Monthly Archives: November 2012

And the winners are …

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What an incredible evening!

The 2012 Annual Awards Dinner was full of inspirational speeches, ambitious stories and lots and lots of laughter. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Huge congratulations to Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Hermann Twickler of the PressureFab Group and to Entrepreneur of the Year Tom Cross of Parkmead Group. Also to new Hall of Fame inductees Maitlaind Mackie of Mackie’s Scotland and Gio Benedetti of Wallace Cameron.

In the words of Chairman Chris van Der Kuyl …

“Being an entrepreneur is amazing, exciting and enlivening in equal measure.

“We are not like most people. Let’s face it, if I’m going to be completely honest and among friends our lives can also be lonely, frightening and pretty daunting on an almost daily basis but we absolutely love it.

“I believe it’s the inspiration, fellowship and friendship that the Exchange brings to our lives that is absolutely essential for our success and wellbeing as individuals out there in the big bad world. No matter how tough times get or how great the challenges that face us there is always some one in some corner of the exchange who can help.

“Our attitude to and appetite for change, risk, recognition and success sets us as a breed apart.”

Chris praised the achievements of many Exchange members, and highlighted in particular: Luigi Koechlin of Global Voices, Keith Anderson of Boston Networks, Ricky Nicol of Commsworld,and Craig Clark of Clyde Space alongside Young Entrepreneur of the Year Tim Cocking, founder of Edinburgh based Bright Care at Home. He also emphasised the important work of the Enlight Foundation, the Exchange charity, and the incredible work being achieved in really difficult areas.

He also had a few words to say about entrepreneurship and ambition in Scotland.

“In the media and in political circles there seems to be a renewed drive to promote start-ups with new accelerators and incubators being established all over the country. This is an important development but in itself will not transform our economy. Of course we need to increase our business base but I believe the real focus must be on real growth companies with real potential, real ambition and real delivery.

“We deliver a consistent message as the Voice of the Entrepreneur – entrepreneurship is about creating a business of substance and scale, whether started from scratch, bought or inherited. This is important to the Scottish economy and every one of you here tonight is a prime example of what can be achieved in Scotland by ambitious growth oriented entrepreneurs.

“There is still a job to do in raising awareness of just how many successful growing businesses there are in Scotland and we will continue to work with the media to do this. With 400 members with collective revenues of over $16 billion, employing some 150,000 people, we know that there are fantastic role models out there – there really is no shortage of talent and ambition.

“We need the population of Scotland to understand the importance of ambition in business, not necessarily so that they will start and grow a business, but so that they will be supportive of those that do – particularly the next generation.

“I believe that the media in Scotland can play a significant role in helping this generation of parents and career advisers see that enterprise and entrepreneurship is a positive thing – and we are here to help.

“Thankfully there are plenty of young entrepreneurs who have not followed the advice to “get a proper job” and have taken the plunge.”

Nominees for Entrepreneur of the Year 2012

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The wait is almost over, and tonight we’ll reveal the winner of the coveted Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Nominees for this prestigious award are:

Name: Tom Cross
Company: Parkmead Group
Location: Aberdeen
Started: 2011
Employees: 15
Financial turnover: £3 million

One of Scotland’s best-known oil and gas entrepreneurs, Tom Cross cut his teeth in the industry as a petroleum engineer and economist with companies like Thomson North Sea and Louisiana Land and Exploration.

After starting Dana Petroleum with an initial investment of around £200,000, Mr Cross helped the company establish the foundations for growth by scouring the former Soviet Union for licences in the early 1990s. Aided by his astute deal-making, he went on to grow the business into one of Scotland’s biggest listed companies. The company’s mix of North Sea and overseas interests was attractive enough to persuade Korean National Oil Company to pay $3bn (£1.87bn) for the business in 2010.

Mr Cross also pursued an entrepreneurial approach to the corporate social responsibility agenda at Dana. This included drawing on the firm’s drilling expertise to secure permanent water sources for the indigenous population of a desert near where it was exploring.

Since becoming executive chairman of Parkmead Group last year, Mr Cross has made a quick start to his attempt to build another big North Sea business by completing four acquisitions.

Deloitte verdict: “Tom’s record with Dana is outstanding, and exemplifies an individual who is not easily deterred and understands how to get the best out of people and business opportunities. Tom is able to set a clear vision for each of his business interests and the momentum he is already generating at the Parkmead Group demonstrates his team and the market’s advocacy of his leadership and strategy.”

Name: Stuart McLean
Company: Zonal
Location: Edinburgh
Started: 1979
Employees: 240
Financial turnover: £36m

Stuart McLean has spent his entire working life developing his family business, Zonal, which was established to fill a gap in the market for a till-based operating system for the hospitality market.

With a customer base that includes the Wetherspoons and Belhaven pubs businesses and the Butlins leisure operation, Zonal has built a market share of around 60% for its Electronic Point of Sale systems. The company conducts research and development at its Edinburgh base and manufactures its products in Livingston. It has also used acquisitions to expand its offering to include functions like online ordering, stock replenishment and self-billing between wholesalers and suppliers.

After achieving steady growth amid often challenging conditions in the UK, Zonal has made inroads into the giant US market. The company has a presence in the state of Florida, where there are more than 60,000 restaurants.

Mr McLean has sanctioned the hefty investment required to build a new head office in Edinburgh to accommodate growth in a clear sign of his confidence in Zonal’s prospects.

Deloitte verdict: “Stuart has built Zonal in a careful and measured way – the results of which are really starting to take effect in terms of its UK and US footprint. Zonal has captured the market almost by stealth, keeping the customer and their interests as the core focus. As an individual he conveys real, yet grounded, ambition for the company and has no intention of letting up.”

Name: Jim Walker
Company: Argent Energy
Location: Motherwell
Started: 2001
Employees: 63
Financial turnover: £47m

Jim Walker rose to prominence as a spokesman for farmers during the BSE crisis that rocked the community in 1996. In a subsequent four-year spell as the president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland he helped members through the foot-and-mouth crisis in 2001.

After joining Argent Group as vice-chairman in 2003, Mr Walker drew on his farming experience to help the company accelerate the development of its biodiesel production business. This involved taking waste outputs from animal rendering plants. Appointed operations director in 2005, Mr Walker then played a key role in helping the firm respond successfully to the challenges posed by the financial crisis in 2008 and the ensuing recession and oil price volatility.

Since participating in a management buyout of the company in 2009. Mr Walker has led the company during a period in which it has more than tripled revenues and increased profitability by 400%.

Deloitte verdict: “Jim is a charismatic individual who has brought to Argent his business skills and political connections, derived from his farming experience. He has carried his team with him and is demonstrating, in a sustained way, a commercial model that makes money in the arena of renewable fuels.

“Jim navigated the business through a difficult period of changeable oil prices and maintained his faith in the long-term potential of the business which now appears to be vindicated, given the continuing growth it now enjoys.”

Nominees for Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year 2012

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Tonight we’ll reveal the winner of the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 – here are our outstanding finalists:

Alan Bonner – Pinnacle Technology Group plc, Gilad Tiefenbrun – Linn Products, Peter Bruce – Entier Ltd, Michael O’Hare – thebookingroom and Hermann Twickler – PressureFab Group.

Alan Bonner
Pinnacle Technology
Based: Stirlingshire
Started: 2002
Employees: 60+
Turnover: £6.3m

Alan Bonner displayed entrepreneurial instincts as a 17-year-old school leaver when he started a video library that soon became profitable.He moved into the telecommunications industry in 1996 following stints in insurance brokerage and in sales at the BUPA private healthcare operation.

Quick to recognise the opportunities created by deregulation, Mr Bonner developed a firm that sold telecommunications products on behalf of suppliers, which was bought by a rival based in Kent. Since acquiring the then loss-making Glen Group (now renamed Pinnacle Technology) in 2007, Mr Bonner has developed an entirely new service offering. The firm has won a range of big contracts covering events like the London 2012 Olympic Games and used acquisitions to increase its customer base.

The company has reported profits and aims to expand overseas.

Deloitte verdict: “Turning around the failing Glen Group and creating a platform for sustained growth is a major accomplishment, particularly when achieved with no external debt.

“While building his resource steadily, Alan is attuned to the growth potential of his business and has the proven tenacity to overcome challenges when they arise.”

Peter Bruce
Entier Services
Based: Aberdeen
Started: 2008
Employees: 473
Turnover: £25.5m

A trained chef, Peter Bruce spent 11 successful years at Compass Group before spotting an opportunity to start a new business specialising in catering for staff on offshore oil and gas rigs as well as onshore venues.

After quickly building a customer base that includes big North Sea operators such as Apache, Entier has almost tripled turnover since 2008. The company is on course to make its first profit in 2012 with further growth forecast in 2013.

Entier has invested heavily in research and development, developing packaging to ensure produce is as fresh as possible when it reaches offshore sites. The company has won business in overseas markets like Canada, Egypt and the Gulf of Mexico and started working with clients in other industries.

Deloitte verdict: “Despite Entier Services still being in its infancy its rapid growth over the past four years is nothing short of impressive and, with almost 500 employees, it can hardly be viewed as small.

“Peter’s commitment to a quality product and service, combined with a loyal team, makes Entier very well positioned for continued success and the possibility of becoming a real powerhouse in the offshore catering sector.”

Michael O’Hare
thebookingroom
Based: HQ in Glasgow with offices in Edinburgh, London, Paris, Hong Kong and New York
Started: 1999
Employees: 133 (excluding drivers sub-contracted for additional international work)
Turnover: £12.8m

A former golf professional at Glasgow’s Sherbrook Castle, Michael O’Hare moved into the transport business by providing cars for weddings at the venue. After buying a limousine, he expanded into offering transport services for corporate events and financial road shows through his Charlton Chauffeur Drive operation.

Mr O’Hare went on to develop thebookingroom as a business which harnesses the internet to offer a chauffeur-driven service specialising in niche markets like events and private aviation.

Based in Scotland, thebook-ingroom now has offices in London, Hong Kong, Paris and New York. Clients include giants like JPMorgan Chase, MTV and Deutsche Bank. The company has maintained a growth rate of around 20% and is now planning further expansion into new markets such as Brazil.

Deloitte verdict: “Michael clearly has a strong understanding of the practical steps required to develop his raw ideas for expansion into tangible business success.

“The continued development and refinement of thebookingroom’s bespoke logistics and customer management software indicate Michael’s awareness of the importance of innovation in staying ahead in the market and gaining a competitive edge.

“To have developed into a business with international scope is testament to Michael’s entrepreneurship and determination.”

Gilad Tiefenbrun
Linn Products
Based: Eaglesham, near Glasgow
Started: 1973
Employees: 174
Turnover: £17.257m

With a background that includes a degree in electrical engineering and five years working in areas like mobile phone operating systems at Symbian, Gilad Tiefenbrun joined his father’s business, Linn Products, with a highly sophisticated understanding of technology

He proceeded to lead a turnaround of Linn with an emphasis on research and development. This resulted in the company ceasing manufacturing CD players in 2009 and focusing on technology designed to capitalise on the rise of digital streaming of music. Appointed managing director in the same year, Mr Tiefenbrun increased the company’s focus on innovation with the creation of a 50-strong product development team.

The company recorded a 21% increase in net profit in 2012 and eliminated its outstanding debt.

Deloitte verdict: “Gilad is an impressive entrepreneur with a very inclusive leadership style. He has successfully steered Linn through a challenging time and has completely reinvigorated the business by adhering to his clear strategy.

“At the heart of this is a commitment to quality and investing in the future of the business, both in product development and the team of people he has working alongside him.

“Under Gilad’s leadership Linn has the potential to do something very exciting in the marketplace.”

Hermann Twickler
PressureFab Group
Based: Dundee
Started: 2009
Employees: 85
Turnover: £6m

A master engineer and shipbuilder by trade, Hermann Twickler honed his skills in the shipyards of Northern Germany and North America before becoming operations director of VT Group in Portsmouth.

After spurning offers of other big jobs, Mr Twickler decided to start his own offshore equipment manufacturing business. He invested his life savings, including the sale of his house and car, into creating PressureFab Group.

Started just three years ago, the group now counts some of the largest operators in the oil and gas sector among its customers and employs 85 staff. It has been profitable since inception.

Mr Twickler says he has no desire to grow the company for exit, but instead has set his sights on wealth creation and achieving long-term growth. The company has plans to expand into new facilities, scheduled to complete in 2013.

Deloitte verdict: “Hermann has built an excellent company serving some of the largest companies in the world and has successfully bucked the trend by exporting Scottish engineering and manufacturing to the Far East and the US.

“Hermann has created almost 90 new jobs in three years, doubled revenue each year and always made profit, and he’s achieved all this during the biggest recession since the 1930s.”

Diary of an Entrepreneur – #2

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Been it, seen it, done it …

They say you can pick your friends but not your family (well, that’s another story and we’ll be coming back to that later) but what about customers? I mean, you should be able to pick and choose when you have to speak to them, don’t you think?

Sometimes they just can’t take the hint, no matter how hard you try. You give the usual excuses, I’m in a meeting, I’m out for lunch (if you can call some of the sandwiches currently on offer at our local, ” lunch” – personally, I think they’re rejects from a nearby NHS food contractor) but no, Gerald from the engineering firm has to phone back for me and no, he can’t speak to anyone else.

He has the tenacious attitude of my ex-wife 3 weeks before Christmas looking for some “assistance” with the presents. I wouldn’t mind but I always find she’s wearing the latest Chanel number on Boxing Day and the kids’ presents look like something out of a Dickens novel.

Gerald phones for me again – 3rd time today – this time it’s just to give me an order number that I know I’m going to lose and then end up with an invoice being unpaid (oh, how credit control is going to love that one, especially when they know it’s me that’s held up the invoice). The fact that the profits generated from Gerald’s business are responsible for at least 50% of one of my children’s annual school fees is not to be ignored but I mean, does he have to phone me every time?

What makes it worse is he doesn’t even do email, so the order number gets written on a scrap of paper that eventually finds itself in a shirt pocket and yes, you guessed it, one week later I’m looking at a dried, crumpled mess of papyrus at which the early Egyptians would have turned up their noses.

At what point is Gerald going to get the point that when I say, “you have my number and can contact me anytime”, I actually mean “will you please phone Susan and stop bothering me?”

Anyway, Monday’s sales meeting proved to be interesting; my sales managers sat bolt upright when they discovered I had taken my own minutes of the last meeting and when I started to refer back to some of the points and deadlines they had committed to, you’d have thought that Michelangelo himself had painted the boardroom ceiling, the amount of time they spent gazing upwards and avoiding all eye contact.

Black Friday looms in our office. No, it’s not the fact that we feel twinned with our American cousins, it’s the point when the office starts debating the office Christmas party – oh joy!

I just know the seating plan is going to be rigged so that Charles the new accountant is going to get the pleasure of my company all evening (and more importantly, vice versa). All because he said that the staff chocolates at Christmas should really be a taxable benefit.

Anyway, back to families. I’ve still not forgiven my mother for phoning me when I was in our latest board meeting. Right at the point when I had everyone’s focus and attention for at least a nano second, with all mobiles off and the boardroom phone on “do not disturb”, the office manager dashed through the door faster than Jessica Ennis to tell me I really had to speak to my mother on line 3, that she was particularly stressed and I might want to take the call in private.

I had a fleeting moment of hope; has she decided to go to Ecuador for Christmas and just wanted to check what shots she needed? Or is she about to tell me that one of the lesser important members of my family (i.e. my brother) has finally found a painful, but perhaps not terminal use for the BUPA payments I’ve been making for him all these years?

As I grip the phone, bracing myself for the worst (or best) only my mother could loudly announce that she was in Marks and she doesn’t have much time as she was meeting June for a coffee, and what do I want for Christmas anyway?

As I shuffle back to the board meeting, I see the fixed smiles saying that they’ve moved on without me and privately wishing me better luck next time …

Social Media and ROI – Defined!

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All aboard!


The term “social media” is bandied around on a daily basis yet, more often than not, it is misinterpreted or misunderstood. Gordon White of fatBuzz defined social media and how it relates to marketing and promoting brands, and provided real examples that prove a healthy return on investment is possible when social media is fully understood and used in the proper manner.

It starts simply. With great content.

Gordon believes the best way to build a community that supports your brand is to do it organically, by generating great content and sharing it across as many channels as possible.

Start with a blog, that should be the hub of your social media activity, and set it to automatically share across all your social media channels.

Make proper use of share buttons, make it easy for readers and viewers to share your blog/link/Tweets etc. And remember to ask people to share your content, you’ll be surprised that people actually do what they’re told!

Some people worry that by sharing too much knowledge there would be less demand for their services, but it is in fact the opposite.

“The more information you share, the more you get back,” says Gordon. “Information is one thing, advice is another. You are simply using social media to promote your credentials.”

For David Frame of Barum & Dewar the most memorable piece of advice from Gordon was to create content, not purely a sales message.

“A point that resonated was the use of blogs as the centre of your social media and to place less significance on the various vehicles used to carry that message as they have and will change.

“I’ll be relooking at LinkedIn and the use of Groups to engage, as well as giving deeper thought to the fact that people buy from people and how social media offers an opportunity for a business to promote its people facing side.”

Content also resonated with David England, whose Highland Fayre Hampers Facebook page is very active but not yet delivering ROI (Highland Fayre on Facebook).

“For me it’s about good content, not competitions – the quality of people following your business, not the quantity. Highland Fayre has 5,687 “Likes” on Facebook but none of them buy our gift hampers! They are mostly motivated by the free competition hampers instead.

“We need to work on a social media strategy which engages more with quality corporate gift buyers (i.e PAs, HR & Marketing departments) as that represents more than 85% of our current business turnover. Even one corporate order derived as a result of social media could pay for 12 months activity.”

Claire Kinloch of Denvir Marketing was heading to the office the day after the event to make immediate changes.

“I learned that you shouldn’t be afraid to show your personality online – you are one person, in the flesh or otherwise. I’ll be merging two Twitter accounts into one as a result.”

Speaker biogs available here

Blog image courtesy of colleenanderson.wordpress.com

The Challenges of a Multi-Site Business

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When you have staff spread over a multi-site business, you have to ensure a consistent company culture is implemented across the board, with systems and processes in place to allow you to monitor and progress that culture. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Elaine Halley of Cherrybank Dental Spa has grown her business across two sites, and is experiencing a few teething problems. She attended the Managing a Multi Site Business Focus Dinner with a view to learning from seasoned entrepreneurs who have managed it successfully.

She thought Tony Banks (of Balhousie Holdings) gave a really honest and down to earth account of the challenges of growing by acquisition – and his insight that generally the management team of the acquired sites needs to be altered was a point that made sense.

He shared his tips for communicating across a ‘group’ and steps taken to ensure that company culture is reflected across multiple sites. Inspect don’t expect was the lesson for all managers when sent out to see how the actual teams are managing in the real world, not just information being shared. “Go in through the back door”. Tony also said awards were inspirational for the team members once your company is big enough to justify this.

Elaine said Bill Power (William Tracey Group) gave brilliant analogies to the Catholic church and the Foreign Legion. Bringing people together and giving them a common bond – especially if that gives a feeling of being part of something that is bigger than yourself.

“Respect for authority, team and the systems above any individual was the message. His description of the Kerry Group managing sites across different countries was inspiring,” said Elaine.

For Les Meikle, of Wise Property Care, the quote “None of us is as good as all of us” struck a chord.

“It reinforces the team aspect of the business and should help more distant members of the team feel included,” he said.

Exchange board director Les said he particularly liked Tony’s “Voice” meetings where he gives a selection of employees an opportunity twice a year to meet with him and give him their views on how improvements could be achieved. As a result, Les will be returning his focus on his own team.

“I think I will get round the branches a bit more than I have and do a lot more visiting the sharp end so to speak, making myself available to the employees,” he said. “It’s very easy in a recession to focus on the results and perhaps not so much on the people who have to achieve them.”

You can read Tony and Bill’s biographies here

Diary of an Entrepreneur #1

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A humourous look at the daily trials and tribulations of an entrepreneur who’s seen it, done it and got the T-shirt

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” is the expression, I do believe. Well, I’ve led Mary the sales manager to enough water to let a humpback whale do loop the loops and she’s still refusing to drink. At this rate I’m thinking that she’s a camel and her hump’s full.

I’ve given her the target market projections, the target customers and the pricing structure and she’s still stuck in the stalls looking pensively at the grass at her feet. Right now I’ve got more faith in Susie the cleaner focusing on sales than I have with Mary.
The office manager casually points out that if I’m getting frustrated because Mary’s not implementing my latest super-duper plan for growth, then perhaps I need to reflect that I’ve given it to her a mere 24 hours after replying to every email that’s been outstanding from her in the last 3 months.

Apparently, if that “desk clear” to end all clearances of mine wasn’t the biggest giveaway that I’m about to disappear for 2 weeks, then leaving my desktop web page open at the Barbados weather forecast might have just finalised the thought process.

Meanwhile HR’s throwing a hissy fit after the entire factory workforce demanded an updated contract of employment for the last 3 months and ultimately threatened to report her to the United Nations council (I think they meant EU, but I get their point).

Anyway, the contracts were updated and issued and peace reigned smoothly for a moment. But now the problem is that nobody’s signed them and she’s apoplectic; don’t they realise that she had to skip the Sunday she had planned watching Downtown Abbey just to finalise these contracts for them?

The torrent of colourful language coming out of her mouth isn’t quite what you’d expect from someone who gives me the evil eye if I even hint at the words “unpaid overtime”.

Anyway, enough about her. Back to the important stuff and my time-consumingly, top priority holiday planning – I’m wondering if it would be considered poor form to contact that CCTV firm that dropped in lately and ask them to install a demo system on a two week trial …