@ PGA: Hi, it's nice to have a website, even with jobdescriptions on it, but what about the marketing of this site? If this is a market where you are the only player (are there any markets like that?) how are people/businesses going to get in touch with your service?  

Captain's Log, Starship Enterprise
October 29th, 2007
We are now firmly in the start-up phase of European Strategies. It's the first time I'm starting up in a "systematic" way, or what some authors called the "post-experience" management method. (In contrast to the first start-up, which was something like 24-hour adrenaline). We are taking time to design the website, procure the online content-management system, develop the right job descriptions and competencies, implement a correct recruitment.

It's good to take the time! We have a momentary window of opportunity: no competitors in the sector. Let's see how long this lasts. I'm hoping the website version 1.0 will be up and running by February 2008: will post to this site.

Interestingly enough, I realised that for our website: 10% of structure is value-adding; the remaining 90% is necessary for trust, security, registration, etc. I'm using this experience to design the actual work implemented by the company, where I foresee something like:

25% research
30% client relationship management
40% marketing and sales
5% accounting and administration.

Let's see how that actually adds up. The hardest part of the content management is that it is controlled by government ministries and semi-governmental organisations; therefore the hardest task at present is government relations. Uncanny. I never thought this was the case when writing the business plan. It will probably shift once the system goes live.
 

Well, we finally closed the deal on our latest venture: European Strategies. This is an online business intelligence service targetting enterprises interested in EU funding opportunites at the national level. We are starting with Cyprus: if it works, we'll see. But what an adventure it's been. We only need EUR 80,000 in start-up capital, and finally contributed 1/2 ourselves, in addition to about 100 days of work in the start-up phase. Getting venture capital for amounts this small is impossible: it's only angel investors who are interested.

This month, we are also finished two investment plans in Ukraine, one for EUR 155 million; the other for EUR 101 million, on behalf of industrial clients. What a difference! The banks are lining up for those ones...