This entry was written for the Fashion Business Club website
Last week, I was fortunate enough to have a first glimpse of some of the Young Gun 2010 entries as I was part of the sifting team who were starting to compile a shortlist of finalists. It has clearly been another year of talent amongst the UK’s entrepreneurs. The competition is still open so I do hope we will attract some talent from the fashion sector - http://www.young-guns.co.uk/ for the key eligibility criteria. Previous finalists from the fashion sector have included mywardrobe.com, Myla and Sweaty Betty.
I also caught up over a couple of G&T’s with Neely and Ian, founders of Sapphires Model Management following their recent launch party. Having met the pair some time ago before they moved to London as they were just starting out, it is fantastic to see them making a mark in the sector. They are two individuals with a thought-provoking story and vision for their business. The move to London has got off to a successful start and through their hard work, I am sure this will long continue.
We hosted our second event for Rockstar Group mentoring at our offices last week. Founded by Jonathan Pfahl, Rockstar helps businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to SME's fast track the growth of their business through access to a team of experts. One of the most inspiring and energetic speakers that I have heard was Tom Minter. He is a wise twenty-something year old whose abundant experiences in running his own business are worth listening to by all entrepreneurs. He was one of the founders of Budda Bag and having exited that business in 2007 he is now CEO of Socks for Happy People. Never has a business been so aptly named after a CEO! His enthusiasm for the idea behind his business is definitely infectious – all stockists should have a video of him talking about his business as a sure way of closing sales.
Another fabulous Fashion Business Club event was held last week, as we were presented with two talents in Edward Enninful (creative director of iconic fashion magazine i-D) being interviewed by Michael Herz (creative director of womenswear at Bally). It was a pleasure to meet the lovely Sam Fearn of Fearnhurst PR. She is the mind behind Fashion Press Week, which it seems is set to be a huge success in November at the Saatchi Gallery. I look forward to following the launch which will serve as a convenient one-stop show for editors to view key Spring/Summer 2011 collections.
One thing that I have taken away from last week is the importance of new business talent in the UK. New, creative ideas create successful businesses and jobs - surely they are key to future financial success and economic recovery and as such should be a priority in being supported by the government and banks?
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