Entrepreneurs Exchange: Anya Hindmarch and Cassandra Stavrou, PROPERCORN
Last night we attended Entrepreneurs Exchange hosted at Manchester Town Hall in partnership with HSBC and the ‘Exporting is Great’ government initiative. There were ten different events across the UK, all including some of Britain’s leading business spearheads; in Manchester we were treated to talks by accessories designer Anya Hindmarch and founder of PROPERCORN Cassandra Stavrou.
Starting off the evening, Anya Hindmarch spoke of the rise of her eponymous brand and the ways in which her business has expanded over time. Anya offered some great pearls of wisdom and completely encapsulated the audience, starting off by exploring the idea that ‘advice is needed more than money’ and exploring the idea of growing true connections and relationships which will enhance and enrich your business. Appealing to the audience of business owners and entrepreneurs, Anya explored how creating and growing a business is the most fun career you can possibly have. Something which really struck was the idea that ‘fear and excitement are the same emotion’ and the need to push through worry and unease, after this, you and your business will really flourish. Not only did Anya delve into the adventure of developing your own business, she also presented the ‘Triangle of Pain’ and the constant balance between production, time and quality. Not one to focus on the niggles and lows, Anya encouraged the audience to never give up and remember what you aren’t alone in the challenges which you face.
Next up was Cassandra Stavrou, co-founder of my favourite popcorn brand, PROPERCORN; if you haven’t tasted or heard of PROPERCORN, firstly, you are missing out, it’s delicious, secondly, the brand has truly made an impact selling 3 million packets a month. Impressively, the first customer of PROPERCORN was Google, how did they secure Google? They persevered and didn’t take no for an answer. Cassandra presented that at first it was hard for the brand to be taken seriously, along with her presence as a young woman, however, through being resourceful and determination, the brand became one of the fastest growing tech startups in the UK. One of the key messages presented by Cassandra was your business needs to be deep rooted in passion and you need to be full of conviction for it to truly succeed and thrive. Finally, Cassandra ended with ‘we are still blagging it and making it up as we go along’, perfect advice for everyone.
Entrepreneurs Exchange was a great presentation of some of the UK’s greatest business acumen. It was also a wonderful excuse to have a proper look around the beautiful architecture of Manchester Town Hall. There were also some blooming good canapes on offer! Hats off to the caterers!
Wool would love to catch up with other entrepreneurs, and anyone else who attended the great evening or watched the live streams.
Stay tuned for part two for all things Q and A panel.
P.S: I absolutely adore Anya Hindmarch, and somehow managed to spend a few minutes chatting to her and expressing my love of her brand. I also had my picture taken with her, however, the lady who took it sadly also deleted it. Gutted.
