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Seedcamp, founded by serial entrepreneur Saul Klein is growing and expanding its reach far and wide to support promising entrepreneurs in their quest to launch great businesses. Paris is the venue of the next Mini-Seedcamp on the 24th of February and startups from France, Benelux, Spain and Portugal are invited to apply. 20 seed stage tech startups will be selected to attend an intensive day of presentations, panel discussions and 1-to-1 mentoring sessions with a select group of experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and developers from all over Europe, including Saul himself. Teams have till 9th of February to apply. That’s less than 2 weeks from today.

We thought it would be interesting to ask Reshma Sohoni, CEO of Seedcamp, some difficult questions. Here are the easy answers:

What is Seedcamp, what inspired it and what have been the achievements so far?

* Seedcamp is a catalyst for next-gen entrepreneurs by seed funding start-ups and connecting them with over 300+ advisors from a top-tier network of company builders including seed investors, product experts, marketers, lawyers, PR, HE and venture capitalists, with the aim to also jumpstart the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe.

* The Inspiration: Europe has the necessary ingredients to build the world’s next generation of leading technology companies; talent, capital, ideas, and examples of success; but what it lacks is the tradition of entrepreneurialism. This makes it hard for young entrepreneurs to secure funding, develop the right connections and build teams. Seedcamp is directly addressing these challenges by bringing together entrepreneurs from all over Europe and exposing them to the collective experience of people who can help turn their grand visions into successful businesses.
* Achievements: In just under 2 years, Seedcamp has grown from just a 1-week event in September 2007 to running over 7 Mini Seedcamp events in 2009 with a wider reach and scope to cover most of the Europe.  Through the above we have attracted top industry leaders to support the drive in creating a viable and sustainable entrepreneurial network across the EMEA which is invaluable to the local start-ups in helping them to create world-class businesses.

For more information on our winning teams please see:

http://seedcamp.com/pages/2007winners

* 2007’s winners are all proceeding at their own paces. Four out of six companies have received funding and have added to their teams. All are still very focused on product development. Building a company takes time, but we’re very excited to see the progress these companies have made in just eight months.

http://seedcamp.com/pages/2008finalists

* 2008 winners have just recently completed their 3 months of direct Seedcamp support.  They will continue to be supported in any way possible either through the many industry contacts they have made and/or through Seedcamp.  Our door is always open to them or any entrepreneur seeking advice.

What is a Mini-Seedcamp? Is it a way to build up a critical mass of startups applying for the main event in September?

* A Mini Seedcamp is a condensed version of our main week-long event held each September.  It is normally a 1-2 day event, whereby we invite local and regional start-up teams to apply and 20 are chosen to attend.  This year, we are expanding our reach from last year.  For instance, we are holding a Mini Seedcamp Paris in February whereby anyone from France, Benelux, Spain or Portugal can apply – but we are open from anyone in Europe to apply for any of the Mini events we hold throughout the year.  We like to keep an open-door policy on this to ensure that talented start-ups have the biggest chance of attending an event.

* We definitely do encourage all teams to apply for Seedcamp Week in September, but this is not the main focus of our Mini events. It is mainly to drive, support, grow and reach out to entrepreneurial ecosystem in the EMEA.

* Also the Mini events help the local ecosystem understand how Seedcamp works and the value we can bring to the community. There is also a potential to invest through the Mini Seedcamps not just the main event.

From the information on your website, it seems you are looking for strong established teams and even already formed companies. What is early stage for you? What is the selection criteria to participate in Seedcamp?

* We do look for strong teams of at least two people who have a solid, creative idea and the energy and commitment to execute.   Ideally, this consists of a Business Development person and a Product Development/Technical person.  While we do look for these types of teams in the web-tech industry, we definitely do not limit ourselves to ‘established’ companies, quite the opposite.  It’s best to think of it as post-prototype and pre-full product that. The teams do not need years of experience; in fact, Seedcamp would most benefit first-time entrepreneurs with early, seed-stage ideas. Ideas should leverage the Internet and not have previously been funded. For a full list of selection criteria, visit the website: http://www.seedcamp.com/pages/apply_application_critera
* Our ideal team size is 3-4 people where most of the team is technical/coders themselves and there is a strong business person and/or leader on the team.

How does Seedcamp differ from Ycombinator, Techstars, Seedrocket, …?

* Companies and organizations like YCombinator and Techstars were inspirations for Seedcamp when we started. They all take creative approaches with the goal of supporting very early stage technology companies. However, YCombinator and others are specifically adapted to their own markets, like the US for example. In Europe, we face a different set of challenges and have structured Seedcamp accordingly. For example, it’s crucial that we help build the underlying foundation for an entrepreneur ecosystem in Europe. In the US, that was already in place and therefore not a huge focus for YCombinator.
* To fuel this process, we enlisted support from a huge number of tech experts and entrepreneurs across Europe. Broad buy-in and involvement is important. We are also more than just investors, we’re building our own company that manages and attends events throughout the year, works with other organizations in the industry, and brings together the industry’s top thinkers to push forward the discussion on technology, start-ups, and building businesses in Europe.
* We think that the more relevant and valuable initiatives to help entrepreneurs, the better. So, we are not attempting to be competitive with any other orginisations similar to ours. We build on a system we feel will help most start-ups here in Europe.

Seedcamp is divided into two phases. From an entrepreneur’s viewpoint, the first phase, the Seedcamp week, is fine. But for the second stage, the 3 month period, to accept an investment of 50.000€ in exchange for a 10% stake in my company and move to London for 3 months itself would cost me a considerable portion of the amount received. I would do that only if I have high chances of raising further funding. With the current economic crisis and subsequent lack of new investments by VCs, what is your answer to this kind of thinking from entrepreneurs?

* The goal of Seedcamp is not just to provide financial support, but also help these companies create a network that will sustain their development for years to come. We’re trying to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem and that’s about learning from other successful entrepreneurs, bringing together resources like lawyers, marketing firms, and recruiters, and getting companies in front of top tier individual and VC investors who may fund them throughout their lifecycle.
* Also, advice is critical for start-ups on the most pragmatic levels. It can fundamentally change or strengthen a start-up’s direction. Product and tech experts can offer invaluable advice and support as well.
* Through Seedcamp’s network, especially in London, teams receive exceptional support and guidance to keep costs down and we have a number of supporters when it comes to office space/hosting services etc.
* As such, teams aren’t spending €50K or so on moving to London. Through support and sponsorships, they end up saving a lot of money in these 3 months and actually putting the €50K towards product. Certainly some of the funds do go towards some of the set-up costs but they are far outweighed by the benefits of focusing completely on the business in an intense environment a 12-week period begins to reinforce.
* The economy is tough, but we believe that the network of investors that fund Seedcamp companies are in there for building long-term great companies. And great companies will continue to get funded. So, we feel confident that we’re helping start-ups to be in the best position to attract top quality investors who will support them for the long term.

After the 3 month period, do you continue to support your startups? How?

* Definitely!  Seedcamp has an open-door policy.  After the 3-month official support they receive after Seedcamp Week, we continue to support them in any way possible, whether it be introducing them to contacts, giving advice, alerting them to events that they could benefit from etc…basically, the door is always open.
* Alongside the continued support mentioned above, we also hold further events geared at exposing the teams to key VC’s and Investors, broadening their chances at securing further funding and investment.  From a Demo Day to an Investor Day and finally a further Broad Investor Day, not only winning teams, but some finalists are invited to pitch again to top VC’s and Investors.  This gives them the opportunity to show their progress and broaden their chances at securing further funding, investment and support. But it doesn’t stop there, the 20 Seedcamp teams are considered part of the Seedcamp family and we try to help as much as we can, the possibilities and opportunities are endless.

Thanks Reshma for the interview and congratulations on the great work you are doing to support the culture of entrepreneurship in Europe and the creation of new technology startups.

Also thanks to Stephanie Zari, PR Manager at Seedcamp for helping coordinate the interview.