The guest speaker was entrepreneur Stan Boland, who has built two companies to exit for a combined sale price of $1billion. Stan shared three key points for building a successful business.
· Team: there should be no negotiation over going the extra mile to acquire the talent your company needs. Reward your management team and keep them incentivised through performance based share options.
· Customer empathy: You must walk in your customers’ shoes. What are their problems and pains? Face-to-face interaction with your customers is vital. If you have a choice between getting on a plane or making a Skype call, get on the plane.
· Support network: it is vital to have a good board in place to support the CEO. A good board must be small and manageable. Investors all want a place on the board because they want to make sure their money is being looked after, but the larger the board the more opinions and the harder to manage.
Stan’s insightful talk sparked lively discussion amongst the CEOs, chaired by Laurence Garrett, Partner at Highland Capital Partners. Companies represented at the dinner ranged from very early stage growth businesses to AIM listed companies.
Bailey Fisher Executive Search is a leading independent executive search firm specialising in the technology and high-growth sectors. The company was founded in 1998, and has offices in Cambridge and London. www.baileyfisher.com
Attendance at Bailey Fisher’s CEO Dinners is by invitation, for CEOs in the technology sector. CEOs interested in future events, please contact helen@baileyfisher.com
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