A Silicon Valley legend actively looking to back tech start-ups in Wales has shared his practical advice with companies on the look-out for cash at Digital Festival.
Keith Teare built and sold EasyNet, one of the first internet service providers in Europe, before moving to California and founding the $1.5bn RealNames Corporation, whose technology was embedded into the Microsoft browser.
He is now executive chair of Accelerated Digital Venture, a £200m fund.
“We get thousands of applications every year for funding but the single biggest thing missing thing in every application is vision,” he said.
“What does this look like when it works? What are you aiming for? The second thing is execution. So if you can combine thinking big-vision with acting small-execution that persuades an investor that you can do this.
“And three – don’t get ahead of yourself; don’t think you’ve succeeded before you have.”
Now in its sixth year, Digital Festival is organised by Innovation Point in partnership with Welsh Government and headline sponsored by GoCompare.
The event welcomed 2,500 delegates who heard tech leaders from across the globe tackle tomorrow’s big issues.
They also discussed trends like 5G, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, Internet of Things, GDPR, blockchain and big data, looking at how they affect day-to-day lives as we live, work and play.
David Warrender, CEO of Innovation Point, said: “Now in its sixth year, the Digital Festival has grown delegate numbers to well over 2,000 people with visitors from as far afield as the USA, Japan, China and Ghana.”
He added: “The tech market is competitive and global but Digital Festival continues to open up great opportunity for this region. That’s a good story for us all.”