Alan Sugar, Richard Branson and others
Discussion
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 ?
(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 ?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.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 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. "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..
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.
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.
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.
I think luck combines with talent and graft.
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