The clock is ticking towards midnight on 2 September 2007 when entries to the East of England Development Agency’s (EEDA) ‘running the gauntlet 2007’ investment competition and free business education programme for entrepreneurs in the East of England closes.

So far over 250 entrepreneurs have entered the competition whose investors – CREATE, SEP, NW Brown and Low Carbon Accelerator – are offering a share in funding up to £2m to investable businesses.

Entrants benefit from the wide range of learning opportunities through EEDA’s nine commercial partners – Bailey Fisher, Cambridge Marketing College, Grant Thornton, HSBC, Microsoft UK, Mudhut Communication, Sagentia, Taylor Vinters and The Commercialisation Company – amounting to £250,000 of specialist in-kind advice. This will gather pace after the closure date to help entrants prepare for the latter stages of the competition.

The learning process begins immediately on entry via the competition’s dedicated website www.runningthegauntlet.com. This gives free access (normally £299) to ‘The Gauntlet’ virtual investor tool developed by Library House and the London School of Economics which guides entrants through questions typically asked by investors. A report highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the business proposition is subsequently returned.

In the last few days BBC East has joined the line up of advisers offering support to entrants. The broadcaster is offering ten entrants a specially designed media awareness training package as part of the competition’s free education programme. This will take the form of a half-day course specifically designed to help entrepreneurs understand the modern media and how it works. The training, which also includes the chance to watch a live news programme being broadcast, is a superb opportunity that ambitious ‘gauntleteers’ will not want to miss.

A further innovative development is the ‘webinar’ planned for Monday 3 September between 14.00 and 15.00 on the subject of ‘How to write a business plan!’ This will be presented by Ralph Ecclestone of The Commercialisation Company which, while open to all entrants will be of particular relevance to the 50 short-listed companies (tba on 12 September) who have to submit their business plans for review on 17 September. Having consulted with the investors Ralph knows what they are looking for in a business plan and will offer advice on its construction in this important one-off event.

EEDA’s chairman, Richard Ellis stresses the value the competition offers:

“The East of England is recognised as the UK’s innovation powerhouse because of its aggressive entrepreneurial sector and EEDA is keen to see this reputation continue to grow. ‘Running the gauntlet’ has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs on the road to success in past years and with the deadline approaching we are keen to see more join them this year. Even the entry process is a learning opportunity, so I urge entrepreneurs to join up before it is too late to benefit from this excellent programme. “

Mark Gracey of SEP, one of the ‘running the gauntlet’s’ investors said:

“I really enjoyed meeting a group of innovative entrepreneurs during the ‘running the gauntlet’ boot camps in July and am expecting to see a competitive group come out of next month’s short-listing process. With only a few days remaining before the deadline there is always the chance that a late entry will be the one that ultimately catches our eye.”

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