Pangbourne: Southern Entrepreneurs inspired by innovators' stories

Fifty business people attended The Business Magazine’s Southern Entrepreneurs ‘End of Summer Party’ last night. The event was hosted by Bentley Berkshire at its impressive Pangbourne showroom, and was sponsored by Barclays and law firm Osborne Clarke.

Two special guest speakers shared their personal experiences of building dynamic, innovative businesses.

Dr Paul Hawkins OBE founded Hawk-Eye Innovations and took the business from start-up in 2001 to a £150 million company. It is best known for its technology used in tennis, cricket and football.

He emphasised that fear of failure can be a barrier to success. “It’s important to harvest a culture of innovation in your business that celebrates success, as well as failures where people have tried,” he said.

Dan Wagner is an eCommerce veteran and serial entrepreneur, whose most recent venture, Rezolve, transforms how consumers use mobile devices to engage with print, audio and video media.

“Success comes from self belief and the ability to make things happen. You have to bring people with you and your confidence must inspire them. If you don’t believe in yourself, no-one else will,” he said.

The Business Magazine’s Southern Entrepreneurs campaign brings together entrepreneurial owner-managers, high-net-worth individuals and business angels from across the Thames Valley and Solent region.

Full story in the next issue of The Business Magazine.

For more images head over to our Southern Entrepreneurs site.