YCEOM Issue 3 by Young CEO Monthly

YOUNG

CEOMONTHLY 1

ISSUE 3 | FREE

The fully interactive London tube map INTERVIEW WITH Innovators Find out who they are, inside

Foreword 3 EDITORIAL

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elcome to the 3rd Edition of Young CEO Monthly, the magazine that aims to bring young known and especially un-known business owners from the age of 16-30 to the attention of the public. Probably like me you love using the apps on your smart phone and are occasionally on the lookout for that app that will make the day to day running of your business, work and social life a bit easier; particularly when it comes to getting around London quickly and efficiently. In this month’s edition we would like to introduce you to some young innovators who would like to change the way we use London’s tube map today and probably many other transport maps in the future.

Young CEO Monthly is published by CEO Monthly Publications. Opinions and views expressed do not necessarily reflect CEOMP policy. CEOMP accepts no responsibilty for views expressed by contributors. Advertisements and reader offers are not endorsed by CEOMP.

We hope that their story will inspire you to go on an entrepreneurial journey and above all you’ll share it with your friends and family.

George Boateng Editor

Quote

of the

Month

“If you’re truly passionate about something, you’ll find a way to make it work, if not, you’ll find excuses.” Anonymous

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Content Page 3 – Foreword Page 4 – Cover Story Page 7 – Business Advice of the Month Page 9 – CEO/Company Profile Page 10 – Classifieds Page11 – Reflections

4 Cover Story

The fully interactive London tube map Innovators

Tubenav Team (left to right): Michael Boham, Jon Holt and Daniel Botcherby

Michael: We observed a clear innovation gap in the public transportation system. With the advent and successful implementation of oyster cards, hybrid buses, in-station WiFi and contactless payments we simply felt inspired to convey this come of age level of innovation to the iconic Tube Map.

Daniel: My background was in Accounting & Finance however the foundation of my entrepreneurial pursuits started in managing my own rock band at university! This continued after Uni where I worked for a boutique management firm before moving onto more finance related roles. Throughout this time I’d been working Michael on a number of fantastic startup ideas and I think it all came together when we settled on Tubenav.

What was your background before starting your business(s)?

What do you find to be the best thing about the industry your business is in?

Michael: I studied Engineering with Business Management and also hold an MSc in Finance and Investment Management. I developed a flair for entrepreneurship on being involved in a number of business competitions growing up and successfully launching and growing my very own student society at University. Dan and I worked together on a number of ventures in the entertainment, lifestyle and leisure space which set us on the right path for the realisation of this Tubenav opportunity.

Michael: It’s aligned to our everyday lives. We are a very socially active bunch so it’s always fun to operate in an industry you personally enjoy and have significant exposure to. It’s also a very dynamic industry allowing us to constantly devise innovative ways of delivering value to our users.

hat inspired you to start your business and when did you start it?

Daniel: I’d say being at the forefront of entertainment and leisure is exciting. Especially being able to be the tastemakers to a whole generation of people visiting or new to London, it’s a real labour of love to

5 give back to a city something I’ve been blessed with experiencing all these years. What three areas do you focus most on in your business? Michael: We constantly work on various aspects of the business but I would say the bulk of our focus lies in product development in constantly responding to feedback and further shaping the product to suit the needs of our users. This is incumbent in our recent 300% increase in user-engagement in just one month. Strategic partnerships also form a key point of focus for us in leveraging key alliances to bolster our feature offering and user proposition. Marketing inevitably occupies a prominent part of our day to day activities in increasing our brand awareness and reaching out to prospective users and local businesses. What is your work ethic like? Michael: I think it is essential to put in significant time and effort as at such an early stage of the business lifecycle where we are most susceptible to brand perception and competitive pressures. We are a very hard working team but we also maintain a level of flexibility as we deeply trust in each other’s ability to deliver. We do try to maintain a reasonable work-life balance by engaging in other interests outside of the business. How did you fund your start-up? Daniel: We’ve been funding our start-up initially through the investment of family and friends and our own savings. My advice to any start-up would be to prove your concept as early as possible, not only will it validate your model but provide your team with confidence!

in London and eventually all metro-linked cities globally. We truly believe that the potential for Tubenav is limitless. Tubenav is capable of adapting its platform across multiple countries that have dedicated transport networks. We believe that cities with metros can be revitalized through the use of Tubenav, enhancing tourism and local business for all. What would you consider your main achievement so far in your business and personal life? Michael: For me it is definitely successfully launching Tubenav and receiving fantastic reviews from our early users. It has been a completely surreal experience to finally bring this idea to life and receive feedback from users such as “I am addicted to your site”. It makes all the hard work and sacrifices along the way worthwhile. However, this is only the just beginning. Daniel: Absolutely – launching Tubenav has been an incredible experience and the result of a number of years of persistent hard work. That being said, I know there are only more opportunities to be realised down the line. Where do you see yourself and your business in 10 years’ time? Michael: In a boardroom with Jimmy Lee of JP Morgan discussing IPO plans for Tubenav. What is your #1 advice to another young person thinking about starting their own business? Michael: Be stubborn with your vision and flexible with your plans.

If an investor wanted to invest in your business what would they be investing in? Michael: This is a fantastic opportunity for investors to be a part of our vision of a digital institution for public transportation starting

tubenav

www.tubenav.com

6 Business Advice of the Month

9 helpful tips for growing a successful business by Chris Seabury| Investopedia Writer

o succeed in business today, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organizational skills. Many people start a business thinking that they’ll turn on their computers or open their doors and start making money - only to find that making money in a business is much more difficult than they thought. You can avoid this in your business ventures by taking your time and planning out all the necessary steps you need to reach to achieve success. Read on to find out how. 1. Get Organized To be successful in business you need to be organized. Organization will help you complete tasks and stay on top of things to be done. A good way to do this is to create a to-do list each day - as you complete each item, check it off your list. This will ensure that you’re not forgetting anything and you’re completing all the tasks that are essential to the survival of your business. 2. Keep Detailed Records All successful businesses keep detailed records. By keeping detailed records, you’ll know where the business stands financially and what potential challenges you could be facing. Just knowing this gives you time to create strategies to overcome the obstacles that can prevent you from being successful and growing your business. 3. Analyze Your Competition Competition breeds the best results. To be successful, you can’t be afraid to study and learn from your competitors. After all, they may be doing something right that you can implement in your business to make more money. 4. Understand the Risks and Rewards The key to being successful is taking calculated risks to help your business grow. A good question to ask is “What’s the downside?” If you can answer this question, then you know what the worstcase scenario is. This knowledge will allow you to take the kinds of calculated risks that can generate tremendous rewards for your business. 5. Be Creative Always be looking for ways to improve

your business and to make it stand out from the competition. Recognize that you don’t know everything and be open to new ideas and new approaches to your business. 6. Stay Focused The old saying that “Rome was not built in a day” applies here. Just because you open a business doesn’t mean that you’re going to immediately start making money. It takes time to let people know who you are, so stay focused on achieving your short-term goals and give the rest time to come together on its own. 7. Prepare to Make Sacrifices The lead-up to starting a business is hard work, but after you open your doors, your work has just begun. In many cases, you have to put in more time than you would if you were working for someone else. In turn, you have to make sacrifices, such as spending less time with family and friends in order to be successful.

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Just because you open a business doesn’t mean that you’re going to immediately start making money.

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8. Provide Great Service There are many successful businesses that forget that providing great customer service is important. If you provide better service for your customers, they’ll be more inclined to come to you the next time they need something instead of going to your competition.

7 9. Be Consistent Consistency is key component to making money in business. You have to consistently keep doing the things necessary to be successful day in and day out. This will create long-term positive habits that will help you make money over the long term.

Conclusion Starting and running and running a successful business can be rewarding and challenging. Success requires focus, discipline and perseverance. However, success will not come over night - it requires a long-term focus and that you remain consistent in challenging environments.

Business / CEO Profile 9

The 2nd most powerful woman in business I

ndra K. Nooyi is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo. In its global food and beverage portfolio, PepsiCo has 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo’s main businesses include Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and PepsiCola. Mrs. Nooyi is the chief architect of Performance with Purpose, PepsiCo’s promise to do what’s right for the business by doing what’s right for people and the planet. Mrs. Nooyi was named President and CEO on October 1, 2006 and assumed the role of Chairman on May 2, 2007. She has directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade and led its restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc., the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats that brought the vital Quaker and Gatorade businesses to PepsiCo, the merger with PepsiCo’s anchor bottlers, and the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann, the largest international acquisition in PepsiCo’s history. Prior to becoming CEO, Mrs. Nooyi served as President and Chief Financial Officer beginning in 2001, when she was also named to PepsiCo’s Board of Directors. Before joining PepsiCo in 1994, Mrs. Nooyi spent four years as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Strategic Marketing for Asea Brown Boveri, a Zurichbased industrials company. Between 1986 and 1990, Mrs. Nooyi worked for Motorola, where she was Vice President and Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning, having joined the company as the business development executive for its automotive and industrial electronic group. Prior to Motorola, she spent six years directing international corporate strategy projects at The Boston Consulting Group. She is also a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Successor Fellow of Yale Corporation and was appointed to the U.S.-India CEO Forum by the Obama Administration. She holds a B.S. from Madras Christian College, an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta and a Master of Public and Private Management from Yale University. Mrs. Nooyi is married and has two daughters.

Adapted from pepsico.com

10 Classified

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Time To Reflect 11

Why are social enterprises relevant in the 21st century? by Victor Azubuike | pensivevictor.blogspot.com

With the globalisation of our world it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to be completely unaware of the unfolding major issues arising across the globe. From the chokehold of extremist groups in the Middle East to the Ebola crisis engulfing sub-Saharan Africa, it is without any doubt to see that we are truly living through an interesting time. In this modern era, social entrepreneurs carry the responsibility of righting many of society’s wrongs. They judge their activities by their success in bringing about desired transformations, whether in their local community or a jurisdiction in another continent. Well-known twentieth-century figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Muhammad Yunus, who work(ed) to improve their communities not via government action but through commerce, advocacy and community organising, are also social entrepreneurs. The spread of the Ebola disease in some West African nations, has caused concern for their global community. But with all the pandemonium surrounding the outbreak - arguably little has been done to prevent the spread on the ground. This is exactly the problem two social entrepreneurs are aiming to tackle. Matthias Metternich and William Cookson - are aiming to raise funds and awareness for the combating of Ebola in West Africa. They are doing this through the campaign they launched last month, Carebnb. Carebnb invites visitors to the site to book a night of care and treatment on behalf of someone affected by the virus in West Africa where care is limited and medical volunteers lack training. Site creator, Matthias Metternich, says: “We’ve used our skills to build several for-profit products and services that disrupt or innovate things, but it’s not everyday that you can apply these skills to make a difference and even help save the world. Rather than donate $100, we challenged ourselves to apply the tools we have to create something with the potential to capture imaginations and rally people toward a common goal globally. We’re thrilled to see Carebnb take off the way it has and proud to prove that small ideas born from behind a desk can change lives in places far from home.” Also considering the effects of natural disasters and the road towards to recovery, social entrepreneurs also have a very important role. Many government-led responses to disaster encounter impediments because, though officials possess requisite expertise, they may lack the local knowledge needed to apply that expertise effectively. Local social entrepreneurs, on the other hand, succeed in post-disaster environments, as in non-disaster ones, because they are integral to the community. Thus they possess local knowledge and can act to meet the specific needs of their communities. I leave you with a poignant quote from Bill Drayton, one of the world’s foremost thinkers in the world of social entrepreneurship. “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.” It’s about time we cast our nets.