Entrepreneurship

Today's consumer cares about what you stand for, and so having values and purpose are central to building that trust with your customer.

Founder and former CEO of Ann Summers lingerie and party plan business

You can't say, 'I want to change things, I want to lead!' and then say, 'I never want to be wrong, and I never want to fail…' There's no easy answer other than the fact that you have to see the conflict in your own mind and make your own choice.

Marketing Thought Leader & Author of "The Purple Cow

That was when I thought, 'am I going to be someone who only wants to do music when it's all going well? And only when it's served to me on a plate? Or do I want to do this… no matter what…' For me, there was nothing else, I wanted to make music.

British Pop Singer & "Murder on the Dancefloor" Artist

I never started off with money, I started off with love. The love of being an entrepreneur. The love of being a lawyer. The love of being an athlete. When you start off with love, people will love and respect you and you will always be monetarily rewarded.

Hall of Fame NBA Center & 4-Time NBA Champion

The scope of entrepreneurial fulfilment, the scope of new entrants changing the world is broader than ever before, and that's great for society. That's great for everyone.

Prominent venture capitalist and early Tesla investor at Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Our singular filter is to find the people, projects and opportunities that we think are going to be game-changing for humanity. If you succeed at doing that, you'll make plenty of money (even if you fail half the time).

Prominent venture capitalist and early Tesla investor at Draper Fisher Jurvetson

For me, the key has been to become more and more humble over time in a way that I realise that I shouldn't be interfering with the magic and beauty of what an entrepreneur can do.

Prominent venture capitalist and early Tesla investor at Draper Fisher Jurvetson

Visionary leaders that build great companies have some personality attributes they share. They are self-confident enough to be humble. They have a reservoir, a personal drive, passion, belief in their capabilities, and they're willing to admit what they don't do well and to seek those people to join their team from the very beginning.

Prominent venture capitalist and early Tesla investor at Draper Fisher Jurvetson

I learned more from the people at those events – the community, the customer – than anyone in business.

Founder and CEO of Gymshark, fitness apparel company

Entrepreneurs and founders have to learn to be the most adaptable people in their business- that's really important – otherwise, the business will outgrow the founder, or the founder will cause the business to stagnate or slow.

Founder and CEO of Gymshark, fitness apparel company

If you only listen to the voices around you, you'll amalgamate them into something that already exists… My view was that consensus isn't going to build something that will change the game.

Founder and CEO of Gymshark, fitness apparel company

I realised that athletes were my customers- they were the people I wanted to sell too. We wrote to them with a 15% discount offer, and the chance to become an agent to help fund their club. I must have got 200 agents signed-up and the business started to grow.

I'd never even heard the word 'entrepreneur' growing up – I didn't know what that meant. If I go back to my grandfather – he was the real entrepreneur. He developed things… he made spiked running shoes when he was only 15 (in 1895!).

Building a business is about perseverance. When Jeff and I set off in late 1958, the sport of the world was football. Adidas had claimed that – and sports stores didn't need another brand in that category. We had to make customers and stores need our brand.

Most people we have worked with who have accomplished great things have an other-centred purpose, and that's never just 'make a lot of money…' – it could be to make women's lives easier, to close the inequality gap, to change the world, it's something which isn't strictly personal and selfish.

Psychologist & Author of "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

In the last 20 years I believe I have become a hybrid entrepreneur – believing in the power of technology and process, but also in the very deep humanistic point of view. I guess it's a weird mix of Italian with Silicon Valley.