Talks on Entrepreneurial Leadership at London Business School - TELL Series

Tamara Heber-Percy is the co-founder and CTO of Mr & Mrs Smith. In 2014 Tamara, and co-founder James Lohan were awarded MBEs for services to the British travel industry. Tamara has combined travel expertise with technological knowledge as the architect behind Mr & Mrs Smith's e-commerce websites. Her first job took her to Brazil to launch a new energy drink and she went on to work in marketing for brands such as Ericsson, Honda, Unilever and Swissair. A series of data-driven projects, including building large CRM databases through online channels, helped her develop and hone her technical expertise. In 2002, she left to head up her own company, the County Register – an exclusive introductions agency – and to launch Mr & Mrs Smith. --- London Business School students created the TELL Series in 2009 to put the spotlight on entrepreneurship in Europe. The TELL Series showcases successful entrepreneurs' personal stories of building high growth businesses. Successful founders, investors and key figures from the European entrepreneurship world share their start-up stories, lessons learned and thoughts on the future. Tell Series is sponsored by the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Frog Capital.

Taavet Hinrikus is co-founder of TransferWise, the international money transfer platform. The business allows regular people to access the real mid-market exchange rate by cutting out traditional banking fees altogether. It charges only a tiny, totally transparent service charge. In the two years since it launched, the business has transferred over £1bn worth of customer money. -- London Business School students created the TELL Series in 2009 to put the spotlight on entrepreneurship in Europe. The TELL Series showcases successful entrepreneurs' personal stories of building high growth businesses. Successful founders, investors and key figures from the European entrepreneurship world share their start-up stories, lessons learned and thoughts on the future. Tell Series is sponsored by the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Frog Capital.

One of Ireland’s most successful internet entrepreneurs, Ray Nolan has been instrumental in the success of a number of high profile companies in the Irish technology sector. Ray founded Hostelworld.com in 1999 when he identified an opportunity to introduce online bookings to youth and tourist hostels. As CEO, Ray grew the company to become a leading worldwide brand with distribution contracts in 170 countries and more than 12MM visitors a month. He sold it in November 2009, returning more than $500MM on just $150K total investment. -- London Business School students created the TELL Series in 2009 to put the spotlight on entrepreneurship in Europe. The TELL Series showcases successful entrepreneurs' personal stories of building high growth businesses. Successful founders, investors and key figures from the European entrepreneurship world share their start-up stories, lessons learned and thoughts on the future. Tell Series is sponsored by the Deloitte Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Frog Capital.

Alice Avis MBE, is an entrepreneur, seasoned brand builder and investor. As an entrepreneur, she is best known for building The Sanctuary from an unprofitable spa in Covent Garden into an international beauty brand before selling it to PZ Cussons PLC in 2008 for £75m. She was awarded an MBE for services to the beauty industry and was a Finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year. Alice started her career in advertising at Boase Massimi Pollitt before joining Bain & Co in 1986 where she worked in London, Singapore, Australia & in Bain Capital in the US. In 1995 she joined Guinness PLC (became Diageo) in 1995. As Global Brand Director for Johnnie Walker, its No 1 Brand, she successfully reversed the declining brand through a new marketing strategy and brave repositioning, under the ‘ Keep Walking’ campaign, It is still running 16 years later and its success was recognised with a Marketing Society award for International Brand Development. In 2000, she joined Flutter.com as Marketing and Content Director and helped scale the business rapidly from its foundation until its eventual merger with Betfair. The combined business created the world’s largest sports betting exchange. She then went on to become Marketing and Ecommerce Director for Marks and Spencer PLC. She was voted one of the top 10 Marketers in the UK. Since selling The Sanctuary, Alice has built a portfolio of interests in private branded businesses. She also advises as a member of the Commercial Panel of the National Trust. Alice has an MA in Classics from Cambridge University and an MBA from INSEAD. She is a mother of 2 teenage daughters and in her spare time tries to train the family dog. Her talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 18 November 2015 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/lbsyoutube Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbs

avid Dutton started his first company, Pizzaland, a pizza restaurant chain, after graduating from Harvard. It was sold for a substantial consideration to a major public food company in 1978. Mr. Dutton then founded and chaired a small property company, grown and subsequently taken to the AIM market, sold to a major property company in 1989. Since then, he has been involved as a “hands on” business angel in a number of small company start ups whilst concomitantly working as Executive Group Property Director for The Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), a major UK media company, Chairman of DMG Information, a major division of DMGT concentrating on the provision of Business to Business electronic information through a number of subsidiary companies, principally in the US. He is currently a non-Executive Director, UCLB PLC, Zoopla PLC Among his many business achievements, Mr. Dutton has also been the following: - Past President of the Harvard Business School Club of London - Past Honorary Treasurer of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine (part of London University) - Honorary Fellow of University College of London - Founder 1995 and Chairman of UCLB PLC until Spring 2015, a wholly owned subsidiary of UCL, charged with the commercial exploitation of IP innovations arising from research emanating from UCL - Past member of the Board of the Moller Conference Centre, a further learning facility attached to Churchill College Alumni of Cambridge University, graduating with a BA in Economics from Churchill College - MBA from Harvard University, graduating Summa cum laude His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 28 October 2015 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/lbsyoutube Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbs

Ever wondered what it’s like to start a beer company in your 20s, export to 50 countries and reach an annual retail turnover of £178 million? (and get knighted in the process too). Join TELL Series on Wednesday 20 April in welcoming Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer. Karan founded Cobra at 27 when he was a Cambridge law graduate with £20,000 in student debts. He delivered beer in an old Citroen 2CV, while his friends worked for the likes of the Goldman Sachs. Since then, Cobra has become one of the fastest growing beer brands with offices in 4 continents, serving 50 countries. Within the UK alone, Cobra has a current retail value turnover of £178 million, is sold in nearly 6,000 bars, pubs and clubs and in over 12,000 branches of supermarkets and off-licenses throughout the UK. Cobra Beer also went through its trials and tribulations. Karan almost lost the brand several times in the past years, especially during the 2008 financial crisis when Cobra lost out on key investments. Ever the undeterred entrepreneur, Karan persevered and Cobra has been on a roaring comeback ever since. Competing against brands that are centuries old, Cobra has become a household name in less than two decades. Cobra beer has won numerous accolades and Karan himself was appointed as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2004. He also won EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003 and Business Person of the Year by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2004. In 2006, Karan was appointed The Lord Bilimoria, of Chelsea. His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 20 April 2016 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/lbsyoutube Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbs

Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/lbsyoutube Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbs Join the TELL Series in welcoming Azeem Azhar, founder and CEO of PeerIndex. BusinessInsider listed him as the No. 1 person to follow in UK Tech and his illustrious resume is testament to this. Azeem’s expertise lies in the tech scene and in the startup sphere, having done everything from founding companies to mentoring fledgling startups. He serves as an advisor for startups and tech deals at Firestatr, Seedcamp, Weave.ai and Portfolio. Azeem Azhar currently serves as Director of Product at Schibsted Media Group. He has previously been Head of Innovation at Reuters and a Director of Product at Amazon. He is also an experienced media maven, having been a correspondent at The BBC, Guardian and The Economist. He also writes a popular digest called the Exponential View. He is an influential voice in tech, having been invited to speak at Harvard Business School, London Business School and IMD, and at conferences such as LIFT, ETRE. He has also been interviewed by BBC, WSJ, NYT and most of the other big international publications. Azeem graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. His accolades are numerous and his notable achievements include ‘Grand Prix – Best Startup’ at the 2011 Europas; ‘London’s 1000 Most Influential’ in the Evening Standard rankings; and KPMG’s ‘Top 100 Asian Stars in Tech’ His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 20 January 2015 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie

David Helgason co-founded Unity Technologies in 2004 has been its Executive Vice President since October 2014. Before then, he was the CEO since the company’s inception. He leads Unity Technologies in its mission to democratize game development through the best technology, the best tools, the best community, and the best business practices. Unity Technologies is the developer firm behind Unity, one of the most popular licensed game engines. It is used in a variety of 3D and 2D games such as Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Cities: Skylines, Endless Legend and Angry Birds 2. David’s background is in software and an assortment of university dabbling. He created and participated in several startups during and around the dot-com’s, in areas such as early experiments with news & community integration, music business content distribution, and IT-consulting for a variety of local and global companies. His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 14 October 2015 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie

Brett Akker is the Co-founder and Chairman of Lovespace, a disruptor that is taking the self-storage industry by storm. He was previously the founder of Streetcar, a business that he grew to over 250 staff in six years and eventually sold for £50 million. Streetcar was the largest car-sharing company in the UK. Brett Akker is a serial entrepreneur and a serial disrupter to established industries. He also serves as a non-executive director at a host of startups including: Chargifi, Men Rock, and Ospir. He is also an investor and adviser at YunoJuno, Farmdrop, Hubble and Openplay. His corporate work experiences include VP for European development at Zipcar, national account director for Mars and consultant at FSS International. In 2014, Lovespace was awarded the Startup Awards’ Crowdfunded Business of the Year, Brett graduated with a degree in Economics & Law from the University of Durham. His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 17 February 2016 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie

Michael Acton Smith OBE is the CEO and founder of kids entertainment company Mind Candy – the creators of global kids phenomenon Moshi Monsters, which has over 90 million users around the world and has expanded offline into best selling toys, the number one selling kids magazine in the UK, a best selling DS video game, top 5 music album which has gone gold in the UK, books, membership cards, trading cards and much more. In 1998, while in his early twenties, Smith co-founded online gadget and gift retailer Firebox.com with university friend Tom Boardman. The pair started out with a rent-free attic and £800 from undergoing a medical experiment. Their breakthrough moment came in the form of the “Shot Glass Chess Set”. Within five years they were listed by The Sunday Times ‘Fast Track 100′ as the 13th fastest growing, privately owned business in the UK. Following his success with Firebox, Michael secured $10m backing and launched Mind Candy in 2004. The company launched alternate reality game Perplex City, a global treasure hunt with £100,000 buried somewhere in the world that played out across various media. The game gained positive press coverage with Perplex City being hailed as the future of gaming. The game was also nominated for a BAFTA award in 2006 yet only attracted a niche audience. After three years (and $9m spent) Perplex City was placed on indefinite hold. With just $1m left in the bank, Smith took a final roll of the dice. In 2007, having been inspired by the growing success of Facebook and kids brands including Tamagotchi, Mind Candy launched online world Moshi Monsters. Smith was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to the creative industries. His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 2 December 2015 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie

Mark is the co-founder of Wahaca, the sutainable restaurant group that introduced traditional Mexican food to the masses of the UK. It serves up fresh and honest food inspired by the markets of Mexico. Alongside his co-founder – MasterChef winner Thomasina Myers – Mark has grown Wahaca from a single restuarant in Covent Gardern in 2007 into a chain of 22 restaurants scattered throughout London, Bristol, Manchester, Cardiff, and Liverpool. Prior to Wahaca Mark was at Capricorn Ventures, where he served as the right hand to the partners. He worked in a variety financial, operational, and strategic roles; which included projects for Nando’s, Gondola Holdings, and Baker & Spice. Before Capricorn Mark worked directly with Stelios Haji-Ioannou (founder of easyJet) as the Business Development Director for various “easy” Businesses and, prior to that worked in corporate finance for Merrill Lynch. His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 16 March 2016 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie

Saul Klein is Founding Partner at LocalGlobe, Former General Partner at Index Ventures, Co-Founder and CEO of Seedcamp, Kano and Lovefilm International. Saul Klein joined Index Ventures in 2007 and was a Partner until May 2015. Saul has invested in early-stage internet companies including AlertMe, Chartbeat, GlassesDirect, Soluto, MyHeritage, andSongkic. A serial entrepreneur with two decades of experience building and exiting companies in both the US, Israel and Europe, Saul has a passion for working with seed and early stage businesses. Most recently he co-founded Kano and Seedcamp, as well as co-founder and original CEO of Lovefilm International (acquired by Amazon). Saul is also a Founding Partner of The Accelerator Group (TAG), which he started with Robin Klein in 1999 as a vehicle for investing in early-stage internet services, e-commerce and digital media businesses. The TAG portfolio includes bit.ly, Erply,Lovefilm, MOO, Songkick, Spot Runner,Tweetdeck,and Twitterverse. He was part of the original executive team at Skype (acquired by eBay). He has also been a board member of Codecademy and Mind Candy for years. Saul believes tech is still only just starting to make a dent on the economy and society and that it has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. He has a Master of Arts degree from Magdalene College, Cambridge. His talk at London Business School is part of the 2015-2016 Tell Series talks and it was recorded on 3 February 2016 at London Business School. Learn more about entrepreneurial opportunities at the School: http://bit.ly/LBS-entrepreneur Learn more about Tell Series: http://tellseries.com/ Learn more about DIIE: http://www.london.edu/diie

Lara Morgan shares her insights into the strengths you need for success and the skills that helped her build Pacific Direct form just £108 of sales the first year, to England’s 57th fastest growing company with over £4.5 million in sales a few years later.

Paul (Pablo) Ettinger talks candidly about his entrepreneurial journey in building Caffé Nero

Adam Garone & JC share their story of how a simple goal – to create a campaign promoting the growth of the moustache among like-minded people and having fun along the way - became a global movement

John Ayton speaks about how he was able to succeed in the highly competitive luxury goods sector, with Links of London and Bremont Watches, and talks about his work with aspiring young craftsmen in the UK.

Mark Blandford speaks about his journey from farmer's son to founder of a multi-billion pound online gambling company, and how he got there by thinking systematically and seeing opporunities where other's were not able to

Mike Lynch tells the fascinating story of how he has overcome hearing difficulties to build Autonomy, one of the most successful businesses ever in the UK technology sector

Dylan Collins speaks about being a serial entrepreneur in the computer game and digital media industry, having founded Phorest, Demonware and JOLT Online over the last decade.

Dylan Collins speaks about being a serial entrepreneur in the computer game and digital media industry, having founded Phorest, Demonware and JOLT Online over the last decade.

Amir Peleg, founder of TaKaDu, talks about using technology to solve environmental problems such as using sensors and software to detect faults and inefficiencies in water networks and minimise wastage

Amir Peleg, founder of TaKaDu, talks about using technology to solve environmental problems such as using sensors and software to detect faults and inefficiencies in water networks and minimise wastage

Tim Levene, Founder of Crussh, Flutter and Augmentum Capital, talks about his entrepreneurial journey from starting a brick and mortar juice bar business to co-founding an online betting business at the height of the internet bubble, to becoming a venture capital investor today

Tim Levene, Founder of Crussh, Flutter and Augmentum Capital, talks about his entrepreneurial journey from starting a brick and mortar juice bar business to co-founding an online betting business at the height of the internet bubble, to becoming a venture capital investor today

Andrew Sukawaty, Executive Chairman of Inmarsat and former CEO and President of Sprint PCS, talks about the evolution of the telecoms industry over the past 30 years, and Intrapreneurship vs. Entrepreneurship - how it is possible to possible to innovate from within a large organisation

Andrew Sukawaty, Executive Chairman of Inmarsat and former CEO and President of Sprint PCS, talks about the evolution of the telecoms industry over the past 30 years, and Intrapreneurship vs. Entrepreneurship - how it is possible to possible to innovate from within a large organisation

Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna, talks about his journey as a young entrepreneur in the e-commerce payments industry, including overcoming difficulties with fundraising and recruitment, as well as the importance of both luck and hard work in achieving success

Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna, talks about his journey as a young entrepreneur in the e-commerce payments industry, including overcoming difficulties with fundraising and recruitment, as well as the importance of both luck and hard work in achieving success

Giles Andrews, founder of Zopa, talks about how a good education (he studied at Oxford & INSEAD) as well as a passion and curiosity for the business that you are building, are both key ingredients for becoming a successful entrepreneur

Giles Andrews, founder of Zopa, talks about how a good education (he studied at Oxford & INSEAD) as well as a passion and curiosity for the business that you are building, are both key ingredients for becoming a successful entrepreneur

Angus Bankes, founder of Moreover Technologies, talks about his journey as an Internet entrepreneur, from the early days of the dot com boom to his deep experience with growing and selling tech start-ups in the UK and US

Angus Bankes, founder of Moreover Technologies, talks about his journey as an Internet entrepreneur, from the early days of the dot com boom to his deep experience with growing and selling tech start-ups in the UK and US

Lord Charles March, CEO of Goodwood Group of Companies, talks about reviving the fortunes of his family estate by leveraging its rich sporting heritage to create a diverse and thriving portfolio of business spanning the sports, hospitality, automotive, aeronautics and organic farming industries

Lord Charles March, CEO of Goodwood Group of Companies, talks about reviving the fortunes of his family estate by leveraging its rich sporting heritage to create a diverse and thriving portfolio of business spanning the sports, hospitality, automotive, aeronautics and organic farming industries

Ken Olisa, founder of Interregnum and Restoration Partners, shares valuable insights in decision -making and his stories of being the first British-born black man to serve on the board of a major UK pubic company and finding his way to entrepreneurship.

Ken Olisa, founder of Interregnum and Restoration Partners, shares valuable insights in decision -making and his stories of being the first British-born black man to serve on the board of a major UK pubic company and finding his way to entrepreneurship.

Ari Zaphiriou-Zarifi, founder of Heritable & General Investment Bank, Beeson Gregory Group, and Kestrel Partners, gives TELL a detailed account of his entrepreneurial journey and the happiness he feels to be doing passionate work at age 65.

Ari Zaphiriou-Zarifi, founder of Heritable & General Investment Bank, Beeson Gregory Group, and Kestrel Partners, gives TELL a detailed account of his entrepreneurial journey and the happiness he feels to be doing passionate work at age 65.

Sir Thomas Blane Hunter, Sports Division entrepreneur and philanthropist, engages TELL in the story of his entrepreneurial beginnings and what meaning money brings when utilized in the right way.

Sir Thomas Blane Hunter, Sports Division entrepreneur and philanthropist, engages TELL in the story of his entrepreneurial beginnings and what meaning money brings when utilized in the right way.

Dinesh Dhamija, founder of Ebookers, speaks to TELL about his story of starting Ebookers and the lessons he learned along the way. He also shares details of projects he is currently invested in.

Dinesh Dhamija, founder of Ebookers, speaks to TELL about his story of starting Ebookers and the lessons he learned along the way. He also shares details of projects he is currently invested in.

Errol Damelin, Founder and CEO of Wonga, talks about the essence of being an entrepreneur, about brand building, and provides insights on how he runs the fast-growing, well-known lending platform that is Wonga.

Errol Damelin, Founder and CEO of Wonga, talks about the essence of being an entrepreneur, about brand building, and provides insights on how he runs the fast-growing, well-known lending platform that is Wonga.

Sean Glass, serial entrepreneur, candidly shares with TELL the stories of the successes and failures of his ventures in Higher One, Pikum, and Employ Insight. He also discusses key attributes he looks for when investing in new companies.

Sean Glass, serial entrepreneur, candidly shares with TELL the stories of the successes and failures of his ventures in Higher One, Pikum, and Employ Insight. He also discusses key attributes he looks for when investing in new companies.

Alastair Lukies shares with TELL Series the story of the challenges he faced when building Monitise and recaps his learnings along the way.

Chris Havemann speaks to TELL about his journey from completing an MBA at London Business School to successfully exiting the company he founded.

Chris Havemann speaks to TELL about his journey from completing an MBA at London Business School to successfully exiting the company he founded.

Mike Harris, serial entrepreneur, talks to TELL about what it took to build one of UK's first online banks and the three iconic brands that are Garlik, First Direct, and Egg.

Mike Harris, serial entrepreneur, talks to TELL about what it took to build one of UK's first online banks and the three iconic brands that are Garlik, First Direct, and Egg.