Our last week of dinners for 2015 saw a great line-up covering everything from fundraising and entertainment to marketing and increasing revenues. Peter Briffett, COO of Yplan, and Amanda Francis, MD of Alchemis, rounded up the week on Wednesday talking at their respective dinners, whilst Yannick Roux, VC at EC1 Capital, started the week off at Drake & Morgan at King’s Cross – the latest restaurant to join the TableCrowd community. Read on to find out what went down this week at dinner: Dine with early stage investor at EC1 Capital
First up we had Yannick Roux speaking extensively at dinner on Monday night about what he looks for in the companies he invests in. He split his talk between the two topics of people and markets, and what they want from a business in order to give investment the green light. Check out What a VC looks for when they invest, for Yannick’s thoughts on this.

The informal Q&A saw the diners ask a variety of questions from asking Yannick to provide examples of companies they invested in, when it was too early, whether EC1 Capital has a minimum buy in (not strictly, but you’re looking at 10% as a bare minimum) and what was his most memorable investment.

When it comes to getting a meeting with EC1 Capital, you’re looking at joining another 2000 companies vying for their attention. Of those, they’ll expect to see 1 in every 10. So, what can increase your odds of getting a chance to pitch your business to them?

Companies come from people we’ve previously worked with, other investors, and those in our network.

There’s also the possibility of filling out an application on their website, as you don’t always need to be personally connected as they appreciate not everyone has a great network.

Ultimately, the companies they invest in come from a combination of sources. It’s good to know that EC1 Capital don’t invest on their own; they always look to get equal equity from other investors. To do this, they use their network (as well as the company’s founder’s network too). They are particularly keen on working with funds they have worked with in the past.

Digital marketing dinner: get new clients, increase revenues
Amanda Francis, MD of Alchemis, the first new business agency for the marketing, communications and creative industries, spoke at our latest digital marketing dinner specifically on getting new clients and increasing revenues.

Selling is about helping people buy. It’s about finding the best way to encourage people to get what they want.

Amanda had a great arsenal of knowledge which she shares in the blog post, 7 top tips for a new business.

Dine with Peter Briffett, COO of YPlan
What a fantastic dinner to end our dinners this year – Peter did not fail to provide a plethora of anecdotes and tips across the lifestyle and entertainment sector to his fellow diners at dinner on Wednesday night. As well as being the COO of YPlan, one of London’s hottest startups is a mobile ticketing platform (and award-winning to boot!), Peter also shared his previous experience including selling his business to Microsoft, and turning LivingSocial UK from zero revenue to a $100M consumer technology business.

Our speakers were joined by: Lineten, Dhaba Lane, mapp2link, Limeclip, Esplorio, Propcision, Attolio Lingerie, Huge, Bubblo, OneLane app, Branzr, Scrummy, Class Crowd, Fantastic Services, Movebubble, rendeevoo, So Me, RightClinic, Kaleidoscope Investments, Kiwi Girl Limited, Buto, Host Digital, Uber Digital, Piggy Bank and Apppli amongst others.

Special thanks to our speakers, Yannick, Peter and Amanda, as well as our partners Constant Contact and Wellers.