Publishes Manifesto Capturing The Spirit of Individual Capitalism That Will Shape the 21st Century

LONDON – 16 June 2008 - Ariadne Capital (Ariadne), www.ariadnecapital.com, the investment and advisory firm founded by Julie Meyer and 46 entrepreneurs backing the next-generation of entrepreneurs, is launching “Entrepreneur Country”  on Tuesday the 17th of June in central London.   

Entrepreneur Country is an event and platform for a manifesto that will bring together 400 venture capital and private investors, as well media, analysts and other leading entrepreneurs.    An online forum will follow later this summer.

Keynote speakers on the 17th of June include:
•   Jalal Bagherli [former CEO of Alphamosaic (sold to Broadcom) and CEO of Dialog Semiconductor]
•   Paul Barry-Walsh [Chairman of NetStore, and founder of the Fredericks Foundation]
•   Peter Bazalgette [Former Chief Creative Director of Endemol and well-known for Big Brother]
•   Seb Bishop [Co-Founder of Espotting/President of MIVA]
•   Sean Phelan [Co-founder of Multimap (sold to Microsoft)]

“’Entrepreneur Country’ signals to me that entrepreneurship has gone ‘primetime’ in the UK,” confirms Peter Bazalgette.  “The people who are building the global leaders of tomorrow need to come together to share their breakthrough moments.”   

“Semiconductor businesses have been an area where the UK has delivered game-changing enterprises and one in which I’ve been involved particularly,” says Jalal Bagherli.   “The core values of the Entrepreneur Country Manifesto are those that I’ve witnessed in successful teams and entrepreneurs in this and other sectors.”

“At a time when in the Irish referendum the European Constitution has once again been rejected by the people when given a free vote,” says Julie Meyer,  “there is a need for a new core set of values and beliefs, around which Europeans should build their society and the wealth that sustains it.    I believe the Entrepreneur Country Manifesto will resonate strongly with the people who are creating real, sustainable growth in the UK and Europe.”

Julie emphasises, “Ten years into the commercial internet’s take-off, the UK and Europe have become increasingly a place where leadership, innovation and wealth creation are possible.   We decided to launch ‘Entrepreneur Country – where breakthrough moments triumph over near-death experiences’ – as a further spur to this, bringing the leading business people together who are driving this huge transformation of society through the internet, and celebrate their success and share their insight with the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

Entrepreneur Country – a Manifesto

We believe:

1.    That Leaders are those people who create trust in their businesses, and that trust is the basis of an efficient and successful society. Success is forged through competition and human greatness is possible precisely because people are not the same and they have the option to choose whether they want to lead or to follow.

2.    That the Entrepreneur creates intellectual and financial wealth through which the entire society benefits and progresses, and so Entrepreneurs and their teams should be rewarded accordingly for taking the risks that they do [and which the rest of society chooses not to] but from which it still benefits.

3.    That the bigger the State grows, the weaker the people become – big government erodes trust and creates dependency.

4.   That no real, sustainable wealth creation ever owed its success to government

5.    Successful entrepreneurs of hyper growth companies are a subset of entrepreneurs who are a subsector of a strong citizenry who take full accountability for their lives and understand not only their rights but their total responsibilities.

6.    That successful entrepreneurs cite common factors that shape their unique drive, self-belief and desire to create and contribute at every stage in life – education, travel, opportunities to test what they can do as individuals, learning how to sell early in life, and particularly strong and inspirational teachers, business role models, parents and mentors who, honestly, encouraged them to be everything they could be.

7.   That it is still counter-cultural to be an entrepreneur in the UK and Europe but it is no longer a niche activity or aspiration; the emergence of serial entrepreneurs and the impact of their wealth and experience is felt in their backing of the next generation of entrepreneurs and in their example as role models

8.    That early stage venture capital now has two distinct areas – initial early stage venture capital, and late early stage venture capital.    The only people who do and can do the former exquisitely well are entrepreneurs backing other entrepreneurs – they are key to the development of an innovative  high performance economy.

9.   That global leading firms can just as easily come out of the UK and Europe as well as anywhere else in the world.   One reason UK and European entrepreneurs haven’t played on the global stage as much as they should have is because their native cultures don’t encourage them to expect success.  This is changing and must change further still.

10.   That the financing of entrepreneurship has not kept pace with the high quality and achievements of entrepreneurs in the UK and Europe.

11.   That the combination of the Internet, Entrepreneurship, and Individual Capitalism presents an unstoppable force around the world, and that Individual Capitalism will be the key concept that shapes the 21st Century

12.   That Talent flocks to great opportunities, and as those companies grow, leaders should have the flexibility to make the right decisions about talent in the firm – not everyone can or needs to make it from start to finish in a start-up, including the founders

13.   That great people have great ideas and build great teams, and that capital always backs great people with great ideas who build great teams – always has, and always will.

14.   That each one of us has a unique contribution to make to the world. It is our responsibility to determine what that is, and to make it.

15.   That we are a small group today in Entrepreneur Country who understand and believe these statements, and believe that the ideas and values contained in them  will dictate the future success of the UK and Europe.

http://www.ariadnecapital.com/entrepreneur_country_manifesto