Julie Meyer
Encyclopedia
Julie Meyer is an American-born entrepreneur, investor, business adviser, networking expert, broadcaster and business commentator. She is the founder and Chief Executive of Ariadne Capital and the Managing Partner of Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs Fund (ACE).
She is the founder of Entrepreneur Country and was the co-founder of First Tuesday sold in July 2000 to Yazam, a subsidiary of Jerusalem Global, for $50 million.
Meyer is also one of the two dragons on the BBC’s Dragons' Den online and is a regular columnist for the business paper City A.M.
and
regularly contributes to The Daily Telegraph
’s business pages.
She has won awards including the World Economic Forum
Global Leader of Tomorrow, the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year (October 2000) and a place in the Wall Street Journal’s 30 most influential women in Europe. She was also cited as one of INSEAD
’s ‘50 alumni who have changed the world’ (2010).
, California
, when she was one month old. Her father, also an entrepreneur, is a pulmonary doctor who founded Pulmonary Medicine Associates in Carmichael, CA in the early 1970s; her mother was an assistant to a lawyer.
She received a B.A.
in English Literature and Humanities from Valparaiso University
and her M.B.A. from INSEAD in France
.
Meyer is a Lutheran.
from 1988 to 1993 where she taught English. She later worked as a consultant for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
, 3Com
and Hewlett Packard.
From 1993 to 1996, she worked for Andy Cunningham at Cunningham Communications in Boston
where she consulted for Motorola
on the PowerPC Alliance.
In 1997, she took her M.B.A. at INSEAD and in 1998 she went to London and co-founded the networking forum First Tuesday.
, WGSN
and Arc Cores to build their teams, raise capital and establish themselves internationally.
In October 1998, together with journalists Nick Denton
and John Browning and investment banker Adam Gold, Meyer started organising networking events for new media entrepreneurs and business people on the first Tuesday of every month. It then became known as First Tuesday. Under Meyer's direction, First Tuesday expanded into 17 cities across Europe. The Wall Street Journal (Europe edition) covered the international launch to 17 cities on the 7th of September 1999.
(later sold to Ebay
). Most recently Ariadne Capital acted as sole financial advisor to BeatThatQuote.com
on its sale to Google
.
(founded by Meyer in 2008) is a network of investors, entrepreneurs, corporate organisations and media partners. The group network congregates bi-annually and also gathers online for information exchange, inspiration and to make connections.
where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of potential investors known as ‘dragons’. Joining Meyer on the panel is Shaf Rasul, founder of Edinburgh
optical storage distributor E-Net Computers and an investor in property and internet companies.
The production shows online video pitches from entrepreneurs and the subsequent interaction between entrepreneurs and panel judges/investors, £50,000 being the maximum amount of money that the judges can individually invest in any one business. The videos are published weekly and audiences can participate by, for example, rating business plans.
The show is hosted by BBC Radio 1
breakfast newsreader Dominic Byrne
.
(on shows including Newsnight
, BBC Breakfast
and BBC news online) and CNBC
. Also, in addition to her column for City A.M., she has contributed to publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Computing, FT Digital Business and Spectator Business.
Julie Meyer has pioneered the understanding and analysis of the industrial framework - 'Ecosystem Economics'TM - previously published in the Sunday Telegraph and the Guardian.
This model, which she was the first to apply to the post web 2.0 world, refers to the network-orientation of all business in the next phase of industrial development. The winners, according to Meyer and Ariadne Capital, will be those companies who organise the business model in their ecosystem for all parties in the transaction. Ariadne seeks to accelerate the momentum of fast-growing technology-based businesses. Meyer and Ariadne use "Ecosystem Economics"TM to refer to how to launch and grow new businesses where the alignment of multiple entities in the marketplace are required to ensure success."Ecosystem Economics" is a trademark of Ariadne Capital.
Julie provided comment for the Financial Times
on the Davies Report (an inquiry into female representation in the boardroom) and also on 'Why entrepreneurship is so important'. She was used by Financial Times
as a commentator on the UK Budget
2011, looking at its effect on small and medium businesses.
She is the founder of Entrepreneur Country and was the co-founder of First Tuesday sold in July 2000 to Yazam, a subsidiary of Jerusalem Global, for $50 million.
Meyer is also one of the two dragons on the BBC’s Dragons' Den online and is a regular columnist for the business paper City A.M.
City A.M.
City A.M. is a free, business-focused newspaper distributed in and around London in the United Kingdom. It was launched by a group of entrepreneurs in September 2005 and remains independent of any other media company. Its certified distribution hit a new record of 113,348 copies a day in November...
and
regularly contributes to The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
’s business pages.
She has won awards including the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
Global Leader of Tomorrow, the Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
Entrepreneur of the Year (October 2000) and a place in the Wall Street Journal’s 30 most influential women in Europe. She was also cited as one of INSEAD
INSEAD
INSEAD is an international graduate business school and research institution. It has campuses in Europe , Asia , and the Middle East , as well as a research center in Israel...
’s ‘50 alumni who have changed the world’ (2010).
Early life and education
Meyer was born in Dearborn, Michigan, but moved to SacramentoSacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, when she was one month old. Her father, also an entrepreneur, is a pulmonary doctor who founded Pulmonary Medicine Associates in Carmichael, CA in the early 1970s; her mother was an assistant to a lawyer.
She received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English Literature and Humanities from Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...
and her M.B.A. from INSEAD in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Meyer is a Lutheran.
Early career
Meyer spent her early 20’s in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 1988 to 1993 where she taught English. She later worked as a consultant for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
, 3Com
3Com
3Com was a pioneering digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network infrastructure products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney, Bruce Borden, and Greg Shaw...
and Hewlett Packard.
From 1993 to 1996, she worked for Andy Cunningham at Cunningham Communications in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
where she consulted for Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
on the PowerPC Alliance.
In 1997, she took her M.B.A. at INSEAD and in 1998 she went to London and co-founded the networking forum First Tuesday.
First Tuesday
In 1998, Meyer started working in London for NewMedia Investors (now Spark Ventures) where she helped advise companies including Lastminute.comLastminute.com
lastminute.com is an online travel and leisure retailer. The company was founded by Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman in 1998 and became an icon of the UK internet boom of the late 1990s, floating at the peak of the dot com bubble and trading on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol...
, WGSN
WGSN
WGSN is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel music format. Licensed to Newport, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Bible Believers Network Inc. The General Manager for WGSN is Andy Lowe....
and Arc Cores to build their teams, raise capital and establish themselves internationally.
In October 1998, together with journalists Nick Denton
Nick Denton
Nick Denton, born August 24, 1966, is a British journalist and internet entrepreneur, the founder and proprietor of the blog collective Gawker Media, and the managing editor of the New York-based Gawker.com...
and John Browning and investment banker Adam Gold, Meyer started organising networking events for new media entrepreneurs and business people on the first Tuesday of every month. It then became known as First Tuesday. Under Meyer's direction, First Tuesday expanded into 17 cities across Europe. The Wall Street Journal (Europe edition) covered the international launch to 17 cities on the 7th of September 1999.
Ariadne Capital
After Meyer left First Tuesday, she set up Ariadne Capital in August 2000, an investment and advisory firm based on an ‘Entrepreneurs backing Entrepreneurs’ model, providing investment and advisory services to entrepreneurs in the media (broadcasting, publishing, music, gaming, advertising) and the internet (including mobile internet) sectors. Clients that Ariadne backed in the early years include Espotting (now MIVA), Kashya (later sold to EMC) and SkypeSkype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
(later sold to Ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
). Most recently Ariadne Capital acted as sole financial advisor to BeatThatQuote.com
BeatThatQuote.com
BeatThatQuote.com is a British price comparison site specialising in personal finance products.-History:BeatThatQuote.com was launched by John Paleomylites in February 2005 based in London's Kentish Town., by 2006 it was awarded the 'young company of the year' by the CBI/Real Business Growing...
on its sale to Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.
Entrepreneur Country
Entrepreneur Country(founded by Meyer in 2008) is a network of investors, entrepreneurs, corporate organisations and media partners. The group network congregates bi-annually and also gathers online for information exchange, inspiration and to make connections.
Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs Fund (ACE)
In September 2009, Meyer announced the first Ariadne Capital Entrepreneurs Fund (ACE). She is the managing partner of the fund which will invest in internet and mobile internet companies at the seed stage.Dragons' Den (online)
In March 2009 Julie Meyer became a dragon on the online version of BBC’s Dragons' DenDragons' Den
Dragons' Den is a series of reality television programmes featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. The show originated in Japan as "Manē no Tora"...
where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of potential investors known as ‘dragons’. Joining Meyer on the panel is Shaf Rasul, founder of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
optical storage distributor E-Net Computers and an investor in property and internet companies.
The production shows online video pitches from entrepreneurs and the subsequent interaction between entrepreneurs and panel judges/investors, £50,000 being the maximum amount of money that the judges can individually invest in any one business. The videos are published weekly and audiences can participate by, for example, rating business plans.
The show is hosted by BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
breakfast newsreader Dominic Byrne
Dominic Byrne
Dominic Anthony Byrne is a newsreader for BBC Radio 1 and a presenter on the BBC News Channel.-Biography:Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Byrne attended St Ivo School before attending Bournemouth University for two weeks. However, he dropped out to work at a local radio station...
.
Other media work
Meyer appeared as a business commentator on the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
(on shows including Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
and BBC news online) and CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
. Also, in addition to her column for City A.M., she has contributed to publications such as Bloomberg Businessweek, Computing, FT Digital Business and Spectator Business.
Julie Meyer has pioneered the understanding and analysis of the industrial framework - 'Ecosystem Economics'TM - previously published in the Sunday Telegraph and the Guardian.
This model, which she was the first to apply to the post web 2.0 world, refers to the network-orientation of all business in the next phase of industrial development. The winners, according to Meyer and Ariadne Capital, will be those companies who organise the business model in their ecosystem for all parties in the transaction. Ariadne seeks to accelerate the momentum of fast-growing technology-based businesses. Meyer and Ariadne use "Ecosystem Economics"TM to refer to how to launch and grow new businesses where the alignment of multiple entities in the marketplace are required to ensure success."Ecosystem Economics" is a trademark of Ariadne Capital.
Julie provided comment for the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
on the Davies Report (an inquiry into female representation in the boardroom) and also on 'Why entrepreneurship is so important'. She was used by Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
as a commentator on the UK Budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
2011, looking at its effect on small and medium businesses.
Awards and honours
- INSEAD - 50 Alumni who changed the world
- E&Y – Entrepreneur of the Year (October 2000)
- Wall Street Journal - 30 Most Influential Women in Europe
- World Economic ForumWorld Economic ForumThe World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
– Global Leader of Tomorrow - Keynote Speaker at the Women Mean Business Conference and Awards on September 27, 2010
- Was a judge for The Economist Conferences' Innovation Awards 2010
- Julie Meyer was selected to be a member of Vince Cable’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum as part of Global Entrepreneurs’ Week 2010
- Cited as one of the '1000 Most Influential People in London' by the London Evening Standard 2010
- Keynote speaker at The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
Conferences' Big Rethink 2011 - Announced as Board member at Vestergaard Frandsen in 2011
- Announced as non-Executive Director of Jellybook, a company for retail investors in social media, in May 2011
- Announced as judge for National Business Awards 2011 in May of same year
External links
- Ariadne Capital Official website http://www.ariadnecapital.com/
- Cunningham Communications http://www.connectingpointcomm.com/CCI/
- BBC website - Dragons Den: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/
- City AM website: http://www.cityam.com/ http://www.cityam.com/news-and-analysis/julie-meyer
- Ariadne Capital Founding Investors - http://www.ariadnecapital.com/documents/Ariadne_Founding_Investors.pdf
- BBC News - The dragon’s golden rule - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8052336.stm
- Intellectual Property Office - http://www.ipo.gov.uk/search.htm?words=julie+meyer