Entrepreneur Speakers

Baroness (Karren) Brady

Karren ran the business side of Birmingham City FC through promotion, relegation – and brain surgery. Karren’s mantra for leaders growing any enterprise can be summed up in 5 tips: work hard (be persistent); use every opportunity to network (spread your message); move on (failure is history); don’t get side-tracked, and do your sums.

Deborah Meaden

Deborah built three businesses before taking on the family’s holiday parks empire. She concentrated on service, kept the most profitable locations and then sold her stake for over £110m. Deborah refutes the idea that the customer is king. She prefers to treat them as respected friends: “We should care about their opinions and deal with their problems, but accept the limits of the relationship.”

Kanya King

Recognised as one of the biggest cultural events of the year, the MOBO Awards began with Kanya re-mortgaging her house to put on its first production. Since then she has developed MOBO into a brand that has diversified the creative and entertainment industries and helped young people from underprivileged backgrounds advance in music, film and TV.

Levi Roots

Levi originally made 65 jars of his Reggae Reggae sauce in each batch, in his family kitchen. In 2012 over 1 million will be sold in supermarkets across the UK. The singing entrepreneur tells delegates his story of ‘slaying the dragon.’ He puts it down to hard work (starting at 8am, home by midnight); believing in yourself, and not letting anybody get in the way; and finding a new spin on an old idea, rather than re-inventing the wheel. His ambition is to make Caribbean as popular as Indian food.

Jo Malone

As a teenager, Jo started her original cosmetics and fragrance range in her kitchen and grew it into a global luxury brand before selling her stake to Estée Lauder. She returned to the field with Jo Loves and became a regular in the media commenting on business and offering advice to entrepreneurs. In presentations she explores success and failure – confessing her need to rock the boat. Jo offers her take on growing any enterprise: “Ensure your team feel secure, but encourage them to take risks. Only then can you reach a new level.”

Dave Fishwick

When the van and minibus dealer decided he could do a better job than the local banks, the authorities told him it was impossible, even criminal. He pushed harder, set up Burnley Savings and Loans, and found himself starring in Channel 4’s Bank of Dave. There’s now a big queue of eager depositors and borrowers. In a real-life story of David and Goliath, with lessons for businesses big and small, he explains what made him take on seemingly insurmountable odds.

Margaret Heffernan

Having run a range of digital and internet businesses in the US, Margaret has turned to analysing where leadership in organisations so often goes wrong. Ignoring potential problems, failing to encourage or develop talent, building a culture of isolation and internal competition; all are commonplace issues that could easily be addressed. As in her bestseller Wilful Blindness and her acclaimed TED speeches, Margaret simply and effectively considers what makes a great leader.

Tamara Lohan

After publishers rejected the idea of a new hotel guide, Tamara and her husband decided to print it themselves. They sold 100,000 copies in year one. There’s now an online booking service, employees from LA to Sydney and the Smith & Family brand. Tamara sets out the challenge of building a digital brand and disrupting an established market: “Stick to your beliefs, ensure everything is consistent with the brand and create an environment of trust.”

Steven Bartlett

Steven Bartlett is an entrepreneur, investor and best-selling author, as well as being the host of Europe's number one podcast The Diary of a CEO, where he takes listeners on an unfiltered journey behind some of the world’s most influential people's remarkable success stories." 

Bianca Miller-Cole

Once an Apprentice finalist, Bianca Miller Cole is a successful entrepreneur who shares her knowledge through mentoring schemes and her books, The Definitive Guide to Startup Business Success and The Business Survival Kit. She emphasises the importance of having a personal brand and shares her experiences of being a Black woman in business.

Ailbhe & Izzy Keane

Frustrated that wheelchairs are so often purely functional rather than reflecting the personality of the person using them, Izzy and Ailbhe took a college design project and turned it into a global brand. With the aid of social media Izzy's Wheels has become an international business, working with top designers and brands, and inspiring many with their message "If you can't stand up, stand out!"

Natalie Campbell

The co-CEO of ethical water company Belu Water has a portfolio career ranging from setting up a company to a global social innovation consultancy and encouraging insight and innovation within The Royal Foundation, to hosting her own show on Badass Women's Hour on TalkRadio. Natalie shares how to disrupt business practices for the better.