Evening Standard Business Connections Archives - Marketing Fundamentals

What did entrepreneurs learn from Richard Reed at ESBC?

Mike Pitt — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 11:21:29 +0000

On February 19th I was tweeting in my official capacity as social media consultant for the Evening Standard Business Connections club at their Business Connections event entitled, ‘Richard Reed: The Ups and Downs in the Making of Innocent.’ Richard Reed was a co-founder of innocent. The No.1 smoothie brand in Europe and is now a co-founder of Jam Jar Investments, a Venture Capital fund that invests in young entrepreneurs. It was an inspirational night and the audience went away uplifted and enthused. What had they learned from Richard? This blog is read in 171 countries so I do understand that many of you were not able to attend. I captured many of his key points in the tweets that I posted on the night – repeated below for your convenience.

On starting your entrepreneurial journey…

” It’s absolutely worth it.” – #onsettingupabusiness

” Start small. Think big – but do get started.”

” There is nothing to fear but fear itself.” Quoting #FranklynDelanoRoosevelt

On seeking funding…

” We applied to 20 banks and got turned down 20 times.” #onseekingfunding

Email subject line – ‘Does anyone know anyone rich?’ #onseekingfunding

“Maurice Pinto…he put in £250K and got out £30 million.” #talkingabouttheinvestorwhosaidyes

On a direct approach to distribution…

“We went to independent retailers over a bank holiday weekend and gave them 3 cases for free…45 out of 50 reordered.”

” We just got started…We were hungover and we needed something to make us feel better. ” – #innocentbeginnings

On working with a team…

” The three of us (founders) take credit when it’s the team of 300 that should take the credit. ” #teameffort

On role models…

“Richard Branson …I think in Britain he made entrepreneurs sexy…” #rolemodels

On being focused…

” Write down the dream. When you write it down – the dream becomes a goal.” #startingabusiness

On amusing Plump nuns copy on the ingredients label…

“You must either take off the reference to plump nuns or put them in your fruit juice.” #Letterfromadjudicationjudge

On business owners & entrepreneurs looking for investment…

“If you are looking for investment check out – http://jamjarinvestments.com/”

I hope this has given you a taste of the evening. You can follow @richardreedinno on Twitter. The next event will be announced fairly soon. Please also follow @es_bc for the latest updates.

If you’d like to discuss any aspect of your marketing requirements feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you have found this information inspirational.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt – Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

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What did entrepreneurs learn from Jo Malone at ESBC?

Mike Pitt — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:35:46 +0000

In my capacity as social media consultant for Evening Standard Business Connections I am fortunate to attend their quarterly networking events. Last night Jo Malone was the guest speaker and she proved to be very inspirational and insightful. For those of you who were unable to attend I have captured some of the key tweets from her speech and Q&A session last night. These contain great advice for entrepreneurs and business owners. You can follow Jo Malone on Twitter @mejomalone

Business Insights – On business vision and purpose…

“My sense of smell is the way I see life.”

“What I am is a shopkeeper…I am a seriously motivated entrepreneur.”

“Never compromise your product, allow undiluted creativity to reign and take your foot off the accelerator for a minute and enjoy the journey.”

“I would consider myself very creative & very canny in business…I want to evolve as a business and do not want to be boxed in.”

” Why did I want to return to the fragrance business? …because it is my passion.”

On team building and building a business…

“Building your team is vital…we gather people with a heart and we stand shoulder to shoulder.”

“Lets build companies where our teams feel safe to follow undiluted creativity.”

On launching a business in a recession…

“In recession it is a great time to build a business because you take risks…you have to have courage.”

On banks supporting small businesses…

“Banks could do so much more…by helping small businesses understand finance not just lending money.”

On luxury products…

“Luxury is not about money. It’s about creating a world that people want to be a part of.”

“Branding is important but repeat purchase is about how does it smell? how does it make me feel?”

On learning from your mistakes…

“We all make mistakes, regardless of who we are, acknowledge them, move on don’t let them distract or dominate you.”

On life’s biggest challenges…

“I was told that I had breast cancer in a very aggressive form and that I had 9 months to live.”

On working with her husband…

“To have your business partner who absolutely covers your back no matter what is great.”

I hope this gives you a flavour of the evening and inspires you.

Do you need help on your entrepreneurial journey? We would be happy to help so feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you have found this information inspirational. We are a leading Marketing Agency in London.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt
Founder & CEO
Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

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Client Testimonial – London Evening Standard

Mike Pitt — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:53:28 +0000

Client Testimonial – London Evening Standard

This is a client testimonial for Mike Pitt of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd from Louise Henry of the London Evening Standard newspaper. Like what you’ve heard? Feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247

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Marketing Fundamentals Ltd – The Journey – Part 1

Mike Pitt — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:57:23 +0000

The Journey – Part 1

A few photos from Mike Pitt, Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd charting the progress of the company.

If you would like our help with your blog or any aspect of your marketing strategy give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

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What was Michael Acton Smith’s advice for entrepreneurs at ESBC?

Mike Pitt — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:38:24 +0000

On February 27th I was tweeting in my official capacity as social media consultant for the Evening Standard Business Connections club at their Business Connections event entitled, ‘The Making of a Moshi Monster’. The featured guest was Michael Acton Smith, the creator of Moshi Monsters and before that the founder of a successful internet start up in the late nineties called Firebox. It was an amazing and inspirational night and the packed audience went away entertained and uplifted. What had they learned from Michael? I realise that many of you outside of London and outside of the UK were not able to attend so I have captured many of his key points in the tweets that I posted on the night repeated here for your convenience.

#MichaelActonSmith ‘ I will be talking about my entrepreneurial journey…I want to share the lessons that I’ve learned…’

On the internet in the nineties…
#Firebox -‘ The downside of the internet in 1998 was that there weren’t a lot of customers.’ #MichaelActonSmith

On Firebox and early success. …

#MichaelActonSmith – ‘Make sure you choose a good name for your business and one that is not associated with a porn site’ #Firefox not Hotbox

#Shotglasschess – Was a huge early success for #MichaelActonSmith and helped #Firebox grow.

On the character traits of an entrepreneur

Q What are the main #character traits for an #entrepreneur ? A – ‘Perseverance, strong minded, being playful, passion.’ #MichaelActonSmith

On being a successful entrepreneur…

‘Ideas are ten a penny – it’s the execution that matters and the best way to learn is to dive in.’ @acton #MichaelActonSmith #ESBC

On being an entrepreneur now…
#MichaelActonSmith ‘There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur.’ #ESBC

On start up teams…
#MichaelActonSmith – ‘You do need one of the early startup team to be technically skilled.’ #Techexpertise needed for #startups

On keeping Moshi Monsters fresh and relevant…

‘Retaining a sense of playfulness is essential to the continued success of #MoshiMonsters ‘ #MichaelActonSmith

On not selling out to American companies…

Q – How do you know when to sell? A – ‘We need more entrepreneurs in Europe who don’t want to sell out to American companies.’ #MrMoshi

On Lady Gaga…
#MichaelActonSmith ‘ Don’t mess with Lady Gaga! ‘ in reference to a Moshi creation #LadyGooGoo. A character that had to be withdrawn.

On funding

#MichaelActonSmith – mentioned this US website that brings start ups and investors together. – https://angel.co/ @acton

On educational products…

Q- Can educational products be as huge as #MoshiMonsters ? A – ‘Yes, there is huge opportunity in that area.’ #MichaelActonSmith

I hope this has given you a taste of the evening. The next event will be announced fairly soon. Please follow @es_bc for the latest updates.

We hope you have found this information inspirational.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt – Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd’s contact details – If you’d like to discuss any aspect of your marketing requirements feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

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Press Release – Free excerpt from ‘How to TurboCharge Your Business With A Blog’ on Evening Standard Business Connections Website

Mike Pitt — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:19:47 +0000

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — ( — 03/01/13 –) The London Evening Standard Business Connections website has just published the first free excerpt from ‘How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’ authored by Mike Pitt. Pitt is also the Founder and CEO of London based Marketing Fundamentals Ltd, a leading marketing consultancy for business owners and entrepreneurs.

When asked about the publication of the excerpt Pitt explained, ‘My motivation when writing ‘How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’ was to help many more business owners and entrepreneurs than I could physically reach and the partnership with Evening Standard Business Connections website is an excellent platform for this help to be distributed even further.’ The book was published on September 19th 2012 can be purchased as a paperback or Kindle version from Amazon

Marketing Fundamentals provide consultancy services to SME owners, entrepreneurs and Business Start-ups with a focus on content marketing.

Notes to editors

1. Photograph of Mike Pitt attached – https://www.marketingfundamentals.com/about/founder-profile/

2. This press release can be sent to you by email.

3. Marketing Fundamentals Ltd was founded in 2010 and provides consultancy services to SMEs, entrepreneurs and Business Start-ups. For more information about Marketing Fundamentals, visit www.marketingfundamentals.com

Contacts:
Marketing Fundamentals Ltd
Mike Pitt
+44 845 2264247
Mobile: 07810 367385
mike@marketingfundamentals.com
www.marketingfundamentals.com
Author of ‘How To TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’- http://amzn.to/RGNyxQ
Twitter:@TheMikePitt
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepitt1
http://www.youtube.com/user/MFundamentals?feature=mhsn

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Entrepreneurs – What was James Caan’s advice for entrepreneurs at ESBC ?

Mike Pitt — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 19:09:21 +0000

On Tuesday night I was very happy to part of the audience for the Evening Standard Business Connections #ESBC event – entitled ‘James Caan – Thirty Years in Business’ at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster. My luck did not end there because as a member of the team promoting the event I got to meet the man himself before proceedings started and a place on the front row to tweet live for ESBC. If you look carefully at the photo you’ll see me on the front row with my laptop open. It was an amazing and inspirational night and the packed audience went away excited and uplifted. What had they learned from James? I have captured many of his key points in the tweets that I posted on the night repeated here for your convenience.

On being proactive rather talking about recession…

‘It’s what you can do for yourself’

‘Last year we started 493,000 businesses in the UK.’

On learning from your mistakes…

‘James Caan is telling the story of his purchase of Benjys and the importance of knowing when to quit.’

‘Entrepreneurs need to have the ability to fail gracefully’

On entrepreneurship…

‘Entrepreneurship is about the journey, not the destination.’

On cashflow…

‘Payment terms are part of the sales process.If you can’t pay on 14 days we cannot do business with you.’

‘I teach young people ‘cash accounting’ rather than accrual accounting.’

On Start Up Loans & helping others…

‘We are starting 100 businesses a week with young people with ideas – we give them the money they need.’

Q – Why all the focus on young entrepreneurs? What about older people? A- ‘December 5th – the age limit will be extended up to 30 for the loans.’

‘180,000 have downloaded James Caan’s free Business Secrets app. ‘

On equity…

‘Don’t be afraid to give away equity…100% of nothing is nothing.’

I hope this has given you a taste of the evening. The next event is in February and the presenter is Michael Acton Smith aka ‘Mr Moshi Monsters’ – you can book your place –

We hope you have found this information inspirational.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt – Founder & CEO of Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

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