Alexander Innovation Zone S.A. is organizing workshops for early stage spin-offs and startups. We invite you to participate in this series of workshops targeting startups that have developed a technology and are in the process of designing their product, while also seeking funding to establish their company.

Creating and marketing innovative products is known as a “wicked problem”: a challenge that involves multiple, interlinked factors, diverse solutions and fuzzy success metrics. Approaching these problems with a designer’s mindset – known as Design Thinking – is a fun and effective method of tackling these problems.

Theo has ran Design workshops for over 10 years, helping product, technical and commercial teams apply a creative approach to their wicked problems. Drawing from this experience, he will walk you through the key concepts, toolkit and case studies, and show you how to use Design Thinking to build your product and bring it to market.

Outcomes

You can apply your learnings in a hands-on workshop, giving you a chance to tackle a real challenge with Designer’s toolkit. We will explore how you can:

1. Empathise with your audience and map out their needs

2. Frame a problem statement and solution success criteria

3. Use a variety of methods to ideate on possible solutions

4. Build a quick prototype of your chosen approach

5. Test by presenting to the group and share constructive feedback

Raising funds is always critical for a new venture. This seminar will address essential factors of the whole procedure.

•          When is the right timing to start fund raising?

•          Who should you approach and how?

And most importantly

•          What material should be prepared beforehand?

•          Which decisions must be reached at team level before starting negotiations with a potential investor?

There will be a networking session after each workshop.

The total cost for attendance to both workshops is 500€ + VAT.

Due to limited seats,

please book your seat NOW until 7/11/2023

Speaker Profiles

THEO PARASKEVOPOULOS

Theo Paraskevopoulos is a Product Designer, Technical Architect, Founder and Angel investor. He helps teams build products and bring them to market, by blending together insights from Design, Technology and Business practice.

Starting out in the late 90s, he has founded 6 companies, exited 3, and has worked with teams at the BBC, Bank of New York, Hitachi, JP Morgan, Korn Ferry, Mercedes-Benz, the NHS and Oxford University.

Theo is founder and CEO at GrowCreate, a group of digital solution companies with offices in Oxford, Cologne and Athens, and a private Angel investor and advisor to early-stage technology startups.

Theo has ran Design Sprints for over 10 years, helping product, technical and commercial teams apply a creative approach to their wicked problems. Drawing from this experience, he will walk you through the key concepts, toolkit and case studies, and show you how to use Design Sprints to build your product and bring it to market.

Dr. PETER COWLEY

Dr. Peter Cowley has invested in over 75 technology startups and was chair of the Cambridge Angels (invested >£45M in 2019). He is President  Emeritus of the European Business Angels Network EBAN and a  board member of the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN), part  of Global_Entrepreneurs_Network. 

University Spin-outs: A Business Angel perspective that invested in 17 university spin-outs.

A member of the Investment Committee of the Angel CoFund, a  £100 million UK Government-backed fund for supporting and  growing British SMEs and was on the board of the UK Business  Angels Association (UKBAA), where he was awarded UK Angel of  the Year in 2014. 

❖ Founded and ran 14 businesses in technology, property  and publishing, over the last 40+ years 

❖ portfolio of 76 angel investments built up over the last  decade, 18 positive exits (one of which at 107X, paying back  all invested cash), 20 failures, 39 still living 

❖ founded and run Martlet: a “Corporate Angel”, investing  (currently £12M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a  £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company 

❖ 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and member of the  boards of seven charities 

Specialities: Angel investment, charity governance, mentoring,  entrepreneurship, software and electronics technology,  property/construction. 


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