GEW Magazine issue 1 | Page 2

Contents guess what on Earth the 12 Don’tentrepreneurs are thinking: new Welcome Get ready for the big week G lobal Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is the one time all of the world’s brightest and best entrepreneurs, investors, supporters and policy makers come together. It’s one week with 10 million participants at 30,000 events in 146 countries, supported by 10,000 partners and 100 world leaders. It’s just one week every November but it’s the one time you can see exactly what the new entrepreneurs Scaling the entrepreneurial mindset by Jonathan Ortmans, President, Global Entrepreneurship Week; Senior Fellow, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation In this magazine we cover some of the events and profile just some of the hosts to give you a taste of just how big, and important, GEW has become around the world. If you want to know what on Earth the new entrepreneurs are thinking then get involved with GEW 2014. Forward 3 The art of taking risks Sir Richard Branson exclusive Impact 2013 Event GEC 2015 6 What a week that was Global Entrepreneurship Week 2013 Get ready for GEC 2015, the global showpiece for enterprise Maree Morrissey David Bradley Publishers Co-Founders Think Ireland Inc. Initiators and producers of GEW Magazine FEATURED HOST COUNTRIES 8  Credits & Contacts GEW Magazine - The voice of Global Entrepreneurship Week GEW Global Head Office 2400 N Street, NW, Suite 603 Washington, DC 20037 Washington, DC 20037 Published and produced by Watershed Media Ltd. Email [email protected] [email protected] web www.gew.co @unleashingideas.com www.facebook.com/unleashingideas Watershed Media Ltd is a new-media company dedicated to global renewal through embracing new ideas, thinking and imagination. A limited company registered in Ireland. Registration number: 540103 All content appearing in GEW Magazine may not be reproduced prior to written permission of the publisher and in no case for profit. 18  A new dawn in an Iran: selfie ancient land Promotional Feature. © Copyright (2014) of Watershed Media Ltd. mid-production 19 Brazil is a success story  Tunisia’s golden opportunity 20  Ireland: A completely new mindset A global destination 22  Entrepreneurs are key to economic recovery A live-painting representing Rwanda’s thriving entrepreneurship ecosystem, created by GEW participants EVENTS 2014 Creative Business Cup Get in the Ring Cleantech Open Global Ideas 14  Rwanda, UK, Denmark, Qatar 16  Turkey’s new entrepreneurial buzz GEW Magazine 4  Say buongiorno to Milan “Dedicated to people who imagine anything is possible, who start-up, fall and rise again: the dreamers, the doers and the game changers” Page 2 New entrepreneurs are the job creators of the future.” Find out for yourself. are thinking. What the big ideas are. Where the trends are. And who is supporting and investing in them. Imagination is the seed… Watershed Media Ltd. 22 Park Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth, Ireland “ Looking Forward 23 Sowing the seeds of entrepreneurship Greece events: Future Agro Challenge Disrupt Startup ScaleUP 14 The ar t of taking risks L ife is a lot more fun if you say yes. At Virgin we are not afraid to take calculated risks and have had some tremendous successes taking on established companies in industries that needed shaking up. People might think we are wild with some of the projects we go into, but risk and reward are attached at the hip so it is important to have an open mind when starting a business. We’ve taken so many risks at Virgin that I can’t remember them all! The key is to know which chances are worth taking and which are not. Don’t just take on a challenge without considering the downside. For example when we set up Virgin Atlantic 30 years ago we had a very successful record and entertainment group. My fellow directors thought I was mad wanting to tackle such an expensive and crowded industry. I strongly believed there was room for a new player focused on the customer and providing great service and entertainment. To ensure we did not put all of our hard work at risk I negotiated a deal to lease one old Boeing 747 for a year to see if it would work. It did, and next year we leased a second plane! The heated debate we had around the Virgin boardroom table meant we found an acceptable way to expand and diversify. That’s why it is so important to have an honest and talented team around you. Two heads are better than one and discussing any risky decisions with your team will help you get a more rounded understanding of what could go wrong and how to protect yourself from disaster, both to the balance sheet and your company’s reputation. We are constantly pitched investment ideas and have developed a ‘brand test’ to be used alongside our financial analysis when evaluating whether an opportunity should be considered or not. Having a set of values that protect against poor decisions is a great way to make sure you don’t over expose your brand’s reputation through a risk. Having said that, risk taking is inherent in entrepreneurship and you can’t be afraid of taking them. You’ve got to trust your instincts and give people a chance. I believe small and medium enterprises are key to a strong economy. New entrepreneurs are the job creators of the future. I am very pleased to see the government encouraging a new generati on of entrepreneurs through their Start Up Loans scheme. Virgin StartUp is one of Virgin’s newest companies and works with aspiring UK entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into reality through mentorship, loans and networking. It is great to see so many entrepreneurs lending their help to the next generation, advising them on business strategy and making sure they don’t make the same mistakes they made. As much as you try, some risky decisions will unfortunately go south. All of the best entrepreneurs have failed at some point and learnt to adapt and succeed. Look on every fresh failure as a learning opportunity to help you get it right next time. In a way the biggest risk to an entrepreneur’s success is the fear of starting. by Richard Branson GEW Magazine Page 3