"At the age of 30, I was a penniless beach bum. At 37, I was a millionaire. I honestly believe that anyone, absolutely anyone, can do what I did and turn their life around; you just need to wake up to the possibilities that are all around you and make a decision to change your life."
These are the words of one of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs, Duncan Bannatyne, who's become a household name thanks to his appearances on Dragons' Den. While he's right in saying that there's nothing to stop any one of us becoming an entrepreneur, the reality is that very few people actually do it. As Linden Kitson, managing director at the Leeds-based Lick Group points out, the number-one difference that separates them from the masses is that entrepreneurial people will spot an opportunity and act upon it.
"I have so many mates who'll say ‘I've had this great idea', and I'll ask when they're going to do something about these great ideas. But they're in jobs, and they're safe." Kitson shies away from talking about himself as an entrepreneur "because it sounds a bit egotistical", but he will admit to observing "a certain spark" that seems to exist within like-minded business people, who are driven to create and build enterprises.
Formative forces
While it's impossible to pin down precisely, some common entrepreneurial traits do emerge: the most successful entrepreneurs are either born that way, or have an upbringing that effectively sets them on the path of hard graft.
David Mitchell, for example, can be justly lauded as the industry's most successful modern-day exponent. Mitchell and his team secured £5m of venture capital backing in 1996 to acquire the three firms that were the foundation of Astron, subsequently building a business that was sold for £520m less than a decade later. He may have millions in the bank, but he's also modest when asked about the secrets of his success.
"It's difficult to give an opinion about it without appearing arrogant," he demurs, although it's apparent that he was driven from a young age. "I was resourceful as a kid. I had a paper round, a milk round, and a window cleaning round." And he was always looking for opportunities to take himself to the next level. He was FOC by the time he finished his apprenticeship, and landed a job at St Ives by writing to founder and then-chairman Bob Gavron (more of whom later) with a copy of his CV and a letter saying "you need me".
Thus Mitchell ended up being managing director of St Ives' Robert Stace facility at just 28. "It was unbelievable. He obviously saw something in me that others didn't". Print's now legendary Lord Gavron was a talent-spotter extraordinaire, and proved a real inspiration to Mitchell. "He had a great gift in picking talent and helping people to grow. I learned from that and I think I've been very fortunate in getting the right people around me, too. It's finding that chemistry where one plus one equals three. The last thing I want is a chief financial officer who thinks like me - that would be dangerous! Trust in your team in the way that Gavron trusted me."
Gavron, who founded St Ives in 1964, has had a lasting impact on many of those who worked around him. The group's former finance director, Ray Morley, who joined the business in the 1980s, says that working with Gavron was a fascinating experience: "He was an incredibly inspirational person to work for with a very fine mind - he had an ability to go right to the heart of a problem in an instant."
Both Morley and Mitchell cite Gavron's extraordinary people skills, which would now probably be trendily defined as ‘emotional intelligence'. "He had a way of reaching out that motivated you to do more than you thought you could," notes Mitchell, while Morley adds: "He made you want to do well to please him, and even if he was making you do something you didn't really want to do, you would still do it willingly. If you're really lucky in your career you come across a few people who have an impact like that. Bob was one of them."
Online opportunities
It's telling that Gavron is still spoken about in such revered tones, even though he stepped down from St Ives the best part of 20 years ago. Similarly, one of his contemporaries Mike Hunter (see boxout) has also inspired some of the current generation of entrepreneurial print business owners - and is still involved with the industry today through his business partnership with Nick Dixon and Rick Taylor at Lateral Group. Dixon is continuing this talent-spotting tradition with the recent appointment of Jason Cromack, who cut his entrepreneurial teeth during the dotcom era, as chief executive officer. The internet age has opened up a host of opportunities, as evidenced by Nick Jenkins at Moonpig, Tony Rafferty at Printing.com and Richard Moross at Moo.
Innumerable books have been written about the nature of entrepreneurship, and one of the interesting things to emerge is the disconnect between academic and business success. Printing.com's Rafferty, for example, was thrown out of university, but that didn't stop him. "I'm a slow learner, but a great applier. I'm good at disregarding the rule book and thinking about how things can be done differently," he says.
School's out
Likewise, Lick's Kitson describes himself as "academically useless", and Fulmar founder Mike Taylor also left school with just a handful of O Levels, but then became incredibly driven to learn more once he was at the helm of his own business. "I lacked interest and wasn't motivated at school, but as soon as it became practical I switched on to it. So when I set up my own business I went to night school too. Then I was at the top of the class, whereas at school I was at the bottom," he recalls.
It's an issue that's been recognised in academia, too. A study of UK entrepreneurs by Julie Logan, professor of entrepreneurship at London's Cass Business School, found that 19% were dyslexic, compared with just 3% of corporate managers in general. And the dyslexic entrepreneurs proved to be better at visualisation, oral communication, problem solving and delegation. "Dyslexics had a clear vision of how their business would grow and ability to communicate this vision, allowing them to motivate those around them," states Logan.
Whether equipped with a PhD or P45, one thing that unites all entrepreneurs is having the boldness, the belief and the balls to do something in the first place, and fortune also plays its part here, as Mitchell freely admits: "Success requires lots of luck as well as judgement. Best of all is lucky judgement."
PRINT SUCCESS STORIES
Lord Gavron Charismatic St Ives founder remains a legend in the industry, and is still involved with print as owner of The Folio Society. Made £29m when he sold the bulk of his St Ives stake in 1998. Estimated fortune today: £48m.
Mike Hunter Hunter’s back story demonstrates the risks as well as the potential rewards. He bounced back from HunterPrint’s collapse at Colorgraphic (subsequently sold to Big Flower), SP Group (acquired by St Ives) and as part of the ‘dream team’ (along with HunterPrint alumni Nick Dixon and Rick Taylor) that rescued Howitt in 2004.
David Mitchell He’s a private equity poster-boy, having turned an investment of £5m into £520m, netting £33m himself. Top tip: "Get close to customers and walk in their shoes. Create your own space and deliver value to the client." Returned to print last year with an MBI at Bezier.
Nelson Loane The Adare founder acquired a string of businesses prior to floating the group in 1994. Took it private in 2000, then sold it again to an MBO team in 2006. Notable entrepreneurs to emerge from Adare include Paddy Crean (Paragon Group), Mark Scanlon (Walstead) and Peter Lynch (who left after his rival MBO bid failed in 2000).
David Instance Instance and his family made an estimated £50m when they sold their specialist leaflet label printing business in the late 1990s. Subsequently renamed Inprint Systems, it is now owned by American group CCL Industries.
Nick Jenkins Jenkins launched online personalised greetings card business Moonpig in 2000, at the height of the dotcom boom. It is one of the few original dotcom businesses to have thrived. Last year it posted pre-tax profits of £6.7m on sales of £20.9m.
Mike Taylor Founded Fulmar in 1972 with the help of a £3,000 loan from his father. The group floated in 1996 for £48.2m, and was subsequently sold to CPI for £33m in 2006. Top tip: "Be decisive. You don’t have to analyse things to the point where you have the right answer, you just have to be heading in the right direction."
