Simon on the germination of his business idea...
“In my last role I had several large multinational clients. We were doing all the Web 2.0/3.0 stuff back then, and way the web was evolving a lot of it was based around social media.
“I decided to go to India for a few months, take some time off, get some fresh air, and when I came back the epiphany happened when I turned up to my local pub and the bar manager said: ‘Why’s there no training for bar staff online?’ In retrospect, if I hadn’t had that time off I would have been less receptive to what he was saying.”
On the value of “taking time out”...
“You can spend 15 years doing a particular job, but that’s not to say you have any perspective on that job. Breaking that mould by taking some time out, regaining perspective and being open to ideas is the way I think a lot of people start their own businesses.
“It’s not by fluke, or they don’t just focus on having to have their own business. I don’t think that’s the driving goal. It’s when you get excited about an idea and you have that opportunity to pursue it rather than getting drawn back into corporate life – those are the conditioning factors.”
On finding the courage to implement his business idea...
“There were three factors. One was the idea from this barman about training online for barstaff; two, my head was clear; and three, I was under the wing of an executive coach who was telling me to follow my own direction.”
