At Dell, building bridges with the entrepreneur community is close to our hearts. So with Winter closing in and dark nights ahead, what better excuse for an evening of engaging discussions, networking and refreshments!
This October, we hosted our third quarterly Dell for Entrepreneurs networking event at the Ham Yard Hotel — a trendy new hotel in the heart of Soho, London. Under the theme “Ideation; Innovation; Collaboration” we asked three inspirational business leaders at different stages of their entrepreneurial journeys to share their top tips for success.
With a full house of 100 entrepreneurs, industry experts and press, the evening provided a unique opportunity for attendees to hear from business owners on everything from how to build a winning brand, to securing funding and understanding how to build a more sustainable organization.
- Jo Fairley, one of the UK's leading entrepreneurs and founder of Green & Black's Chocolate, reminded us of the importance of staying focused on your founding principles throughout the ups and downs of running a business. With Green & Black’s now approaching a £100 million brand worldwide, Jo inspired our audience with her candid talk about staying level-headed.
- Julia Elliott Brown, co-founder, CEO and driving force behind made-to-order shoe label, Upper Street, discussed her top ten tips for securing investment, highlighting the importance of staying true to your personal goals.
- Dan Vivian is co-founder of sustainability consultancy the Vivian Partnership and an expert in advertising, marketing and communications for brands including BMW, Sony and Cancer Research UK. He showed us how businesses can integrate sustainability into their operations, whatever their stage of growth.
As Dell marks its one-year-anniversary as a private company it’s a great time to reflect on our own transformational journey and the progress of the Dell for Entrepreneurs programme. It’s been hugely rewarding to work closely with the entrepreneurial community, and to provide mentorship and support to our two resident startups, Fantoo and iNovar, to help them in their own journeys. As iNovar completes its one-year tenure with us, we can’t wait to begin the search for our next exciting Startup in Residence! Follow @DellCFEUK for news on how to apply in the New Year!
Staying in touch with our entrepreneurial roots is key to our success as an organization. With each Dell for Entrepreneurs event, the network continues to grow and reinforce the value of small and large enterprises working together.
With that in mind, we look forward to seeing you at our next event in January!
Many thanks to those who used the #DellCFE hashtags and the @DellCFEUK Twitter handle to share their pictures and comments throughout the evening. To view and share pictures from the event, please visit the Dell for Business Facebook page and the Flickr page.