Encouraging entrepreneurs

Dear Sir,

Re: your report on ‘UK technology VC investments’, particularly with references ‘Technology sector still in the doldrums’ and ‘Start-up and early stage VC funding is flat’.

It's worse than I thought! I just read this on your site - technology is already dead, they want more supermarkets, hotels and leisure, and nearly half overseas

Re: your report, ‘Let's encourage entrepreneurs’.

I feel the writer of the article has had few dealings with the VCs and angel investors, ‘angel’ being so inappropriate. I can only speak from over 30 years experience as an inventor and entrepreneur, with more than 40 years as an electrical engineer and manager.

I have found most investors narrow minded and ill-informed, unable to understand basic technological principles and so unable to see the potential of a new idea or invention.

The writer knows as I do that there is no funding for the James Dysons or Trevor Baylis’, or any lone inventors in this country; no one in the BVCA handbook will fund a good idea – at least they wouldn't ten years ago because I went down that route.

This problem will solve itself as the shortage of engineers and scientists continues and young students are attracted to higher paid media, sport, arts, social and non-technical jobs. They want to be managers without any understanding of what they are managing, talking, bluffing and blagging are the skills most sought. The engineering and technical skills that allowed Britain to lead the world are disappearing fast and with it the wonderful British inventive spirit; thousands of ideas looking for development are starved of funds.

Tony Smee