Tall Man Business

My last post emphasised the need for start-ups to prioritise commercial focus on generating Sales.

What it didn’t offer was any guidance on the optimum strategy to achieve this objective.

In business, often one of the most difficult things to achieve are Sales - the acquisition of paying punters. 

Sales rarely happen without consideration and trust. Therefore, making sales is usually dependent on building relationships; possibly between individuals; often relationships with your brand.

Equally rare is for Sales conversion to happen as a consequence of a single moment of communication. Rapport is usually a key ingredient of trust and consideration.

And so, what are you going to do to give yourselves the permission to build dialogue - to create an on-going communication between you and the people who might buy your product?

Why innovation is so important.

If the primary objective is sales - then the number one strategy is building meaningful dialogue with customers and prospects to enable sales to happen.

In my experience, the communication of innovation is the most engaging and effective route with which to execute this strategy.

And if you have any doubt about this, simply look at the global impact of Apple’s #WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) - or the fact that half way through this week’s Apple event, Google chose to announce its $1bn+ acquisition of Waze.

But this phenomenon is not unique to the Apples and Googles of the world. It is absolutely relevant to all companies large and small.

People like to hear that you and your business are progressing. They want to hear what’s new. They want to hear that you have invested in and worked hard to bring new propositions for them to enjoy. They like discovery and being the first to discover something new. They also like the idea that perhaps in some small way, that they may be a component of your success (ie. by buying your latest innovation). They want you to be successful, especially so if you have a worthy cause and lots of passion.

Innovation - and your announcement of it, gives you the permission to:

• Grow your audience
• To engage them in a compelling conversation
• A conversation that your customers and prospects want to hear
• It nudges them one step closer to actually buying something from you
• It potentially generates PR coverage, thereby extending your reach still further

If innovation is such an accelerant of sales, my request is not to fall into the belief that it can’t be engineered and planned for - to mistakenly assume that innovation is a mysterious elusive thing that only happens to rarely gifted people.

In my next post I’ll write about how best to plan innovation.

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Following my last post about entrepreneurs getting stuck - another common situation I see obstructing progress (and fast decision-making) in business is the dilema and debate regarding prioritisation.

It is incumbent on the leader/founder to steer the ship. To galvanise the team passionately in pursuit of a common goal.

Inconveniently, the truth is that of course there are always at least thirty eight things that will appear equally vital priorities. Even more inconveniently, it is inevitable that they will all require attention simultaneously.

But what this doesn’t tell the entrepreneur is what to focus on. And when delivered, what to choose next.

This is where I think business can learn a lot from sport.

Olympic teams (in virtually all sports) now have a ‘Director of Margin Gains’ - a person whose sole responsibility is to eek-out those tiny increments of performance improvement that cumulatively may result in a fractional enhancement of results.

In rowing, famously, the mantra is “Does it make the boat go faster?”. Anything that does not positively contribute to this objective is violently ignored or aborted.

The number one objective in sport is to win. I would like to suggest that the business equivalent of this is to make Sales. Therefore, focus your effort (and that of your team) on in ‘making the boat go faster’ - make all effort count with a positive impact to the pursuit of Sales.

When stuck on the issue of priorities: Always auto-default to Selling.

Getting customers to part with their money in return for what you do / offer is usually the hardest part of running a business.

And because it is so challenging I think entrepreneurs can be forgiven for sometimes having a natural tendency to avoid the difficult thing, and focus instead on ‘polishing’ the website / code / logo etc.

.

But if you want your start-up to fly, and/or if there is any doubt or confusion about priorities: Make Sales the number one priority.

“Does it make the boat go faster?” - my photo - an oar on display at the White Swan - a fabulous local pub on the Thames in Twickenham. 

It is a wonderful thing to spend time in the company of brilliant entrepreneurs and start-ups. At Wayra we’re surrounded by great talent. But even the best-of-the-best occasionally get stuck.

There are many causes for this to happen. This post suggests a way to tackle one such situation: Getting stuck when faced with a BIG decision.

Making decisions can be the life or death of a business. The significance and consequence of making a wrong decision is a common source of ‘decision-paralysis’. It is often easier to avoid the difficult decision than it is to determine it.

Which is why in an earlier post I advocated it is better to learn to recover more quickly rather than invest time perfecting decision-making.

One obvious antidote to the symptom of ‘getting-stuck’ is to seek guidance from an expert third party. Which is why I’ve also written about the importance of appointing brilliant Non-exec’s / Board advisors.

But what I want to capture in this post is a technique to affect how you deal with decision-making in difficult situations (rather than deferring to someone else). 

It’s incumbent on the boss to ‘call the shots’. Most decisions are relatively trivial and easy. However, some are momentous, for example: closing a deal; securing investment; dissolving a partnership; firing someone.

When faced with difficult decisions: 

• Tune-in to your intuition. 
• Listen to what it’s telling you. 
• Recognise when you are stuck.

And when you are stuck: Choose an easier question to answer.

Ask yourself whether the challenge you face can be broken down into smaller components. See if you can identify a different, smaller decision, which is inherently more easy, more obvious, less risky than the original question you were trying to answer.

Which may sound blindingly obvious - however, this is one of the most common situations that I encounter in mentoring entrepreneurs. And it’s the advice that often affects people most.

I’m not talking about ‘ducking the problem’. I’m simply talking about navigating it via smaller steps. Smaller steps that might enable you to change destination mid-course, rather than making one giant leap.

This approach is one of the reasons why I love digital businesses so much - in an on-line world new product propositions can be ‘A/B tested’ (ie. run multiple options simultaneously to see which one performs best) therefore avoiding an ‘either/or’ decision.

It is horrible watching someone who has ‘got stuck’ - but it is a pleasure if you can help unstick them.

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I’ve been asking a lot of people this question as an acid-test in interview. (‘Read more’ to find out why).

Clearly there is no right or wrong answer. The diversity (and quality) of answers is surprisingly vast. As is peoples’ ability to stick to answering within 30 seconds.

Working at Wayra, it is an unusual day if I’m not asked this question (in some form or other) - for real.

So here’s my answer:

“Identify the most powerful action that will move your business forward most; focus on its delivery ruthlessly; execute it brilliantly.”

Nailed. Or so I thought. Until I asked Mrs Devonshire, whose business mantra ‘top-trumped’ mine:

“Get paying punters - now. Winning paying customers is difficult. Everything else in business is easier by comparison - so focus on it immediately.”

I’m keen to hear your 30 second coaching wisdom. Please tweet your 30 second masterclass to me @Tallmanbusiness and/or #30secondbusinesscoach - I’ll post the best ones on the TallManBusiness blog. I’m especially hoping to hearing from superstars such as: Will King; Emma Jones; Raj Dey; Michael Acton-Smith; Mike Soutar; Doug Richard; Tamara Lohan; Dale Murray; Luke Johnson; Lawrence Tomlinson. And you!

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I recently wrote about how and why the appointment of Non-exec’s are vital to the success of start-ups (including also: Board advisors, external coaches and mentors).

The post included some thoughts and recommendations on how to secure good ones.

But what I didn’t comment on is, having recruited such expert help (outside of your core operating team), how do you tell if they are actually delivering a positive impact on your business?

Before answering this, let’s establish some simple ground rules. In order to ensure that you get the most out of your Board advisors, first you need to:

• Always make clear the help that you value most.
• Set and agree clear objectives.
• Diarise your meetings as far in advance as is practical …
• … and equally important, commit to their attendance.

It is about taking care to manage expectations, reciprocally.

For example: If you need doors opening - then make clear the doors that you want opened, the introductions you want affecting.

Meeting attendance is also a simple and effective first test. Good people are invariably acutely busy. They will not intend to let you down, but they may find the meetings difficult to attend. None attendance is easy to forgive, but does not contribute to the success of your business.

Let’s assume that you the above basic criteria is being met: you are meeting when you said you would; you are making clear the guidance you most value.

The performance assessment is a simple two stage process:

Step One:

Simply ask yourself: 

Did my mentoring session conclude with the identification of a distilled, concise and clearly defined action?

• If your answer is ‘yes’ - well done. Make sure that you write down the agreed action. You can now move-on to Step Two:
• If your answer is ‘no’ - then all that happened is that you had a nice conversation. Sadly, you don’t have time for nice conversations.

Step Two:

Time is unforgiving. After, say three weeks, your previous answer needs validating: simply ask yourself:

Has the agreed action been delivered?

• If your answer is ‘yes’ - well done (again). Commit to your next meeting with the Board advisor. When you meet, make sure that you acknowledge the achievement of the agreed action. And agree the next action. Repeat indefinitely.

• If your answer is ‘no’ - then all that happened is that you had a nice conversation. Sadly, you don’t have time for nice conversations.

Avoid conversations that amount to little more than “Blah Blah Blah”. 

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Working at Wayra, it is a privilege to meet and work with some of the best on entrepreneurs on earth.

Entrepreneurs are an interesting breed. They are rarely content to live alone with their relentless passion - they insist on spreading it about liberally in the hope of infecting others.

The best entrepreneurs are a constant source of energy and inspiration. They say things like (these quotes are not verbatim):

Live in the future. Build what’s missing.

The world is broken. Invent the solution.

Make stuff better than before you took it on.

Entrepreneurs see innovation as neither possible or impossible. They see innovation as inevitable. [An observation from Simon Prockter (CEO and Founder of Housebites) during a panel that we both participated in].

‘Inevitability’ is a great word that captures what this is all about. Great entrepreneurs see the realisation of their vision as something that is so inevitable it is as though it already exists.

Finally …

Connect with the twelve year old version of you. No limits. Full of curiosity and possibility.

… hence the photo.

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I think everyone that reads this blog will be aware of my passion for entrepreneurialism. Perhaps they are less aware that I’m equally passionate about swimming.

I believe that these two quite different activities are highly synergistic.

I swim three or four miles a week. It is rare that I don’t make the time to swim, even when travelling. And if I am forced to sacrifice my swimming, I greatly miss it.

I believe swimming is important, because:

• We all need some time exclusively to ourselves. Uninterrupted. Swimming is good for this.
• Time and space in which to either think, or conversely, to clear the mind and be devoid of thought.
• Swimming is a great way to keep fit. It provides an intense workout without the impact, stress and consequential injuries that other sports inflict on joints and muscles (especially running).

If you are an entrepreneur, I believe swimming (or any form of regular vigorous exercise) is fundamentally important to the success of your business because:

• Whether you like it or not, your team want a leader who looks after their well-being as actively as they look after the business. 
• Your team is not alone - investors possess a similar interest in your health, (and a keener eye).
• No-one in the team wants to see the visible consequence of stress and fatigue on their leader. It is totally fine for you to work too hard (they kinda expect it), but it is essentially that you do so gracefully. If they think that you are unable to cope; that running your business is either too difficult, or beyond your personal capabilities, they will not give you their unconditional support. Poor condition is a source of doubt.
• Journalists and commentators also have an interest in your condition too. It’s interesting when journalists include within their report their observations about the state of their interviewee. For example: “… so said the CEO, who sounded especially tired when asked about …”.

Your competitors will take an opportune look at you too. In both start-ups and in big corporates I have seen CEOs actively evaluate the condition of their peers. They want to know if you are struggling. Your pallor alone can speak volumes.

But more important than all of that, vigorous exercise is fundamental to the health, well-being and longevity of entrepreneurs. 

Last year, I had the privilege of travelling on the Entrepreneurs Express, a special train destined for the Made Festival in Sheffield. On-board I was delighted to meet and chat with Duncan Goodhew, the Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer.

Duncan explained his view that entrepreneurs are massively fuelled by adrenalin, the natural source of energy we all produce that super-charges us for either ‘fight or flight’. He said that whilst this is a fantastic and effective source of energy it is also highly dangerous if not used properly. Duncan believes that the heightened level of adrenalin on which many entrepreneurs thrive, needs to be regularly burnt-off or it becomes corrosively harmful. In his view our bodies simply are not designed for adrenalin-rocket-fuel to lay latently within us.

I think he’s spot-on.

Entrepreneurs, the health of your business starts with your well-being. Swim.

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At the beginning of the week I wrote a post to provide entrepreneurs with a To-do list for Week 1 of a start-up.

Now as the week draws to a close, I am compelled to issue a To-do list for Week 2.

At the end of your first week, take time off. Stop. Relax. Rest. Recover.

Take a moment to think.

Then:

Before the start of Week 2, singularly, define what is the most powerful action that you can deliver to move your business forward most.

Discuss and agree it with your team. And then, go and deliver it. Impactfully.

Repeat. Indefinitely.

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Today is a momentous day at Wayra London as we welcome the second cohort of brilliant new digital start-ups. It is Day 1 of the next chapter in the development of their businesses.

My advice to them is to embrace the experience and throw themselves at it whole-heartedly. Don’t waste a single second – you’ll be amazed how fast the time goes.

Start as you mean to go on.

Whether or not you are fortunate to have the benefits of a business accelerator like Wayra, I am keen to share with as many entrepreneurs as possible some of the core principles that I believe are fundamental to the success of a newly started business.

I am not going to publish on-goingly an entire weekly programme - but here I my thoughts and recommendations for success in that first vital week - may I strongly advise:

GET YOUR BUSINESS OFF TO A FLYING START IN THE FIRST WEEK.

An entrepreneurs ‘To do’ list for Week One of a start-up:

• Back-of-an-envelope summary: Write a succinct definition of your business / and it’s core proposition (date it - it will be interesting to see how this definition evolves over time). You’d be surprised how often entrepreneurs struggle with this simple task. If you can’t clearly and succinctly articulate what you do, how on earth to you expect others to ‘get-it’.
• Mentor wish list: Identify who your dream mentors are.  Shoot for the stars – start with Bill Gates and work down from there.
• Set-up Board meetings immediately.
• Investor plan: If you are not able to generate revenue immediately, your business will almost certainly require funding. Start the hunt for suitable investment / investors from day one. You must not delay – do not think of investment as a future event, you cannot afford to, literally.
• Accelerator plan: If you are lucky enough to have successfully made it into an accelerator, document what acceleration services you would benefit from most. Don’t be vague and write “mentoring”, be specific, for example: identify and name a potential customer you want help to win.
• Sales plan: I am often amazed at how frequently start-ups convince themselves and give themselves permission to not start selling immediately. I have seen start-ups invest vital time drawing-up lists of all the reasons and obstacles that prevent them from selling. For example: the need for a nice logo; a slick presentation; a proto-type; a better proto-type; competitor analysis etc etc. If you are not making sales calls, you will not make sales.

As I have previously commented, hindsight is an exact science. When entrepreneurs tell me their story, (the story of their business), I often hear a profound and common regret: “Looking back, I wish I had done more to sell more, more quickly at the start. I wasted time”.

Use this hindsight to give yourself and your business foresight. You will not get back the time you invest now. Use it wisely.

Take a moment to think:

• Where are you now?
• Where do you want to be?
• How are you going to get there?

Make all of your answers to these vital questions numeric/quantifiable.

Finally, in the words of our youngest daughter: “IMMEDIATELY. NOW!”

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Wherever we experience friction, obstacles, inconvenience, risk - entrepreneurs see opportunity.

The world now has:

• more access to more computer processing power;
• more pre-written open-source code;
• and more connectivity

… than at any time in history.

Which is why one entrepreneur I spoke with last week described the current global context as a “gold-rush”. Paradoxically the same week that Spain declared 26% unemployment. Es una locura (it’s crazy).

Our job at Wayra is to help digital entrepreneurs accelerate their businesses. What I especially like about that is it also helps to bring forward the arrival of future technology; to realise the benefit of innovation and the creation of new economy, and make it happen more quickly. For certain, we need those new jobs now.

I am incredibly lucky to work with such brilliant entrepreneurs. Each innovation created by these digital pioneers is another positive step forward, however large or small - the cumulative effect enriching our lives demonstrably in an ever shortening time-span.

Whether it is as trivial as efficiently connecting our need of a taxi to the nearest empty cab. Or as profound as the elimination of cash. We are witnessing the birth of a new economy, a digital economy - our lives, jobs, opportunities are all indelibly changing at an incredible pace.

Often the only limit to our entrepreneurial progress and its positive impact, is our collective imagination. For many, these are troubling times. Optimistically, creativity and innovation are capabilities that humans are good at.

By way of example, allow me to help fuel that creativity by declaring my passion to eliminate ticketing in public transport. And I’m not just talking about paper tickets.

Barriers at railway stations are not just a metaphorical form of friction, they are a literal obstacle that commuters battle with daily.

To help reduce this friction, the UK has Oyster Cards - an electronic form of ticketing that uses pre-paid cards. The Oyster Cards feature NFC technology to enable customers to “tap-and-go” in order to pass through the barriers.

According to Wikipedia, the Oyster Card system will celebrate its tenth birthday this July. More than 40 million Oyster Cards have been distributed.

There is no doubt Oyster reduces friction in comparison to queuing to buy old-fashioned paper tickets. However, as The Evening Standard recently reported, more than £53m lies on dormant Oyster cards. Frankly I’m surprised it’s not a lot more.

Perhaps friction can change state?

But it’s not the registration and topping-up of Oyster Cards that I see as the biggest form of friction - my issue is with the actual mechanical barriers themselves. They require huge capital investment to install and significant operational cost to manage and maintain. The system is so inefficient that we have to pay people to stand by the barriers in order to manually let people through.

And yet, the smart phone on which you may be reading this blog knows:

• When you got on the train.
• When you got off the train.
• It knows who you bank with.
• And that you wish to pay the train/bus company.
• It could forward your payment directly to the train company without involving you in the transaction.
• You’d never have to think about buying a ticket ever again.
• Train companies could reduce their operating costs by billions …
• … which of course they would pass-on to their passengers.

I call this form of innovation ‘Predictive Intelligent Convenience’. It will enable us to leapfrog the barriers currently in our lives.

If you have ideas like this - if you find innovation exciting: form a team; develop your idea; apply to Wayra. Together we can change the world. 

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After months of harsh cold weather, finally, Spring has sprung. Brilliant warm sunshine. What a difference it makes. But it’s not just the weather that has been gloomy.

The press have proved expert at emphasising the turmoil we see all around us:

• The banking crisis in Cyprus
• The boarded-up shops on UK high streets

I love this recent Tweet from Alain de Botton: “If only news organisations could make money selling resilience and pessimistic calm, rather than fear and paranoia”.

And yet paradoxically the press also reported recently: ”UK household wealth is at an all time high”. Anecdotally, the world seems to be a progressively more prosperous place.

And so, I’m left wondering, are we experiencing:

• A banking crisis?
• Or an economic crisis?
• Or perhaps, is the crisis more to do with how we all feel?

This is important because different diagnoses require different cures. In-fact, the remedies for each condition are arguably almost exactly opposite and therefore potentially counteractive:

• economic crisis apparently requires austerity …
• … which does nothing to help those suffering a crisis of confidence.

What is especially clear is the need to act fast in order to save the patient.

I’d like to explore that paradox a bit more closely. Let’s take a moment to compare and contrast the relativity of what life was like when my parents were the age that my children are now (8 and 10 years old):

• When my parents were children the world’s number one objective was winning the 2nd World War.
• The number one strategy to achieve this was industrially killing people.

The world now is undoubtedly a more healthy, prosperous, safer place that offers more possibilities than ever before. The trends are unquestionably consistently positive.

And yet, despite today’s relative comfort and security, I believe we are experiencing the worst crisis of insecurity in history.

I find myself overwhelmingly and passionately compelled to address this issue, and to encourage all of us to unite in doing so. I publicly committed to advocating this at the impressive launch of Tech London Advocates this week. Why? Because I see the current situation differently. I believe:

• We are witnessing the arrival of a new economy - the birth of the digital economy
• I think that this transition is the most significant evolution ever experienced by mankind
• I believe that the birth of the new digital economy is more profound than the birth of the industrial revolution (when people fundamentally transitioned from working the land to working machines)
• I think that in years to come we will look back at this time and realise just how significant this transition is
• We will equally be amazed at how rapidly it happened
• I think that this is a massively unsettling experience with a high degree of uncertainty for many

Despite this genuine and valid anxiety, what I see is:

• More computing / processing power than ever before
• More connectivity than ever before
• More scope to add-value than ever before
• More opportunity than at any time history
• I think the tech community is key to unlocking this potential - which is why I’m passionate to support initiatives like Tech London Advocates

One of the things that makes digital entrepreneurs so fascinating is the power of their businesses to enhance our lives. To make our lives easier; more productive; more rewarding.

In a word ‘progress’.

Where ever we see obstacles; risk; ‘friction’ - digital technology has the potential now to intelligently detect; predict; avoid; navigate - and thereby adding demonstrable / tangible value and convenience to our lives.

The value-add opportunity could be as trivial as pre-ordering and paying for my coffee so that I don’t have to queue at Starbucks; or as significant as the elimination of ticketing (paper or electronic) from our public transportation systems.

Digital entrepreneurs have the potential to unlock the positive benefit of innovation and excitingly, thereby enrich our lives. More importantly, they have the vital capabilities required to unlock and realise the economic potential of this ‘life enrichment’.

The point is, there has never been more potential to add-value than there is today.

Importantly, the digital start-ups that pursue these opportunities might employ one person; five people; five hundred people. Virtually all big companies start small.

The economy I grew-up with as a child is changing. What’s certain, we need the economic value and the jobs that the new digital economy has to offer. And in the words of Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete (COO of Telefonica Globally, and the Father of Wayra) speaking at the One Young World international summit: “It’s urgent”.

To which I’d add: “It’s exciting too”.

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I have just enjoyed a brilliant break in Sri Lanka with my family. The photo is a festive decoration for a four day celebration starting today to welcome the New Year here in Sri Lanka.

Back home in the (freezing) UK, April marks the start of a New Year too. Specifically I’m talking about the start of a new financial year for many businesses.

In-fact according to official stats from Companies House, 1st April is the start of a new financial year for approximately 25% of UK Registered Companies.

Year-end is an acid test - simply put: did your Company grow year-on-year, or not?

If you are looking for external investment, this matters a lot.

At the end of the day, there are only four ways to grow your P&L. Here’s my earlier post on the subject.

But if you are the boss of your business, there is one additional thing I’d like you to consider that I believe can contribute to the growth of your business. It is going to sound trivial; unremarkable; and not especially relevant: I want you to consider when your Company’s Year End date actually is. And whether it is the best date for you to work to. In my experience, when the Year End date falls can make a significant difference to the simplicity of managing and reporting the finances of the business.

I am proud to have run the P&L for the Business Division of O2. It’s a privilege to work on such a huge piece of business (c. €1bn annually). But despite both the enormity and complexity of running a mobile-telco, I was always delighted that Ronan Dunne (CEO of Telefonica O2 UK) asked us to report the P&L on a calendar-year basis. Everyone knew:

• month one is January; month two is February; (I could go on);
• second-month-third-quarter is August (a difficult month for sales due to holidays);
• September to mid December a vital trading period, in the run-up to …
• … Year-end on December 31st.

… Simple.

Did you know that UK businesses formally registered at Companies House can actually choose when their year-end date is? Also, that the year-end date of your Company is easy to change (although there are consequences you should be mindful of, which is why you should consult your accountant before doing so).

And so, my request is, don’t just lead your business, command it. Choose when is the best month for you and your business to report it’s annual results - discuss this with your accountant. It’s fine for year-end to coincide with the Birthday of the Company, but don’t just default to year-end falling on this anniversary, (you can go down the pub for that celebration - knock yourself out, take the team to a Harvester).

Business is hard enough already. Take every opportunity to make your business more simple; easier to manage; and more directly actionable.

Orchestrate the governance of your P&L so that everyone knows exactly what happens when.

Don’t underestimate the positive impact that simplicity can have on your business.

Do not change your year-end date without discussing it with your accountant. (There, I’ve told you three times now).

There are rules about changing the year-end date of your Company, for example, that you can only do so once in five years. It’s easy to search for the latest terms and conditions and the necessary forms on the Companies House website.

Huge thanks to Jeff Lynn, CEO and Founder of Seedrs who was recently appointed Non-Executive Director of Companies House. I briefly mentioned my view and Jeff kindly connected me to the public data available.

I like numbers, and thankfully those clever chaps at Companies House make lots of their numbers publicly availble. The catchily titled: Statistical Tables on Companies Registration Activities 2011/12 provides vital economic data on the births and deaths of UK Registered Companies.

What I find more entertaining is Table A5 which tells us which months they were incorporated. Nothing to do with the state of the nation, but just interesting because, what this says is:

• In-summary the month of incorporation is fairly evenly spread across the whole year - each month accounting for approximately 6 to 7% of the total number of registered businesses.

And then there are two months that are notable exceptions:

• December which accounts for 15%
• March which accounts for 22%

Therefore, excluding March and December, more than half of the Companies Registered in the UK have their incorporation dates pretty-much evenly distributed throughout the remainder of the calendar year.

This data gives us the month of incorporation, not the month of year-end. However, over the years I’ve spoken to literally thousands of businesses. Anecdotally, more often than not, incorporation date and year-end date are one-and-the-same.

What I’ve seen is that businesses year-end accounting is quite evenly / randomly spread across the year.

De-facto, for many businesses year-end is the Company Birthday.

Does it matter? Theoretically no. However, the accountants among us may advise that different dates have different implications from a tax-filing perspective. For me, it’s more than that. Forgive me for saying this, but a year that begins on June 1st and ends July 31st is complicated as hell. “So we’re going to get our year off to a flying start, and then, then, we’re all going on holiday. And when we get back we’re …” Sorry, I’m out.

Finally: My photo, taken in Negombo, Sri Lanka. If you’ve not been to Sri Lanka, I cannot recommend it highly enough: beautiful people; incredible food; remarkable ancient history; charming culture.

In a recent interview I was asked: “Who is your business hero?”. My answer: Henry Ford.

Referring to his customers, Mr Ford is famous for having said “If I’d asked them, they would have asked for a quicker horse”.

(The irony, given my last post was about how much quotations have the capacity to irritate - however, I think this quote is genius).

People celebrate Ford’s excellence primarily for his expertise in pioneering mass-production manufacturing techniques. But I think Ford’s greater talent is entrepreneurialism, which is brilliantly captured in the above quote.

Ford had a remarkable ability to identify a need before the realisation of his customers, and invent a solution for that need beyond the imagination of his customers.

He is not alone, it is a trait of brilliant founders, for example Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. In 2005 a billion people did not know they needed a Facebook.

Great entrepreneurs out-invent their customers. Crucially their ideas are original but not necessarily ahead of their time.

I am proud to have run the small business division of O2 UK for five years - it now serves c. 450,000 small business. I started at O2 in 2007, the year that iPhone launched. When I think back, it never fails to amaze me that as little as two months before launching iPhone, if I’d asked my business customers if they would sacrifice their beloved Nokia, voice-only mobile and instead replace it with a device that:

• a) enabled them to use the internet in the palm of their hand (“what for?”)
• b) made doing mobile email really easily (“why would I want to email when I’m out?”)
• c) wasn’t a Nokia (“not a Nokia!?!”)
• d) in-fact, a device that did not have ‘buttons’ (well, only one)
• e) cost probably three or four times the price of their current device

… literally, they would have laughed me out of the room. And now, those same people can be found queueing round the block with the annual launch of the latest new iPhone.

What sets Ford apart is that he was one of the first to create such phenomenal commercial success by tapping into his inventive / visionary entrepreneurial talent. He didn’t allow himself to be overly influenced by market research or constrained by the conventional thinking of the time. 

What makes Ford’s success even more remarkable is that he did it in the analogue world, not the digital one in which we live in today. 

Analogue being inherently less viral, less contagious than digital. By comparison, we have it easy. Which is why this new digital era is so amazingly exciting.

In the new digital economy it has never been easier to invent, build, industrialise, connect and commercialise your ideas than it is today.

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I’ve always thought it an absolute privilege to hear an entrepreneur talk about their journey and their business.

At Wayra, I get to hear a lot of presentations.

I’ve never been much of a hater. But in my ‘work-life’ there’s one thing that really irritates me: it’s when business people use too many quotations in their presentations.

It’s surprising how often a presenter, while in full-flow talking about their latest endeavor, will be overwhelmingly compelled to interrupt their broadcast to share with us a contrived quotation from some warlord or other.

But like all good generalizations, there’s always an exceptional exception.

And his name is Feilim Mackle, Sales and Service Director at O2 UK. Feilim also represents Wayra commercially on the O2 UK Board. He’s also Chief Judge for Wayra UK (as clearly shown in the photo).

In his first major speaking engagement on behalf of Wayra, what Feilim said was:

“It’s not what you say that is important. Nor even what you do. It’s how you make people feel, that really matters.”

Great people choose great words.

Although Feilim was quoting someone else (arguably more famous), I prefer inaccurately to quote him.

The above quote captures perfectly the significance of our actions. And it does so, powerfully.

The quote is especially important to me because I profoundly believe that leaving a positive human legacy is fundamentally important. For me, this has always been my second biggest driver. It’s a simple ambition really – however, achieving it can be immensely difficult to deliver.

If you possess a modicum of talent and choose to work hard, I believe that it is actually quite easy to be successful in business: just be a complete bastard. It’s an effective way to get things done.

Much harder to achieve the same success with human kindness.

I’ve detected one characteristic that guarantees the failure of a relationship (professional or personal) – and it is disrespect. It is something I endeavor to avoid, at all costs.

I absolutely believe in, and value, candor. I never shy away from difficult conversations. However, I think that care should always be taken to not only be honest but also to avoid any unnecessary brutality. It’s the ultimate form of disrespect.

Sadly, during my career, not only have I witnessed severe brutality in the workplace, I have also witnessed monsters who have enjoyed inflicting it. I am quite sure that I am not alone in having seen this.

Perhaps we need to learn how to do good business in the new digital economy. Perhaps we need more to learn how to make people feel good about doing business with us. Let’s make a commitment not to make the two things mutually exclusive.

If you’re following this train of thought, please ‘read more’.

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The first cohort of remarkable digital start-ups and exceptional entrepreneurs are soon to depart from Wayra London. One of the questions that this has provoked from more than one team is who to recruit on their Boards. How best to build their teams with the right support for the onward journey post-Wayra.

I believe that entrepreneurs cannot build brilliant businesses on their own - success depends on building great teams. And within the team, the quality and constructive guidance delivered to the Board by it’s Non-Exec’s and advisors is arguably the most vital input.

Why? Because the Non-Exec’s have the luxury and benefit of being ‘non-executing’ ie. not involved in the daily business and therefore they have a unique vantage point and perspective that is often blind to those engaged in the heart of the battle.

Hindsight is an exact science. Ideally, Non-execs have lots of it obtained during years of directly relevant previous experience. Hopefully they equally possess wisdom. What entrepreneurs value more than hindsight is foresight - which is much more elusive - Non-exec’s key responsibility is to help find it.

There are technical / legal differences in the accountabilities of official Non-Executive Directors, versus Board advisors, versus mentors. I’m not tackling the definitions of these roles in this post.

What follows is my personal advice and observations about the selection of people to help advise and steer your Board generically, based on my own experience.

Move fast:

• Formalize your Board quickly and diarise your Board meetings immediately.
• Importantly, don’t wait until leaving an incubator to make the step to recruit your Board, do it at the earliest opportunity.
• Taking One Water as an example, the Board was formed way before the product was developed.

Don’t delegate selection:

• I’ve been asked my opinion about the suitability of candidates - asking for references is a good thing; delegating the decision is quite different.
• The selection of Board advisors for a start-up is such an important decision, it’s one that can only be made by the founding entrepreneurs.

Trust your instinct:

• If you’re not overwhelmingly compelled to choose a specific applicant / candidate, defer the decision and meet more people. You may have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the right one.
• I’d recommend you only select someone that you are so delighted to join your team you’d want to shout about it from the rooftops.
• If you’ve not got that vibe, don’t do it.

De-risk the decision - try before you buy:

• Whether you wish to appoint a formal Non-Exec Director, or informally a strategic advisor - it is possible to negotiate a good/long trial period to see how it works.
• Irrespective of the important issues of chemistry; strategic alignment; constructive support; lead generation etc etc - there is a more fundamental practical issue to be tested. The basic logistics of actual attendance. Good people tend to be hugely busy with challenging schedules. Whilst their pledge of commitment maybe absolutely genuine, their ability to actually attend meetings may be less robust and reliable.
• Absent Board advisors are not especially helpful.

Look for solid commitment:

The duration of a trial period is of itself a good test of commitment. The Non-Exec community are probably going to hate the following comments:

• I tend to only work with people that share my passion and therefore are totally prepared to commit to pitching-in for several months (eg. six to nine months) …
• … and do so free of charge.

Remuneration:

• Avoid the remotest possibility of doubt; confusion; ambiguity, especially regarding pay.
• Put in writing the agreement between you.
• I believe that there are industries where Non-Exec’s must be paid (and also there are rules regarding disclosure) - make sure that you get appropriate Legal advice on these matters.
• My preference is to find Non-Exec’s and Board advisors that do not want a ‘salary’ as few start-ups can afford the impact this has on their burn-rate.
• Instead I recommend remunerating via equity - give the advisors a vested interest in the success of your business.
• Equity is a meaningful route to make pay ‘performance-related’.
• I recognise that there is a whole army of valuable non-exec’s who cannot financially afford to operate on this basis. 

Plan ahead:

• Secure commitment for attendance to scheduled Board Meetings for the foreseeable future (at least for the next six months - more if possible).
• Book the meetings immediately.

Think long-term:

If you’ve found the right person, then ‘play-to-keep’.

In two of my best gigs I’ve agreed to give my time in return for Share Options vesting over a three year period. This has worked brilliantly for both me and the Board(s) because:

• There’s no cash drain on the business. My contribution to the business did not contribute to the cash-burn.
• My on-going involvement was by mutual consent. If at any point either of us had chosen to stop the relationship (for whatever reason), then the share options would cease to vest.
• Three years is a meaningful time-span. It’s meaty enough to see substantial / material growth in the business. And as such, the accountabilities (on both sides) are tangibly evident. Frankly there is no hiding place from the passage of time.

For the Local Data Company, I am immensely proud to have been invited to fulfil a second three year Non-Executive Director term.

I am often asked by entrepreneurs what to look for in Board advisors and Non-Executive Directors. My thoughts are:

Shoot for the stars:

Think the unimaginable and draw-up a list of potential candidates that starts with either Bill Clinton or Bono. And work down from there.

Look for love:

• I have a simple rule. Now, I only work with people I love.
• I absolutely value and appreciate diversity and complementary skills - but not at all costs - I think poor chemistry is a recipe for a disaster.

Proven achievers:

• I have often said that one of the key things that investors look for in entrepreneurs is a demonstrable track-record of proven achievement. Guess-what - this is a fundamental criteria in your selection of Non-exec’s and Board advisors.
• Avoid corporate greyness; blue-chip prestige is not as important as finding someone who is able to move your business forward.

Door openers:

• Relevance of experience is important - but more important than that is fast-track access to the people and markets that will directly result in either sales or funding. 
• Choose someone with a brilliant network who can quickly open doors for you and your business.

Reputation:

Find people who want to invest in your business. People willing to invest:

• Time
• Possibly money
• Their contacts
• Their experience
• And most importantly, their reputation.

It is understandable for people to want to share in the potential up-side of your business. It is helpful for you to find people who equally share your natural concern about the potential down-side too.

Passion:

• Find people who emit positive energy - because this will be a source of energy for you. 
• And above all - recruit people who are full of passion - especially passion for you; your cause; and your business.

I’ve used the word ‘find’ a lot in this post - that’s why I am so passionate about the importance of networking and making connections. You won’t ‘find’ these people from behind a desk.

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I’ve previously written two posts regarding the importance of pitching in order to achieve entrepreneurial success:

• The tools entrepreneurs need to make a great pitch to potential investors. 4^th February 2013
• If you want your start-up to fly - cocoon yourself and perfect your pitch. 10^th March 2013

However, I have good news for entrepreneurs who are traumatized by pitching – perhaps pitching is not as important as you think.

I’m compelled to write this post because I think that there is a growing trend in the land of incubators and start-ups that is worryingly obsessive about pitching. I am concerned that pitch obsession has grown to a point of being both misguided and unhelpful.

Misguided because:

An over-emphasis on pitching can cause start-ups to overly focus on raising money. To teams who themselves are about to run out of cash, this observation will sound ridiculous. However, I’m starting to see an increasing dependency on cash that is not necessarily correlated to talent and opportunity. I’m starting to see entrepreneurs not sufficiently willing to compromise their own lifestyle in order to pursue their ambition and their venture. To which I urge great caution because, there is a quality that I find common in the best teams: they often don’t care about money – at all. They are often so over-whelming driven to do what they are doing that either: they have chosen to live on baked-beans; run-up personal debt; or they’ve convinced friends and family to invest; or they’ve been previously successful / frugal to have sufficient reserves.

So perhaps accelerators that are pitch-maniacs are likely to self-select teams that are money hungry. However, the irony is that inherently investors are often looking for the opposite of this need – not surprisingly investors like frugality; self-sufficiency; financial resilience.

As I have written previously, I think both pitching and pitch preparation are vitally important to the success of your business. Your pitch is a vital acid test of whether you have a viable business. However, beware acceleration / incubation programmes that focus too heavily on pitching because you will learning a skill that inherently you will rarely use. When I think back, in my whole career, across all six businesses that I have helped to create, I personally have only delivered one investor pitch. (Admittedly it was to successfully raise over £12 million).

Even if you are a prolific entrepreneur, you are unlikely to pitch more that half-a-dozen times in your career – so why over-index on learning how to do it?

Over-emphasis on pitching is dangerous because it sets the wrong expectations. Investment is dependent on rapport, not pitching. Rapport demands on-going communication, it is rarely the result of an individual act. If you are an entrepreneur I’d encourage you to secure help in building rapport not in delivering presentations beautifully.

I’d go further, Karl Aherne, the Director of Wayra Ireland (a hugely talented, and surprisingly likeable individual) shouts loudly about his loathing of PowerPoint. He argues powerfully that PowerPoint totally gets in the way of getting to know the entrepreneur and their business – which is why Karl sometimes demands the teams in Wayra Dublin not to use it. I think Karl is spot-on.

Context is such a powerful thing. Over emphasis on pitch training is unhelpful because:

If you are an entrepreneur please know that: the people that you are pitching to are not looking to out-fox and out-smart you – they are desperately hoping that “you are the one”. And inconveniently, experienced investors will probably know whether or not you are within moments of meeting you.

Also know that what investors want to hear, more than anything, is authenticity and integrity – not slickness. In-fact investors have told me that they are wary of overly fluent presenters because it can camouflage true talent (and weaknesses). Investors don’t expect you to be perfect; they expect you to be committed. If they invest in you, they literally have a vested interest in your success – they will want to help you.

Training pitch-technique and methodology can be unhelpful because it can lead to unnatural behaviour in presenters. Two notable examples that I see often:

• The use of contrived questions in order to feign audience participation. This is excruciating. Don’t do it.
• Distribution of the presentation across the team despite the inability of some individuals to present. Do not ask the ‘coding-guy’ or the ‘numbers-guy’ to speak unless they are equally gifted with words. In-fact, tell your investors that you have denied them the opportunity in order for each of you to play to your strengths. Your audience will thank and applaud you.

Finally prolonged pitch training is unhelpful because, it fundamentally teaches entrepreneurs the wrong skill. Entrepreneurs don’t need to learn how to pitch; I expect them to be able to talk passionately about their venture naturally.

Probably the most important skill entrepreneurs need to learn is how to sell. And there is a massive difference.

The immensely talented Claire Darley, Sales Director of O2 Business, vividly brought this to life for me recently. The entrepreneurs at Wayra are lucky; invariably they are able to open doors that ordinarily are unimaginably difficult to open. As Claire observed, “they have sales pipelines to die for”. But the biggest thing to kill these opportunities is to pitch at them. Selling has become a sophisticated art – what buyers want today is a consultative conversation – and being pitched at is often the antithesis of this.

Which is another reason why the entrepreneurs at Wayra are so lucky, because, we have a Darley. In-fact we have one in every country that Telefonica and Wayra operates in. And by virtue of their accountability in driving the sales of Telefonica, one of the biggest companies on earth, they are the David Beckhams of their craft.

Which is why Wayra is the best business accelerator on earth.

Enabling entrepreneurs to pitch perfectly may be an accelerators biggest legacy - but pitching is not their biggest lesson. Entrepreneurs require a balanced diet for healthy growth. Beware obsessive pitch training. Sales, and the ability to generate them, are what you need.

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Following Wayra’s recent global-call for entrepreneurs we are currently in a period of pitching and selection. I’ve just returned from Munich where our esteemed Judges selected three new brilliant Projects.

Business accelerators and incubators take great care in selecting the start-ups they choose to work with.

Invariably, the selection process is ultimately determined by the quality of ‘the pitch’ delivered by the entrepreneurs.

And so, entrepreneurs pitch in order to get in to an accelerator - interestingly few entrepreneurs realise that when it’s their time to leave the accelerator, they’ll be pitching on their way out too - because most teams will need follow-on funding, and pitching is perceived to be the route to get it.

Inherently pitching is seen as fundamental to the survival of the fledgling business. Perhaps this is why most accelerators spend so much time on pitch training, preparation and practice.

I absolutely appreciate the importance of funding from the start-ups’ perspective. However I believe that currently in the entrepreneurial eco-system there is so much emphasis on raising funding that the true benefits of mastering ‘the perfect pitch’ are in danger of being lost - benefits that are not to be underestimated:

• The pitch is a momentous acid test for the entrepreneur. It drives out the definition of exactly what their business is (which for many is frustratingly elusive). What they stand for and what their point of differentiation is.
• Pitch perfection forces the start-up to articulate their business proposition in a clear, concise and compelling way. Getting to this point of distillation is often the most intensely challenging thing entrepreneurs undertake.
• I have witnessed start-ups move more in three days intensive pitch preparation than they did in the three months previously. Which is not to say that the previous three months were wasted - it’s often the pitch preparation that forces out the yield from all the prior work.
• The pitch is a catalyst through which the start-ups forthcoming priorities become crystal clear. And so it’s common to see start-ups accelerate as though they are on rocket-fuel in the months immediately post-pitch.

So, intensive pitch preparation can:

• Define the business
• Consolidate the effort invested thus far
• Provide a clear focus of the priorities ahead

… and that’s why I believe pitch preparation is vitally important. Unfortunately, for the entrepreneur these benefits sometimes demand the potential jeopardy inherent in pitching in order to drive out this result. It’s human nature.

The benefits are often of greater value than the funding that is more commonly associated with ‘pitching’. I recognise that without the funding perhaps the business wouldn’t exist - however we often hear feedback from investors that they are suffering from ‘pitch-fatigue’, which is why at Wayra we have many approaches to investor engagement. 

Depending on the commitment of the entrepreneur, pitch preparation is the most powerful force of positive acceleration that a start-up can experience. It is the cocoon moment from which their business is set to fly. 

At Wayra, we take great pride in the pitching ability of the teams that we accelerate. For us, it is massively important that when the start-ups leave Wayra, that they do so able to deliver a world-class pitch. I think we are good at delivering this.

Pitching, and the preparation necessary to do it well, are arguably an accelerator’s most important legacy.

And yet, despite this, I passionately believe pitch training is not the most important lesson that accelerators deliver - and I’ll post a blog about that soon.

I previously wrote about what makes a perfect pitch (4th Feb 2012) click here. And if you are soon to deliver your pitch - you have my very best wishes.

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My work with Telefonica has brought me in to direct contact with thousands of businesses, and with Wayra I’ve also met hundreds of brilliant start-ups.

It often surprises me is the extent to which businesses worry about ‘the competition’, and the anxiety this can cause founders and CEOs.

To those worried leaders, I am compelled to assert my advice: ignore the competition.

I am not advocating total ignorance; it would be irresponsible to ignore all external market forces on your business - none of us has the luxury of operating in a vacuum. But leave it to your team to bring to your attention any significant competitor developments. And even then, mull on this insight before reacting.

What I am strongly recommending is that business leaders define and stick to their own path.

• Don’t: waste valuable and scarce resource spectating and imitating the competition.
• Do: compel every member of your team to give their very best performance.
• Do: build new products and propositions that differentiate your Company and tangibly demonstrable what you stand for.

And this last point requires creativity. It is my belief that it is not possible to invent truly original ideas if you absorb too much of that that you wish to differentiate yourself from.

As I said, don’t overly study the competition.

Study instead the behaviours, needs and frustrations belonging to your customers. Build a culture and environment that nurtures creativity and problem solving. (Which is why the elimination of fear is so important to the development of competitive advantage - as per my earlier post).

It’s worth asking yourself: “Are you driven by the avoidance of risk, or the pursuit of opportunity?” - Michael Hayman at OxfordInspires lecture at Oxford University yesterday.

As a leader, make it your business to evolve your Company in order to launch some form of product / propositional enhancement that you are proud to tell everyone about. When you launch it, make sure that you do tell everyone about it.

Don’t be disheartened if no-one pays any attention.

Then, get-on and build the next enhancement. Urgently. And so on. Make innovation and improvement a constant and iterative process.

Eventually your customers and prospects will feel that there is something special about your business. They will remark about it to their friends / relatives / peers. The future success of your business depends on this positive word-of-mouth advocacy. So give people permission to market your business on your behalf - give them something positive to talk about.

It doesn’t matter how big or small each of these enhancements is. Cumulatively they will add-up synergistically.

At some point your progress will be noticed by your competitors. And then they will face a horrible decision: whether or not to respond and counter your innovation. Damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. 

If the competition choose to copy your innovation, invariably it will take them six months (or more) to do so. Such a decision will probably completely de-rail the development road-map that they were previously committed to, thereby disrupting their launch / marketing programme. Importantly, by the time they’ve launched their ‘me-too’ version, you will have moved forward again. Which if they also copy, means that it’s not long before you gap them substantially, (ie. 12 months plus). Thereafter your competitors are in a constant catch-up-and-copy cycle.

If your competitors choose not to counter / copy your initiatives then they risk the possibility that you might leave them behind altogether. In my experience few are brave enough to do so.

Avoid the temptation to fight your competitors on their terms. Resist being provoked to leap to match or better their offers. Stick instead to delivering brilliantly what it is that you do. And pioneer your own innovation. Remember, tactical offers are just that: tactical. They are rarely financially sustainable, and often soon forgotten. The strategic direction of travel is infinitely more important - make that your destination.

I’m sure we are all familiar with famous Indiana Jones fight scene that best demonstrates fighting on your own terms: click here for the clip.

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Those that know me know that music is one of my biggest passions. And so I was thrilled to be invited to go to The Brits2013 last week - the UK’s gala award evening to celebrate its best music artists and performers. What I hadn’t expected is that the evening would combine my passion for entrepreneurialism too.

“The Brits” not only celebrates musical talent - it recognises the international commercial impact the music industry can also have, despite the apparent revolution that is happening within it.

Talent and commercial success - my two favouritist things. Which is why I love working at Wayra, the business accelerator that belongs to Telefonica. Our job is equally all about the celebration of talent: entrepreneurial digital talent.

At Wayra, we’re looking for the superstars that are driving the explosive emergence of a new era: the birth of the digital economy.

People often ask me, “what start-ups is Wayra looking for?”. To be clear, it is not me that chooses - the judges are an expert independent panel.

But if I were to try to define what we are looking for, in my view, in a word it’s: TALENT.

And having spoken to many investors (large and small), I’m sure that Wayra is not alone in this criteria.

If you are an entrepreneur, it’s not your idea that we’re tuned in to, it’s you. As Gonzalo (the global CEO of Wayra) says: “We can help great people with their ideas. The other way round is more difficult”.

I have always thought that (metaphorically speaking), there are BIG similarities between entrepreneurs and musicians. Both are gripped by:

• An uncompromising and overwhelming motivation to pursue their goal. Like a teenage ‘wanna-be’ sacrificing their education in order to ‘join a band’, there is no point in trying to discourage a true entrepreneur from the risk of resigning a safe corporate career. There is no stopping them. What they need is your help, not your dissuassion.
• An inherent love of the creative process in their work. A love of invention, discovery, iteration.
• An absolute requirement for tons of practice in order to get any good. No matter how good the natural talent, a perfect performance always requires lots of practice.

However, as investors we’re not listening to your musicianship. What investors look for is a solid track-record of proven demonstrable achievement.

And this, inconveniently, is something that no-one can fake. You’ve either been banging-in hit after hit, after hit, or you haven’t. And if you haven’t, that’s OK - there’s nothing to say that you are not able to do so. It’s just that in my experience it is hard to suddenly ‘start achieving’. I suspect over-achievement is pre-conditioned.

Perhaps this is why there is so much debate about whether true entrepreneurialism can be taught or learnt - whether entrepreneurs are born or can be made. And this is where I think the cross-over between entrepreneurs and musicians really lies - I think anyone can learn to play the guitar well if they practice enough. But some people are inherently better at it, learn faster, and play more naturally than others.

Equally, I think good investors develop a good ear, and therefore are able to quickly spot which entrepreneurs have the potential to be rockstars that will ‘go-platinum’ fastest. For certain, investment is as much an art as it is a science.

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The term ‘social enterprise’ means different things to different people. The Social Enterprise Mark website describes them as:

“businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.”

… not an especially compelling definition. More simply, I think social enterprises are businesses that do good, as well as doing business.

One issue that causes controversial debate is whether or not social enterprises should make any profit. Opinions are divided, so much so I’ll write about this in a separate post.

People sometimes wrongly assume that the reason I bang-on so much about social enterprise is because I helped to create one: One Water. I’d argue that actually I helped to create three, because I believe that Concept Cupboard is also a social enterprise and possibly Zopa is too.

But my involvement in social enterprise is not the reason I am passionate about the #Socent (Social Enterprise) movement. Via my work with Telefonica I get to see literally thousands of small businesses. My enthusiasm is driven by my observations that:

• That social enterprises often appear more dynamic, faster growing and more successful than their non-social equivalents
• The number and quality of businesses that have a social purpose appears to be rising

There is a lot that all entrepreneurs can learn from social entrepreneurs, (and vice-versa). 

Entrepreneurs can accelerate their business if they embrace the following four attributes that make social enterprises stand out. Social Enterprises are often more:

Remarkable. I don’t simply mean the common interpretation of this word - ie. ‘good’ - I mean literally, to be remarked upon. Small businesses do not have the luxury of substantial advertising budgets, and so word-of-mouth is vital to their success.

Passionate. Their propositions are more resonant; more compelling; more engaging.

Effective. Social Enterprises are brilliant at securing discretionary effort from their employees; volunteers; customers; and suppliers. I believe that discretionary effort is arguably the most important ingredient to business success.

Contagious. People not only ‘remark’ about them, they often do so actively - people are often compelled to not only share their discovery, they want to infect as many people as possible with the news of this amazing new product / service that they have found.

If you want to see just how powerful this cocktail can be, please take a moment to look at the latest campaign from the One Water team - it is genius - it launched last week: #IamStela.              

At Wayra we have definitely seen a notable increase in the quantity of applications from social enterprises applying to join Wayra London. As Mrs Devonshire says, “British business is getting good”.

I think it is also important to discuss and understand why the social enterprise phenomenon is still growing:

• Social enterprises appear to generate traction rapidly. Entrepreneurs are fast learners, and so it’s no wonder that they find this model compelling.
• Start-ups are often a form of self-expression that embody the beliefs and attitudes of the founders. Founders now commonly have a good cause as a fundamental component of their motivation, and so it’s not surprising that this manifests itself in the proposition of their business. Often the social cause is the reason they went into business in the first place.
• Context is an important influence on founder’s motivations. Young entrepreneurs (eg. fresh out of university) are probably more conscious of social issues than ever before. Equally older entrepreneurs may want to give something back later in life.

And so, if your business does not currently have a social purpose, I would not advocate that you simply bolt-on a charitable donation to it - a thin ethical veneer will not yield the benefits listed above.

However, if you are genuinely driven to affect positive social change via your business and you can put this at the core of its commercial operation, then becoming recognised as a social enterprise may achieve more than just ‘doing good’, it may also take your business up another level.

Which is why, after more than six months hard work, I am thrilled by last week’s official announcement that Telefonica will build a second Wayra Academy in the UK, this time focused exclusively on the acceleration of social ventures. I am proud that Wayra is formally partnering with UnLtd who are a leading authority on both the development of social enterprises and also in measuring social impact. I am equally proud that together, Wayra UnLtd has secured co-investment from the British Government. We’ll be opening the call to find the best digital social-entrepreneurial talent soon - follow @WayraUK on twitter for our announcements.

At Wayra UnLtd we are searching to find and accelerate entrepreneurs who want to make a positive social impact and make great businesses.

Here is the link to Telefonica’s official announcement about Wayra UnLtd. 

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I’ve worked for two massive B2B corporates, O2 and Yellow Pages. This experience has given me direct exposure to more than a million small businesses in the UK.

My observation is that businesses are a bit like boxers, they tend to be fundamentally engineered to do business with other companies that are of the same size.

Often it’s not the intention for big corporates to do bad things to their smaller relatives, it’s just that they don’t necessarily understand the consequence that their actions can have - they don’t appreciate the power of their own strength, the power of their punch. Imagine a heavy-weight boxer versus a feather-weight.

Equally, often small businesses can be unaware of the potential dangers of that lurk within corporate corridors; the dramatic changes that can occur as a result of a management restructure; a merger; a de-merger etc etc. Developments within a big company are often not just beyond the control of a corporate buyer, they can be beyond their visibility.

Small businesses can find themselves in a situation where they discover that the person whose commitment they thought they had secured, actually no longer has the necessary authority to ‘do-the-deal’.

I do not advocate that small businesses avoid doing business with corporates. In-fact, quite the opposite, I think that the opportunities that big businesses can create for start-ups can totally transform their destiny. However, both parties need to take care.

My recommendations to small businesses are:

• Find a guardian angel. When a small business receives an order from a big corporate, my advice is to find a champion who can represent them. Ideally someone in a position of authority. Think of your champion as a fire-officer. In the event of disaster, what you need is someone who can shout really loudly. It does not provide total protection against corporate wrong-doings, but it can make a massive difference to survival rates.
• Avoid having too many eggs in one basket. Always remember that winning business is a two-sided decision, (yours as well as your customers). Take care not to become overly dependent on any one customer. You are accountable for managing the risk and vulnerability of your business - this is not the responsibility of your corporate customers. Consider extending the length of contract as one effective option with which to de-risk a deal - but you may have to provide compelling compromise in order to obtain such security.

Equally, big businesses should only engage with small businesses if they are:

• Able to raise a Purchase Order. All too often good intentions are completely misplaced in pursuit of ideas and ventures that do not yet have the necessary clearance to be officially Purchase Ordered. Corporate citizens should make sure that they are in possession of the necessary authority / permission / approval / budget with which to do business before they engage externally.
• Keep the conversation to a minimum. It’s hugely flattering to a small business when a prestigious big corporate expresses an interest - but the sense of expectation and anticipation in the small business will multiply with every additional minute spent in dialogue. So don’t extend the conversation unless the chances of the small business closing the deal are appropriately correlated.

Finally, something that is equally relevant to both sides of the equation, that all businesses can learn: small and big businesses should celebrate more the business that they do together.

It never fails to amaze me that small businesses do not make more noise about the contracts that they win from big companies. Equally, it is such a missed opportunity that big companies do not shout about the number of small businesses that they do business with.

If you are passionate about the success of small businesses and are interested to explore ideas on how you can more actively support them, click Read More for some additional thoughts and insights.

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Last week The Foundation held one of their Forum events in the London Wayra Academy and I was asked to participate in a discussion titled: “Control versus Chaos - what can big companies really learn from entrepreneurs?”.

As a Director of Wayra, I’m lucky to have a unique perspective on this conversation: Wayra is the start-up accelerator that belongs to Telefonica - to-date Wayra has actively invested in more than 180 start-ups; Telefonica has over 300 million customers which makes it one of the biggest corporates on earth. And so I am immersed in both the world of start-ups (and their learnings), whilst simultaneously being employed by a big corporate (whose challenges are often proportionate).

So, what I said was:

Firstly, like all good entrepreneur/marketeers, I took the opportunity to promote the business I’m committed to: Wayra. I explained how Wayra works; what we’re looking for; why the physical space is important; and to share some of our results. To-date:

• Wayra has built 12 Academies in 11 countries;
• That’s more than 10,000 square metres (two football pitches) dedicated to the acceleration of digital entrepreneurs;
• Wayra receives a new application to join its acceleration programme every hour;
• Wayra invests in one new start-up every three days;
• Wayra projects create about three new jobs every day

In terms of the potential reciprocal learning exchange between big companies and start-ups, the most immediately obvious observation is that corporates need to be more agile. Except, from my perspective, it is not true that agility exclusively belongs to entrepreneurs. Wayra is perhaps the best example of just how dynamically agile a corporate can be: against all odds Telefonica built and launched Wayra London in 100 days.

In my view, corporates have never been more lean. Telefonica especially so.

I think the opposite question: what can entrepreneurs learn from big companies, is much more tricky. Three observations:

• Discipline is perhaps the biggest lesson for start-ups. Entrepreneurs need to avoid ‘avoidance’ and the self-indulgence of doing what pleases them most. Stop avoiding the difficult (but vital) thing. It’s amazing how ingenious and elaborate entrepreneurs’ avoidance-strategies can be. Nothing top-trumps an emergency trip to PC World. Corporates do not have this luxury - they have all sorts of legal and fiduciary responsibilities that cannot be avoided - and so they face-up to them and get on with it.
• Industrialisation. Corporates are really good at mass-production and systemisation. I think this is especially evident in their marketing capability: they can be really good at data-analysis and targeting. Entrepreneurs have a tendency to market in their own self image - which invariable is a market of one person.
• Comprehensiveness. Big companies are often very effective in mining every aspect of an opportunity - end-to-end thinking and execution. I’ll write a separate post about the opposite example I gave of an entrepreneur who had created a specialist retail business without considering all the immediately adjacent opportunities that this could create. Watch-out for a future post regarding my chance meeting with the founder of “Scrabblespares.com”.

In terms of what big companies can learn from entrepreneurs (aside from acquiring more agility), my thoughts are:

• Discretionary effort. Success in business has many dependancies. I believe discretionary effort is the most vital ingredient of commercial success. The entrepreneurs in Wayra operate 24/7, literally. People in start-ups can’t wait to log-on. Employees of corporates often can’t wait to log-off. Sales orientated corporates think that they can buy discretionary effort with bonuses and commission. But ‘carrot and stick’ is never going to be as effective as people with conviction in their hearts. 
• Innovation on a shoe-string.
• Marketing without marketing. Many corporates just don’t get the power of social media. See ‘£1 fish man’ - which to-date has received 10.5m hits.
• The power of the corporate punch. Businesses are like boxers: corporates are the ‘super-heavy-weights’; start-ups are the ‘feather-weights’. Many corporates are not aware of the power of their punch. They may have no intention of annihilating their smaller cousins, but frankly one cancelled order can be the cause of bankruptcy. Taking greater care requires active consideration.

I believe that there is a significant business issue that represents a massive learning opportunity for both start-ups and big companies, and it is that the evolution of the founder’s role in not yet properly understood.

In start-ups, the founder may be the right person to take the business from A-to-B, but not necessarily C-to-D. In corporates, many lose not only their soul but also their success when the founders depart. Some of the world’s greatest and most dazzling corporates are those where the founder’s presence is still very much present.

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Last week was a momentous week for the whole team in the London Wayra Academy - it was our Demo Day on Wednesday.

I am hugely proud that all the teams did a brilliant job of pitching their unique businesses to an amazing group of over 100 investors with the objective of securing future funding.

A while ago I started drafting a brief post on what makes a great pitch - initially I felt really strongly that two important ingredients are fundamental to a good investor pitch:

• Passion
• Practice 

Passion, because the challenge of being a successful entrepreneur is nuts - it’s like waking up and saying you’re going to climb Everest. And so if anyone is equally nuts enough to invest their hard cash into your endeavour, they’ve got to believe that you’ve got what it takes to reach the summit.

Practice, because, one of the privileges of working at Wayra is that I get to hear pitches from entrepreneurs from all over the world. While some of the newest teams pitch brilliantly, it is an indisputable fact that the teams that joined Wayra at the beginning present more powerfully as direct consequence of literally having pitched many more times. There is no short-cut to pitching 1,000 times.

Two vital ingredients, both more important than the microphone and a clicker suggested by my photo. But now the presentations are completed, I think that success in pitching for investment requires much more. My broader thoughts are:

Preparation. It is so important that entrepreneurs obtain quality input from experts into crafting their pitch-deck. For example, feedback from experienced entrepreneurs and investors. And most importantly, entrepreneurs should actively seek and exchange constructive feedback with their peers. Which is why I believe the ‘Wayra-family’ is arguably the most valuable component of the acceleration programme. And why I’m also a fan of ‘Don’t Pitch Me Bro’.

Talent. Sounds obvious really - it also sounds uninfluenceable - but it is: practice helps; but more effective is who you choose to pitch. I find it remarkable that entrepreneurs often feel it is both their right and privilege to lead the pitch whether or not they are the best presenter. It is not incumbent on the founder to pitch, it is incumbent on the founder to ensure that the best pitch is delivered.

Authenticity. Never confuse talent with ‘slickness’ - slickness can actually camouflage talent. What investors want to see and hear is authenticity.

A good story. Your pitch needs a clear ‘beginning’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’. Fundamentally, the context - why are you doing this. It’s about demonstrating why your business is a good idea, and why you are overwhelmingly driven to pursue it. The combination of which needs to leave the unmistakable confidence that despite your ambition being (possibly) ridiculously impossible, there is real belief that you are actually going to conquer this mountain.

Evidence that you will harness the power of digital:

• To acquire customers in volume, and at pace - contagiously via viral marketing; effective use of social-media; and/or search/SEO compatability
• To use the accumulation of customer data effectively for the customers’ advantage

A willing audience. Take responsibility for driving attendees. And your behaviour will determine how ‘willing’ they are. Smile; use humour appropriately; establish rapport. 

Know your numbers. Opinion is divided on the validity of financial projections in pitches. However, know your numbers (inside out and backwards).

“Up-and-to-the-right-graph” - feedback from one of the investors advised that this is currently hot in the US - a slide/graph that evidences demonstrable quantifiable momentum - whether that is financial; registrations; downloads etc etc. It not only evidences traction, it also clearly illustrates the key focus of the CEO. It doesn’t matter if the stats are ‘usage’ related (and not financial) - if there is traction then investors will believe the revenue will follow.

Talk about your team, but not for too long. In one sentence, what makes you special.

Make the right request - especially if you’re asking for investment. The amount of money that you are looking to raise is an especially important issue - and so I will write a separate post on this specifically.

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Firstly, please allow me declare a vested interest: I am proud to be one of the co-founders of Concept Cupboard. Secondly, may I also clarify, Concept Cupboard is not a brand of dog food - it’s a cupboard, that is full of concepts.

More accurately Concept Cupboard is an on-line marketplace that enables businesses to buy creative marketing services from creative people, especially students who want to build a creative portfolio (to help them get a great job when they leave university).

Next month Concept Cupboard will celebrate the second anniversary of it’s launch - which in itself is a momentous achievement. Success first demands survival. 

Despite Concept Cupboard’s many successes: the awards; the 187 briefs posted; the c. £100,000 earned by students; and the 1,312 creative concepts submitted - until now, I hadn’t actually used the service myself.

I have always advocated the importance of entrepreneurs using and testing their own products - as we say in the UK: “you have to eat your own dog food”. And so I just did - in order to create a proper identity, logo and avatar for the Tall Man Business blog.

Ta-da - and here it is - beautifully rendered in the new black banner at the top of the screen. A clean, crisp, professional new logo that can be used across different social media in order to create one image for the blog that hopefully over-time people will come to recognise (and I hope, love). Well done Tom, the winning designer, (who recently graduated from Bath Uni) - and Marina for the amazing photographer.

So what did I learn?

• I am delighted that my brief received an amazing 1,882 page views
• Resulting in 41 finished logo designs being submitted for my consideration
• I’m extremely pleased with how easy the whole process was
• I spotted a couple of minor bugs and UX issues which we’re fixing, that will improve the user experience
• But it was easy and worked well
• The quality of the designs far exceeded my expectations - the submissions were quite polarised, I’d say c. 50% were brilliant, 50% not so good. I have worked in marketing for 26 years and the best designs were definitely professional-grade
• It cost me £300 (£250 for the designer and £50 listing fee)
• It’s pretty much risk free - had I not liked any of the designs, my only financial risk was the listing fee. (You feel less financially obligated than if you commission a freelance designer directly)
• The experience was so compelling it was addictive. I got an email message every time a new design was submitted. When you get this email, all you want to do is see what has been submitted
• I felt good about it. Not just because it’s a business in which I have a vested interest, but primarily because I felt compelled to take care with the feedback I gave each designer because I wanted to give them something constructive in-return for the effort that they’d invested in providing their creative submission

I’m delighted by the outcome. I love the logo design that has been created. It’s been a totally brilliant experience creating it with a group of designers who are amazingly talented.

So the most important lesson for entrepreneurs and start-ups is: if you and/or your business is currently trying to sell stuff with a brand and identity that is tired an in need of a make-over - stop wrestling with an unattractive brand and put a brief on Concept Cupboard and let your brand do some of the heavy-lifting for you.

And, help creative students acquire valid commercial experience in the process.

Crowd-sourcing creative works. And those that know me, know that despite my interest in Concept Cupboard, I’d say if it didn’t.

Secondly - what ever your line of business, invest the time to ‘eat your own dog-food’ - I don’t just mean the usability testing that all on-line businesses do - I mean really, walk in the shoes of your customers. Although this is not a guarantee of success, one thing is absolutely certain: your business will only ever be as good as the stuff in the tin - so make the stuff in the tin good.

Finally, Concept Cupboard has very kindly agreed to give a 20% discount off the listing fee for new briefs posted (for the first 50 customers to take advantage of this offer) - simply enter the promotional code ‘Tallman’. Do it. Do it now.

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Now that I’ve actually posted some twenty five blog posts, I thought that it was time to create a logo and identity for this beast.

So where does one go for such things? Well, being that I’m one of the co-founders of a small business called ConceptCupboard.com a crowd-sourcing site for creative, obviously I’m going to look in my own cupboard first.

I’ll write separate blog posts about:

• why this blog is called Tall Man Business
• I’ll share what it was like to use Concept Cupboard - good and bad
• and what entrepreneurs can learn from this experience

I hope you like the logo - I love it: clean, simple, uncluttered.

And so, a huge round of applause please to:

Logo design: crowd-sourced via ConceptCupboard.com - huge thanks to Tom and John at Studio Jubilee: http://studiojubilee.com

Photo of me: taken during an entrepreneurial network event in Croatia in Jan 2013 by the talented Marina Filipovic Marinshe: http://marinshe.deviantart.com/

And of course, Adam at Concept Cupboard, for actually installing the logo on the blog for me.

Cheers,

Simon

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I recently declared my passion for the introduction of driver-less cars. I don’t know when this technology will become omni-present, but I do know that a number of significant organisations are actively working on it. Early published material suggests that it is eminently viable with today’s technology, never mind the capabilities yet to be invented with new-tech.

Being a Director and ambassador for Wayra, I get to meet some of the greatest entrepreneurs and technologists on Earth. Last week I heard a comment that before a new technology is launched, it is possible to estimate the size of the impact it is likely to yield on our lives by assessing how absurd it sounds prior to launch.

I have personal experience of this - at O2 I used to be accountable for the sale of mobile technology to small businesses in the UK - as little as two months before the launch of iPhone in 2007, if you’d asked small businesses owners if they’d want a device:

• with no buttons;
• that gave them access to data and the web, (“I don’t want to do email when I’m out of the office”);
• from a manufacturer that wasn’t Nokia;
• and cost three times the price of their current device:

… they would have laughed you out of the room.

And yet, now millions of small business owners cannot be separated from their beloved iPhone (currently, me included).

Generally I think our curiosity about driver-less cars stops at the incredulity of being in a car that has no driver - and yet despite flying being a far more tricky thing, we are quite happy to be passengers of an auto-pilot. I suspect that the apparent absence of lamp-posts at 30,000 feet is all the reassurance we need.

But the introduction of driver-less car technology will change everything:

• While travelling, we’ll be able to do things other than steering
• There’ll be no need to worry about parking - just send the car away when you arrive
• And if the car does not need to be parked, why not let other people have use of it while it is unoccupied - cars will become communally owned
• The emphasis will shift from the vehicle being the primary product / brand to mobility being the primary service / benefit (Green Tomato Cars will take over the world)
• Cars will operate 24/7, thereby achieving maximum efficiency
• Eeking-out extra miles per gallon will become irrelevant compared to the environmental impact of substantially reducing the volume of vehicles manufactured by eg. 20%
• Cars will avoid traffic jams - they will avoid creating traffic jams as well as avoid joining one
• They will avoid accidents too - they will literally be impossible to crash
• Crash prevention will avoid the thousands of deaths and serious injuries annually on our roads - and the accompanying medical / legal / insurance costs
• Roads will no-longer need to be lined with signs (hardware) telling humans how they should drive
• Residential streets will no-longer be lined with parked cars - they will be cleared of the thousands of pounds of idle assets that fill extra lanes currently designated solely for the parking of cars
• Residents will eventually reclaim the parking spaces in their streets; re-landscape parking-spaces for the community to enjoy; and enable our children to play in these new green spaces

But I think this list, which is not exhaustive and whose benefits I’ve not attempted to quantify, misses the point. I think this technology, like the introduction of mobile-phones will change the very fabric of society and the routine of daily human existence.

I think we will come to value more (profoundly more) the importance of who we choose to spend our time with in real-life face-to-face meetings / conversations.

But perhaps more important than the behavioural impact, is the impact that driver-less cars will have on business. New commercial opportunities, new industries even, that will be invented as a result of the introduction of this new technology.

And I think it will be down to entrepreneurs to recognise these opportunities and embrace them at an embryonic stage; possibly at times when everyone around them will think their idea to be absurd; have the imagination and the courage to recognise the new commercial potential, grab it, and build viable, vibrant and successful new businesses out of it. Businesses that will provide new services to enrich our lives, and importantly, also provide meaningful employment.

I’ll post a couple of examples on this blog to help bring to life what such future businesses might look like, related to driver-less car technology.

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I was speaking at an entrepreneurial conference in Slovenia last week and I heard someone say that we are not experiencing a ‘global crisis’ - they preferred instead to describe our current economic situation as “global change”.

At the end of the Q&A I was asked how I see things in the future. Rather anxiously, I was asked “what’s next, what is going to happen?”. Clearly there is a lot of concern about the future and how best to prepare for it. These are important questions that will help shape the businesses that entrepreneurs (like those attending the conference) will go on to create.

This is a summary of the three observations that I shared:

1. It’s a fact, the future is good news:

I’m delighted to report that we humans now live longer, are more healthy, more prosperous and have more leisure time than ever before. And it appears to be a constant trend.

I’ve heard expert futurologists speculate that humans will live to 1,000 years old. What is even more astonishing is their thought that the first human to achieve this may have already been born.

2. It’s not just the world that is changing - people are too:

My Grandfather was horrified that we had lost the basic human capability to hunt. We are equally horrified to have to acquire it. And so he feared for our survival.

Me - I’m quite happy to pop to Sainsbury’s when I’m hungry, (Tesco even, if I’m really desperate). As a generalisation we’ve become more ‘shoppers and browsers’ than ‘hunter-gathers’.

Predictive Intelligent Convenience (which I wrote about recently) will prevent us from having to wrestle with spontaneous problem solving and navigating unforeseen obstacles. Technology will literally prevent us from standing on packed railway stations waiting for indefinitely delayed trains. It will reconfigure our schedules so that we don’t experience such issues and inconvenience. Importantly, it will do so without our involvement or consultation. We will be unaware of the obstacles that were avoided.

Our elders will anxiously be at pains to prevent us from becoming the sat-nav generation who collectively drive off a cliff together simply because the computer told us to.

3. There will be real-world tangible differences in how we live:

… and they will be more significant than pre-to-post printing; pre-to-post television etc. The one innovation that I am most passionate about is the introduction of driver-less cars.

In my experience of discussing this innovation, my sense is that generally our curiosity about driver-less cars stops at the incredulity of being in a vehicle that has no driver - which sounds absurd. But I believe that this technology will change everything - so much so, I’ll write a separate blog post to list the numerous impacts.

But the biggest transformation will be the cumulative effect of simultaneous new technologies. Today I have a mobile-phone; a tablet; and a television. They perform almost exactly the same functions. What differentiates these devices most is the physical size of their screens. That and: I hang one on my wall; use one on my lap; and travel with the smallest of the three in my pocket.

I believe that with the ubiquity of ‘screens’, conversations will become like music content: less valued. As with music content, we’ll be able to consume what we want, when and where we want it. We’ll be able to communicate with any number of people at any time. But like music, you can’t fake the value of a live performance, which is why the price of tickets to gigs and concerts has gone through the roof. Live music is now reputedly the primary revenue driver of the whole music industry.

And so, I believe we will come to value more the live face-to-face experience of live conversations. Who you choose to be with (right now) will become so much more significant and so much more important. And you will arrive at these meetings in a car. Not long from now, it will be a car that navigates itself without the aid of a human driver.

It’s also why the aviation industry will continue to grow exponentially, but that’s another story.

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Sad and worrying news that Blockbuster Video has gone into administration - the third national UK retailer to go bust this week, following HMV (the famous music retailer) and Jessops (the photography store).

Literally hundreds of stores across the country. Potentially thousands of jobs lost.

But as I Tweeted earlier this week:

“UK high st need reinventing. We take more photographs and listen to more music than at any point in history. And yet HMV & Jessops went bust”

… which got a couple of interesting responses from people speculating what were the primary failings that caused the retailers’ collapse. We should not only try to learn from these collapses, but we should also discuss what we’re going to do about the increasing deterioration of our high streets.

The evidence of the ‘economic crisis’ is overwhelming. Some high streets now seem to have more gaps than they have trading stores. What this week’s development shows though is that the economic struggle does not exclusive belong to small retailers - even the big boys with their economies-of-scale can’t make it work either.

The failure of any businesses is sad. The loss of jobs even more so. As is the disintegration of the high street, and the evaporation of familiar (and in the case of HMV, much loved) brands.

However, perhaps our pining for high streets to remain as they were when we grew-up is just pure nostalgia. The economic evidence seems to be overwhelmingly telling us that yesterday’s retail model is no-longer viable in the new digital economy.

Instead of petitions to “Save Our High Streets” - perhaps we need a campaign to “Reinvent Our High Streets”.

But that is something for us to consider collectively - the challenge for businesses owners and entrepreneurs is, what do they need to do in order to ensure that their business survives and ideally thrives in these challenging times.

More than ever before, success in the digital economy is dependent on how well business leaders answer the key question: ‘What market are we in?’.

I think HMV regarded itself as being in the market of selling CDs, DVDs, and video games. I think that this market barely exists now. When was the last time you woke-up thinking, ‘I must buy a CD’? When was the last time you actually bought a CD? I’m an obsessive music fan - sadly I can’t remember the last CD I bought.

I think people are now in the ‘listening to music’ market. Which is very different from the ‘buying CDs’ market. When viewed through this lens I can imagine an entirely different HMV, owning and managing an entirely different infrastructure more appropriate to its market. Interestingly, an infrastructure that could still include physical bricks-and-mortar retail outlets - viable ones - albeit possibly very different to the ones that just closed.

And the key difference between a retail store targeting CD buyers versus a store targeting music listeners - it’s not so much about the architecture (although that plays its part) - it’s about the people who work in the stores.

I loved the staff of HMV - it didn’t matter how obscure my enquiry; or what genre of music I was pursuing; their knowledge and appreciation of music, (importantly, all music) was encyclopedic. They were a super-talented bunch. As eclectic as music, and yet clearly identifiable - I’m not talking about their staff-uniform, I’m talking about their life-uniform - for example, they’re likely to have tattoos.

Music listeners want a retail experience. This can only be provided by people who share their passion. And yet, HMV hit the headlines only three months ago for allegedly demanding staff to cover-up their tattoos. Even if this was a PR-stunt - it is not only misguided, but it’s tangible evidence that the management were focused on entirely the wrong priorities and probably the wrong market.

It seems weirdly ironic that similar parallels could equally be drawn for retail customers who have a passion for movies (Blockbuster) or photography (Jessops).

I recently saw a Tweet from a Blockbuster customer complaining that their feet stuck to the store’s carpet - never a good sign, what-ever market you are in.

And the reference to Newbury? The photos were all taken recently in Newbury high street, one of the towns in the UK that unfortunately hosts all three retailers. For certain this street, along with many others in the UK will look a lot different in the future.

I propose that we need a campaign to “Reinvent Our High Streets”. To that end, I bought the URL www.reinventourhighstreet.com - I’ve not done anything with it yet - but if you share my passion, then perhaps we should?

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At Wayra we often meet people who are passionate to start their first business but are yet to do so because they find themselves frustratingly stuck in their hunt for the elusive brainwave-of-an-idea that will turn them into the next Mark Zuckerberg.

Having co-founded six start-ups, I’m often asked what inspired me and where I got my ideas from.

In truth, there is a different context to each of the businesses I’ve been involved in, and not all of them were my idea. The creation process is nearly always collaborative. Which is why I believe that networking is so vitally important.

Right now my inspiration is hugely influenced by my belief that we are currently transitioning to a new era. A transition that I think is more significant than any before it, and one that is happening quicker than any transition previously.

I think we are living through the momentus birth of a new era: the digital economy.

The term ‘digital economy’ means different things to different people. One of the many benefits of working for a business accelerator like Wayra is that organizations like ours give everyone a tangible glimpse of what businesses of tomorrow might look like.

It is through this lens that I look at past eras and try to extrapolate where I think we’re going from here. I tend to see things a little differently …

I think we are currently living in an ‘era of switches’. I believe that we are now about to transition into an era of Predictive Intelligent Convenience. We will soon have the capability to literally switch-off the ‘switches-age’.

I am not just referring to the type of switch featured in my photo above. (Although, who needs light-switches when your lights will sense if it’s dark and whether you are in the room?)

I’m talking metaphorically - effectively everything we do represents the flicking of a switch. For example, ‘buying a train ticket’ - ‘flick’. Buying a cup of coffee on my walk from the station to the office - ‘flick’.

We currently refer to the device in my hand as a ‘smart phone’. I find this an inaccurate description. Theoretically my phone knows:

• where I am;
• separately it knows within my diary where I next need to be;
• it theoretically knows whether the rail-network is operating on-time;
• or whether the roads are congested;
• it knows who I bank with;
• the taxi company I have an account with etc etc 

It knows when I need to leave my current location in order to get to my next destination on time; which route is quickest; it could select the best mode of transport. It could even predict and fulfill my need for a cup of tea en-route.

And yet currently, disappointingly, my smart phone does naff-all to proactively help me get where I need to be. (Which is why I don’t think it’s very ‘smart’).

Perhaps all that is about to change. I think bright digital entrepreneurs have the potential to make smart-phones properly smart.

And so, if you are either: an entrepreneur; digital pioneer; product inventor; computer scientist; usability engineer; marketing expert - and you have a passion for creating a new digital business that will accelerate the declining use of ‘switches’ (both the physical and metaphorical types) - then create a start-up; build a team; design the product.

And then, apply to join Wayra. 

We are currently looking for the best digital talent that has the ideas and capability to take advantage of a better-connected world.

But hurry our current call for Projects closes on January 21 2013. Click here for details.

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I’m lucky. At Wayra, by virtue of the sheer number of applications that we receive, I get to hang out with some of the very best entrepreneurial talent across Europe - our job is to help accelerate their growth.

I’m not alone. Today, 7th January 2012 Mrs Devonshire starts her new role as Director of Ventures at UnLtd, where she’ll be supporting some of the smartest social entrepreneurs in the UK.

We are the ‘Accelerating Devonshires’. Assuming we both continue on our current journeys, between us we’ll help accelerate more than 100 new ventures across Europe each year - which I suspect is quite a unique situation.

Watch this space - we’ll share the lessons that we learn via the Tall Man Business blog.

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Welcome to 2nd January 2013 - for many today is the first day back at work after the Christmas and New Year break.

For me, 2012 has been the most spectacular year. Personally, a remarkable year. Professionally, 2012 is the most notable year of my career - thanks to Wayra and the amazing people I work with.

Now, I have even bigger dreams for 2013.

The amazing entrepreneurs in Wayra often ask for my advice. Without doubt, my most favourite business tip is:

Think about and visualise yourself drinking champagne to celebrate your successes next Christmas.

Now tell me, what achievements are you celebrating?

I don’t care whether your imagined successes are either the achievement of personal goals, or professional objectives - or a mix of both. But I passionately believe that success depends on your ability to be able to define and articulate in detail your ambitions for the year ahead. And to be able to visual yourself, and how it feels, to have successfully achieved them.

‘Goal visualisation’ is proven technique for athletes and sports-people. I think for many of us it is equally effective in the performance management of our careers.

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Today is New Year’s Eve - people tend to love or hate it. Either way, it is a natural time to reflect; review; adjust; and plan.

From my vantage point at Wayra I am lucky to work with the amazingly talented entrepreneurs in the Wayra Academies. What sets them apart is their tendency to impressively ‘get-on-with-it” rather than just being good at talking about it.

If you possess a passion for business, it does not matter what stage you are at - if you want the next year to be a spectacular one for your venture, the most important thing is to stop talking about it and start doing.

Which is why my friend’s book is so important (and why it’s a best seller): Stop Talking Start Doing by the wonderful Shaa Wasmund and Richard Newton.

Shaa and I share a passion for entrepreneurial success. We share a purpose to be helpful, especially for those trying to start and/or grow a business.

I think Shaa’s latest book is particularly helpful. I think it is incredibly easy for people to spectate the endeavours of entrepreneurs and offer advice. But I think it is incredibly difficult if you are an entrepreneur and you find yourself stuck. Books like this can be especially good at identifying the common obstacles that annoyingly get in the way of entrepreneurial success. They can also be a helpful source of inspiration for the elimination of such obstacles.

But being stuck is a bit like any vice, first you have to recognise and acknowledge that there’s a problem - then you can do something about it.

If you are in the fortunate position of not having such a barrier to overcome, then what exactly are you waiting for? Tomorrow is the start of a whole New Year. Go on, get on with it.

And if you really want to accelerate your digital start-up, Wayra will potentially give you an investment of €40,000, free office accommodation, coaching and mentoring. Wayra’s call for applications is currently open in Barcelona, Bogotá, Bratislava, Buenos Aires, Dublín, London, Madrid, Munich, Prague, São Paulo, Santiago de Chile. But hurry, the closing date for applications is 21 January 2013.

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The British used to be described as a nation of shop-keepers. I’m not sure if this is still how we are seen today.

But if it is true, then (as I’ve commented before) the high street provides us with a fantastic barometer for the UK economy. Which is why there is so much interest in the shop vacancy report published by LDC, (a small business that I am proud to have been a Non-exec for six years).

I believe that the economy that I grew-up with is disintegrating and that we are currently witnessing the birth of an entirely new and different economy: a digital economy. And one place where the affect of this transition can be visibly and vividly seen, is on our high streets.

Frankly British high streets need to be reinvented. The many miles of shops that line the high streets of small towns (like the one in which I live) need repurposing.

However, not all provincial retail is dead, there are some amazing and remarkable exceptions. I am often asked what is my favourite business - and one of them happens to be a retailer local to me: Sandy’s Fishmongers in Twickenham.

My photo captures the queue outside Sandy’s in their usual blast of trading on Christmas Eve (24.12.12.). As you can see, the queue passes the front of two and a half adjacent stores. Sometimes Sandy’s even lays on a jazz band to entertain their waiting customers.

Just why is a retailer of fish so successful? Why does this shop work so well when all around us we see shops closing? 

There is a lot to be learned from Sandy’s success. Lessons that could help to shape the high street of the future, (even if it is a much smaller street). Lessons that are relevant to all businesses, not just retail.

I think, in order to be successful, retailers in provincial high streets need to fit one (or more) of the following criteria:

1. Provide a personal service (ie. one that depends on human skill / intervention). For example, hair-dressers. Even if I could get my hair cut at a dot-com, I’d still prefer to go to my local barber.
2. Be unique. That’s what is so special about Sandy’s. The range and quality of their stock is astonishing - it is fantastically beyond anything that you could ever possibly find in a supermarket. And the staff all have a remarkable knowledge of their trade and can advise how best to cook and prepare any dish.
3. Accomodate a social exchange, eg. pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes.
4. Provide immediate convenience - eg. convenience grocery stores.

For all else, the public have already voted with their feet. They either go to mega-high-streets (like Oxford Street); super-shopping-malls; or out of town retail parks. Or they go on-line.

However, when it comes to fish, nothing compares to the fantastic Sandy’s, providing a brilliant service, neatly located in the heart of the hungry demand of middle-class dinner party heaven.

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It is common to hear successful businesses and entrepreneurs described as: decisive, agile, fast. They seem to have an ability to progress and achieve at pace; build momentum rapidly, and gain traction fast.

One of the reasons why I’m so lucky to work with the amazing entrepreneurs at Wayra is that I get to see this in-action first-hand. To-date Wayra has received more than 14,000 applications from teams wanting to join the Wayra family. And so, when I say they are the best, by virtue of the sheer volume of applications received and filtered, they really are the best-of-the-best.

If only it was that easy. Even some of this elite crop struggle. There can be any number of obstacles to slow down entrepreneurs. The most disabling tend to be: a lack of clear direction; inability to determine the highest priority; a lack of confidence to make or declare a decision.

I believe speed of progress can be modelled and replicated. That it is possible to learn techniques that avoid these obstacles and therefore enable start-ups to accelerate to the maximum velocity that they are capable of. However, some of these recommendations are going to sound ridiculous:

Focus less on making the right decision. (I really mean it).

Spend less time trying to avoid the wrong decision.

Avoid investing time identifying who made previous decisions.

Focus less on defending the decisions that you made…

… Or of being defensive. 

Every atom of energy you invest in any of the above, is energy that is being wasted. Energy that could have been used to advance your business. There is a positive alternative. And it is only a decision away. Instead:

Just learn to recover faster.

Whether the outcome of your decision is either good or bad - once the goal has been achieved (or missed), take a moment to evaluate, and then: Learn; Iterate; Evolve; Redeploy. And do so quickly.

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Following a great run of success in business, a CEO that I used to work for commanded: “trust your intuition, it’s what got you here” - for certain we had made a number of bold decisions which had yielded our best results ever - and he was keen that we do more of this.

It was an impressive and highly effective speech. It powerfully acknowledged our triumphs; filled us with confidence and belief; and fuelled our motivation enormously.

Intuition in business is little understood and vastly underestimated. The ability to instinctively know the right path and make important decisions incisively is often what enables small businesses to be so agile - it’s what gives them their edge.

Which is why investors have such a keen eye for it. As an entrepreneur you may think a potential investor is enquiring about your business, but I suspect in many cases they are more keenly assessing you. And evidence of sound intuition is often what they are looking for. 

And so, my advice is: Be obsessive about banking your achievements. It sharpens your intuition.

In the world of small business life is often on fast-forward. Entrepreneurs tend to work around the clock. They can be so busy fighting that it’s easy for them to fail to notice how far you’ve come.

In summary, three lessons about the importance of setting the right milestones for your business and then ruthlessly monitoring and reporting your progress against them:

1. Clear sight of goal is fundamental to business success. Setting tangible goals, (for example: a revenue target; the number of sales; the number of registrations, etc), gives you and your team a clear-sighted focus and tangible steps with which to reach the summit.

2. The benefit of such goals is that, once banked, no one can take away your achievements. This will boost confidence and generate even more energy in your team. More importantly it’s singularly the most compelling route to acquiring investment in your business.

3. A bank of brilliant results will give you an inner confidence that when you have to make a quick / important decision, you (and your team) can be reassured that you have a great track-record of doing so brilliantly.

You can literally learn to trust your own judgement and in doing so, sharpen the power of your intuition.

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I have always found it a massive privilege to hear an entrepreneur share the story of their business and their motivations. It is equally fascinating to listen to their challenges and triumphs.

Not surprisingly the most common challenges are often centred on how best to grow the business and generate more revenue.

For early stage start-ups this conversation is primarily focused on how to make more sales. There is a tipping point not long after this where the focus shifts from making sales to making money - effectively, how to manage the P&L (the Profit and Loss).

The pursuit of sales at any cost will hopefully generate revenue, but this alone does not constitute a successful business. The challenge is not only to make sales; it is to make sales at a profit - and so the management of costs is equally important.

And it is at this point of realisation that for many start-ups, often, everything seems to get overwhelmingly complicated.

Having successfully managed a €1bn P&L for five years, I found it especially helpful to convert all this complexity into something altogether much more simple. 

In my view, there are only four levers that you can pull to grow your Profit and Loss:

1. Sell more stuff to your existing customers, possibly new stuff

2. Sell stuff to new customers

3. Cut costs

4. Keep more of your existing customers - and keep them longer.

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A CEO that I once worked for commented on the importance of ‘charisma’ in business leadership. He then asked me to define it.

Looking back I suspect my answer was quite uncharismatic. I gave it a good go. I talked convincingly about charm; empathy; resonance; body language; humour; wit; good looks; and the absence of bad breath. All seemingly vital, (or so I thought).

The CEO in question possessed both charisma and also gift to articulate quite complex ideas into superbly elegant and succinct definitions. He declared:

“The definition of charisma is 100% focused attention.”

Very subjective. But in my book, I think he’s absolutely right.

When in conversation, if someone gives you their absolute 100% undivided attention, (I mean: totally focused; undiluted; fully concentrated attention), it can be massively penetrating, affecting, seductive even.

Even if you do not agree with the definition, I would encourage you to experiment with this practical theory. Try it. If it works, then what this means is that effectively everyone has the potential to be charismatic.

However, I am not saying it is easy. Such focused attention requires effort and dedication on your part.

Don’t underestimate the positive power charisma can have in enhancing the effectiveness of your communication and influence. Which is why I’d encourage you to develop yours.

I have heard ‘charisma’ referred to as some form elusive gift that we are either born with, or are deficient of - which I believe is untrue. I think that everyone has some charisma and, as described above, I am confident that you can enhance your charisma if you choose to do so.

I recently had the privilege to meet Boris Johnson who happens to be famous for being charismatic, even though he is probably even more famous for being really silly (which proves these two attributes are not mutually exclusive).

As always, click ‘read more’ if you’d like a couple of further examples to bring this observation to life.

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There has been a long running debate about whether entrepreneurs are the result of nature or nuture. Whether they are just born with an entrepreneurial-gene or whether entrepreneurialism can be taught / learnt.

This conundrum has some bearing on the question I’m often asked: what do I look for when selecting businesses to invest in (whether that’s an investment of either time or money). There is a clear answer: talent.

I’m not alone. It has often been said that VC’s invest in people more than they do ideas or businesses.

So how do we define talent? What exactly is the magic / elusive ingredient?

Well let’s start by eliminating some of the obvious characteristics and adjectives that have become mandatory requirements (it’s not an exhaustive list):

• Being an entrepreneur is tough, so they must possess: uncompromising tenacity; determination; resilience; stamina; self-sufficiency; improvisation.
• Then there are the commercial challenges, so they must also be: numerate; good hirers / effective fire-ers; masterful prioritisers; and commanding leaders.
• They’ve got to have an idea, sometimes several: so they must be visionary; creative; strategic; clear thinking; spontaneous; decisive.
• All of which is for nothing if the business doesn’t make sales: and so they must be effective communicators / influencers; authentic; charming; “charismatic”; professional-sales-practicioners.
• Knowing when (and being able) to be hilariously funny, also helps.

I think you may be starting to get the picture … It is no wonder that entrepreneurialism is regarded with so much celebrity.

So the three personal qualities that I look for in entrepreneurs are:

1. People that have surrounded themselves with great people. Investors tend to prefer teams not individuals. They prefer complementary skills and positive chemistry.
2. A track-record of proven results, demonstrable achievement. 
3. Intuition. People who possess a sixth sense with which to identify an opportunity; who trust their judgement; and act fast.

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What’s the longest you’ve stayed in one job?

I don’t know if there is an optimal length of time to remain in one role, or stay in the employment of one Company.

But having been accountable for the SME P&L at O2 for five years, there is one important lesson that ‘length of service’ (of itself) taught me.

After you have been in the same job for 30 months, I guarantee that at some point you will find yourself evaluating a situation / issue (large or small) where the key question will arise:

“What idiot made that decision?”. 

However, unfortunately (and somewhat inconveniently), by virtue of you having been in-post for c. 30 months, invariably the answer to this thorny question will most likely be:

“You!”

Awkward.

Three things that could be learned from this:

1. After c. three years, you can no-longer get away with either blaming “the bloke before” or “the mess I inherited”, (neither of which are my style anyway). But I do admire people who stay the distance sufficiently to be judged for the current commercial outcome - they have the courage to live their own legacy; constantly learning and looking for better performance, solutions, results. 

2. If the above feels uncomfortable - make sure that you find alternative employment before the inevitable 30 month accountability test.

3. Live your own legacy today - don’t wait 30 months for it to catch-up with you. When faced with tough decisions, ‘do the right thing’ (as former O2 Director Mark Stansfeld used to say).

It also highlights two important things:

Firstly, it’s not easy being an entrepreneur and starting-up your own business. Because, being the captain of the ship since the day that the ship set-sail means that you inevitably face this unavoidable and totally transparent accountability from day one, (not just after 30 months).

Secondly, it highlights the importance of banking tangible achievements (eg. products launched; market share won; revenue increased; costs cut; profit accelerated), because when you look back (over the inescapable passage of time) you can enjoy these monumental results, and know that once banked, nothing can take them away (irrespective of what may happen in the future).

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I’ve had the privilege to work with the late Richard Duvall. I worked for him on Zopa.com, the world’s first on-line lending and borrowing exchange.

Regarding Zopa, Richard said – “it’s not right that people can only borrow from a bank – it’s also not right that banks do such a bad job of it”.

When I first suggested the idea behind One Water, Duncan Goose and I shared a passionate belief that it’s not right that more than a billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water. It’s not right that millions of people each year die as a consequence. It so happens that millions of people in the UK share this frustration, which is why they actively choose to buy One Water instead of the other brands.

Find your “it’s not right that …”. Be passionate about it; shout about it; share it; find others that think the same; create an army. And avoid wasting time on stuff that doesn’t address the issue.

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At Wayra we’re lucky, we get to see the most exciting new digital start-ups some of which have created the most inventive marketplaces. Two examples in Wayra London are:

• Epicurely - an online version of the TV show Come Dine With Me - enabling people to organise dinners in their home for Epiqurely guests who they may, or may not, know.
• Taskhub.co.uk - a task aggregator that enables people to post small (often domestic) tasks on-line for a community of authenticated local helpers/workers to fulfill.  

They make brilliant use of technology. The downside is, compared to creating a conventional (one-sided) business, I think they can be twice as challenging to build, because, building a marketplace requires balancing both supply and demand. Effectively they have to acquire not one but two sets of ‘customers’:

• those that provide the goods/services;
• and those that want to buy them.

The entrepreneurs’ conundrum is which one to focus on first? Supply versus demand - it can be like ‘chicken and egg’. And this is something that we can all learn from.

The choice may appear obvious to you, but in my experience determining this decision often leads to a prioritisation dilemma and the potential for disagreement in the team.

Let’s be clear, there is no definitive right or wrong answer to this important question. Interestingly, opinions are often strongly divided.

I have asked numerous entrepreneurs the unfair question: if you could only address one side (either supply or demand) which would you choose? So far, unanimously, they’ve all chosen ‘supply’.

In the real world, when I have been faced with this challenge, interestingly, I’ve pushed for the exact opposite. I have helped create two on-line marketplaces:

• Zopa.com - the world’s first on-line lending and borrowing exchange;
• Conceptcupboard.com - a marketplace that enables small businesses to buy creativity from students.

I joined Zopa in 2005 and we faced exactly this dilemma. It wasn’t an easy choice – with limited time; money; resources – whether to focus on acquiring ‘lenders’ or ‘borrowers’. If we had adhering to the above convention, theoretically we should have chosen lenders, ie. build the ‘supply’ first.

Thinking generically, perhaps building ‘supply’ first is the preferred priority because:

• Customers on the supply-side are sometimes easier to identify and target;
• Perhaps it’s because the supply-side is easier to compel and activate – after-all they’ve got something to sell / shift / monetize / get rid of;
• Perhaps it’s inherent in the founder’s psychology: they see themselves as building a shop – they want acquire product to put on their empty shelves.

I see it differently. When asked by any of these amazing start-ups whether I’d choose ‘supply’ or ‘demand’, I could not be more clear: I’d actively go hunt for the buyers (the demand-side) first. As with Zopa, that meant borrowers, not lenders - build the demand; build lots of it; because when the suppliers see this, they will come. 

Sadly, the reverse is not necessarily equally true. Whether your selling loans; dinner-parties; or arts-and-crafts – you can invest a lot of effort filling the shelves (ie. acquiring ‘suppliers’) only to discover buyers are elusive; stubborn; or worse, rare.

That’s why MVP (Minimal Viable Product) is such a powerful concept with which to manage your business. Give the perception that the shelves are heaving, but focus all effort on driving the demand-side of the business with which to clear the shelves.

It’s a principle that is relevant to all start-ups not just online marketplaces.

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Is it me or is Twitter becoming more blokey?

Although there is a balance in the gender of the people I follow - the comments broadcast seem to sound increasingly like ‘man-talk’.

It makes me wonder, was Twitter designed by blokes for blokes? Which is funny, because us men aren’t exactly famous for our communication skills. Allow me to illustrate via cliched man-stereotypes:

• Say what you mean
• Use as few words as possible
• Everyone has to listen
• You don’t have to acknowledge (even listen to) peoples’ replies
• Little (or no) retribution
• Move on.

The name “Twitter” suggests such a light and delicate exchange of communication - you flutter a comment, and a reply floatily-drifts back. 

Many men don’t Tweet, they grunt. (I checked, grunter.com has already gone). And this behaviour is not exclusively unique to men.

Don’t misinterpret these observations. By far, I think Twitter is the most effective way to message; network; and ignite the entrepreneur community - about which I am massively passionate.

But it does shine a light on new opportunities for social-media. Something much more discussion-orientated; more involving; more engaging …

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I’ve noticed that the telco’s have been in the press quite a bit recently. Invariably it’s negative: network issues; price rises; dissatisfied customers etc. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that perhaps the telco’s are struggling.

Having enjoyed many years of growth, the mobile industry faces numerous challenges. It is regulated; licensed; and arguably over-saturated. As a generalisation, individually we’ve all already got two mobiles and have run out of hands and ears with which to use a third.

It is easy to forget that the first iPhone was launched only five years ago, and with it our collective consumption of ‘data’ exploded. Almost overnight we transitioned from sending occasional text messages to using a ton of mobile data. We have the odd niggles-and-narks about reliability, but by-and-large it all works very well.

However, having over-come the technical challenge of building the extra capacity to carry this consumption, the more difficult issue is customers’ reluctance to pay for it. Telco is the only industry that I can think of that does not celebrate its customers ferocious appetite to consume more, (which is a bit wonky when you think about it).

However, don’t be too quick to write-off the telco’s. In my view, not only have they done a good job but also, more importantly, telco is at the heart of all the new technology we see exploding out of the digital revolution.

Nearly all the new stuff that technologists rave about hangs-off the billions £££s of complex infrastructure that the telco industry has built.

I believe that indigenous telco industry is largely the most qualified group to continue to develop this core technology. However, I also believe that it will only get the permission to do so if it embraces significant change. Change that is relevant to all businesses, both large and small, in all sectors (not just telco):

1. Businesses need to clearly identify, articulate and demonstrate the value that they add to their customers. People will only ever pay 2p for a carrot, but they’ll happily pay £2 for organic carrot and coriander soup. That’s why at Wayra we are busy helping digital pioneers perfect their recipes for tomorrow’s new propositions.

2. Make it clear what you stand for as this will become increasingly vital to differentiation. Differentiationis increasingly important in influencing customer preference in marketplaces that are rapidly becoming more commoditised.

3. Be more than just a utility. Do more than just business - do good too.

As you can see, I think many of the challenges and opportunities are ‘marketing’ orientated. More than ever before, great marketing is what is required. Which is difficult in cultures that are often more dominated by Finance (a tension that exists in many industries, not just in telco).

Perhaps that’s why the Companies where this marketing magic is most commonly found, are those that are still lead by the original founders, (eg. Google, Facebook, Amazon - watch out Apple).

Interestingly, I think analysts view telco stock pessimistically. They prefer to invest in unproven stock (eg. Facebook) that they view optimistically as having more ‘potential’ however unproven the business model or its dependence on advertising. Personally I’d back telco because society depends much more on the telco networks than it does the social networks that sit on top of them. We just haven’t figured that out yet.

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Today is not just any old Monday. Today is the start of Global Entrepreneur Week.

And how very appropriate that @GEWUK chose to hold their Official UK launch event at the Wayra London Academy because we share two very important attributes:

1. Both Wayra and GEWUK are passionate about helping, supporting and encouraging people who want to take the plunge and start-up their own business.
2. We’re both global.

I recently wrote about the benefits of hanging-out with entrepreneurs if you want to be one too. The GEWUK should be applauded for creating a whole programme of events right across the country where entrepreneurs can both learn and network - take a look at the GEWUK website to find your nearest.

So what has all this got to do with Telefonica? Well Wayra is a no-nonsense, money-where-your-mouth-is investment by Telefonica that demonstrates its commitment to supporting and developing entrepreneurs to reach their fullest potential. Wayra now has twelve Academies in eleven countries. Which is why Telefonica recently won Corporate Entrepreneur of the Year 2012, (as evidenced in the photo).

You see, hanging-out with entrepreneurs isn’t only inspiring at an individual level, it can impact a whole corporation (even one as big as globally massive as Telefonica). And Telefonica is home to an amazing group of entrepreneurs.

And so, in the last post I decided to share my address-book of amazing entrepreneurs that I’ve been lucky enough to get to know. You can see the list by viewing the people that I follow on the @tallmanbusiness Twitter account.

With this post, I want to extend that list further, because I just added the entrepreneurial colleagues that I work with at Telefonica (I’ve added them to the list that I follow on Twitter).

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Entrepreneurs seem to emit and radiate energy. And when you get more than one of them in a room together, the amount of energy just multiplies. The affect can be contagious, as can entrepreneurialism itself - entrepreneurs generate opportunities. Which is why I am so passionate about the importance of networking.

I was hugely impressed with the observation of film director Jon Favreau, who commenting on his transition from actor to director, brilliantly said: “It’s amazing how willing people are to share their knowledge if you ask them earnestly”.

I am equally amazed at how generous people can be in sharing their time, ideas, knowledge and wisdom.

I have always believed that such generosity, especially the willingness to share ideas, is a true measure of creative talent. Some people have so many ideas that they don’t have a need to guard them secretively.

What is important is that in this digital age there is almost no limit to who you choose to actively hang-out with. Via Twitter you can follow Prime Ministers; celebrities; entrepreneurs even. My clever colleagues in O2 Sales showed me how they follow (and interact with) potential customers and influencers. You could follow potential investors and collaborators. I’m not obsessed with Twitter, but in business I am obsessed about:

• the importance of connecting with real people;
• exchanging ideas, views and possibilities;
• sharing knowledge gained from experience;
• collaboration in the the creation of new business.

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For those not familiar, the Smarta 100 is Smarta.com’s annual awards to find the best 100 small businesses in the UK. Tonight is the final of the 2012 competition. I’m delighted that O2 is its primary sponsor.

The standard of the Smarta 100 winning businesses is extraordinarily high - these are truly remarkable businesses - there is a mini-biog for each one on the Smarta site.

Investors have told me that they take a good look over the 100 list to see if there are any great catches for them to invest in.

Now that Smarta 100 is in its third year, that gives those investors a pipeline of potentially 300 remarkable businesses to consider investing in.

And if you are an entrepreneur, Smarta 100 gives you three hundred brilliant examples to inspire your future business - 300 examples of what ‘good’ looks like.

Awards can give a fantastic boost to a business:

• In acknowledging the achievements of the founders
• In driving publicity; business; investment
• In building momentum

What Smarta 100 does so brilliantly is not simply to celebrate the success of one individual business, but one hundred remarkable businesses. 

This multiplies awareness of the awards a-hundred-fold, which in-turn makes Smarta 100 even more prestigious to win.

I think that anything (or anyone) that actively celebrates, acknowledges and encourages the endeavour of entrepreneurs is itself to be applauded. Smarta 100 is helping to fuel and accelerate the whole small business echo-system that it is designed to reward.

And so if you’re an investor, get in quick. If you’re an entrepreneur, be sure to enter next year. Smarta 100 isn’t just about glamour and congratulations - it is a serious door-opener that can accelerate your business.

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The end of another busy week @Wayra during which I’ve been asked ‘what does all this accelerator stuff mean?’.

I took this photo in Madrid in July 2012. It captures the Police barricade positioned immediately outside the hotel where I was staying - the second line of defence to contain a vast crowd protesting about the severity of the austerity measures affecting the economy. It was much more scary than it looks.

We a transitioning out of the economy that I grew-up with as a kid, to a new economy: a digital economy. Such transitions are never easy, however, what makes this one especially challenging and inconvenient is that the new economy is not yet ready.

As amazing as some of the new digital businesses are (eg. Google, Facebook etc), they do not yet offer sufficient employment to substitute the jobs that are evaporating from the old industries.

Which is why Wayra, (the business accelerator that I work for) and other incubators like it, are so important.  They are helping to accelerate the realisation of tomorrow’s businesses today - to help make them happen more quickly. Our aim is to find and help grow the Facebooks of tomorrow.

Interestingly, the occupants of the business-incubators give us a tangible glimpse of what businesses of tomorrow may look like.

I believe that this period of time is so significant that for generations to come we will look back and always remember it; we will reflect on the before-and-after; the transformation of our jobs, lives, education and health-care; we will remember how we felt; what we were doing; how we contributed to this important evolution.  We won’t just remark on how significant the change was; we will also marvel at how fast it happened.

The good news is that, despite the severity of the challenge - the outlook is positive. We live longer than ever before; we are more prosperous than ever before. I heard recently that for the first time ever, more humans died from obesity related illnesses than those that died from malnutrition - which is remarkable when you stop and think.

But for me, perhaps one vital metric is missing: Are we happier?  

But hey, it’s Friday! Gin o’clock soon.

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Whether or not we are consciously aware, at some point in our careers we have all been actively managed by negative means. People who choose to motivate through fear and threats, including: unemployment; humiliation; ridicule etc.

I once heard a Director of a major corporate explain their view that there is only one way to truly motivate people, in a word: “fear”. I have the opposite view.

The Director wasn’t talking about physical violence, which of course we all know is totally unacceptable. However, I think that fear is in many ways the mental equivalent of this, and is therefore equally unacceptable. I see them as being almost the same, it’s just that fear doesn’t leave any visible signs of damage. But the harm can be just as profound.

In many industries, doing business is getting harder and so this issue is now mission critical for both leadership culture and leader selection. The factors on which business success now depend often rely exclusively on discretionary effort. Fear is a way to obtain discretionary effort, (eg. to bully people into working harder, longer), but it is neither as sustainable nor as effective as it’s opposite (positive) form.

Businesses operating in the digital economy depend on demanding and sophisticated characteristics for their success - for example:

• Differentiation. In an economy that operates globally, where supply is often over saturated, differentiation is a vital requirement for business success. However, Companies often find differentiation frustratingly elusive to engineer and impossible to manufacture. It’s source: people - differentiation comes from: founder’s with passion/vision; customer service excellence; and creativity in product design

Fear is the opposite environment and culture for these winning attributes to thrive. In-fact, fear kills them.

Fear is not only something that management has the potential to inflict, it also an attribute that management has the potential to possess. Neither is acceptable. People do not want to work for managers who make them fearful. Nor do they want to work for people who themselves are full of fear. What they want is clear, decisive direction and candid conversation.

The good thing about fear is, it is remarkably easy to identify. Whether you like it or not, your team will spot it a mile off. And so, if you are either a Chairman or CEO, please make the elimination of fear one of your top priorities. Your staff will love you for it; your customers will enjoy their experience so much more and therefore will pay you more; and so your shareholders will therefore marvel at the excellence of your ability.

I’m not immune to fear. However, it has never really affected me much. If you’ve ever met my big brother, perhaps you’d understand why, (he is literally a giant).

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I tweeted this photo a couple of weeks ago - via this post I get to expand on those comments (beyond 140 characters).

My friend Shaa Wasmund astutely commented that he didn’t look very happy - nor would you if you were queuing for a plane and a stranger insisted on taking your photo.  (Turns out he’s @luisparadinas who also works for Telefonica).

The point is, if your work doesn’t entertain you, (and the people that you work with), then how on earth do you expect your endeavour to positively affect and influence your customers and prospects? If you find your work boring, then I guarantee, so will the people that you are targeting.  Why would you do that?

Equally, I’ve never wanted to encourage people to be “CV-junkies” concerned only with their ‘career-story’, but, if what you’re working on does not fuel your passion; your career-learning; or does not help you to actively pursue your potential, then why are you focusing energy and effort on it?

Clearly not all work can be entertaining - it’s called ‘work’ for a reason. Take care to set appropriate expectations in the people who work for you - “CEO” does not stand for Chief Entertainment Officer. 

But it is important to have FUN.

Fun is not only compelling and characterful, it can also be remarkable - it gives your team and your customers permission to talk positively about your business to others.

If you are working in a small start-up team, divide the work between you appropriately, and make sure that, to the fullest extent possible, that each member is able to work on the stuff “that makes them happy” - it has the power to generate significant discretionary effort; fuel motivation; and drive a successful business.

Interestingly my work on Wayra has accelerated my learning in business even further. I am keen to share the lessons learnt so that others can benefit. Hopefully accelerating the success of entrepreneurs and the realisation of their ideas, ambition, and their potential.

My intention is to publish a new article every week. I hope you find them informing, inspiring, and possibly even, entertaining.

If the content here at Tall Man Business helps you, please give us a retweet in order to spread the word (and our wish of success) a little further.

Cheers,

Simon

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