Volume 2 Issue 5 201 5
Nomad Acquires
Findus Sverige
Judy Robinett: VC, Investor and author of The 5+50+150 Rule speaks on networking your way to success, pg 24
Nomad Foods has completed its acquisition of Findus Sverige AB and its subsidiaries from LionGem for approximately £500 million. The acquisition includes Findus Group's continental European businesses in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Malcolm Durham: WealthBeing France, Spain, and Belgium, as well as Wealth & Health, pg 1 2 the intellectual property and commercialisation rights to the Findus, Lutosa, and La Cocinera brands in the respective markets. The acquired operations include approximately 1 ,500 employees and 6 geographies, strengthening overall presence across the European manufacturing facilities. continent. Including the acquired Through this transaction, Nomad Findus businesses, Nomad employs extends its position as the largest over 4,300 people in 1 5 countries, with frozen food company in Western Europe, with leading market share in 9 1 0 factories, and a broad portfolio of product offerings. This scale and reach countries (UK, France, Sweden, will help Nomad execute on its Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Andy Thompson: MD innovation strategies while using Portugal, and Spain). Anytime Fitness, pg 1 6 consumer insights to tailor its offering The acquisition reunites Nomad's for local markets. existing Findus-branded business in Italy with the brand in other key
Chinese Retail Market Boost for UK
UK Trade and Chinese market. London as part of the Investment (UKTI), the Chinese State Visit. Dr Catherine Raines, government Chief Executive of department that UK Trade and supports UKInvestment, said: “In based exporters, China, ehas signed marketplaces agreements with account for 90% of 5 top Chinese eall e-commerce marketplaces, transactions, and estimated to be Chinese consumers worth £1 billion Dr Catherine Raines: Chief Executive UKTI spent £367 billion to UK online in the first companies over the next Organised as part of quarter of this year UKTI’s e-exporting 3 years. alone. The agreements programme, the event The signings took place UKTI has signed provide connected UK at ‘China: The Retail a clear route to help UK companies with real Opportunity’, a one-day companies.” opportunities in the conference held in
Tanya Burr: Online Business, pg 32
Daniel Green on Flendr pg 36
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England Footballer Sets Up Fintech Brokerage
England and Premier League and machine learning software and Matthew Kirkham, a footballer, Ryan Bertrand, has to traders, helping them to make financial technology specialist. joined forces with two other more informed decisions using Ryan Bertrand said: "Silicon entrepreneur Markets has a s to launch revolutionary an new business innovative strategy based fintech on groundbrokerage breaking called technology and Silicon marketed via Markets. celebrities and The sports stars. I brokerage am really will be based excited about in the City of our potential to London and transform the offers retail trading England footballer, Ryan Bertrand teams up with two other entrepreneurs opportunities to set up a new fintech brokerage. Image: Silicon Markets industry and am to trade FX, proud of the indices and synergies we new trading techniques. commodities. are developing between finance In addition to Ryan Bertrand The founders of Silicon Markets (who has invested in the and football; and how we are believe they have spotted a gap financial markets since the age able to introduce the financial in the market to revolutionise the of 1 8) co-founders include Louis markets to an entirely new retail brokerage space by audience." Bell, who has a wealth of offering free Artificial Intelligence institutional trading experience
Incessant Appoints Bignall Global Head of Sales Incessant Technologies, a leader in digital integration and the agile delivery of enterprise BPM solutions, has announced the appointment of Adrian Bignall as its new Global Head of Sales and Customer Success. In his new role, Adrian will be responsible for overseeing the global sales operations and focus on leading the growth strategy for Incessant. Speaking on the appointment, Vijay Madduri, CEO, Incessant Technologies, said: "I see Adrian's position as a strategic move to accelerate our growth
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strategy as we "I am delighted to Adrian Bignall: Global expand both our join Incessant, a Head of Sales capabilities and fast growing geographic footprint. technology I welcome Adrian to company which is Incessant." focussed within the Before joining BPM arena. I firmly Incessant believe Incessant Technologies, Adrian will be a major served as Vice player in the Digital President of Integration space. Services, UK & Its recent strategic Ireland for CA partnership with Technologies. He previously held NIIT Technologies will also allow the position of Consulting it to expand its global presence Regional Leader for the UK & and breadth of domain Nordics at Pegasystems. expertise," said Adrian Bignall.
Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Microsoft to 'Reinvent' Business Productivity have access to the best tools Business leaders and IT and smarter ways of working. It’s professionals from across the UK attended a conference in a up to businesses now to country house in Warwickshire to embrace this technology.” hear Microsoft reveal new developments that will determine how businesses are run in the future. James Akrigg, Microsoft’s Head of Technology for Partners, described the company’s aim to 'reinvent' productivity and business processes through a James Akrigg: Microsoft’s Head of Technology for more personal Partners experience using an 'intelligent' cloud powered by The event at historic Coombe predictive analytics and Abbey also featured awardtechnology. winning entrepreneur Hilary Addressing the delegates he Devey CBE, founder, Chief said: “Younger generations Executive and Chairman of the coming into business expect to Pall-Ex Group. The former
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Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
Dragon of Dragon’s Den fame spoke passionately about the role of women in business and talked of the effects the refugee crisis was having on the logistics industry. Stressin g that businesses needed to be decisive to be a success, she also talked about how IT was “driving business” and that embracing the latest technology had become one of her business' biggest areas of expenditure. But she admitted, “I get bored talking about IT. I just want to know if you can do it, I really don’t care how!” The event was hosted by K3 Business Solutions (K3BS).
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Entrepreneur Launches Business Video Workshops Birmingham-based socially the Recommended Agency conscious film production and Register (RAR) Awards 201 5, creative agency, Be Inspired losing by a hairsbreadth of a Films, has had reason to margin, just 0.4%. celebrate a very successful year after picking up a slew of awards and nominations and launching successful video know how training courses in London. Be Inspired Films was Ravinol Chambers (left) named the Most Respected alongside Dean Agency (1 -25 Staff) in the Benson, CEO of Drum Independent Agency VisualSoft Census 201 5 and won Best Agency in the UK for Content "We're really, really proud to Creation at the RAR Digital have been voted Most Awards 201 5. Respected Agency and maybe In addition, the team was a even more so to have won the runner-up in the TV, Audio and RAR Digital Awards title," says Video Production Agency of the Be Inspired Films founder Year (Under 40 Staff) category in Ravinol Chambers.
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"The RAR marketing awards are based on client ratings and recommendations of our work throughout the year and benchmarked against the ratings of all the other agencies. So to win was absolutely fantastic and a great recognition of how highly our clients regard the work we do for them," added Chambers. Be Inspired Films also runs a number of video workshops aimed at showing businesses how to create videos to help boost business online and for marketing and sales purposes.
To register for one of the workshops visit: www.videoknowhow.co.uk
Nutmeg CEO to Present GWG Awards "I'm honoured to be presenting the 201 5 GWG Website of the Year Awards. It's exciting to be part of an event that recognises and celebrates online innovation. As a community, we must continue to champion the talent behind these creative and high-impact websites." Nick Hungerford, CEO and Nick Hungerford founded founder of Nutmeg, the Nutmeg in 2011 , following fastest growing investment the completion of an MBA at management business in the UK, will be presenting Stanford University. Nutmeg the Website of the Year is the UK's first online Awards. discretionary wealth Nutmeg was the overall manager and now the winner in last year's GWG fastest growing investment Awards. management business in On agreeing to support this the UK. year's Awards, Nick said Nick Hungerford, CEO and founder of Nutmeg
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Morgan Stanley MD Joins Sabin Foundation Sabin Foundation Europe (SFE), common neglected tropical the UK partner of the Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin), has elected Ms. Cecile Hillary, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and co-head of debt capital markets for financial institutions in Europe, to the SFE Board of Trustees. Ms. Hillary is a founding member of the Sabin City Group, a collaborative partnership between SFE and corporate institutions in the UK. Established in late 201 3, the Sabin City Group was designed to build a corporate stakeholder movement to raise the Cecile Hillary: Managing awareness, political will and Director, Morgan Stanley funding necessary to control and eliminate the seven most diseases (NTDs) by 2020.
“I am thrilled to join the Sabin Foundation Europe Board of Trustees,” said Ms. Hillary. “With more than 1 .8 billion people at risk of NTDs, strong publicprivate partnerships will be critical to helping so many neglected communities around the world. I look forward to working with the SFE board to address these issues and mobilise the resources needed to reduce the global burden of NTDs.” Prior to Morgan Stanley, Ms. Hillary worked at JPMorgan for 1 3 years in various roles, including securitisation, capital markets, advisory and derivatives.
Ecometrica Receives $1M from GEF for Conservation An international project lead by sustainability software and data firm Ecometrica and funded by the UK Space Agency's International Partnership Space Programme (IPSP) has helped local organisations in Mexico secure funding of over $1 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The funding is to support conservation of the El Ocote Biosphere Reserve, an internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot in the state of Chiapas. The IPSP project is providing
new satellite data and mapping technology to local organisations to assist in the monitoring of land use change, fires and forest health. Satellite derived information will be analysed and delivered to local organisations via a network of regional Earth Observation (EO) labs, built on Ecometrica's cloud-based technology. Project director Elsa Esquivel, of Mexican NGO Ambio, said: “Ecometrica's satellite data and mapping technology is helping to us to identify areas where community activities to promote forest-
friendly agriculture are succeeding, or running into problems. Without this our team on the ground cannot continually cover the more than 1 00,000 hectares of the reserve and the surrounding areas of influence. It will also help us to report on the effectiveness of our actions to the GEF, as part of an ongoing cycle of monitoring, evaluation and learning. We also hope that the satellite data and mapping system will be expanded to other parts of Chiapas to help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change.”
Ormuco Selects Olympus.io for File Sharing
Ormuco has chosen Olympus.io as its file sharing partner. The partnership will allow Ormuco to deliver both public and managed private cloud file sharing to its customers. Customers will no longer have
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to release control of their sensitive corporate data in order to use popular file sharing applications. Orlando Bayter, CEO of Ormuco, said: “Ormuco selected Olympus.io to offer our rapidly growing customer base a
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file sharing solution that goes beyond public cloud offerings. Olympus.io offers detailed customisation features and the ability to deploy in a private, hybrid or public implementation on demand”.
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London Salons Win Hairdressing Business Awards A number of hair salons based in London were big winners at the 201 5 British Hairdressin g Business Awards. Organised Executive Director: Jayne by Lewis-Orr Hairdresse rs Journal Internation al, the event aims at recognising and rewarding the very best of British hairdressing businesses and industry professionals. Now in its 1 7th year, the prestigious British Hairdressing Business Awards are a highlight in the hairdressing industry calendar. The ceremony was held at the Lancaster London Hotel and hosted by Executive Director of Hairdressers Journal International, Jayne Lewis-Orr and TV and radio presenter
Gethin Jones.. “Each year the judges’ job gets harder as entries become more sophisticated. Many use the British Hairdressing Business
Salon – Business Newcomer sponsored by HJ; George Joseph Curran from Errol Douglas, winner, Junior of the Year sponsored by Hji; Hare and Bone, winner, Salon Design Award sponsored by Salon International and Hob Salons & Academy, Camden, winner, Training Award sponsored by Wella Professionals. “Britain is seen as a Andy Phouli, Chairman of Rush Hair, won leader within the Business Director of the Year global hairdressing community and we are Awards as a tool to assess their proud of our professionals at all business and entries are levels. They are intuitive, detailed and precise. This resourceful and creative in every results in only the very best sense of the word and the becoming finalists and the most entries submitted across all deserved winners being categories demonstrated a rewarded on the night,” said commitment that other industries Jayne. could benefit from. Everyone The winners from London were should be extremely proud of as follows: Paul Edmonds, their achievements so far,” winner, Customer Care Award Jayne says. sponsored by Kérastase; Hare and Bone, winner, Independent
MEXICAN AMBASSADOR HOSTS DI.ME OPENING
Left Diego Pickering (Mexican Ambassador), right Mario Alvarez (Trade & Investment Director)
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The Mexican Ambassador hosted the opening of Di.me during London's first Mexican Design Week in association with ProMexico and Tank magazine. ProMexico launched Di.me London (Design Mexico) - the first showroom and pop-up concept store representing the best Mexican talent in contemporary fashion and industrial design. Following the success of the Di.me showroom in Paris, Di.me London was introduced.
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New Flagship Store Lavender Green Flowers has opened its new flagship store. Located in the Brompton quarter of the prestigious Fulham Road, the store encompasses a consultation area, workshop area, office space and a range of products. Its central location is surrounded by venues used by corporate customers as event spaces, ensuring logistical ease. Clients of Lavender Green Flowers will be invited and encouraged to use the consultation space as a South London ‘base’. Meeting space will be provided free of charge.
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Banking/Finance
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Fintechs Finest Head to Europe-India Conclave Arifa Khan, Managing Director: Genius Incubator
Services and Smart Transportation. The initiative would see a delegation of some of the brightest minds from Europe head to India for the EuropeIndia Conclave: Future of Banking, Payments & Technology, which takes place on 1 7 December 201 5
London has established itself as the global fintech capital with the most active investors, accelerators, innovation labs, incubators and record number of disruptive startups based Genius Incubator has embarked here. on the ambitious mission of Fintech Storm Series is one of facilitating dialogue between the key eco system builders in Europe and India, to catalyse UK, having evangelised fintech innovation in sectors such as Banking, Payments, Financial and its every vertical over the
past year by featuring the hottest startups every month. With over 200 international and Indian delegates and 40 preeminent speakers - such as Cabinet Ministers and CEOs the Conclave will also invite selected Indian Fintech startups to pitch for the Fintech Storm Hot List Awards. The winners will be announced at the award ceremony and Dinner Gala taking place later that day. Arifa Khan, Managing Director of Genius Incubator, is a former investment banker, with UBS and Credit Suisse in the Financial Sponsors Group. She has hosted high profile bilateral conclaves for cross border investment and technology exchange between Europe and India since 201 0.
Site Launched for Financial Data Ownership A new website, yoyodata.co.uk, has been launched to speed up the process of managing and updating personal information stored by financial institutions. The free site aims to put consumers in charge of their own data and provides them with tools to take control of their own data and share it with the organisations that they choose to, when they need to.
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Whether applying for a financial service such as a loan or insurance or simply updating their existing information, consumers can enter the details into the secure portal once and can allow the service provider access to selected information. Paul Grainger, Founder and Managing Director of YOYODATA said: “When consumers deal with financial
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institutions such as banks, building societies, insurance providers or even Independent Financial Advisors, they are faced with the prospect of dealing with huge amounts of administration. Currently, there’s no central point to hold that information giving the customer control of their data and the option of who to share it with.�
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Personal Finance
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A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS Words: Jack Ross
many people don’t know the difference between is the two When it comes to money, Martin key/crucial supermarket labels: Lewis doesn’t mince his words. The ‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’. Let’s Mancunian financial journalist who remember – ‘Use By’ is a health went on to create notice to you. If something is MoneySavingExpert.com has made beyond its ‘Use By’ date, you need a living on using language as to chuck it in the bin. ‘Best Before’ currency, and the language of his is the manufacturer’s guide to financial advice website sold for optimum quality. All it means is, £87 million in 2012. So, it’s fair to say he knows what he’s Britain's besttalking about. Lewis tore known money voraciously into our chat saving expert: regarding a subject close to Martin Lewis his heart – do banks do enough to help people with their finances? “A bank’s job is to sell to you,” he stresses. “Not to help you, not to advise you. Yes, you need to communicate with them when you encounter problems, because you have a contractual relationship with them. But the concept that a bank is there to help someone is not a good one, and if you think in those terms you will make the wrong decision. So, you have to devise your own needs, not follow its needs. “Labelled on his Wikipedia page as the “Consumer Champion”, Lewis’ mission has always been to give sound financial advice to the this item will be in its best possible everyday British citizen. The subject of where to save money is condition before this date. The day after a ‘Best Before,’ it’s still such a broad one that a simple “where can people save money?” perfectly legitimate to eat. inquiry seems simplistic, but when “Use your nose to smell it, use it comes down to the basics, there is your eyes to look at it, use your one outstanding area in which most sense to decide whether it’s right for you. Diminishing that waste is not people quite literally throw their just good for your pocket, but good money away… “The fact that we each throw £600 for our entire environment worth of food away every year is considering that we’re shipping food from abroad, which then goes just a horrendous, horrendous waste. One of the simple things that into bins!” Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
One of the more difficult things about modern purchases, often done online, is making sure that you are getting the most for your money and more importantly, know exactly who you are buying from. Lewis explained the dangers of wandering into untrustworthy online sales. “The point of any form of scam is to check who you’re dealing with. If you’re dealing with Tesco.com it’s no different from dealing with Tesco the superstore. But if you’re dealing with 'Boowacka.com', who you’ve never heard of, then you’ve got to ask the question; 'who are these people?' Now, it may be that you found them through somebody trusted; if you were to go to my website and we told you about a company, you will know that we have checked it out and therefore you’ve got an implicit trust there… “However, beware of Google. Google is dangerous. It’s great if you know what you’re looking for, but if you go through Google to renew a passport licence right now, for example, in those adverts at the top you’ll find mostly copycat websites which will charge you extra money that you don’t need to pay for getting your passport. They’re often not the official passport office. “So, always know who you are going to and don’t assume that because it’s on Google that it’s legitimate!” The online expert may be in the thick of a complex financial world, but his overall message is simple: common sense can save you money. 11 www.londonbusinessjournal.co.uk
WealthBeing
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A GUIDE TO HAVING IT ALL
CREATING WEALTH WHILE MAINTAINING WELLBEING As he says “it’s not easy but nor is it impossible”. In essence the approach is as follows: 1 . You need to have the right qualities to be at the top of a small organisation. Those qualities are: knowing how to win; wanting to make a difference and being prepared to play the long game. Whilst the pace of the world seems to get faster and faster it actually takes a lot more than three years to create a successful business that can meet your financial goals. And whilst there are a growing army of consultants and government assistance, you need to know how to find the right resources at the right time to win the battles that you need to win. 2. Dreams are great, visions are a powerful first step along this road but it’s not until you have an achievable strategy that you will have a WealthBeing Founder: Malcolm Durham realistic prospect of Do you watch Dragon’s Den, star there are a dozen or more success. This involves where some of the super-rich people whom you’ve never “bringing something new to gaze coldly at those struggling heard of who have managed to what you know” rather than manfully to create businesses create enough wealth and leaving the industry that you that will fulfil their dreams? Or maintain their sense of wellknow and trying something do you enjoy the documentaries being. One such is Malcolm completely new because in of the rich and famous that Durham who not only has done your field of expertise you show what they have had to it but has created a guide for know what the problems are endure to get there? If so you others to do it. Using his own and what is required whereas could be forgiven for getting the experiences and those of in a new sector that seems impression that wealth is only businesses that he has worked attractive, you don’t even for the super-committed and with, he shows you how to know what the problems are. there is always a price to pay, overcome the challenges of 3. The process of building a by sacrificing all your other building a successful business business is fairly well aims. and how to deal with the known but WealthBeing Thankfully, as the song says, ‘it personal issues that you will makes sure that you know ain’t necessarily so’. For every meet along the way, so as to how to assess what will dysfunctional tycoon or anxious maintain your wellbeing.
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Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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WealthBeing
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work for you and what the personal challenges are. a. It’s scary walking into a room full of strangers (a networking event) but there are techniques for overcoming your fears. b. It’s enticing to jump from launch day to thinking of a multimillion pound organisation without putting vital building blocks in place: creating a can do culture, allowing failure, and a process of rectifying it so that the business provides a good service, not a perfect one. 4. WealthBeing advocates that there is an end to your time in the business because people, and businesses, are both finite: you will run out of skills, even with a business partner or mentor at your side, and maybe energy. And every business eventually becomes obsolete. Far better to sell it and either enjoy the freedom that that entails or do it all again. 5. Central to the guide is a method of calculating how much the business should be sold for - so as to give you a house, capital to live off, enjoyment of life’s little luxuries
and something to pass on - and what profit it needs to make in order to achieve that. The tool to do this is on the website, http://www.wealthbeing.co.uk/cal culator 6. And that’s not the only numerical help in this book. As Malcolm says “business is easy until you put numbers to it”. So at every stage there is an illustrative profit and loss account and that lesser known but equally important document: a balance sheet. Understanding the balance sheet, or employing someone who does, is as vital as looking after your mental health. You might say that 1 5 minutes meditation and 1 5 minutes attending to cashflow every day will ensure that every other problem that you face will seem like a minor obstacle. Creating a business, selling it and enjoying the freedom that that entails is a substantial undertaking and sometimes you may feel like giving up. Malcolm did but, as he says, his belief that he was making a difference and his determination to play the long game kept him at it. He has
overcome divorce, depression and other disasters which are shared honestly, not as badges of honour but because stuff happens, and whilst no-one wishes it on you some of these things, or others like them, will happen. But follow these guidelines and you can overcome them and have all the elements of a wealthy enough lifestyle as well as satisfying the needs that psychologists such as Maslow found are essential to a happy life, especially safety, esteem (achievement in life), cognition (the thirst for knowledge),and, selfactualisation (meeting your full potential), As the first reviewer says, reading this will “leave you feeling energised and empowered.”
www.wealthbeing.co.uk We plan to hold an event with Malcolm where you can ask him more. In the meantime please enjoy the book at a 1 0% discount to the market price by contacting us. Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Human Resources/Recruitment
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Sellick Partnership Expands London In-house Offering Tracey Newman is to manage new Sellick Partnership London office
Legal recruitment specialist, Sellick Partnership, have expanded their in-house legal service with the opening of a new office in London to meet increased demand in the South
East. The centrally based office will provide in-house legal recruitment solutions to FTSE 1 00, FTSE 250, Media, FMCG, Retail, Services and IT/Technology companies across the region. The new office will be managed by Tracey Newman, an accomplished legal recruiter with significant experience in the sector, having worked previously with LAW Absolute. Tracey said: “Having recruited in the London market for a number of years, the legal landscape has changed considerably leading to changing demands from our clients. We understand that inhouse functions are under huge pressure to work more efficiently – with fewer resources and increased demands, and with
this in mind we want to offer them genuine solutions based on a quality service.” The new office, based at Woburn Place, provides a full inhouse legal recruitment service to a niche range of commercial businesses in the Media, IT and technology sectors. The specialist team focus on placing lawyers and paralegals into companies across London and the Home Counties, on a contract and permanent basis. Group Director, Hannah Cottam has been significantly involved in the expansion. Hannah set up the legal recruitment specialist business over a decade ago, and has seen it grow significantly over the years to cover the whole of the UK and boast a turnover of £1 4.9 million in the year ended February 201 5.
Backing For Universal Standard Efficiency Saving Over three quarters (77%) of recruitment professionals at Director level support the development of a universal ‘best practice’ standard for the UK recruitment sector according to research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). APSCo surveyed its membership following a consultation on the proposed initiative at their September members’ meeting which was attended by an impressive group of stakeholders from organisations including the British Standards Institute (BSI), the department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) and the CIPD. The research also found that most members (74%) believe that the current regulatory regime does not do enough to provide clients, candidates,
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Government and investors with confidence in the compliance and professionalism of UK recruitment businesses. Respondents cited the main advantage of a single ‘kitemark’ as being ‘improved standards’. Enhancing the reputation of the sector and outlawing ‘rogue’ agencies were also seen as important factors. ‘Increased bureaucracy’ was identified as the main potential disadvantage. Commenting on the findings, Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo said: “As anticipated, these results confirm our suspicion that there is firm support for development of a universal standard in recruitment. Our members clearly see the benefit of having the tools to differentiate themselves as premium providers of staffing solutions.”
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Skipton Building Society (Skipton) has saved hundreds of man hours every month by automating HR tasks with an online HR management solution from Advanced Business Solutions (Advanced). OpenHR’s self-serve technology has streamlined processes and reduced the staff time it takes to manage incremental salaries from two weeks to just one hour. Automating pension processes has also increased staff enrolment to more than 90%. Jonathon McNaughton, HR Systems and MI Manager, Skipton Building Society, said: “Before we implemented the workflow, this was a really timeconsuming process of creating numerous reports and then editing and filtering through them. We also had to make lots of phone calls and send emails back and forth with managers."
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Human Resources
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Humans Build Successful Businesses By Zufi Deo and Rachel Sparks
recorded in IT systems. Their contrast to seeing work as an know-how has meaning. It inhumane experience they have allows a company build a to endure to pay the bills. sustainable competitive advantage. A simple way to help your This is all great. But, we live in a staff in this direction is to use cutthroat world where the more social engagement tools like trained and experienced staff will dance. Yep ! Heard it all before I be poached by others. So why hear you say. Thats what you do would we as business owners in night clubs. This is my office make this investment only for space so why should I have a others reap the rewards? These nightclub environment in my are are valid and standard business? A simple answer is questions business owners ask that it helps the staff feel human. themselves all the time. So how By the way no one is suggesting can we organise businesses in a loud music and free drinks - just way that allows us to treat our the social environment bit. It Treating staff as an asset staff as humans while we still helps them relate to each other. means we have to invest in It allows the staff to bond with and develop them. We have to recoup the investments we make sure their needs as human make in them - after all we are each other. The more the staff businesses? can relate, talk and share knowbeings are understood and how with each other, the more motivate them using carrots as A simple solution is to look at creative a business becomes opposed to sticks. There is a business as a collection of and this means the more always the inevitable time lag people. This means when innovative the business between knowing and doing people join your business they becomes. Naturally staff something about it. Let's be retention rates go up and what honest, we are nurtured to see do so because they share the the impact on the cost base first. same vision and values as you the staff generate together do. This means they join your delivers value for the business. business to support you in When we see our staff and Let's not forget the embedded look at the cost base, we are realising the vision. This is achieved using the values and know-how in people can only still using the old industrial be shared voluntarily. The mindset - where the staff were standards you have set. This encourages them to look beyond more they interact with each treated like machines. Here their own daily needs and treat other the more likely they are to they were expendable in the share this deeply embedded same way machines were. This their jobs with more meaning. starts to change with the rise of This isn’t to say they don't have knowledge. So making the office the service sector and staff are bills to pay or have these kinds environment people-friendly of concerns. It's to say once they does help the business. It does treated as knowledge assets that add value to the business. start to come to work to achieve not even need much more something as a team they investment! They are seen as holders of deliver greater value. This is in deep data that cannot be Zufi Deo and Rachel Sparks are the Co Founders of SparkZ Ignite, a startup that uses dance as an action based medium to help build high-performance teams. For further information visit: www.sparkzignite.co.uk There is a paradigm shift going on. In the same way the UK has become a service oriented economy. The way organisations are structured is fast changing as well. Services are people orientated. This means as we make a mass migration to services we also need to make our businesses more humane. For instance, the days when employers treated their staff as a cost on the balance sheet are numbered. Now staff are seen as an asset.
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Franchise
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Why is Anytime Fitness Beating Targets?
A
NDY THOMPSON IS THE SEASONED ENTREPRENEUR RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING ANYTIME FITNESS TO THE UK. H ERE HE TELLS RONNIE AJOKU HOW APPLYING HIS BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE OF THE UK' S FASTEST GROWING FRANCHISES
Andy was first introduced to the health and fitness industry by a friend who knew he was looking for a new business investment. “The friend in question, who is now a business partner, brought Anytime Fitness to the table and showed me the great success the business had been having in Australia and the U.S.,” he says. “They were looking for someone to acquire the UK master franchise and replicate the business model rolled out in other parts of the world. I recognised a good opportunity and the rest is history as they say.” The role he currently occupies would have seemed unlikely earlier on his career. Graduating from The University of Glasgow in 1 985 with a degree in Topographic Science, the study of geographical mapping, Andy joined Brown and Root, working as a Hydrographic Surveyor across Europe and India. Utilising his mapping and navigation skills, Andy went on to become an Expedition Leader for Raleigh International, travelling with groups of young people in Chile and Kenya and working on various charity projects. On his return to the UK in 1 989, Andy completed a Masters in Information Technology after recognising an
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Andy Thompson: Managing Director and UK Franchisor of Anytime Fitness
opportunity to combine his knowledge of mapping with a digital expertise. Increasingly, leading brands were using customer data to analyse geographical behaviour and Andy’s skills were in high demand. During the 1 990s he worked for a number of companies, including Laser Scan and Rank Group, on behalf of a range of big brands, such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s, Odeon Cinemas, Butlins and the Hard Rock Café.
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More recently, Andy held the position of Managing Director, Strategy and Analytics, at Pitney Bowes, after the global technology company acquired Geo Business Solutions (now known as MapInfo), the location intelligence consultancy business he founded in 1 999 and ran for six years. “In 1 999 I founded and ran a location intelligence consultancy business called Geo Business Solutions, which provided major
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Franchise
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retailers looking to open a new store with predictive sales forecasts based on their location, market and demographic. Now called MapInfo, the company was sold to global technology company, Pitney Bowes, where I then took up a position as managing director, strategy and analytics. “I find this experience useful when looking where next to locate a gym for Anytime Fitness. It’s given me the right mind-set to be able to gauge where a club is most likely to succeed based on geographical location, the demographic and market size in the area.” His path to the leisure and fitness industry may seem like a long way from the world of customer data analysis, but Andy’s entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen has ensured a smooth transition. “I could see the benefits (with Anytime Fitness) of owning a franchise compared to a traditional business and it was a good opportunity to work with a brand that was already established and offered stability. “With a franchise, the model is already set out for you and all you have to do it follow the template. The business plans that had been used in Australia and the U.S were so comprehensive that we didn’t need to adapt them too much for the UK, which meant the start-up process was relatively simple. We recognised the training programmes in place were more than suitable, so we rolled those out through our UK branches. It was quite the case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.” The biggest change that seems to be flooding the fitness industry at the moment according to Andy is technology, more specifically wearable technology. “Everyone is obsessed with being able to track their fitness whilst on the go and our members are constantly wanting to match up their activity
«I could see the benefits ofowning a franchise compared to a traditional business»
«Everyone is obsessed with being able to track their fitness whilst on the go and our members want to match their activity outside the gym with their workouts in it»
“Some fitness clubs do allow members to plug a USB device or insert a membership number into machines in the gym that allows them to then track their progress each time they visit a health centre. This is obviously great for the member but I think the real win here will be when we can marry up what members are doing outside the gym and combine it with their regular work outs.” Under his five year tenure, Anytime Fitness UK has established itself as one of the leading franchises in the UK, challenging more established global brands such as MacDonalds and Subway. In 201 0, when Andy acquired the UK master franchise, he was set the target of securing 300 franchise openings by 2020 – current forecasts suggest he will achieve this by the summer of next year, four years ahead of schedule. “I would say owning a health outside the gym with their club differs to other franchise workouts in it. There are lots of models because you get to apps and fitbands that let know your members and see people keep an eye on their them achieve their goals. movement and diet as the appetite grows to monitor these There is a great sense of achievement when you see things on a day-to-day basis. somebody who has just There is even an app that allows the user to take a picture completed a marathon or who of the food in front of them and has reached their goal weight it will provide all the nutritional – you really feel like you are information about that product. working to make things better.”
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Social Media
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Top 10 Tips to Make the Most of Twitter for Any Event or Occasion
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By Laura Brown
Ensure all relevant photos/services/ideas are tweeted well in advance ofthe event. You don't want to be excitedly launching a service, event or idea to a limited number oftargeted and engaged followers - give yourselftime to build your community. #IntrotweetTip - To add photos to your tweets click on the Camera icon in the box where you write your tweet! You can now upload more than one photo and create a great collage of images - try to do this!
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Ensure all photos/services tweeted contain as much information as possible to make it easy to buy and enquire. A website link where your followers can learn more is a must.
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Network consistently to promote your business – local networking events such as #SomersetHour, #DorsetHour are the perfect opportunity to do so. Take some time out ofyour evening to fully engage with these 'hours' - you never know who you could be talking to.
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#IntrotweetTip - Don't be afraid to include Twitter users you want to engage with and target in your tweets. Use the @ symbol to type there username and watch the engagement and RT's roll in!
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Retweet (RT) tweets of other Twitter users to encourage interactions and gain a likely RT in return. You need to engage to get engagement and to establish a pattern that is likely to be reciprocated!
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Make Twitter part of your Marketing Strategy – in the run up to an event make sure you tweet EVERY day and as often as you can. Use the rule ofthirds to create engaging and valuable content... 1/3 - Promotional Tweets & updates 1/3 - Top Tips & News to showcase your expertise 1/3 - Behind-the-scenes business snapshots to showcase the 'person' behind the brand!
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Personalise your tweets with comments such as ‘These would make perfect…’, ‘Are you confident, enthusiastic and musically trained…’ – Make your services stand out. Rhetorical questions and catchy statements lead to website clicks!
Add a ‘call to action’ to your tweets – ask your followers to re-tweet (RT) your tweets or give you their opinion so that you can reach a larger number ofpeople and begin to really engage with your audience. Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5 18
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Ask your followers to create and add you to their ‘Recruitment Company’/ ‘Local Businesses’ list – this way they will save your business as an idea to revisit when they are in need ofyour services and want to support/work with a local business. To flip this around make sure you also create Twitter lists to ensure you can always engage with a targeted audience.
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Promote your other Social Media sites and your website through your tweets. Tweeting your links in relevant posts is a GUARANTEED way to increase your traffic, audience and therefore sale leads.
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Lastly and very importantly, keep your Tweets PERSONAL and HUMAN. No one wants to listen to a constant hard sell. Remember, “slow and steady wins the race”. Laura Brown is the Founder of www.introtweet.com and has helped over 500+ businesses maximise their social media.
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Business & Pensions
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Automatic Enrolment
HOW THE GOVERNMENT'S NEW LAW WILL AFFECT ALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND EMPLOYERS By Ted Wigzell As the UK population is rising and average life expectancy is increasing the government has made significant changes to how workplace pensions operate. By 201 8 all employers will have to enrol their eligible workers into a pension scheme. The new law is called Automatic Enrolment or AE. Employees have the right to opt out but if they choose to contribute then their employer has to do so too. Consequently, the plan is that many more people will be able to build up savings to help cover their retirement needs.
thousand small businesses per month have to do so too. Will this lead to a capacity crunch and the one-year project getting even longer? Oh yes, and there are fines for noncompliance too which at the low end are £400 initially then £50 per day until you become compliant. Employers really need to start confronting this now!
So what about contributions? Once you've completed your project, chosen a pension The new law affects all provider, written to all of your employers, right down to eligible employees and businesses with just one enrolled them you'll be employee. Eligible employees are expected to contribute 1 % of those aged 22 but under State each employees salary Pension Age who are earning (matching their contribution). more than £1 0k per year. Other This will rise to 2% on October employees can opt in too. All employers have what is called a 1 st 201 7 and 3% the following year. However, Australia have staging date which is the date been running a similar scheme when they have to become compliant. These dates vary and for 20 plus years and their can be very soon or as far away employer contribution is now as 201 8. So, if you haven't done 9.5% which will rise to 1 2 % in so already, your first step is to find 2025. This inevitable rise will out your staging date. have a significant effect on SME profitability. The Pensions Regulator recommend that employers start planning their AE project around a What's the best way to year ahead of their staging date. achieve compliance? Financial That will give you an idea of how Advisers are charging huge sums and are able to cherry many tasks businesses owners pick who they work with. are expected to fulfil. Until now only large and medium sized Accountants are not Financial businesses have had to comply Advisers but may have a but from January, roughly 1 00 Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
solution which may come at significant costs too and will not give a choice of pension provider (something the Pensions Regulator is very keen on).
“The new law affects all employers, right down to businesses with just one employee” At Your Business Community (YBC) we are able to offer a solution that takes most of the administrative burden off of business owners, gives a choice of suitable pension providers and comes at a price that is affordable for even the smallest businesses. Contact us for more details on 0333 358 3399 or email info@yourbusinesscomm unity.co.uk
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Property/Construction
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LCGD Engages Leading Plant Specialists The London College of Garden Design Students horticulturists that
reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the plant world. Leading nursery specialist Rosy Hardy, Neil Lucas The UK’s leading ornamental grass specialist, Tony Kirkham Curator at the Royal Botanic Kew and The London College of Garden Nigel DunnettGardens, from the University Design (LCGD) has launched a of Sheffield will all lecture on the unique new 6-month planting course. Inspirational lectures design course aimed at from designers that include RHS professional designers and Chelsea Gold medal winners landscape architects that James Basson, Jo Thompson, engages some of the UK’s Paul Hervey-Brookes and leading plant specialists. Amanda Patton will also The course will be led by contribute. Andrew Fisher Tomlin with the support of leading designers and LCGD Director Andrew Fisher
Tomlin said: “We’ve wanted to provide a new course specifically on planting design for a number of years. This is in direct response to requests from landscape architects in particular who want to expand their skills into this area. We have already had a huge response from across Europe with garden designers and landscape architects signing up from a number of EU countries including the UK.” The course will start in January 201 6 with practical workshops, quickly leading to inspirational lectures and visits. It explores not only contemporary ideas around planting but also traditional techniques and planting for heritage settings and parks.
Okappy Launches Market Network for Tradesmen Okappy has launched its market network combining the benefits of a market place such as Uber, a social network such as Linkedin and cloud based job management software in order to fix the problem of broken communication within and between companies. The Okappy platform provides a number of features designed to improve communication for
companies with field service workers. Companies can connect to each other, send and receive jobs and share the status of those in real-time as they are updated by the engineer out in the field. The platform helps companies eradicate paperwork, reduce duplication and end disputes over invoices. Gerry So, Director of Okappy, said on the
launch: “For many companies, knowing what is happening with their jobs means chasing for paperwork, lots of phone calls or emails. “By combining the benefits of a marketplace, with a social network and online job management software we can reduce paperwork, reduce stress and improve cashflow by ensuring your invoices are paid on time.”
Dining Room Stages Comeback in British Homes
A separate dining room is high on the wish list for more than half of UK homeowners (56 per cent), proving that the importance of chatting around the table is not a thing of the past for British families. Despite previous trends for an open plan layout, this now
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appears to be a less popular choice in our homes, with only 39 per cent of those surveyed wanting an open plan kitchen/diner living space. And while technological advances in home appliances, telecommunications and IT have made a significant change to the
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way we live, the majority of respondents ranked central heating as the most positive change to the home over the last 50 years (70 per cent). The survey of over 2,000 homeowners was commissioned by Anglian Home Improvements to mark its 50th anniversary.
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Management
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Common and Expensive Mistakes Company Directors Make
By Tony Gimple Most company directors that I know are also shareholders, but few realise that as directors they have an unlimited personal liability and, all too often, they make basic mistakes. The law says that ignorance is no excuse and the big problem is that most solicitors and accountants will assume that when you ask them a question that a) you know what it is you’re asking and, b) there’s nothing else that you need to know! With that in mind, here are a few of the most common errors. Most of us conduct the bulk of our business by email; yet few have a proper email signature that replicates that which the law mandates you must have on your letterhead, being the company’s name, company number and registered office. Given that it’s common to remotely reach agreements with customers and suppliers without them ever seeing your letterhead, the chances are that if things go pear-shaped you
could find yourself personally liable regardless of the fact that you’re a shareholder with limited liability. Forming a limited company with everyone having an equal share is a typical arrangement, but what would happen if you can’t agree? Without a properly constructed shareholders’ agreement you’ll be in deadlock, which can easily lead to the company failing or you being caught in a situation that you can’t get out of; a situation that is often compounded if there are bank or other borrowings backed by personal guarantees. If you’re paying yourself from the company without a director’s service agreement or shareholders’ resolution, then you may have to pay it all back. Likewise, paying yourself through an overdrawn loan account with the intention of declaring such payments as dividends is not only unlawful but, if not done right, can lead to you having to pay it all back with an extra tax charge to boot. If your accountant says that everyone’s doing it so you’ll be OK, change your account! Using self-employed contractors to avoid the legal burdens of taking on employees could not only leave it open for them to steal your IP, data and
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customers, it could also open the door to HMRC delivering you with a big tax and employer’s NIC bill, so make sure that you have the right contractor agreements in the first place. Likewise, off the shelf terms and conditions of business from the web or those ‘borrowed’ from another business will almost certainly be unfit for purpose and possibly legally out of date. If you have a customer dispute, badly drafted terms and conditions will seriously undermine your legal position and undoubtedly lead you to the rich man’s hobby of expensive litigation. Get them drafted by someone who understands your business and periodically review them as your business and the law changes.
"Ifyou’re paying yourselffrom the company without a director’s service agreement or shareholders’ resolutionyou may have to pay it all back"
Tony Gimple is the Founder of Planned Succession, a provider of specialist estate planning advice to both private and business clients. For further information visit www.planned-succession.com
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Accounting/Finance
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The Shift Towards Virtual Finance Directors By Rachael Power One solution that has been emerging to plug the gap over the last few years, is that of a virtual FD. It’s not a new concept - but one that has been made much easier by the advent of cloud accounting and bookkeeping packages. On AccountingWEB, we’ve seen a rise in the trend closely linked to the adoption of new technology, and increasingly so in firms who are successful in our Practice Excellence Awards. But what is a virtual FD? Essentially, it’s an accountant who provides SMEs with a parttime FD service - which can work for those who don’t have
increased competition it is difficult for accountants to stand out from the crowd. Practitioners who are being impacted by these factors may Practice Excellence Conference 201 5
wish to diversify their offering by taking advantage of the gap in the market - SMEs need affordable, dependable financial advice as well as core compliance work. This could include monthly management reports, budget, cashflow forecasting, and even someone on hand regularly to bounce business ideas off. In short, a business adviser. Roundtable discussions Providing a virtual FD service can offer up as many the capacity to hire a full-time advantages to practitioners as it version. can their clients. These include Aside from technology, there spending less time on the ‘core’ are a number of other reasons compliance areas such as VAT why the trend is emerging. For returns as information is already one, compliance work has in place and verified, to having a become a commodity, and in greater understand of their addition to fee compression and client’s business and how to
bring more value to them to help them move forward. But for a firm to offer a virtual FD service, it will have to change the way it works. Becoming more proactive toward clients instead of reactive (i.e. process-driven services), having better conversations with clients and learning what their business goals are and in turn becoming a business adviser rather than a compliance accountant are some of the areas they will need to work on. Adopting new technology can be an area some smaller practitioners may be sceptical about. But a cloud package or hosted desktop service may be the feather in your cap of providing a fully collaborative, real-time virtual FD service. Accountants have always been trusted advisers - that aspect will never change. But how they deliver their advisory services to SME clients can, and is.
Accountants interested in finding out how to diversify their service offering and how to be more proactive rather than reactive to clients' needs can attend AccountingWEB's Practice Excellence Conference. Further information on the 201 6 event is available at www.excellence.accountingweb.co.uk/conference Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Judy Robinett
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The Power of Connections
By Ronnie Ajoku
imagine that networking and connecting at high Judy Robinett: levels was an easy “The woman progression – it wasn't. with the titanium digital There were certain pivotal points that led to rolodex” her eventual triumph: “The first pivot point was being in the corporate world and noticing I was working very hard but not moving up the corporate ladder as fast as others. They didn’t appear smarter and often weren’t working as hard as I was. I was perplexed and knew something was wrong. By paying close attention, I could see they were tied into key networks with influential folks that weren’t necessarily on the corporate organisation chart. Talking to strangers and attending networking made me squirm. ery few people would ever be events “I would go late and leave able to connect like Judy early, typically hanging out Robinett or indeed acquire in the corners of the room. the same level ofsuccess she embodies. I was shy and had been bullied as a kid and After all she is the former Managing questioned what I would Director ofGolden Seeds Angel have to offer of value to Network (the third most active angel others. The first thing I did was read Dale Carnegie's investment group and one ofthe 'How to Win Friends and largest in the U.S.), former CEO of Influence People'. I publicly traded Medical Discoveries myself out of my and served on the faculty ofGoldman coaxed comfort zone by taking Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses small steps — smiling, saying hello and much to program. my surprise, I found people would talk to me It is therefore no wonder why the current and genuinely liked me. investor, mentor, author and speaker is This was my first step in literally best known as “the woman with building network and the titanium digital rolodex”. As the bestselling author of 'How to Be a Power emotional IQ skills. “I learned to focus on the Connector: The 5+50+1 50 Rule' person I was talking to (McGraw-Hill, May 201 4) you would
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and to go beyond listening to hearing. My new skills plus a little strategy got me to my goal. I quickly became a manager and continued to do the hard things that most people don’t want to do — embrace fear and keep going. Research shows that half of us identify as shy and if we were raised in a lower to middle class family we're taught to keep our heads down, work hard and someone will notice. It’s a fairy tale! Other research shows we only talk to strangers 23% of the time. Stranger danger works if you are a child, but is a fallacy that harms personal and professional growth as an adult.” That was the first, and the second came courtesy of an article in The Wall Street Journal. “I was reading an article in the Wall Street Journal about research that had been done on how to achieve financial independence. It said there were five ways to be successful; become a doctor, a lawyer, inherit it, marry it and I knew those weren’t options for me. But the fifth was start a business! I thought how hard can it be and got a $1 .3 million small business loan and started a franchise restaurant. I almost failed, which turned out to be a great thing from the lessons I learned. Soon others were asking me for help
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Judy Robinett
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Above: Judy Robinett joins Dr. Sudip Bose and Tatum Guinn to discuss how social interaction can affect your health
particularly with how to get funding. Guess what? I learned it is all about getting in the right room with the right people who can help you.” With countless interviews, contributions and reviews ranging from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc and Fast Company to CBS, Judy clearly deserves the “titanium rolodex” tag, but where did that come from? “People started saying I had the most powerful network of anyone they had met and wanted to pay me to teach them how to network. I thought they were crazy and told them I was shy. Finally, I paid attention to what I had learned through the years and started teaching others. A blogger who interviewed me first used the term “titanium rolodex” and it stuck. I continued to share tips that were easy and practical. For example, I saw that there
were two ways I approached strangers with success. First was offering a sincere compliment and second was asking a question. Mary Kay Ash once said she knew what people wanted more than sex and money — recognition and praise.” The advancement of technology now makes it easier for startups to identify potential investors, as well as find alternative sources of financing and Judy is well aware of these changes. “Technology has altered the startup world significantly. With the advent of web 3.0, networking platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and Face Book you now have access to anyone and can find the resources you need. I recommend people read the top VC and angel bloggers. Dave Berkus (Berkus.com) super angel and Mark Suster, the entrepreneur turned VC and General Partner at UpFront
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Ventures are two of my favourites. “Any question you have on valuation, exits, funding and term sheets can be found online from reputable sources. Angels and VC’s all have websites, so you can see if you might be a fit for their portfolio. But most important is crowdfunding plus other platforms like Angel List and Circle Up that can help you get funded. Crowdfunding will hit $34 billion this year and Ted Wilson out of New York who is arguably one of top VC and early stage funding gurus expects that number to rise to $300 billion. An excellent quick read is “The Kickstarter Handbook, Real-Life Crowdfunding Success Stories,” by Don Steinberg, which has solid examples and shows the importance of having a strong network — bring your own crowd to have a successful campaign. Technology now
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Judy Robinett
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“Build it and they will come is wishful thinking, so is wasting time at networking events that don’t have people who are smarter than you or have access to the resources you need"
makes it easier to start companies given the low cost of computing power and lower customer acquisition costs.” So what is the 5+50+1 00 Rule about and how does Judy's approach to connecting differ from what we have heard before? “My book is a hands on, practical method that anyone can use to build a powerful network. The basic equation is quality relationships + strategy = successful goal attainment. Most folks are in the wrong room at networking events having fun with their friends that don’t have critical connections to resources they need personally or professionally. My book is different in that it uses research to show that you don’t need gazillions of people — just focus on quality not quantity, and that groups fall apart at 1 50. “Second, it teaches you how to have a strategic network that is robust, deep and wide — with 25-50 people. Robust meaning people will return your calls,
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make introductions and have your back and your future. Deep means people of gravitas and influence and wide means geographically diverse across different industries. I learned this by chance when I worked in a community of 40,000. My neighbour was the senator in the state government and I was on a hospital board with influential folks from the community. I was also asked to write a weekly column for the local newspaper. I found I had access to money, to deals, to information, to key leaders plus media making it much easier to make things happen for myself and others. I could quickly solve problems.” Judy further explains the difference between what is valued while networking today versus the past. “Old school networking is dead. People hate the typical network event where folks run towards you with their business card. People now want long term relationships with folks they can trust. I use to say I only
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let people in my network that had a good heart, good head and good gut. Then I boiled it down to a litmus test — is this person an Oprah or Martha Stewart? Both are exceptionally successful billionaires but if I had to trust one with my back and future, given my values, I pick Oprah. I also think of the quote by Debbie Reynolds who as a young actress asked a producer if she should stay in TV, go into movies or theatre. He said, “listen to your heart, the answer will be perfect.” My book and website have simple how-to worksheets to help you identify the network you already have — we all have one. Pew research says we know on average 632 people. Second, when you identify the top folks in your network then you can see the holes you need to fill, so that if you need to find a new job in a different industry or need funding you don’t hit the wall but rather have the right people who can help you.”
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Judy Robinett
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“People started saying I had the most powerful network ofanyone they had met and wanted to pay me to teach them how to network"
If you feel too shy or introverted to network you are not alone, as Judy points out, a lot of good networkers are less extrovert than you may think. “Many of the best networkers — like me — consider themselves introverts. Jeff Busang of Flybridge Capital says: “If you can’t figure out how to get to me, you can’t figure out how to get customers. Chance of a cold call? Zero. Playing the lottery is an easier bet.” Whether you are dialling for dollars, seeking the best employees or finding top quality advisors, you will need to add networking to your skill set. “Build it and they will come is wishful thinking. So is wasting time at networking events that don’t have people who are smarter than you or have access to the resources you need. Think about where investors hang out. Remember that you don’t have to be an extrovert, just learn how to connect. Your goal should be to build relationships, literally get the second date. For example, if you are seeking funding you
never start by asking for money, you ask for advice. People must know you, like you and trust you before they write a cheque. Playing small and staying in your comfort zone will hurt you.” So is there anything similar to of the 'law of averages' or 80/20 rule in connecting that entrepreneurs should be aware of? “My favourite rule is from Warren Buffett’s business partner Charlie Munger who says that out of 1 00 people he meets at a conference, five are keepers, 20 he doesn’t care to ever meet again and the remaining 75 are wait and see. You do have to kiss a lot of toads to find a prince, but the good news is that you can stack the deck in your favour. You can create luck. Branch Rickey said: “Luck is the residue of design.” This is about strategy — connecting and leveraging relationships for the good of all.” Remaining focused and keeping a level head despite so many accolades is important to Judy. “I’m grateful and humbled by the
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wonderful support I’ve received. I’ve also learned through the years as Tony Robbins says, “new level, new devil.” Stumbling blocks become stepping stones but every time you get a new vision and start moving forward, Goliath shows up!” Offering advice on how to get ahead Judy says: “Kick fear to the curb. Few things can kill us. I recently learned there are two words for fear in Hebrew. The first, Pahad, is that gut wrenching feeling that your world is falling apart and you become panicked and paralysed. This is when I grab chocolate and run to my cave and hide. But the second, Yirah, means stepping into your future, the excitement of moving out of your comfort zone to your dream. Write on a post-it note, 'Assume My Power'. When Indian billionaire Dhirubhai was asked the secret of success he said, “luck and guts.” You can develop both.”
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Transport/Motoring
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The Gadget Show Gets Jolt From New App Jolt, the new app for motor claims, has become an overnight sensation following its debut on Channel 5's The Gadget Show. Developed by Imperious Technologies, the Jolt My Car app uses innovative software to gather the maximum amount of data at the time of an accident. The app will not only significantly reduce insurance fraud, but speed up insurance claims and reduce driver frustration. Following a collision, real-time data is collected into a package of information that allows insurance partners to see who is at fault. Algorithms and bespoke
smartphone and we are software turns the data into a delighted that our first onscreen format that auto-populates the insurance claim form. That claim appearance has received the thumbs up from the team at The Jolt in use Gadget Show,” said Mark Robinson, Director, Imperious Technologies. “Following a collision, data is sent immediately to Jolt HQ. This includes the actual video of the incident and supporting data such as collision impact speed, is then with the insurance the trajectory and movement of a company within minutes of the vehicle post impact, but also collision. third party details such as "What we've developed is a witness statements,” Robinson platform that harnesses the added. power of an individual
Q Despatch, a specialist private car hire operator based in London, has chosen to implement Echo, the real-time scheduling and dispatch platform developed by Magenta Technology, the creators of Addison Lee’s Shamrock platform. The Echo real-time scheduling and dispatch platform was chosen over other options because being on-time and reliable are critical to Q Despatch’s service delivery within the public and private sectors. These include NHS critical-care patient
transportation both within the UK M25 and UK-wide, regular NHS patient movement, special needs and vulnerable people transportation – all of which have to meet strict time tables. Nick Pavlou, Director at Q Despatch, commented: “I have been looking for an intelligent automated despatch programme for a while. I believe that controllers should be looking after our clients and helping our drivers, rather than working out which is the closest car to a job. Let the computer despatch the work. Our clients demand more than just a standard service and
measure us against our KPIs.” Matt Borland, Sales Director for Magenta Technology said: “We are delighted that Q Despatch quickly saw the benefits of Echo’s robust, reliable and flexible technology.”
In the second half of 201 5 company vehicles remain a key investment for SMEs according to the bi-annual Business in Britain report. The bi-annual Business in Britain report surveys 1 ,500 SME decision makers from across the UK to establish where
investments are likely to be made in the subsequent six month period. Alex Butcher, Sales Director for independent vehicle fleet and leasing solutions provider, Toomey Leasing Group said: “The Business in Britain research is a great indicator to the way in
which the vehicle leasing and fleet management solutions market is likely to go over the next six months. Companies who operate fleets now realise that there is the potential to reduce costs via tailored fleet management solutions that focus on Whole Life Cost (WLC) analyses.”
Q Despatch Chooses Magenta’s Echo Software
Above: Echo from Magenta used for Q Despatch
Investment Increase in Company Vehicles for UK SMEs
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Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Technology
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IP Knowledge Crucial to Tech Industry Success Leading intellectual property (IP) expert Shireen Smith has warned that an understanding of IP law is vital for companies to succeed in the technology industry. Shireen Smith, who is also the author of the recently launched book titled 'Intellectual Property Revolution', said: “The law has always been slow to catch up with new technology, and nowhere is this more evident than on the web. Technology is a copyright-intensive industry and disregarding the importance of IP law is extremely dangerous for any technology company.” An IP lawyer and founder of IP specialist law firm Azrights, Smith believes that IP is the foundation of any business and
companies should ensure that it example, you might find that the is protected as early as possible. person with ownership rights is She added: “Because of the not necessarily the one you expect. “If there is something to patent, then invariably filing for patent protection is necessary before even sourcing the funding for new software or technology. “In their haste to rush to market quickly, many entrepreneurs are making a classic mistake: failing to protect their IP before revealing their ideas. Patents are Shireen Smith: Founder Azrights only granted if an invention is novel and has not been competitive and fast-moving disclosed to third parties. nature of the technology Therefore, startups which raise industry, it is vital that tech investment through startups consult an IP specialist crowdfunding sites before as early as possible. That’s securing a patent lose the because IP law can sometimes possibility of patenting the lead to surprising results. For concept later on.”
Sapiens International Corporation, a global provider of software solutions for the insurance industry, with an emerging focus on the broader financial services sector, has entered into an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software, to enhance Sapiens’ business intelligence (BI) and analytics offerings by incorporating SAP’s BI tools across Sapiens’ core insurance
solutions suite. Sapiens will leverage BusinessObjects, SAP’s set of powerful and proven BI tools, to help its customers take advantage of data-driven decision-making and operations. The Sapiens BI and analytics offering will include: reporting, dashboards, selfservice BI, mobile business intelligence and powerful data discovery capabilities, with predictive analytics and Big Data enhancements included in the product roadmap.
Sapiens Partners with SAP to Enhance Intelligence The skillsets and knowledge base of the team from IBEXI, a recent Sapiens company acquisition, will be instrumental in the development and delivery of the Sapiens BI and Analytics module. “After an extensive search process Sapiens chose SAP due to its outstanding industry reputation, broad set of analytical tools, strong BI offering and promising roadmap,” said Alex Zukerman, Sapiens’ vice president of product marketing and strategy.
Mirantis Partner with NetApp for OpenStack Environments Mirantis, the pure-play OpenStack company, has announced a joint partnership with NetApp to combine the stability and agility of Mirantis OpenStack with NetApp’s storage solutions.
Working together, Mirantis and NetApp will provide customers in-depth joint testing, validations, and reference architectures. “NetApp is a vital contributor to OpenStack, a charter member of the OpenStack Foundation, and
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a visionary in bringing missioncritical data to the cloud,” said Kamesh Pemmaraju, vice president of product marketing, Mirantis. “The partnership will help put our joint expertise into the hands of the user.”
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Women in business
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Your perception is your reality
prepare meetings and control of driven by your actions. Change the controls on top of redundant your perception and different reconciliations. behaviour will follow. If you see people as ‘idiots’, you On the shop floor we knew will be acting and talking to them where the breaks were in the as they are ‘idiots’ and they will process and who was not pulling start acting as ‘idiots’ for you. their weight. However, the boss Your brain will be prompted to would not hear us out - how can see only the situations that he take ideas from the Muppets? confirm your truth – they are If only he started seeing capable, ‘idiots’, they cannot do anything responsible adults around - and right. acting, communicating, trusting When you see people as them in that way. capable and good at what they do (mature, responsible), you If something went wrong he create an environment for them By Ania Lichota could then have a matured and your relationship with them conversation with those involved. to move in the desired direction You have probably heard this It would start transforming the of maturity, responsibility and phrase before, but did you ever environment from the worst accountability. pause to consider its nightmare run by fear and stress significance in leadership and to pleasant, on the edge At the beginning of my career I lifestyle? I once had a boss, an cohesion. was trembling when speaking to MD, who genuinely wanted the vice-presidents and senior people to use their own brains; How about you? How do you folks. I had the perception that even in a very procedure-led see the people below or above they were bigger than life. One (prescriptive) environment. you? Who are you talking to? evening I was sitting next to the When something went wrong What is your inner dialog about head of the business (five ranks and junior staff said, “I followed them? Does your boss seem above me) without realising. We the procedure”, the boss would domineering or patronising? had a tremendous conversation turn to his management team Always poking at you for going to about holiday, him adopting kids, (me included) and shout, “How pick your kids up from school too me climbing Mount Everest and can we turn those Muppets into early? Or perhaps they are weak, cats (which we both liked). capable, responsible adults?!” helpless, inexperienced or too Afterwards somebody said, emotional? How do you perceive “Wow, you know Mike on such a The problem was that as he the people below you or those personal level! You laughed a lot saw Muppets below him, his you work with? together”. That evening changed actions, communication, my approach forever. I started thinking and behaviour were Your perception ‘runs’ your seeing people for who I wanted guided by seeing Muppets leadership style. Your style and them to be and mysteriously rather than capable, your actions are directly most people turned out to be the responsible adults. Hence the correlated to how you view the way I pictured them to be. results were near-misses, sign people and the situation. The Enjoy working on your off over a sign off, meetings to results of your leadership are perceptions.
Ania Lichota is an Executive Coach, Inspirational Speaker, Extreme Adventurer and Philanthropist. Ania left Poland in ‘96 with one bag on a bus to study at the LSE. Since then she’s visited 67 countries, lived in 9, worked in 1 7 at Senior Executive positions in financial services. Ania has built, restructured, liquidated and integrated businesses in 4 languages. She has a double MSc, MBA and PhD in International Leadership. She has climbed the highest peak on every continent including Mount Everest and is the author of the book, ‘Why the hell bother? How climbing the Seven Summits changed my life’. Ania received the Woman of the Year award in London and Inclusive and Inspirational Leadership award from the UBS chairman. She has served on the executive boards of diversity networks and The Attlee Foundation. For further information visit www.insideout.biz
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Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Women in Business: Online
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SIMPLY TANYA
S
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he’s one ofthis generation’s rising YouTube stars, but she loves nothing more than a walk on her favourite childhood beach and a good old roast dinner. Tanya Burr, author ofLove Tanya, is about as down-to-earth as they come in this fast-paced digital age. Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Women in Business: Online With a stonking 2,805,823 subscribers on YouTube, Tanya’s make-up tutorials and lifestyle videos garner around 500,000 views each. Yet like most of us, Tanya never saw this coming. “I always dreamed big, which you will see me talk about in the book as well. I knew that I would do something interesting with my life. But I never knew that this would be my life,” she says. She started out when those close to her gave her a nudge in the right direction. “My fiancé’s sisters taught me how to do make-up – they’re make-up teachers – and they said that YouTube would be a great outlet for me to try out the different make-up looks I was learning. So I started with my make-up tutorials and then I started to diversify my content and now I do anything from baking to follow me around on my day videos with a handheld camera.” Tanya’s hard-working family have been hugely encouraging for her YouTube career, and she credits a strong work ethic for the success of herself, her fiancé and his sisters. “My family support me with everything I do. They’re always there at every launch I do – at my make-up launches, and my book launch. They’ve always encouraged me to do whatever I
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Norwich recently and I had a mum stop me in the street and say ‘my daughter is too shy to come up to you (her daughter was 1 5) but I just want to say thank you so much for being such a good role model for her. I feel confident in her watching your videos.” With the book, her YouTube channel and now the Tanya Burr cosmetics make-up line under her belt, Tanya is dreaming even bigger. “I would love to see Tanya Burr cosmetics have enough products to have a whole make-up counter. I also really want to try acting and do a few things outside of YouTube. I “I think it was when I got am looking into the best acting recognised in Sydney when I was traveling in 201 0. It was the classes in London at the moment.” first time I had ever been What started off as a hobby has recognised and I was on the already become a book and a other side of the world. Then I makeup line, not to mention an thought ‘wow, this is really a invitation to all the best parties. thing.’” With such a pleasant presence, With acting classes in the bag? it’s no surprise youngsters look Watch this spot. up to her. “It’s an honour to be considered a role model,” she says. “For example, I was in want and believed in me. She first realised that her YouTube career was something of note when she was stopped in the street on holiday.
Love, Tanya, by Tanya Burr is out now (published in Michael Joseph hardback, £1 2.99) Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Media/Advertising/PR
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Alex Lubar Appointed CEO McCann London
McCann Worldgroup has appointed Alex Lubar as CEO of McCann London. Currently McCann Worldgroup's New York-based Global Chief Marketing Officer, Lubar will transition to his new role beginning January 201 6. He succeeds Zaid Al-Zaidy, who is leaving the agency. Lubar will work closely with joint ECDs and Presidents Rob Doubal and Lolly Thomson. Lubar, who is from the UK,
joined McCann in 201 2 as CMO of McCann North America, where he oversaw Left to right: Lolly all new Thomson, Alex Lubar and Rob business Doubal. Image activity in credit: McCann the region Worldgroup and led the efforts that resulted in the addition of clients such as the United States Postal Service, Lockheed Martin, Zurich Insurance, SABIC, and Jose Cuervo. "As CMO, Alex's multidiscipline approach to helping our clients navigate the complexities of the marketing business today and finding solutions to the challenges facing their brands has led to terrific opportunities for us and our clients. Becoming CEO of our growing London
agency is the natural evolution of the job Alex has been doing globally with both new and existing clients," said Harris Diamond, Chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup. Mark Lund, CEO of McCann Worldgroup UK, said: "The power of McCann Worldgroup is in its ability to deliver multiplatform integrated solutions for its clients. The potential of this is particularly strong in the UK where Worldgroup has some great companies whose capabilities span the broadest range of channels. Alex is a charismatic and dynamic leader and integrator who will fit brilliantly with Rob and Lolly." Speaking on his new appointment Alex Lubar said: "I'm tremendously excited and fortunate to be working with Mark, Rob, Lol and the whole London team. I look forward to building on their growth and creative output."
Tom Jenen To Head Polar's Global Expansion Tom Jenen: President, International, Polar Image credit: Polar
Polar has hired Tom Jenen as President, International to lead
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its fast-expanding global business. Tom Jenen has nearly 20 years of experience leading digital media and advertising technology sales and marketing organizations in the USA and global markets, especially EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Most recently, Jenen was Head of Marketplace Development for Northern Europe at Google, helping lead strategy and execution for
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Google's premium programmatic business. Before that, Jenen launched Admeld (acquired by Google in 2011 ) in Europe, helping publishers in 1 6 countries boost ad revenue through its sell-side platform. "Programmatic has been a true transformation for publishers, but that job is done. Where will publishers make revenue in the *next* five years? I was looking for an opportunity to help develop truly innovative technology solutions to that problem, and at Polar we have a chance to do exactly that. It's a perfect fit," said Jenen.
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Entrepreneur Focus
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"My Early Businesses Were Funded With Money Gifted and Loaned"
Daniel Green: Founder of Flendr
W
ith the lending ofmoney to family and friends estimated at £12.5bn, Daniel Green's latest venture, Flendr, is tapping into this market. Ambitious as it may sound, Daniel explains why the F2F sector can't be ignored. Words: Ronnie Ajoku Daniel Green is a highly successful entrepreneur with a track record in inventing and scaling businesses. In 1 999 he sold The Brand Centre, a business he built to Moss Bross. He then went on to create YouMeTV, which helped the public choose better television, phone and internet providers, and sold it to BSkyB in 2005. Following this, in 201 0 Daniel launched the UK’s most successful solar business – HomeSun – which was later sold
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to Aviva. “I got started as an entrepreneur because I had ideas and a real conviction that I was the best person to try and make them work. Of course it was hard work, but I was in control,” he says. His latest venture is an online lending platform aimed at the 'family and friends' market called Flendr. If there was one quality he possess that has helped him most in business it is Persistence. “If I
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“Flendr is about personal trust not for profit-making out ofstrangers"
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Entrepreneur Focus
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“I got started as an entrepreneur because I had ideas and a real conviction that I was the best person to try and make them work" think an idea is good, I just carry on until I find the way that it will work. It means twisting and turning and you don’t always end up where you thought you would but that is what enterprise is all about.” Daniel's view on efforts made by the government to enable entrepreneurs is a positive one, however, no so for the banks. “The government is doing some good stuff actually. I’d like to see surety about policy – so that you can build a business on firm ground; shifting sand makes things 1 0 times more difficult. The whole lending landscape – especially for small businesses – needs addressing; it’s a mammoth challenge and from what I see the banks aren’t dealing with it.” Speaking on the origin of Flendr and how the concept came about, Daniel points to the fact that a lot of it was down to personal experience mixed with an eye for business. “My early businesses were funded with money gifted and loaned to me by people who wanted to help. Flendr taps into a market where as estimated £1 2.5bn is being lent directly between family/friends each year. Family and friends lending or ‘F2F’, is the biggest lending and fundraising space (four times payday loan market, and 80x bigger than guarantor market) and there are thousands of people all over the country who are turning to family and friends to help support personal or local causes they care about. So that was one insight. “And then my wife is a huge organiser – I go home and find that she’s trying to collect for a teacher’s present, or we’re going on holiday with friends
"Family and friends lending or ‘F2F’, is the biggest lending and fundraising space, four times the payday loan market"
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and she’s sending round a note with a tally. It’s lovely but it’s a headache that could so easily be avoided by using the collections functionality of Flendr. “Finally there is fundraising for local activities; there are thousands of them happening every day. We don’t believe that the 5% charged by some fundraising platforms is right. We charge a fairer 2% - no sign up fees, no monthly retainer. With volume, we can make that work. “On one platform, Flendr makes it easy to fundraise, collect, donate, and even lend money within groups. Once you use it, you won’t look at anything else.” Flendr appears to have cornered a lucrative market while differentiating itself from other lending platforms at the same time. “We’re for the local stuff that may feel too small for other platforms but is important to communities; the swimathon for equipment for the school gym, the dinner in aid of a local piece of architecture, hiring the pitch for 5-a-side football or pooling money from guests for a fantastic wedding. We are about the things that make friends and communities work. “Flendr is also about personal trust – it’s not for profit-making out of strangers, like P2P lending – it is about helping people reach their goals in a transparent way.”
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Event Review
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ad:tech – The Next Big Thing By Andrew Lockley Ad:tech runs annually at Olympia. It’s where the advertising and marketing worlds gather to see the latest technology. Here, the tip of the spear is the “Next Big Thing” startup stage. The finalists, selected from over 1 20 groundbreaking ad tech firms, lined up to be judged.
also suggests better alternatives.
is anything more than an alsoran in the video race.
So post makes sample delivery Pixoneye showed their “so
a new and exciting experience, and even makes it viable for premium brands. Their system allows the distribution of samples through personal recommendations and social networks. This leads to high engagement – without The entries were judged by luminaries from Microsoft, Direct compromising on perceived value, or relying on expensive Line and sponsor Unilever. ‘spray and pray’ distribution. Jeremy Basset, Head of Unilever Foundry, is responsible Adimo puts the ‘wow’ factor into for the firm’s marketing and innovation strategy. The pitching boring banner ads, by allowing firms were doubtlessly keen to you to add a product to your get a piece of Unilever’s huge marketing chequebook. It’s always tricky for ambitious startups to reach major enterprises, and this kind of competition is often the best way to secure access. Unlike many supported events, “The Next Big supermarket cart with a click. Thing” isn’t a PR exercise, with You don’t even need to leave the previous entrant “seen it” rolling page you’re reading. If you like that Twix or toothpaste, just click out a pilot with Unilever in 1 0 the ad – and it will be in next global markets. week’s shopping delivery. Now, on to the startups…
clever it’s creepy” technology. They analyse phone photos, to get app users’ demographic group and consumption preferences – as their tech can tell the difference between family snaps and tequila slammers. Their technology easily sneaks through the app store’s permissions screen, and enables advertisers to show their content only to the right people. The winner was Ben from “Relative insights”. Their product picks out demographic group, and buying habits, using nothing more than the words consumers use. For example, older women in the US ‘apply’ make-up, but younger women ‘wear’ make-up.
This technology was originally born to help catch online grooming – and security Phrasee takes automation to Karoline Gross from Smartzer customers certainly wouldn’t buy the next level. You’re probably presented their video hot spots. it if it didn’t work. A move from familiar with technology that can This is a crowded market, and law enforcement to marketing target and bid for ads it’s therefore important to show was a natural step. automatically. But have you ever differentiation. However, despite seen software that actually an engaging pitch, she certainly Ad:tech will be back in 201 6, writes ad copy? Phrasee not and let’s hope the “Next Big wasn’t keen to flesh out with only analyses the emotional additional detail afterwards. That Thing” is, too. impact of the language used, but made it hard to know if Smartzer Andrew Lockley is an entrepreneur and the Founder of Business Training News: businesstrainingnews.com
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Volume 2 Issue 5, 201 5
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Greatest Potential
By Ronnie Ajoku
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Greatest Potential
The Greatest Potential event organised by Tigrent Learning did not fall short of expectations, to say the very least. Hosted by the iconic radio presenter, Angie Greaves, Greatest Potential was definitely worth attending. Speakers on the day included Erin Brockovich (President of Brockovich Research & Consulting), Dan Colbey (Former MD Google UK and Ireland), Judy Robinett (Startup Funding Expert and author of “How To Be A Power Connector�) Dame Kelly Holmes (Olympic Gold Medallist) Rohan Weerasinghe (Property Investment Guru), Alistair Crooks (Master Stock Trader and Investor) and JT DeBolt (Mission Accomplishment Expert). Here are a few takeaways. Rohan Weerasinghe (Property Investment Guru) spoke on how to start a property business and the best paths to follow, using clearly outlined processes. Using his 6 brick formula Rohan took his audience through various steps. For example brick one's education and strategy contains such points as re-education, mentors and system. While brick two's market research looks into buying low end property and how to do it using his SAP (Strategy, Area, Property) formula. Erin Brockovich jokingly introducing herself as the 'real' Erin Brockovich and her talk focused on tapping into your passion and making a change in 'your own back yard'. She spoke about her 'MAP' for success; observation, common sense,respect, leadership, accountability, trust and gut feeling. According to Erin, the 'MAP' can be flipped to fit any situation. Another area Erin focused on was that of building trust, saying that we all want the same things, namely love, security and stability. She additionally urged the audience to develop sticktoitiveness (or stick-to-it-iveness) and to make sure that your head, life and body all feel good or something is off.
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Alistair Crooks (Master Stock Trader and Investor)
Angie Greaves (Radio Presenter) interviewing Dame Kelly Holmes (Olympic Gold Medallist)
Rohan Weerasinghe (Property Investment Guru)
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Greatest Potential Erin also spoke her formula, RAM (Realisation, Action and Motivation). JT DeBolt, who is also the author of “Flight Plan To Success” was also very interesting to listen to. He said, “in life you get what you put in, sometimes far more,” and so encouraged the audience to write their 1 00 % commitment down on paper there and then. He reassured the audience that we all have everything we need to accomplish all we want. Challenges he said are due to the following; lack of focus, being overwhelmed, procrastination, confusion and lacklustre results. On the other hand the five pillars of high performance are; clear vision, solid strategy, thorough preparation, purposeful execution and following through. Judy Robinett spoke on how to maximize your potential for happiness and success by gaining access to the right people. She told the audience that nothing happens without people. To reach your goals you need resources, and thankfully, there is an abundance of resources with $7b people, $369Tn in global private wealth projected by Credit Suisse by 201 9, information doubling every few months and countless opportunities. Judy also taught how to quickly build a powerful network that gives you access to resources — work smarter not harder. Other items covered include art of the ask, simple strategies you can do daily that take little time but have profound results and adding value to others.
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Erin Brockovich (President of Brockovich Research & Consulting)
JT DeBolt (Mission Accomplishment Expert). Judy Robinett (Startup Funding Expert and author of “How To Be A Power Connector”)
Dame Kelly Holmes on stage
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Self Publishing
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A Story About a Story... Lessons on Book Writing …and making it up as I went along, I didn’t know!
By Michael Carter Ten years ago, I wrote a business start-up book called ‘It’s all cobblers!’. I knocked on nine doors before I found a publisher. If I wanted an advance (which I did) I had to sign a two book deal.
I sold more copies than they did, which was a big disappointment. However one copy reached one of those international travel guide publishers who liked my style so much that, subject to budget, they wanted little me to write a start-up guide for them – but I couldn’t because of the earlier two-book deal I had signed. To exit the deal, and be free, I started writing a story. I had no idea of the plot, simply that I would pick it up from time to time and add to it. Incomplete at 40,000 words, I sent it to my first publisher. By return: 1 . They didn’t publish fiction so no thanks 2. I was out of my two book obligation 3. They’d read it all and wanted to know what happened next
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Much later, I finished the story at 87,000 words and asked a good friend (Ian) to edit it. I expected it back covered in red ink – and I didn’t imagine he would take as long as he did. But to my final surprise, the returned edited document had grown under his care to over 1 20,000 words. As a reward, I made him co-author and we picked ‘Michael Carlyle’ as our nom-de-plume. Whilst waiting, I wrote the sequel and the sequel’s sequel – or completed the trilogy if you prefer. Now nigh on 400,000 words exist about the adult, action adventures of a former military man who finds himself as the Prime Minister’s husband – but wants out. Rather than embarrass the missus, he wants to fake his own death, only after he has assembled some wealth ‘on the other side’. In three volumes, our hero (or villain – test readers were split 50/50)
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works his way through boardrooms and bedrooms, in a variety of mundane and attractive worldwide locations in pursuit of his other funding. I wanted to use two devices – firstly never giving the hero a name and secondly using ‘PM’ as in ‘Prime Minister’ in numerous different ways. I ended up with 87 usages but only the three book titles and the trilogy retain that device – the others are on the cutting room floor and the character is identified as JJ. Damn editors! Damn testreaders! And finally, selfpublished, they are now books and kindles at Amazon. Please take peek at Michael Carlyle – Precious Metal, Prehistoric Man, Premeditated Murder - the Perfect Madam trilogy.
"One copy reached one ofthose international travel guide publishers who liked my style so much that they wanted little me to write a start-up guide for them"
If you need help writing your book contact us by clicking here
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