Alan Sugar, Richard Branson and others

Alan Sugar, Richard Branson and others

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GEWAGON

Original Poster:

155 posts

175 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
If Alan Sugar, Branson and others had to start again, and had £10K given to them today would they be worth Millions in 30 year’s time?
(IMO I don’t think so!) I think they rode the unmanageable rise in property prices, they had the sense in buying houses and land and right investments when prices were low, as I can’t see any company you own generating £800million in cash in Sugars example.
What do you think ?

SystemParanoia

14,343 posts

197 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
i'd like to be given 10k frown

ringram

14,700 posts

247 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Different times need different skills. Look at what makes money these days.
Though arguably Sugar's amstrad was very similar to apple in its time, or samsung etc at least.

Its about leveraging technology to increase productivity. If you can employ a machine why would you want a human and associated HR problems? Hence internet retailing, online shopping, electronic comms, online billing, automated services etc.

Efficient energy is also good. Shale gas, solar, battery tech, efficient renewables (not subsidised crap)

3d printing, 5 axis cnc machining etc.

Rise of the machines. If you can replace people with machines or make machines cheaper you will win big.

Skynet is here and it pays.

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
I think an entrepreneur is always an entrepreneur - although of course now they would be 70 not 17 so experience would replace youthful enthusiasm. But the world is different now - it's more volatile and moves faster; a wheeze that could make make money today might not work in January. That said, the right mind will always find a way.

chris7676

2,685 posts

219 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
I'm sure they would, one way or another.

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
im sure they would, just in different ways ....those that suceed always adapt to the times/circumstances and persevere


sugerbear

3,960 posts

157 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Alan Sugar - although he has done well for himself he has made the majority of his money through shrewd investments in properties that has paid off.

If he really had the golden touch he would now own a company similar in size similar to dell, apple, Microsoft(ish). He is a stack 'em high sell 'em cheap merchant.

I think its fair to say that he tries lots of things, several of which may fail but one or two that are successful. Same with Richard Branson.

Not sure that AS or RB would be as successful in the current market, would make an interesting TV programme to plonk him in a semi-detached in slough and give him £10k and see how long he lasted.


Mermaid

21,492 posts

170 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
sugerbear said:
Not sure that AS or RB would be as successful in the current market, would make an interesting TV programme to plonk him in a semi-detached in slough and give him £10k and see how long he lasted.
Also they are managers now, rather than do'ers.

Hoofy

76,253 posts

281 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
sugerbear said:
Not sure that AS or RB would be as successful in the current market, would make an interesting TV programme to plonk him in a semi-detached in slough and give him £10k and see how long he lasted.
I was thinking that. Not so much about the house but they have a project with a budget of just £10k to cover all expenses. They can use their contacts but can't pull favours eg a £1m ad campaign for a champagne lunch.

Gargamel

14,957 posts

260 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all

I know it is a kind of fashion to say the that AS made his money in property and that his tech business piled high and sold cheap.

However the other way to look at it was that he brought high end tech to the mass market.

When others were selling £500 VCR’s with very complex programmable bits a trying to put as many buttons on as possible, Amstrad went the other way – a five button VCR, at £199 (or whatever) pres to play, press to record. Simple and a mass market seller.

Same with Word Processors, instead of massively expensive IBMs, he produced very simple machines that didn’t need a main frame, and had a tech level that PA’s and typists everywhere could learn in ten minutes. He did it again with Set top boxes.

Well connected to his suppliers, with a good grasp of driving down costs by removing features, he created a layer in the tech market, at the time when the tech was moving so fast and adding complexity it was leaving the mass market behind.

He made his fortune simplifying things and I don’t think it is fair to write off his electronic achievements. Ultimately he didn’t move with the market, but he was a hell of a lot quicker than IBM and a huge number of IT PC sales outfit that went bust in the late 80’s early 90’s

hedgefinder

3,418 posts

169 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
I think people also forget the :

"right time, right place, lucky bd" scenario ..

and the :

"my parents could afford to gave me money to help me get started " scenario ...

which to an extent helps SOME..

0000

13,812 posts

190 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Maybe but almost certainly unlikely, especially Sugar.

98elise

26,375 posts

160 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
I would think yes, providing that 10k could be used to leverage some other finance.

One thing you do need in business is cash, even if its debt. As long as you can service the debt then it doesn't really matter how much.


LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Alan Sugar answered this question once. I think his answer was something like: Yes, I'd still be successful, maybe not as successful as I have been as I'm older & lack the drive & enthusiasm. Something like that anyway smile

bigandclever

13,750 posts

237 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
hedgefinder said:
I think people also forget the :

"right time, right place, lucky bd" scenario ..

and the :

"my parents could afford to gave me money to help me get started " scenario ...

which to an extent helps SOME..
You can also add the 'sailing close to the wind' scenario, like Branson's VAT fraud (well, purchase tax) in the early days.

P-Jay

10,551 posts

190 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
I listen to a lot of very sucessful peoples stories (online, books etc) and I have to say I doubt it.

It's easy for some to dismiss what they've achived as 'luck' and of course that's wrong, most of the very sucessful self-made people are incredibly hard working, they have more drive than most, are willing to take some serious calculated risks to succeed and most importantly get back up and try again after set-backs.

But for every Alan Sugar, Branson or Dragon there are thousands of people who had the same drive, determination and guts and for a thousand different reasons, failed, and ended up a workaday plodder, so by the balance of probability, given no more than £10k to do it all again they'd probably fail.



Digga

40,206 posts

282 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Have to say, I often reflect on Bannatyne's story of how, having opened his first nursing home, he enlisted his mum and her friends to dupe the bank into thinking he had sufficient tenency to cover the cost of a loan for a second home. This sort of risk, during the GFC would have been spotted and he'd have been toast.

I think luck combines with talent and graft.

ringram

14,700 posts

247 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Indeed, confidence and risk also helps.

Interesting thread smile

BoRED S2upid

19,641 posts

239 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Did they ride the property ladder? I've read their autobiographies although a while ago so may have forgotten but I don't remember them all being housing tycoons and slumlords. Sugar saw a gap importing electronics, branson mailorder records...

Wacky Racer

38,099 posts

246 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2012
quotequote all
Both Branson and Sugar would be successful...It's in their blood.

I would wager if you gave either of them £10k they would turn it into a million within a year.

Same with Philip Green and Mike Ashley etc.....