What makes a great entrepreneur?

You’ve had a unique career intersecting each disruptive paradigm shift: from CD-ROM to AI, via the dot-com boom and bust; which of those has been the most interesting shift for you?

They’ve all been interesting. I consider myself to be very fortunate to have been born into a generation that has seen several transformations in digital technology: from the personal computer, the world wide web, and the smartphone, bringing prominence to e-commerce, software-as-a-service and social networks. I’ve actively got involved in one way or another in all of these shifts. Probably because I’m curious about the possibility of the new and the rules hadn’t been made up yet. I’ve always been excited by the act of creation at the cutting edge of technology.

How important is it for senior business people to hear the experiences of others to shape their own decision making?

Learning from others’ experience is invaluable. You can get fixed in your own perspective, and it can be professionally lonely being the risk-taker and leader in a venture. So, it’s vital to seek out alternative views on the issues and opportunities that we’re facing, every day.

Who has been your inspiration, and why?

Assuming that family is a given: Them.

Professionally, a businessman called Peter Wilkinson. This quiet, unassuming Yorkshireman skillfully brought all the components together to make Freeserve the success it was. He also took a risk on me when I was a talented but inexperienced youngster. He gave me my big break by making me the lead in the creation of a turnkey e-commerce system for Premiership football clubs; a venture that later became part of Sports Internet Group (SIG) which was sold by SIG to BSkyB for £266 million in 2000. And Freeserve was a runaway success becoming one of Europe’s first unicorns, eventually sold by Dixons to Wanadoo (a division of France Telecom) for £1.6 billion in 2001.

What makes a good leader? 

I’m still learning on that front, and I think you never stop. But from my experience to date, I think a good leader is someone who sets the mission and cultural tone; brings the right talent together; sets them the operating parameters and then lets them get on with it.

How has knowledge sharing about others’ experiences helped you and the decisions you have made in your career? 

It’s been an essential part of my personal development. I make sure I take time every day for reading and learning. I subscribe to several email alerts from diverse, trusted sources of news and information, and try to read as many books as possible.

As a Board member, how important is the information you receive from a Finance Director to assist you in making a commercial decision? 

A solid finance director is crucial to a business, as it grows from start-up to scale-up. Which is when you need to make the transition from organic to strategic growth, and accounting policies, P&L and cash flow management, working capital, borrowing or taking on investment, become the daily norms. A Finance Director also needs to be skilled at corporate governance, to guide the board, which becomes mission-critical once you take on investment and shareholders who have nominated board seats. And when you get into the fortunate position where you’re considering an IPO or trade sale, an FD must take the lead on negotiations and due diligence.