Greater Manchester to join Silicon Valley Comes To The UK summit

A panel of US experts will join ambitious scale-up businesses and lend their expertise at the Greater Manchester leg of the upcoming Silicon Valley Comes To The UK (SVC2UK) summit.

Taking place from 15 to 18 November, SVC2UK is an annual event designed to support UK-based scale-ups while also championing an inclusive and diverse ecosystem and inspiring the next generation of innovators.

The GC Business Growth Hub’s Global Scale-Up programme will host its own virtual session as part of the event on Monday, 15 November. The event represents the first time that Greater Manchester has been involved directly in the conference.

Titled ‘How to Build Your US Reputation’, the interactive discussion will bring together businesses with exciting US plans over the next 12 months and talk through some of the most pressing challenges they face.

Global Scale-Up programme manager, Anna Carson-Parker, says: “This event represents the first time Greater Manchester will have taken part in SVC2UK activity and it represents another exciting collaboration with London & Partners.

“We know that the US will always be one of the top markets for businesses looking to scale globally, but it can be daunting to expand your footprint in such a vast territory. There is a lot to consider, including the order in which actions should be taken and who to be working with on the ground.

“We’re inviting US focussed scale-ups to come and hear from stateside experts as part of an interactive conversation. Not only will experts provide solutions to key barriers and challenges we know businesses are facing when entering the US, but it is also a chance for the scale-ups to expand their US network which as we know is critical to a successful expansion.”

A team of stateside experts and key partners from the Global Scale-Up initiative will share their knowledge and experience and tackle topics such as finding the right market fit, building a team in the US and selling to the American market.

Taking part in the discussion will be Allan Rooney, partner at transatlantic law firm, Rooney Nimmo; Adam Mitcheson, chief executive of mentoring firm, MY2BE; Ashley Meninelli, diversity and inclusion co-chair at the New York office of the Department for International Trade; Avani Patel, founding partner of consultants, The Bonfire Group; and Lyon Maher, senior manager of US cross border and international tax at KPMG US.

Attendees will be able to meet these key partners and ask questions to help drive their growth in the US and to build confidence to scale effectively.

Silicon Valley comes to the UK (SVC2UK) was founded in 2006 by Reid Hoffman, Sherry Coutu CBE and Ellen Levy. The mission since it was launched was to help fuel the global ecosystem for tech entrepreneurship.

The Growth Hub is part of The Growth Company and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit www.businessgrowthhub.com for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester. The Hub is also supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Greater Manchester local authorities.