By Ewan Gaffney, YBI Communications Manager
One of the great strengths of GEW in the UK is that it gives entrepreneurs the chance to see firsthand the inner workings of specialist organisations that are notoriously hard to access. For an entrepreneur who is trying to gain an understanding of the media industry, the chance to engage directly with one of the country’s largest and most entrepreneurial television networks is invaluable.
It was standing room only for the 'Entrepreneurship in the Media' panel discussion at Channel 4
As I filed into the Channel 4 headquarters in London alongside hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs last week it was just this opportunity they were excitedly muttering about.
Channel 4 has been a key supporter of GEW UK since its inception, reflecting the network’s longstanding commitment to identifying and nurturing new talent in the UK. This year the 4 Talent team hosted an entire week of activities, ranging from the chance to put your questions directly to a Channel 4 commissioner through to a range of hands on workshops teaching practical skills to support your business ambitions.
I was lucky enough to get a place on two sessions running on Thursday afternoon: first of all an analysis of the use of social networking tool in the media, hosted by Tiffany StJames, the lead Social Media Trainer for Channel 4.
Much like entrepreneurship, social media is an activity that is sometimes incorrectly seen as the preserve of the young. A quick look around the room put this preconception to bed. It was great to see that GEW and the events put on by Channel 4 were reaching such a diverse demographic.
The session was jam-packed with great information and case studies – too many to list here, but you can find out more if you follow Tiffany on twitter, or view the full presentation.
After this session we were whisked upstairs for an evening panel discussion on ‘Entrepreneurship in the Media,’ featuring Tom Ilube, founder of internet bank Egg and Marcus Liassides, Executive Vice President at Specific Media, the organisation that has recently purchased the troubled MySpace with a view to rebranding and relaunching the platform.
Again the event was packed with a cross section of people from within the world of media and beyond, which made for a lively discussion as the crowd grilled the panel on their thoughts and insights into what the next big thing was going to be in the world of media. The distinguished speakers were even willing to share their opinions on where the next digital ‘goldmines’ may be buried.
The members of the panel all cited past failures as one of the most important things ever to happen to them in business. As Marcus Liassides put it: “Being a successful entrepreneur is recognising and dealing with failure. Be good at failing.”
The 4Talent team were quick to hijack the overhead monitors that had been showing tweets from the evening to display links to the Channel 4 page where members of the public can be paired with a mentor. A quick glance around the room at this point revealed hundreds of notepads and smart phones being furiously scribbled into.
Working as I do for Youth Business International, a global network of enterprise initiatives that has recently taken over the hosting of GEW UK, it was fantastic to see the panel in complete agreement that one of the best things any entrepreneur can do to improve their business chances is to get a mentor. The whole panel had at one time or another had a mentor, two of them even sharing a mentor at the same time!
These two events were a perfect window into why GEW is such a success and such an important event. Nothing else gives the aspiring entrepreneurs in our country the opportunity to meet and network with such a wide selection of their peers while at the same time gaining exposure to the industry they one day hope to enter. We’re already excited about what the 4 Talent team have planned for next year!
And if you are still wondering, the next potential goldmine in media, according to the panel, is open source data applications! Get digging!
