IE Business School celebrates the 1st IE-Caja Madrid Venture Day for Expansion and Development Projects, which will take place on May 7, at 7.30pm in the Aula Magna of the IE Business School.
11 companies created by IE Alumni, selected from a total of 50 candidates, will be presenting their expansion and growth plans to the investor community. Although there are various initiatives in the market designed to foster the generation of seed capital (funding for business start-ups), there are no schemes that provide support for subsequent phases. This new project, which enjoys the support of Caja Madrid, enables IE Business School to take its commitment to entrepreneurship to new levels, opening new windows of opportunity in the form of investor support for companies that have already proved themselves in the market and are now looking to expand.
Investors will find that this new IE-Caja Madrid initiative brings companies with sustainable growth projects based on solid foundations. These well-structured expansion plans are the result of experience in the market, and come with teams molded by standards of excellence in a leading business school where the entrepreneurial spirit forms part of the day-to-day fabric of learning.
Please find below a brief description the short-listed initiatives.
TELCRA TECHNOLOGY. Founded in 2006, this company specializes in mobile communication management. They offer services designed to improve or block mobile coverage, detect mobile use or guarantee privacy in mobile conversations. The company uses its own products.
ORIGINAL HOUSE. Founded in 2005 with the aim of revolutionizing home decoration. Its catalogue offers over 3,000 products that afford personalized decoration projects for homes, offices, shops, restaurants, etc. They have the European patent.
INMUNOCLIN. Founded in 2000, this company has designed a genetic testing system to predict the likelihood of patient developing Alzheimerâ??s. Inmunoclin has a market protection patent and in addition to Spain is currently operating in the UK, Italy and France. They can be in the market in six months.
SUPPRA SPORTS. Founded in 2005, this firm has a sports centre in Seville with a surface area of 62,000m2, 1,200 members and 300 course participants . The forecasted turnover for 2008 is â?¬1.4 million based on 2,000 members. Based on their experience in Seville, they seek to expand over 7-8 years, opening two new centers each year.
TOUMAI. Free monthly magazine for immigrants with a current circulation of 100,000. Founded in 2003, it has a direct distribution network that delivers the magazine to the readerâ??s home. The objective is to become a key communication reference for immigrants.
BUSUU.COM. Founded in December 2007, Busuu is a virtual community for learning languages, permitting a user to learn different languages through self-study or through the community.
AUTODESCUENTO.COM. A multi-brand online dealership and a leader in the Spanish market. The firm gets the best price for buyers of new cars. It sells vehicles and related products, such as insurance, purchase loans, etc. This year it has started to sell second-hand cars. In 2007 they sold 1,500 cars and in 2008, in spite of the failing market, their sales have grown by 10% each month.
RELAX HOME, Founded in 2005, RH has two manufacturing plants that produce the equipment needed to commercialize a product set to revolutionize the construction sector, and which has reduced completion time by 50%. While maintaining quality standards or finishes. The product has already been granted European technical approval and has been used on several projects.
ALBURA MUEBLES. This company currently has 3 furniture shops in AndalucÃa and a distribution centre. Its expansion plan is based on the development of a purchasing centre to handle larger volumes that will enable the firm to supply both their own shops and associate shops.
LA COCINA DE LOLA. Founded in 2007, this company sells traditional ready-cooked take-away food and low-price set meals. It has a centralized cooking facility from where it can distribute cooked food to premises with no extractor system.
PROSOPOPEYA . After 12 years in the advertising sector, 9 short films in 5 years, 200 awards (including 2 oscar nominations), this firm has the experience and capacity to achieve their objective of becoming a key brand in the field of production of audiovisual content for all types of support, channels and flexible formats.
If you wish to learn more about Entrepreneurship at IE, please participate in the upcoming online presentation on May 8 at 11am Madrid local time. To register, please go to www.ie.edu/events/virtual.asp.
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