Yes I know, lots of people think I’m already a bit of a dragon, but this week I got to be a Dragon on a funding panel for Accelerate Places Pitch Night. I was judging some of the most ambitious young companies in Nottingham in a bid to win a £35k funding package to accelerate their growth.
I have to say it made me reconsider my question about there being a lack of ambition in our region and I was discussing this with one of my fellow Dragons Mark Onyett, one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever in Nottingham. He sold his last business for £200m, so he knows a thing or two about ambition and success in business!
The winners were Savi which is run by 3 guys who haven’t even left University yet, and have still managed to build a business that’s won several awards! It was pretty inspirational to be around so many ambitious companies that are pushing the boundaries with some seriously innovative ideas.
And many of them have never even had a “proper” job!
In “my day” you served your time in a job, got the corporate training and experience first. Then and only then, when you felt you were grown up enough to be taken seriously, did you venture out on your own. I remember when I left Next to set up my first business at the age of 30 feeling far too young to be out there on my own!
But these guys are skipping all that. They believe they can short cut and go straight from Uni to business owner.
And why not?
They’ve got the ideas and the technical skills, with bags of passion for what they do and want to create.
And something else really stood out for me. They are SO willing to learn. They want to get all the help and advice they can, and use that advice to grow their business faster. What a difference to many of the business I come across who think they already have all the answers, and who never invest in working with people who just might know stuff that could make a big difference to their business and their future.
I think we can learn something from that.
Say what you like about the Millennials and their sense of entitlement – the companies I met this week are ambitious, prepared to work incredibly hard and learn from other people as much as they can.