I posted a few weeks ago about Bizcamp in Dublin; well, there’s another Bizcamp coming up this Saturday in Limerick. There are 170 people registered so far, and registration is still open.  There are 32 people signed up to give taks, and speaker registration is now closed (but because it’s an informal event, talking to people outside of sessions is just as worthwhile).

I found the Bizcamp in Dublin really useful – there were some great talks, and I met with some very interesting people. What I found most different to the BarCamp events I’ve attended in the past was the mix of people; it wasn’t confined to only a “techy” audience, there were people there from lots of industries which gave it a bit more balance. In particular, I found the contributions by Enterprise Ireland really useful (both the panel discussion by people who have recently secured funding, and EI presentation that followed). For me, these talks brought some transparency to the process EI works with. I also thought that hearing first-hand from people who have been through the process of securing both private & EI funding was also a great help, and that alone was worth attending the event.

So, if you are thinking about starting a business, have recently started out, or are interested in sharing your experiences in business, I’d highly recommend registering for Bizcamp in Limerick…..even though it clashes with the last day of the Six Nations rugby

The latest addition to the *camp family in Ireland is Bizcamp. Bizcamp is a free conference that takes place in the Digital Hub on Thomas St., Dublin on March 7th. The idea behind Bizcamp is giving:

…a chance for us all to lift ourselves out of the gloom of the endless bad news stories. It’s based on the fact that each of us as entrepreneurs have loads to learn from our peers. And we have a lot to share with them as well. There are a lot of great things happening in the Irish Economy – especially in small and medium businesses and this day will be a celebration of those. And a great place to come for people who have lost their jobs and are actively looking at starting up.

I’ve been to Barcamps in both Galway and Cork (and both have been great), but the focus is more on the technology side of things; this is where Bizcamp differs. It’s focus is on learning from the business experience of those who have been through starting up before, and finding out more about those who are starting out now.  Its audience comes from both the technology & non-tech sectors.

So far there are over 150 people registered to attend, and a large number have already volunteered to give talks. They’ve also just confirmed the first panel at the event: “Successful Fundraising - a panel of non-tech and tech entrepreneurs share their experience of having closed funding rounds in the last 6 to 9 months”.

So, if you’re not sure if you should be going, the organisers say that the the conference is:

…an opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to come together, share experiences, and possibly create new value out of the day. It’ll be a chance to meet up with people who’ve been there, done that and bought the t-shirt – members of the business community, VCs and investors, and representatives from the relevant state agencies. Lost your job recently? Well, FTR! – come along to BizCamp, who knows what new opportunities might present themselves?

Convinced? You can sign up to attend (and talk) at the Bizcamp registration page.