IT LOOKS like a scene from the BBC reality show Dragons' Den except no-one is hamming it up for the TV cameras and the clock ticks even faster. This is an anonymous business centre off Tottenham Court Road with a roomful of entrepreneurs, eager to pitch to investors. The reason they have gathered is speed pitching, a furiously-paced funding idea a little like speed-dating for businesses. It is a model that may turn business finance on its head.
These so-called "angel networks" are proving to be a lifeline for many new businesses, particularly as banks have been refusing to lend cash because of the turmoil in global money markets.
In this Dragons' Den-type …