A GROUP of Merseyside entrepreneurs is visiting Silicon Valley next week to forge links with the giants of the US technology world.
Liverpool Software City International is taking executives from eight North West companies on a trade mission to California to pitch to potential investors and meet some of the IT world’s key players.
The organisation, part of regeneration body Liverpool Vision, wants to encourage Merseyside firms to win international investment and contracts.
Delegates will include Katie Lips of Liverpool’s Kisky Netmedia, Rob Rule of Daresbury software company structure Vision and Graham Whistance of Newton-le-Willows-based Momote.
Steve Smith, industry director ICT at Liverpool Vision, said: “I’m also using a lot of these events to reconnect with potential inward investors I’ve know previously.
“But it’s also about seeding ambition and global potential.
“The companies we are taking fall into three categories: those that have serious and realistic ambitions in the US, those that in the future could have, and those that want to understand what the venture capital process is like.”
On the first day, the North West delegation will attend a workshop with technology guru Nathan Gold on how to pitch to venture capital companies.
That afternoon the companies will get the chance to put that training into practice as they get the chance to pitch to executives at Trident Venture Capital in Palo Alto.
The next day will be spent at the Plug & Play Tech Center, a business incubator housing more than 200 companies.
On the third day delegates will meet Suranga Chandratillake, the founder of video search engine Blinkx, before a small delegation will visit the “Googleplex” – Google’s headquarters in Mountain View.
On the final day the North West team will visit Sun Microsystems before meeting a team from VC firm Battery Ventures.
The delegation also includes representatives from three Irish businesses, backed by Enterprise Ireland.
Mr Smith will take another Merseyside delegation to the US in December.
Liverpool Vision is keen to attract international high-tech companies to invest in Merseyside. As well as his work in Silicon Valley, Mr Smith is busy forging links with Scandinavia.
Last month a delegation from Finland toured Liverpool and Mr Smith is confident further investment will follow.
“Most aspiring businesses in this sector want to come to the UK,” he said. “The UK is an early adopter market of choice.
“There’s also the advantage of the English language that prepares them to do serious business in the US.
“Liverpool arguably isn’t seen as a natural target for US businesses looking to come to the UK. We have to change that.”
