Michael Jacobsen Author & Editor

Michael Jacobsen is an Australian-born serial entrepreneur, now based in Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Business degree from UTS in Sydney and a financial diploma from the Australian Securities Institute. He is active in UK and European business and is also an angel investor and business mentor to start ups, growth businesses and businesses in the creative sector, predominantly in the UK and Europe. He sits on the board of the world-renowned Australian Centre for Event Management, a division of the business faculty at the University of Technology Sydney. Michael co-founded/owned and was founding co-producer of 'Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story on Stage', which held its world premiere in Australia in 2004 and has since played in Holland, Canada, the USA, Germany and London's West End. It set box office records in Germany, Canada and London and is one of the most successful live entertainment products ever staged in terms of ticket sales and revenue. Michael also co-founded and developed the 13,000-seat Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand, and sat on the board as an executive director. For a number of years he was also on the board of the 2000-seat Capitol Theatre in Sydney and was CEO and board member of the 12,000-seat Sydney Entertainment Centre for six years. He has also been involved in the promotion of concert tours by numerous leading artists including Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Barbra Streisand. Alongside his own entrepreneurial activities, Michael is active as a business mentor in the UK and Europe. He has taken numerous companies to market and worked with others on how to become investable - assisting them in gaining finance, venture capital and private equity. Michael is passionate about education and in addition to his work as a business mentor, he lectures at universities in London, is a mentor at the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, sits on the steering committee for NACUE Create (National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs), has acted as a resident entrepreneur for the StartUp Britain campaign and is a mentor for the Doug Richard School for Creative Startups.