Rick Parry: It’s like the
classics in football,
the best players don’t
necessarily make
the best coaches or
managers, because
they can’t articulate
what they do.
build something with a new team, a
younger team and add value to it.
Second time around
Chris Hopkinson: One of the interesting
challenges for entrepreneurs is you tend
to forget how much hard work it was
first time round. It’s 24/7; it’s sleepless
nights. When you’re not quite as
hungry, you still have to capture those
skills the second time round without
necessarily wanting to put the same
degree of effort in.
RM: And it is easy to forget that
sometimes you need a bit of luck.
Melanie Hird: Investing is a different
skill set than just having one business.
I suppose they’re the guys that we try
and work with to say, “Look, you’ve
done really, really well, absolutely
fantastic. Go and enjoy your life. You
can come and get involved and make
a contribution to the business you’ve
invested in.”
RP: I think what you need is somebody
in the middle who can help to draw
out that experience. It’s like the classics
in football, the best players don’t
necessarily make the best coaches or
managers, because they can’t always
articulate what they do.
Ian Currie: Well, to be fair, we do it
with quite a few people, not just the
non-execs. I mean, the second time
round is a great theme. It’s the ethos
of what we’re trying to do, really.
People who’ve sold out actually still
want to keep playing. They might still
want to go abroad for four months of
the year, but would like involvement
in a business. It’s that kind of approach
and within that, you know, we can
manage a business and an investment
for them on a day to day basis.
We speak to guys who’ve been in a
business and substantially sold it, they
know everybody in those sectors; they
can find out for you, within minutes,
whether a business in that sector is
good, bad or indifferent. We’ve had
situations where we just didn’t know
enough. By mixing financial backers
with sector experience you glean a lot
very quickly about the dynamics of a
particular business. When we discover
that a business is reliable and trust
worthy from our network it’s a great
basis to invest. In a nutshell, that’s
what Seneca’s all about.
13. Chris Hopkinson
14. Richard Matthewman
15. Alan Burrows and Chris Hopkinson
16. Rick Parry
17. Melanie Hird
18. Conversation flows
19. Rick Parry
15