Entrepreneurs are leaders; key is making real difference in people’s lives

Nisthar Cassim reporting from Liverpool, UK

Entrepreneurs are not just businessmen but leaders making a positive impact and sustainable success comes when they make a real difference in other people’s lives. This message came out strongly at the first day of the world’s biggest gathering in Liverpool, UK, to showcase the importance of entrepreneurship.

“I don’t start anything as a business but do things to make a real difference in people’s lives, I develop a passion and enjoy what I am doing,” revealed world famous Virgin business brand tycoon Sir Richard Branson to around 3,000 delegates attending the opening day of the annual 2012 edition of Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC).

Branson (51), who started his first business at the age of 16 by launching a magazine and thereafter Virgin Records without capital but using customer credit on pre-sale bookings as upfront cash flow, is now a visionary global business icon.  His global business empire spanning 400 companies today includes Virgin Airways successfully competing with giant British Airways and others, and covers sectors such as telecom, leisure, publishing, rail transport and financial services, as well as an ambitious commercial space aircraft venture.

He said that he started his Virgin Records company when others refused to produce an instrumental. He subsequently sold the business for Sterling Pounds 510 million after a few years.

“If you want to remain in business, then you need to be better than competition,” Branson stressed during his keynote address at the US-based Kauffman Foundation-organised GEC 2012, which was hosted by the City of Liverpool.





Branson also told the forum that he was a firm believer of delegation. “Entrepreneurs must find the right people even if it means hiring those who are smarter than you. After you have got the best team, be brave, step aside and let the best run the operations so that founder of the business can focus on the next opportunity,” Branson said. “Be a great motivator and care for the people who work for you as they are the biggest asset in a business,” he added.

Commenting on some of his failures citing Virgin Coke, Branson said initially it threatened cola giants who subsequently won with greater financial and advertising power. “In business you need to realise some things work, some don’t. As an entrepreneur you need to pick up yourself, learn from the failures and move on to the next opportunity,” he added.

Considered the fourth richest British citizen with $ 4.2 billion in wealth as per the Forbes Billionaires list for 2011, the 51-year old Branson said: “With money comes responsibility. But entrepreneurship is all about doing good and I spend my time and money today also tackling bigger global issues.”

Referring to his CSR initiative Virgin United, he also said that businesses and social groups can work together. Such collaboration, he indicated, was taking doing good by an entrepreneur a further step.

Described as the world’s largest gathering of start-up champions from 120 countries, GEC is being held in a European city for the first time. The previous four annual events were held in China, UAE and the US. During the week-long event, the Congress aims to celebrate enterprise and inspire those with the ‘can-do’ spirit to turn their dreams into an ambitious reality.

Entrepreneurs and aspiring business leaders at the Congress through sessions of speeches, panel discussions and debates centred on three themes that explore the concept of winning in business: Who Dares Wins – a celebration of the best in the business; Who Cares Wins – nurturing talent to unleash ideas and Who Shares Wins – inspiration to accelerate your business.

Branson also told start ups and aspiring entrepreneurs that sharing profits with employees or senior management is fine whilst ensuring controlling stake is with the founder/s. Urging them to seek unconventional marketing strategies, he also said free marketing via public relations and publicity brings greater value than advertising.

Supermarket giant Tesco’s former CEO Sir Terry Leahy said if aspiring and existing entrepreneurs have an idea, it must be acted upon. He also emphasised on competing and stressed that the key was learning from competitors, especially their strengths. “You also need to empower your staff with razor sharp skills to succeed in markets or industry’s with cutthroat competition.”

Leahy urged entrepreneurs to always remember what inspired them to start the business. “Customers, markets, business models and strategies may change or have to change, but stick to your values and core principles on which you started your business,” he added.

Quoting Tesco founder Jack Cohen he said that entrepreneurs are leaders and must have a positive impact on employees, and communities they operate in. Leahy said that when Tesco was founded in early 1900s in a small grocery shop in East London the day’s turnover was Sterling Pounds 4 but today it has grown to be a global business with Sterling Pounds 70 billion in sales.

Branson’s remark of enjoying the business one does was echoed by former Deputy Premier and founder of Haymarket Publishing Group Lord Michael Heseltine. “Do something that you enjoy, do it as an enterprise,” he said.

Kauffman Foundation Interim President Benno Schmidt said recessions or difficult economic times are great incubators for start-ups as consumers and markets want cost effective, efficient products and services. He cited global giants such as Microsoft and Fedex emerged during downturns. He also said there was no age barrier for entrepreneurship. Whilst Branson became an entrepreneur at the age of 16, in the US most startups came from those who are aged between 55-64 whilst in the tech industry the average of those who started companies were 39.

GEC Chairman Jonathan Ormans added that in the US most of the jobs are created by startups or those which are five years old. Another facet shared at the Congress by Dell Chief Commercial Officer Steve Felice was that tech-savvy companies through efficiencies and high sales growth are the biggest job creators and this dismisses the notion that technology replaces jobs.

Kauffman Foundation Vice President Research and Policy Robert Litan said that research has found that Silicon Valley cannot be recreated but ecosystems of enterprises or entrepreneurs happen by accident and gets on to a virtuous cycle thereafter with growth.

Another highlight was that with internet today companies or startups emerge as global companies from day one. Furthermore, the internet as a great equaliser and globaliser was also stressed, hence start ups must harness the internet and technology as much as possible.

Lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane-Fox said entrepreneurs must be consumers or users of the very product or service they market to get a better understanding and to be responsive to customer needs. She also stressed entrepreneurs must build the best team to drive any business.

Founder of meat sausage manufacturer The Black Farmer Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, who built the business via online and social network marketing when supermarkets said no to his products, said: “Never chase money. Instead chase success and with success money flows.” He also said many aspiring entrepreneurs are beset with fear of failure and only passion can overcome this challenge.

The latter was also stressed by another young home-made start up founder of Ella’s Kitchen Paul Lindley, who said passion, patience and being true to and living the values for which a business started were key to success.

Several other sessions of the GEC also highlighted the importance of countries and communities celebrating entrepreneurship and iconic entrepreneurs as a means to foster the spirit of doing good. The need for effective mentoring, supportive financing, greater government-private sector collaboration, simplified rules and an enabling environment for startups were some of the other key highlights.

The Global Entrepreneurship Congress is a forerunner to the Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrated globally in November, spearheaded by Kauffman Foundation. The Sri Lankan affiliate of Kauffman Foundation is Young Entrepreneur Sri Lanka founded by veteran business leader Patrick Amarasingha. YESL carries out economic and entrepreneurship education to around 10,000 school students and 2,000 University students via the world famous US-founded Junior Achiever style program.