Elite Business Magazine May 2014

MAY 2014

SKY’S THE LIMIT

Piers Linney bet big on cloud computing when the industry was in its infancy.

Now at the helm of a public company and having settled into his role on Dragons’ Den, the future looks bright for the Lancashire-born entrepreneur

MAY 2014

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01/05/2014 23:48

CONTENTS

22 16

The Elite interview

Cloud-computing pioneer and Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney is a roaring success

07

Contents.indd 1

02/05/2014 00:33

CONTENTS

VOLUME 03 ISSUE 05 / 2014

11 12 14 19 20 98

29

Editor’s letter Contributors News & events Talking point Book reviews Start-up diaries

08

16 16 In the flesh

The best bits of the first Elite Business National Conference & Exhibition

30 One to watch

James Brett has tackled personal and political strife with Plant For Peace

34 Game of love

Tech-savvy start-ups are shaking up the online dating industry

58 Risky business

Entering a tarnished industry is fraught with danger, but there can be big rewards

65 Double act

There’s excitement in employing for the first time – but the challenge is deciding where and who

40 Help from above?

77 Phone frenzy

It’s mobile madness as we give the lowdown on the latest smartphones

Being on the same wavelength is essential for tech project success

48 Eyes wide open

Contents.indd 2

There could be a lot more to your employees than first meets the eye

86 Common ground

A business owner needs a salary too.

But how much is too much?

A chief marketing officer is often a useful recruit in the early stages

74 Untapped talent

The Nominet Trust is driving social change with the help of some familiar faces

46 Earning your keep

52 To hire or not to hire?

Old meets young in the workforce of the future

81 Trusty tech

Is the government really doing all it can for entrepreneurs and start-ups?

Getting to know your market is essential for ambitious start-ups

68 A rich blend

40

91 Gross misjudgement?

It isn’t as simple as instant dismissal in cases of gross misconduct

01/05/2014 21:41

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02/05/2014 29/04/2014 00:01 10:32

EDITOR’S letter VOLUME 03 ISSUE 05 / 2014

Scan this QR Code to register for Elite Business Magazine SALES Harrison Bloor – Senior Account Manager harrison.bloor@cemedia.co.uk Darren Smith – Account Manager darren.smith@cemedia.co.uk Samuel George – Account Manager samuel.george@cemedia.co.uk Charlie Anderson – Junior Account Manager charlie.anderson@cemedia.co.uk

Piers Linney is dreaming big

EDITORIAL Hannah Prevett – Editor hannah.prevett@cemedia.co.uk Adam Pescod – Web Editor adam.pescod@cemedia.co.uk Josh Russell – Feature Writer josh.russell@cemedia.co.uk Dara Jegede – Feature Writer dara.jeg@cemedia.co.uk Jon Card – Feature Writer jon.card@cemedia.co.uk Joe Jeffrey – Intern joe.jeffrey@cemedia.co.uk DESIGN/PRODUCTION Leona Connor – Head Designer leona.connor@cemedia.co.uk Dan Lecount – Web Development Manager dan@cemedia.co.uk CIRCULATION Malcolm Coleman – Circulation Manager malcolm.coleman@cemedia.co.uk ACCOUNTS Sally Stoker – Finance Manager sally.stoker@cemedia.co.uk Colin Munday - Management Accountant colin.munday@cemedia.co.uk ADMINISTRATION Charlotte James – Administrator charlotte.james@cemedia.co.uk Charlotte Wright – Trainee Administrator charlotte.wright@cemedia.co.uk DIRECTOR Scott English – Managing Director scott.english@cemedia.co.uk Circulation/subscription UK £40, EUROPE £60, REST OF WORLD £95 Circulation enquiries: CE Media Limited Elite Business Magazine is published 12 times a year by CE Media Solutions Limited, Fortis House, 160 London Road, Barking, IG11 8BB Call: 0208 214 1068 Copyright 2013. All rights reserved No part of Elite Business may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the editor.

Elite Business magazine will make every effort to return picture material, but this is at the owner’s risk.

Due to the nature of the printing process, images can be subject to a variation of up to 15 per cent, therefore CE Media Limited cannot be held responsible for such variation.

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What an exciting month it’s been here at Elite Business. You’d have had to have been living under a rock for the past nine months to not have heard that we were holding on the inaugural Elite Business National Conference & Exhibition on April 10 and 11.

I’m sure those of you that were there will agree with me that it was a big success. The speakers dazzled and delighted, attendees networked their socks off and there were practical lessons aplenty to be had in the numerous workshops.

The conference also raised many important questions. Speakers such as Jacqueline Gold and Karren Brady ensured women in business, and specifically in the boardroom, remained at the top of the agenda. And Lord Digby Jones ruffled some feathers with his assertion that UK enterprise was being failed by the education system. This is why we decided to canvass a few more thoughts on the subject for this month’s Talking Point.

Behind the scenes, I had some interesting conversations with some of our illustrious speakers too. We spoke at length about the spotlight on tech city and Silicon Roundabout and whether the businesses are worthy of the attention they garner. The overwhelming consensus seemed to be ‘yes’, but let’s get on with building some really big businesses to show that we’re not just spewing hot air.

That’s exactly what Piers Linney, this month’s cover star, is driving at with Outsourcery, the business he started with Simon Newton. Linney hinted at his grand designs for the company when he floated Outsourcery on AIM last year, raising £13m. He’s not interested in building a business that’s worth tens of millions only to be snapped up by a Stateside competitor. He wants to build the next UK-based £500m tech business.

It won’t be easy. After all, the cloud computing space is a lot more crowded now than when Linney started the company. But with his acumen, he may just get there – and what a feather in the cap that’d be for British enterprise.

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HANNAH PREVETT EDITOR

cemedia.co.uk

Editor's Letter.indd 1

01/05/2014 21:42

CONTRIBUTORS Donna Kelly It’s been a busy old time for Dressipi’s Kelly; the fashion advice and recommendation service has just announced an exciting new partnership with Littlewoods as well as a soon-to-be-launched in-store and mobile app for its customers. After all this, Kelly spent her Easter taking some much-needed downtime treading the fells and valleys of the Lake District. But she doesn’t always wander lonely as a cloud: this month she tells us about why a good network in business is akin to having a tight-knit group of friends offering you their support.

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Adam Pescod Those of you who check the flannel panel every month may have spotted a change.

But for the benefit of the few who don’t always read Elite Business cover-to-cover, its fills us with delight to reveal that Pescod is no longer just a humble feature writer. As web editor, he is now overseeing the content that graces the EB website on a daily basis. It hasn’t stopped him churning out this month’s analysis on online dating though. Writing, like real ale, still has a very fond place in his heart.

Contributors.indd 1

Lyndsey Simpson Running an award-winning HR firm and penning a regular EB column is a tall enough task for Simpson.

And it was made taller still this month as she recovered from shoulder surgery after a tennis-inflicted injury.

Ironically though, her inability to hit the courts means work has ruled her life like never before. She’s also had the chance to mingle with like-minded business owners as part of her membership of FEBE (For Entrepreneurs

By Entrepreneurs), a new networking organisation. Here she is at the most recent event with Mike Harris, founder of Egg & First Direct.

Clive Lewis Making the most of weather that’s been unseasonably mild – for South Wales at least – Lewis spent his Easter hols with his son and son’s partner, before enjoying some quality time in his garden. Lewis is very much adhering the golden rule of writing this month: stick to what you know.

His piece on market research was likely influenced by the fact ICAEW poll their members so often they’ve put in their Preference Centre department to make sure they give them a breather now and then. Now that is customer service.

01/05/2014 21:43

PUT YOUR PASSION ONLINE. The right start to your business ends with .com.

Find out how at www.start-online-with.com Visit us at

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26.03.2014 17:18:24 01/04/2014 20:44

NEWS & EVENTS

Small businesses should be feeling a bit more flush from here on out, as April saw the launch of the government’s much lauded Employment Allowance. Enabling eligible employers to save up to £2,000 a year on their National Insurance contributions, the scheme was announced by Osborne as a part of the Budget 2013 to help SMEs free up some much-needed capital without cutting back on hiring. The full impact of the scheme remains to be seen but we doubt there’s going to be many start-ups turning their nose up at the help.

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WORDS: JOSH RUSSELL / DARA JEGEDE

Labour leader Ed Miliband has laid out plans to crack down on zero hours contracts, promising employees who work regularly with an employer for one year will receive a fixed contract. According the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, nearly half of the UK’s businesses use the controversial contracts, employing some 1.4 million between them but the government has ruled out banning them outright. Even so, one can’t help but wonder if the clock is ticking for the zero hours contract.

It seems the global innovation sector is growing, according to the latest Annual Innovation Economy Outlook Study from Silicon Valley Bank. It reveals that 77% of businesses in the sector are planning to grow their workforce in 2014 but accessing talent is still tough, with more than one in nine struggling to find the right skills. Despite this, the survey also found business optimism is at a five-year high, with 82% of respondents believing business will be better this year than last. So turn that smile upside-down.

embrace newer methods if customers request it. There we have it: ask and you shall receive.

Whilst we’ve always maintained everybody wants to be an entrepreneur, you might think we’re a little bit biased. But now we’ve got some cold hard facts to back it up. A study by Expert Market has revealed that 51% of Londoners want to eventually set up their own business, which has led some to dub the city a hotbed of entrepreneurship. However, this is not to say its residents are completely bullish about enterprise: 62% were concerned about access to funding and 41% were given pause by the state of the economy.

Economic growth isn’t quite as surprising as the end of the dark days that arrived in early 2013 when we clambered our way out of recession. But recent news from the Office for National Statistics that we’re now officially in the longest sustained period of growth since the dawning of the financial crisis is definitely still something to write home about. The fact that GDP is up 0.8% this quarter and our economy has now been growing for five consecutive quarters led chancellor George Osborne, in an oddly Schwarzenegger-style moment, to proclaim “Britain is coming back”.

Cash may be king but it also is costing UK SMEs a king’s ransom, at least according to Sage Pay, which pegs the cost of handling physical money at £17.8bn a year. In a new report, The Payments Landscape 2014, the payment service provider also revealed that even though more than half of businesses agree offering a range of payment options drives loyalty, 80% of those polled will only

News.indd 1

01/05/2014 21:44

NEWS & EVENTS

We know most entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of a hard day’s graft but whilst being at the helm of a start-up might keep you from your bed, a new survey from Direct Line for Business might put things in perspective. Looking at the working habits of the average tradesperson, the research revealed that the average tradesperson spends 4.8 nights away from home and traipses 355 miles a month. Meanwhile, builders are away nine nights and travel 1,125 miles. No wonder they drink so much tea.

According to a recent report by the

Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), businesses are

responding to the changes in the world of work by aligning learning and developing (L&D) initiatives more closely to business strategy.

Businesses are also putting more emphasis on monitoring and evaluating training and effectiveness in the workplace. But they want to get their money’s worth. The annual survey by the CIPD and Cornerstone OnDemand, the talent management software provider, revealed that the number of organisations measuring return on investment from L&D practices has increased from 26% to 48%.

2014 has very much been the year for IPOs. Following hot on the heels of recent floatations like Poundland and Candy Crush Saga developers King, FX company Travelex announced last month its push for a £1bn IPO. Meanwhile, the company behind Patisserie Valerie, the cafe chain part-owned by serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, has also announced its intention to go public. All in all an exciting time for those who keep an eye on the markets.

UPCOMING EVENTS Smith & Williamson – Finance and business briefing for SMEs May 13

Smith & Williamson, Portwall Place, Portwall Lane, Bristol, BS1 6NA

Business Scene – Bournemouth May 13

Revolution, 163-167 Old Christchurch Road , Bournemouth, BH1 1JU

News.indd 2

stress-related absence is a major issue,” said Katharine Moxham, a spokesperson for GRiD. It’s smiles and drinks all-round for Facebook shareholders as the social media behemoth declared profits of $642m – triple what they were in the first three months of last year. The company now boasts 1.28 billion monthly active users, up from 1.23 billion in the previous quarter. Putting that in perspective, that’s nearly half of internet users – nanas and pops included. The recent acquisition of mobile messaging app WhatsApp for $19bn may have played a part in boosting user numbers, with around 1 billion people accessing Facebook on their mobile phones.

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The impact of stress on employees and improving awareness of mental illness has been a priority for many companies in recent years. Nearly half of employers now recognise it as a major cause of staff absence. But research from Group Risk Development (GRiD), the trade body for the group risk industry, has highlighted the need for employers to make earlier interventions when managing stress and mental health cases – especially as there is a potential for these to escalate into much longer absences. “It is encouraging to see that more and more businesses are recognising that

Business Junction – Networking Breakfast May 14

Grange St Paul’s Hotel, 10 Godliman Street, London, EC4V 5AJ

Prelude Group – Speaker boutique: when to let go of… people, products, companies May 21 3 South Place, London, EC2M2AF

Business Scene – Windsor May 28

Regus, Orchard Lea, Drift Road, Winkfield, Windsor, SL4 4RP

Business Junction – Networking Evening May 28 Century Club, 61-63 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6LQ

Twin Design / Shutterstock.com

There is scant opposition to the idea that more gender diversity in key industries will benefit us economically. But a report commissioned by Nominet and carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research has revealed that increasing the number of women working in IT could stand to inject an additional £2.6bn into the UK economy every year. Unfortunately, the report also notes that, based on current trends, the gender gap in the industry is set to widen over the coming years.

All the more incentive to make sure women have a place in tech.

Business Growth Show – North West Business Expo June 4

Salford City Stadium, 1 Stadium Way, Salford, M30 7LJ

Angels Den – SpeedFunding June 4

Edwards Wildman, 69 Old Broad St, London, EC2M 1QS

A full event listing is available on our website: elitebusinessmagazine.co.uk/events

01/05/2014 21:45

Elite

Business

LIVE

After nine months of feverish preparation, the Elite Business National Conference and Exhibition exploded onto Shoreditch’s sun-drenched streets last month. Whether it was #pigeongate, eager beavers practically sat in the aisles to catch a bit of Raja Saggi, UK head of B2B marketing at Google, or Jacqueline Gold reminding us that size most certainly does matter, there are more great memories than we can shake a stick at. Here are just a handful

#cashtag 16

It’s certainly good to get a picture of all things economic from an experienced political hand.

Michael Portillo, former MP and cabinet minister, was characteristically frank about where we’ve failed to learn from our recent economic troubles. “We haven’t used the opportunity of a financial debacle to readjust our economy and start again,” he commented.

However, that’s not to say the former minister was at all po-faced about the country’s financial outlook or the opportunities it represents. He said: “We have low income tax, low interest rates: these are the circumstances under which to do business.”

But, given we’re actually standing at a sweet spot, why are businesses struggling to turn things around? That old bugaboo, lack of funding, certainly plays a part.

“We need a lot more innovative ways of getting money into small businesses,” remarked Lord Digby Jones, the former director general of the CBI and government trade ambassador.

And whilst risk aversion is often blamed for the lack of bank lending, he was quick to note this goes both ways and that many enterprises are looking elsewhere for their cash – with 30% of our audience likely to plump for newer methods like crowdfunding, compared to the 24% who’d approach their bank. He added: “One reason small businesses don’t borrow from banks is because they don’t trust them.”

And whilst this has inevitably contributed to the explosion of alternative funding routes in the last few years, our speakers quickly refuted the idea that these tools aren’t here to stay.

Portillo commented: “Even if trust in the banks is restored, it won’t do away with alternative sources of funding – and that is very healthy.”

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Standing out as a start-up

Given the fact she has played a significant role in turning round attitudes to female sexuality in Britain, there’s perhaps few better placed to discuss how businesses must be prepared to court controversy to get ahead than Jacqueline Gold, CEO of Ann Summers. “Getting into trouble goes with the territory but it gets people talking about our brand,” she told our audience. Being prepared to ruffle a few feathers is essential if you’re going to stand out from the crowd. As Gold rightly said, “you need to innovate, not imitate” Gold also asserted that a vital differentiator for any business wanting to assert its individuality is its attitude to its staff. “A great boss is one who empowers people,” she explained. “Empowering people gives them a great chance to stand out from the crowd.”

All things to all people

Karren Brady, Apprentice star, vice-chairman of West Ham FC and the government’s small business ambassador, was also unequivocal in her assertion that talent is the mortar that holds strong businesses together. “Nobody has ever built a great company without great staff,” she commented. In her eyes, the most important thing is to stimulate employees by providing a culture in which they’ll feel engaged, as well as providing them regular opportunities to prove their mettle. “The saddest organisations are the ones that have no expectations of you.”

She also said that staff who remain in silos are rarely able to do their best and that great businesses are those in which every member gets stuck in and gets their hands dirty with the day-to-day running of things. “Everyone needs to be entrepreneurial,” she proclaimed.

02/05/2014 01:37

“We need a lot more innovative ways of getting money into small businesses” Lord Digby Jones, former director general of the CBI and government

Vital statistics: what delegates told us

If you were lookinglooking to raise money grow yourmoney business, where would be your business, If you were to toraise to grow your first port to call? where would port to call?

If you were looking tobe raiseyour money tofirst grow your business, where would be your first port to call?

Venture Capital Venture Capital

9% 12% 9% 12%

Angel funding Angel funding

Friends and family Friends and family

23% 23%

Peer-to-peer lending/crowd funding Peer-to-peer lending/crowd funding

30% 30% 26% 26%

The bank The bank

Will King @iAmWilliAmKing Congrats 2 all involved in putting on @EliteBusEvent feat. @MichelleMone @Jacqueline_Gold @Digbylj & more. Cheers @trumanbrewery #EBE2014

Nina Tukaj @NinaTukaj Fab presentation by @Jacqueline_Gold at the @EliteBusEvent ! Passion, leadership, tenacity and women empowerment!

17

Marie Milligan @mariemilligan Thanks to the organisers, staff & amazing speakers sharing their time & expertise to help us grow our businesses! @EliteBusEvent #EBE2014

Resincom CS Ltd @Resincom We’ve enjoyed the show @EliteBusEvent atmosphere was great! Big thanks to all involved, it’s been fantastic!

What was the MOST important profit-making change you made to your business operations in the last 12 months?

35% 35% 15% 12% 4% 35% 35% 15% 12% 4%

Elite Event.indd 2

Developed new products/services

Cultivated new clients/markets

Reorganised management

Increased prices of goods/services

Developed new products/services

Cultivated new clients/markets

Reorganised management

Increased prices of goods/services

Increased technology/ investments Increased technology/ investments

James McMaster @J_McMaster Thanks @EliteBusEvent for asking me to speak at your inaugural event. What a great day and forward-thinking crowd.

02/05/2014 01:37

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02/05/2014 00:16

TALKING POINT

Bad education?

Languages are vital for the UK’s future It’s been widely reported that the number of UK students taking languages both at school and at university has fallen to the lowest level in a decade – despite more people going into higher education.

Patrick Eve This is a huge issue for small businesses in managing director Britain. Languages are vital for the UK’s TranslateMedia future. No longer can the UK rely on the linguistic imperialism of the 20th century.

Confidence in English as ‘the language of business’ is waning, as countries such as China, Brazil and Russia – where English is not widely spoken – become the dominant economies of the modern world.

The issue is partly due to the lack of progressive thinking in the way that students are taught languages. Students are often made to go over topics that they’ve studied previously due to having to allow other classmates who might just be starting the course to keep up. Many students are also bored with the repetition that accompanies being repeatedly taught the basics.

Another reason why there’s been a huge slump in students taking up foreign languages is that they are seen as important, but not essential.

Schools are also popularising this myth by promoting the need for more students to take maths and science (quite rightly) but ignoring the 19 importance of learning foreign languages for students’ employability and the future of the UK economy.

A focus on soft skills training is essential When trying to boost the business skills of the youngest generation, is there more to it than just reading, writing and arithmetic?

WORDS: JOSH RUSSELL

I

f you’ve spent much time reading the business pages, you’ll be intimately aware of the debate about education raging through the world of industry. Even between our own covers, there’s been plenty of discussion on whether our schooling system is producing a generation of kids who are really ready for the demands of enterprise.

But rarely have we heard such a damning indictment as came from Lord Digby Jones, the former CBI boss and government trade ambassador, at our recent Elite Business National Conference & Exhibition, when he described the current state of play as an ‘obscenity’ for the enterprise community. During his stirring speech, Lord Jones highlighted that although companies should be responsible for providing adequate training for employees, they should not be held accountable for a young workforce that sorely lacks basic literacy and numeracy skills.

It’s inevitable that in a time there is a perceived paucity of talent there will be plenty of people expressing their frustrations with the system responsible. Certainly a lack of fundamental numeracy and literacy skills is alarming. But does this give us the full picture? Or is there a little more to serving the needs business community than refocusing on the three Rs?

Talking point.indd 1

The education system is much to blame for the recruitment troubles of SMEs, but not only in terms of its failure to ensure that young people have basic skills such as literacy and numeracy.

While the core qualifications are essential, Duncan Cheatle little emphasis is placed on ‘softer’ skills that founder & CEO increase and enhance the employability of Prelude Group students and their chances to excel in the working world. For the vast majority of recruiters, both from personal experience and as shown in research time and again, these skills are more important than any specific technical or academic knowledge employees might bring.

However, we can’t place all the blame on teachers. How can we expect them to provide adequate careers advice when the majority went from school to university, then back to school? In terms of careers advice provision, while some careers officers are excellent, the quality can actually vary enormously.

This issue is not helped by government targets that, until recently, penalised schools for encouraging children into apprenticeships over university – even if that could provide a better route for the child. As a result, schools aren’t producing individuals who can easily develop in commercial environments and children often leave with skills that they cannot apply in the working world.

With SMEs’ stretched resources, they are not always able to invest in training people from the ground up. This is an immense problem for enterprise in Britain and a focus on soft skills training is essential.

01/05/2014 21:50

BOOK REVIEWS

Mobile Magic – The Saatchi & Saatchi guide to mobile marketing Tom Eslinger

I 20

n the enterprise space, books on marketing are ten a penny. Books that come from a brand with the credibility of Saatchi & Saatchi, however, are not. Getting to glean insight from an industry bright spark like Eslinger, worldwide director of digital and social at the global ad agency, is a rare privilege, particularly given the scope and depth exhibited in Mobile Magic.

Kicking off with a cogent testament as to the importance of a mobilefirst strategy in a world where 75% of the population have access to a mobile phone – not to mention 62% of users admit to having answered their phone whilst having sex – Eslinger soon digs into intensely practical advice that even your average tech-head will find illuminating. Whether it’s budgeting not just for development but future adaptation, knowing how to work with a dev team producing user flow diagrams and wire frames or prioritising return on involvement rather than return on investment, there’s plenty in this text to get the neurons firing.

And the icing on the cake – though perhaps not surprising coming from a brand like Saatchi & Saatchi – is the fact that Mobile Magic is a beautiful piece of design in its own right, with a clear and crisp aesthetic running through it that makes it a pleasure to read. All in all a wonderfully considered book and an excellent port of call for those wanting to build an effective and comprehensive mobile strategy. JR

Telling the Story – The heart and soul of successful leadership Geoff Mead

I

n many areas of our lives, we idolise the people and desire products that stand out and are the most prominent in their field. In business, most entrepreneurs, apart from building a successful empire, aim to be recognised as thought leaders, offering useful insights to other aspiring business owners and innovators.

Many theories and studies abound around leadership – on what is, how to get there and how to perform once in such a role. But unlike like other musings on leadership, Mead offers the reader some lessons in the field with a twist, explaining how readers can become influential through the art of storytelling.

As we live our lives within a certain framework or philosophies and ideas, some movers and shakers have the ability to shape and manipulate that frame. This book essentially invites the reader to step outside of that frame and offers them the tools to analyse, conceptualise and create the narratives that they want to get across.

If stories help to mould our identities and shape our understanding of the world, getting the hang of how to do it really well should certainly come in handy and can put someone in a powerful and influential position. With Mead’s experience running a narrative leadership consultancy, the book is an insightful contribution to the field of leadership. While the book caters to a broad audience – from executives and practitioners to anyone who is interested in the state of the world – its Achilles' heel is perhaps trying to be everything to every man. DJ

Publisher: Wiley Out: now RRP: £20.99

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Elite Interview - Piers Linney.indd 1

02/05/2014 00:24

the elite INTERVIEW

Sitting pretty Piers Linney has got it all: millions in the bank, a spot on primetime TV and a cloud-computing business that was valued at £35m when it floated last year. But it’s all thanks to dogged determination, he tells Hannah Prevett

Elite Interview - Piers Linney.indd 2

02/05/2014 00:24

the elite INTERVIEW

W

WORDS: HANNAH PREVETT PHOTOGRAPHY: EMILIE SANDY

24

hen nearly 3 million viewers tuned in to the first episode in series 11 of Dragons’ Den last August, most were meeting Piers Linney for the first time.

Introduced to the nation as a ‘cloud computing pioneer’, those who did their homework would quickly have learned that Linney was a wealthy investor with a stellar background in the city.

But just as success in the Den is not guaranteed for those who pitch for investment, Linney was not always on course for fame and riches.

Linney was born to his Barbadian mother and English father in Stoke-on-Trent in 1971. “Me and Robbie Williams,” he jokes. When he was nine, the family relocated to Bacup, a small mill town in Lancashire, to enable his father, Derek, who worked in ceramics exports, to begin a new job in Manchester. He describes the town as picturesque but says it had “social issues” and hints that it wasn’t all rosy. “It was quite interesting being a mixed race kid growing up there,” Linney says.

His mother, Norma, who had come to the UK with her sister in the 1960s to work as a nurse, got a job as the local health visitor. “She became a pillar of the local community; this black lady going around this little mill town,” recalls Linney. “Then she set up a local health centre, slimming club and did all of these things in the community. I think that was her entrepreneurial spirit coming out.”

If Linney was encountering any problems at school, they certainly weren’t reflected in his grades. “I was always quite bright,” he says.

“There were something like 60 kids in this tiny Victorian school. It was like something out of a picture book.”

Yet despite his apparent academic aptitude, Linney failed the 11-plus examination which would have snared him a place at grammar school. “To my mum and dad’s dismay, I ended up going to the comprehensive,” he recalls.

Throughout school and into the first year of his A-levels, Linney played the part of a typical teenager, treading the fine line between having a good time and getting the grades when he had to. “But then I started thinking that it wasn’t just about partying and members of the

Elite Interview - Piers Linney.indd 3

02/05/2014 00:21

the elite INTERVIEW

In our industry, few people have the cojones to actually try something new opposite sex: I realised that my dad went to Cambridge and my mum went to university to do her nurse training.” There were overachievers in his extended family too. “My auntie has two daughters, one is a consultant respiratory physician and one is a partner in a very large law firm. So you could say there was a bit of family pressure,” he laughs.

Linney scored a place at Manchester University to read accounting and law. But his degree course wasn’t the only thing on his mind. Since he was 13, he’d been involved in entrepreneurial endeavours. His first business was cutting out the newsagents to deliver newspapers that had been sent directly to his house from the wholesaler. “I did that for a couple of years until it wasn’t cool to have a paper round any more,” Linney smiles.

At university, Linney turned his attention to the nightlife scene. He ran club nights, bars and then worked in promotions. “Through university I was probably making more money than I did as a trainee solicitor,” he says. Though his wallet may have been bulging, his studies were suffering. “I did a four-year degree which was lucky really – I always say that if I’d done a three-year degree I probably wouldn’t have got into law. Fortunately, my friends, who were a major distraction, left in the third year.”

For the final year, Linney knuckled down.

He harboured ambitions of working in the professions. “Where I grew up, there were lots of entrepreneurs in the manual labour kind of space. A family friend had an aluminium shaping business, another had a very large trailer manufacturing business. When I did my careers choices at school, they asked what work experience you want to do and I replied that I wanted to go and work in Barclays. They looked at me like I was insane.”

Now in his early 20s, having finished his degree and shortly to be graduating from law school, it looked as though Linney’s dreams of working in the City may finally be realised, if only he could get a job. “I sent 68 applications to

Elite Interview - Piers Linney.indd 4

big law firms and I got one and a half offers,” he recalls. He blames the tendency to plump for applicants from a certain scholarly background for the apparent lack of interest. “Me on paper didn’t stack up. I didn’t go to the right school or have the right background.”

The one law firm that offered him a job was SJ Berwin.

“Once I’d got into the interview room, I could talk the talk, and I told them to give me a chance and they did. That’s how I got into the City.” Linney is fiercely critical of the recruitment processes in London’s financial district. “There’s a very, very tight restriction when it comes to getting into the City. It’s like a very narrow gateway – if you don’t get through it, then you don’t get through it.”

Law may have offered Linney the keys to the City, but he wouldn’t stay long. “I realised at the end of year one I wasn’t going to be a lawyer longterm. I asked a friend from law school what he thought I should do and he said I should consider investment banking as that’s what he was applying for. I literally bought a book called Investment Banking – I’d never heard of it – and started reading this pink newspaper, the FT.” Having decided that he wanted to pursue a career in investment banking, Linney faced similar challenges to those when he approached the law firms a few years earlier. “I applied to Credit Suisse but didn’t even get a look in, not even a formal response for their graduate training programme. Nothing.”

Barclays de Zoete Wedd offered him a job in September 1997 – shortly before its investment banking arm was acquired by Credit Suisse. “I ended up at Credit Suisse in quite a senior role when only four months earlier they wouldn’t even give me a job on their graduate training programme,” says Linney. He’s currently setting up workinsight.org, a charity that’ll pair local employers with teenage seekers of work ‘insights’ and removes selection criteria from the process. He hopes this’ll remove the barriers for people who don’t attend elite schools and come from privileged backgrounds.

Back in the City, alongside his lucrative day job, Linney couldn’t resist tinkering in projects in his free time. “I was investing in film finance, organising companies, helping friends to start businesses.” It was clear to him that it was time to go it alone and the ideal opportunity presented itself in bonus season 2000. “In those days, as soon as your bonus cheque cleared in the bank you resigned and you were given a box. Everyone asked me what I was going to do. I said, ‘I’m going to start an internet business and it’s going to look something like this.’ I raised £750,000 leaving the building.”

Linney’s first post-City venture was in online medical research, a business he set up with an acquaintance. After the company struggled to get funding in the aftermath of the dotcom crash, Linney was back to square one. “Only a year after I left the City, I was sitting at home with my phone and my rolodex thinking ‘what am I going to do now?’ I couldn’t go back to the City because the wheels had fallen off, not that I wanted to, and I couldn’t go back to law as I’d been out of it too long, and I didn’t want to do that either. A lot of entrepreneurs will tell you what drives them forward is the fact that there’s nothing behind you to go back to.”

Over the next seven years Linney became a serial entrepreneur operating predominantly in the finance space. The knowledge he’d acquired specialising in venture capital in the City stood him in good stead. Initially he worked with companies to raise them capital before going on to buy

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02/05/2014 00:21

the elite INTERVIEW

26

and sell his own assets. In 2007, he and business partner Simon Newton, who he’d met at Credit Suisse, bought Genesis Communications, a mobile phone business, from Dixons. “We built the largest independent provider of business mobile solutions in the UK. We got to £45m in revenue and 300 staff but we wondered where it was going. It didn’t excite us any more.”

In the interim, Linney and Newton had snapped up another couple of businesses and integrated them into the larger company. “We couldn’t help ourselves,” laughs Linney. “So we had quite a big mobile phone company with a very, very nascent hosting business bolted on the side of it.”

The pair bet big on cloud and sold Genesis.

“In our industry, few people have the cojones to actually part company with the legacy, the past and their traditional business in order to sell something new,” he says.

Linney and Newton poured cash from the sale into the cloud business, Outsourcery. “We spent I asked Sir Richard a year building infrastructure, Branson what he people, processes and systems.

There was no revenue addition thought about at all. We realised to scale the Dragons’ Den and business we had to be gold-plated in many ways and very credible.” he said: ‘screw it, Indeed, as cloud services began happened to coincide with just do it’ to capture the attention of the the filming of Linney’s first big corporates that were looking series of Dragons’ Den. to reduce IT budgets and reduce “We finished the recording reliance on proprietary systems, Outsourcery of Dragons’ Den on the Friday, there was an began to gain traction. In 2010, the company Easter weekend and on the Tuesday we started received the Microsoft Hosting Solutions our IPO roadshow. I did 40 pitches myself in Partner of the Year award. the space of two weeks. It was like going from Another way of bolstering credibility was to watching it to doing exactly the same thing, go public: Outsourcery listed on AIM last year. though in a different format obviously.”

“The decision to go public was taken to raise Dragons’ Den wasn’t the first time Linney had our profile and to make us very, very credible,” appeared on screen. In 2010 he featured in the says Linney. “Now we never get asked about our BBC’s Secret Millionaire, which depicted him finances or our balance sheet because we’re a spending time in a young offenders’ institution public company.” in Wolverhampton. One of the former prisoners The IPO was hard work, he concedes. And it he met is now one of Outsourcery’s cloud consultants. Following this, he was asked to do several more TV shows. “I’m mixed race, I went to a normal comprehensive in Lancashire and now I’m running a technology company.

It’s quite a journey and I’ve learned there aren’t too many Piers Linneys around. I’d get asked to do TV stuff quite a lot but it had always been around social mobility and commentary. At the end of the day I’m not an expert in social mobility,” he says.

Dragons’ Den was more his cup of tea, he explains. Though he still had to think long and

Elite Interview - Piers Linney.indd 5

hard about it. Initial talks in 2012 broke down and when producers came knocking again the next year, Linney was on safari in South Africa with none other than Richard Branson. “I asked Sir Richard what he thought and we went through the pros and cons. The main con was the loss of anonymity but in the end he said, ‘screw it, just do it’.”

Having just finished his second series of filming with the Dragons’ Den crew, Linney is optimistic about the future. He says viewers and participants have sussed out what excites both him and fellow new Dragon Kelly Hoppen. “The first series, with myself especially but also Kelly, was about people working out how we fitted in, whereas in the next series I’m going to be doing things that are proper tech,” he says, hinting at things to come.

It seems that Linney and Hoppen’s arrival in the Den has given the show a boost: it’s up for a BAFTA this year. “It’s quite nice to show even after ten years we’ve done something that’s reignited interest in it,” says Linney. Yet he’s not letting his newfound celebrity status go to his head. “People often say to me, ‘you’re on Dragons’ Den, you’re so successful and established,’ but I think, ‘you know what, I’m not. I’m just getting going.”

02/05/2014 00:22

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SEEDS of

CHANGE

James Brett’s vision for sustainable agriculture in Afghanistan looks like a surefire recipe for success

F

WORDS: JOE JEFFREY

30

or many people, Afghanistan is a no-go zone. But for James Brett, founder of Plant for Peace, the war-torn country provides the backdrop for what looks set to become one of the UK’s biggest ethical import this year.

“I visited northern Pakistan in October 1999 whilst importing furniture into the UK,” Brett begins. “It was there I drank pomegranate juice for the first time from a street stall. As soon as I tasted it, I turned to a friend who was with me and said ‘I’m gonna make a drink from this.’ I didn’t know anything about the food and drinks industry, I just knew it needed to be done.”

Brett returned to the UK and investigated how the juice industry worked, from shipping to packaging. Having sought investment from friends, PomeGreat was founded and launched into a number of major UK retailers in 2004 – the first pomegranate juice drink in the UK and Europe. “PomeGreat went from a thought in the street in Pakistan in 1999 to turning over £30m plus in 2007.”

The overnight success of PomeGreat was overwhelming but a few months following the launch, Brett found thoughts of his past catching up with him.

As a child, Brett had been abused by his grandfather and he told his parents of the abuse a year after it had stopped. “My mother took it the worst. Three months later, she jumped off the roof of a multi-story car park and killed herself.”

Over the years, his mother’s

death took its toll on Brett. “I became dysfunctional,” he says. “I got mixed up with the wrong crowd and found myself in and out of and mental health hospitals and prisons.”

Whilst in a psychiatric hospital, Brett says, his shares in PomeGreat were diluted as he was ousted from the company – and there was little he could do. “I was the CEO and major shareholder in the company, but unfortunately my lawyer advised that it would cost in the region of £100,000 to pursue the case in court.

I was neither mentally, or financially, prepared to do that.”

Following his discharge from the psychiatric hospital in 2006, Brett sought counselling for child sexual abuse and found himself on the way to full recovery.

That same year, Brett contacted Dr. Julia

I approached a confusedlooking farmer and told him about pomegranates through my translator Wright, deputy director of the Centre for Agroecology and Food Security, to express his interest in an article she’d written online and was invited to speak at a seminar she had arranged in Kandahar in front of Afghani farmers. Brett, having met an Afghani shipping agent during his time spent importing furniture from the region in 1999, contacted him and asked if he could provide a translator for the duration of his trip. The agent

ONE TO WATCH

Since I ran into that opium field, the one thing I’ve realised is that a journey has to be travelled sent his son along to translate for him.

Upon landing in Afghanistan, the reality of its main export was soon realised. There was a sea of red and white poppies, with farmers harvesting opium as they drove along. “My life flashed before my eyes,” Brett says.

“I’d previously lost two of my best friends to drug-related deaths – one at 19 and the other at 24 – both buried in the same church grounds as my mum,” he continues. “At that moment, I thought about the power of the pomegranate and what impact harvesting fruit instead of poppies could have.”

When returning to the airport a few days later, Brett passed the same poppy fields and it was at this time instinct kicked in. “I asked to stop off at a shop in Kabul. I went in and bought a piece of white cardboard and a marker pen. I asked to be driven back to an opium field.”

Much to his translator and driver’s dissatisfaction, he exited the vehicle and ran into a nearby field. “I approached a confused-looking farmer and told him about pomegranates through my translator,” Brett recalls. “I asked about his life, told him about mine and we talked about heroin in the west. It was then that I asked him if he wanted to grow pomegranates, rather than poppies, with me.”

“I told him I’d support him if he agreed, which he did,” Brett continues. “I asked him to give me two months; if he didn’t hear from me within that time, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I held up the placard and got my translator to take a photo.” The words on the card read: ‘pomegranate is the answer’.

Locals caught wind of the odd situation, as did a local TV station, and word began to spread. Brett starred on TV stations around the world, including BBC World News and CNN, attracting not only the attention of farmers wanting to help to harvest pomegranates on hundreds of hectares of land, but also some prominent dignitaries.

As tribal gatherings with Afghan elders

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ONE TO WATCH

32

were arranged for Brett to attend, the number of interested farmers grew to 5.5 million – a staggering 20% of the population. A strategy was required, but it wasn’t forthcoming. “I didn’t have a plan - I was just going through the motions. I knew what I had to do, but I didn’t know how to deliver on it,” he remarks.

In 2008, Brett was contacted by the US embassy and the US Agency of International Development (USAID), both of which had seen him on television burning a stockpile of 13 tonnes of opium in Afghanistan.

Following discussions, USAID agreed to fund the planting of 100,000 pomegranate trees, which took place in Nandahar during February 2009. USAID also donated $500,000 to arrange further gatherings that saw more farmers join the strategy. More people caught wind of Brett’s plight including Renu Mather, philanthropic entrepreneur and founder of Fortune Forum – a company that matches good causes up with billionaires.

Fast-forward a couple of years and the situation had blossomed. Throughout 2010 and 2011, a string of coincidences had enabled Brett to meet the dignitaries that had watched, until them, from afar. One such person was Sir William McAlpine, whose wife thought up the name Brett adopted for his foundation: Plant for Peace.

In order to raise further funding for the Plant for Peace Foundation, it was agreed to establish a commercial arm, which is where the idea for fruit bars came into play. “I spent a year and a half attempting to turn pomegranates into a natural, powdered format that allowed for 25% to 40% of pure pomegranate to go

I knew what I had to do, but I didn’t know how to deliver on it

One to watch.indd 3

straight into the bars,” says Brett. “If we were to use pomegranate juice rather than powder in the bars, we would only be able to use up to around 6% of pomegranate owing to problems with moisture, which is the majority of other fruit bars can only allow small amounts of real fruit in them.”

In order to continue funding the corporate entity and get the fruit bars made, Plant for Peace has since approached and offered shares to individual private investors. The company’s plan is then to approach larger groups and organisations when it is fully functioning, at which point the share price would have logically increased for the early investors. One of Plant for Peace’s aims is to be similar to Fair Trade produce, only in conflict zones.

The fruit bars are scheduled to make their way onto Waitrose’s shelves by September of this year; other supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s, will also be stocking them following the initial rollout. Ben & Jerry’s is also set to release ice cream containing ‘peace pieces’ and, in the first year, they will be using the equivalent of 1 million fruit bars with a view to ordering more. “These are the sort

of companies that Plant for Peace needs to partner with to be able to really utilise another nation’s produce on an international scale,” Brett says.

Prince Charles has also expressed interest.

“I’ve had a couple of meetings with him and he seems really excited about the whole thing,” Brett reveals. “I went to Balmoral and Highgrove and he’s fully supportive of everything that’s taking place and is ready to help as soon as he sees a little more progress.

What’s more, Brett recently attended meetings with the ‘big five’ Hollywood studios to discuss purchasing the rights to his powerful story and transferring it to the big screen.

Despite the glitz and glamour, Brett hasn’t forgotten his true objective. “Since I ran into that opium field, the one thing I’ve realised is that a journey has to be travelled.

All these different things on the periphery of that journey – such as movies and media or whatever else – they’re all ingredients for making Plant for Peace successful, so we can deliver the methodology of helping communities experiencing post-conflict conditions globally.”

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ANALYSIS

34

Chasing hearts A flurry of British dating start-ups are showing how a little bit of innovation can help attract love-seekers in an increasingly crowded marketplace

WORDS: ADAM PESCOD

T

he days of meeting that special someone in a chance encounter on the dancefloor may be numbered. At the turn of the millennium, 100,000 people in the UK were turning to the internet in their quest for love. This figure now stands at a staggering 9 million, with 5 million logging on every single month. When seeking reasons for such a startling rise, there’s really only one culprit: technology. “Ten years ago, online dating was seen as this thing you did when you reached ‘that age’ and you really wanted to settle down,” says Eden Blackman, founder of wouldliketomeet.me, an online dating service. “There has been an enormous uptake among the younger generation and that’s simply because they know no different than using their phone or laptop to connect with people.”

There’s no doubt that online dating has come a long way since the birth of match.com in 1993. “Now, the dating industry is barely recognisable from what it once was,” says Jeremy Corenbloom, marketing director at match.com (UK & Ireland). “A YouGov survey in June 2013 revealed that one in four relationships in the UK starts online and dating sites are now the third most popular way to find a partner.” Match pioneered the idea of commercialising love and now boasts 25 websites worldwide in eight languages, spanning five continents. It remains the top dog to this day but competition is growing. There are now 1,700 dating sites

ANALYSIS

in the UK alone, catering for a whole range of different demographics and interests. Many of them are supported by a mobile app or, in some cases, are mobile-only. “Mobile for dating is not a trend. It is what it was always meant to be,” says Robyn Exton, founder of Dattch, the mobile dating app for lesbians. “Dating, especially for British people, has always been an inherently private experience.

Mobile suits that perfectly.”

With the market only set for further expansion, new entrants have their work cut out if they are to stand out from the crowd. “If you don’t have a USP in the online dating sector, I wouldn’t even Brett Harding, Lovestruck bother,” says Blackman. “It’s difficult enough trying to launch something new but when you’re trying to launch something that does what everyone else does you are really fighting against the wind from day one.”

Blackman’s service wouldliketomeet.me offers users the comfort of knowing that every single person on the site is exactly who they say they are. As part of the registration process, people are asked to submit a ten-second video of themselves. “For some people, signing up to online dating is a big deal, so you have to at least give them a fighting chance,” he says.

Some entrepreneurs often believe, mistakenly, that being ‘niche’ is a USP in itself.

Indeed, a number of niche dating websites and apps have sprung up in recent years.

However, the size of audience is an important consideration for start-ups. Selling yourself short by targeting too small a segment of the market probably won’t bring the necessary returns. “The paradox is that niche dating sites can only get so large and then you either have to realise that’s as far as you can take it or you have to adjust the USP to attract more people,” says Brett Harding, co-founder and managing director of Lovestruck. “By having such a specific proposition, you tend to alienate the majority of singles.”

He should know. In 2008, Harding had to reposition Lovestruck in order to reach more users. Its previous incarnation, Lunch Date London, was designed for professionals in the city who could meet over lunch, the aim being to avoid the awkwardness that can accompany a long and unsuccessful dinner date.

However, Harding discovered that members were often meeting after, not during, work. Now, six years later, Lovestruck is fast-gathering a reputation as online dating’s hottest property both at home and abroad. “About 35-40% of our revenue is derived from Hong Kong and Singapore where the service is very well-received,” explains Harding. It’s a great start-up success story and one that’s certainly making the more established players sit up and take notice.

Another new player has just entered the scene; one that’s getting tongues wagging and fingers swiping. Tinder, though not without controversy, has been nothing short of a phenomenon. And Harding is in high praise of how the free app has managed to harness the power of mobile.

35

By having such a specific proposition, you tend to alienate the majority of singles

Brett Harding,

co-founder and managing director, Lovestruck

ANALYSIS

Robyn Exton, founder, Dattch

36

Mobile for dating is not a trend. It is what it was always meant to be

“What Tinder has done is leverage the way that people interact with their mobile compared to a desktop or tablet,” he says.

“It has opened up the way of meeting people online to those who were initially unwilling to join a more traditional dating service.” He adds the caveat that a relationship is less likely to stem from a Tinder interaction than from a more traditional service like Lovestruck or match.com. “I would suggest that the chance of going on a date through one of the free apps is possibly 70-80% less than on a paid app.”

But Brett admits that mobile dating has shifted the goalposts significantly and brought some healthy competition in the process.

“There is a challenge in that you are competing with free services that, through the eye of the consumer, look very similar to what you offer because of the size of screens,” he explains. “It is much harder to differentiate a paid product from a free product on such a small screen.”

The onus is therefore on providing exceptional customer service, which in turn generates the trust upon which the success of dating sites depends. A strong brand also helps in this regard, says Harding, along with some seriously heavy marketing activity. This can ensure a consistently strong user base in an industry where, by its very nature, consumers don’t tend to hang around that long – if the dating site fulfils its promise. “Essentially you spend circa 50% of your revenue on marketing because, ironically, as soon as you get a customer in, you have an unwritten obligation to pair them off,” Harding adds. “Drucker once said that the ultimate aim of businesses is to acquire a customer and keep them but that is not the case with online dating.”

With high street retailers implementing a multi-channel approach in order to survive, the ‘offline’ world is also proving a must-notignore for dating sites. Match has tapped into the demand for face-to-face experiences with match.com events and match.com nights, as indeed has Lovestruck. Match has also launched match.com socials with its Bark in the Park event last month, giving single dog

owners a chance to connect.

The very concept of partaking in some form of activity on a date is at the heart of another of the newer dating services. Co-founded by Matt Janes and Kip Parker in 2011 and a graduate of GrowthAccelerator, DoingSomething has received its fair share of positive press attention and user recommendations alike. It aims to provide an enjoyable alternative to the traditional drinks-in-a-bar date – what it calls ‘dead time dating’ – and in the process allow people to build up a clearer picture of someone based on their hobbies and interests. “Doing stuff with people on dates breaks the ice; it makes it less awkward,” says Janes. “It means the focus isn’t so much on whether you fancy each other.”

With Time Out as its media partner, the site has gained publicity by partnering with the likes of Smirnoff, creating the world’s highest ice bar at the top of the Shard. It has also hosted a ping-pong tournament atop the O2 Arena, along with the world’s biggest ever ping-pong dating event at Bounce in Holborn last month. That’s not to mention its transformation of the London Eye into The Wheel of Dates, with each capsule containing a different dating activity, including comedy

by The Comedy Store and pop-up gigs from Sofar Sounds. Janes adds: “Because the tone of our product is very playful and non-corporate,

ANALYSIS

and our idea is different, we can do partnership deals that other dating sites can’t do.”

Mobile dating and ‘offline’ experiences don’t appear to be going anywhere soon. But with technology advancing at a rate of knots, we may not have too long to wait before something more exciting is added to the mix. “There is all sorts of talk about whether augmented reality could work for online dating,” says Harding. “It is impossible to detect chemistry over the internet. So it may well be that a first date can be conducted via FaceTime to see if there is some sort of chemistry there before committing to a much longer date in person.”

Security remains a concern for online dating newbies, but with verification processes more rigorous than ever and the establishment of the Online Dating Association – a trade body designed to uphold standards across the industry – any reputation issues the market

may once have faced are evaporating.

For now, the challenge remains utilising the current swathe of technologies while continuing to fulfil the ever-changing demands of singles. “We are constantly adapting our platform to meet the changing needs and wants of our users and the devices they wish to use to interact with our dating platform,” says Matthew Pitt, operations director at WhiteLabelDating. “However there is a fine line between keeping up with current trends and trying to be trendy. If the last ten years has taught us one thing it is this; just because it is technically possible doesn’t mean that the consumer will want it.”

Exton concludes: “People that come at it with a genuine want of trying to create great experiences, great communities, great relationships; they’re the ones that I think get the best results.”

Disruptive dating Robyn Exton, founder of Dattch, the mobile app for lesbians and bisexual women, reveals how her start-up is shaking up the dating scene on both sides of the pond A friend of mine had just broken up with her girlfriend and we were signing her up to sites.

We realised that we just didn’t really like the experience and didn’t feel that anything had actually been created for women. They were always just re-skins of gay male sites. I thought I could take a look at how women actually date differently and what exactly a female audience would want in a dating product.

One of the things we did from the outset was verify that every user was genuinely female.

One of the biggest problems of lesbian sites is the number of guys that try to sign up to them asking for a threesome. We therefore need to verify every user. We also discovered that most dating sites and apps – whether straight, gay or otherwise – have all been built around a male user experience. They look at what a guy wants to see in a profile, how he wants to browse, how he wants to view people and what kind of triggers he needs to actually send a message in the first place.

So we started from scratch and decided to ignore all the dating structures and actually look at other products that have worked well for women. We looked at things like ecommerce sites, we looked at Pinterest, we looked at travel sites, we looked at editorial content and we looked at how information and journey were mapped through those and how it would be relevant to dating. That was the kind of thinking that informed Dattch. Everything is designed around what women are looking for.

So our profiles are kind of like Pinterest boards.

You upload images that show what kind of food you like to eat, where you go on holiday, what you do at the weekend – all small pieces of insight but that are really easy and enjoyable to create.

Most dating apps also tend to show you the closest person to you. We don’t do that because for women, it’s totally irrelevant. Men, especially on gay apps, look to meet up on the same day. Our users will never meet up on the same day. They are always looking to book a date about three days in advance.

I think there’s a stat that says one in two people have tried online dating. That’s completely irrelevant when you talk about the people that actually carry on using their dating products, actually enjoy them and actually care about them. Our relationship mode allows users to still be connecting to the community even when they’re in a partnership.

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02/05/2014 00:32

FINANCE

GOING FOR GROWTH? 40

The government wants more entrepreneurs and private sector jobs and it appears targets are being hit. But how much of this is down to its own support for businesses?

WORDS: JON CARD

I

f there’s anything the current government wants, it’s more enterprise and private sector jobs. George Osborne says he’s determined to end the UK’s addiction to public sector employment. To be sure, the coalition made a rapid and decisive break with the previous administration’s policies early on by closing Business Link and abolishing the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).

Recently released data suggests the chancellor is getting his wish. The number of self-employed individuals has risen sharply since 2010, and there are now nearly 4.2 million people registered as sole traders, according to the ONS. It is hoped these people will drive much-needed job creation in the future.

New start-ups also appear to be on the increase, with 526,446 registering with Companies House in 2013 compared with 484,224 in 2012 and 440,600 in 2011. Private sector employment is rising too and, as of March 2013, accounted for 80.9% of UK employment compared to 78.7% percent in March 2010, the Department for Work and Pensions says.

But how much credit can the government really claim for the improvements in fortunes of UK plc? Also, exactly what is on offer for entrepreneurs new and old from the current government? Here we look at some of the main schemes and incentives the government has brought in since 2010.

UK plc’s policies for growth?.indd 1

START UP LOANS

Start Up Loans was launched in 2012 and has supplied finance to over 16,000 firms, with overall lending surpassing the £82m mark.

Spearheaded by the high profile Dragons’ Den panellist James Caan, the scheme has avoided the fate of so many government schemes of going unnoticed. Initially aimed at young people, the age restrictions have now been lifted and any UK resident over 18 is theoretically eligible. The average loan is about £6,000, but larger amounts can be accessed if the business plan justifies it.

Businesses need to complete a simple online form and then await a first contact from a delivery partner.

Pros: The interest rate on loans is 6% and

the application relatively painless and speedy.

Cons: Primarily for micro-businesses and

start-ups, the scheme’s scope is limited.

THE SEED ENTERPRISE INVESTMENT SCHEME (SEIS)

Designed to de-risk investments in new businesses, SEIS allows individuals to back companies up to £100,000 and provides them with 50% tax relief. Furthermore, profits made from the sale of equity are exempt from capital gains tax, whereas losses can be potentially offset against it. Judging by the restrictions, it is clear the scheme is designed for those looking to invest in new tech start-ups and other higher risk categories.

Investors can take no more than 30% of the business and the companies must be unquoted, have less than 25 employees and assets worth no more than £200,000.

Pros: For investors in early-stage businesses and tech start-ups, SEIS is something of a no-brainer, as it maximises gains and offers tax incentives to mitigate the risk.

Cons: The restrictions are clear and prevent investment in medium-sized enterprises, or those with significant assets.

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24/12/2013 14:21

FINANCE

ENTERPRISE ZONES

Enterprise Zones (EZ) are one of the government’s big strategies to encourage investment outside London. There are 25 EZs in England and seven in Wales. Businesses that choose to locate in these areas get relief from business rates and enhanced capital allowances as well as other incentives such as access to incubators and infrastructure advantages. EZs are typically sector-specific and tend to focus on industry and technology.

However, some are quite broad; for instance, Birmingham City Centre has been designated as an EZ with 26 sites earmarked, covering a range of industries. Scotland has its own scheme, with 15 areas focused on life sciences, low carbon and manufacturing, with similar incentives to the English scheme.

42

Pros: Obvious financial benefits and the

prospect of clustering or agglomeration.

Cons: No EZs in London and just one in

LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS (LEPs)

LEPs were introduced to replace RDAs but, initially launched with no funding, they looked set to become talking shops involving business leaders and local authorities. LEPs have since evolved and were involved in the bids to create Enterprise Zones. A number have also been able to access funding via schemes such as the RGF. Some high-profile names such as John Lewis managing director Andy Street have joined LEPs and they have produced good ideas and results since in some regions.

Pros: A business-focused, local network for

entrepreneurs to liaise with.

Cons: Significant regional differences

regarding effectiveness and organisation.

the South East. Uptake has also been lower than predicted, with some EZs doing well but others struggling to get off the starting blocks.

THE REGIONAL GROWTH FUND

The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) was launched in 2010 to help ‘rebalance’ the economy. The fund is designed to help boost jobs and investment in areas such as manufacturing and engineering and in regions that, in the government’s view, have become over-reliant on public sector employment. The overall pot of £3.2bn provides grants to businesses often in excess of £1m. However, recipients need to find match-funding as well. In a 2013 report, the government claimed to have allocated £1.2bn and created 58,000 jobs. Typically, the funding is administered by a local partner and interested businesses should find theirs’ via the gov.uk website.

Pros: A large pot providing significant sums.

Cons: Some businesses have struggled

to meet the criteria and government information on the scheme is considered to be somewhat opaque.

UK plc’s policies for growth?.indd 2

Conclusions

The government made a distinct break with the previous administration when it came to power and its emphasis on stimulating enterprise is welcome.

Programmes for start-ups appear to be working well with Start Up Loans backing many small businesses, and SEIS offering investors clear incentives to support riskier tech start-ups. But other programmes have had mixed results and, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), it has not yet been demonstrated that EZs, the RGF or the LEPs can demonstrate value for money. This is not to say there aren’t any successes, but performance is patchy, with some areas of the country doing well and others not. It appears that some of the government’s initiatives have fallen into the age-old trap of being well-intentioned, but failing to capture the full attention of business. Furthermore, it might well be argued that many people are setting up businesses not because of government incentives, but due to public sector cuts and lack of opportunities elsewhere.

Can the government take the credit for boosting start-ups? The jury’s still out.

01/05/2014 21:56

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02/05/2014 00:39

Paying yourself a salary

WORDS: DARA JEGEDE

46

Of the thousands of people who set up businesses each year, many neglect to factor in the personal income they need in order to keep the wolves from the door. An entrepreneur might spend the first few months or years establishing and then stabilising their money-maker and, in some cases, will even earn less than their employees at the beginning. As the time to draw an income from the business materialises, the owner will need to strike a balance between appropriate remuneration and ensuring that extracting a salary is not detrimental to their prized venture

Money masterclass.indd 1

02/05/2014 01:38

FINANCE

Put it in your business plan “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

Business owners would certainly be wise to take heed of Benjamin Franklin’s words when tackling the issue of their salary. Their business plan should include details of how they expect to pay themselves once the company becomes more profitable and the precise amount they will be looking to take home. “When planning the financial journey of the business, you should be planning out exactly how you might remunerate yourself,” says Michael Bruce, co-founder and CEO of Purplebricks.com, the 24-hour estate agent.

It will allow owners to easily monitor and maintain a balance with other business priorities. “You need to make sure that when you do your business plan, the prospective cashflow enables you to start drawing some money out,” comments Steve Rees, managing director of Carpenter Rees, the financial services firm.

Make yourself a priority Many entrepreneurs ensure that everyone else in the business is covered and then they get what is left over, if and when the business is successful. Noble indeed, but the experts suggest turning this notion on its head and prioritising the captain of the ship.

“In order to have a successful business, you have to draw a salary commensurate with somebody who would be performing the job,” says Rees. “Any profit that they make should be an added bonus as a reward for the risk they have taken in setting up the business in the first place.”

Furthermore, entrepreneurs need to do more than just factoring in overheads. “CEOs are there for a reason and carry a heavy burden of responsibility,” says Bruce. “They’re in the firing line and that should not go unaddressed.

If the business is very successful, their salary should reflect this.”

Money masterclass.indd 2

Balance business and personal needs CEOs should be mindful of not underselling themselves, even though they may not be able to recoup from their business the equivalent of a commercial salary for someone in their position. Bruce believes that the salary should mirror exactly what a CEO impacts within the business.

“A good CEO influences every area of business,” he says. “If all’s running well, the salary and package that goes with it should reflect that.”

Owners can also consider other forms of compensation, such as making contributions to a pension arrangement in order to have external wealth growing outside of the business. Whatever the alternative compensation is, Rees says that entrepreneurs need to think about what they want to achieve by drawing money out of the business.

“Are they looking to be able to retire early, fund university education or pay for school fees?”

Make your money tax-efficient Business owners are in a fortunate position that they can manipulate their pay, within reason, to get the best tax advantage.

Generally, people in a new business will draw a reasonably low salary and a dividend on top as it is more tax efficient.

“You invest money into the business to get the company up and running,” explains Rees. “The capital injected can be withdrawn rather than drawing a salary because the owner has already paid tax on that capital.” However, one still needs to pay a salary to some extent to ensure that they qualify for state pension.

Rees adds: “Investing back in the business is another reasonable thing to do because as you enhance its value, as long as it’s a trading business, you can then subsequently attract entrepreneurs and sell it.”

Steve Rees, managing director, Carpenter Rees

47 Michael Bruce, co-founder and CEO, Purplebricks.com

Guy Mucklow,

co-founder and CEO, Postcode Anywhere

Can you afford it?

The last thing any owner would want is to have their salary become a detriment to the business. To avoid this, Bruce suggests keeping no more than five real priorities. “My five are the people we employ, advertising, tech, cash and most importantly customers,” he says. “Cash is king, along with customers, in a launch business”.

Cashflow is vital within a new organisation, Rees says that an entrepreneur has to ensure that the business can afford a generous CEO salary and that they’re not taking money out to the detriment of the business and their customers. “You’ve gotta build it up and be overconservative in how you take it out,” he says.

“It boils down to being prudent,” adds Guy Mucklow, co-founder and CEO of Postcode Anywhere, the address-finding service. “There is no point in sending your business into a loss-making position and having to take overdraft funding or bank warrants because one insists on having a certain salary. It’s about cutting cloth accordingly.”

02/05/2014 01:38

FINANCE

There is no costlier error for a start-up than failing to carry out thorough market research, says Clive Lewis, head of enterprise at the ICAEW

48

Getting to know you

businessadviceservice.com

H

aving developed your idea for a new product or business idea, the next step is crucial. While there will no doubt be a great urge to get cracking, taking the time to step back and research the market you’re entering will pay dividends further down the line. Such research will help you produce initial sales forecasts, identify projected quantities, selling prices and business costs. It will act as the starting point of a business plan and help you to identify financial forecasts for your early years of trading. At the very least, it will help you find out whether there is demand for what you’ll be offering in the first place.

Specifically, you should be looking to find out from your market research: • The demographic of your potential customers – gender, age, marital status, occupation, income and lifestyle • What they buy and in what quantities • When they buy • Where they prefer to buy • Why they will buy your product or service There are two main formats of formal research that will help you achieve this. The first – quantitative – is used to provide statistical information through surveys carried out with

ICAEW.indd 1

large numbers of people, known as a sample.

For example, a person wanting to set up a gym might find out that 30% of local people would like to do regular exercise, 10% are already members of a gym and 12% are considering

Taking the time to research the market you’re entering will pay dividends further down the line joining a gym in their local area. This would offer pointers to the gym developer as to where to locate a gym and how large it should be.

The second type of research is qualitative.

This explores people’s feelings and attitudes.

This type of research is usually conducted in focus groups, consisting of up to eight people.

The discussion is usually chaired by a facilitator who oversees the discussion, covering key themes and topics in a chatty manner to ensure participants feel at ease. The chair also ensures that all the attendees make a contribution. They often summarise the discussion and provide a written report of the key findings.

While having this carried out professionally

ensures quality and rigour, it can be expensive to employ a professional agency or a freelance researcher. Alternatives are to gather open source information available in libraries, universities and trade associations. You can also make the most of free-to-use survey sites such as SurveyMonkey or Wufoo. However, you must be honest and fair with the questions you ask and the results you get. It may be tempting to skew the results, or you may even do so unintentionally, but in the end it will only damage the accuracy of your business plan.

Informal research can be equally as valid as its formal counterpart. It could, for example, involve something as simple as walking the street where you would be planning to open a premises and finding out where people walk, where your potential competitors are based and at what times the peaks and troughs are throughout the day.

After conducting the research you will be ready to prepare plans for your brand new venture. Armed with the information of knowing your types of customer, their preferences and spending habits can help ensure that you generate as much turnover as possible from the outset.

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Market leaders

Given how vital it is to have a strong relationship with customers, we speak to some of the UK’s hotshot marketing executives to get a sense of how hiring a CMO can benefit a growing business

F

or a lot of start-ups, considerations about the composition of the c-suite can seem a very remote prospect when you’re just focusing on getting your core product off the ground.

However, as a company grows and specialised hires become more commonplace, making sure your bases are covered in terms of executive talent becomes a lot more vital. Getting a chief marketing officer (CMO) in place can then spell the difference between a successful global brand and a start-up that drops by the wayside.

First of all, it’s important to define the areas in which a CMO would typically have oversight. “A marketing officer would be the one who ascertains whether there’s an opportunity with a particular product,” explains Kevin Sterneckert, CMO at eCommera, the analytics-driven e-commerce suite. “The role of a marketing officer also includes working with the investment community, building business relationships with other companies, identifying market opportunities and market size and understanding the investments you want to make with your initiatives globally.”

Dorothy Mead, chief acquisition officer for blur Group, the business

WORDS: JOSH RUSSELL

52

A CMO is not someone who’s going to put ads in the local paper; it is someone who actually starts to look at a business’s strategic requirements Dorothy Mead, blur Group

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54

services exchange, feels there is often a tendency for companies to assume that marketing simply equates to advertising and that, in this age of AdWords and social media, it’s something they can easily handle on their own. Unfortunately, this is a fundamental misreading of the true responsibilities of a marketing executive. “A CMO is not someone who’s just going to put ads in the local paper,” she explains. “It is someone who actually starts to look at a business’s key strategic requirements.”

But knowing how to recognise when you need a CMO might not necessarily be straightforward.

As a recent hire himself – being brought on board to the company’s executive wing just this Kevin Sterneckert, eCommera April – Sterneckert is in the perfect position to outline why a company takes on its first CMO. “We didn’t have marketing leadership for the entire company that would generate the directives, the purpose, meaning and initiatives of our marketing efforts and unify the voice of the company in the marketplace,” he comments. “eCommera took me on to manage all the different marketing activities that are happening across the company.”

Zapp, the mobile payments start-up, also recently found itself in the position of needing to take on a CMO. With its profile building rapidly, the company decided to hire experienced hand Justin Basini as chief product and marketing officer, who brought with him experience from plenty of high profile roles such as CMO of Capital One. “Zapp had spent quite a lot of time developing the core team and infrastructure,” he

As the success of the company reaches beyond the borders of the United Kingdom, the challenge becomes messaging and maintaining that unified voice and tone in the marketplace

Market leaders.indd 2

comments. “But they were at a stage where they had to bite the bullet, go external and get it out there. They needed to tell the story, position it in the market and start to get belief and momentum behind it.”

Maintaining consistency in many different markets can also present a very strong argument for taking on a CMO, meaning inevitably a business looking to go global is much more likely to need an exec with a handle on their variegated marketing efforts. “As the success of the company reaches beyond the borders of the United Kingdom, the challenge becomes messaging and maintaining that unified voice and tone in the marketplace,” says Sterneckert.

However, whilst there is plenty that is unique to the role of a CMO, it’s important to note that the role has plenty in common with other c-suite positions. Having worked previously as chief information officer (CIO) of a billion-dollar grocer, Sterneckert has plenty of experience of the things exec roles have in common. “There’s the management team decisions that need to be made, the efforts of working with the board and the leadership of people,” he says. “Regardless of the area of accountability, those are skills that you can learn and leverage.”

Despite their common ground though, it’s not always easy to know which c-suite hires you should prioritise. Both blur Group and eCommera made their marketing hires ahead of a lot of other exec roles but this is far from being the norm.

Often in earlier stage companies, marketing will get handled on an as-and-when basis, using external talent and consultancies. “They bring someone in to do a little bit of their sales support or do a bit of marketing,” says Mead.

Taking on senior, full-time marketing talent is rarely a huge focus for companies at this level.

She continues: “If there is a hire, it tends to be a bit more at the junior level, whereas you’re more likely to go for the chief financial officer (CFO) hire at a senior level.”

The stage at which a company does decide to take on a CMO can vary. “It depends on the nature of the business,” Sterneckert says.

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SALES & MARKETING

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“It has to do with how the organisation has grown, in what area it has grown and if it’s grown organically.” Despite this, for enterprises like eCommera that work in the software space, he does feel there are average levels of turnover that can mark this sort of hire. “You tend to see a marketing officer being brought in at about the £30m mark.”

That’s not to say it’s not worth earlier stage enterprises and start-ups looking at taking on this sort of talent. “I would actually say a CMO is an ‘earlier the better’ hire,” Mead comments.

Ultimately, the success of any enterprise is built upon its understanding of its customer base and there is no point too early for an enterprise to be working on its relationship with its market. “The moment you’re either thinking ‘I really want to make sure that I’m building something that someone out there wants’ or ‘does anyone out there want it?’, that’s the moment you need your CMO,” Mead says. “You need someone who actually gets the market around you.”

Basini believes there’s no hard and fast rule, with the decision resting very much on the company involved. “It depends on the needs of the enterprise and what role they really want the CMO to play,” he comments. With businesses looking for someone to throw together an ad campaign and communication strategy for a completed product, a CMO can wait until a much later stage. “But if you’re coming in as the person who’s going to drive the company’s focus on customer and on product then you’ve got to get a seat at the table much earlier.”

And the stage that a CMO enters a business radically affects the relationship they’ll have with a brand. “I was always taught at P&G that you were a custodian of the brand,” Basini remarks. Working in a corporate environment, a CMO’s focus will be more on optimisation and improvement of marketing processes to create incremental value increases for the brand. By contrast, in the more entrepreneurial environment of companies like Zapp, the CMOs are trailblazing and creating the paths their successors will follow. “That is the real joy of a start-up,” he explains. “You make a significant difference everyday.”

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If you’re coming in as the person who’s going to drive the company’s focus on customer and on product then you’ve got to get a seat at the table much earlier Justin Basini, Zapp

In reality, however, the stage at which you take on your CMO is probably less important than making sure you make the right hire.

Certainly there are key qualities that make an excellent marketing exec and capturing these for a business can lead to a truly winning marketing strategy. “You have to be pretty rugged, persistent and organised,” Mead says. “It’s good to be creative, it’s good to be ideas-led but you also have to be pretty focused.”

And a growing enterprise can reap huge benefits from this sort of a mindset. “The people who thrive within those organisations are people who just roll their sleeves up and do it,” Basini comments. “If you can get someone who’s externally focused, a good communicator, has a good feel for the market, but who isn’t proud and will turn their hand to anything, then they can be a really great asset right from the start.”

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SALES & MARKETING

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SALES & MARKETING

Breaking Bad F

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WORDS: ADAM PESCOD

ew would dispute that entrepreneurialism is a risky business.

The buzz of being one’s own boss and turning an idea into a commercial success is juxtaposed with the very real chance of failure. However, success is arguably more likely for those who enter a market that boasts a large, captive audience; in other words, a market that benefits from popularity. Whilst competition may be fierce, a fresh brand offering an equally exciting and innovative product will generally go a long way.

However, what of those industries that aren’t perceived that well by the general public Most entrepreneurs would and wider business community? One could shy away from setting up reasonably assert that any attempt to set up shop in a ‘dirty’ industry. shop in a so-called ‘dirty’ market is folly of the highest order. Frances Dickens, co-founder However, there are some and CEO of Astus, the media barter company, who are driven by a desire admits she had her doubts at the start. “When I look back, I think we must have been absolutely to revolutionise an entire mad,” she says. “There are far easier things sector, not just dominate it to do than try and change an industry like media barter. We were in an industry where big American companies had hundreds of clients and they owed millions of pounds of value to them.”

For those unaccustomed with the ways of media barter, Dickens provides a concise summary. “Media barter companies enable advertisers to use the value of their goods or services to part-fund media campaigns. Essentially this means they are able to pay for their media campaigns partly in cash and partly in their goods or services – rather than 100% cash. This results in a significant cost benefit to the client and incremental business for media owners.”

Dickens, along with co-founder Paul Jackson, started Astus in 2003, a time when the media barter industry wasn’t looked upon all that favourably. This, she explains, was a result of events across the pond where media barter revolved around an exchange of ‘trade credits’ which regularly could not be used despite promises to the contrary.

The collapse of one of America’s largest barter firms – which left media owners and clients out of pocket to the tune of millions – confirmed the majority of people’s doubts about the industry’s long-term sustainability and viability.

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SALES & MARKETING

Nevertheless, having spent some time working for one such firm, Dickens and Jackson were convinced that media barter could be done differently, and in a way that brought tangible benefits to clients. They therefore decided to give it a go on these shores. “We just saw how to take this American model and make it work for the UK market,” Dickens explains. “What we did was take it the other way and say ‘let’s get the media space first and then go and find the right person for that media space that the media owner wants’.” Astus also deals in companies’ first-line stock as opposed to its excess or short-dated inventory. This helps add further value to its proposition.

Media barter is still in its infancy in the UK, but estimates suggest it is currently worth £250-300m, with Astus itself responsible for £200m of business last year. By flipping the traditional business model on its head, Dickens believes she is helping change the face of media barter. “I think we have totally revolutionised the industry,” she proclaims.

Jamie Waller, JBW That’s not to say it’s been a walk in the park, though. “We had to get out there and deliver our promises,” Dickens adds. “It is still our mantra today. We had to always make sure that everything that we did was going to work. It was so important to us that we would turn clients away if we weren’t sure we could deliver it.”

Much like media barter in the US, it’s safe to say that the bailiff industry has traditionally been given a fairly rough ride in the UK. However, JBW – the bailiff and debt collection firm founded by Jamie Waller in 2004 – has slowly but surely been cleaning up the sector over the last ten years.

Waller’s desire to start his own bailiff company was also driven by previous experience of employment in the sector. Prior to JBW, he spent five years working for one of the largest enforcement agencies in the country, eventually becoming its UK operations manager. Waller admits to being “really surprised” at the limited training he was given when he first started the job. “I was given around two to three hours in a classroom and then asked to shadow an existing bailiff for the rest of the day,” he recalls.

It was also at this point that negative press about the industry cranked up a notch. “The publicity around the way bailiffs acted got completely out of control,” he says. “Newspaper front pages and TV shows were uncovering really bad practice and it was evident to me that it was not isolated – it was quite widespread. I just thought there was a great opportunity to enter the industry and try and smarten it up.”

There were personal motives for Waller too. “I grew up in Bethnal Green,” he says. “My parents were both living in rented accommodation.

We lived hand to mouth and our friends and neighbours were on the receiving end of debt and bailiffs for very many years. So I had a personal ambition in that I didn’t want to see people being treated badly just because they owed some money.”

Over the last decade, Waller has dedicated his life to presenting the industry in a more positive light. One of the first things he did at JBW – which has had implications for the whole sector – was to sort out the physical appearance of those who had been getting it in the neck from all quarters. “We implemented a bailiff uniform policy,” says Waller. “I come from a military background so I was adamant that from day one our enforcement agents – as we rebranded them – were going to be in trousers, shirt and tie and look official and smart at all times.”

The rebranding of bailiffs as enforcement agents has now been followed through as part of new regulations passed by the government last month. Compulsory training and certification has also been introduced in a bid to curb the instances of aggressive behaviour that have tarnished the reputation of the industry. For Waller, this is the culmination of all of his own efforts over the last decade; JBW was itself responsible for developing the industry’s first ever City & Guilds-accredited training course.

It’s not all been squeaky clean for Waller though. A recent Panorama documentary on BBC1 exposed the unsavoury actions of a ‘rogue’ enforcement officer who had somehow found his way onto JBW’s books. Whilst Waller considered the show to be “unfair, unbalanced and disproportionate”, he is the first to admit that there is still a way to go before his mission can reasonably be labelled complete.

“When you choose to work in an industry like this, this is just another one of the things that you have to deal with,” he says. “One thing I would say is that we have been working on improving this industry for ten years but this is an industry that is hundreds of years old and has been rife with issues from day one. To improve it will take a lot of hard work and a lot of time. I have committed my life to doing that. It’s just evident that it’s going to take a bit more work.”

That means doing a lot more than simply firing the individual in question, Waller stresses. “We really have to take a deep dive into our organisation and our processes and consider if this could happen anywhere else.”

Such blips aside, Waller is a classic example of how an entrepreneur can almost singlehandedly transform an industry. And he still finds time to do his bit for charity. Having completed the London to Paris bike ride in 2012, raising £3,000, this year he will cycle from Geneva to Milan as part of the 1moreCycle campaign, which raises money for 1moreChild, a children’s charity in Uganda.

Yet another string to Waller’s bow and one that provides a welcome distraction from the day job. “When running any business, you need to find ways to stay sane,” he concludes. “It is very easy to come to the decision to just give up.”

There’s no danger of that where Waller is concerned though.

I just thought there was a great opportunity to enter the industry and try and smarten it up

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PEOPLE

An entrepreneur’s drive and determination can only get them so far. There eventually comes a point when taking on an employee becomes essential. But where does one turn first? We speak to three business owners about their first hires and how they’ve become indispensable to their respective enterprises

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DOUBLE ACT Sonobex

Dr Daniel Elford,

WORDS: ADAM PESCOD

co-founder and CTO, Sonobex

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Many of the country’s brightest tech firms took their initial steps within the walls of a higher education institute. Sonobex, the acoustic engineering start-up, is no exception.

The company’s innovative noise reduction technology was first devised by co-founders Dr Daniel Elford and Dr Luke Chalmers at Loughborough University where the two were studying for their PHD. “Our PHD supervisor said we should patent the idea because it looked like there was a commercial application at the end of it,” says Elford. “I had never planned to spin out a company and we didn’t even realise there’d be some commercial benefits to it until we filed for this patent.”

This lack of business acumen made the appointment of somebody with significant commercial experience, especially in the tech space, an essential first hire. “Myself and Luke had both done one module of business during university. That was basically the extent of our business skills,” Elford admits. “We had a lot of enquiries from external companies interested in the technology but we didn’t really know

how to translate it from the lab and into the real world.”

Elford’s enterprise fellowship at the Royal Academy of Engineering instilled a certain degree of commercial thinking but he soon realised he’d have to learn most of it on the job and from those who had been there and done it. With the help of a seasoned business mentor, Elford and Chalmers hired a business development executive in the shape of Paul Gooch, a serial entrepreneur who has spent the last 15 years investing in and working with numerous high-tech ventures.

Initially contracted for six months by Loughborough University as an external consultant to Sonobex, Gooch is now the firm’s CEO. And Elford believes the company wouldn’t be where it is today without the experience and passion for the enterprise that Gooch brought to the table. “We’d still be stuck in a physics lab at Loughborough University,” he laughs. “Paul totally bought into the vision that we had so it is good to have somebody on board who totally believes in it as much as we do.”

Paul Gooch, CEO, Sonobex

01/05/2014 22:04

PEOPLE

Freshcig

Dean Bowes,

office manager, Freshcig

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Employing somebody to hold the fort while you’re out and about securing all-important deals is often a wise move for an entrepreneur.

Ben Wilson, founder of Freshcig, the e-cigarette company, followed such a path when recruiting Dean Bowes as office manager.

“Having an office manager as our first hire was the most important element in setting up the business as customer service is the top priority, whether it’s business-to-consumer or businessto-business,” he says. “Having an ‘all-rounder’ who could handle this – take orders over the phone, pack, send internet orders and manage stock – meant that I could focus on other key activities in order to expand.”

Experience in a similar position wasn’t an essential requirement for Wilson at a time when getting the business off the ground was the priority. In fact, it was the skills and disciplines that Bowes had built up as a chef that made him the ideal candidate.

“As an SME, all employees, especially in the

Cause4

Michelle Wright, founder and CEO, Cause4

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Founded in 2009, Cause4 offers strategic support to charities and social enterprises in the charity, arts, sports and education sectors.

The company soon set about launching its own graduate training programme as a way of finding the right people to help drive the business forward. “We look for people who have got an absolute passion for the charitable sector, are quite business-minded and entrepreneurial and are able to learn really fast,” says Michelle Wright, founder and CEO of Cause4. “We knew that we were going to have to grow our own talent, basically.”

Ben Wilson was the first graduate to complete the programme and was employed as development coordinator in 2010. Being a start-up, Cause4 ultimately required somebody who could do a bit of everything. “The role that we ask our graduates to do is really varied so he needed to learn how to write a grant application, he needed to learn how to write a sponsorship application, he had to be able

early stages, need to be flexible and pitch in with tasks that wouldn’t be in a ‘typical’ role associated with the title,” says Wilson.

“The fact that he was a head chef and could obviously cope with multiple tasks and people management meant that he ticked the boxes for this and the customer service element too.”

Wilson believes that Bowes’ loyalty and attitude has played a large part in the company’s ability to retain customers and build a strong brand identity. “He has a personable manner and our customers have got to know him well over the years, especially those who have placed telephone orders for a long period of time,” Wilson explains. “He is one of the reasons a lot of those customers remain loyal to the brand.” Such qualities are what every entrepreneur should be looking for in a first hire, Wilson concludes. “You don’t want someone who will leave after a month or two of learning the ropes and leave you doing those tasks again before having to train someone else up.”

to learn strategy very fast,” says Wright. “He needed at the other end of the scale to write good blog content.”

It’s safe to say both Wright and Wilson have never looked back, with the latter rising through the ranks to become head of development before being given the chance to build and head up the company’s sports division; something very close to his heart.

His achievements thus far have merited it, in Wright’s opinion.

“Last year, Ben raised almost £4m for our charitable clients, which, if he was in the charitable sector, would be phenomenal. But he almost doesn’t realise that was phenomenal,” she comments. “He is part of our senior management team now and we are just looking into share options for employees. He will be one of the first that would deserve it.”

Wright concludes: “Ben’s ambition is to set up his own social enterprise – I want to hold onto him for a good few years yet and we have got enough going on to keep developing him.”

Ben Wilson,

founder and managing director, Freshcig

Ben Wilson,

head of development, Cause4

01/05/2014 22:01

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PEOPLE

One happy family

Current employment trends and policy changes are likely to reshape the age demographics of Britain’s future workforce.

How can employers take advantage of these changes?

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WORDS: DARA JEGEDE

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simple truth is that companies with a diverse workforce perform much better than those without. Older employees will come with the benefit of experience, having been there and done it, while their younger counterparts can bring in fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.

It can provide businesses with the opportunity to reach a wider customer base as their worker bees can relate to, and understand multiple generations: younger employees, bang on trend with all things social, will easily connect to the market in this way, while older workers will often identify with an altogether different

demographic. Tapping into and recruiting diverse talent is one thing but getting the best out of employees will involve understanding their motivational and working preferences.

According to research from the CEB, the member-based advisory company, the strongest motivational factors for individuals born between the 1980s and 2000s – Generation Y – are competition, progression and personal growth.

“To keep this demographic engaged, companies need to facilitate sustained career progression and provide development opportunities that enable them to advance to a more senior level in the workplace,” advises

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02/05/2014 00:54

PEOPLE

Nick Shaw, consulting director at CEB. This is in contrast with the baby boomers (1940s to early 1960s) who are more driven by autonomy, power and personal principles.

Gen Y also tend to be self-starting, entrepreneurial and keen to make a rapid impact. They are eager to be given responsibilities early and want to see their contributions making an impact. However, Shaw warns that they may initially struggle to cope with pressure and setbacks at work.

Therefore, organisations need to provide the support required to nurture this cohort.

Focusing on one age group, however, can mean that companies are in danger of missing significant and valuable channels of ideas, creativity and innovation. “The key challenge for employers will be to ensure [proper] managerial practice,” comments Shaw.

“Handling diversity is a critical competency for line managers, [who] will need to be given the flexibility to empower individuals and translate an understanding of what motivates different people into practical ways of recognising their contribution that works for every employee.”

One possible route to take is to ask employees

One happy family.indd 2

what they’re looking for and what they want.

Those approaching retirement age who want to carry on working will often have different motivational factors other than money such as social interaction, continued stimulation and development, as well as passing on knowledge to future generations.

“Knowledge transfer is a key element,” says Julie Windsor, director at Talentia Software UK, the software company. “This can be providing mentoring, coaching or work-shadowing opportunities, and it can be fulfilling for older employees.”

However, it doesn’t have to be a one-way street. Companies should also consider reverse mentoring where the younger employees can mentor older ones in areas within the business such as new technologies. “Everyone has to believe they’re making a contribution,” Windsor adds. “Employers have an obligation

Knowledge transfer is key Julie Windsor, Talentia Software UK

within the business to make sure that their employees are successful and making a valuable contribution.”

Mismanaging age diversity means that companies run the risk of disengaging the workforce, which can negatively impact their productivity and business performance. While the key to keeping Gen Y engaged is through setting expectations around promotion opportunities and greater responsibilities along their career path, this can prove quite troublesome for SMEs. “Keeping younger talent, which is hungry to learn and compete for opportunities, energised and engaged is the singular challenge organisations will face,” says Shaw. “Since any organisation will only have so many senior positions open at any one time, reframing what career progression means has become a critical must-do for talent managers.”

Claire McCartney, adviser on resourcing and talent planning at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), says that SMEs should be thinking creatively about the development opportunities that they can offer to their workers. “It might not be a promotion

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in terms of a financial promotion up a ladder, but it could be a step sideways to working in a different part of the business,” she comments.

“An employee within an entrepreneurial SME would relish the opportunity to work in areas they wouldn’t be able to within significantly larger organisations.”

Shaw believes that through a flexible approach to employee engagement, and understanding and accommodating generational differences in job motivation and career development, employers are able to invest in the younger generation without alienating boomers who may already hold senior positions.

There’s a lot for SMEs to consider in being objective and fair with regards to providing equal employment opportunities across the

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higher salary than younger people,” Windsor explains. “There is a challenge to meet salary expectations and to re-develop people if they’re changing direction in their career. And the balance in terms of salary structures has perhaps been considered to be prohibitive.”

Perceptions that mature workers ‘slow down’ as they get older is another unfounded setback for the older generation. “Our employee outlooks research (survey of employees’ attitude to working life) found that older employees are most engaged, most satisfied and most willing to go the extra mile at work,” says McCartney. “Their productivity might well be as great as or higher than some of the other age groups. We need to tackle some of those negative stereotypes that aren’t really founded upon on the objective situation as it appears in the workplace.”

So what can employers do to tackle and invalidate some of these stereotypes?

Shaw says that organisations with more granular and talent-focused data across their workforce are those Older that will have the capability to move beyond stereotypes to a employees are more effective management of most engaged, the acquisition, development and retention of the talent that all most satisfied offer. and most willing generations “Rather than relying solely on subjective candidate to go the extra information, organisations mile at work should adopt objective talent assessment as part of a systematic process to selecting Julie Windsor, Talentia Software UK the right people for roles today and identifying talent that is most likely to succeed in more senior roles tomorrow,” he adds.

McCartney believes that people are already acknowledging the advantages of age-diversity in the workplace but organisations need to be more proactive. “Small businesses are not thinking about age diversity issues now, but we know that the workplace demographics are shifting and the pace of change is going to speed up immensely,” she warns.

“Organisations, businesses, and entrepreneurs need to be forward thinking in this area, and really think about what we can do to bring in and retain the best age-diverse talent now and in the future.”

board. “It’s challenging for SMEs because we’re not talking about huge workforces,” Windsor empathises. “First and foremost, it’s always going to be about having the right people in the right positions to deliver for our business.”

If we take a step back to the job search or application stage, there are factors that may obstruct a candidate gaining employment in the first place. For example, people in their 50s may be ruled out and not progress past the application stage because assumptions are made. The commentators agree that a fundamental change in employers’ mindsets is vital.

“From an employer’s perspective, there tends to be an assumption that more experienced people who have been successful in their careers to date will be looking at a significantly

01/05/2014 22:08

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PEOPLE

The trouble with talent is… the ‘talentless’ 95% Working out your employees’ strengths is key to unlocking the hidden talent in your midst, says Lyndsey Simpson, co-founder of the Curve Group

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S

o far in this series, I’ve explored the challenges associated with identifying talent, attracting talent, nurturing talent and how to engage talent. However, there’s a bigger problem out there. By its own definition, most people don’t fall into the bracket of ‘talent’. Therefore, if the search is always on for the elusive top 5% of people, what do you do with the remaining 95%?

One of the first things to remember is that talent isn’t an absolute, whereby you either have it or you don’t. In January, I looked at how you identify talent and explored the notion that the role or job someone is doing and the context of your organisation has a huge part to play. Not everyone who is now considered a top dog within their industries started out as one. It took time, investment and development in order to get them to where they are today.

A perfect example came at the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi, where Lizzie Yarnold secured her skeleton gold after four years of heavy investment. As such, you need to tread very carefully when dealing with the majority who you don’t currently rate as talent. You may just not have discovered what they are talented at yet.

Find the square pegs for the square holes The best way to uncover hidden talent is to expose employees to as much of your organisation as possible. This does not have to be as formal as job rotations or secondments to different departments, but mini projects

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and tasks that test their skills and abilities in a different way to their day job. This way of working and ‘testing for talent’ in different areas is of particular importance to smaller organisations that can’t afford, or don’t have the need, for functional specialists.

For example, there may be a particular member of your advertising team who has a great telephone manner. Why not give them a go at running your credit control to see if they can get your invoices paid quicker than you or your finance team can? Or you may have a sales person who is really into the latest gadgets and all things technical. Why not train them up on your IT systems and make them your go-to person on day-to-day IT matters?

If they find something they enjoy and, more importantly, are good at, you will normally find that you see a whole different side to what they can bring to your organisation and their performance across the board increases as a direct result.

Don’t protect them from the truth Just because they’re not big hitters now, it doesn’t mean they can’t put in some great performances. Role and performance ambiguity can be incredibly detrimental within a professional environment, so each individual within your business should know where they stand. I’m not suggesting a public ranking system of your top ten employees in each department. However, you should make them aware of what you think of them and how they are performing against others. You should

01/05/2014 22:10

PEOPLE

also note the differences you see in either output or behaviours of those performing similar roles that you would deem as talent or high potentials. If they are frustrated by this and believe they have the potential and ambition to improve, then this gives you the basis for a development conversation and agreement of how you can support them and they can develop themselves to improve. If on the other hand they are happy to be middle of the pack, then it will not come as any surprise to them, or cause you any issues, when they do not receive the same treatment, opportunities or progression as those whom you have identified as top talent.

Don’t write them off

It’s the age old debate: nature versus nurture.

Is talent born or made? You never know when

somebody might surprise you. Just because an individual may not be considered as talent today, it does not mean they won’t be in the future. If you disregard people because you were too short-sighted to see what they could become, you may end up regretting it. Consequentially, if you do write these individuals off too soon before trying their hand in different areas, they may never reach their potential, or even worse they will leave and reach their potential under the guidance of one of your competitors.

At the end of the day, within your organisation you will have different techniques for progressing and managing individuals who do not display as much obvious talent as some others. However, it is paramount to remember the journey we take as professionals and that it matters more where you’re going than where you are.

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Just because an individual may not be considered as talent today, it does not mean they won’t be in the future

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01/05/2014 22:10

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24/12/2013 18:22

TECHNOLOGY

It’s been a rather exciting period for the Elite tech team, with three of the major mobile manufacturers releasing rather spiffing new handsets within a short space of time. This can only mean one thing: an excuse for an entirely arbitrary mobile madness month, bringing you the best of all things bluetoothed and the telephonic top dogs

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Samsung Galaxy S5 News of the Samsung Galaxy S5’s arrival sparked plenty of questions of whether it would mark a similar sprint forward as the S4. In reality, the handset is more content with a jog.

Its screen is tweaked for more dynamic colour but retains its predecessor’s (admittedly still mighty) 432ppi resolution. The inclusion of a heart rate sensor and a fingerprint scanner are nice additions, although perhaps not significant progress.

However, the real performance enhancement is under the hood. Its 2.5Ghz quad-core drive leaves its progenitors and most of its contemporaries way back on the starting line – as evinced by the fact its opening weekend beat that of the iPhone 5s.

WORDS: JOSH RUSSELL

Sony Xperia Z2

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Whilst the Xperia Z2 perhaps isn’t quite as drool-worthy as the iPhone 5s or the HTC One M8 – Sony is a little less profligate with the metal finishes than their rivals – don’t let this fool you.

This is an impressive piece of kit. Coming with a quad-core 2.3GHz processor, it can definitely hold its own in terms of performance. But its 20.7 megapixel camera is where it truly shines: it comes with an astounding array of additional features from its own Background Defocus feature, through SteadyShot image stabilisation for its 4K video capture to an incredibly impressive night mode. All in all, a great choice for smartphone snappers.

01/05/2014 22:12

TECHNOLOGY

Oppo Find 7 Oppo is the outsider in the smartphone market but it should have the big players very worried indeed – the Find 7 has to be one of the most hotly anticipated handsets out there. Its QHD 5.5 inch screen comes at a resolution of 538ppi, the highest pixel density in the world and showing up even the HTC One M8’s impressive 440ppi. Coming with a quad-core 2.5Ghz and 3GB of RAM, it is just as powerful as any other entrant. Lastly it has a pseudo-50 megapixel camera that will stitch four frames together for super hi-def photography.

HTC One M8 The HTC One was one of the finest of its generation and the HTC One M8 looks to be a fitting heir to the throne. Its predecessor’s brushed metal finish has made a welcome return, covering the back and sides of the slimmer handset. The inclusion of dual lenses on its camera allow it to build up a ‘depth map’, meaning one can tweak depth of field on captured photos at a later date. Lastly its Dot View case offers an aesthetically pleasing display when the case is closed but whether it proves to be much more than a gimmick remains to be seen.

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UP Coffee In this era of quantified self and fitness trackers, no self respecting coffee aficionado could really justify not learning more about their relationship with the wonderful bean. Coming from Jawbone, one of the darlings of the tracker boom and the makers of the UP band, Coffee UP is a free app that can either work with your UP or on its own. It logs your intake and helps map how your body metabolises caffeine levels, allowing you to tell when you’re good for one more brew or when another espresso is going to keep you turning all night.

The hot list.indd 2

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02/05/2014 00:59

TECHNOLOGY

Forward thinking If society is to benefit from a new generation of digital innovation, it’s vital we provide a whole new form of tech support scheme. Nominet Trust’s inspiring Digital Enterprise Award seems to fit the bill

WORDS: JOSH RUSSELL

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ominet Trust is no stranger to banging comments. “You have a lot of young people the drum for social enterprises and online who have a real passion for something charities. Its most recent initiative, and they take on that role of expert.” iDEA – the inspiring Digital Enterprise This meant that teaching by rote and passing Award designed to champion young people’s down information from the head of the class use of innovation and entrepreneurial without a degree of interaction wasn’t an tech skills – is just the latest of its schemes accurate reflection of the way people were designed to stimulate the growth of social learning in the wider world. “I became worried start-ups and bring technological solutions that there was a growing disconnect between to societal problems. From its Tech for Good how young people were learning outside of collaboration with Big Issue Invest to its school and the ways they were learning inside Social Tech Seed fund, there are it,” says Small. And this is what led few organisations more effectively Small to her role as chief executive placed to communicate how tech at Futurelab, a registered charity doesn’t just build good startdedicated to innovative ups; it builds a good society. approaches to education.

Annika Small, the But it wasn’t just its trust’s CEO, has always power to open up been interested in communications in how technology can be the classroom that used to reach people and Small found so powerful. drive change. “The social “Technology can mobilise application of technology has connections between young Annika Small, Nominet Trust been my bag for as long as I people,” she explains. This remember,” she explains. Much of made her next transition, to her earlier career was spent working working with the Tony Blair in broadcast journalism and documentaryFaith Foundation, the interfaith charitable making and it was this that first seeded the organisation set up by the former prime idea of the huge power that connectivity and minister, a natural step. “Tony Blair was trying communication could play in inspiring people. to improve understanding of young people Given the time she’d spent informing the who are in conflict zones: young people in public, it wasn’t too much of a leap to see the Palestine connecting with young people in impact this could have in the education sector.

Israel, India with Pakistan and other parts of “Technology is enabling a blurring of roles, of the world,” she says. “It seemed like technology who’s the teacher and who’s the learner,” Small could be a great way to enable that.”

Technology is enabling a blurring of roles, of who’s the teacher and who’s the learner

01/05/2014 22:14

TECHNOLOGY

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It’s easy to forget technology’s power to connect, given how it can be maligned in the media. “Quite rightly, there are a lot of scare stories about technology and the internet,” says Small. “But it’s important to demonstrate that there is also another side to it.”

And when Nominet, the .uk domain registry, first began to look at setting up a charitable fund, this was an obvious area to move into.

Small explains: “They very clearly felt that technology is such a force for good that it was important to have a corporate foundation looking at how it can be used to address complex social challenges.”

Since then Nominet Trust has invested more than £30m in a wide variety of initiatives.

These range from connecting young people struggling to find employment with SMEs and charities that could benefit from their skills to projects that help individuals to invest a little bit of time back into their local communities.

“Technology has, in a sense, transformed how we work, learn, shop, buy, sell,” says Small.

“Why can’t it help us transform the way we look at these problems?”

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Perhaps one of the areas that is attracting the most attention and investment currently in the tech space is around ensuring young people have the digital skills to code and create new projects and innovations.

Nominet Trust certainly isn’t a stranger in this area, with its programme Make Things Do Stuff dedicated to championing these sorts of skills, but they found that whilst there was support for developing these skill sets, there wasn’t much support after this for those who had developed new platforms and ideas.

“We were finding that young people were saying ‘that’s great. I’ve got that base level of skill: now what?’ or ‘I’ve got this great idea for a digital business: what next?’” explains Small.

“We just thought it made so much sense to provide the next destination for young people who have gotten excited about the potential of technology and have good business ideas.”

Annika Small, Nominet Trust Part of the problem was that Nominet Trust was finding few young people felt comfortable with drawing down huge amounts of debt to get their project started. “There wasn’t anything that provided the support that we were hearing young people wanted,” Small says. “It was the lean, bootstrapping approach they were after.”

Instead the focus for iDEA became much more about providing young people with a framework to learn development models more in keeping with contemporary tech culture. Rather than encouraging young people to embrace debt and restrictive equity models, the scheme helps to stimulate a more iterative, experimental approach to their ideas. Small explains: “It is about working out how to build a bit of a prototype, testing it with your prospective customers, seeing if that works and keeping it quite lean and fast-moving.”

And the sorts of names the scheme has attracted as ambassadors is a reflection of the validity of this approach, with some of the UK’s brightest tech stars giving it their stamp of approval. Its ambassadors include Michael Acton Smith, the entrepreneur behind Mind Candy m .a ill.i and Moshi Monsters, and Nick D’Aloisio, the 17-year-old who made w and headlines when Summly, his bedroom-coded news aggregator, sold ork Y f eo for a reported $30 million to Yahoo. Small says: “Those ambassadors Duk e Th endorsing the programme helps show people that there is another approach available.”

Its launch at Buckingham Palace was equally star-studded, with the Duke of York and will.i.am both adding a little more celebrity to the scheme. “In terms of profile it was fantastic,” Small comments.

Vindication of how effective this has been in attracting the attention of young people has been in the fact that its first limited run of 1,000 young people has already been swamped with applicants. She explains: “We’re pretty much at capacity already so the response has been phenomenal.”

But Nominet Trust is far from resting on its laurels with iDEA and has its eyes firmly on the future. “What we need to do is ensure we retain the momentum,” says Small. “We just want to deliver a programme that is really going to meet the needs of young people.”

We were finding that young people were saying ‘I’ve got this great idea for a digital business: what next?’

01/05/2014 22:14

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02/05/2014 00:59

TECHNOLOGY

Taking care of your tech Outsourced technology projects often fail due to a clash of cultures between the entrepreneur and their digital partner. But speaking in each other’s language can help alleviate such problems, says Dan Kirby

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I

’ve been making websites since 1997. My first was for FRijj milkshake – you know, the curvy bottle with the cow pattern. And like many people tackling a tech project for the first time, I found the whole experience really, really stressful.

Yet learning how to effectively manage a tech project is important. Why? Because the world is only getting more digital and your business will need to evolve accordingly. It’s not just websites any more, but mobile apps, content management systems, responsive design and the internet of things.

I love making complex digital stuff, but I hate the stress that can come with it. It’s easy to feel a complete loss of control: a black hole of tech into which goes your valuable time and hardearned cash.

We’ve captured the lessons we’ve learnt since the 1990s and turned them into a systematised workflow at my company Techdept. We apply it every day for companies like American Express, British Gas and Topshop. If we mess up, we not only get grey hairs and a gobful, we undermine our brand – so it’s something we take deadly seriously.

So, when it comes to your own digital projects – namely those that you hand to an external party – here’s how to maximise the returns on your investment.

Choose carefully

Your digital activity needs to be crafted: the way that people engage with it, the look and feel, the content – all elements need to be designed. A car isn’t all about the engine and your digital isn’t just about the code.

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01/05/2014 22:15

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it in XYZ” ask them to answer the statement “which means that…”

One of the biggest sources of stress for anyone involved in a tech project is ‘churn’ – when you think something is done but then you have to test it, document it and test it again. A clear process by which to give written feedback, with literally each line given consideration, may seem like a frustration when you have other things to do, but it will actually save you time in the end.

Understand your differences

The single biggest mistake in any digital project is not precisely defining what’s going to be done before you start to do it Remember that the people you partner with should be seen as partners – you should trust that they can work with you not just today, but years into the future. Are they enthusiastic yet inexperienced? Or are they so large that you’ll end up with the junior team after the pitch win? Find out who will work on your account.

Do they fill you with confidence?

The process is as important as the people – how will they ensure the work will be delivered? Have you established and agreed upon any milestones for the project? These should ensure that you get what you want when you want it. You need strong leadership to navigate a complex tech project.

Write down what you want

Before you talk to your tech partner, write down what you want from the project. Is it more enquiries? Or email addresses? Or a sexy looking thing that supports an offline campaign? Does it need to work on mobile phones? Does it need to be online for Friday?

Once all these considerations are written down they can be better understood both by yourself and your digital partner. Technical

Tech Dept.indd 2

output doesn’t lend itself well to briefings by phone or discussions in a coffee shop.

These business objectives don’t need to be technical – they need to be clear. A good digital agency will welcome this direction for their ideas.

Agree the detail upfront

The single biggest mistake in any digital project is not precisely defining what’s going to be done before you start to do it. Imagine getting a builder to build you a house without having architects’ plans agreed. They may build you a wall but where you wanted Italian stone, you end up with breeze blocks.

Many times people feel the urge to ‘do stuff’ and jump into building things. But it’s important that your partners communicate how they will achieve your objectives in what is known as a specification document, functionality spec or statement of work. This should be in plain English – jargon is no good for you – so ask them to explain if it doesn’t immediately make sense.

Importantly, ask for the benefits to any of their proposals. So if they say “we will build

There are real differences between how entrepreneurial types view the world and how web development types view it: call it Mars and Venus. Good communications are critical with a tech job, but silly misunderstandings still often creep in.

Web development people like specifics and clear objectives – which is why you should write them down. They are happy to be innovative, but need clear parameters simply because there are so many ramifications to what they do.

Language is really important – if you say ‘database’ when you mean ‘spreadsheet’, it can create days of extra work.

Tech types often assume that the answer to any problem is more tech. I have seen heated debates about website functionality that can be solved by changing one line of text. When communicating with your developer, you need to understand that ‘chucking in ideas’ at the last minute may well distract everyone from getting your job done right.

Think like a scientist

When scientists approach their work, they do so by running tests and seeing what works.

Digital is the same: you can never be 100% certain that a design or a piece of technology will work optimally on day one. You should allocate your budget to be spent on creating a great first experiment, but make sure that tools are in place to monitor its performance, and money is available to evolve it when you get the data back. By running tests you can better ensure your site is linking up with your business plan.

Like anything, experience is gained over time. But with a few simple pointers you can avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls found in the brave new digital world.

01/05/2014 22:16

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LEGAL

End of the line?

WORDS: JOSH RUSSELL

It can be easy to think that gross misconduct means you can instantly turf a troublesome employee out on their ear. But, in practice, it’s not quite so straightforward

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I

n disciplinary terms, gross misconduct is the equivalent of an unforgivable sin.

Whilst the focus of a standard disciplinary process is to deal with undesirable behaviour and reconcile the two parties involved, if an employee is found guilty of gross misconduct it tends to be something hard to row back from.

However, this doesn’t mean employers should assume they can simply terminate an employee suspected of gross misconduct without following a clearly defined process.

First of all, it’s worth delineating what does and doesn’t come under the banner of gross misconduct. “It’s where the behaviour is such that it’s a fundamental breach of the employment relationship,” explains Michael Ball, partner at Gateley, the law firm. Classic examples of this are theft, assault, fraud, falsification of documents or coming into work under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He continues: “It’s not being late for work, it’s not a minor insubordination: it’s activity which indicates the employers doesn’t have to be bound to the employee’s contract anymore.”

Given that the above list is far from intended as exhaustive, some employers will assume it is up to them to define what they do and don’t class as gross misconduct. Whilst there is scope for this, merely placing a particular behaviour under that heading doesn’t mean it will stand up on a legal basis. “If I say being late for work is gross misconduct and I produce a policy saying that, it still doesn’t make it gross misconduct,” Ball says. “The consequence of it needs to be serious.”

There’s something of a misconception around handling cases of severe misconduct that an employer's right to instant dismissal means that an employee can be let go as soon as one suspects they have breached their contract.

“Instant dismissal just refers to the fact that at the point you’re ready to make the decision, when you dismiss someone it’s instant,” Ball comments. “If I find out you’ve knicked something, it doesn’t mean I can just sack you.” Instead, instant dismissal simply means that when the time for a decision comes, the employer simply isn’t obliged to abide by the standard notice terms in an employee’s contract. “If you breach your contract you don’t get your notice: you’re dismissed instantly,” he continues. “But that sanction is something that will only come into play at the end of a proper procedure.”

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01/05/2014 22:17

LEGAL

In certain cases, an employer may feel under less pressure to follow this procedure. With the recent spinning out the qualification period for unfair dismissal to two years' employment, some may think they’d be safe from reprisal.

“If they find you’ve been stealing something and you’ve only been with them for six months, some people might say: ‘you’re just fired mate: off you go’,” Ball says. But it’s important to recognise unfair dismissal claims aren’t the only reprisal an employer could face. He continues: “There are lots of other claims – all the discrimination claims for example – that are less than two years.”

Because of this, it’s important to always make sure one thoroughly investigates a suspicion of gross misconduct. However, this doesn’t have to be a protracted or complicated process. “It’s relatively simple,” Ball says. “It’s a common 92

sense thing.” An employer needs to meet with the employee involved and allow them representation from colleague or trade union representative, explain their suspicions and present them with the evidence, before inviting them to outline any mitigating circumstances.

Ball explains: “It’s not a forensic, police-style investigation but I only make my mind up when I’ve heard what they have to say and I’ve investigated reasonably.”

And once an employer has established whether, more likely than not, an employee has committed an offence, it is important to bear in mind that instant dismissal may not always be the most appropriate response. “The employer should never say: ‘I’ve got no option but to dismiss you’; that’s not a reasonable approach,” Ball comments.

It’s not common but sometimes the mitigation given by an employee means an employer will give them a second chance.

In these cases it is important to formally explain that your reluctance to terminate their

employment isn’t because a lack of established guilt but because the mitigation they have provided is enough you are prepared to give them one last chance. Ball says: “Effectively you would say: ‘you have committed this offence, I could dismiss you but I have heard that your child is ill and only because of your mitigation I’m offering you a first and final written warning.’”

Whatever your findings and decision, it’s also important a member of staff is allowed their right of appeal. “If I just dismiss you and don’t allow you an appeal, then procedurally that’s likely to be an unfair dismissal,” explains Ball. He refers employers to the ACAS Code of Practice on discipline and grievance, which sets out an effective appeals process, but effectively the most important thing is that another, more neutral party is able to review the case and assess the appropriateness of the decision. “You should have a manager who is more senior than the one who made the original decision consider the appeal and they should have the ability and seniority to overturn the original decision.”

Clearly, the purpose of working through all of these processes is to ensure an employee feels they’ve been treated fairly and to minimise the chances of it being taken to a tribunal. But, as Robert Burns put it, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.

So if you do end up facing a claim, what’s the best line of defence? In Ball’s opinion, it’s all about the paper trail. “That’s where the employer usually falls down,” he comments. “The tribunal is able to say: ‘you weren’t in a position to make a reasonable decision because you hadn’t done this or done that’.” Given dealing with misconduct is about making the most reasonable decision taking into account all of the information presented to you, demonstrating you have a good handle on that information is absolutely vital. Ball continues: “Essentially, good notes of meetings, good letters and good documents are the best way of showing that.”

Ultimately, it’s easy to assume when dealing with gross misconduct that the ball is always in the employer’s court. But it’s worth making sure you have a firmly ironed out process to keep yourself safe.

Gross misconduct is where the behaviour is such that it’s a fundamental breach of the employment relationship

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ICAEW’s Business Advice Service offers a free, straightforward discussion with an ICAEW Chartered Accountant.

There’s no obligation after your first free session, just practical thinking to help your business succeed.

The most cost effective & easy to use online accounting software for small business owners Liquid's online accounting software makes doing your books easy by automating painful tasks, integrating multiple business systems and allowing you to run your business on the go.

• Effortlessly run your business on the go from anywhere • Easy cloud bookkeeping and automation • Saves small businesses both time & money

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t: 0845 450 7304 w: www.liquidaccounts.com

We specialise in creating software programs that do exactly what you need.

We listen to and involve you at every stage. Whether it’s a small Access based system that one of your departments requires or a web based one so that people in all your offices can use, ask us what can be done.

We specialise in: • asp.net • SQL Server • Microsoft Access • Microsoft Excel Can’t find a ready-made solution? We’ll build it for you.

t: 01604 879505 e: enquiries@blackmanassociates.co.uk w: www.blackmanassociates.co.uk

Business Coaching

Mindfulness for Business Transform your day to day life!

Reduce stress, improve health, promote wellbeing, and enhance focus.

Book now for this eight week online course with Julie Walsh our life coach Special May Offer Only £99 - VALID UNTIL 31st May (Usual price £199) Book Now at www.businesshelpforyou.co.uk and receive a 2-hour practical skills workshop Free (Workshops are in Essex)

e: support@businesshelpforyou.co.uk w: www.businesshelpforyou.co.uk Business Opportunity

Work with Marie to optimise your mindset & learn the systems, focus & knowledge you need to sustain your startup & thrive. Email Marie & quote #elitebusiness to receive your free Entrepreneur Scan.

INTENSIVE ETIQUETTE CLASSES FOR CHILDREN 7-13 YEARS One to one coaching • Class environment Our intensive Etiquette Training System has been specifically designed for teaching etiquette classes to children. It includes the use of interactive games, role-play and theory whilst keeping it fun, in order to help your children discover and focus on what is regarded as important social behaviour, when reacting socially with their peers and families during the course of everyday living.

t: 07960 961 391 e: marie@mariemilligan.com w: www.mariemilligan.com

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How to Sustain Your Startup & Reach Your Version of Success.

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Business Strategy

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We are a limited company with over 10 years of experience specialising in Business Analysis, Business Transformation, Commissioning and Procurement.

A key aspect of our work is to identify potential for improving level of efficiencies, whether this is in business practices, current procedures, getting better use of IT systems, identify cost saving and potential loss of revenue.

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Classifieds May.indd 1

Crawford Gill Associates is a close protection and specialist security consultancy based in the prestigious heart of central London.

We take pride in being able to supply some of the world’s most elite protection specialists to discerning clients globally.

We offer all encompassing bespoke security solutions from personal protection details and residential estate security packages to special event security planning and high value asset logistics.

t: 0800 689 0718 e: enquiries@crawfordgillassociates.com w: crawfordgillassociates.com

02/05/2014 01:28

classifieds Creative Design

breathecreative Blooodyweb is a team of web and app developers/designers that believes in a quality service delivered in a short period of time. There is a misunderstanding in this business and a lot of people is getting ripped off nowadays, we bring real and fair rates and are totally transparent in our procedures.

t: 02075 110022 e: mark@bloodyweb.co.uk

We are a multifaceted graphic design consultancy dedicated to delivering strategic and innovative solutions that help you and your business stand out from the crowd.

We service our clients with the confidence of knowing that we are good at what we do: We help our clients achieve their goals – we help to bring out their greatness!

t: +44 020 3561 6995 e: info@creativeharmony.co.uk w: www.creativeharmony.co.uk

We make your brand stand out in your market, find you more customers, help you keep the customers you have and tell the world your story • We dig deep to find out what makes your business different.

• We create the big idea that encapsulates that point of difference.

• We spark your brand into life with vibrant visual language and strong messaging.

• We deliver highly creative communications to tell your story - everything from a business card to a website Call Geoff today to find out how we can help your business grow

As a graphic design consultant I provide design and marketing services to a range of clients; with experience working with small businesses to worldwide organisations.

Covering logo development and branding, website design, brochures and promotional material, I strive to help businesses on a personal level producing results that meet their requirements and help to improve hitting their business targets by working closely with them, providing advice and design support tailored to their needs.

t: 01491 699847 e: geoff@breathe4u.com w: breathe4u.com

e: claire@clairejenks.co.uk w: www.clairejenks.co.uk

Providing bespoke products and services in time and budget..so you can lead the way in style..! and remember We won’t be beaten on PRICE and QUALITY...

Our dedicated team of professionals can provide solutions for just everything from web design to 2D/3D animation, online marketing, and much more.

Today online presence is a key to success for every business, if you think so and want your bespoke web site that can be found by search engines…Call The Experts

t: 01913 385777 e: info@mediaexpertsbiz.co.uk w: www.mediaexpertsbiz.co.uk

A boutique creative agency based in the heart of Brighton. We work on the ethos of transparency and simplicity with both local and global clients.

Here’s an agency where you can talk directly to creatives, ideas can blossom, and buzz words can buzz off. We have a wealth of designers, copywriters and web developers waiting to make your project happen.

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t: 01273 261166 e: info@mintcreative.com w: www.mintcreative.com

ShootfortheMoon OCPU Graphic is a young independent creative studio founded in 2013 specialised in graphics and animations.

We create visual solutions across several platforms, understanding that every client’s requirement both big and small businesses is unique. Proud of our projects we always work hard to improve and give more than client’s expectations.

Our services include: Corporate video production, marketing videos, online trading videos, live event filming or product videos for online stores, 3D animation or motion graphics

t: 0741 1414116 e: pau@ocpugraphic.com w: www.ocpugraphic.com

Design

All-in-one help with everything from business cards to social media and photography.

Plan B Images is run by Birgitte Lydum, who has 15 years' experience in print and online media. She takes the hot air out of graphic design, while offering sound and friendly advice.

ShootfortheMoon Design is a small company experienced in producing beautiful digital, print, brand and web designs. With lots of happy clients spanning the globe, our dedicated team can help with everything from design and technical expertise, to social media and marketing advice.

Get in touch for a no obligation chat.

t: 07939 123 218 e: b@planbimages.com w: planbimages.com

t: +44 (0)7850 449634 e: tim@shootforthemoondesign.com w: shootforthemoondesign.com e-commerce

Creative design and web development.

Thorne Creative | Brand Design Consultancy Be bold. Be brave Transform your organisation, making it: • Stand out in the market • Easier to manage • More profitable Branding advice for your business, from £90.

WATB is a digital agency and thinkbox that creates ways for your business to get the best results online and offline. We are based on a charming industrial estate in Surrey.

t: +44(0)7990 973199 e: jason@thornecreative.co.uk w: www.thornecreative.co.uk

t: 020 3397 1174 e: info@watb.co.uk w: watb.co.uk

Classifieds May.indd 2

Exploit The Web are a software development company based in Somerset, developing tailor-made ecommerce solutions for businesses worldwide.

Currently we work primarily with Magento, we also do our own HTML, XML, CSS, PHP and PERL. You know that client who wants the impossible?

We can make that happen. Give us a call or email us to discuss your in-depth development needs today!

t: 01823 286740 e: enquiries@exploittheweb.com w: www.exploittheweb.com

02/05/2014 01:28

classifieds Graphic Design

Franchise Opportunity

Set up your own home based bookkeeping practice with an award winning bookkeeping franchise. Join over 20 franchisees offering bookkeeping to businesses using cloud software such as xero, kashflow and sage. We provide vat returns, profit & loss, payroll and credit control etc from only £50pm.

No qualifications are needed as full training is given. Franchise fee £15,000 plus vat.

t: 02031 372 878 e: mandy@cloudbookkeeping.co.uk w: www.cloudbookkeeping.co.uk

ldn-design is a UK based website design company which offers affordable solutions to help you create your dream website.

We are professional WIX website designers. We love working with our clients creating User-Friendly websites & offering superb Advertising solutions at unbeatable prices. Whatever size your business is we can help you build an online presence with our packages that start from £65.

NEED A NEW WEBSITE? GET FREE SEO WORTH £240!

Normally we see web designers build great looking sites but there’s something missing; there’s no combine marketing. We at Webb Synergy believe in connecting various energies into one powerful creation which is YOUR WEB BUSINESS not a “website”. There are millions of websites stagnating all over the web however, we will create your web business that gets you more visibility and conversions.

Get a FREE £240 SEO service today - when you sign up for a website.

t: +44 (0) 789 112 5564 e: info@ldn-design.com

t: 07930 624 903 e: tourae@webbsynergy.com w: WebbSynergy.com Hypnotheraphy

HR

Kirsty Grant

Member of The British Society of Clinical Hypnosis

Pioneer HR and Training Consultancy Ltd has been set up to provide quality and cost-effective outsourced HR solutions to SMEs. We offer following bespoke HR services to suit your specific business needs:

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• Complete HR outsourcing • Disciplinary and Grievance • HR policy and procedure manuals • Employee engagement • Recruitment and Selection • Health and Safety • Staff Training • Employee handbook and Employment Contract

t: 07411 004694 e: info@pioneerhrandtrainingconsultancyltd.co.uk w: pioneerhrandtrainingconsultancyltd.co.uk Interactive Product Tracing

Gain massive insight and give your customers confidence!

Your products can interact with consumers using our simple Cloud and Smartphone authenticity technology.

For Anti-Counterfeit: Map out genuine and counterfeit activity.

Let your consumer interactions be your eyes and ears.

For Marketing: Interact and engage with your customer throughout the buying process and get to know who they are and what they buy.

For Licensing: Activate your licensees and the Authicode product tracing provides the above benefits and better royalty payment monitoring data.

t: 0207 1931837 e: sales@authicode.com w: www.authicode.com AFFILIATE PROGRAMME AVAILABLE

Revera HR Consulting is an outsourced HR company founded to offer realistic solutions to SMEs. We work with businesses in all stages of growth, tailoring our approach to fit your specific business requirements.

We specialise in employment contracts, disciplinaries & grievances, handbooks, policy and procedure manuals, recruitment and selection and tribunal support.

Invoice Factoring

Classifieds May.indd 3

• Smoking cessation • Stress • Anxiety

• Phobias • Sleep issues • Weight control

• Self-confidence • Public speaking • IBS

Conveniently located in EC2 & E18, see website for more information or contact Kirsty Grant to discuss confidentially and without obligation.

t: 07909 777114 e: kirsty@kirstygrant.co.uk w: kirstygrant.co.uk IT Support

LOW COST EXPORT FINANCE NOW AVAILABLE

t: 0208 203 6500 w: www.workingcapitalpartners.co.uk

t: 0203 015 4942 e: arudhran@macronetit.com m: +44 74469 00028 w: macronetit.com

Hart Brown has a well established and respected commercial team providing legal services to an expanding and diverse range of businesses in the South East. With experience in dealing with all business issues from buying and selling a business or commercial property, to restructuring and employment issues, Hart Brown has the expertise to find the best solution for your business. To find out how we can help you, call us today!

If you have an IT problem please get in touch.

t: 01708 300035 e: support@ncasltd.co.uk w: www.ncasltd.co.uk

Clinical and cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy can help with issues such as:

Macronet Solutions Limited is a professional IT firm which focus on latest customers’ needs on networking, software management, web-designing / Web-Development and CRM [Customer relationship management]. Using highly talented staff and technical support team it emphasis technology to deliver a wide-range of IT solutions and IT services persistent on network design, web design, cloud computing and management. We adopt and use latest software’s and services for our clients which allows them to choose tomorrow’s trends and technologies as per their requirement and get ahead of other competitors. Thus Macronet is proven well in providing services in a short period of time.

FLEXIBLE CASH FLOW FINANCE • No long term commitment • Simple fixed fee • Fast response • Bad debt protection • Regular or occasional use • Established businesses, start ups & pre-packs

N.C.A.S. specialises in IT support and provides the complete service for your business needs.

• IP Telephones • Cloud services • Remote monitoring of servers and workstation • Broadband / Mail boxes • Backup

Is something holding you back from reaching your full potential?

Helping you to achieve your goals.

t: 01908 393702 e: lauren.davies@revera-consulting.co.uk w: www.revera-consulting.co.uk

Legal Services

• Data Recovery • Network Security devices • Managed IT Services • Remote Monitoring • Repairs • Security Cameras

D.Hyp, PDCBHyp, MBSCH

t: 01483 887766 e: commercial@hartbrown.co.uk w: www.hartbrown.co.uk

Nutrition

Vivasoya, foods for a healthier world Vivasoya drinking yoghurt is wholesome and health-supporting. It is fully processed using natural fermentation to remove protease inhibitors, phytic acid and other anti-nutrients in soya beans. United Nations Food and Agriculture Departments are supporting the consumption of foods processed this way for its health benefits.

t: 07956 392339 e: imms-nutrition@vivasoya.com w: www.vivasoya.com

02/05/2014 01:28

classifieds Recruitment

Affordable Recruitment Services Anchor Ambition specialises in the recruitment of:  Accountants and other Financial staff  Legal staff  Office Executives including Administration, PA and Secretarial staff

We believe in placing people first and we operate on this motto. We guarantee you a personalised affordable service that involves getting to know about your business and the ideal candidate you are looking for.

Stress Management

Software Development

Keycode Consultancy is a small London based software development company that creates mobile (iOS, iPhone, iPad) cloud, desktop and web applications for small to medium size businesses. We are the understanding software developers with the keycode to unlock your business potential because we excel in what we do best and can also work from small budgets of £2,000.

Are you feeling anxious & stress? Need to spend more time on your business?

At MWY Consulting we partner with our clients through coaching to focus on the source of your challenge with the aim to develop & implement personalised stress & time management programmes that you can integrate into your life. If you want to work harder that’s your business but if you want to work smarter that’s our business.

Call us for a no obligation consultation.

t: 0208 509 3767 e: kevin@keycodeconsultancy.com m: 0758 604 1399 w: www.keycodeconsultancy.com

t: 0208 133 0689 m: 07710 249428 e: mwy@mwyconsulting.com w: www.mwyconsulting.com

You know that you need a modern and professional website for your business, but somehow it’s still a “work in progress”. Does this sound familiar?

Webwax provide a full ‘in-house’ service for web design, ecommerce, web hosting, search engine optimisation, ad-words, email campaigns, graphic design, virtual brochures, copy writing, social media and photography.

For £500 you can finally have that gorgeous website that looks amazing on mobiles and tablets.

Don’t worry if you have a deadline, fast turnarounds are no problem.

With a wide range of clients both locally and globally, Webwax believe in providing a Return on Investment in the projects we involve ourselves in.

Whether you are after a simple website with a few pages or a full blown e-commerce site, we can help.

t: 07779 115 973 e: hello@thewheelexists.com w: www.thewheelexists.com

t: 07782 357686 e: info@webwax.co.uk w: www.webwax.co.uk

Call us to find out more about our current promotions.

t: 0844 807 3087 e: info@anchorambition.com m: 0774 880 3087 w: www.anchorambition.com Web Design

’Simple, Smart and Beautiful’… it works!

Dynamic, eye-catching and individual; it’s yours. Your website, your hosting, your management choice. Desogned individually, a package to suit you and your business at a price you can afford.

What make us different from the rest?

We listen, we learn, we develop your company… ’Simple, Smart and Beautiful’ way… According to your specifications. We offer advise, availability and authentic experience, from the first phone call you make to providing after care… we’re here, because we care about your business.

t: 0116 269 3421 e: info@themeakinsco.co.uk w: themeakinsco.co.uk

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Classifieds May.indd 4

02/05/2014 01:28

the START-UP DIARies

The network effect Networking gives a business owner the opportunity to get helpful feedback on challenges they’re facing – but they should give as good as they get Donna Kelly, co-founder, Dressipi

I

dressipi.com

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’ve been thinking a lot about networking recently and how important it is when you’re starting and running a business.

According to some research conducted by Populus I read recently, nearly half (47%) of professional people felt they didn’t have the connections they needed to succeed in their career. I tend to have a different view. For me networking isn’t just about collecting people’s business cards at an event – it’s more to do with having a growing group of people who you’ve come to know, trust and like over time. They can be people you’ve met socially, former colleagues or clients or someone you originally struck up a conversation with on Twitter, but they have one important thing in common: they provide you with an external point-of-view.

This is a big deal because it’s incredibly easy to get tunnel vision when you’re running a start-up. Focus is a great thing, but it can end up with you thinking that there’s only one solution to a current issue, and one that can feel just out of reach. This is where a good network shows its worth. It doesn’t mean having a list of people you can cold-call. It means having someone, or a small group of people to whom you can turn and share notes or advice with to give you that all-important external perspective.

If you’re struggling with something, chances are you’ll know someone who’s encountered a similar problem in a different sector. For example, I was part of a discussion recently where I learned how agronomists approached assessing whether a piece of land was suitable for a specific group. At first glance this had very little to do with fashion recommendation, but nevertheless it triggered a thought about a missing component from our fashion algorithm.

It was an idea we’d never have had if we restricted the limit of our interests to what was immediately in front of us.

For us, networking means sharing ideas with like-minded people and remembering that learning and inspiration can come from anywhere. Sarah and I do a lot of speaking, which is a great if you love exploring ideas and concepts, but we also talk more often to a few people one-on-one. Those people are

Start-up diary.indd 1

mostly outside of our fashion technology sector and work in both start-ups and corporate companies. They often have insights and experiences that could completely transform the way we’re doing or thinking about a specific thing. And we would only know this by

Networking means sharing ideas with like-minded people

sharing our own ideas and experiences too.

And that’s the other thing about creating a strong network (as opposed to ‘networking’): it works both ways. So whenever it’s possible for us to help someone else – whether that’s in the form of advice, insight, a referral or so on – we do it. It’s about investing in the relationships that you have with other people as much as expecting something out of them.

You could say that the precursors to building a strong network are one and the same as those that make you a better person: it’s a process that rewards everyone so long as you are open, curious and helpful.

01/05/2014 22:18

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24/12/2013 12:31

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