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Entrepreneurs Panel

Steve Purdham
Debbie Pierce
Richard O'Sullivan
Brian Hay
Gary Jacobson
Jeremy Roberts
Tony Caldeira
David Pollock
Ian Morris

Entrepreneurs Panel

Steve Purdham

I recently found out that a member of my senior management team has been dating someone in the equivalent position at our biggest competitor. It sounds like they are serious about each other and I worry about the implications of their pillow talk. What can I do?

Steve Purdham

I’ve been offered the chance to buy a small manufacturing outlet with a great product that I think will
succeed if marketed properly but as far as I can see they haven’t got their patents in order. The opportunity for a good deal isn’t going to hang around forever – and it does seem like a good price – so should I just go for it or is it a definite no-no messing with a firm that hasn’t got its patents sorted?

Steve Purdham

I’ve been mucking about with this Twitter lark and think I might have said something ill-advised about one of my most important clients after my third large glass of Pinot Noir. How can I make amends?

Steve Purdham

I'm seeking venture capital investment to build up my year-old technology company. However, the amounts I am being offered fall well short of the sum I think will be needed to provide the kind of return those funders want. What would you suggest I do?

Steve Purdham

I had always planned to build my IT infrastructure business from its current £6 million turnover to £20 million or more before selling. However, having been at it for ten years, I’ve just been offered a little over nine times pre-tax earnings by a competitor with the cash in the bank to complete the deal. Should I take the money and start again? I’m almost 50 years old.

Steve Purdham

Most of my staff don’t seem to take the economic threat seriously and are whining about not getting a Christmas party. How do I get it through to them that they’re lucky still to have a job at all?

  • Turning excess lard into dough? It’s like taking candy from a baby. EN heads to the fit farm and examines a bulging bottom line.

  • EN visited the British Business Angels Association’s annual conference and found a sector torn between confidence and crisis.

  • Are we emerging from recession into an energy crisis? Probably not, as EN discovers.

  • EN and Downtown in Business hosted a wide-ranging panel debate following June’s emergency Budget. This is what happened.

  • Making money out of nurseries should be child’s play. Shouldn’t it? EN examines the real bottom line.

Five Minutes With

Frank McKenna has never exactly been shy about being the public face of the Downtown in Business brand, which he founded in Liverpool in 2004 and now boasts operations in Preston and Manchester (the latter launched earlier this year). His weekly, “Thank Frank it’s Friday” email missives, “Frankie Says” blog and Tarantino-inspired advertisements are cases in point.

Betta Living’s boss reminds us a bit of TV’s David Dickinson. But was his best transaction the Real Deal? Stuart Anderson hastily conceals his Ikea loyalty card as Noel Dean reveals...