Entrepreneurship secrets from those at the top

Stop making excuses, just do it! 

Alice Bentinck co-founded Entrepreneur First at 25. They're huge - with more investments in AI than any other fund in Europe! She also set up Code First Girls, a not-for-profit that's taught over 5,000 women to code for free. Check out her podcast. 

”We founded Entrepreneur First at 25, we were working it out and constantly learning before we hit our stride! If you want to become a Founder just do it, you’ll never be ‘ready’. Stop making excuses .”

Even a basic understanding of code is valuable. 

Melinda oversees the European side of Square, a US-born card payments app founded by Twitter's Jack Dorsey, after her 10 year stint at PayPal. She's also one of the 50 most Influential Women in UK Tech. Listen to the podcast.

“Learning to code is so important. Even if you don’t know how to code, just having a basic understanding of the concepts can be hugely valuable. I even noticed this at BCG, right at the start of my career, before I went to PayPal. 

Keep design simple, but original. 

Zach is a freelance product designer formerly from Figma, Square and Apple. Figma is actually a design tool that we teach during project weeks, and he came on pitch night to help inspire the students. Listen to the podcast. 

“Don’t be afraid of designing things outside the box, just make sure it’s accessible and most importantly simple. If you need to explain it, you’ve gone too far!”

The payments business is the future. 

Colin is an experienced digital innovation consultant from global consulting firm Capgemini. He's had an incredible 25 year career so far with an international, award-winning portfolio, and founded NextGen banking. Check out the podcast. 

“New banking sites like Revolut and Monzo have changed banking. The future of FinTech? The payments business... keep your eyes on the big 4 (GAFA). 

Valuable users are those who actually pay. 

Previously an entrepreneur himself, Scott works for Europe’s leading equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs. His works with businesses raise the funds needed to get their startup off the ground. Listen to the podcast here. 

"If your plan is to monestise, do it as early as you can....If you have have users that are paying, that's what investors want - they want to know that people won't just use your product, but are willing to pay for it!"

Don't fear failure, but do embrace the learnings. 

Oussama is Co-Founder of The Family, which is a platform that unites entrepreneurs and offers valuable advice for them to flourish. He only invests in individuals who will do whatever it takes to build Empires! 

“The real entrepreneurs, the best entrepreneurs, are those who have failed already. But when they fail, fail trying! That’s the variable that distinguishes follow-up success”

One skill worth learning? Storytelling. 

Matt is a critically acclaimed tech innovation journalist and co-founder of two startups, Provenance and Decrypt Media. The latter aims to demystify blockchain technology in the media. He came to tell us all about transferrable skills.

"The one skill that extends over any profession? Any business? Storytelling. You need to be able to sell a story to sell a product, including yourself and your ideas."