branded delivery bags, vests and heavy duty trolleys to build instant brand recognition in your area and make your employees look professional

Branded local website, fully optimised to make the best of your local marketing

Proven business. Sure2Door has grown considerably over the last two years

Consistently offering fantastic unbeatable service

Support. Having successfully grown the business from scratch, we have learnt many

lessons required to make the business run smoothly

Exclusive Territory. We will provide you with a mapped-out territory, showing the

numbers of houses within your area and broken down into delivery rounds

Innovation. We never stand still! Sure2Door is constantly looking at ways to improve

our business with respect to sales and marketing as well as the latest technology

How Much Can I Earn? Running a Sure2Door business gives you the opportunity to

generate a substantial income

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Techs Direct is a mobile computer and laptop repair business that has been estab-lished to help satisfy demand from millions of active computer and internet users

across the UK. Quite often people are left high and dry if they have problems with

their computer with the only course of action available is to pack your computer or

laptop into the car and take it to the high street.

Techs Direct is a mobile network of IT professionals. If you need our help we

come to you and resolve your IT problems at your convenience, in the comfort of your own home.

At Techs Direct we’re happy to be different. We put customers first, problems are resolved and we communicate in easy to understand language – there’s no ‘geek

speak’ here!

This is the ethos of our company and we strive to communicate these values to our

customers, if this sounds like you then we would love to hear from you.

Providing on-site computer services to homes and small businesses.

How Our Franchise Works We offer a very unique franchise offering but with all the benefits you would expect from other franchises. We will initially be offering the first years franchise license to you free, we do however require that you undertake

ourtraining to make sure you can make a success of your Techs Direct franchise.

If your not an IT Professional thats not a problem we also offer full training to our franchisors.

If you would like to speak to one of our Techs Direct team about our franchise offering call us free on 0800 024

1263 stating you saw the advert in ‘Inventors Showcase Magazine’.

What Does it Cost? What does the franchise licence cost?

Nothing – it’s FREE!

Yes – you’ve read that right! Absolutely FREE

Techs Direct is unique – we are so confident about the merits of our franchise and of the future Techs Direct that we’re inviting

you to join the Techs Direct franchise network for free!!

We will gift you your initial 12-month franchise licence fee and, unlike many franchisors, we will not ask for a percentage or a

cut of any work that you generate yourself! This way you can trial the franchise and limit any financial risk.

Why is it FREE?

We want to attract great people to our network and we do not want create any barriers to entry.

We have that much confidence in our proven business and marketing systems that we know that people who ‘stick to the plan’

will enjoy great success. Franchise licence fees will not be charged until after the first 12-months. If you’ve made a success of

your business we believe that being a part of the Techs Direct network adds significant value to your business and you’ll be keen to renew your franchise licence. If you don’t feel that your franchise adds value you can simply walk away and continue your

business. It’s as simple as that.

"Techs Direct just made my day! They set up my new PC, installed my old software and moved all the stuff across from my old PC. No hassle, in plain english. So Happy"

Ron Jones. Essex

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I love the idea of your magazine, I can see this really taking off,

both with potential investors, but also entrepreneurs looking for

guidance.

I can't wait to see your magazine in the shops its going to be brilliant.

Hi Casey,

How are things going, hope your ok.

The magazine article is fantastic.

What a brilliantly put together and fun mag for everybody to find

something inspiring!! I will be looking forward to the next edi-

tion!

The article is great thank you.

I hope it goes well for you because the whole publication is a really good

read. Please let me know if it goes into print so that I can buy one.

I'm gobsmacked. I knew it was going to be good but that has just bowled me over! Brilliant! Perfect!

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Why you should choose an ambitious start-up idea By

Gabriel Weinberg

I believe that ambitious start-up ideas have similar success probabilities to their less ambitious counterparts, if not higher success rates. No, I don't have any real evidence. Call it a highly educated guess. Note I'm not talking about expected value -- they definitely have higher expected values. They also have a much greater chance of being an elusive $100M exit, which is why VCs are always looking for them. A higher probability of success is a completely different thing because if it were true then you should almost always choose an ambitious start-up idea. (There are still a few reasons why it still may not be the best choice in a particular situation.) Ambitious start-up ideas usually operate in large markets where there are often lots of customers and lots of money flowing. If you start out trying to create or disrupt such a market you often end up stumbling on an initial beachhead where you can attack the greater landmass. Contrast that outcome with a less ambitious start-up idea, which usually means picking a niche a priori. In that case you're limiting both market size and wiggle room, and so if your guess at the right niche is wrong you can be left almost dead on arrival. Another contributing factor is ambitious start-up ideas are attractive to the ecosystem of start-up land. If the idea is the brain, everything else you will eventually need is the body (employees, investors, press, etc.). An ambitious start-up idea with just a little bit of traction attracts all the right body parts. A non-ambitious start-up idea with just a little bit of traction languishes on Angel List. My project ideas have certainly gotten more ambitious over time. In other words, it has taken me a long time to learn this lesson. One non-intuitive corollary is you don't have to start out like a big company (raising tons of money, etc.) to attack a big vision. This is essentially the primary tactic Paul Graham lays out in his latest essay on frighteningly ambitious start-up ideas, which pushed me over the edge this morning to finally pen this letter.

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Young Entrepreneurs to watch in 2012

Emma Sinclair (Target Parking)

Emma Sinclair is a passionate young entrepreneur. She had the high powered, high paid city job but she left it to start Target Parking. After investing in a small car parking firm she set up Target parking which offers services for car parks across Britain. Including cash handling, security & facilities management. The 29 year old is the youngest person to float a company on the Alternative Investment Market and her business acumen has seen her tie up some big deals which helped the company see revenues of just over £1million and she fully expects that to grow further in 2012.

Rashid Kasirye – (Link Up TV)

Rashid Kasirye started Link Up TV, an online music and talent platform, straight out of college and has seen it grow from humble beginnings to a strong online community, which sees their YouTube page hitting over a million monthly views and thousands of fans on Facebook and Twitter. Rashid has already seen the company make music videos for artists on some of the top UK music channels and his popularity is sure to keep growing in the in-dustry. As we journey through 2012 and Link Up TV step up their video produc-tion capacity I’m sure you will see even more music videos in the charts made by Rashid and his team

Josh Buckley (MinoMonsters)

Josh Buckley is the CEO and founder of MinoMonsters, a Poke-mon type game where you can battle and trade pet monsters. Josh is the youngest CEO to have raised funding from investment giant Andreessen Horowitz at 19 years of age. The Kent born youngster sold his first company at the age of 15. He created ‘Menewsha’ a community where users create whimsi-cal avatars and interact online for fun. He sold this for a six figures sum while still in school.

Lucian Tarnowski (Brave New Talent)

Lucian Tarnowski is the founder and CEO of Brave New Talent, a social recruitment network. The passionate young entrepreneur loves social media and leverages the sharing and engagement inherent in social networks and applies it to job recruitment. Lucian has also been honored as Europe’s youngest Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum. He is also the youngest entrepreneur to join UKTI (United Kingdom Trade and Investment) so age isn’t a factor as he goes about his

mission to change the face of job recruitment and skills building.

Nick D’Aloisio (Summly)

Nick D’Aloisio is only 16 years old but he has already managed to raise $250,00 in funding for his start-up, Summly. He created an app that offers a simpler way to browse and search the web by automatically summarising search results, web pages and articles to make content easier to sift to and find what is most relevant to you. In it’s first 4 days after it reached 17k downloads and is now well over 100,000. Still studying for his GCSE’s he had to get special dispensation to delay his mocks while he travelled to San Francisco.

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Aged 17, most young people in Britain are typically either on the streets with little or no qualifications or studying hard in an attempt to get to University. Well, I fall into the latter except there's one significant

exception, I own a business which I started myself, just under a year ago.

Shortly after starting my A-Level courses, I was inspired to give setting up my business a go. I utilised my skills, previous work experi-ence and basic business acumen at the time to establish Kent Ledger Media, a now thriving and nationally successful company operat-

ing in the UK. It feels weird to think that just under 12 months ago, I was stuck with my Saturday job and being bored easily in the eve-

nings. Now, I spend most nights working hard and growing my business, with the support of everyone around me.

At first, it seemed a brilliant decision to start a business and within weeks, I was working with TV celebrities and personalities from

several BBC hit shows, including The Apprentice. The usage of names I'd worked with then enabled me to impress future clients and grow even further, leading up to the creation of a successful company with connections and clients worldwide. I quickly found that

building client relationships was a

brilliant way to maximise customer satisfaction, cost effectiveness as well as propelling the company into

success. I'm proud to have worked with many large companies as well as reaching a partnership with several others.

I'm not implying in this column that business is in any way easy, it's just what you make it. I decided to follow the route of simple yet

effective as my business ethos and still follow it to this date. My main advice to anyone wanting to start their own business is to have drive and passion throughout. Inspiration is only ever round the corner, no matter what business you're in and it'll always inspire you to

make a change, a new product or to

advertise differently, always for the better.

There are plenty of success stories out there about entrepreneurs, young millionaires as well as successful start-ups, all of which dis-

credit the bad hoody culture image that Britain has. Just because someone wears a hoody and jeans, doesn't mean they can't be an entre-

preneur and run their own successful business. Not all entrepreneurs are the shirt and tie type. I believe strongly in dressing appropriately to formal meetings, boardrooms or high brow busi-

ness events but around the office, it's what you're comfortable in. After all, you're the boss so you set the rules. That's one of the best

things about having your own business, being your own boss and taking absolute authority and not having your manager boss you around to make coffee half way through your work.

No matter what business you go into, previous experience can always be useful, whether it be a school or

government organised work experience scheme, apprenticeship or part-time job, as these employ the necessary basic characteristics of a successful business man or woman, such as maturity, responsibility and engagement with others similar to you in different industries.

Jacobs’ Ladder (rung 1—Introduction)

To keep a finger on the pulse we felt it necessary to find a ‘Young Entrepreneur’ to write about young entrepreneurs. Whilst browsing on twitter one day I came across 17 yr old Jacob, talking about how he was determined to be successful, to be a millionaire and to own a Ferrari, by the time he was 30. I am convinced that he has all the necessary drive and determination and I for one would like to witness his rise up the ladder of success. He has agreed to write this column to chart his progress up the rungs of JACOBS’ LADDER.

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