This was my first time at Newcastle Startup Week, a five day event at various location across the city dealing in all thing to do with getting a business off the ground. Paul and Sarah have done a great job in building this event.
David and I had thought it would be a good venue to raise the opportunities that cyber brings in creating new businesses and jobs, as part of the Dynamo North East #CyberNorth work
We had a stand at the exhibition on Monday and a speaking slot on the Tuesday afternoon, which was focussed on ‘Getting Started’. We had it planned our presentation so that David would start with lessons he had learned from setting up his own business. I would then follow with what Dynamo is and what we are doing in Cyber. David would then close with the opportunities to develop a cyber business.
However, no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. Not that the audience were at all threatening but it didn’t take long for our well thought out order to unravel. By the time a quarter of our slot had gone, David was still on slide 2 of his ten things. In the end I had just under four minutes to fit my bit in.
Sometimes though it is better to have less time to fill than too much and I went for it as well as I could. I described hwt Dynamo is and each of the five themes of the cyber work stream. Finally I tied it all together with what this had to do with setting up a new business.
Dynamo can off three Cs: conversation; co-creation; collaboration.
As a body of like minded companies and individuals, Dynamo is a great source of people to talk to about business.
Our relationship with the universities creates an enormous opportunity to co-create products with academics and other entrepreneurs.
One of the significant aims of the cyber business theme is to enable companies to work together in a collaboration to compete on a national and international stage.
Next time I am asked what can Dynamo ever do for me, I will have the answer ready: Conversation, co-creation and collaboration.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 
Great event and a useful message.
The conversations are important even when they don’t seem to lead anywhere obvious at the time.