Building Better Businesses: A Monocle Guide — 2018 —

1. Manifesto: Why now is the time to launch your dream company 2. Senior start-ups: Later-life entrepreneurs turning back the clock 3. Essays: Has entrepreneurship gone too soft? 4. Mentors: Wise words from experienced hands 5. Manufacturing: Tips on building a unique 1 HSBC Private Banking: 1. Investors 2. The next generation 3. Business exits

— A MONOCLE SPECIAL EDITION — welcome C ontents

The business world is changing. As a new generation of entrepreneurs hit their stride, the priorities for them and their businesses are becoming clearer. Suddenly, setting up a Silicon Valley social-media venture isn’t the dream (and it never should have been, as far as we’re concerned). Instead, building a company that has purpose at its heart is the goal. These founders want their companies to have a social or environmental impact as well as making money. They want to play a role in their communities, strike a balance between work and private life, and invest for the long term rather than a quick exit. At the same time, people are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship in later life, as they find they still harbour a dream of setting up their own business and now have the confidence (and contacts book) to take the plunge. This will become increasingly common, as we all start living longer and wanting more from later life. Plus, it transpires that older founders are more likely to succeed in business than their younger counterparts, at least in part because 1 4 they bring all their years of experience and wisdom to bear Founders’ stories Leadership on the company. 102 — 105 112 — 113 The following pages are a guide to building a better We meet a host of entrepreneurs who How should we define good leadership? are rewriting the business playbook and We meet a serial entrepreneur in business, whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur who have valuable lessons to impart. That whose management style over the years dreams of launching a company – and, through that, includes everything from how to create a has encouraged and inspired many of his having a positive impact on the world – or whether transparent and honest brand to how to employees to strike out on their own and build a company that can make money set up companies. It’s a new measure of you’re already a business owner and are looking for and have a positive impact on the world. managerial success. some inspiration and insight to improve your venture. Or perhaps you’re looking to launch a charming hotel in the 2 5 Swiss alps, or a label with an ethical mission at Essays Manufacturing its heart. Whatever your story, we hope you’ll find all the 108 — 109 116 — 117 helpful tips, nifty ideas, instruction and insight you need One of our writers asks if With most consumers experiencing in this guide. Then it’s over to you. — (m) entrepreneurship has gone soft, with serious information overload, it’s vital too many young founders coddled in to create a unique brand and tell a co-working spaces. The other explains compelling story. To find out how it’s how building a brand purely online is done, we visit the rural headquarters no longer as easy as it used to be – and of a young pottery start-up that’s making editor key to writers encourages business owners to rethink. a name for itself worldwide. Matt Alagiah Marissa Gluck (mgl) Kenji Hall (kh) 3 6 creative director Mary Holland (mho) Richard Spencer Powell Kurt Lin (kl) Mentors Later-life entrepreneurs Augustin Macellari (aum) 110 — 111 118 — 119 designers Kate Mayberry (km) Maria Hamer Joann Plockova (jp) Most successful founders have a little As we live longer, healthier and more Giulia Tugnoli Venetia Rainey (vr) help along the way – someone with a active lives, people are increasingly Carlota Rebelo (ccr) few more years in business behind them deciding to set up their dream businesses photography Carlo Silberschmidt (cs) who has seen it all before. We sit down in their fifties and sixties. We meet Matthew Beaman Ed Stocker (ejs) with entrepreneurs and their mentors the founders who, thanks to their life Shin Miura Junichi Toyofuku (jt) to discuss this often-overlooked but experience, have a better chance of essential relationship. success than their younger counterparts. chief sub editor Dan Poole

100 — monocle — building better businesses building better businesses — monocle — 101 1 founders’ stories “If it was going to work abroad, I knew I 3 had to create a ‘Made in Japan’ brand,” says Shoji. He invested in a coffee farm Starter’s in Hawaii and headhunted a skilful Good Food Trio Company barista, then partnered with Masaki Kato Kuala Lumpur of Tokyo architecture studio Puddle orders to develop a simple Japanese aesthetic. In the boom years of the 1990s, Kuala “Great design is timeless,” adds Shoji. Lumpur was on the cusp of change and Global “We designed everything so that it would Yuen Yin Sze To and Lissa Yeoh were stay modern 20 years into the future.” enjoying everything the city had to offer. Such an extraordinary business But the Malaysian capital didn’t have Whether it’s turning expansion could affect product quality much of a dining scene. So, in 1996, but Shoji runs a tight ship. “Wherever we the food-loving friends decided to do ocean plastics into fashion open in the world, I have quality control something about it and opened La Risata, statements or sharpening over the location and design,” he says. serving Italian food in the city’s east. old pencils, these start-ups He also keeps an eye on the horizon. “In It was a hit and, despite the economic Japan, sushi hasn’t changed for more than crisis that brought Malaysia’s economy have seized opportunities 200 years. That’s what Arabica is about: to its knees in 1998, as well as the now- and are building a better serving a great, simple product.” — jt intense competition, La Risata is still going strong today. Sze To puts their future for themselves and Why it works success down to their commitment to their customers. 1 Get the look: Getting international quality. “We are quite fussy,” she says, expansion right is difficult and many seated in Bijan, the high-end Malay 4 flounder when trying. Shoji’s restaurant they opened in 2003. That was focus on design was a vital first step. also the year that Yeoh’s younger sister Viking 2 Know your audience: Shoji studied Way Cheng joined the team. Way Cheng Copenhagen in the US and has combined Japanese 2 nods in agreement: “If the food’s not design and quality with a broad EverybodyWorld good enough for us then it’s not good For Jens Thomsen, the man behind the understanding of the global consumer. enough for our customers.” revival of iconic Danish stationery brand Los Angeles The women, who do business as Viking, it all began with a museum. the Good Food Trio Company, take a Growing up on a tiny island, the Dane When American Apparel closed its cautious approach to expansion. But had to find ways of amusing himself. LA production facility, the company’s they’ve always understood Malaysia’s So, aged eight, he decided to display old creative director Iris Alonzo and graphics dining scene. La Risata started a trend for items and objects in a disused building and kidswear director Carolina Crespo Italian restaurants and Bijan reimagined on his father’s farm and sell tickets to the saw an opportunity. Having worked for a traditional Malay food, while The Daily exhibition. “I’ve been running my own multinational brand – and with 26 years Grind, which opened in 2008, has kicked business since then,” he says. of manufacturing experience between off a boom in gourmet-burger joints. As The experience gave him an early them – they knew there were a host of Sze To puts it, “We have stuck to what we taste of the entrepreneurial world – and independent LA factories in need of work. believe in.” — km he liked it. A gift of a computer inspired “We also spotted an opportunity to him to start importing computer parts add an eco-friendly angle by taking on Why it works and by 14 he had left school and set up a the waste issue that’s so prevalent in 1 Timing is everything: Being in company – in his father’s name, because our industry,” says Alonzo. The result the right place at the right time is of his tender age – reselling these parts was label EverybodyWorld, launched in everything in f&b. Good Food Trio across Denmark. 2016. Instead of designing the clothes were able to get ahead and cement their When the chance to acquire Viking themselves, the co-founders invite friends place at the forefront of a culinary trend came in 2010, Thomsen jumped at it. and collaborators to create the pieces – and they show no signs of stopping. At the time the century-old company – and have released items designed by an 2 Quality commitments: Restaurants whose yellow 029 pencil was a Danish architect and even a chef. often open with a bang but close soon school staple – was in hibernation. But 1 That was the easy part. The real after with a whimper. The fact that the Danes still “really loved the brand” and challenge was developing a product Good Food Trio’s restaurants have Thomsen saw its potential. % Arabica that was eco-friendly, ethical and stuck around illustrates the founders’ These days Viking is his full-time competitively priced, as well as desirable. focus on quality and consistency. job. Along with graphic designer Ole Kyoto To guarantee this (and to give the non- Thomsen, he designs all of the company’s designer designers a hand), Alonzo and paper products, leather cases and, of “Business is like surfing,” says Kenneth Crespo went back to basics, starting course, its famous pencils. “They all have Shoji, founder of Japanese café % Arabica. out with the “Trash Tee”, a crew-cut a unique selling point,” he says. “We go “You need the push of a wave to stand up T-shirt made from recycled US-grown to huge lengths to find our own strengths. but you have to ride at the front of that cotton. Since then the range has grown Building a business is really about finding wave.” Since opening his flagship branch in to include caps, sweatshirts, trousers and your mission: what is your reason for Kyoto in 2014, Shoji’s business has swept towels. — mho existence?” — vr across borders and now has 25 shops in eight countries, with more on the way. Why it works Why it works Born into a family that ran a printing 1 Tell a story: Alonzo and Crespo 1 Play to your strengths: Thomsen business in Tokyo, Shoji spent his understand that consumers are understands the unparalleled power childhood travelling overseas, tagging looking for storytelling. of a cherished brand. along on his father’s business trips. After 2 Keep it simple: Starting with basics 2 Tap in: The surprising renaissance of was a smart play and reduced the

graduating from university in California, Stanius Paulius Turner, Nathanael Kushimi, Mark printed products and stationery looks he joined the family business, taking it chances of designs going wrong. : set to continue unabated. over at 35. But when the industry went 3 Take it seriously: “Ethical” and 3 Smarten up: The Viking shop on through a tough time he decided to start “sustainable” are ubiquitous Store Kongensgade is a great example something new – and chose coffee. buzzwords but they are baked in of smart .

to the EverybodyWorld ethos. photographers

102 — monocle — building better businesses building better businesses — monocle — 103 5 7 Barkyn Ritual Porto Los Angeles

It seems more than one person has Katerina Schneider was four months cottoned on to the lucrative potential of the pregnant when she decided to start her pet-care market (see Butternut Box, page health-meets-technology company Ritual. 110). In Portugal the most exciting start-up After searching for a prenatal vitamin in this space is Barkyn, co-founded by without artificial ingredients and coming André Jordão and Ricardo Macedo (both up short, she created her own, launching pictured, Macedo on left) in 2016. Jordão the brand in 2016. realised that looking after a pet can mean Ritual aims to bring transparency to multiple trips to different shops. “The the vitamin industry, an $80bn (€69bn) market value of pet-care products is more annual business in the US. Schneider than $90bn [€77bn] worldwide,” he says. stripped away unnecessary ingredients “Yet there wasn’t a service that combined and instead focused on an honest product 8 Why it works all these things in one place.” wrapped in clean, minimalist packaging. 1 Catch the wave: Plastic in the ocean The company is essentially a Schneider left a comfortable job Bureo is an issue that people are increasingly subscription service for dog owners. running a venture fund in Los Angeles to concerned about. Subscribers receive a box each month start the brand, which wasn’t always an Chile/California 2 Be genuine: The founders of that contains products for their pooch, easy sell to potential investors. One male Bureo are harnessing this awareness including different types of food, a investor told her she could either start a “Our passion has always been the but doing so without cynicism or selection of treats and toys, as well as family or a company but she couldn’t do ocean because we grew up alongside disingenuousness. After all, they are health perks such as a free annual health both. That kind of adversity only fuelled it,” says Ben Kneppers, co-founder of surfers and travellers themselves. check. “It’s a very emotional market,” her. Her advice for entrepreneurs? “You’ll Bureo, a venture that recycles fishing 3 Make friends: The brand works with says Jordão. “Your dog is like a member get a lot of opinions from others but you nets and turns them into skateboard local communities as well as bigger Why it works decks, surfboard fins, sunglasses and brands, creating a powerful network of your family so we wanted to build a 1 Seize the moment: Jordão and have to go with what feels right.” — mgl service that was tailored to the individual other products. Kneppers (pictured, of stakeholders. Macedo identified an opportunity second on right) and fellow co-founders needs of each dog.” and did their homework, researching Although it was initially launched in David Stover and Kevin Ahearn hail the pet-care market before doggedly from the East Coast and have degrees Portugal, neighbouring Spain has now embarking on their journey. taken over as Barkyn’s biggest market. in engineering, but it was time spent 2 Know your audience: The in Australia in 2011 that sparked their There is more change on the way too. importance of understanding your 6 “We’ve just been picked up by Google passion for surfing. “We’d talk about ideas consumer can’t be overstated. and the one we were hooked on was the as one of the start-ups to take part in Launching a venture today and Zuriga their accelerator programme in ,” problem of ocean plastic,” says Kneppers. ignoring a trend as universal as Zürich Kneppers, whose work as a says Jordão. “That will help us grow and consumers’ desire for convenience expand as a global brand.” — ccr sustainability consultant had taken him would be foolhardy. “A good espresso doesn’t need to come to Santiago in 2012, entered a support from a capsule,” says Moritz Güttinger, system for early-stage entrepreneurs. founder and ceo of Zuriga. The young Then, in 2014 the trio launched their first entrepreneur has created what he believes product, recycled fishing-net skateboard is the world’s best coffee machine, leaving decks, through Kickstarter. out everything that is not essential to Today – working with brands including turning out the perfect shot of espresso. Humanscale, Costa and Patagonia There are no blinking lights or touch- – Bureo has a network of fishing-net screen displays, just consistent pressure collection hubs across Chile, where of nine bar and a reliable temperature of the team has collaborated with fishing 93c at the push of a button. communities. The company is working Güttinger wants to promote a return to on expanding to Argentina and Peru in freshly ground coffee, not only because the coming year. “We’ve seen places that he thinks it tastes fresher but because it are no longer livable for fish and marine results in less waste than using capsules. ecosystems,” says Kneppers. “So to feel His machines have made their way into like we’re doing something to stop that is the offices of architecture firms and as meaningful as it gets.” — jp advertising agencies. The secret to the product’s success is the quality of its parts, which are made in Switzerland and northern Italy. The expert assembly, meanwhile, takes place in a Zürich workshop, where a small team has made more than 1,000 coffee machines since the company’s launch in 2015. — cs Why it works 1 Capture the zeitgeist: Health and Why it works wellness are booming sectors. 1 Fight the food fight: Güttinger is 2 Model investment: The subscription taking on the might of Nespresso model is now pervasive and with good but he’s on the right side of the reason: customers can be fickle so Weston Wells, Marvin Zilm, Luis Diaz Marvin Zilm, Wells, Weston sustainability argument, which matters. : locking them in makes sense. 2 Premium product: Having its 3 Good impression: Ritual’s packaging machines manufactured and assembled communicates its openness and the in Europe gives Zuriga authenticity. transparency of the brand. photographers

104 — monocle — building better businesses building better businesses — monocle — 105 HSBC 3 MONOCLE

Finding investors. Crowdfunding Younger investors are How to secure funding increasingly willing to look at a broader range of channels for your business idea. when it comes to securing funding. Finding initial and ongoing capital investment is a Crowdfunding challenge, especially for inexperienced business platforms, for founders. We asked three experts for tips on raising instance, are almost twice as popular as funding and what investors might be looking for. a means of sourcing investment among roundtable discussion antoine: Exactly. And an investing in are fully aligned those under 35 On raising money interesting point is that, 10 with their personal values and years old than for Investment expertise years ago, investing in start- philosophies. Many ultra- those aged over 55, ups was only for investors in high-net-worth entrepreneurs according to HSBC Meet our panel of experts: Firstly, Silicon Valley, but today many are keen to leave a mark on Private Banking’s we have Antoine Baschiera, the more investors are becoming society and give back to their Essence of Enterprise co-founder and CEO of Early interested in this area. Jade community of entrepreneurs. Jade Francine report 2018. This Metrics, an agency that rates mentioned family offices, large question: So it’s almost a two-way business models in order to also entrepreneur, you have to be is particularly true start-ups on behalf of investors. wealthy families: in the past they street, isn’t it? Start-ups benefit develop their own businesses. picky. You shouldn’t just choose in markets such as Secondly, there’s Jade Francine, were only interested in bonds from extra funding, but at the antoine: I also think that when a investors who offer you money; and the UK, the co-founder of WeMaintain, a and real estate but increasingly, same time investors benefit family is investing close to its you need to choose people where more than a business focused on the elevator because of their personal from more knowledge of the historical activity, it’s not simply who have the same values and third of investors are maintenance industry that has just interests they want meaningful companies disrupting their about the return on investment: ambition as you. At WeMaintain using such platforms. raised its first series A. Thirdly, investments, so they are looking sectors. Would you agree with it’s also a strategic investment we have a strong international For entrepreneurs we have Aurélien Drain, the head at the world of start-ups. that assessment? to see what their industry might ambition and we want people to it’s worth considering of business development at aurélien: This is something we aurélien: For both entrepreneurs look like five or 10 years down share this. At the end of the day, crowdfunding, HSBC Private Banking. Discover see from a client perspective and investors, funding is not the line. it’s all about people and you’ll especially in the the advice they shared while in too; we’re in touch with many simply about money changing Families often have a longer- have a close relationship with seed-investment conversation with us in Paris, ultra-high-net-worth investors hands: it is also about getting term view as well, because them, so you need to choose stage – the first round home to one of Europe’s most and we can see that they’re new connections, good they care about what they’re very carefully. of raising capital – as exciting business ecosystems. very keen to invest in start-ups. synergies and new business leaving to their children. Is the it can demonstrate Family offices and individual opportunities. We have a lot of family office only invested in The full conversation is available that an idea created question: Jade, WeMaintain is investors don’t necessarily just clients who are market leaders more traditional companies that as a special episode of The significant interest obviously a young company but look at return on investment: in particular industries and they could be challenged soon by Entrepreneurs, Monocle 24’s and attracted early you’ve managed to raise money. they also think in terms of social are always keen to meet young a disruptive start-up or has it dedicated business show. adopters. Where did you go for that? impact and they want to make entrepreneurs, to hear about also invested in some start-ups Go to monocle.com/radio to jade: For the initial round of sure that the companies they’re new ideas and see refreshing looking to be the disruptors? download it. financing, we approached family I definitely believe that family offices that had experience offices and ultra-high-net-worth in our industry rather than individuals are going to play a venture-capital firms. As they more important part in funding were familiar with our business, the start-up ecosystem. it only took us one month to One thing to bear in mind is close the deal. I’d recommend that often such investors go it: you work with people who “too big”. We’ve seen mistakes, have been in the business; they where family offices or ultra- understand that it is business- high-net-worth investors who to-business and that it may are investing for the first or take time; and they don’t have second time in start-ups sign pressures from other people large cheques. Investing in a because it’s their own money. start-up is inevitably a bit of an My advice to entrepreneurs emotional decision but there is that they need to do their also needs to be a rationale. research and know what areas When you go too emotional, too interest family offices and big, the risk is equally high. where they’ve made previous jade: It’s also true from the investments. other side – as a start-up Aurélien Drain Antoine Baschiera 2 essays The challenges for the ‘next Warby Parker’ Starting points By Kartik Hosanagar Opinion — Think your brand can conquer the direct-to- The experts explain why all those consumer market with an online shop and incubators could be bad for business some friends? Think again. and why there may not be another ‘Warby Parker’ moment. In spring 2010, a couple of my MBA students, Neil Blumenthal and Jeffrey Raider, were working on a Illustrator Motiejus Vaura business plan to start Warby Parker, an online eyewear retail business. They and their co-founders could not But is it doing any good? Over the past decade in understand why glasses cost more than iPhones and and Warby Parker leveraged these online platforms to the US, the hype around entrepreneurship as an set out to develop an online shop. They wanted to create a community of brand advocates who took it economic activity has ballooned and the number of design their own frames, cut out the middlemen and upon themselves to spread the word. start-up accelerators has shot up. Yet the number of transfer the cost savings to the customer. But what worked a few years ago is no longer start-ups growing even to medium scale is now lower When they first shared the idea with me I thought possible. As thousands of DTC brands replicate Warby than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. Some argue that it would be hard to convince people to buy glasses Parker’s strategy today, they are finding it difficult all supports for entrepreneurship are not equal. Well- online. An integral part of the process is trying them to reproduce its success. It’s no longer as easy to Has entrepreneurship gone soft? funded programmes that offer genuine education are on and getting feedback from the optician or friends. organically build online communities of brand By Philip Delves Broughton vastly different from property owners offering free I wished the students well but worried that they advocates. Instead it means spending large amounts — co-working space as a way to market their buildings. would struggle to gain mainstream traction. on Google and Facebook’s ad auctions to acquire But it’s also possible that it’s irrelevant. Hewlett Several months went by. One day, a friend customers. Customer-acquisition cost (CAC) can be We’ve entered a golden age for start-ups that’s Packard, Apple and Google were all started in garages uploaded a photo to Facebook seeking input from anywhere from several hundred dollars to the low full of flat whites and co-working spaces. But in Silicon Valley and I can’t imagine that Daniel Ek, her friends on which of three Warby Parker frames thousands. The absence of middlemen retailers is will any of these businesses go the distance? the co-founder of Spotify, would have benefited from a start-up incubator. He began building websites when he was 13; by 18 he had 25 employees. He “Warby Parker Great entrepreneurs are rarely comfortable did not need to spend time in some petting zoo for leveraged online characters. They have thick skin and don’t despair aspiring entrepreneurs. By the time most people are platforms in the face of rejection. They can be single-minded starting at university he was ready to be released into to the exclusion of normal human emotions and the commercial wild. to create a appetites. They don’t carry much baggage and tend community of to work ferociously hard for longer than most people “Hewlett Packard, Apple and Google were all brand advocates could ever tolerate. If that’s who you are, you will tend who took it upon towards difficult challenges and the hard winnowing started in garages and I can’t imagine that process of highly competitive industries, where the Daniel Ek, the co-founder of Spotify, would themselves to rewards for success are greatest. have benefited from a start-up incubator” spread the word” So what happens when the environment for entrepreneurs goes soft? When the capital to seed businesses is being hosed around and certain Earlier this year, venture capitalist Michael Moritz looked good on her. A few weeks later, another offset by the highCAC . As Daniel Gulati, a partner resources are made abundant? Start-up incubators wrote a piece in the comparing the friend uploaded similar photos, again asking for at Comcast Ventures, told Inc Magazine recently: and accelerators are everywhere these days; WeWork entrepreneurial energy in China to California. The help choosing from three frames. Before long, I had “Customer-acquisition cost is the new rent.” offices are taking over entire city blocks. It’s a golden Chinese, he wrote, work harder, see their families less bought my own Warby Parker glasses. The company While one can build small profitableDTC brands, age for co-working spaces, for bleached-wood tables, and barely take holidays. They don’t blither about work- has sold millions of pairs of glasses to date and today the opportunities to build large-scale ones online are coffee machines and networking happy hours. life balance. They fly economy and share hotel rooms. hundreds of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands are limited. Entrepreneurs should ask themselves whether No wonder, then, that even the West’s technology borrowing from Warby Parker’s playbook and trying it is sensible to try to do the latter given the many giants are panicking about the rising threats from to disrupt all categories of consumer retail, from challenges. If so they might need to embrace an omni- China. It isn’t just its products, services and scale: it’s shoes and razors to high-end furniture. channel model in which they combine the efficiency the country’s work ethic. If that seems unpalatable But what does Warby Parker’s success say of an online channel with a physical distribution to the aspiring entrepreneur riding to work on his about the prospects for the next generation of channel. A physical presence might mean running racing bike before spending the day ideating between DTC companies? When Warby Parker launched its shops but it can also mean intermediate steps such Moleskine and MacBook, well, it should be. — (m) brand, the eyewear market was dominated by Italy’s as setting up pop-up shops or showrooms at third- Luxottica whose scale allowed it to charge a premium; party stores. — (m) lower-priced offerings were not well branded and About the writer: therefore not a competitive threat. Warby Parker’s Broughton is the author of two international bestsellers, team recognised an opportunity in selling eyewear About the writer: Life’s a Pitch and What They Teach You at Harvard Business Hosanagar is the John C Hower professor of technology and School. In 2016 he wrote How to Think Like an Entrepreneur that cost less but was within the umbrella of a brand digital business at The Wharton School of the University of for The School of Life. that was seen as trendy and young. This was also Pennsylvania. He is a co-founder of Yodle. before social media was as widespread as it is today

108 — monocle — building better businesses building better businesses — monocle — 109 3 A clear vision can Left to of lessons for his acolyte, in both mentors right: Glynn, take you a qdy Cottu and long way Eva Chen & business and life. Since the launch of her Nolan publication, Chen has regularly phoned Helping hands Huang Wei-rong Huang and meets him over coffee to get Taipei his view on everything from planning Global new distribution channels to positioning qdy in the market. “I still find it surreal to sit on the same For Huang, though, it’s equally panel as him at events,” says Eva Chen, inspiring and educative to be Chen’s the founder of qdy magazine, referring The life of an entrepreneur mentor. “It’s so good to see her to her long-time mentor Huang Wei- committed to print media at such a can be a lonely one. Every rong. Last year, at the age of 28, Chen young age – and doing better and being became the youngest-ever recipient of challenge is new and more progressive than I was.” — kl the best chief editor award from Taiwan’s daunting yet, in front of Ministry of Culture for her work with the Why it works your staff and investors, you magazine, which she founded in 2014. 1 High ideals: Sometimes However, the quarterly title, which need to exude confidence. mentorship is as much about focuses on Japanese culture, can trace its inspiration as it is about actively Sometimes all you need origins back to 2012 and a public lecture helping with the business. given by Huang, for which Chen was in is to talk to someone 2 Softly, softly: Huang offers guidance the audience. He was the founding editor and advice but mostly provides the impartial, someone who of two publications, Shopping Design encouragement that Chen needs to and One Day, which were both hugely has been there and done find her own path. popular magazines for Chinese-speaking it all before. Many young creative professionals and are still a reference for young people seeking an business founders benefit ace & tate from having a mentor, an idealised “slow life”. Mark de Lange & “Huang inspired a whole generation older adviser who can help Michiel Witteveen of people my age to be confident in doing guide them through the media differently to the mainstream,” Amsterdam says Chen. At 50, Huang is no longer toughest times. Yet it’s also an editor but is still a constant source a two-way street, as more Mark de Lange, the 37-year-old founder and ceo of Dutch eyewear brand Ace & experienced entrepreneurs Tate, is not used to depending on other can learn a lot from their people for help. “I like doing my own thing, perhaps to a fault,” he says. Yet mentees too, and discover when he came up with the idea for a line where their sector is of affordable yet elegant prescription glasses back in 2011, he realised he heading next – as these needed someone to bounce ideas off, examples reveal. someone “who’d been around the block”. butternut box came from strong business backgrounds, That someone was Michiel Good ideas Glynn and Nolan found themselves Witteveen, a 64-year-old Dutch retail outlast their David Nolan, Kevin Glynn bogged down in minutiae. “We were veteran who has known De Lange since creators & Cyril Cottu literally in Smithfield meat market at he was three years old. What started 4am, picking up meat and cooking it out as the odd chat quickly turned up in northwest London,” says Glynn, into something bigger, with Witteveen laughing. Meetings with Cottu became an coming in as one of Ace & Tate’s first In a world where consumers expect opportunity to examine the bigger picture. investors and eventually becoming a everything to be available on demand, As Butternut Box has gone from non-executive board member. Still, their meal kits have become an invaluable strength to strength, Cottu has taken a relationship remains an informal one. dinner solution for health-conscious more passive role. “We see each other “I always trusted Michiel’s judgement,” yet time-poor urbanites. Since 2016, quite regularly,” says the mentor, “but says De Lange. “He’s one of my closest Butternut Box has been offering a it’s not like they need me to run the personal advisers.” similar service for dogs (or perhaps more business.” Ultimately the success of the Witteveen’s advice has helped the accurately, their owners) and has had trio’s relationship lies in a shared attitude. entrepreneur to make big decisions. “It’s investors’ tails wagging from the get-go. Cottu has been consistently impressed easy to be overwhelmed,” says De Lange. Foremost among its early backers was by Glynn and Nolan’s clarity, vision and “He taught me that if you have all the Cyril Cottu. With a long and successful execution; in return he has brought a facts, trust your gut and run with it.” Yet career in finance behind him Cottu sense of scale to the operation. “Cyril Witteveen is reluctant to describe himself was familiar with the business having forced us to dream a bit bigger,” says as a mentor. “I’m not teaching anybody,” mentored one of the two founders, Glynn. “We were very ambitious but he says. “Mark is very talented and the Kevin Glynn, when they both worked at having somebody else drive that as well only thing I do is remind him of that. Goldman Sachs. Cottu not only seeded was a huge force in the business.” — avm I also learn a lot from it, so it works both the company but has also become an ways. The new retail economy is totally important mentor to Glynn and his Why it works different from where I came from.” — vr co-founder, David Nolan. 1 Joint effort: Glynn and Nolan benefit In the early days Cottu proved an from having a mentor with more Why it works invaluable sounding board. “Every time seasons in business behind him. Teng Stephanie Jussi Pukkonen, Larkin, Jason 1 Give and take: The mentor-mentee we sat down with him it was a very : 2 Strong roots: Cottu and Glynn’s relationship goes both ways here. positive light on what we were trying to friendship goes back years, which 2 Room to breathe: Having someone do,” says Glynn. “He reinvigorated us means their business relationship with a bit of critical distance is vital every time we met.” Though they both today is a more open and honest one. for keeping abreast of broader shifts. photographers

110 — monocle — building better businesses building better businesses — monocle — 111 4 inspiration 01 Ryosuke Nakagawa, 37 05 Yumi Kitahata, 36 09 Takuhei Wakui, 46 Landscape’s coffee kiosk and A carpenter who now builds heavy Spent eight years at Landscape and is Designed shop and restaurant café. She is the owner-chef at Go forth and conquer machinery for furniture-makers. co-founder of Studio Doughnuts. interiors while at Landscape. He’s O-Kitchen, a baking caterer. 02 Keita Suzuki, 32 06 Takahiro Goko, 45 now a freelance interior designer. 13 Shinji Sugiyama, 43 Japan Spent seven years at Landscape Launched Swimsuit Department, a 10 Keiko Matsunaga, 41 One of Landscape’s first and left in 2015 to start interior- Tokyo craft shop, in 2010. Also curates Worked in Landscape’s shop, employees, he is the founder of design firm Studio Doughnuts in museum and retail exhibitions. Playmountain. She now works as jewellery firm Source Objects. A boundless creative force, Shinichiro Nakahara has Tokyo with Yumi Kitahata (see 05). 07 Yusuke Shinkai, 37 an independent graphic designer. 14 Keiko Nishimura, 37 03 Hisako Maeda, 33 Worked in Landscape’s Tas Yard 11 Yuko Onishi, 40 The chef at Fam, an Italian always inspired and encouraged young employees A pastry chef who runs her own café and opened several Be a Good Was a member of Landscape’s first restaurant in Tokyo. to launch their own ventures. We meet the serial catering business. Neighbor kiosks in Tokyo. He left this team of interior designers. She now 15 Akira Oshige, 39 04 Naoko Takanezawa, 40 year to open Rutten café in Tokyo. runs her own firm, Creo, in Tokyo. Started working for Nakahara entrepreneur in Tokyo, along with a host of his acolytes. Worked for Landscape for a year 08 Shinichiro Nakahara, 47 12 Yoko Fujiyoshi, 39 part-time. He is now an interior and now runs coffee-bean roastery Landscape Products founder Worked for Nakahara more than designer and runs Kikuta Komuten, By Kenji Hall Meow Coffee. and chairman. a decade ago, making desserts for building homes and shops. Photography Jonathan VDK

Shinichiro Nakahara, founder of shops, restaurants, design firms Tokyo-based Landscape Products, and baking businesses. Yoko is a restless soul. A native of Fujiyoshi, who made desserts for Kagoshima prefecture in southwest Landscape’s café and coffee kiosk Japan, he started off with a handful and later for events, left more 6 8 9 of employees selling furniture in than a decade ago and founded 1997 and three years later opened O-Kitchen, a desserts catering his shop, Playmountain, in Tokyo. business. “He kept telling me 1 2 3 4 5 10 11 Since then the serial entrepreneur to try new things and he put has branched out in unexpected no limits on what I should be ways, adding a café, coffee kiosks, doing,” she says. Nakahara also a noodle shop, a design company, lets his staff take on freelance an art gallery and a festival and projects. “I worked on a friend’s events producer to his miniature retail space and that led to other 3 7 empire. The annual For Stockists jobs,” says Yumi Kitahata, who 1 exhibition that he first organised co-founded interior design firm with friends in 2006 has become Studio Doughnuts with her former one of the most exciting venues for colleague Keita Suzuki in 2015. 12 14 15 fashion retailers and department Earlier this year Nakahara stores to connect with independent handed over daily management manufacturers and designers from to his deputy. He now shuttles around the country. between Tokyo, Kagoshima and Nakahara’s wide-ranging San Francisco, where he opened interests, from food to design and Playmountain East last year. “I culture, have driven many of his am working on branding for a key business decisions. His belief whiskey distillery and bakery in that a company is nothing without Kagoshima,” he says. “Now I do its team came from growing things at my own pace.” — (m) up around his parents’ catering business. “I was surrounded by women who were always preparing food or making deliveries,” he Monocle view says. “I absorbed the intricacies of Nakahara is a true serial entrepreneur working in a group very early on.” who has turned his hand to a variety of What’s won him admiration different businesses over the years, from as a mentor is his habit of tasking f&b to design, and always found a niche and thrived. The list of ventures set up junior members of staff to head up by his former employees covers a similar projects and encouraging them to breadth and shows just how much he has strike out on their own. More than given back to this miniature community two dozen of his former employees in terms of advice and skills, as well as have gone on to run their own encouragement and inspiration.

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New rules of play Q&A angel investing is looked at very Motivated by impact. Stuart Parkinson positively by both the investor A new generation Global chief investment and the investee. In comparison, What’s driving tomorrow’s of entrepreneurs entrepreneurs of the older is rewriting the officer, HSBC Private generation are looking at it more investment rulebook. Banking as a way to diversify and grow business leaders? According to their investment portfolio and they HSBC’s Essence We sat down with Stuart often adopt a more informal style We hear a lot about “millennial” business founders, of Enterprise 2018 Parkinson to discuss how the through their own network. but what distinguishes this next generation of report, almost six in new generation is approaching entrepreneurs from those who have come before? 10 business owners entrepreneurship. Having a sense of purpose is often a major motivation. under the age of 35 “A lot of new entrepeneurs have invested in non- Some of the most intriguing come into business with a listed businesses, revelations in HSBC Private mission to benefit society their values.” From the beginning, compared to only case study Banking’s Essence of Enterprise Gibault made his product in three in 10 over the Sasibai Kimis report this year were about or the environment, as France to create livelihoods for age of 55. Younger Earth Heir next-generation entrepreneurs. well as turning a profit” local craftspeople and to reduce investors are more How do they differ from their the air miles required to get his likely than previous “Artisans can’t just make things forebears? products to market – even though generations to for museums,” says Sasibai The new generation thinks How true is it that the younger it’s much more expensive to perceive this activity Kimis, owner of Earth Heir, from more globally and adopts a generation puts social and produce clothing in France than as a way to connect her Kuala Lumpur studio. “They collaborative mindset focused environmental concerns ahead elsewhere in the world. Patagonia, and collaborate with need to have global, or at least on environmental and social of making money? the values-driven US outdoor- peers and enhance contemporary, appeal.” concerns – they see these values Social media has brought greater clothing and sports-gear brand, their knowledge The former investment banker as their own. They’re leading scrutiny and awareness of the was a model for him in this. “The and expertise. And set up Earth Heir in 2013 with the trend of social-impact social and environmental impact fashion industry has historically they are almost a clear mission: to work with enterprises, with 24 per cent of of business practices. Our twice as willing to traditional craftspeople across entrepreneurs under 35 motivated research highlights that personal use crowdfunding the region (mostly women) to by social impact compared to values fundamentally shape not “Consumers now want platforms to source create homeware products, just 11 per cent of those over 55. only the vision entrepreneurs transparency and to buy investment compared accessories and more. It’s a social The younger generation is also set for their ventures, but also from companies that to their older enterprise that aims to make a investing in private businesses day-to-day management and share their values” counterparts. profit and thereby ensure that at a much higher rate: 57 per cent business operations. A lot of them workers are properly paid. of under 35s are undertaking have come into business with a The first three years were angel investment compared to mission to benefit society or the case study been one of the biggest tough but recognition from the 29 per cent of those over 55. environment, as well as turning Guillaume Gibault problems,” he says. “We make British Council in 2015 was a a profit. It’s not an “either/or” Le Slip Français everything in France to support turning point, providing Kimis with When they invest in non-listed situation; they want the business jobs and reduce the negative the means to open her studio. companies, what are young to have a positive social impact. “The whole thing is about having impact on the environment.” Earth Heir now works with 110 entrepreneurs looking for? purpose in what you do,” says Early in his journey, a friend craftspeople in five of Malaysia’s Younger entrepreneurs look Guillaume Gibault, founder of bet Gibault that he wouldn’t be at it as a two-way street — French underwear start-up Le able to sell underwear online; a give-and-take dynamic. Slip Français. “You spend a lot the figures tell a different story. “Economic growth needs Investors are contributing not of time working and people This year Le Slip Français is on to be more inclusive only financial resources but also today are looking for that time course to sell 600,000 pieces of people and the experience and expertise. A serial to have meaning.” (with 70 per cent of sales online) environment” entrepreneur called Scott Lester The 33-year-old started the and achieve €20m in turnover. Yet told us that an angel investor company back in 2011. At the time Gibault always returns to purpose: lends their metaphorical “scar he was working for a French retail “Money on its own isn’t enough. 13 states. Kimis does the designs, tissue” to a venture to ensure chain selling organic products You need a mission.” while the artisans refine the they avoid the pitfalls that can and became interested in the product, taking home 15 to 90 per beset new businesses. The new way that fashion brands sell to cent of the sales price. For Kimis, generation of angel investors also customers. “It had been the same the business is not only about the get a great deal back because for 40 years: brands produced beauty of traditional crafts but they aren’t just focusing on in cheap countries to decrease about giving people the chance financial returns: they are also the price for consumers,” he to live better lives: “Economic looking at it as a mechanism to says. “But new brands have to growth needs to be more inclusive connect, collaborate and stay up be different because consumers of people and the environment. to date with industry progress now want transparency and to We can’t continue building one and disrupters, and grow their buy from companies that share at the expense of the other.” knowledge and expertise. As such 5 The manufacturing ceramics firm ready to ship out and All fired up scale up North Carolina

Building a pottery brand with lofty ambitions from scratch sounds like a tricky task. But the partners at East Fork, alongside their small team, are doing just 5 that – and hoping to help considerately designed location revitalise the once-powerful makes such an impact,” she adds. A new shop in Atlanta will be joining US tableware industry the Asheville outpost later this year. while they’re at it. East Fork’s founders clearly believe that producing quality wares By Ed Stocker 6 Photography Max Burkhalter in North Carolina and growing (1) East Fork wares in the Asheville shop rapidly are not mutually exclusive. (2) Finishing touches (3) Work barns For now there’s an element of (4) Partner and potter John Vigeland learning on the job, with the couple (5) Jigger machine (6) Working on bowls (7) Glazed goods (8) Alex and Connie balancing the pottery business with Matisse (9) Fired mugs and plates raising two young children. Connie deals with the customer-facing side 1 of the business, while Vigeland does Alex Matisse had just dropped out everything from hand-throwing of university in North Carolina mugs to book-keeping. At the and was pondering his next move. same time, East Fork has been He knew that he was drawn moving to mechanising much of to pottery and so decided to its tableware production – still take a bit of a punt by doing an operated by people – in order apprenticeship. Matisse admits 7 to increase numbers. his vision was “romantic”. It was charge of customer service and A few years ago the firm began 2009 and he’d already bought photography. One of the keys to using a Dutch-made gas kiln that a former farm at the end of a East Fork’s success so far has been fires “at the touch of a button” dirt track that’s half an hour’s its ability to think of itself as a instead of wood, revolutionising drive north of Asheville. After brand, meaning the partners have both the way East Fork works completing his training it was here, considered profile and imagery. and its production capacity, while surrounded by the lush woodland 2 8 They realised early on that they breaking out of what Alex calls for which Madison County is The trio realised early on that needed to hire an agency to work the “dogma” of pottery-making. famous, that he set about building they shared a vision. “We got to on their branding as part of the Increased production meant the a wood-fired kiln. talking about future plans and it company’s ambition to scale up. company lowered its prices in Today that plot of land is home became clear that the three of us All of that helps when August. But the biggest change to East Fork Pottery, named after wanted to do something bigger,” you’re selling largely direct-to- is yet to come: consolidating the hamlet where the property is says Vigeland. There’s still a consumer – mostly in the US all production in one space in located, but there has been change family feel to East Fork, with staff 3 for now – through a website downtown Asheville later in the along the way. For one thing, Alex gathering for tea every afternoon relaunched this summer. So too year. It will mean waving goodbye (who is French painter Henri’s in the kitchen of the wooden 1920s does understanding your audience, to the rural setting but the trio great-grandson) is no longer a farmhouse that, until recently, from diehard North Carolina aren’t getting nostalgic. “It’s so one-man band. He met his wife the Matisses called home. But pottery fans to urbanites who much more exciting, what we are Connie, an Angeleno who’d moved the company now has some 30 like the story, aesthetic and, says doing now,” says Alex. “It’s so to the area via New York, at a employees, many of whom work Connie, “the idea of something much more challenging.” — (m) holiday market and she’s since putting the finishing touches to the that is made in America and made joined the business. In 2013, potter brand’s plates, bowls and vases in with integrity”. But that doesn’t John Vigeland joined the fold too, barns a few hundred metres across mean shunning bricks and mortar. What we learned joking that he’d been lured by from the house. “Being able to hold the dinner If you can build a successful brand from Matisse’s earnest blog posts about Connie jokes that they’ve plates, bowls and mugs, see them a base in rural North Carolina then it’s felling trees during winter to clear also made “real-company” hires physically and see them carefully doable anywhere – provided you follow space for the kiln. recently, including people to take laid out with other objects in a the basic tenets of the East Fork playbook. 9 116 — monocle — building better businesses building better businesses — monocle — 117 4 6 entrepreneurs 1 3 The rise of the Zhang Tingshu Thomas Schacht Yunnan, China and Ruth Kramer senior start-up Vals, Switzerland An hour after sunrise, Zhang Global Tingshu leaves home and drives to his farm. There he stays until Whenever Thomas Schacht and his In business, 17.30, inspecting the facility, timing is wife Ruth Kramer travelled, they The word ‘entrepreneur’ checking the stock and looking after everything always ended up dreaming. “Often is often associated with the 700 pu’er (black tea) trees that we’d drink red wine in the evening a T-shirted tech whizz grow there. It’s Zhang’s energy and start thinking about setting up slouched on a beanbag. that allows him to run a successful a little shop or hotel somewhere,” tea company – at the age of 70. says Schacht. But the reality is that today The retired soldier launched “Our business is built on word 2 Having spent 20 years building the average entrepreneur is his brand, Yiyou, in 2006 when he of mouth,” says Zhang, whose up his own advertising agency in aged around 40 and there was just two years shy of 60. The annual production of 20 tonnes Anda Andrei Jutland, by 2007 the Danish-born are more baby boomers product originated from Yunnan of tea is sent to 11 cities across New York Schacht had fallen out of love province but back then “the the country. That said, the team with the business. So, just before starting businesses than market was full of overpriced, fake has also worked tirelessly to grab Many people would have been celebrating his half-century, he millennials. As we all live pu’er tea”, says Zhang. Investing attention: Zhang junior started content to ease into their later and Kramer decided to go for a longer, healthier and more much of his pension, he set out an in-house design team to work career without giving themselves clean break. “I sold my agency and Vals, renovated it and launched a active lives, increasingly to create a high-quality tea brand on packaging and branding, any headaches. They might have then we sold everything else – our guesthouse: Brücke 49. Kramer, a people are deciding to set with authenticity and provenance while Zhang senior has travelled been OK with being a successful house in Copenhagen, our summer designer by trade, opened her own at its heart. To start with he to dozens of trade fairs to meet designer within a world-renowned house, even our sea kayaks – and womenswear boutique in the town. up businesses in later life. moved to the remote countryside wholesalers and retailers. — kl company. Not so Anda Andrei. we moved to Switzerland.” Although small, Brücke 49 There is plenty of evidence, of Mangshui in the untouched Based in New York (having arrived It was a huge change. “I was has become a reference for rural too, that these founders are mountain range of Yunnan and Why it works as a refugee from Romania in the used to the phone ringing and hospitality, from the design of the more successful than their acquired hundreds of tea trees. He 1 Mix it up: Zhang understood that 1980s), she had been working emails coming in,” says Schacht. interior (heavily Scandinavian in then built a production workshop having some young blood in the under star hotelier Ian Schrager “Suddenly it was silent. I didn’t feel) to the pastries at breakfast. younger counterparts. business would be no bad thing. and convinced his son to quit his 2 Be bold: Sinking most of your for nearly three decades. But it know what to do with myself.” But Looking back, Schacht knows it job and join the family start-up. pension into an untried venture is wasn’t enough for someone who the pair’s entrepreneurial zeal soon was the right decision. “I was tired Today Yiyou has a team of 21 risky but taking the plunge can give still had ambitions to run her own kicked in again and they acquired of the work at my agency,” he says. employees of varying ages. you the jolt you need to get creative. business. So in 2013, at the age of a house in the Swiss town of “Now I’m happy.” — cs 59, she left Schrager’s empire and launched Anda Andrei Design. Why it works As it turned out, going it 1 Close ties: Chief among the couple’s Energy alone proved easier than she’d skills is their amiability, which they and now put to good use in the hotel. experience: thought: given her track record, 2 Work and play: Brücke 49 gives the perfect clients queued up. Since launch Schacht and Kramer a little more time blend she’s worked on the vision for 11 to pursue their own hobbies. Howard hotel in New York, as well as the ambitious redevelopment of a 14-hectare shoreline chunk of Asbury Park, a town in New Jersey. Andrei realises that there are pros and cons to having a business in your sixties. For one, you have Fresh start to curtail some ambitions about – and fresh pastries how big you want to grow. Mostly, though, it’s about having no regrets. “I have one life to live and I want to try as many things as I can,” she says. — ejs

Why it works 1 High esteem: An experienced Andrei has little self-doubt. Martin Adolfsson, Marvin Zilm, Zheng Fang Marvin Zilm, Adolfsson, Martin

: 2 People power: She had a long contacts list to draw from. 3 Deep breath: Good news – the decision to start afresh is a founder’s toughest decision. Nothing is as scary. photographers

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The journey of your story straight is much more A fond farewell. an entrepreneur complicated. You have to flex each of these things. Considerations when Entrepreneurs are usually defined by As an entrepreneur, how the start of their important is it to think about exiting your business. story: the ingenious what happens after the exit? idea they had, the This is the emotional side of the Creating a business takes years of passion and hard brand they built or journey and it’s absolutely crucial work. So when it comes to leaving it behind, there can the new market niche – but so often overlooked. The be a lot of mixed emotions and questions. We talked they carved out. The nature of a business-sale process final chapter is often tends to make it focused on this to one entrepreneur about his “exit” experience. overlooked. Through single event but the truth of it conversations is it is part of a journey. We talk case study install a management team of with thousands of through the different emotional Richard Wharton the right calibre to succeed us,” entrepreneurs around issues that arise around this Co-founder of says Wharton. In December 2015 the world, HSBC event and help make them more the founders hired the CEO they Private Banking has manageable. There’s bound to be Bullitt Group believed could build a heavyweight discovered a few a sense of loss if you’ve created “When we formed Bullitt we had team capable of taking the intriguing patterns. a business successfully with three guiding principles: work with business forward independently For instance, while people around you and created people we liked, have a lot of fun as they gradually stood back. two in five company Q&A business ready for sale, and financial livelihoods for people and make some money. There “Psychologically, this was founders has a clear Russell Prior timing, which is about when a aside from yourself – there’ll be a was no blueprint for an exit,” says tough,” says Wharton. “We were intention to sell or Head of family governance good time to sell might be. Getting day when, suddenly, it’s not there. Richard Wharton who, in 2009 making a decision to remove exit the business in yourself well prepared in advance It can come as a bit of a shock. – along with Colin Batt and Dave ourselves as the driving force of the future, 61 per and family enterprise will help you to respond if There’s also the emotion around Floyd – founded Bullitt Group, the business and consciously cent plan to do so in succession, HSBC someone comes in and makes an the deal. You’re trying to generate a company that partners global consign ourselves to the a timeframe greater Private Banking unexpected bid for your business brands to creative innovative company museum!” From a than 10 years. Yet, or if something else happens “We talk through the technology, such as rugged business perspective as well, it as Russell Prior Russell Prior has worked with – such as illness – that might emotional issues that smartphones that stand up to was a challenging time. “Aside points out (see many entrepreneurs exiting their drive a business sale. On the arise around a business the world’s toughest conditions. from the cultural shift that new Q&A, opposite), companies. Here he talks through topic of advisers, you’re normally In September last year, management brings, preparing entrepreneurs his approach. selling to someone bigger than exit and help make them Wharton and his co-founders any business for sale is a huge should constantly you and they will have a team of more manageable” sold a majority stake to one of consider what their What are the key things advisers, so who will be on your the UK’s leading mid-market business looks like to entrepreneurs need to think side, and who will be batting for the maximum value and you’ve private equity houses. Yet the “It was the right time. We a potential buyer, as about in order to prepare for you when there are two teams of got someone on the other side whole process began nearly two built a unique business this will ensure they a business exit? negotiators in the room? trying to chip away at that value. years before that. “The founders that created real value and are well prepared for You must be clear about what It’s your baby, your livelihood, were the identity of the business. had a great time doing it” unexpected situations your objectives are. Someone It seems very structured. How and now it’s a commodity. Plus, In order to exit we needed to that might arise and might offer to buy your business much does that structure if the deal doesn’t happen, what impact their business. but require you to stay on; if this change depending on the do you do? After having prepared drain on the people that are key to isn’t your objective, maybe you’d business and entrepreneur? to go, you might find yourself the day-to-day operation.” Looking accept a lower price to secure It can change a lot. If you pick the having to get back in and drive back, Wharton has no regrets. a clean exit. The next step is to management issue, for instance, this thing again. The third area of “It was the right time. We built a think through the story you are this is less of an issue if you are emotion is around the proceeds. unique business that created real selling: what are you selling and in a bigger business where you’ve Many business owners don’t think value and had a great time doing it. how tidy is it? It’s also important already built the management hard enough about what to do, I was even told the other day that to think through what the team around you. Your business and about what these proceeds the last product we oversaw, the management team would be post- operations will go straight onto mean to them. There’s also the CAT S60, was successfully used sale and creating one to succeed a management team. Equally, if issue of the future. Quite a lot of during the search-and-rescue you. And when it comes to the you have a really straightforward business owners put off selling mission for the boys trapped in buyers, it’s about understanding business – a franchise business, their business because they don’t the caves in Thailand – that made who they are, what part of the for example – and you’re the know what they’re going to do me smile all weekend.” business they’re interested in and owner of a well-known food with themselves. What are they Today Wharton’s looking for the value of the business overall. company, the story is really going to do when it’s no longer an office from which to run a few simple because you are selling there? So we suggest three areas investments he’s made in early- How important is timing? very standard products. for them to plan around: having stage tech start-ups. He’s also There are two factors to consider But if you’re running a mini a vision for your wealth, having a considering a new venture in the here: time, which is about how conglomerate with lots of different vision for yourself and having a travel sector – watch this space. long you need to get your things going on, then getting vision for your family.