Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning - Entrepreneurs & Experts Podcast Series

How brilliant does a product need to be to succeed in a crowded market? William Tunstall-Pedoe, founder of Evi (formerly True Knowledge), a Cambridge-based Artificial Intelligence technology business which was acquired by Amazon, spoke at CfEL's Enterprise Tuesday programme.

Lord Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea, founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer, talks about the roller coaster ride of developing a new brand in a competitive market. This presentation is part of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning's Enterprise Tuesday series.

Professor Stelios Kavadias, Margaret Thatcher Professor of Enterprise Studies in Innovation & Growth, and Director of Research, at Cambridge Judge Business School, interviewed a panel of entrepreneurs and business leaders about innovation and growth at CfEL's Enterprise Tuesday talk on 25th November 2014.

Prof Andy Hopper CBE FRS FREng FIET and Dr Hermann Hauser CBE FRS FREng talk about the issues involved in commercialising research and innovation.

Many new ventures never use venture capital. So how do they get the money to start and grow their business? The answer lies with the customers. Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Banana Republic′s Mel and Patricia Ziegler all used customers to develop their iconic companies. In this session, Dr John Mullins talks about his pragmatic thinking on business and what entrepreneurs need in the early stages of a venture in this audio recording of his lecture at CfEL's Enterprise Tuesday on 11th November 2014. .

Dr David Cleevely knows a thing or two about building businesses. A serial entrepreneur and investor, he has worked at the heart of the Cambridge Cluster on numerous ventures including telecoms consultancy Analysys, web based antibody company Abcam (ABC.L); and G femto base station company, 3WayNetworks. Abcam, which he co-founded in 1998 and was Chairman of until 2009, currently has a $1.5bn valuation - not bad for a company that starting selling antibodies door-to-door on a bike! David is the guest speaker at the launch session of the 2014/15 Enterprise Tuesday series on 4 November at the University of Cambridge's Department of Engineering. He will focus on telling the Abcam story but also look at other billion dollar companies that have come out of Cambridge. It's a good opportunity for those working in or contemplating a future in entrepreneurship to learn more about growing successful businesses. Read more about David Cleevely » http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/enterprisetuesday/programme/speakers/cleevelyd.html Find out more about Abcam » http://www.abcam.com/ Without passion you cannot succeed! Listen to this podcast with Dr David Cleevely » http://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1122496 Recognising opportunities … Watch video of Dr David Cleevely and Dr Andy Richards here » http://www.sms.cam.ac.uk/media/726139 Enterprise Tuesday is a series of FREE evening lectures and networking sessions delivered by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) which take place from November to the end of February in Cambridge. The programme aims to introduce participants to the world of business, as well as to encourage and inspire individuals to pursue their entrepreneurial ambition. It is the most popular non-assessed programme within the University and the model has been adopted by numerous other academic institutions as well as corporations. Enterprise Tuesday is open to all University of Cambridge staff and students, members of other universities and the local business community. The series is particularly relevant for postgraduate students considering future career paths, those exploring entrepreneurial opportunities and looking to build high quality networks with experts and practitioners. Find out more about Enterprise Tuesday at http://www.cfel.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/enterprisetuesday/index.html

The Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning talked to Sarah Coleman, international business consultant and coach, about her experiences of helping companies to grow and scale. She also discusses how she applies her expertise and experience to mentoring would-be entrepreneurs studying on the Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship programme. Sarah's career has developed from working in ICT with a focus on change management and business strategy to business consultancy and coaching across many different industry sectors. Her experience of working with companies has led her to believe that a particular skill-set and attitude of mind is required to grow businesses. A good business leader needs to have clarity of focus and to communicate well with people so that they understand what needs to be achieved and everyone is aligned with the overall strategy and vision. Sarah brings a breadth of experience across different industry sectors to the mentoring on the Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship programme. She considers her main role is to support the student entrepreneur and give them confidence. Sarah quotes the late Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, who said, "Be courageous because it's one of the few places that's left uncrowded." She firmly believes all entrepreneurs need to maintain and nurture the passion for their idea but also remember that developing a business is more of a marathon than a sprint.

Neil Stott, Chief Executive of the Keystone Development Trust, talks about the challenges of retaining social and financial returns on investment in wealth creation projects within the community. The Trust was named by the Cabinet Office (Mar 2014) as one of a number of partners awarded a grant of £900k to support social ventures in the East of England and aims to create a new generation of social ventures and entrepreneurs. There are approximately 70,000 social enterprises in the UK contributing £18.5 billion to the UK economy (based upon 2012 Small Business Survey, 2013) and employing almost a million people. So, it seems to be a strong sector but what are the driving forces for this growth? Neil talks about the opportunities and challenges facing social ventures and would-be social entrepreneurs. Appointed as Senior Teaching Faculty in Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School (2014), he is also a mentor to students on the Cambridge Judge Business School Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship programme. The most difficult question for the students to answer has been 'who are my customers?' and 'what is the problem we're trying to solve with the business?' Social entrepreneurs need to understand that they're still operating a business - no matter how great the cause or their passion for the project.

Dr Shima Barakat, Research & Teaching Fellow in Enterprise at the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL), Cambridge Judge Business School, features in a Cambridge book The Meaning of Success and on the accompanying website at http://www.cam.ac.uk/women-at-cambridge, speaking about her career and philosophy of success. The book brings together the stories of women from across the University of Cambridge and examines what success means to them as they share the individual life journeys that have led them to Cambridge. In interviews with twenty-six women connected with the University, along with contributions from a hundred more, it makes a compelling case for a more inclusive definition of success. The Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said: “By exploring these inspirational stories, this book reminds the reader that talent and excellence can be found across the University and in every walk of life. It provides an opportunity to reflect on how success is recognised and rewarded, giving us scope to redefine and extend the qualities and attributes we associate with being successful.” In this podcast interview, Shima talks about her own experiences as a women engineer and academic as well as her research specifically into women in entrepreneurship. She cites the importance of encouraging women to be more enterprising and to overcome traditional challenges as a result of gender dynamics. Shima has direct experience as a woman engineer of workplace chauvinism and prejudice but has always sought to challenge and change attitudes and practices. As a young engineer working on the construction of the Cairo Metro with 400 men, she was given a key to a toilet that was three streets away. So, she commandeered the onsite men’s toilet when needed putting up a sign stating ‘occupied for feminine use’. In her academic work, she has found evidence showing that a founding team or company board with a better gender balance tends to use 30% less resources, return 12% more and fair better in times of adversity. There’s also evidence of women doing things differently and that this diversity can be beneficial to the organization. And yet there are very few women on company boards and a shortage of women in senior positions in academia. Shima advocates a review of structural and organizational issues that break down stereotypes and forge new pathways for success both in companies and academia.

The entrepreneurial journey begins with an idea and leads to the start of a new venture. Some argue that is the easy bit! The really hard part is the subsequent growth of the firm. This requires clarity, strategic thinking and a deep understanding of management in all its various components. One of the key issues that arise is whether people are clear enough about their choices. Should they grow a lifestyle business or a high growth business? What are the personal implications of such choices? What might be the motivations for either? What should you really think about as a founder or CEO of a growing venture? This audio recording of the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning's Enterprise Tuesday lecture on 11th February 2014 includes contributions from Glenn Collinson Co-Founder and former Director of CSR Plc and Co-Founder of Neul Ltd; and Joep van Beurden: Chief Executive Officer, CSR Plc. The session was chaired by John Snyder, CEO Grapeshot and CfEL Entrepreneur in Residence.