EnterNext launches targeted programme for innovative unlisted tech companies
Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris – 18 September 2015 – EnterNext, the Euronext subsidiary dedicated to promoting and growing the market for SMEs1, kicks off its first session of TechShare at the École Polytechnique campus near Paris today and tomorrow. The new course, designed to familiarise fast-growing tech companies with capital markets, will bring 30 high-tech entrepreneurs together with programme partners and Euronext teams.
TechShare is a unique pan-European programme that gives innovative business leaders a better understanding of the role of capital markets and how they work. Each year 30 entrepreneurs will be invited to take part in the programme, gaining the knowledge and expertise they need to decide whether their businesses are ready for listing, and make the necessary preparations in good time. The programme has three components: two academic seminars organised with the École Polytechnique engineering school and the HEC Paris business school; practical workshops with industry experts held throughout the year; and individual coaching sessions with auditors, consultants, lawyers and communications advisers.
30 cutting-edge entrepreneurs gather for two-day seminar
The 30 companies were invited to take part in TechShare 2015/2016 after a demanding selection process that focused on excellence in technological innovation, sound business models and savvy strategies. All of these businesses are European, with 62% in digital technology, 27% in the life sciences and 11% in eco-industries. On average, participants have been in business for seven years and have 60 employees.
Taught by experts from École Polytechnique, this inaugural session will give participants a chance to tackle tech company management issues: how to win financing, how to market innovation, and how entrepreneurs can use Big Data and Machine Learning. In the months that follow, candidates will take part in hands-on workshops on capital markets as well as individual coaching sessions showing them how the stock exchange can help them raise the capital they need to grow their businesses. A second campus seminar is planned for 2016 in partnership with French business school HEC.
École Polytechnique—an ideal partner for entrepreneurs and innovation
When TechShare’s organisers began looking for a partner in higher education, Ecole Polytechnique was a natural choice. Long recognized for its high-quality faculty and famous alumni, the school has made innovative entrepreneurship a core component of its development strategy in recent years.
Jacques Biot, President of École Polytechnique, said: “We are delighted to partner with the TechShare programme and hold the inaugural session on our campus. This bold yet practical course resonates with the entrepreneurial values that we support and pass on to our students and scientists, as well as with our efforts to develop, assist and accelerate start-ups. We welcome this inaugural TechShare class, and are very happy to host the French, Belgian, Dutch and Portuguese business leaders on the course. ”
Eric Forest, CEO of EnterNext, said: “TechShare is the only course of its kind for high-growth companies in Europe. In addition to the support they’ll receive from expert partners, we are confident that participants will benefit from networking with their peers, who share the experience of doing business in fast-growing sectors and have the same vision of tomorrow’s economy. This is the most customised course for entrepreneurs that Euronext has ever organised, and we hope that it will be the beginning of an exciting adventure.”
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1 Small and medium-sized enterprises