Inspiring speaker, engaging panel and an audience brought together by shared ambition—the Entrepreneurial & Founders Evening proved a perfect start to the Evolve Business Festival.
Hosted at Pavilion Dance South West in the heart of a slightly drizzly Bournemouth, the evening attracted nearly 60 business leaders and entrepreneurs from a wide variety of industries.
Key note speaker was Tom Mercer, founder of MOMA Foods, which is best-known for its on-the-go porridge oats. Tom started his company in 2005, selling healthy breakfasts to commuters at Waterloo East Station. It has since evolved into a multi-million pound operation that stocks supermarkets, offices, trains and airlines.
Tom concluded his talk with the three most important things he’s learnt along his journey. The first was getting the right people on your team, second was keeping your big picture and details in line and not losing sight of either, and lastly maintaining a good balance between passion and objectivity.
He added, “It’s important to get a good mentor on board in the business. They can really help you shortcut a lot of things. Don’t be too proud, don’t think you can do it all on your own. Get that advice. Also, get a group of peers that you can chat to about anything. Having people you can chat one hundred percent openly with and know it’s completely confidential is really valuable. Personally, my peer group really help me make sure I maintain the balance between work life and personal life.”
Tom’s talk was followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A with Tom, Arabella Lewis-Smith (Salad Creative), Barbara Cox (Nutrichef), Cheryl Hadland (Tops Day Nurseries) and Mark Cribb (Urban Guild). Evolve’s Warren Munson chaired.
Subjects discussed ranged from succession plans, dealing with setbacks and promoting wellbeing in the workplace, to the things that drive ambition, work/life balance and when to trust your gut.
“We’re so pleased at how our first event of the Evolve Business Festival went,” Warren said. “Great speakers and an engaged audience discussing important aspects of business and wellbeing with openness and humour. It was a fantastic evening. But this is just the beginning; we really hope to see you at our upcoming events.”
