UK entrepreneurs need help turning ideas into successes, according to CaanPhoto: Hamilton Bradshaw
…a lack of investor confidence.
“Because [in the USA] you’ve had the likes of Microsoft, Intel, eBay etc - all these companies that have become billion-dollar companies - it has encouraged more venture capitalists to invest in that sector. Because we haven’t had as many successes, there haven’t been enough investors chasing that,” he said.
In order to attract investors, the UK needs to generate more success stories, according to Caan.
“There is still, in my opinion, a massive gap out there of entrepreneurs being able to execute their business plans,” he said.
“We’re still too much in theory stage of ‘I’ve got an idea, I think it’s amazing’ to ‘How do I actually implement and execute the plan?’.”
4. The CIO should “absolutely” report to the CEO
For a business to be successful, the business guru believes, technology must be at the heart of the organisation, where the most growth and added value can be achieved - with the CIO reporting to the head of the company.
“If you look at every business in the UK today, whether you’re Marks & Spencer, Dixons, Net-A-Porter, Carphone Warehouse, Vodafone, whichever business you are, the impact of online sales today is the largest single growing segment of most businesses,” Caan said.
With the ecommerce export market worth around £100bn a year and making up seven per cent of UK GDP, Caan argues that technology cannot be ignored.
“If you’re not embracing it, if you’re not trying to work out how you can use technology to strengthen and grow your business or develop your brand, you are either…
