Cambridge Cluster

Image by aminorjourney via Flickr“Stay in the Game” says my son as KPMG offers staff a four day week or a few weeks holiday.  Tempting to take the latter but as we move into unknown territory (when before did KPMG and the like have to make such an offer) it is better to stay at the coal face.  At least until you are made an offer you cannot refuse.

Herman Hauser is promoting the cause of the Cambridge Cluster with thousands of jobs and companies at risk as they are unable to raise further rounds of funding.  The future of the UK knowledge-based economy could be at risk.  The case needs to be made to the government – the Cambridge Cluster is as important as the car and other industries.  I hear from Bristol that a company visited VCs in London and found the atmosphere chilling.

Although the banks were supervised by the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority – what were they doing? -  bankers have to take the stick but how come the likes of Applegarth of Northern Rock, Hornby of HBOS and Goodwin (paid £30million over ten years and relaxing with a pension pot of £8.4million) of RBS get away without taking responsibility for their actions.  If they had been entrepreneurs they would have lost all their wealth which might have concentrated their minds.

So should we encourage the talent in the Cambridge Cluster to start a business or are they better joining the relatively risk free and highly rewarding career of large companies.

One last thought, we will know we are in a full blown recession when the public sector starts reducing head counts.  I guess we have a long way to go.  So it is all about chosing the game you want to play and staying at the coal face.

Image via WikipediaWe all know that the worst thing that can happen to founders is to work hard, build value and for the stock market to dive leading to a washout round with great dilution. Even those who fully understand Equity Fingerprint, the business plan resource, find that difficult. Neil Collins in the Spectator in an article titled Hand Over Your Cash: How Banks Are Mugging Investors describes the deeply discounted rights issues being offered by HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland – “they’ll have received a matching batch of gobbledegook” – leading to washout rounds for existing investors.

Of course the ceos and executives are not interested in Equity Fingerprints. They are interested in salaries, bonuses and options which are readjusted when they have gone under water. Since MBA students are aiming at executive roles they also find Equity Fingerprint perplexing – so much easier to change the rules as you go along!