Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bonaire
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Ter
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Canary Islands
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Channel Islands
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos Island
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote D Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern Ter
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Hawaii
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea North
Korea South
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Midway Islands
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Nambia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherland Antilles
Netherlands (Holland, Europe)
Nevis
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Niue
Norfolk Island
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau Island
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn Island
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Republic of Montenegro
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saipan
Samoa
Samoa American
San Marino
Sao Tome & Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
St Barthelemy
St Eustatius
St Helena
St Kitts-Nevis
St Lucia
St Maarten
St Pierre & Miquelon
St Vincent & Grenadines
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Tahiti
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks & Caicos Is
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City State
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (Brit)
Virgin Islands (USA)
Wake Island
Wallis & Futana Is
Yemen
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe
all
Start a New Life with £100k
PR - The $15bn Business Gamble?
Four Current Books You Should Read if You're Serious about Tech/ Digital
Finding a Founder with the X-Factor
Non-Executive Directors Shouldn't Just Tick The Box
It's Not Always About The Money!
Klopp This! Jürgen’s rules are applicable to everyone in business
Been There - Done It - Got The Scars
Is the 'Middle Management Wall' Killing Startups?
Tomorrow's Tech Titans at Imperial College, London
'Hooked an investor? How to get the deal done'
Beacons are back..and here to stay
Does Your Business Have a Future?
01 Four Current Books
The Four - Scott Galloway
‘The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. How did The Four infiltrate our lives so completely that they’re almost impossible to avoid (or boycott)? Why does the stock market forgive then for sins that would destroy other firms? And as they race to become the world’s first trillion-dollar company, can anyone challenge them?’
The Signals are Talking - Amy Webb
‘Revealing a systemic way of evaluating new ideas bubbling up on the horizon - distinguishing what is a real trend from the merely trendy. This book helps us hear which signals are simply nonsense so that we might know today what developments have long-term consequence for tomorrow’
Everybody Lies - Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
‘An analysis of anonymous Google (and Pornhub) data uncovering disturbing truths about our desires, beliefs and prejudices. Also interesting on why Trump won’
Move Fast and Break Things - Jonathan Taplin
‘A stinging polemic that traces the destructive monopolization of the Internet by Google, Facebook and Amazon, and proposes a new future for musicians, journalists, authors and filmmakers in the digital age’
02 Finding a Founder
I cut my teeth in a generation where entrepreneurs were a relatively rare beast and most people’s working ambition was to secure ‘a job for life’ - a concept now extinct as no job is secure.
Today, we live in an era where entrepreneurs are the new rock stars and the aspiring masses look enviously at the elite utopia of ‘unicorns’ and their suburbia from a vast wasteland of failed ideas and startups.
We used to have to strive, suffer and make sacrifices for years as we worked towards the prize of achieving fame or owning a successful business. Now, thanks to Reality TV and a few young billionaires, we have a culture of dreamers who believe they can become rich and famous 'overnight'.
How do you spot the winners in the X-Factor of businesses hopefuls? The founder may have the ability (talent) to make their idea work but once that box has been ticked there are a few fundamental principles that need to be applied to ensure you’ve found the next One Direction of the business world.
Is the concept unique and is the world ready for it? If so, why has no one else done it?
Why will this idea / business NOT work? It's always easy to show why something will work
How scalable is the idea? Can it go global and if so how quickly? The best barrier to entry is to build traction fast and establish a dominant position.
If the answers to the above are positive, the real test follows.
How committed is the founder? Will they put their life on hold and work 24/7 to make this fly?
How much energy does the founder have for the business? There has to be a real sense of urgency and a drive to get on with it!
Do they have a strong vision but at the same time a willingness to be flexible on the detail? You need a strategy but you also need to listen and learn as the business evolves. Stubbornness ('I’m right and I’m not wavering') will kill it, dead.
This is by no means a comprehensive test but if the answers to the above 6 questions are not all a convincing ‘YES’, it has to be an emphatic ‘NO’ from you.
Don’t waste any more time. Move on.
03 Does your businedd have a future?
Are you excited or worried about the future of your business?
If you haven’t given this question any thought you may be incubating a problem that could effect your business’s ability to thrive and even survive in the years to come.
In her recent book, ‘The Signals are Talking’, futurist Amy Webb lays out a series of questions every business should ask itself. She calls it The F.U.T.U.R.E Test.
Foundation:
Do you have the full support of key stakeholders?
Do they buy into the trend, scenarios & confidence scores you’ve given them?
Can your trend strategy continue to function and evolve?
Do you have the time, money and desire to maintain your strategy?
Unique:
Does your project offer a unique value proposition (UVP)?
Is your UVP clear to your customers, partners etc?
Is your strategy difficult to replicate?
As competitors emerge how will you help others continue to understand what differentiates you?
Track:
Are you able to set meaningful benchmarks, follow the trend and measure your outcomes?
Can you use that data for reliable analysis for customer retention and acquisition, both as you scale and for your long term development strategy?
Urgent:
Does your trend strategy communicate a sense of urgency, both to your staff and your intended audience?
Will there be continued demand in the marketplace?
Can you create demand within your customer base?
Will customers see your project as indispensable and invaluable, even as the marketplace evolves and new competitors emerge?
Recalibrate:
The strategy you’ve created will need to evolve. How will you allocate time and money to tracking the trend & its implications?
Can your project evolve along with its intended customers as they upgrade their technologies?
Can your trend strategy evolve along with its targeted customer segments?
Do you have a realistic budget to continue along a reasonable development cycle?
Extensible:
Can you accommodate future changes internally or do you rely heavily on third-party software, devices etc?
Must you rely on another company to implement necessary changes to recalibrate your trend strategy?
As consumer tastes & preferences change can you adapt your project without pivoting from your original idea?
04 Beacons are back
You may not have heard of beacons, but the chances are you’re aware of the Internet of Things (IoT). Beacons are the core technology behind the IOT, the tech revolution that is increasingly effecting all of us as everything becomes connected.
Tesla’s industry changing Model 3 doesn’t have a key. Instead it unlocks with your phone.
The iPhone’s ‘share Wi-Fi password’ feature stops you having to bend down and look at the back of your home router.
‘Tile’, the little tracker that stops you losing your keys.
ALL of these everyday things, and many more, use beacon technology!
Following a false start in 2014/15, when a number of high street retailers jumped on the new beacon technology to send unsolicited advertising messages to passing shoppers, beacons are back but this time the hardware, software and applications are much more sophisticated.
Back in 2015 beacons (small devices that transmit a Bluetooth signal to smartphones) were seen as the silver bullet by bricks & mortar retailers to take on Amazon and other online stores who were increasingly eating their lunch. By sending enticing offers directly to the phones of passing shoppers they would pull in customers and
There were several, not thought through, problems with this approach. Shoppers had to be persuaded to download a specific app for each retailer. Why would they do this to receive unsolicited spam? They had to have Bluetooth switched on and a few years ago people were deeply suspicious of Bluetooth believing it drained their battery.
Beacon manufacturers and developers have learnt a lot over the last 3 years. Beacons can still be tricky to deploy. Providers need both software AND hardware experience to pull it off. It’s fair to say that back in 2015 a number of inexperienced ‘digital agencies’ did more damage than good.
Move forward to 2018; beacon hardware has evolved and accompanying software has become much more clever. People are no longer wary of Bluetooth which is used constantly to connect headphones (goodbye headphone jack), mobiles to cars, computers, smart watches etc. That’s how the Apple Watch works. In fact, Apple devices now have Bluetooth always on
Beacons facilitate engagement and reward. Beacon enabled experiences are varied and vast. The day of unsolicited and irrelevant ‘spam’ messages is no more. Consumers are used to receiving highly targeted, personalised content.
Beacons now give consumers a choice. When they connect to a beacon they know what to expect. The content is directly relevant to their location and interests.
Walk by paintings in a gallery and the content on your phone will change as you move around giving you information about the piece you’re viewing.
Go to a conference and be informed of people around you who share your interests. View their profiles and invite them to meet.
You’re a poker player in a casino? Be notified when a place becomes free at a table and receive directions to that table.
We’re just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible.
And for businesses, the opportunity to learn about your customers, and what they want, through unique, never before seen, data is immense.
05 Investor hooked - Get a deal done
As investors look to offset their tax liabilities before the 5th April tax year end, March is a busy month for EIS / SEIS qualifying businesses
“Your Investor is NOT your friend..’
..unless, of course, you’ve raised money from ‘friends & family’, in which case you had better be careful and deliver what you’ve promised otherwise they may not be your friends for long!
Let’s get straight to the point. The reason someone invests in you and your business is because they want you to make money FOR THEM - ideally lots of it. If you make money along the way then that’s good for you, but ultimately if you don’t and they do, that’s fine by them. You
Securing an investor is like selling your house or flat. The moment you accept an offer from a buyer for your property the real journey begins and it can be very bumpy until you exchange legally binding contracts.
When you shake hands with an investor who has agreed ‘in principle ‘ to trust you with his money its best to provide as much information as possible upfront and be utterly transparent. If your investor suspects you’re not being completely straight or are hiding something, he’ll walk.
Your investor will see the value in your business idea but ultimately he is investing in you. Whilst he has to trust you that you are driven and motivated to make the business work, he will ensure he is well protected with legal agreements.
Find your self a good lawyer.
This is not an area where you should cut corners. Don’t just go for a big firm and assume you’ll get the best advice. The chances are you’ll pay a fortune, have a junior as your main contact, with a partner of the firm occasionally overseeing what’s happening.
Much better to ask trusted friends or advisors, who have experience of dealing with commercial lawyers, for a recommendation. It’s the lawyer who is important, not the firm he works for. Also, make sure you are represented by a lawyer who is a commercial law specialist.
Your investor and you will each be responsible for your own legal costs for doing the agreements. Make sure his lawyer drafts the agreements and your lawyer is responding. His costs should then be greater than yours.
Key points to watch out for:
Minority Consents:
The chances are your investor will have a minority stake leaving you with over 50% and technically in control. However investors aren’t naive and will build into the Shareholder’s Agreement a list of things that you cannot do without their consent. If you’re not careful what you agree to you can have a situation where
Warranties & Indemnities
Time and time again I’ve seen people get totally bogged down in negotiating warranties, particularly in a Sale & Purchase Agreement. An investor will want you to legally stand behind what you are telling him and will come after you if you haven’t been totally honest.
What happens if the business underperforms?
The investor will be investing based on his judgement of the business plan you’ve presented to him. If your business is a start up in a new, unproven field the risk will be much greater as, to an extent, you’re both making major assumptions. However, whilst he may not be holding you legally to your
Probably the biggest decision for every business looking for an investor is how much money you need to raise to take you to the next stage - either sufficient proof of concept and traction to attract new investors at a higher valuation, or, better still, into profit!
Raising too little is a disaster waiting to happen. The business has demonstrated that there’s something there but its not generating meaningful revenue yet and is about to run out of money. At that point your investor has you over a barrel. He can pretty much dictate his terms to inject more money and keep
Its always better to raise more than you think you will need as you invariably do need more than you think you will. One option is to give the investor more equity up front than you would like to but agree (legally) that you can claw back equity if performance criteria are achieved. Most ‘fair’
‘Illegitimi non carborundum’
A hard nosed investor with a heavy weight lawyer may try to wear you down through constant renegotiation of terms you previously thought were agreed and even the addition of new points, especially to do with minority consents, warranties, indemnities and performance criteria. As you watch your legal bill rocket you may be tempted to
What you agree to in this initial investment stage will shape and determine the future of your business and therefore your future. It is absolutely essential that you find yourself a good lawyer who is totally on your side and will be very fair with his billing!
06 Tomorrow's tech titans
A finger prick test for pregnant women in isolated areas, a protective coating against graffiti tagging and a pollution solution that pays for itself with advertising - just three of the seven finalists at last Thursday’s Venture Catalyst Challenge (VCC) Grand Final at Imperial College London.
300 student entrepreneur entrants had been whittled down to 26, then 15 and ultimately 7 for the Grand Final of the VCC, now in its 5th year. 700 people applied for 300 tickets for the live event with a further 1000 or so watching on Facebook Live.
The 7 finalists were judged by 5 ‘dragons’, all hugely successful business titans*. Each finalist was allocated 5 minutes to pitch their business followed by a 5 minute interrogation by the judges.
First up - MITT, building comfortable, functional and affordable artificial limbs. Current prostheses are rigid, uncomfortable with sub-par functionality and are very expensive, costing upwards of £20,000. MItt has designed a prosthetic arm that offers superior comfort, functionality and accessibility.
Next - Tagless who have created a solution that is applied to graffiti prone objects (trains, walls, phone boxes etc) with a paint brush. When graffiti paint is sprayed on the treated surface it simply runs off saving councils & telcos a fortune in cleaning bills.
Third to present was Momoby, a finger prick test for prenatal testing. Every year 300,000 women in developing countries and isolated parts of the world die of pregnancy-related causes. Momoby has built a device that performs the multiple recommended tests using a single drop of blood.
Fourth up on the podium was The DX Network. Imperial has one of the best data centres in the UK and Blockchain is the new big thing in data so it was probably inevitable that a Blockchain powered data exchange business would feature in the final. ‘Data is the new oil’, they say, but it’s
Pluvo was next to present then be grilled by the judges. Pluvo had received good coverage in the London Evening Standard a few days earlier that had stimulated some strong interest from councils and advertisers. The concept seemed innovative and clever - an enclosed mist of water droplets to remove dangerous pollutants from urban air
The penultimate presenter was Finite. Concrete is an environmental nightmare - it is decimating beaches by using huge amounts of the world’s sand and the manufacturing process produces significant amounts of carbon dioxide, causing it to be a major contributor to climate change. Finite has created sustainable, environmentally friendly construction materials, as strong as concrete
Is there a competitive advantage to being last to present? If there is it went to Therapop who are developing a revolutionary stroke treatment which delivers a nano container with a clot-busting drug specifically to the blocked region of an artery.. Therapop is still at an early stage in their product development but nanorobotics in
The judges left to confer and the audience hit the 7 finalists with their questions.
And so to the judges’ decision, which surprised many in the audience and at home.
1st - Momoby collecting a cheque for £20,000
2nd - Mitt winning £10,000
3rd equal - Finite & Tagless, each banking £4,500
Did the judges get it right or have they missed a future unicorn? Time will tell!
*Manoj Badale, Founder of Blenheim Chalcot (The VCC sponsors); Sheridan Ash, Technology & Investments Director and Women in Technology Leader, PWC (UK); Prof. David Gann CBE, Vice President - Innovation, Imperial College; Auriol Stevens, CEO and Director, VTC Group; Tracy De Groose, CEO, Dentsu Aegis network UK and Europe).
Gordon Robson is a member of the Imperial Ventures Mentoring Service at Imperial College
07 Miggle management - killing startups?
Once upon a time everyone wanted to be a Rock Star Millionaire.
Now everyone wants to be a Tech Titan Billionaire.
Zappa to Zuckerberg
One of the biggest benefits of working with Startups at Imperial College, London is that I know the technical skills are there. If they say they can do it, they can. There’s always been a concern finding great techies in the open market.
Having ticked that huge box the biggest remaining filter is, have these guys got the commitment to make their very clever idea work? If I don’t feel they have I’m not interested in getting involved. It was the dedication and drive of the teams behind The DX Network, a blockchain platform built on Ethereum, and
When I set up Legion, my first major venture in the late 80s, I managed to gain direct access to the key decision makers at the BBC, News Corporation, Daily Mail and a number of international media groups. Decisions were made quickly and things got done. As a result the business grew very fast.
This seems pretty much impossible for a Startup in today’s business world. A wall of middle management guards the gate with a hierarchy above of executives, most of whom won’t stray from the safe and well trodden path to risk getting involved in anything that sounds good but is unproven. Of course, it can take
Are C-Suite decision makers aware of this? If not they should be and do something about it. ‘The Wall’ is killing innovation.
Persistence is imperative and this is where so many wannabe entrepreneurs fall.
The artists and bands that became rock and pop stars spent their ‘startup’ phase permanently working. Very late nights, a few hours sleep, then a very early start, seven days a week.
Tech stars are the new rock stars but if they aren’t prepared to commit to their Startup the way the rock stars committed to their’s, superstar billionaire status is highly unlikely to be their destiny, no matter how good the idea.
Why do so many Startups fail? My feeling is that too many founders don’t have the required commitment, but the situation is not being helped by the wall of risk averse middle management protecting their jobs and in so doing, killing innovation.
08 Been there done it got the scars
Rules of Engagement
1. If it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t. Don’t do it. If you have, get out quickly. At best it will cause you stress, cost you money and waste part of your life. At worst, you may never fully recover.
2. Don’t give your valuable experience and time to an unproven business for only a cut of profits or equity. The owner is putting the risk on you. If he really values you he’ll find some money.
3. Being given an aural assurance is not the same as having a written Agreement. Get it in writing and signed. ‘My word is my bond’ is sadly something we can now rarely believe.
4. You may be part of the best business idea ever, but if you don't believe the people you’re working with are good enough, don’t waste your time. It will never work.
5. Judge people on what they deliver, not promises
6. Always look from the other party’s perspective; but remember, they have no interest in yours.
7. Work out what will rock their boat, then dangle it in front of them
8. Greed is good - as a negotiation tool. Play on their’s
9. When negotiating a deal always expect the unexpected to appear from left field. Nothing ever goes as planned.
10. Assumption really is ‘the mother of all f*** ups’
09 Jurgens rules
Football is business - the business of winning. Success isn’t determined by the individual skills of each player. Their commitment to each other and the team is crucial.
Jürgen Klopp, Manager of Liverpool FC, demands his players ‘promise’ him that they will agree to seven rules.
Perhaps every business should ask all their team members to sign up to the Klopp Rules?
1. Unconditional dedication
2. Passionate devotion
3. A determination to win, independent of (the score line) how things are going
4. A readiness to support everybody in the team
5. A readiness to accept help
6. A readiness to put your quality wholly at the service of the team
7. A readiness to take on individual responsibility
10 Not always about the money
Want to make your start-up fly?
Then first learn why others flop!
At least 70% of tech start-ups fail, although the figure is probably a lot higher as a massive number don’t hit the research radars. CB Insights, the US venture capital database has spoken to the founders of hundreds of failed start-ups and complied a report giving 20 reasons why start-ups flop.
A staggering 42% of start-ups fail because there is NO MARKET NEED for Their Product.
It happens everyday of the week. An entrepreneur has a brain wave and comes up with a killer idea. He tells one or more friends and together they have an epiphany moment when they ‘realise’ they are about to become the next Zuck! The issue is that they are tackling an interesting-to-solve problem rather than
29% of start-ups Run Out of Cash.
A golden rule of fund raising is to always raise more than you think you will need. Start-ups consistently under estimate how much money they will burn through. When they do run out of money they’ll either find it impossible to raise more or, if the concept has legs, investors will screw them because they
23% Don’t have the Right Team
A diverse team with different and complimentary skill sets is essential. Just as critical is that the ENTIRE team is totally committed to the business and gives it their all. One bad apple…etc.
It’s also important to have some proven business experience in the team. Technical genius alone is not enough to make a business fly.
Interestingly, research by Geckoboard found that start-ups with three founders are generally more successful than those with two which are more successful than those with only one.
19% of start-ups Get Outcompeted
It’s surprising that so many businesses fail due to ignoring the competition. Building barriers to entry and establishing competitive advantages seems such an obvious part of a start-up’s strategy and yet so many don’t.
18% disappear because of Pricing / Cost issues
One of the biggest challenges for a start-up that wants to monetise a product that has no history of sales is how to price it at a level that consumers will gladly pay and also makes money. If you’re selling baked beans there are lots of benchmarks but when you introduce something new to the
17% fail because their Product is NOT user-friendly:
A classic flaw, particularly by brilliant techies, is to get carried away with how clever their product is rather than look at it from a consumer perspective. Remember the KISS theory - Keep It Simple Stupid!
17% flop because there is NO Business Model
Having a business model from Day 1 is crucial. Relying on one channel and not constantly looking for ways to scale and make money is asking for trouble.
14% fail because of Poor Marketing
Knowing your target audience and knowing how to get their attention and convert them to paying customers is one of the most important skills of a business. However an inability to market is a common reason why start-ups fail, particularly among founders who are more interested in coding and building their product than actively selling
14% Ignore Their Customers
Following on from Poor Marketing above, too many founders aren’t interested in their customers and customer feedback on the product. They have tunnel vision and get carried away with building a product that they love rather than focusing on who is ultimately going to pay their bills.
13% flop because the launch of the product is Mistimed
Timing is everything, we’re told. So true and often so tricky to get right. Launch a product into the market before it’s ready and you will struggle to get disillusioned users back when you fix it. Launch too late and you might miss the boat. Launch when the market isn’t ready for your product, fail,
13% of founders Lose Focus, getting sidetracked or distracted by other things
13% Disharmony among team / investors when people disagree and fall out.
10% when a Pivot Gone Bad. Pivoting for pivoting’s sake is worthless and damaging.
9% due to a Lack of Passion in the team for their chosen sector and a lack of knowledge
9% due to Failed Geographical Expansion
8% No Financing / Investor Interest - at all!
8% Legal Challenges - complex legal issues to overcome
8% Didn’t properly utilise their network
8% Burn Out due to an inability to cut losses where necessary & re-direct efforts
7% Failure to Pivot As Jeff Bezos famously said, ‘Be strong on vision but flexible on detail’
11 NEDs shouldn't just tick the box
CEO: “Board Meeting at noon tomorrow. Are we ready?”
CFO: “Board pack went out on Friday so hopefully the non-execs will have read it.
CEO: “They’ll be fine. We can rattle through the meeting in half an hour. Not a lot to discuss. Sign off the minutes, you give a quick update on the figures, I’ll fill them in on where we’re going and then we can chat about things over lunch
CFO: The table’s confirmed for 12.45
As a CEO I’ve been there, and I’ve also been on the other side of the table as an NXD.
Too often the relationship between an executive board and its NXDs is cosy. The NXDs are carefully chosen because they have the credibility to ‘add value’ to the perception of the company. They’re also nicely ‘compliant’ and won’t stir things up. On the other side of the coin too many NXDs collect directorships, not really
The result is board meetings that go through the motions where the NXDs tick the required boxes (compliance / corporate governance etc)
In today’s increasingly competitive and fast moving business world how involved should an NXD be with a company? Do they just attend the monthly / bi-monthly board meetings or should they be more actively involved?
I only want to be involved with a business when I really click with and believe in the team, their business model and feel that I can make a meaningful contribution.
A business should only take on a NXD if the NXD:
• Has specialist skills, experience and a network that can benefit the company?
• Regularly reviews company strategy giving recommendations on objectives and key results targets
• Balances executive enthusiasm by ensuring all risks are fully reviewed before key decisions are taken.
• Is aware of what is happening in the company’s market sector and competitor activities.
• Interacts with the team and gives a regular assessment of company health (staff communications / team morale etc). It is so often the case that staff will be more open with someone who is a part of the company at an influential level but not someone they have to have day to day contact with.
The executive directors should see their NXDs as a great asset and make sure they are maximising their benefit to the company.
The old school NXD is a dinosaur and should be buried. Companies now need much more from their third party advisors than simply box ticking compliance. Likewise experienced business people should be prepared to give more than than just a few hours a month for a fat fee.
Interestingly, more and more savvy young founders are looking to experienced business people for input and advice. However, many seem confused as to whether they want an ‘Advisor’ or an NXD. I’ve been invited by a couple of young businesses to join as an NXD but, after an initial discussion about what they’re looking for
By definition an advisory role is quite different to the conventional NXD role but perhaps the time has come for a review of what being an NXD actually should involve.
NXDs should be willing, and indeed want to, become more actively involved in a business.
In turn, the executive directors should be looking for NXDs who can add real value to their business and seek their input and advice.
12 PR The $15bn business gamble
Would you spend a significant amount of money with absolutely no guarantee of any return on your investment?
Last year companies around the world ‘invested’ $15bn in PR with 10 global agencies collecting $5bn of that*
The problem with PR is that ultimately the media decides what they will write and publish, which is why agencies can’t make promises about coverage.
Companies sign up with PR agencies for different reasons. It may be that a business has a new product it wants to promote, or perhaps build its profile. Arguably the most important role of PR is crisis management when an ‘out of the blue’ and disruptive event hits a company. There are agencies who specialise
Before signing up with an agency you need to decide what your objectives are. What do you want to achieve? It may be that a young startup wants to announce its arrival and generate publicity for its innovative service or product. In this case the media (probably online) should be highly targeted at the startup’s
Once you’ve decided on your objectives you need a story that will capture the imagination of the journalists you intend to approach. The more work you can do to create a great story the more likely you are to achieve the coverage you want. If you have hired an agency, work closely with them. If
Be wary of signing up with a big agency. You will have to pay a huge fee in order to secure the time of the best people. In London the entry level fee for some of the large agencies is around £10k per month. When you sign up, your account director will introduce you to
Much better to find a PR veteran in a small agency; someone who has worked in a big agency at a senior level and has branched out on their own. They will have low overheads and be driven to build their reputation as well as yours
In short, focus on the person who is handling your PR, not the agency. Big agencies are for large corporations where the agency is keen to have the organization on its roster.
Many years ago I was heading up an innovative division of BT (British Telecom) which was working in the music and entertainment sector. The highest profile PR agency in London at that time was desperate to have us on their roster so they could say BT was a client. We paid the agency a vast
*The Holmes Report
13 Start a new life with £100k
You've got £100k in the bank and you want to use it to make a new start. What do you do?
• Invest in a Start up?
According to research by CB Insights the three main reasons startups fail are:
• No Market Need for Their Product;
The greatest danger a startup idea faces is ‘confirmation bias’. When someone comes up with what they think is a great idea for a business, they really want to believe they have struck gold. The tendency therefore is to embrace anything that confirms the idea is great and reject evidence that it maybe isn’t as
As an investor I once succumbed to overlooking why an idea would fail. On the surface the business proposition was very clever and ticked lots of boxes but I missed one fundamental (fatal) flaw that would ultimately kill the business.
• Run out of Cash
As an investor you really don’t want to get into a situation where the startup runs out of money and you are faced with the dilemma of either putting in more or losing your entire investment. Good money after bad is a scenario that is faced by many more people than admit to it. Put
• Don’t have the Right Team
This, for me, is the biggest issue. You can have an incredibly brilliant concept with huge funding but if the team is wrong it will never work. If the team is great but the concept isn’t perfect the chances are they will work it out. Few startups ever end up with the product they initially
When I set up Legion, my first business I was joined by two partners I’d worked with for a few years. We had complimentary skills and we all put our necks (properties) on the line. It was a big success.
Finally, it is a massive mistake to put up all the money. Nothing commits people more than having serious ‘skin in the game’. Make sure your partners are financially committed. If things aren’t working out and they have nothing to lose they will walk.
Build a Portfolio of Angel Investments?
Today’s startup world is very much like the music industry was 40 - 50 years ago. Then, every kid wanted to be a pop or rockstar. Today every kid wants to be a tech titan. People even refer to ‘rockstar developers’.
When I set up Legion, we were the only people in the world doing what we were doing with media and telephony. Today it’s pretty much impossible to come up with a business concept that is absolutely unique. The world is littered with startups and investors trying to identify the next Google ( Beatles ).
Going down the route of putting a little money into 10 - 20 startups in the hope that one becomes a unicorn is a like buying a load of lottery tickets unless you really do your research. You need the best advice and its hard to be sure you’re getting the very best advice as
Don’t get sucked into investing with a bunch of mates over a boozy lunch or dinner where everyone round the table gets their cheque book out over a bottle of wine or six. It’s the investment equivalent of the Biblical tale where a herd of pigs followed each other over a cliff.
Before you invest make sure you know how you’re going to get your money out. A small investment may mean you have less to lose if it goes wrong but you are likely to have little say in company decisions. Expect your money to be locked up for at 3 - 5 years
I once invested in a private company that reversed into a shell listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The terms of the listing meant that I, and other early stage investors, had restrictions placed on when we could sell our shares. The management ramped the share price with no consideration of how they were going
Travel?
You could blend travel with investing in listed stocks, particularly in the US tech sector, which can deliver excellent short term gains. A major plus point here is that high volume trading means you can always get out immediately. Clearly your investments need to be carefully researched. I’ve done pretty well with stocks such as
The Bottom Line....
If you have £100k burning a hole in your pocket the first thing you have to do is put out the fire. Sit tight and consider your options very carefully.
It can take a long time to make a £100k.... and a very short time to lose it.
01 Four Current Books
Four Current Books You Should Read if You're Serious about Tech/ Digital
Four Current Books You Should Read if You're Serious about Tech/ Digital
Publish date October 13, 2017October 13, 2017
02 Finding a Founder
Finding a Founder with the X-Factor
Finding a Founder with the X-Factor
Publish date October 15, 2017October 15, 2017
03 Does your business have a future?
Does Your Business Have a Future?
Does Your Business Have a Future?
Publish date November 6, 2017November 6, 2017
04 Beacons are back
Beacons are back..and here to stay
Beacons are back..and here to stay
Publish date January 31, 2018January 31, 2018
05 Investor hooked - get a deal done
'Hooked an investor? How to get the deal done'
'Hooked an investor? How to get the deal done'
Publish date March 2, 2018March 2, 2018
06 Tomorrows tech titans
Tomorrow's Tech Titans at Imperial College, London
Tomorrow's Tech Titans at Imperial College, London
Publish date March 26, 2018March 26, 2018
07 Middle management killing startups?
Is the 'Middle Management Wall' Killing Startups?
Is the 'Middle Management Wall' Killing Startups?
Publish date June 3, 2018June 3, 2018
08 Been there done it got the scars
Been There - Done It - Got The Scars
Been There - Done It - Got The Scars
Publish date July 31, 2018July 31, 2018
09 Jurgens rules
Klopp This! Jürgen’s rules are applicable to everyone in business
Klopp This! Jürgen’s rules are applicable to everyone in business
Publish date August 9, 2018August 9, 2018
10 Not always about the money
It's Not Always About The Money!
It's Not Always About The Money!
Publish date August 16, 2018August 16, 2018
11 NEDs shouldn't just tick the box
Non-Executive Directors Shouldn't Just Tick The Box
Non-Executive Directors Shouldn't Just Tick The Box
Publish date September 6, 2018September 6, 2018
12 PR the $15bn business gamble
PR - The $15bn Business Gamble?
PR - The $15bn Business Gamble?
Publish date December 4, 2018December 4, 2018
13 Start a new life with £100k
Start a New Life with £100k
Start a New Life with £100k
Publish date December 14, 2018December 14, 2018
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