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| Startups Live Liverpool, 20 November 2007 |
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| Romy Fraser, Neal's Yard Remedies |
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Dr Moneeb Awan, eSAY Ltd |
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The last in this season’s startupslive events was an evening of contrasting personalities which highlighted the fact that there’s no uniform personality when it comes to being an entrepreneur. Romy Fraser, founder of Neal’s Yard Remedies, talked about the unwavering passion for her products which led to the successful growth, and eventual sale, of her luxury cosmetics and herbal remedies business. A fervent advocate of finding the right team to develop a business, she explained why some of the founding staff are still with the company today. Dr Moneeb Awan, of technology solutions firm eSay, also a passionate advocate of the potency of the perfect team, confessed that he would have failed if it were not for the complimentary skills of his two business partners. Delegates were also given a fascinating insight into the power of online marketing by Microsoft’s Steve Clayton, who explained that a successful online presence can be a small business owner’s most lethal weapon in today’s business environment.
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| Startups Live South West London, 12 November 2007 |
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| Michael Smith, firebox.com & Mind Candy |
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John Paleomylites, BeatThatQuote.com |
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Networking Guests |
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Delegates of the South West London Startups Live event had the chance to network with like-minded entrepreneurs at the home of English rugby at Twickenham Stadium. Michael Smith, founder of Firebox.com described the knock backs, perseverance and sheer hard work that went into founding his online store amid the dot com crash. He talked about getting people to take his, at that time, novel concept seriously, and how having a business partner made the lows so much easier and the highs so much more fun. John Paleomylites, founder of price comparison site BeatThatQuote.com, also talked about the benefits of being surrounded by the right people and improving on an existing business model.
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| Startups Live Leeds, 7 November 2007 |
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| Sahar Hashemi, Co-Founder, Coffee Republic |
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Gavin Wheeldon, Founder, Applied Language Solutions |
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The Leeds event was a lively affair with some enthusiastic networkers making the most of buzzing entrepreneurial crowd. Keynote speaker Sahar Hashemi described her rollercoaster journey from city lawyer to founder of high street giant Coffee Republic. She recalled the efforts involved in getting the project off the ground, recounting tales of excessive espresso consumption and the joys of moving back in with her mother. Gavin Wheeldon, founder of Applied Language Solutions made his mark during the energetic panel debate. Late payments, business response times, facing off the competition – these were just a few of the issues covered by the panel and delegates, who were all positively brimming with passion, zeal and excitement for their business ventures.
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| Startups Live Central London, 17 October 2007 |
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| Mike Clare, Founder, Dreams Plc |
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The Speaking Panel |
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Mike Clare gave a fun and frank account of how he grew his £200m Dreams PLC empire to a packed audience. Highlights included a Billy Connolly-assisted x-rated explanation of why the customer is always right; Mike telling us why accountants remain accountants while those that take risks go on to prosper; and his unique acroynm-based approach to hiring superior staff.
Tom Allason, founder of eCourier, revealed the secrets to upstaging the bigboys as a plucky start-up and the lessons he learned from under recruiting.
Vodafone’s Georgina Gilmore, then shared how technology has enabled her husband to start-up and establish his own business.
A lively panel discussion ensued with Mike bravely bucking the trend for increased corporate social responsibility policies in small businesses by insisting it’s a big business concern and urging start-ups to focus on making profit and paying taxes; while Tom extolled the virtues of engaging clients with a clear USP.
Inspired by hearing the stories behind two truly great businesses, delegates then reconvened for arguably the most frenzied network session we've seen on the Startups Live tour so far with several Startups Awards finalists spotted among the crowd, no doubt weighing up their chances!
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| Startups Live Bristol, 10 October 2007 |
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Tim Smit, Founder,
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Gayna Hart, Founder, Quicksilva Software Solutions |
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Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project, gave delegates at the Bristol event a truly inspiring speech. The Cornwall-based social entrepreneur had the audience cheering and clapping as he described why it’s so important not to give up on your ideas, or let others dissuade you from seeing a project though to the end. He also shared his unconventional recruitment methods, and emphasised the importance of taking risks.
Gayna Hart, who set up IT firm Quicksilva, then talked about her experiences of leaving the corporate world to set up a local business. She explained to the audience why running her business is so rewarding, and why her loyal staff have followed her from city to city as she’s relocated.
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