Investor Connect - 466 - Alpesh Patel, Global Entrepreneur Program, Department for International Trade (UK)

In this episode, Hall welcomes Alpesh Patel, part of the Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP) at the Department for International Trade in the UK. The UK Government's Department for International Trade has under it the Global Entrepreneur Programme (GEP). In it, Dealmakers are business people who make deals with overseas outstanding tech scale-up companies to land their global HQ in the UK. They help companies with VCs, angels, potential customers, etc. Alpesh Patel OBE has represented the United Kingdom since 1999 when the then Prime Minister appointed Alpesh to advise on closer UK/India ties. Thereafter the Department for International Trade made Alpesh their Dealmaker since 2004 to bring outstanding tech companies to the UK, which solve the world's biggest problems and create jobs here. (www.theeinsteinchallenge.com). Alpesh believes that trade underpins liberty. An Oxford University Fellow in Business & Industry back in 2001, Alpesh won a competition in Financial Times against fund managers, journalists, analysts, using the investment software he created to forecast UK company performance. The ambition is to publicly list that fintech/edtech company as a disruptor to the global multi-trillion dollar fund management industry, so regular people can benefit from making better stock investments themselves. Alpesh is a Financial Times author who being a Barrister to pursue investing and educating people on financial literacy for social mobility. As a firm believer in the power of mentoring, Alpesh co-founded the UK chapter of the world's largest entrepreneur mentoring organisation (Tie.org). As a founder of a hedge fund/private equity firm (the hardest easy money to make) – his focus is on cleantech, sustainability, and social impact, not self-enrichment. Committed to public service, Alpesh uses his Barrister's training and TV presenter skills to raise funds for widows, orphans, under-fed school-children, victims of slavery. Alpesh has served as a Governor of Luton University and Council Member of Chatham House including on their Investment Committee. Before all that, Alpesh worked in US Congress for Eliot Engel on anti-terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Degrees in Law and Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Oxon). 18 FT, Macmillan published books on global markets and online trading. Alpesh's BBC paper review for 10+ years to 300m shows his direct to the point, no nonsense analysis on issues such as technology for social change, and his principal cause, the unfair treatment by fund managers of pensioners and financial literacy: www.alpeshpatel.com/tv TV presenter with a dedicated show on Bloomberg formerly, then Sky gave Alpesh his own tech/politics show and CNBC asked him to co-host; and 5 years columnist for Financial Times. Born & raised in Leeds (no silver spoon). Co-Chair Loomba Trust which supports widows and orphans. Alpesh gives advice to both investors and entrepreneurs. He shares with Hall some of the startups that fit his investment thesis and what excites him. For more information on the Global Entrepreneur Program (GEP), please visit https://www.great.gov.uk/international/content/invest/how-to-setup-in-the-uk/global-entrepreneur-program/. Alpesh can be contacted by visiting www.tech2great.com, via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/alpeshbpatel/, and via email at [email protected].