EBN\'s Quality eMag Issue n. 8

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The European BIC Network
Quality eMag
Q-light: “Spending Quality Time on Quality Issues”
In this issue: IQ — Rob Moss, Managing Director of University of East London, Knowledge Dock, meets José Martins, Managing
Director of NET-BIC do Porto. Some info on NET Porto, and take a look at the video that has been produced during the visit.
Q-tube, EBN opens its own YouTube Channel, discovering innovation through videos. Of course we have opened a call for BIC-
related videos. QI — How does the BIC community support SMEs Internationalisation?
As usual we hope you will enjoy the reading and we do welcome all of your inputs.
Giordano, Gonçalo and Chiara
IQ| Innovation & Quality — BIC²
N.E.T.—Novas Empresas e Tecnologias, S.A. -
BIC do Porto - a Best-in-Class BIC
Last September UK met Portugal... it was not a football match! It
was a BIC-BIC Mission..
Rob Moss, Managing Director of University of East London,
Knowledge Dock (UK), has been welcomed at NET-Novas Empre-
sas e Tecnologias, S.A.- BIC do Porto by Mr. José Martins, the
Managing Director.
NET - BIC do Porto has a long story, started in October 1987 when it was founded by a group of entrepreneurs
and regional authorities, and has the mission to help the creation of innovative business and technological enter-
prises, with high growth potential, promoting the launch of small enterprises and supporting the modernization
of existing SMEs, in the Northern Region of Portugal. NET — BIC do Porto was the forerunner of Portuguese
BICs.
As an entity totally created to the implementation of innovative businesses, having a large experience and know-
how, specially developed to the evaluation of the innovation field, NET – BIC Porto offers a transversal range of
services to entrepreneurs, who are inclined to build new businesses or to modernize their companies.
Specifically NET designed a program providing entrepreneurs with initial capital through the Council of Risk
Program, based on the principle that the remuneration of NET, depends on the success of the new company.
Click here to watch the Video!
BIC² MISSION at N.E.T.—Novas Empresas e Tecnologias, S.A. -
BIC do Porto - a Best-in-Class BIC
By Rob Moss, University of East London, Knowledge Dock (UK)

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IQ| Innovation & Quality — BIC²
NET is a forerunner also for its link with BIC Galicia, their relationship is characterized by a
cross participation of the two BICs in their respective portfolios of shareholders. The Portuguese
-Spanish liaison is actually reflected also in one of the two main projects NET is running :
• PROYECTO ER-INNOVA – “Programa Cooperación Transfronteiriza – España – Portugal”
• BIOTECMAR – “BIOTEChnogical exploitation of MARine products and by-products” - Atlan-
tic Area Programme”
BIC do Porto offers a Toolkit to support entrepreneurs:
The Dictionary of Innovation with 450 terms of innovation and their meanings;
The “Business Datasheets”, where the potential entrepreneur finds extended information about setting up a
company, registration of trademarks and patents, taxes, etc;
The Ideas Consulting Room (Clinic of Ideas), where anyone can clarify doubts about ideas of business, for
new creation companies in order to improve the entrepreneurship and the creation of academic Spin-Offs;
Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurs Club – Web point meeting for all the companies supported by NET, to
promote the cooperation and experiences and best practices exchange.
A message from the Quality Manager
Some changes are occurring in the staff of the quality team. After over two
and half years of work in EBN as a Quality Officer, Gonçalo Reis is leaving for
new adventures. I want to thank him for his most valuable inputs and support
he has provided. So... “good luck for the future, Gonçalo. You are a bright
young man who did very good in EBN and I’m sure will make us feel very
proud of having been your colleagues”.
Gonçalo is being replaced by Ms. Chiara Davalli, who has already been working in the quality team since April 2010.
She and myself, are of course always here to help you on quality, technical assistance and full membership develop-
ment issues. “Bonne chance” to her as well!!! Giordano.
Porto Technology Park, 1025 m²
Chiara DavalliGonçalo Reis

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Q-tube| The European BIC Network Channel
From start-up to start-ups
It was the 23rd of April 2005, when the first video of 19 seconds was uploaded on YouTube. Five years later,
namely today, around 24 hours of videos are uploaded every minute on YouTube exceeding 2 billions views a
day . Year by year services and customers increased exponentially.
YouTube began as a venture-funded technology start-up, primarily from a US$ 11.5 million investment by
Sequoia Capital, and in November 2006 Google paid US$1.65 billion to acquire it. Following the slogan of the
three founders, millions of people broadcast themselves to show their lives, their activities, their passions...
Statistics show that as average a person spends 15 minutes a day on YouTube, hundreds of millions of videos
are watched every month on mobile devices, over 3 million people are connected and auto-sharing to at least
one social network (Source: Website Monitoring Blog)... So,
Why don’t we turn these numbers in favour of our entrepreneurs?
The Quality initiative expands its boundaries to the “Tube”! We created a Channel on YouTube entirely dedi-
cated to innovative entrepreneurship, BICs, Incubators and smart entrepreneurs. Here you can find a collection
of videos (inedited or not) telling about innovation all over the world.
Of course, we are just at the beginning of our broadcasting... We created the box and we gave some inputs
(BICBIC Missions’ videos, the Burgos Congress video, interviews about innovative clusters, etc.), but we invite
you to send and/or suggest videos that you would like to see on our channel, that you would spread to the uni-
verse, that you would see in those 15 minutes calculated as the daily average spent on YouTube.
YouTube started as many of our enterprises do... reading the tendencies, understanding the needs and develop-
ing a smart idea... From start-up to start-ups, to our start-ups! Give them visibility, allow them to show what
they do and see what BICs do and can do for them!
What are you waiting for? BROADCAST YOURSELVES & CHANGE THE CHANNEL!

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Editors: Giordano Dichter, Gonçalo Reis & Chiara Davalli
Responsible for the publication: Philippe Vanrie, EBN CEO www.ebn.eu
QI| Quality Info
A recent study of the European Commission
(Internationalization of European SMEs, 2010) clearly
shows a direct link between internationalization and in-
creased SMEs performances, reinforcing growth, enhancing
competitiveness and supporting their long term sustainabil-
ity. Although European SMEs still largely depend on their
domestic markets, 25% of EU27 SMEs export or have ex-
ported at some point during the last 3 years, mostly geared
towards other countries inside the internal market while only
about 13% of EU SMEs are active in markets outside the EU.
Few figures would give the framework in which European
SMEs internationalize:
• Internationally active SMEs report an employment
growth of 7% versus only 1% for SMEs without any interna-
tional activities.
• 26% of internationally active SMEs introduced products
or services that were new for their sector in their country; for other SMEs this is only 8%.
• Only 16% of SMEs are aware of public support programs for internationalization and only a small number of SMEs use pub-
lic support.
• Overall, European firms are more active than their counterparts in Japan or the US. Even if only extra EU exports are con-
sidered they still perform better.
• SMEs that both import and export started with import
twice as often (39%) than with exports (18%).
What does the BIC community do to support SMEs
internationalization?
• 119 BICs promote internationalization and offer services
to help entrepreneurs and existing SMEs to internationalize;
• 80% of BICs organize events to promote
internationalization;
• 69% of the Network assess entrepreneurs and SMEs
plans prior to internationalize;
• Around 50% of BICs signpost activities for
internationalization to EEN , while almost 80% of them
signpost to the Chambers of Commerce and the 65% to the
Governamental (export) agency.
Questions? Problems? Doubts? Suggestions? Comments?
Contact EBN’s Help Desk
Open on working days 9—17:30
Tel: +32-2-7611094 Skype: ebn.helpdesk