Trapezia 2007

Stargate Capital Management Limited, a small cap investment firm who manage Trapezia, the UK’s first venture capital fund which targets women entrepreneurs, launched a series of masterclasses on female entrepreneurship at an open morning.

To celebrate Women’s Enterprise Day, the Trapezia team, opened their doors to secondary school students to bring to life the world of finance and entrepreneurship and inspire the girls to make their own ideas happen and develop into the female entrepreneurs of the future.

Groups of female students from St Angela’s Ursuline School and St Martin-in-the-Fields School were invited to the special event in celebration of Women’s Enterprise Day on Wednesday 14 November 2007.

The event targeted female students in Key Stage 4 who have an interest in enterprise, entrepreneurship or business, and students considering post-16 options and offered them the opportunity to discover the world of venture capital and learn more about how female entrepreneurs are making their mark.

As well as a behind the scenes tour of Stargate Capital and an introduction to Business Finance & the Trapezia fund, the girls heard inspirational stories from Gita Patel, Director of Trapezia and Herta von Stiegel, Chairman of Stargate Capital. They had direct contact with the world of enterprise when they met Entrepreneur Ann Rushforth who runs a very successful business called Scotnursing and her daughter Mhairi Rushforth who (clearly inspired by her mother), at the age of 22 already owns 5 nurseries. They also got the opportunity to work in small groups with entrepreneurs to generate their own ideas that were pitched to investors (in a more supportive version of Dragon’s Den) to win a small prize, enabling the winning team to start their own Make your Mark Club!

The girls had a productive day having the opportunity to experience the world of business, taking part in activities such as a networking lunch, which was topped off by a surprise visit from Tim Campbell.

Commenting on the event Gita Patel said “Stargate are delighted to participate in the Make your Mark initiative – it is so important to increase career choices for girls and create role models to address both inspiration and aspiration”

The participating students took away valuable experiences and expressed their enthusiasm for the event.

“The young ladies went out on an absolute high, taking away with them an enormous sense of privilege and responsibility about the knowledge and advice they received during your event. The teachers were absolutely thrilled too.’ Catherine Ritman-Smith, Head of Education, Make Your Mark.

“You really inspired me to see the future and also what many women are capable of just by thinking and using their resources. I wish to have the same opportunity more often.” Participating student.