ENTREPRENEURS NEWS | IN BRIEF
LoveFilm takes the BVCA prize
LoveFilm and Mind Candy were badged as London and the South East’s best venture capital and private equity-backed businesses by the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA) this week. LoveFilm, acquired by Amazon in January, won the Exit Management Team of the Year award, while Mind Candy – the business behind children’s social networking sensation Moshi Monsters – won Venture Capital-Backed Management Team of the Year. Tim Farazmand, judge of the award, said: “The economic conditions of the last two years have made it a challenging time to be in business, so this year’s winners are especially deserving.”
Dragon backs Cambodian CARE
Deborah Meaden of Dragons’ Den fame met Cambodian entrepreneurs using lendwithcare.org, a new micro-lending website started by CARE International UK. The funds are backed by Brits who lend as little as £15 to entrepreneurs in poor communities around the world, enabling them to start or expand their small businesses, feed their families and educate their children. Meaden said: “When I arrived I was expecting to sit, slightly Dragons’ Den style, and ask the typical questions: What do you buy it for, what do you sell it for, what are your margins? I began to realise very quickly that these are entrepreneurs in the raw; they’re not looking to become millionaires, they’re just looking to be able to live and feed their family.”