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Transcript of Angels - November 2009 Edition
JULIE MEYER
ON BACKING
WINNERS
£ 3 . 0 0
LORD ARCHER’S
INVESTMENT SECRET
GIVING IT ALL
AWAY
angelsNovember 2009The leading magazine for Business Angel investment
“We started making and selling wormeries for composting on our farm. Now, to reach a much wider audience, we advertise on Google using AdWords. Nearly a third of our sales come via the internet – from all over the UK. It’s a bit like a marketing worm farm!”
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This monthManaging Editor
Richard Alvin - [email protected]
Editor
Simon Clarke - [email protected]
Online Editor
Paul Jones - [email protected]
Contributors: - [email protected]
Jim Moore, Felicity Cousins, Gavin Porritt,
Andrew Lopata, Mark Prigg, Louise Shaw,
Derek Bedlow, Andrew Price, Sophie Goodale
Production Manager
Tony Carty - [email protected]
Designer
James Conolly - [email protected]
Head of Advertising
Lawrence Carter - [email protected]
Advertising
Tracy Light - [email protected]
Tel: 020 7148 3861
Email: [email protected]
Subscriptions - [email protected]
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
Copyright: (C) 2009 Investor Media Ltd / Capital
Business Media Ltd.
ISSN 1754-3096
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means without the prior consent
of the publishers. The views expressed in Angels Maga-
zine are not necessarily the views of the publishers
or Investor Media Ltd. Whilst Capital Business Media
Ltd. has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the
information contained in this publication, neither they
nor any contributing author can accept any legal
responsibility for any consequences that may arise from
errors or omissions contained in this publication or from
acting on any opinions or advice given. In particular,
this publication is general and not a substitute for
professional advice and you should consult your own
professional advisors where appropriate.
Published by:Capital Business Media Ltd
Ensign House, Canary Wharf, London E14
9XQ
43
1326
19
31
in the news
Google your way to 192
With petrol prices hitting new
heights, more and more people are
turning to pedal power to get to work,
and get fitter – research suggests cy-
clists could live two years longer.
According to Europe’s leading office
and workplace equipment supplier,
Welco, orders for company cycle
sheds and ramps have never been
healthier- they have seen a 100% in-
crease in sales the last two months. It
has never been a better time to ditch
the car and start cycling to work.
In fact, under the 1999 Finance Act,
if employers sign up to the cycle-to-
work scheme, it is a win –win situa-
tion – companies can provide
bicycles and accessories as a tax free
benefit, while gaining national insur-
ance savings.
Under the Government’s Green
Transport Plan, which promotes
healthier ways of getting to work
while reducing environmental pollu-
tion, employees taking advantage of
the scheme receive savings of up to
50% on the retail price of bikes and
accessories.
Birmingham-based Welco, has to
date seen a significant increase in or-
ders from local authorities, health de-
partments, the police and companies
large and small – all looking to pro-
vide new or increased cycle facilities
for their staff.
As Welco’s chief executive, Adrian
Reeve maintains “Cycling to work
benefits everyone. Its helps relieve
traffic congestion; helps cut pollution;
helps people save money they would
have spent on petrol; helps reduce
global warning; and often reduces
their travel time. And with the Tax in-
centives, people should take up the
challenge.
“Cycling is no longer the reserve of
lycra-man. It is now being regarded
as a viable means of transport. With
the prospect of the $200 barrel of oil,
the bike should be viewed as a pri-
mary form or transformation – a free,
calorie-burning, mobile gym.”
Live Longer:on your bike
192.com, the UK’s leading directory enquiries
site, has launched a unique Google Gadget that
allows users to search for people and busi-
nesses directly from their iGoogle homepage.
The new gadget gives users fast and free ac-
cess to the site’s 13 million residential listings
and 4.5 million business listings. Users can also
search 192.com’s award winning maps and
aerial photography directly from the gadget. In
addition, the new tool will search the site’s pre-
mium records including Electoral Rolls and
Company and Director Reports.
iGoogle home pages allow you to person-
alise your Google search page giving you fast
access to key information and tools across the
web. It’s estimated that 20% of Google users
have adopted a personalised iGoogle home
page.
Dominic Blackburn, New Technology Direc-
tor, 192.com said of the launch, “Adding
192.com’s directory enquiry search tool next to
your news and weather updates ideally rounds
out your iGoogle home page. We first devel-
oped this gadget to allow our existing users to
access search results faster but we now see it
has great potential to attract new users as well”.
To try the 192.com iGoogle Gadget for
yourself, visit: www.192.com/gadget
UK Women don’t let your US
cousins take the leadResearch recently undertaken in the USA
found out that women are twice as likely to
start a business in the US compared to women
in the UK.
With this figure in mind and the research that
suggests that more women would start their
own business if they didn’t fear failure, Women
Unlimited has a mission to support women
across all aspects of their lives and build inner
confidence. It will support business women,
who are starting up or wanting to increase their
profit, by sharing success strategies and stories
as well as the challenges and solutions. The
content is created by other women that are al-
ready successfully managing their own busi-
nesses. They are supporting the community
through their own experiences and engaging
with the audience on topics that are meaningful
and relevant.
Julie Hall, Founder of Women Unlimited ex-
plained further, ‘I want to be a catalyst for help-
ing women and turn their ideas into a profitable
venture while managing to maintain their work /
life balance. Women have a variety of motiva-
tions for starting their own business, but the
ones I hear most often are family commitments
and independence. It can be challenging start-
ing and running your own business, but through
sharing real stories as well as the facts, we can
help women find solutions and ideas to support
them in their journey. ’
The new online community will be available
to all registered users. Content will include arti-
cles, videos, news, book reviews, a discussion
forum on controversial themes inviting opinions
and views as well as details of the launch event
with future events in the pipeline. The website
will feature real stories and interviews with
women who running their own businesses. All
content will be written by business women who
have juggled with their personal and business
life and have key experiences to impart.
Women Unlimited is a new supportive platform
for women starting in business or women who
are keen to build their business to new levels. It
acknowledges the issues of the everyday mod-
ern women and helps women bring about a
balance in their lives.
www.women-unlimited.co.uk.
4 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 5
in the news
Post firm bucks trend with 100% sales increaseIn the current economic down-
turn Bristol based ONEPOST has
seen a boom in postal activity
handling over 16m items over
the past year.
Born out of the postal deregu-
lation, onepost, is the leading in-
dependent postal advice
organisation providing cost-sav-
ing solutions to mailers, utilising
an increasing number of opera-
tors as well as innovative col-
lecting, sorting and distribution
techniques for mail in the UK.
Research from Bellwether
shows that marketers are severely
cutting back their budgets as the
economic downturn deepens and
the FT has launched its ad cam-
paign last month urging compa-
nies to continue advertising.
However a recent report from
marketing agency, Epsilon, found
that “Direct Marketing is playing
a key role during the economic
downturn with spend signifi-
cantly increasing.”
Graham Cooper, ONEPOST
Managing Director, comments
“During this time it is even more
important for companies to use
channels that provide account-
ability and measurable results. In
addition our aim is to provide
postal strategies that will help
businesses save costs, maximis-
ing the benefits of their budgets.
He adds “Some companies
are still unaware that there are
choices in the postal market
where significant savings can be
made and improvements gained
in the quality of service.”
Skimpy skirts & open tops head fashion flops
MEN who undo one button too many on their
shirts or women who don see through blouses
are guilty of the biggest office fashion crimes,
according to a new survey.
61 per cent of 584 UK financial professionals
surveyed in the office fashion report conducted
by North West financial recruitment specialist,
AFR Consulting, find revealing clothing the
biggest office fashion faux pas.
The survey also revealed that ‘dress down Fri-
days’ and similar casual initiatives could be ‘so
yesterday’ with 58 per cent of respondents pre-
ferring more traditional office wear at work,
such as suits, shirts, blouses and ties.
This was despite a massive 81 per cent of or-
ganisations revealing they had now introduced
a dress down day or similar policy at work,
suggesting bosses are themselves following a
social trend.
Adventurous wardrobe
The report by AFR Consulting questioned com-
pany directors, financial directors, managers
and other finance professionals in a range of
organisations from the accountancy,
law, finance, manufacturing and re-
tail sectors.
AFR Consulting director
Simon Speak said: “Some
people have a slightly
more adventurous dress
sense than others but re-
spondents to our survey
delivered an overwhelming
no to wearing revealing clothes
at work.
“In the professional office envi-
ronment it seems directors and
managers still like to dress
smart, preferring business suits
and ties, even over the slightly
more casual look of trousers
and unbuttoned shirts. Despite
this 81 per cent of respondents
said their company now had a
dress down policy.
“Judging from the results of the
survey, office fashion continues to
be a hotly-debated topic in offices throughout
the UK.”
Cliff Bashforth, a Master of the Federation of
Image Consultants (MFIC) and leading image
consultant for Colour Me Beautiful, said:
“Your image at work can have an amazing
impact on your job prospects and it can
make or break your career.
“One of the deadly sins is showing too
much flesh. Whether male or female, young
or old; covering up, even in the summer-
time, is of prime importance. Your profes-
sionalism and the respect you’ve gained
over a period of time can be damaged
should you succumb to dressing down
and baring all. If you’re female, the guys
don’t know where to look. Well, actually,
they do – but it’s not at their computer key-
board. For the guys, let’s keep any hairy bits
out of sight – apart from those on your head
and forearms of course.”
As well as revealing clothes, other office fash-
ion pet hates, according to the survey, included
jeans, sportswear and tank tops.
4 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 5
in the news
SMEs in London and South East
failing to take up government fundingAn independent research poll conducted on
behalf of Ixion has revealed that a staggering
85% of SMEs across London and the South
East have lost-out on government funding
available for their business to invest in
training.
The shocking results of the poll could partly
be put down to a need for more positive action
from the SME business base in response to con-
tact from government funded brokerage ser-
vices.
The poll, conducted among businesses with
fewer than 250 employees, found that 81% of
respondents said that their business had carried
out some form of staff training in the past, yet a
worrying 71% had not taken any positive steps
to capitalise on a minimum of £1,500 in gov-
ernment funding available to them for training.
Graham Baker, CEO of Ixion, commented:
“In an increasingly challenging business envi-
ronment, investment in training is critical.
These are worrying statistics, with over half a
million* SMEs in London and the South East of
England, businesses must realise that they can
benefit from government funding available and
have access to appropriate training to enhance
their business, and in turn increase their com-
petitive advantage.
“The Government has committed itself to
the UK’s long term skills needs to achieve a
world class skills profile by 2020. This research
highlights that SMEs need to take some respon-
sibility for making contact with organisations
such as Ixion, which provides a gateway for
businesses and individuals to access public
funds, ensuring that they get signposted to, and
benefit from, appropriate business support spe-
cialists and training that they are entitled to.”
Graham Baker concluded: “Businesses
should understand that government-funded ser-
vices such as the Business Link service, Train to
Gain or Ixion run Advantage East are in exis-
tence to help and advise them on business
growth and workforce development training.
This support is particularly important given the
current economic climate, where a trained
workforce can give a competitive edge.”
On contact, the Ixion research uncovered
that an incredible 96% of respondents said
they would like to learn more about regional
government funded schemes such as Ixion’s
Train to Gain and Business Link services.
*According to Business Link, in 2006, there
were 202,580 companies in the East of Eng-
land and 304,090 companies in London with
fewer than 250 employees.
www.ixion.com
London offers opportunities for Korean businessesThink London has begun offering a new free & confidential service for
Korean businesses looking to globalise.
Think London, the foreign direct investment agency for London, is
showcasing opportunities for Korean businesses looking to expand and
grow in London as the UK capital prepares to host the Olympic and Para-
lympic Games in 2012. London’s economy is forecast to grow by $80
billion by 2012 and will offer huge opportunities for Korean companies
looking to invest in the capital.
Michael Charlton, Chief Executive, Think London is visiting Korea in
early April to meet with Korean businesses and to co-host a session with
KOTRA (the Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency) to advise com-
panies on how they can benefit from investing in London.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Michael Charlton, Chief Executive, Think
London commented, “We believe that many Korean businesses are well
placed to benefit from the investment opportunities presented by Lon-
don’s predicted economic growth of $80 billion by 2012 as well as
those relating to the 2012 Games. We are ready to support Korean com-
panies looking to take advantage of these opportunities and globalise
their business by using London as a springboard into Europe.
“London is the perfect springboard for businesses looking to go
global, with fast access to a range of customers, markets, ideas and fi-
nance –all aimed at helping businesses operate on a global scale.”
Outward foreign direct investment from South Korea increased from
$4.3 billion to $7.1billion in 2006, with London attracting 25 percent of
all Korean projects into Europe.
Think London provides free, confidential and comprehensive advice
to help international businesses set up and grow in London. The FDI
agency for London is able to assist companies who are interested in ap-
plying for any one of the 2,000 main contracts and the further estimated
50,000 supply chain contracts available in relation to 2012. Think Lon-
don has a well established track record of helping businesses establish
themselves in the capital and has helped more than 1,000 companies
from 43 countries since 1994. Over the past seven years, Think London
has assisted 30 Korean companies to set up or expand in the capital
including Samsung Design Europe, Hyundai Logistics, Hanjin and
Industrial Bank of Korea.
6 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
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When you are evaluating the business potential of new markets, you need to test intuition against arecognised independentauthority that knows these markets inside out.
8 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
like to tell it as it is; over these
coming months I will unfold to you
the details from the grass roots end
of my businesses, and why as a social
entrepreneur I want to pass on my
skills so more people like many of you
can take a similar option.
Since my experience on Secret Million-
aire the whole environment around me has
changed: I am loving it. I learnt that I should
have even more of a social conscience in my
daily business; and so my whole business
ethos has changed, whereby I focus much
more on customer needs. We are now work-
ing with The Wallich, a housing charity in
Llanelli town who help homeless and depen-
dant people get re-housed. The identifiable
need is that there is a shortage of secondary
residential rental housing to accommodate
the less fortunate individuals; therefore we
have refurbished two houses to licensed
shared housing status and have been ap-
proved by the environmental health office to
let as such. One of the buildings is dedicated
for male occupancy and the other female.
The Wallich supply a case officer for each
tenant to help them back onto the housing
ladder and we let on a room-by-room basis
with living allowance paid by the rent office.
There is a very big demand for this type of
housing in the UK, and I urge landlords to
look into this option. In most cases, rents are
paid directly from the local council to my
bank account. The upshot is that my social
conscious is already, in a small way, satisfied
and it’s financially lucrative to boot.
My businesses
As you can probably tell, residential
rentals form the main long term hub of my
business; and are one of seven major
businesses that I own. We have had to
become innovative in the market; obtaining
finance has become tighter and rents drop-
ping by 18% on average across my portfolio.
Margins however, i.e. cash flow remains
strong as interest rates have dropped pro-
rata. I make money when I buy property
and every house has to cash flow from day
one of rental. I welcome the tightening up of
the law as a result of the housing act 2004
except for one: direct ‘living allowance‘ pay-
ments to tenants as opposed to paying rents
directly to landlords. Government expected
this change to teach tenants how to handle
money; it’s not working. The tenant has to
be in 8 weeks of arrears before the council
will start paying landlord directly; so what is
actually happening is its encouraging tenants
to turn more to alcohol and drugs as they
spiral even more into debt and difficulty,
therefore its making the situation much
worse not better. Ultimately it will cost the
government more money as private sector
landlords are in some cases refusing to ac-
cept income supported tenants or have gone
bust because of resulting rental shortfalls.
Top-down lessons
The government needs to wake up!! Our
business lost £23k in non payments last year
alone. Teach us finance and how to run a
home in school if you wish to be productive.
Our house is probably the biggest asset we
have in our lives; I find myself consistently
sitting down with consumers teaching them
how to draw up a simple asset and liabilities
cash flow plan as they have never been
taught what I believe is the most fundamen-
tal business planning.
See www.propertytrain.biz
In his new column, developer &
social entrepreneur Kevin gives
us his unique take on social
conscience in business
TheKevinGreenColumn
I
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 9
n many companies, marketing has
traditionally been seen as merely
a cost to the business.
While the sales department was responsi-
ble for bringing in the revenue, the market-
ing department, it seemed, was constantly
asking for further investment in a variety of
campaigns, whose impact was hard to ascer-
tain.
While the common view was that market-
ing was necessary, in many businesses mar-
keting was tolerated, rather than embraced.
This is especially true in a world where a
product or service was created, and only
after its conception, was it handed over to
the marketing department. They would then
decide how best to take it to the customer base.
This approach worked for two reasons.
Firstly; we lived in a world of limited choice.
Consumers, for many purchases, were lim-
ited by geographical boundaries. Whole mar-
ket sectors such as telecoms, utilities, air
travel and financial services had not been
deregulated in the way that they are today. In
this market, simply shouting that you ex-
isted, would often lead to some business.
The bigger the budget, the more you could
shout; by way of advertising, direct mailing,
cold calling etc., and the more business you
would often acquire.
Secondly; consumers were prepared to
listen to the shouting. Before the World Wide
Web and specifically Google, who made
sense of all the information that it contained,
it was quite difficult for consumers to find
out about new products and services and be
able to compare them. Traditionally, shout-
ing about your product or service was often
the only way consumers were made aware of
new developments in the market. Therefore,
while companies engaged in this activity to
sell their wares, consumers got some value
by learning about new products and services
that were available.
Today, this model simply does not work.
Consumers now have an abundance of
choice, which, in many cases, is no longer
limited by geographical boundaries. They
also have access to information regarding
that choice. Customers no longer want to lis-
ten to companies shouting, because there is
no longer any value in it for them. They
know that when they want to find out what’s
available, they will have access to all the in-
formation they require on the internet.
In today’s world, where the choice of
products and services is abundant, con-
sumers no longer take the same notice of
companies who make fantastic claims about
what they can provide.
Today, consumers make sense of all the
choice available by listening to each other.
Through social networks, blogs, messaging,
emails and forums, consumers disseminate
information and experiences about compa-
nies. It is this information that has such a
large influence on other purchasers.
Therefore, no longer is marketing just
about clever strap lines and imagery.
No longer is marketing about bombarding
the customer with messages, in the hope that
it will lead to some action further on down
the line.
With information regarding a product
or service readily available and easily
disseminated by consumers, they too
are now involved in shaping brands.
Marketing is now about ‘being part of
that conversation’.
Marketing is about helping to shape that
process. It is more about facilitation, than it
is about directing. If you want consumers to
talk about your product or service then the
marketing must be built into that product or
service. For example; anyone can post a
video on YouTube for free, but every time
you do, by directing people to your video,
you are also marketing YouTube.
Marketing is no longer something that
should be thought about after the product or
service is conceptualised. It must be built
into the very essence of the product or
service. It is integral. In other words;
marketing today, more than ever before, has
to be at the heart of the business strategy.
Marketing must be in the boardroom and
failing to do that is like a rudderless ship.
I
Why Marketing mustbe in the boardroomBusiness marketing expert Grant Leboff looks at why marketing plans need to be front and centre
Grant Leboff is Principal of The Intelligent Sales Club
working with companies on effective sales and
marketing strategies and lead generation; creating a
steady stream of sales opportunities for businesses.
For more information email
[email protected] or call 0844 478 0044
‘Marketing is no longersomething that should be
thought about after the productor service is conceptualised’
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 9
10 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 11
hat do Bill Gates, Warren
Buffet, Sir Tom Hunter and
Duncan Bannatyne all have in
common?
The answer, apart from considerable
success, is that they're all committed
philanthropists, who have pledged to
give away the bulk of their fortunes to
good causes. And they're not alone as
with every month that passes, more and
more of the world's wealthy announce
their intention to devote their time and
their money to making the world a bet-
ter place.
So, what's driving them? Though there
are many reasons for giving, the most
often cited is that it's an enjoyable and
rewarding experience. Victor Hugo once
said that "as the purse is emptied, so the
heart is filled", and for many, philan-
thropy does just that. It gives people
pleasure and life enrichment by know-
ing that they're making a difference. It
also allows them to achieve a
spend/give balance. For instance, while
he has had no problem in amassing his
fortune, the hedge fund manager Arpad
Busson said in a recent Guardian inter-
view that his decision to embrace phi-
lanthropy was because he found it
impossible to enjoy his wealth, knowing
there are people out there who were
much less fortunate than himself.
For others, philanthropy can be the
ideal way of instilling family values and
educating their children, as showing the
next generation what a difference
wealth can make to others can help pre-
pare them for the responsibilities of in-
heritance. When asked what he would
leave his children, Warren Buffet fa-
mously remarked: "A very rich person
would leave his kids enough to do any-
thing, but not enough to do nothing."
Worried about stifling their offsprings'
ambitions by giving them everything on
a plate, entrepreneurs in particular are
increasingly leaving the majority of their
wealth to good causes or charitable
foundations that they have created.
Dragon's Den star Peter Jones has estab-
lished a trust fund to reward his children
for the good they do, their yearly al-
lowance dictated by their choice of fu-
ture career. He hopes it will encourage
them to consider professions that make
a difference to others, such as nursing or
teaching, rather than focusing purely on
those jobs with the best salaries. Like-
wise, his co-star, Duncan Bannatyne in-
tends to leave his entire fortune to his
Bannatyne Foundation. He fears that
leaving his children hundreds of mil-
lions of pounds would rob their lives of
any purpose.
Having a common goal
But as well as allowing children to fol-
low their own path, we have found
amongst our clients that philanthropy
can also bring families closer together. If
you own a successful family business,
setting up a charitable foundation can
allow those relatives not involved in the
day-to-day running of the company to
work together for a common goal or
purpose.
For those that have sold their business or
are beginning to take a step back from
their profession, but are not quite ready
to sit back totally, philanthropy is an op-
portunity to apply both financial capital
and life experience in order to solve so-
cial problems. Rather than simply writ-
ing out a cheque, creating your own
dedicated fund or taking a hands-on ap-
proach to the causes you support can
ensure that your money and expertise
are having the greatest impact. This can
often become a career in itself, with
similar rewards and the same sense of
achievement. When the late Anita Rod-
dick sold The Body Shop, it wasn't so
that she could sit back and enjoy the
fruits of her labours, it was so she could
devote the rest of her life to her charity
foundation.
Leaving a lasting legacy
In addition to making an impact during
your lifetime, philanthropy is also a way
of supporting a cause for the long term
and creating a lasting legacy. Setting up
a trust that will fund organisations or
charities in perpetuity will ensure that
your work will always make a difference
and will remind others of how strongly
you felt about a particular cause. For an
example look no further than Bill Gates.
At the moment he's famous for founding
Microsoft, but he hopes that after he's
gone, he'll be remembered for his com-
mitment to eradicating disease and end-
ing social inequality in Africa through
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
But whatever your initial motivation to
start giving, knowing how, where and
when can prove challenging. With so
many deserving causes, choosing the
right one is always going to be a tough
decision. And once that choice is made
there are further difficulties. How much
to give; whether to make a single dona-
tion or regular payments; how to gauge
a specific charity's performance before
supporting it and how to monitor the
impact your support is having. So if
you feel that philanthropy could be the
key to enriching your life, then Coutts
can help you develop your perfect giv-
ing strategy. From simple advice and re-
searching potential beneficiaries, to
setting up a charitable trust, our dedi-
cated philanthropy team will guide you
every step of the way, making it simple
for individuals, families and business
clients alike to start making a difference.
We look at the growing trend of the ubber wealthy entrepreneurs who are determined to give away their
wealth to help others instead of just handing it on to their future children and future generations
Giving it all away
W
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 11
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reen and Jack’s a custom shirt
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Telling who you are bythe shirt on your back
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 13
14 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
atching up with Julie Meyer is one
thing, keeping up is quite another. The
fast-talking American is so full of ideas
and energy she reflects the equally dynamic
online and digital world she works in. During
our 45 minute meeting we cover everything
from Martin Luther to the recession and the
future of the 21st century. “Do we have enough
time?” she asks the start of the interview. I tell
her we do, I am certainly wrong.
Confidant
Meyer’s business, Ariadne Capital, is, by its
most mundane description, an advisory,
investment and networking business. Meyer
will refer to it also as a ‘marketing machine’, ‘a
revenue centre’ and place where
‘entrepreneurs back entrepreneurs’. Its clients
include some of the hottest new properties in
the digital, online and media spaces. While its
50 or so founding shareholders are drawn from
the best of the UK and European digital world.
And, in the middle there’s Meyer and her team
joining up the dots. “My strategy with
entrepreneurs is to become their confidant and
for them never to doubt that I am on their side.
Start-ups are such a hot kitchen, you have to be
the steady ship that they can lean on.”
Funding Crisis
So, in the teeth of the worst recession and
financial crisis in years, are the deals still
getting done? Apparently so, Ariadne has
completed five fundraisings since December,
sees about 100 business plans per month and is
still hiring staff. Meyer also scoffs at the no-
tion that ‘nobody is getting funded’. “When
people say nobody is getting funded, I think
they might not be getting funded by the VC
community, but there’s a lot of private capital
out there; there’s a lot of family offices and
entrepreneurs that have made money, and they
are looking for opportunities to channel into
their money and expertise.”
This is where Ariadne fits in, working with
the start-ups and emerging businesses,
helping entrepreneurs overcome their funding
problems and build managerial capital through
its network. Meyer describes business develop-
ment in five main stages: concept, product, val-
idation, scalability and sustainability and/or
exit. In order to effectively gauge a company’s
valuation, she spots where the entrepreneur is
in this cycle, looks at comparable fundraisings
and gives the owner-manager the hard truth. “A
lot of entrepreneurs have unrealistic expecta-
tions about valuations. But if you have them on
your side and they trust you, you can say ‘lets
look at the deals done for companies at your
stage of development, you’re not worth £10m
today, you’re worth £3m, so lets get a deal
done’.”
Ideas V Money
The UK is no longer home to heavy manu-
facturing and huge nationalised or state-backed
businesses. Its economic future depends on the
efforts and ideas of entrepreneurs and small
businesses. Meyer believes that on this front we
have a lot to offer and sees the next century as
a period of ‘mass entrepreneurship’. But she is
less than impressed by both statesman and in-
stitutional investors, who still don’t seem to
have grasped what this really means. “There
are lots of great entrepreneurs in this country,
but the funding of entrepreneurship has not
kept pace with it,” she says.
The venture capital community needs to re-
vise how they relate to entrepreneurs and to
want to create more world-beaters. Trust be-
tween the VCs and entrepreneurs needs to be
improved and the former need to look at
owner-managers in a more positive light. “Not
everybody is a Charles Dunstone (founder of
Carphone Warehouse), but there’s more
Charles Dunstones in the market than the VC
community admits.
“I am amazed by the amount of successful
entrepreneurs, who have made money and
want their next idea to be hit right out of the
ballpark, who say, ‘you know what I don’t want
anything to do with the VC community’.”
Ideas and innovation are essential
Backing winnersall the way
Julie Meyer the founder of Ariadne Capital, First Tuesday and latest
Dragon talks to Jon Card. As one of the foremost operators in the UK’s
digital space she tells us about the web, who’s going to beat the recession
and why being an entrepreneur is the best choice for the 21st century
C
V
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 15
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 15
and always have been, but too much emphasis
is placed on the money, she argues. This leads
to the two groups ‘fighting for control of the
bus’ there’s also many cases of companies
being over-capitalised which makes profitable
exits unrealistic: “It comes down to the philos-
ophy of the investor. Who’s the hero of the
story? When I speak to the investors about who
they think are the important ones in the equa-
tion they say that ‘we are the ones bringing the
money’. But if you look at history it shows that
capital follows ideas, it always has and always
will.”
Getting to market
So what makes a great idea or business,
Meyers draws from history to argue the
following: “It isn’t the best idea or product that
wins the day but the best idea/product with the
best distribution. Martin Luther had a radical
idea challenging the Catholic Church, but
without Gutenberg he would have been a mere
footnote of history.”
Start-ups are ‘front loaded’ needing lots of
capital, ideas and talent right at the start to take
them out to market. For new technology-based
companies this is all the harder as develop-
ment costs can be high and consumers still
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MEYER AT A GLANCE
Born in the US, Meyer moved to Paris in
1988 and later went to the business school
Insead, which despite being in France was
’just dominated by the Brits’. In 1998, she
opted to move to London rather than Silicon
Valley, as she felt she could play ‘a greater
role’ as it seemed almost possible to get to
know everybody who was working in the
internet. She founded First Tuesday, a now
legendary global networking business, which
brought entrepreneurs, suppliers and
investors together. They wore met green,
amber and red name badges respectively to
speed up the introductory process. In July
2000, she sold First Tuesday for £50m in
cash and shares and the formation of
Ariadne Capital followed in December of that
year. She now has permanent residency in
the UK and is considering citizenship. Al-
though as an American, is not fully taken by
the idea of swearing an oath to our Queen.
have to learn about them before they will buy.
Ariadne offers to find answers to all of these
problems, as well as talking up its portfolio
companies. As a permanent resident in the UK,
Meyer knows all too well about our British re-
serve, which she admires but admits doesn’t
help to get a company’s name out there. Here
the unashamedly American ‘marketing ma-
chine’ kicks in, as she is only too happy to sing
the praises of her portfolio companies. But
businesses looking to get adopted by the corpo-
rations need more than press coverage. B2Bs
need think about the Cs too. The ‘consumerisa-
tion of technology’ was a highly significant de-
velopment of the 20th century and
entrepreneurs need to recognise that. Meyer
cites SpinVox, the voice to text company, as a
great example of a company that used con-
sumer take-up to convince the Blue Chips that
it was worth dealing with. “They got 150,000
people signed-up through a great deal with the
Carphone Warehouse, and then they went to
the big telecommunications companies.”
Meyer speaks highly of SpinVox’s founder
Christina Domecq a fellow woman in business
that she wants to succeed and believes is great
for female entrepreneurship. She is also per-
plexed about some of the recent negative press
coverage that the company has received and
asserts that the business will prove its critics
wrong. “Its revenues are growing and it has a
great IP portfolio. And when you look at her
staff they are incredibly devoted to her, she’s
create a corporate culture that I have rarely
seen. The staff believe they are creating a bil-
lion pound company.”
Another company she mentions more than
once is Monitise, the AIM-listed mobile
banking business. “I really think that Monitise
is going to go down as one of the most
impressive companies in history. Its share price
is completely bucking the trend.”
Indeed, after a rough year on the markets its
share price is growing again which validates is
decision to hold firm and stay on AIM, while
the financial world regained its composure.
Consumer finance is, in fact, an area which
Meyer believes Britain is good at and other
growing hopefuls, such as Wonga and Zopa are
also worth a look. The Meyer-powered market-
ing machine is working for its clients, al-
though not everyone she mentions is a client,
such as Thunderhead led by Glen Manchester.
Meyer just seems excited about hot new com-
panies in general.
Innovation and technology has ushered in a
new paradigm for business, and Meyer is
positive that her portfolio businesses will be
among those that replace the ailing old
industries. Local media is one likely candidate
for the cull. However, Meyer is unsentimental
about these changes. “You have dominant
newspaper groups and directory services which
aren’t particularly interested in making it work
for everybody, they just want to make it work
for them. People want to spend money locally,
but they have failed to animate local businesses
to advertise online, even in 2009.”
It’s a similar story for the record industry;
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Business Matters 0209 B:UK 10/02/09 18:17 Page 1
V
it failed to adapt and to listen to what con-
sumers were telling them. But now new com-
panies in the new media world are taking their
place and are getting funded. Look at for exam-
ple BView, an interactive review of businesses
complete with credit scoring, or Slice the Pie,
where fans can invest in musicians.
There seems to be something so much more
democratic about the companies she champi-
ons, compared to the dominant players of the
20th century. It isn’t just about them making
money, but about the consumer getting a return
too. With this in mind, you start to get a flavour
of what she is envisaging when talks about a
future of mass entrepreneurship. A future where
we are all able to get the information we need,
invest in great ideas and depend on ourselves
above all.
DRAGON MEYER
Alongside Ariadne, Meyer has been
investing in companies via the online version
of Dragons’ Den. However, it has become so
popular that it is now scheduled for TV
broadcast this month
As the latest addition to the Den, Meyer is
a change of direction for the show, as she
will not engage in the caustic put-downs
and withering looks that has helped to make
the show famous. “I am never rude to
entrepreneurs, so I told the producers
‘please don’t expect me to do that, as that’s
not who I am’.” She wants to help
entrepreneurs and to explain why she isn’t
investing without burying them. “Apparently
this was a major breakthrough. And I was
told they liked my strategic insight, I thought
I was just being nice to them and explaining
why I wasn’t investing.” At the time of
writing she has made two investments, one
survived due diligence, the other did not.
18 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
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www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 19
ooking to invest in a film, a new
band or an up and coming artist?
You could do a lot worse than spend a
day in Hospital. Want to meet up and
coming entrepreneurs? Perhaps you
should head to Adam Street.
Big business deals are moving out of the
Boardroom and into a range of different
venues. From the traditional grandeur of The
Arts Club in Mayfair or The London Capital
Club in the City, to the more modern sur-
rounds of Soho and Shoreditch House and
the aforementioned Hospital Club, private
members clubs are thriving both in London
and across the country.
With the growth in the number of
entrepreneurs working from home, fed up
with looking for hotel lobbies, coffee shops
and bars for meetings, private members
clubs have enjoyed a renaissance in recent
years. While London has seen an explosion
in the popularity of such venues, the trend
hasn’t been restricted to the Capital. I’ve
enjoyed meetings with members of clubs in
Cardiff, Liverpool, Manchester and Birming-
ham among others.
A few years ago the network of which I
was Managing Director conducted an infor-
mal survey of our membership, primarily
micro and small businesses. We asked those
of our members who had also joined the In-
stitute of Directors the main reason for their
membership of the IoD. Over 85% of the
respondents joined the IoD because of the
availability of their Clubs in Pall Mall. Since
that time the IoD has developed a network
of ‘Hubs’ similar clubs with meeting space
across the UK, available to all members.
And it’s not just entrepreneurs. Business
leaders looking for a reliable, discreet venue
for business lunches, television celebrities
hammering out their latest contracts and in-
vestors looking for their next great project
can all be found enjoying the benefits of
club membership.
Many members clubs are established to
cater for particular industries or professions,
encouraging like-minded people to collabo-
rate and support each other. Others boast
affiliations with similar establishments
abroad, or elsewhere in the country.
While many of the older clubs retain the
traditional rules, requiring mobiles to be
switched off, insisting on members wearing
ties and banning talk of business in many
areas, the new breed embrace business. In
many you will find members lost in their
laptops, with the Club acting as their virtual
office, while some, such as One Alfred
Place, in Bloomsbury, offer on-site PAs and
workstations.
If you are looking to find out where to
meet new people, create and develop
alliances and discover the next great deal, it
might be time to dust off your dancing shoes
and go clubbing.
L
Going ClubbingBusiness networking specialist Andy Lopata looks some of the new crop of business clubs
Andy Lopata is one of the UK’s leading business net-
working and referrals strategists. The co-author of two
books on networking, Andy works with companies
from one-man bands to global names such as
NatWest Bank, Merrill Lynch, O2 and Capita to help
them realise the full potential from their networks.
The Pool Room & Belini Loungeat The Hospital
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 19
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www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 21
s new businesses are being es-tablished by entrepreneursacross the country, to suit the
market looking for more individualservice, businesses must focus oncreating a brand that can leveragetheir business financially.
Branding is affecting business more and
more everyday, so much so that it is taking over
larger shares of a business' value and becoming
an increasingly important factor when it comes
to differentiating yourselves from competitors.
Brand is worth the investment – successful
brands command premium positions,
customers will pay more and economic value
will be added to your organisation. A powerful
business asset, branding can be used to
strengthen customer retention and win new
clients and, maybe more importantly for the
future of business, good brands attract the right
calibre of employee – something that is often
overlooked. It’s estimated that 50% of Coca
Cola's worth lies in its trademark and we’ve
also found this with SME clients who have
honed in on creating a brand, not just a
business.
Xiros
Let's take a look at an example. Xiros, a
Yorkshire based medical devices manufacturer,
found that potential customers weren’t seeing
the business for what it truly was, an innovative
medical design house – effectively missing out
on business they knew was right for them. After
evolving their existing brand and dissecting the
product offer, the business recorded a 700%
increase in new business generation within 12
months. This has kick-started a period of
significant growth over the last two years.
Brand plays a significant part in how the
company is perceived and how it approaches
new business.
The existing customer's relationship with a
brand
As well as attracting new business, a
re-brand lets existing customers know that you
are evolving with the times and are able to
meet their changing needs in the business
world. Selling to existing customers is the
easiest (and cheapest) way to increase revenue
and it is these customers who are most likely to
bring you new referrals.
Customers form emotional alliances with
strong brands, ultimately these brands are able
to command a higher price in the marketplace,
providing much stronger financial returns
throughout a business’ life cycle.
Attracting new customers
The current climate means that new
customers are much more cautious when
entering into new business relationships. They
will be on the lookout for a brand that they can
relate to, one that matches the needs and
values of their business.
This is where brand works most effectively.
Creating differentiation is one of the most
important attributes to a brand. A valuable
perception of quality in the mind of the
customer will guarantee you are competing
based on your credentials rather than on price.
The current climate offers great opportuni-
ties for SMEs – larger firms that sub-contract to
smaller independents are looking to cut costs.
SMEs need a good brand behind them to
leverage credibility for bigger contracts.
Interior Surfaces
Interior Surfaces, bespoke manufacturers of
solid and laminate surface products, decided to
invest in their brand as a way of attracting
larger contractors. They invested in a re-brand
because their existing image was not represen-
tative of their capabilities and they wanted to
appeal to a larger commercial customer base.
They had a 5 year plan in place to double their
turnover, but achieved this in 2 after reposition-
ing the business as a complete solutions
provider. Turnover rose from £1.2m to £2.4m.
This was put down to the new brand and
strong design ideas bringing a sense of what
they were able to achieve to the company, both
within the business and externally, and have
since gone on to successfully win contracts
with larger clients, and entered new markets.
Design with targets to meet
An effective brand strategy should deliver
results to the bottom line and therefore should
always have targets to meet and be measured
for performance. It should tie into your wider
marketing strategy and flow consistently within
an organisation's internal and external commu-
nications. This makes the brand a more power-
ful tool.
Branding affects business
Brand equity is turning into a corporate asset
that provides financial return and long term
profits, whilst also adding value to the cus-
tomer. From multinational companies to SMEs
the principles are the same - good brands will
be reflected in a stronger balance sheet with a
higher level of profitability for a given cost of
sales – a very attractive proposition to build a
business around.
But what must be remembered first and
foremost is that a brand is not just a logo, it is
paying attention to detail to every aspect of
communication within an organisation, from
stationary to staff. If that is mastered then the
reputation of your company should prevail over
the competitors', and by word of mouth, you
should find yourself with a successful
business.
A
The value of a brand
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 21
n the late 1960’s there wasn’t the
supermodels of the stature of Clau-
dia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Kate
Moss or Naomi Campbell, but there
was a glut or normal people who were
needed to be in advertising that the
buyer could associate with.
So in 1969 Mark French founded
what was then the first character model
agency called Ugly and you could say
that he has never looked back as
steadily their roster of models grew as
did their clients.
Its name notwithstanding, Ugly does-
n’t just represent the odd and
grotesque, but real people. The agency
believes it is tapping into a shift in ad-
vertising trends, in which advertisers
seek models who look more like cus-
tomers, on the theory that the cus-
tomers can better relate to them.
The agency now gets up to 100 e-
mailed applications per day. But photos
that give a good laugh are filed in a
desk drawer.
After over thirty years running Ugly
in the UK, Mark set about expanding
the business away from the UK. There
was only really one option as the first
venue and that was America. The land
of the free, and so French hooked up
with Simon Rogers, who after working
for more than 20 years as a fashion
model knows the business inside and
out and had been friends with French
since they were teenagers.
‘Whilst it was a struggle at first as the
US is very different to the UK as there is
a different union for every aspect of the
business’ commented French the pro-
gression has gone very well and now
Ugly NY is perhaps New York City’s
only modeling agency specializing in
booking non-professionals. A quick
look at their casting book highlights
models sized zero to 30; little people of
four feet and under; and sumo
wrestlers, old ladies, drag queens and
tattooed bikers, among others.
“Other agencies avoid these kinds of
people,” said the Shadow casting direc-
tor, Renée Torrière. “Ugly has made a
home for them.”
Ugly NY, which opened its doors in
Turning ugly
I
Taking over
We talk to the British businesses who are leading the charge
Richard Alvin talks to Mark French about opening up his unique brand of
agency in the US and America’s facination with UGLY
22 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 23
Americanfocus
the summer of 2007 has signed on
nearly 500 models so far and the pair
hope to expand their brand to other
cities, among them Los Angeles and
Berlin.
French actually decided to launch
the New York arm of the business as a
franchise which Rogers runs as it was a
lot easier using that model he explains.
That said he still spends one week
every month in New York and feels that
the inside of the BA cabin is his home
from home as he sees it so often.
Ugly NY talent representative Yvette
Ulrich says that New York is the best
city for this kind of agency.
“A lot of New Yorkers, they’re not try-
ing to be anything else: this is it, they
show up as is,” she said. “It’s not like
they’re getting dressed up in the morn-
ing, that’s who they are.”
Ugly models can sometimes earn the
same rates as runway or other tradi-
tional models, though mainly it expects
to offer part-time gigs paying a few
hundred dollars a day.
“I tell them, you can make money
being you, the way that you look, be-
cause it’s beautiful,” Ulrich said.
Native New Yorker Najwa Moses
welcomes the chance to make money
from her appearance, whether or not
the looks she gets are flattering.
“My hair is unusual and I’m pretty
tall, so I’m always getting looks,” she
said. “Some are positive and some are
negative, but they’re looking.”
She was booked as an extra for the
movie version of Sex in the City be-
cause, she said, the directors liked her
different but fashionable look.
Model Betul Alganatay, featured on
Manhattan Storage ad on billboards,
says she chose Ugly NY because she
didn’t want to get lost in a bigger
agency.
“Ugly has a different attitude to-
wards the business,” she said. “They
look at it in a human way.”
Anyway, there’s really no such thing
as ugly, according to Rogers. “There’s
boring,” he said. “But not ugly.”
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 23
24 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
hile the Americans and the
British have similar language
and culture, the two nations
are still quite different when it comes
to business.
Understanding these idiosyncrasies will
ensure you are better equipped to nego-
tiate deals and develop long-term busi-
ness relationships. There are some
primary aspects to consider:
•Americans often build relationships
through business, not business through
relationships. Work out the details of
the deal first, the relationships may
come later.
• Active selling is expected, often to
a degree that may be regarded as exces-
sive in the UK.
• Time is money, so be well prepared
with samples, packaging and sales
sheets. Know your return-on investment
calculations or sales forecasts, pricing
and logistics. Deadlines are real and
short; respond quickly or risk losing the
business.
• Know your competitive advantage
over specific US suppliers, as well as
your domestic and international track
record.
• Being direct is a virtue; ask for
what you want, say what you mean and
do as you say. Being shy and
unassertive may be seen as a weakness
in the US. Americans won’t take offence
to well-phrased, direct questions be-
cause they always reserve the right to
say no.
• Be positive. British tendency to be
self-effacing or downplay achievements
can clash with Americans’ can-do
attitude and tendency to take informa-
tion at face value.
• Effective follow-up is
essential and often involves
persistent and repetitive at-
tempts to make contact.
If you have called or
emailed someone 2–3
times and have not heard
back from them, do not as-
sume they are disinterested. Instead,
remember that persistence is expected
in the US; it may take you as many as
10–12 attempts to get a response,
whether positive or negative.
• Business conduct in the US is gen-
erally conservative, polite and succinct;
it is important to clarify benefits for the
prospective customer.
The key to success is not being large
but having a strong product or service
offering and being able to clearly artic-
ulate your competitive advantage. US
buyers are time poor and bombarded
with marketing collateral and sales
pitches from hundreds of companies.
As a result, it is extremely difficult to
get their attention. Success in the
United States is often based on persis-
tence. It is not uncommon for a buyer
to need to hear your message numerous
times before they can differentiate it
from all the others.
You should increase your chances of
getting noticed by keeping the message
concise and diversifying the channels
you use to deliver it, such as email,
telephone, publications, third parties
and personal visits. Americans were the
inventors of the 30-second sales pitch.
Whether you like or loathe the idea, the
level of marketing noise bombarding
buyers and the number of competitors
makes it a necessity.
You need to be sure you can move a
US buyer from passive disinterest to
curious engagement as quickly and ef-
fectively as possible – ideally in 30 to
60 seconds.
This concise pitch should include the
following four elements:
• Articulate the problem your prod-
uct addresses, the solution it provides
and why it’s better than its competitors.
For example, “My software solves the
problem of product tracking in the retail
industry and provides a 30 per cent
higher savings rate than my two top
competitors”.
• Use American English. It sounds
like common sense, but many UK busi-
ness people speak in metric units, refer-
ence British locations and use British
slang in US pitches.
• Try to reference companies that are
already active in the US when establish-
ing your advantage or credibility.
Whether presenting testimonials or
claims against competitors, the US
buyer needs to quickly understand who
you are in context of his or her current
environment.
• Be specific about the benefits.
Avoid using generalities such as im-
proven return-on-investment, productiv-
ity or sales. Instead provide specific
numbers, data and percentage increases
W
Gaining thatcompetitiveedge
Use your britishness as
an advantage
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26 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
Gordon Brown reputedly waitedmany years to step into the top job,yet when he eventually did he madethe mistake that so many other lead-ers have made before him. Gordonforgot to leave his old job behind.
It is no accident that the only major success
of Gordon Brown’s premiership so far has been
on the world financial stage. This is a world in
which he feels at home and so can use his
strengths and experience to full effect. He has
had somewhat less success however on the
media stage, promoting himself and his govern-
ment. So many leaders move into a new role
and fail to assess and define the priorities of the
new job, trying instead to use skills of old that
have served them so well on the upward climb.
It is this transition that can prove to be the
undoing of many a talented star who has risen
through the ranks delivering targets and achiev-
ing goals. The move into a more senior leader-
ship role often brings with it new responsibili-
ties, a broader strategic focus and the need to
consider every uttered word that may be
unpicked and analysed for hidden meaning.
Exhausting as it may seem, every decision,
every smile and every handshake must be
considered. The water-coolers and corridors of
offices can spurn discussions just as toxic as
those in the corridors of power.
Define priorities
It is in this transition that an Executive
Coach can prove invaluable. A coach can help
the new leader define the priorities of the new
job and to distinguish between ‘what I like
doing, and what I should be doing’. By chal-
lenging the rationale, the coach can bring a
unique honesty to task prioritisation, helping to
clarify the needs of the new role in the broader
organisational context. As a neutral party the
coach can also help raise awareness of the
strengths and weaknesses that the leader brings
to the role. An authentic appraisal of skills will
prove invaluable to achieving results. Only
then can the leader begin to shape the new
role and appreciate which tasks they should
take on, and which should be delegated to bet-
ter suited or more charismatic lieutenants.
Ultimately coaching is about taking action.
Priorities and awareness can only yield results
if acted on. A coach can provide the support
needed by leaders to define appropriate strate-
gies to move forward. As sounding board or
confidante the coach provides a unique think-
ing space which frees the mind from the shack-
les of fear and indecision. Helping to build an
action plan to enable the leader to travel to the
edges of their comfort zone but not beyond
their realm of competence.
Carmelina Lawton Smith, a Senior Lecturer & consultant with Oxford Brookes University
Business School looks at how to manage transition of top staff
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30 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
ntrepreneurs have been elevated by the media to become
role models, a position once reserved for footballers and
film stars.
Today’s young people are as likely to aspire to become the next
Richard Branson, Peter Jones or Duncan Banatyne as they are to
follow in the footsteps of David Beckham or Jude Law.
The common factor among all these figures is one-in-a-million
talent. They are simply exceptional at what they do. And that
rubs off down the scale. Just as Fred Bloggs who plays for
Melchester Rovers Reserves reckons he must have that divine
talent too, so, it seems, does Joe Soap, who runs a business and
sees himself as an entrepreneur. And Mr Soap, at least, may have
to rethink.
Global business consultancy McKinney Rogers has just carried
out a survey of senior business executives and concluded that
Britain’s entrepreneurs should watch their backs because they’re
not as unique as they thought. There is evidence of a more
entrepreneurial generation hot on their heels, particularly from
emerging markets, which are embracing a more entrepreneurial
approach to business.
Train to be an entrepeneur
Coupled with that, a majority of respondents to the McKinney
Rogers survey believe entrepreneurship is not an innate gift and
can be developed.
The survey, which encompassed Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific and
the US, was designed to gauge awareness, perceptions and trends
surrounding entrepreneurial skills in the corporate environment.
While an encouraging two-thirds of respondents (69 per cent)
believe that in today’s business environment it is important for
large organisations to develop a core competence of
entrepreneurship, the emergence of a more entrepreneurial spirit
in the boardroom is noticeably different in the UK from how it is
in some other regions.
The younger emerging markets are ready to embrace
entrepreneurship in a large organisation (50 per cent) as opposed
to only 27 per cent in Europe including the UK, where markets
are more established. This is supported by respondents who see
regions such as Africa having a widespread belief (88 per cent)
that entrepreneurs can be developed, compared with only 38
per cent of people surveyed in UK and the rest of Europe. Less
constrained by tradition, these emerging markets are perhaps
more open to risk taking and creating a more flexible
environment and culture that can embrace entrepreneurship.
Key findings emerged when executives and business leaders
were asked to assess the defining characteristics of both CEOs
and entrepreneurs. There was a marked difference between the
E
The fame gameAs we all strive to be famous for more than our five
minutes, entrepeneurs are now joining the ranks of
David Beckham and gaining world-wide fame.
two perceptions, with executives seeing more of a blurring of
the lines between entrepreneurs and business leaders,
heralding the emergence of a more entrepreneurial approach
to business from the next generation of business leaders.
Core skill base
Executives saw both entrepreneurs and CEOs as strong
communicators, energetic, visionary, flexible, decisive,
intuitive and not independent operators. Executives also
viewed the role of a CEO as including risk taking and
flexibility, which CEOs themselves scored low in the survey as
core skills for themselves.
CEOs see entrepreneurs as passionate, energetic and highly
motivated and identified their key qualities as being visionary,
driven, persistent and decisive.
When respondents were asked which parts of the business
were important in achieving corporate entrepreneurship,
interestingly, people and behaviour-related objectives, such as
encouraging ownership (72 per cent) and developing an
entrepreneurial culture (47 per cent), featured more highly
than operational focus areas such as creating and developing
new ventures (39 per cent).
Richard Watts, UK partner at McKinney Rogers, says:
“What is interesting about this research in particular is the
openness to entrepreneurs by the less established markets and
also by newer industries such as technology, where the pace
of change necessitates a more maverick, flexible and
innovative approach to business.
“For older, more established markets to continue to
flourish, they need to keep pace and this means adopting
what is called intrapreneurship – injecting some of the core
qualities of an entrepreneur into a large business and adapting
the culture to allow this to sit comfortably.”
Gain a real understanding
McKinney Rogers CEO Damian McKinney says: “These
results clearly highlight a real understanding across industry
that entrepreneurship has an increasingly important part to
play in driving a successful business. What business leaders
need to understand is that this isn’t about recruiting a number
of entrepreneurs and hoping that they will make changes and
expect them to mould to the current culture.
“The key is to identifying entrepreneurial qualities in
existing employees creating a culture that supports some of the
innovation, risk-taking and flexibility that is associated with
entrepreneurs empowering people to take ownership for this.”
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You have an auditorium of people, you’re administer-
ing death by PowerPoint and you know you need to
do something to engage them.
So someone in the audience has an idea and you ask them
if they could sketch it as a diagram. You take a pad over and
a peculiarly thick pen, they scrawl on the paper – and it
appears on screen, in real time, as they draw it.
This is because the pen – and the USB key you’ve put into
your computer – comprise PaperShow, a system that takes
whatever is drawn onto the special paper they provide and
puts it onto your laptop screen, and by extension wherever
your laptop display is focused. It’s straightforward to use after
a slightly fiddly set-up, in which you have to deactivate your
computer’s Bluetooth and set up the key as a Bluetooth
receiver instead; once you’re over that it’s a breeze and audi-
ences love it. One user we spoke to said it turned his presen-
tation into a conversation, which is exactly as he wanted it.
Auditorium and keynote speech settings are of course only
one possible use of this gadget. Any setting in which you
want extra participation will make this work. The interface is
a paper pad, so you can pass it around – and unlike a white-
board with multiple inputs from tablet computers, which
could also do the job, this costs £115 per unit. Mac users will
have to wait a few months for their release unless they install
Bootcamp or one of the other PC emulators and install a copy
of Windows, at which point it starts to work beautifully. You
can also use the memory/Bluetooth key for storage – for
example, storing your presentation.
TechnologyGuy Clapperton shows you what you need to create
the right impression first time when presenting
If Spring is the season of mellow fruitfulness then the Autumn is when
the exhibitions start up in earnest.
A whole new raft of kit is required to make a company’s exhibition presence fly;
this magazine is involved in Business North West and others from late October,
and locking everything down with security hardware from Kensington so it does-
n’t go walkies; meanwhile you’ll need something for a good display, equipment
to help people interact with you in seminars and keep everything charged
Papershow
32 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 33
Laptop & Display
Logitech has released two new presenter tools for those
auditorium moments when you’ve seen your competitor
dashing to and from the computer and prodding away to
change to the next slide, or asking a colleague to switch
to the next image.
Best for larger gatherings is the Presenter R800. This has
buttons you can operate to change slides, clearly, and also a
timer which vibrates when you’re two minute, a minute and
30 seconds away from whenever you’re due to finish, and
when it reaches zero it starts to count the minutes so you
know how long you’re overrunning. Its reception range is
100 ft, so you can do a lot of wandering around a pretty
substantial room without losing control of your slides, and
its laser pointer is equally visible at a distance. This costs
£69.99 and has a smaller sibling, the R400, which has a 50
ft range instead and fewer bells and whistles, costs £44.99
and will still control your presentation without say the tim-
ing functions.
Logitech guarantees only that these devices will be com-
patible with PCs, presumably because of warranties and
suchlike; we tried one with a Mac running Powerpoint for
the Mac and it worked perfectly without any problem at all.
Some readers might have tried the PowerPoint controllers
which you can find on (for example) the iPhone. Many of
these have positive feedback and appear to work; they are
third party applications, however, and there is no guarantee
they will work when there’s
an upgrade since
none are officially
sanctioned by Mi-
crosoft.
Logitech has also is-
sued some new mice
which are great when you
can’t predict what sort of surface
will be available. The Performance
Mouse MX (£89.99) and the compact
Anywhere Mouse MX (£69.99) both work
on smooth glass surfaces, which is usually
death to a mouse, by detecting tiny scratches
and irregularities on the surface.
The temptation, when there are laptops available for
around £300 or small netbooks for under £200, is to
go and buy one of those and take that around with
you when you’re on the road showing stuff.
The problem with that option is that the displays start to
let you down – hooked up to a projector the small sub-£200
models often distort the picture and the larger cheap models
are heavy and look distinctly non-businesslike.
Many people – your correspondent included – opt for
Apple for portability, but this is expensive and will require
an adapter (under £20 from any Apple store but another
layer of fiddling). For easy use with most peripherals like the
aforementioned pointers, mice and Papershow products it
makes sense to stick with PC for the moment, and MSi’s re-
cent X600 laptop releases are a portable weight and have
full spec for a PC. They start at £599 for a model with 320
gigabytes on the disk and no optical drive and move to
£799 if you need the CD and 500 gigs of storage as part of
the deal.
In terms of where to send the output, Apple sells excel-
lent quality large displays from its stores (try to avoid
ordering these online or
off the page, if you
can go and see one and check for dead pixels it’s better
than arranging a product return); many companies offer ex-
cellent projectors and recent offerings from Toshiba and
Optoma offer full high-definition compatibility. Optoma
also offers a pocket projector, the Pico, which fits in the
pocket and will take a feed from a portable media player.
This is useful for impromptu presentations when there are
no obvious facilities around,
other than a
wall!
Presenter
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 33
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"How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of
the world."
Cynical bloke, that Hamlet. Personally, I think 2009 has a lot of
promise. I’m rather bullish actually. My tracker mortgage has gone
down by two-thirds and with the amount of beer I drink, 2.5 per cent
off VAT makes for a significant saving.
Seriously, money is like water – it always finds its own level. Where
it flows out of one asset class and therefore deflating its price, it finds a
level in another thus inflating the price. Sounds easy, but the trick of
course is finding the new fertile pasture.
Of those assets that have been hammered, commodities have been
the most battered with the wheels properly falling off the super-cycle.
And here is my first one. Less than six months ago the price of oil was
$140 a barrel. Way too high. At the time of writing the spot price was
less than $38. Way too low and at that level the big producers will sim-
ply begin to turn off the taps and artificially inflate the price.
Thus a nice big buy on a spread bet on the oil price. Shop around
for somewhere with a decent margin. In three months, you may find it
will be back towards a more natural price of around $75.
One place where our liquid money will flow in my view is Africa.
Look for companies like Cussons, which does huge retail business in
the more predictable parts of Africa – particularly oil-rich Nigeria –
with sensible consumer goods like white goods, non-perishable foods,
soap and household cleaning products.
Graham Benson, serial chairman & executive chairman, TriNorth
Oil that comes from places other than the Gulf , US or former Soviet
territories - already slowly moving in the right direction if still a bit
volatile.
Robbie Burns, professional trader and author – The Naked Trader.
Horse weighing under 10st 10lb to win National
Buy Oil price
Buy up all non environmental 100w light bulbs left, set up internet
site to sell them later in year yielding a massive 3X profit. (20% payable
to me, please)
Jason Michelow, accountant and amateur diplomat, Essex.
2009 will show itself to be the year of the dragon.......investor. All
the bottom-of-the-cycle basement bargain prices will be achieved this
year. As a man of property my advice is "buy any high yielding stock in
the UK, USA & Germany.
Ignore claims on 'below market values. In fact, ignore values and
capital calculations completely.
Buy only on yield and rental cover (how much excess income you
have to meet your senior debt costs, expressed as a percentage. 125%
is the absolute minimum banks will consider). Enter in commercial
property at risk. Residential will be where it's at as even the unem-
ployed need somewhere to live, but clearly not an office or shop or fac-
tory for the foreseeable future.
Peter Nurse, desk editor and serial poker fish, Dow Jones, London
I’m old enough to remember Jim Slater’s investment advice for 1974
– shotgun cartridges, baked beans and Krugerrand.
But the sensible advice must be corporate bonds – still bombed out,
but that’s what I’d do with money I needed. The big play must be infla-
tion proof assets, for when the government’s strategy goes pear shaped
– probably next year. £100,000 would probably buy 2 buy-to-let prop-
erties from distressed sellers. You may have to wait a bit, but houses can
only remain below their building cost – which is what is happening
now – for so long.
Lucian Camp, advertising guru and chairman, Tangible Financial
I'd invest it in some reasonably creative and original form of pure
self-indulgence. I loved the thing that guy planned about going to eat
at every 3-star Michelin restaurant, although it was a real shame he
only got half way before something strange happened to him – chronic
gout I imagine. Anyone who can string a few words together ought to
be able to make their money back on the book of the adventure, too.
If on the other hand the rules of the game insist that I have to look
for some sort of investment-style return on the money, then no question
that I'd buy land in Iceland. It's really cheap just now - and when that
global warming kicks in, it's going to be extremely attractive real estate.
Philip Martin, self-styled horse-racing genius and founder
and partner, Nucleus Financial, Edinburgh
That was the question that Stephen McDowell, editor in chief of the UK’s number one investor website
interactive investor (www.iii.co.uk), asked some of his friends and some of the answers were interesting...
If you had £100,000 whatwould you invest it in?
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 35
ord Archer has been quietly
ploughing money into theatri-
cal productions since Lord
Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the
Opera.
He owns 35 per cent of the national
tour of Sound of Music starring Connie
Fisher who won the part of Maria, the
singing nun, in a reality television show.
The biggest fish is named after Grease.
For good reason.
"I put £150,000 into the stage
production of Grease and have got back
£1.5 million so far. It has been a fantastic
success," says Lord Archer. But he has not
always had the Midas touch. He lost
£400,000 in a US production of Hello
Dolly.
Lord Archer is working on a series of
short stories, writing in long hand with a
felt tip pen, in a study in the grounds of
the Old Vicarage at Grantchester. The
study, with its Pugin furniture, has echoes
of his time as an MP which ended in
financial ruin in 1974 and his 12 years as
a member of the House of Lords. His
second parliamentary career may yet be
brought to an end if ministers carry out
their threat to pass legislation banning
convicted criminals from the upper
house.
On his desk is a new cover for his
1979 thriller Kane and Abel which has
been reprinted 84 times, and sold more
than 33 million copies. Lord Archer has
rewritten it to mark the 30th anniversary
of its original publication.
"I thought I would have another go at
it. I gave myself three weeks to read and
correct it." Nine months and 500 hours
and it was completed. It is now 7,000
words shorter.
"It is pacier, faster, as I am now a better
craftsman," said Lord Archer. "But the plot
and the ending are the same. Kane and
Abel changed my whole life. I bought the
Old Vicarage with it. I went from nothing
to a millionaire in 24 hours."
Lord Archer knows he will never win
an award from the critics for his prose but
if there were a Nobel Prize for storytelling
he would have won it years ago. He has
sold more than 250 million books and is
in the top 10 best selling authors in the
world.
Lord Archer, by his own admission, has
had a roller coaster of a life which could
have come straight from the pages of one
of his novels. After his writing success
Margaret Thatcher made him deputy
chairman of the Conservative Party. He
stood down when he successfully sued a
newspaper which alleged he had paid for
sex with a prostitute. He bounced back
again to become a confidant of John
Major and was the overwhelming choice
of the party faithful to become the Tories’
first candidate in the 1999 London
mayoral contest. But Lord Archer, hailed
by William Hague as a "man of
outstanding integrity," crashed and burned
again when he was sentenced to four
years in jail for perjury over his liaison
with that same prostitute 15 years earlier.
Since his release Lord Archer has
turned his back on politics and dedicated
himself to writing and raising money for
charity as an auctioneer – £2.2 million
last year. "Now that politics is out of the
way I enjoy writing even more," he said.
But he is still a member of two
Conservative associations, and has regular
lunches with members of the shadow
cabinet. He hardly knows David Cameron
but is not convinced he has what it takes
to succeed. "I was shocked by the recent
opinion poll in The Daily Telegraph which
showed we have made no progress in
Scotland or the north of England. When I
was deputy chairman I could travel from
Glasgow to Edinburgh without leaving
Tory land. In a two-week period I covered
every constituency in which we had an
MP. There were 14. Now we have only
one. We appear to have given up."
Lord Archer fears that the Tories might
scrape into power by winning back
Middle England but with no mandate in
the north or Scotland. "They will hate us if
that happens. It will be terrible. It will not
be good for politics. You don’t want a
country that votes north or south you have
L
36 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 37
Lord Archer
to represent the whole of Great Britain."
Lord Archer believes that the Tory party
fightback – their lead is 14 compared to
Tony Blair’s 26 points at the same period
in the electoral cycle – was hampered by
Mr Cameron’s Old Etonian image. "What
have they got, six Old Etonians in his
inner circle? It does not worry me
because you should choose the best
people you can find, But the man in
Durham might think we are snooties."
Even if the Tories win, Lord Archer was
not convinced that they had the team to
turn the economy round. "My worry for
him is quite simple. With the economy in
the state it is in, the pound falling so low,
can he [Cameron] or anyone else make a
difference in this financial crisis?"
Did he expect the Conservatives to
win? "I used to think so until I saw that
poll. In the last six months the lead will
narrow in favour of the Government. We
must win but it ain’t over yet."
These days Lord Archer is only an
occasional visitor to the House of Lords.
He professes to be relaxed about moves
to change the law to strip convicted
criminals of their peerages. "It’s up to the
Government," he said. "But I like the
answer John Major gave when he was
asked if Jeffrey Archer should lose his
peerage. He said: ‘Fine, take it off him,
but you will have to give it back to him
the next day because of all the work he
has done and is doing for charity’." Some
of his most controversial charity work,
before he went to Belmarsh prison, was
his appeal for Kurdish refugees in
northern Iraq which raised £57 million.
The millionaire novelist then made a
highly publicised visit to northern Iraq in
1992 to see the conditions of the Kurds
who were fleeing from Saddam Hussein.
John Major, the Prime Minister, who was
later to back Lord Archer as the Tory
mayoral candidate, pledged £10 million
from the Government.
The Liberal Democrat peer Emma
Nicholson alleged money had gone
missing from the appeal and challenged
Scotland Yard to investigate after Lord
Archer’s conviction for perjury in the
summer of 2001. He has just received the
perfect rebuff to Lady Nicholson. It’s an
invitation to visit Iraq from President Jalai
Talabani.
The letter, which was written by the
president’s wife, Hero Ibrahim Ahmed,
says: "For many years you have been a
close friend of the Kurdish people,
bringing to light the struggles faced by
our people in our darkest days. Your
efforts on behalf of our people were a
clarion call to the world to speak up and
notice the horrors that were taking place.
"It would be a privilege if you were to
accept this invitation on behalf of my
husband and myself to visit the Kurd
region once again and to see the
phenomenal changes that have taken
place."
Lord Archer, who has just built a house
in northern Majorca where he will do
much of his writing, said "I am thrilled to
be asked back."
He refused to discuss the criticisms of
Lady Nicholson. "What I have found is
that real friends stand by you. Very few
people deserted me when I went to
prison. They stayed loyal," he said. John
Major and Lady Thatcher are still regulars
at his garden parties.
None though has been more loyal than
his wife Mary, a scientist, who is
chairman of Addenbrooke’s Hospital in
Cambridge. "Mary is the star," he said.
"We are the tortoise and the hare. She
overtook me years ago and is still moving
steadily ahead. There are two things that
matter in marriage: respect and
admiration. For us they grow each year. I
am proud of everything she does and she
is proud of my books."
Jeffrey Archer always breaks at noon from writing to feed his 100
Koi carp, in the pond at his Cambridgeshire home, which have been
named after some of the most popular plays to grace the West End
and Broadway stage, symbols of his secret investment successes.
Lord Archer, by his own
admission, has had a
roller coaster of a life
which could have come
straight from the pages
of one of his novels.
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 37
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www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 39
What to wear to pitch for funding
t is important for your first impression to
be positive so that the potential backer
considers you and your business to be a
great investment.
How you are dressed will often show how
serious you are and Jane Dawson, founder of
Business Wardrobe provides us with some
some key points to remember when pitching
for funding:
• Ensure you dress broadly in line with the
corporate code for the organisation or take
noted of how the investor presents him or
herself.
• If you are pitching in a formal environment
to a conservative investor, a dark coloured
suit is a good starting point but if it is a more
creative product you’re pitching you can play
with fashion a little bit more – add a splash
of colour, wear a patterned skirt or a vibrant
blouse.
• Be comfortable – pitching for funding is
often a high pressure situation and it’s impor-
tant that you feel yourself and can project
the qualities and assets that you possess.
• Wear clothes which allow you to relax and
reflect you and your personality.
• Over-dressed vs Under-dressed demon-
strate that you mean business and you are
ambitious. It is better to be overdressed than
underdressed.
“Whereas the staple business outfit for
men is the suit, there is nothing similar for
women, so creating a chic, co-ordinated out-
fit for a pitch situation can throw up all kinds
of dilemmas, not least, how to put together a
smart, professional look whilst maintaining
an individual, feminine style.
“Successful women often find themselves
in a position where they are one of only a
few females within a male dominated envi-
ronment. Dressing professionally whilst as-
serting their femininity and individuality
without copying the standard male ‘suit, shirt
and tie’ look is key.
How can you maintain a feminine but
businesslike look as well as show an individ-
ual yet socially acceptable style?
“There are some key looks for a pitching
situation, although it does depend on the en-
vironment.
“A dark, well-fitted tailored suit will pro-
ject professionalism, but it doesn’t have to be
a plain fabric. Individuality could be added
with pin stripe pattern or tweed. This could
be teamed with a brighter blouse which will
reflect confidence and make you stand out.
“Keep your accessories subtle, but still
show you've got creativity and flair. A gor-
geous wide belt or an unusual pendant neck-
lace will show you've got individuality.
“Clothes can make a real difference to
your career, as your clothing should reflect
your corporate character and position within
an organisation but the right clothes will also
boost your confidence and allow you to pro-
ject your own style and personality.
“This is where colour can be an impor-
tant factor. For example, dark colours such as
black, navy and purple psychologically de-
note authority, knowledge and responsibility.
Brown shows that you are reliable, white is a
good choice for shirts as it conveys a clean,
formal look, bright colours such as red re-
flect power and control and lighter colours
suggest femininity and softness.
“Dressing the part is not what will secure
you the pitch – your presenting skills, com-
petences and experience are what clearly
matter most. However, failing to create a
good impression through dress can often
negate a good pitch and may leave investors
with some doubt.
“It is also important not to neglect your
personal grooming so that the effect of a
crisp outfit is not ruined. Minimal make-up
will work best as it will look professional
and denote that you take care of your ap-
pearance.
Women may think: All of this sounds great
but how do I find the time to buy new
clothes for an important pitch?
“Time is a key factor for women in citing
why they cannot shop for new smart clothes.
The difficulties of balancing a busy working
life with the pressures of running a family,
coupled with the lack of stylish business
clothing on the high street, has led to frustra-
tion for many women as they dress for an im-
portant pitch meeting.
“Our research suggested that a last minute
dash to the high street to purchase office
wear which lacks personality is a common
experience for many modern business-
women.
“As a busy working woman myself, I un-
derstand how difficult it is to find the time to
put together a stylish contemporary business
wardrobe. Successful women are looking for
good quality clothes which are easy to
source.
“This is where shopping online comes into
its own, as it becomes a pleasurable experi-
ence, by missing out the queues and stress
and instead gaining the benefits of boutique
shopping but browsing and buying in the
comfort of your home or the office.
“Investing in a quality business wardrobe
is an investment in your professional future
and your self confidence.
“In an ideal world, appearances shouldn’t count for everything whenpitching for funding, but the reality is that appearances do matter,and in many cases, an initial first impression is created before youhave even spoken a word.”
Dress to Impress
I
40 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 41
hen it comes to investing the quote
from Baron Phillipe Rothschild re-
mains as true now as it was in the
eighteenth century.
The time to invest in property, equities or
any other market is when it looks at it’s most
unappealing, however this takes a great deal
of nerve. Conversely once a “bloke down the
pub” tells you that you ought to get into a
certain market, then that is almost certainly
the time to get out.
Looking at this it’s important to consider
what happens in a bull market, it can basi-
cally be divided into three stages. The early
stage is the “Stealth” stage of the bull market,
where recriminations from the late stage of
the previous bull market still preoccupies the
general public.
Living in the past
Most people tend to live in the past, and
so does the City. The shift is not recognised,
widely regarded with skepticism, or even de-
nied outright. It is known as the “Stealth”
stage, simply because the majority of in-
vestors are not even aware the bull market is
present, the opportunity is not even on their
horizon. Instead, only a small minority of as-
tute investors realise that a profound shift in
the investment environment has occurred
and begin to accumulate assets in the new
investment class. This group of early investors
is usually known as “smart money”.
There then follows a mature stage where
the new investment trend gradually becomes
recognised by institutional investors and in-
vesting in the new investment class becomes
acceptable. Generally poor returns of the al-
ternative asset class force institutional in-
vestors to look at alternatives, however there
is still plenty of skepticism. There is also the
realisation that the past returns have been so
great, that prices cannot go much higher.
Therefore everyone is “worried” that the bull
market might soon be over. Every intermedi-
ate decline is declared the end of the bull
market, during this stage the market climbs
the proverbial “Wall of Worry”. Nevertheless,
the healthy returns from the early stage con-
vince them that they should jump on board,
albeit cautiously and with a relatively small
percentage of their funds. In general, institu-
tional investors are known as “Big Money”.
They enter the markets slowly and steadily,
typically herding tightly with their peers and
trying not to deviate too far away from them.
The final stage
Finally there is the late or “Mania” stage,
the period when the masses enter the bull
market in droves. They never saw the first
stage, but they have watched the second
stage develop. They are finally convinced
that the trend is permanent and expect prices
to rise forever. Caution is thrown out of the
window and greed takes over. Use of borrow-
ing becomes the investment norm. Specula-
tion is rampant, over time greed turns into
mania, with bursts of panicked buying.
Throughout the stage, the buying conviction
of the masses drives prices exponentially
which feeds back to reinforce their convic-
tions. Asset-based lending becomes the
norm, so rising asset prices begets more lend-
ing, which further fuels the boom. This stage
is usually associated with a major bubble.
We have just seen the culmination of this
cycle which can take anything from ten to
twenty years to come to fruition. At the mo-
ment there is a tremendous amount of
“value” investments providing that you are
looking at a three to five year horizon. So the
question now becomes, where is the smart
money investing?
W
If you have any questions or comments
e-mail them through to me on:
Is there bloodon the streets?
Gavin Porritt looks at why now is the best and not worse
time to be investing for the future
"Buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is
your own." – Baron Phillipe Rothschild.
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 41
42 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 43
James Spence returns to
Scotland’s most famous
golf course, the scene of
many a triumphant day, to
see if the old course has
stood the test of time.
Backto SaintAndrews
DestinationScotland
have a lifelong association with Fife, and the university
town of St Andrews. It was the location of several family
holidays. I started playing the game at age 8 at Elie dur-
ing a summer in which my family had rented a house on the
beach - the same place and age that James Braid started play-
ing golf 95 years earlier. In another summer, we were staying
at Kincaple during the hot summer of 1975, my father trav-
elled back with Jack Newton on a hovercraft after he had just
lost a playoff to Tom Watson across the bay at Carnoustie. In
1984, I was in the grandstands with my father when Balles-
teros holed a curly downhiller to win the Open. In 2001, I
made a trip from Hong Kong to play the fabulous Kingsbarns
Course near Crail, staying B&B at the house of Baron Erskine
on whose land the course was built, and who 15 years previ-
ous had been my student landlord at Cambo House.
In 1982, armed with the requisite number of Scottish Highers,
I chose the University with the highest density of golf courses
and spent four years at St. Andrews as a student, graduating
with a moderate degree in Philosophy and an immoderate
hook shot.
I
V
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 43
As a student you became quickly aware of the high and static
number of public houses and the small and shrinking number of
bookshops. Pubs went in and out of fashion with students and this
had nothing whatsoever to do with the beer, service or ambience.
In fact it was entirely whimsical. In my first year the Niblick (then
just 20 steps from the 18th Green of the Old) was the only place to
drink. In my second it was the Castle Tavern at the far end of North
Street. The Central on Market Street was popular with students of
Arabic Culture. A friend became the drinking buddy of Tip Ander-
son (Arnold Palmer’s caddie at many Opens) at The Criterion on
South Street. The Niblick by the 17th Fairway was an occasional
place to go, often after 16 and a half holes. Popular with visiting
Americans and their local caddies, I seem to remember the beer
prices were a little elevated - elevated at least to those of us that
felt that 75p a pint was a natural and immutable ceiling.
I made precisely two trips to the Old Course Hotel in my four
student years. The hotel was, and remains, the town’s brush with in-
ternational luxury and therefore a place injurious to the student al-
lowance. One the first occasion a few of us were sitting around
somebody’s room at St Salvator’s Hall when one bright spark sug-
gested we go for cocktails at the Road Hole bar at the Hotel. The
merit in this idea lay in its contrariness. Each of us ordered a cock-
tail and I remember the pianist tinking away, just as he does today.
The second visit was sponsored by the Champagne house of Lau-
rent-Perrier, motto: Ne Buvez Jamais d’Eau (Never Drink Water).
Whether it was extreme farsightedness or a strategic error, Laurent-
Perrier held a tasting evening of their full range of champagnes to a
group of undergraduates. The University Wine Society had been
chugging along on Lambrusco and Amontillado for years became a
much more popular society as a result. The Old Course Hotel pro-
vided a ballroom for the event and I can distinctly remember the
moment when the head representative from the champagne house
suggested that, having tasted each variant in turn, we might like to
approach one of the tables for a further reconnoitre. We needed no
further invitation and paced over to the Vintage table and sur-
rounded the man from L-P. One of our number asked the represen-
tative to help demonstrate the elegant pouring technique whereby
the thumb of the right hand is positioned in the indent under the
bottle. “Mais oui ! ”. Very soon each of us had a bottle in hand and
were filling each others’ glasses at will.
Diverse business
Since 2004, The Old Course Hotel and Spa has been owned by
Kohler Co., the family company whose business is plumbing but
who is best known in the golfing world for building the Whistling
Straits course on the banks of Lake Michigan. It is 26 years since
my last visit, so comparisons are hazy but clearly the Kohler’s have
made a substantial investment both in the hotel and in developing
the inland course The Duke’s, which is just outside the town.
The course is the only non-seaside course at St Andrews and was
designed by Peter Thomson and latterly modified by Tim Liddy. The
Duke’s offers a great escape from the hullabaloo surrounding the
Old and, being on a rural site above town, is serene with some
great views. The course can be long but offers a range of tees which
measures the course from 7,512 yards down to 5,216 yards. Al-
though the members generally walk it, some transitions betweens
greens and tees are lengthy so many visitors will be tempted by the
option of a golf-cart.
44 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 45
In the evening prior to playing the Dukes I find myself back on
the top floor in the Road Hole bar where we are offered a glass of
house champagne, which indeed turns out to be Laurent-Perrier,
closing that particular circle. This formed the start of a meal at the
Road Hole Restaurant which was simultaneously formal, modern
and delicious. Scallops two ways, lamb rump and sweetbreads, al-
mond and apricot cake for my part.
Earlier in the day we were also able to have a quick lunch in the
downstairs Sands Grill, replacing langoustines with the chicken in a
Caesar salad which was not a premeditated move but something
that the kitchen were happy to accommodate. Gary, the waiter,
asked if we were expecting “my lady”, which we were but she was
late returning from shopping in town (shopping opportunities are
much improved from the 1980s I note). The wait extended some-
what and in the intervening time Gary and I elevated my wife to
Her Ladyship. Graced finally with her presence, salads were deliv-
ered, a quick and excellent coffee then off to the course.
My breakfast the next morning was of the heroic Scottish variety
but there are also lighter options – a wide variety of fruits, breads
and cereals, jams and honeycomb and porridge in a multitude of
styles, with/without milk, honey, compote.
What you might expect of a grand hotel with a strong American
connection is excellent service, plumbing and beds, this and the lo-
cation, are its real claims. There are very few quick or easy rounds
of golf in St Andrews in the summer so recovery is the key. The Old
Course Hotel provides the key elements of recovery. The Spa is ex-
cellent and specialises in water based therapies. The rooms have
deep bath tubs, piped with by jets and chromotheraputic lighting
based on the ayurvedic belief that certain elemental lights can en-
gender or develop moods and characters. I selected the soothing
aspect of blue. The Road Hole Bar stocks over 200 whiskies, the
house champagne is Laurent-Perrier as mentioned and the wine list
is extensive and particularly strong on French and American reds.
The Sands Grill has all the best of Scotland grilled and the Road
Hole Restaurant is more formal, with the views you would expect.
The views from the sea facing rooms are peerless and there is little
better spectator sport than watching successive groups take on the
second shot at the 17th. The West Deck, which is a new outdoors
perch above the old sheds is a great addition. Finally, sleep. I don’t
know what the huge beds are stuffed with, but it works. Tired bod-
ies can recline for a welcome night’s sleep and rise to take on an-
other golfing test.
James stayed courtesy of The Old Course Hotel and Spa, rooms
from £380 per night, Fairways Suites from £680 per night.
Reservations: + 44 (0) 1334 474371 or
www.oldcoursehotel.co.uk. Reservations at the Duke’s Course can
be made via the hotel’s website or email at reservations@oldcourse-
hotel.co.uk.
Next month in Back to St Andrews – Part II, James writes about
the St Andrews Links Trust, the charitable body that looks after
seven golf courses at the Home of Golf including the Old Course
and the recently opened Castle Course.
James Spence is a Managing Partner of Cerno Capital,
an independent wealth management firm, and author of:
The Finest Golf Courses of Asia & Australasia
www.golfcoursesofasia.com.
‘What you might expect of a grand hotel with a strongAmerican connection is excellent service, plumbing and
beds, this and the location, are its real claims.’
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 45
he Lexus LS600h L is not only the
world’s first four-wheel drive
hybrid V8 but also the flagship of
the luxury brand’s range. It offers a
discreet but strong challenge to its
better known German rivals, says
Dave Sumner Smith,
How comfortable is it?The ‘basic’ models of the LS are large,
well-equipped and comfortable. Leather up-
holstery, heated rear seats, electric sun-
shades and air conditioned front seats come
as standard. The range-topper gets an extra
12cm in length, plus a specification that in-
cludes drop-down video screens, air condi-
tioned, electronically adjustable rear seats
and a cool box. There is even an optional
rear relaxation pack, which adds a massage
system to the adjustable Ottoman foot and
thigh rest.
What is it like to drive?It may be large in scale and traditional in
style, but the LS600h L is no slouch. Far from
it. The 375bhp power of the 5.0-litre V8 and
the rechargeable batteries generate 520Nm
of torque, delivered to all four wheels
through a continuously variable transmis-
sion. The net result is a seamless, smooth de-
livery of huge power: Brains and muscles
combined with seemingly effortless ease.
Will it impress?Despite its hybrid status, the Lexus is
hardly trendy. But it is quietly (and de-
servedly) winning custom from high status
European brands. The fact its hybrid status
wins exemption from London’s Congestion
Charge and gives more than 30mpg are
minor benefits. More impressive are its com-
fort, sophistication, space and silken refine-
ment.
Does it make financial sense?The LS is far from cheap. The ‘base model’
starts at £61,540 and the flagship LS600h L
cost £87,935. But that is £17k less than a
Mercedes S600L, and the Lexus retains its
value better, has a superior reputation for re-
liability and offers superior dealer service.
Quotes on contracthireandleasing.com sug-
gest leasing costs only two thirds of the Mer-
cedes’ price at £1300-1400pcm.
What else should I consider?Obviously its main competitors are the
BMW 7-series, Mercedes S-Class and Audi
A8. The Maserati Quattroporte offers a differ-
ent flavour of glamour, while the recently an-
nounced Jaguar XJ and Porsche Panamera
may also be worth considering.
Any toys and gadgets?The LS600h L is a toy-lover’s nirvana. As
well as flip down screens to watch DVDs,
massage seats and thigh and feet supports, it
also has a 19 speaker sound system, four
zone climate control, rear parking camera,
park assist and a pre-crash safety system. For
hardcore gadget-lovers there’s even a Smart
Card instead of an ignition key.
What does it say about me?The stretched Lexus is too restrained and
understated to be fashionable. Like a finely-
tailored suit, it isn’t glamorous. It suggests
the owner doesn’t need a badge to bolster
their ego and is more interested in sophisti-
cation and comfort than appearing ‘flash’.
T
MotoringWe focus our attention on the Lexus L6000h L but will it be the cream of our fleet?
46 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
We focus our attention on the Lexus L6000h L but will it be the cream of our fleet?
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 49
Dining out
Hix Oyster & Chop House is decked out
with plain quality: wooden surfaces, clean
tiling, copper pans and starched whites.
Mark Hix's first eponymous restaurant is
straight-talking, reflecting his passion for
quality English fare treated with care but not
fuss. Menu entries list dishes with a maxi-
mum of three ingredients, and there is no
need for decoding. When it says the broad
beans are "crushed", that's what they are -
just smacked on the head, not puréed or de-
livered in a pipette. Nine of the 16 main
courses are beef, with seven different cuts,
spread between Dexter and Aberdeen Angus.
Enjoying
There are some foods I am just not pre-
pared to dislike. Parsnip slips past my guard
now and then, but olives gave way relatively
easily after a force-feeding regime, and I was
relieved, about five years ago, and after de-
tailed research into the workings of my gag
reflex, to start properly enjoying oysters. Any
food that can automatically change sex dur-
ing its lifetime has to be eaten.
I like oysters creamy, and decide on a
couple as a pre-starter starter. Our waiter ac-
curately predicts that I will like the Cumbrae
and Maldon. Like all the bits of advice and
knowledge he has, such as how Hix cures his
salmon in his back garden, it is delivered
with the perfect level of smarminess and cer-
emony, ie none.
A hot miniature sourdough loaf arrives,
then the oysters and a bowl of peas in the
pod - another pre-starter nibble we somehow
thought would be a good idea. Oysters full
and creamy; peas in generous quantities, so
you could abandon the inevitable duds.
We start with Hix's own smoked salmon
cure and the red mullet with crushed broad
beans on toasted sourdough. The salmon,
blood orange-deep in colour, is boldly
smoked, but that fire doesn't hang around in
your face. It just melts away with the flesh.
There's a dryness to the crushed broad beans,
which make a slightly claggy combination
with the sourdough and mullet, but it's tasty.
As soon as the beef flank and oyster pie
comes, I realise I am heading for metabolic
disaster. I have never had this dish, but what
with my recent bivalve excitement, it just
seems the right thing to do and the right
place to do it. To my horror, I learn that I
don't really like cooked oysters, despite the
dark, grainy loveliness of the beef in its
gelatinous gravy and shortcrust pastry, which
is suety but not leaden.
Amazing
I can just remember two things before
slipping into a food coma: 1) the chips were
a really good size (not pencils, not bricks)
and 2) the whole John Dory with rosemary
was good enough to make my girlfriend
loosen her evangelical grip on Anthony Bour-
dain's "no fish on Monday" rule.
Bursts of sharpness and perfume bring me
round like smelling salts. The jelly in the
perry jelly and elderflower ice-cream is so
flawless, it resembles a lens. You could use it
as a kind of wobbly magnifying glass.
The other thing that wakes us is the crash
of glass at the top of the stairs leading from
the kitchen. They've got a new Olympic sport
here: climbing with a massive tray of hot pies
and then having to navigate a tricky right-
hand bend with a pillar threatening to take
you out. It's entertaining, but go soon or the
excellent staff will have it sussed.
Three weeks later, having digested that
meal, I go back. This strategy has risks: you
can't fault further research, but which side to
come down on if the experience is totally dif-
ferent from the first visit?
A tough job!
Never mind - I have to test a main course I
would ordinarily love. In this case it is the
hanger steak (not a common cut, but it has
great livery flavour) with baked bone marrow,
chips and salad. From the charring to the
bleeding heart, it is superb, and the marrow -
a bone halved lengthwise and topped with
breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic - is a royal
treat. Only a main course this time, with
chips and salad, but I still can't quite finish it.
That hanger steak costs £13.75; the porter-
house for two costs £54.50; starters from
£5.50 to £12; nibbles around £3. An oyster:
£1.95. Working-class food at middle-class
prices, you could jibe. But it's the ingredients
that count, and times change - disease, rarity
and desirability all turned the oyster into a
fine food in the 19th century, rather than
something to bulk up a pie when you ran out
of beef. As for the cooking, Hix's food is defi-
nitely working, and it's class.
Score 8/10
Telephone 020-7017 1930
Address 35-37 Greenhill Rents, Cowcross
Street, London EC1
Open All week, lunch noon-3pm (except
Saturday, when it's closed for lunch); dinner,
6.11pm
We visit the Hix Oyster & Chop House in the heart of London’s banking district for some fine dining
www.angelsmagazine.co.uk • 49
What do you currently do? I am a partner at Pembridge Partners LLP. We
work with small and medium sized businesses
in the marketing and media and technology
sector, which includes advertising, DM, film
and television, PR and digital media, to name a
few. We work with shareholders on building
and growing their business. Our ultimate goal
and validation of our success for all the busi-
nesses we work with is to help them to realise
the value that they have built by attracting a
buyer or investor.
We have worked with about 2,500 businesses
since we set up in 2001 helping dozens of
companies achieve their objectives, making
many of them millionaires in the process!
Our philosophy is based around making sure
that the businesses our clients work in can help
them to achieve their personal objectives. That
way they remain focused on what is personally
really important to them, rather than being tied
to a business and just going through the day-to-
day machinations. To give you an example, one
investment we made was through our Extreme
Services Fund, which we set up in 2008.
Omobono is a marketing services consultancy
based in Cambridge and it fitted all the criteria
we were looking for in a potential investment -
cutting-edge services with a motivated, ener-
getic and clear management team. We have a
seat on the Board to advise their team through
a 3-5 year growth plan. In a nutshell, we aim to
add value to this company over and above their
core business plan.
I am also lucky enough to work with very early
stage businesses which I am passionate about
helping. Through a scheme with G2i
(www.g2i.org), I work with entrepreneurs to
build an investment case for their business
ideas which they can take to potential in-
vestors. This scheme has helped many en-
trepreneurs attract funding from angels and
private equity firms. It is a great scheme - cur-
rently only running in London - but we are
keen to see the government back more
schemes like it. It’s the new entrepreneurs
which will help to get the UK out of recession.
Who is your inspiration in business? The guys from Google. They thought big, but
they bought in the experts to help build the
business. My impression is that they focused on
what they were really good at and had fun
whilst doing it. So for anyone who is a serial
entrepreneur - focus on building something to
sell, sell it, and then start again!
Whom do you admire? These change all the time! My current heroes
are the two British cyclists in this year's Tour
De France. Bradley Wiggins - 4th overall is an
amazing achievement for a British cyclist - you
have to admire his sheer determination to keep
up with the three guys ahead of him, which in-
cluded Lance Armstrong, winner of seven pre-
vious Tours. The other, is the sprinter who won
on the Champs Elysee. Both were so humble
about their achievements. They didn’t just talk
about what they achieved, but what they
wanted to achieve in the future. The world is
full of too many people who just talk about
what they have done, rather what they are
going to do.
Looking back, are there things youwould do differently? Network, network, network right from the
beginning of your career! I have met and
worked with some real heroes over the years –
luckily, some I am still in touch with, others I
am not. Do think about the long-term, rather
than whether they can help you now.
LinkedIn, Facebook and the like, have made it
all so easy, but you can’t underestimate the
power of real, face to face networks – the peo-
ple you have met, done business with and are
connected to, rather than people you are
linked to via a computer network. So get out
there and actually talk to people!
What defines your way of doingbusiness? An honest, direct approach – telling people
how it is. Our premise at Pembridge is that we
have "been there and done it before", and we
back our words with our own cash by investing
alongside some of the shareholders we work
with. We don't talk ‘business gobbledygook’
and we mostly talk about getting the funda-
mentals right in a business. So many people
overlook that. Most of the time it works, but
sometimes people just don't want to hear it - I
can’t always help those people. Quite simply,
our perspective comes from being investors
and real-life entrepreneurs.
What would you say to businesseswho are worried about tough timesahead?Focus on the fundamentals in your business
(see, that again!) Most companies who are
growing forget about the fundamentals so when
times get tough they just don't have they cush-
ion they need to weather the storm. And focus
on the big picture - growing a business isn't
easy and it won’t be plain sailing all the way -
but if you remain focused on a specific objec-
tive and end game, you will get through the
tough times. The time that takes and the route it
takes to get there might change, but the objec-
tive won’t.
www.pembridges.net
Getting toknow you:Rose Lewis
50 • www.angelsmagazine.co.uk
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