I am delighted to announce that throughout this month, we are partnering up with NEF to feature all the graduate entrepreneurs currently on their programme.
NEF (New Entrepreneurs Foundation) was launched by a group of successful business people who give 25 of the UK’s brightest, entrepreneurially minded young people the opportunity to work for a year with some of the country’s leading entrepreneurs in the hope of developing a new generation of outstanding entrepreneurs who will play a role in Britain’s future growth and prosperity.
Some of the entrepreneurs have been placed in companies such as: Skrill, Monitise, YouGov, DFS, Liv-ex, Travelex, Seatwave, Better Capital LLP, LBi, HomeServe, TalkTalk, 2 sisters food group, Virgin Active and Cognitive Match etc..
Here is my first interview.

Hi Simon, It’s great to finally have you on YHP, how are you doing today?
I’m doing really great, thanks for having me. I am just wrapping up in work before catching a flight back to Dublin tonight for the Christmas break. I am really looking forward to a week off as we have had a really busy run up to Christmas where we worked very hard at Better Capital to close a new fund in a turbulent market.
How did you get into entrepreneurship? Who or what was your inspiration growing up?
My Dad ran his own company along with a few of my uncle’s, but it was always very important to both my parents and I for me to get a strong education. I guess this was the focus of my youth. However, my idols have always been entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Chuck Feeney, and more lately Michael Bloomberg, Steve Schwarzman and the Candy Brothers. Despite harbouring entrepreneurial aspirations from a young age, it has been the NEF which has been the real catalyst in my entrepreneurial journey.
What was your first business, how did the idea come about and tell us about your experience running that?
My first entrepreneurial endeavour was founding the London Irish Graduate Network (LIGN) in 2010. During University, I was a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCI) in Dublin, and this was a great way to meet business people of a similar age and mindset. Upon moving to London, I planned on joining something similar to build a solid network in a new city. However, after trying a few of these networks, I just felt none of them gave me exposure to the kind of people I wanted to meet (i.e. young ambitious students/ graduates in top business jobs).
After discussing this with a friend who was having a similar problem, we decided to build a networking platform that would give us the kind of exposure we really craved. We appointed a board, and the first iteration of LIGN was formed. At the time, the other board members were studying for Masters in Cass Business School. Using this as a launch pad, we formed the Cass Irish Business Society (CIBS).
We ran a number of events as CIBS which were focused on business/ finance students and graduates. We got a number of graduates in from some of the top employers in the city, and they gave speeches on how they went about securing their jobs etc. This proved very successful and throughout the year we held a number of similar events focused at helping our members to meet people in their desired roles and industries.
During the year, the International Irish Business Network (IIBN) which is London’s largest business network became interested in what we were doing and we ran an event alongside this well established network. It was at this time that we felt we needed to incorporate more universities into our model so we re-branded to the London Irish Graduate Network. As this model is specifically modelled around the foundation that Cass Business School provides, the board decided to pass over the reins to new members this year to keep things fresh.
My experience running this was really beneficial to my career giving me great exposure to some of the top Irish business people in London, as well as the new batch of ambitious, educated graduates.
I guess there’s been a lot of talk about going to university, the value of having a degree, and entrepreneurship becoming a viable option. What made you realize that this was the right choice for you?
I think my story of realizing that the entrepreneurial journey was something that I am very interested in is quite like that of Phil Knight, the Nike founder. I was not the Richard Branson type child who was selling everything and anything from eight. I went to University, worked very hard, did well and got a job in London from it.
My goal then was three to four years of consulting work, an MBA in the States, and then look at starting my own venture.
When Phil Knight started his MBA at Stanford, he had that “aha” moment when sitting in Frank Shallenberger’s Small Business class. Shallenberger defined the type of person who was an entrepreneur–and Knight realized he was talking to him. Like Knight, when I got involved with the NEF, it was due to a few entreprenurial-ish things I had done, i.e. setting up societies and my University experience. However, meeting some of the other incredibly entrepreneurial candidates, and hearing stories from some of the top entrepreneurs in the UK made me realise that this is what I really want to do with my life, albeit after securing a bit more useful experience.
Thinking back, I have always wanted to run my own company, but felt I needed to hit certain milestones before doing so. What I have learnt on the NEF is that every entrepreneur, aspiring or successful, has doubts. It is how the entrepreneur deals with these doubts that is the key success factor. My doubt was that I needed to have a Harvard/ McKinsey name on my CV before I could go out on my own. What the NEF has done for me is shown that although these are great options, nothing can really prepare you for the life of an entrepreneur, except becoming an entrepreneur.
Therefore, despite always wanting to be an entrepreneur, it has been my NEF experience which really made me realize that this is the option/ lifestyle which really appeals to me.
Tell me about your university experience?
I studied Engineering and Math’s at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. I have nothing but fond memories of my time in University. As is the nature of Engineering, we always had the longest hours on campus. But rather than this being a negative, I feel long weeks with the same group of people crystallized friendships that have lasted long outside University. On top of that, we had some great trips and great parties. When moving to London, I found Engineers were in high demand for some of the top jobs including investment banking and consulting. The skills learnt in my four years such as high numeracy and a good problem solving ability have served me well so far in my career. In my NEF placement with Better Capital, my ability to crunch numbers and solve problems was noted as key skills when Better Capital selected to interview me.
Tell me about your experience working for Turner & Townsend? What were some of the key lessons that you learnt from that experience?
Mostly my experience with Turner & Townsend was positive, but it was also an eye opener for me. Most people have a romanticized vision of their first real job after University. However, what I failed to realize was that not everybody has similar ambitions or life goals in the companies you join. I joined a firm where I thought everybody wanted a short term learning experience with as much exposure to as many things, as quickly as possible. However, this was far from the reality. Many people had a lot of commitments that took precedence over their career, and they were very comfortable in a well-paid job, running projects for some of the biggest companies in the world. For someone with a constant need to feel as if I am moving forward, this was a real eye-opener.
Most people in T&T were quite a bit more senior than I, and in retrospect, this was quite a good experience. I learnt to deal with seniority, and overcome the fact that as a young person, people always initially doubt you because they have 20 years experience on you. Also, due to the seniority of the firm, there are not many graduate hires. Not having a rigid support structure actually worked quite well for me and forced me to set my learning goals and targets and this was a great lesson to learn. Coming into Better Capital where you are expected to act for yourself, this strong self-dependency has been invaluable.
Tell us about NEF and how you got involved?
It is quite serendipitous actually. As mentioned, I was working for a consulting firm when I read an ad in the FT about the NEF. Initially I didn’t’t believe what it was promising. As it is a new program, I felt that some of the promises were over-ambitious. However, I was still intrigued by the prospect that such a program might exist. As I went through each interview stage, my interest and belief in the scheme grew exponentially. I really think what the NEF guys are doing is unbelievable, and being involved has really changed my life and my career trajectory. I feel once it starts to build alumni and has a number of successful candidates coming out, this program has the ability in the next 10 years to become as prestigious as the Goldman Sachs and McKinsey recruitment programs.
What company are you currently working with, what do you do and how’s the experience been so far for you?
I work for Better Capital, Jon Moulton’s new private equity company which invests in distressed companies and turnaround opportunities.
To start, Jon Moulton is one of the most prominent private equity industry leaders in Europe, so to even meet him was a fantastic opportunity. But getting selected at age 22 to work directly for him, sitting in an office where my desk is one away from his is quite extraordinary.
My three months with Better Capital so far have been really fascinating. I have been given exposure to all three of Better Capital’s business areas; fundraising, transactions and operations.
On the fundraising side, I have friends who are a bit older and work for some of the top PE firms such as Blackstone and Carlyle. They tell me that fundraising is usually reserved for top level Managing Directors. However, Jon was quite relaxed about taking me to a number of investor presentations with large institutional investors and high net worth individuals. This has been a great privilege.
As someone without an accountancy background, there is only so much I can do on the transacting side as some of this work is very detailed. However, the team in BC has been great at getting me involved in valuing opportunities, writing papers on Defined Benefits Pensions Schemes and analyzing many aspects of the transacting process. During down time, they are quite keen to take me to the side to run through some complex areas that I have not seen before. Exposure to transactions has really increased my knowledge of financial statements and valuing opportunities which is a great skill to take forward on my own entrepreneurial career.
Most of my time is spent on operations which is working with our portfolio companies streamlining operations or working on problems which the CEO/ top executives feel are important, but too time consuming for their full commitment. It has been great working directly with these different executives on issues that I can really get my teeth stuck into.
What are some of the key things that you’ve learnt so far from working at Better Capital?
When you go to investors, know your financials inside out. We were interviewing the CEO of a potential investment last month, and when we asked what his EBITDA for the last year and quarter were, he didn’t’t know. Straight away a red flag was waved and we lost confidence in him as a leader. Know your numbers, be realistic about your forecasts and definitely don’t try and sugarcoat things. Some of the people in Better Capital are some of the smartest I have ever met, and they have seen it all before. They don’t mind bad numbers, we deal with distressed businesses every day which probably have far worse problems than your company, but if someone lies or hides things, they are definitely compromising what could be a very fruitful relationship.
Another lesson I have learnt is that profits are important, but cash is king. Cash flow takes precedence over all other things and this should be tracked in a very detailed manner as often as possible. This is especially important for start-ups.
Tell me more about the experience of working at Better Capital particularly working with Jon Moulton?
Jon is an incredibly hard worker. He is a very wealthy man, and I have heard many people say – “If I had that money I would be on a yacht”. But Jon is one of the least opulent people I know and he is more than happy doing deals day in day out for the rest of his life. I deeply respect his passion for his work.
He also is one of the smartest people I have ever met. He has an opinion on everything and that is great to be around. He is the kind of guy who switches between reading a detailed financial report to reading about advances in the medical industry in the Lancet. He also has a great ability to read large documents fast whilst being able to retain a lot of the info contained within. I have seen how valuable this skill can be.
A great point about Jon is that he has no problem walking over to you in the office and saying that looks wrong, or complicated, or even asking you what are you doing. Constantly having his presence keeps me on my toes and it is great to see him getting involved with people who have far less experience than he does.
Is this something that you would recommend to other aspiring entrepreneurs? What value can they get from getting accepted in NEF?
If you are serious about entrepreneurship, I believe that the NEF is a launch pad that can take your business/ career to a much higher level.
If you have an idea, or are still searching, the NEF gives you exposure to some of the most talented graduates from a diverse range of industries, to some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the UK, and to some the best training out there for entrepreneurs (bar starting your own venture that is).
The NEF also gives you a story which has allowed me to approach potential mentors and idols with something which is far more interesting than the average graduate career trajectory (in my opinion anyway). Knowing people like Jon Moulton gives me great exposure and access to an array of investors which will be very useful when I decide to start my own venture.
Taking the contacts out of the equation, the knowledge one gains through being involved with the NEF gives you a real advantage over people your own age as not many can say they have exposure to working with a top management team every day. Having a year work experience with someone like Jon Moulton (or any of the CEO’s who are equally as impressive) gives a level of credibility that is hard to come by from most graduate jobs. Whether your goal is to start your own venture straight after NEF, or go into a corporate for more experience, you will end up in a pretty healthy position after a year on the NEF.
What would you say has been some of your most memorable moments so far?
I have had plenty of memorable moments but below are some of the best.
1. Being asked to fly out to the Genoa boat show on behalf of one of Better Capitals investments to undertake a competitor analysis. Having worked closely with our investments CEO, I knew that the people who work at the stands at these kinds of shows are very cautious about giving information to competitors.
They are also trained to assess a customer’s likelihood of buying a boat, or ability to afford one. Therefore I had to go “undercover” and try and get as much pricing information from all these guys as possible. My back story was that I had been flown down on the whim of my billionaire boss (not totally unfounded) to scope out a new boat for beside his French home. I initially tried getting information without having to use this story, but after a constant stream of rejections (let’s face it, I can wear white chino’s and D&G glasses, but who in god’s name is going to believe I can afford a £3m boat), I resorted to my initial strategy.
This opened up a whole new world for me, with me being taken into the back of all the showrooms (they have secret deal rooms), getting VIP treatment on all boat viewings, getting to sea trial a few serious yachts and getting taken out for dinner by one of the luxury boat reps.
2. Meeting a top New York Hedge Fund Manager whose prodigious career to date saw her working at a PE firm at 22, before being plucked to a hedge fund at 24 and running a $100m fund at 29. She took a shining to me as she thought my career had similarities to hers and she recommended I meet her mentor who is FTSE 100 CEO and Burberry Board member. Getting an email from a FTSE100 CEO that he heard good things about me, and he would love to catch up in his office was a real confidence booster and a real highlight. He was a fantastic sounding board when we met and someone I look forward to keeping in contact with.
3. Having the opportunity to meet one of my business idols, and Irelands most successful business man for lunch in February 2012 to discuss my career.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to start their own business?
Obviously the following is how I am currently thinking rather than from experience (having not started a company). But in terms of advice I would say:
Find what you are passionate about and test if it is just a nice thought or something you really want to spend a considerable amount of time doing. You often find the people who are most successful have known from a very early age what they wanted to do. If you don’t, think about industries that excite you and try to get some exposure to them. If they do excite you, try and get some real exposure in that industry and once you start to build your knowledge and contact base, look for disruption points and niches.
Once you think you have the idea, act quickly. Don’t waste time with business plans and trying to get funding. Develop a prototype and go straight to your customers. Test if it solves a problem they are really having and if not, iterate until it does. Also, test their appetite for your solution to their problem i.e. do they say, “that’s a great idea, but the problem is not a massively burning issue that I feel I need to change provider”. Fail fast and learn quickly and only when you have a product or service that has enough traction should you go to investors.
Obviously the above requires some capital, so my suggestion is to build enough capital to last you and your idea for 10-12 months. After this period, if you have still failed to prove a certain aspect of your idea, have a serious think about whether or not this is the right product/ service and act appropriately. Write a business plan only when someone important asks you to do so.
Don’t worry about telling other people your idea for fear of it being stolen. If you have decided to quit your job and put everything you have into this idea, you have already built up a buffer to it being stolen. Realistically there are five teams around the world trying to solve the exact same problem as you anyway, so talk to as many people to get as much advice as possible. Also, don’t fall into the trap of believing that first users are representative of your target market.
Typically, these guys are the ones who sign up for anything, and think everything is great. Get to the real core of who your customers are, solve their problem and all else will follow.
What are your plans after NEF programme? What can we be expecting from you in the future?
As I mentioned, I am still searching for that one idea that set’s my world alight. However, I feel I am in a privileged position to do so. In Better Capital I am learning how to value companies, assess teams and streamline troubled businesses. As such, I get exposure to many industries and companies on a weekly basis. I plan on keeping up this momentum whilst learning more about assessing companies from a financial perspective for the next nine months.
My thought process has changed so much in the past three months I fear saying where I think I will be next September, but realistically, I feel I will look at one to two more years corporate experience, potentially with Better Capital, or a large corporate with a high learning curve.
I will keep on trying to meet as many successful entrepreneurs and potential mentors as possible and learn as much as I can from them. I am also in touch with a number of people (particularly guys from the NEF) who are getting involved with start-ups so this is an interesting avenue for me to explore.
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