Wisdom in fragments

A brand has to be authentic and be born of a personal passion. If you, its creator, doesn't want the product, no one else will. If you want it, chances are it will be wanted around the world. Desires are universal and speak in every language.

Renowned Fashion Designer & Founder of DKNY Brand

The founder is the innovator, the one who sets the wheels in motion. Once it's up and running, the founder's job is to empower and inspire others with the message, to nurture and make believers out of everyone who comes close, internally and externally.

Renowned Fashion Designer & Founder of DKNY Brand

I wasn't thinking about success or being 'big' or creating a huge business. I was thinking about answering a need, a void, creating something that wasn't there before.

Renowned Fashion Designer & Founder of DKNY Brand

When I was 15, I rearranged the sales floor in the boutique I was working in and was the best salesperson in the store. At 25, when my boss Anne Klein died, I took over designing and changed the look of the collection to make it younger and sexier, and also changed how it was shown and sold in the showroom – not to mention just having had a baby while all this was happening.

Renowned Fashion Designer & Founder of DKNY Brand

Stay undefined and stay curious. Our world is changing so rapidly that the only way to survive, thrive and adjust is to have a deep and constant level of curiosity.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

Entrepreneurship is a way of life. For me, entrepreneurship has always been about being a builder. Whether it's about undiscovered artists or working with companies pre-launch, the build process is what attracts me.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach for talent, you have to approach every individual and opportunity from a bespoke perspective.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

When you're identifying talent in music or other industries- one of the most important things to identify is which of those individuals is able to marry talent with extraordinary drive.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

I'm always searching for that black-swan, what is that project, or who is that artist that feels specials, and feels counter-culture. Who is that artist that feels interesting and has a bold, unapologetic point of view? That's what pulls me in- and you know what, if you find that and put the right strategy around it? You can disrupt culture.

Music executive and manager, founder of Meadows and Q&A platform

Passion matters… It's rarely a straight-line to success, usually it's a roller-coaster.

Co-Founder of America Online (AOL) & Venture Capitalist

Great entrepreneurs are people with tremendous passion. Without passion you cannot go on a journey that requires such huge personal sacrifices, looks bleak, risky and impossible in the beginning…

Founder and Chairman of Infosys, Indian IT Pioneer

It's a combination of passion, vision, creativity and a sense of adventure.

Founder of Virgin Group & British Billionaire Entrepreneur

All modern humans share a common ancestor. We all emerged from Africa, 200,000 years ago, as our species moved across the Earth, adapting to the differing climates and conditions of our planet. We are one big, beautiful, dysfunctional and incredible family, tearing itself apart over something as inconsequential as our hue.

The polarising EU referendum brought much of this to a head. Let me be clear: I do not, by any stretch, feel that people that voted to leave the EU were racist- but it's clear that UKIP, EDL, and their peers realised the power of the race card, and played it to their advantage.

For the first time in over 20 years, I feel brown… I find myself being extra careful in terms of how I dress, where I go, how I speak, what I carry and how I behave; not to conform to any new social norms- but rather, so that people don't mistake me for a terrorist, or make assumptions about my intentions.

I guess like any other entrepreneur, but Brown? – this may seem inconsequential, but sometimes, the 'them and us' in society only becomes apparent when pointed out.