Our mentors are at the heart of the Virgin StartUp offering, providing invaluable support and advice for our startups when they most need it - many of them go above and beyond, building ongoing relationships with our startups.
Our latest Mentor of the Month is Ian Monaghan, a financial services consultant and entrepreneur. Let's find out more!
Business name: HIM Consulting Ltd
Based in: London
Mentee: James McCrossen and Jamie Leith of Manny & Me
What’s your current business?
Financial services consultant, and drone digital platform start up director/founder.
What’s your specialist area of business?
All-round business experience, business plans, financial modelling.
Sum up your attitude to business in one word:
Simplicity!
How do you make sure you achieve your daily goals?
You need to be flexible in your approach and not be constrained by creating long to-do lists, which you may get down about if you do not complete. Depending on your business, something you were not expecting may come up that you have to deal with that day, which could stop you doing something you had planned to do. You need to ensure that at the end of the day you have actioned or cleared anything you had been working on that day.
What tech can’t you live without?
iPhone/iPad, although I am a sucker for all new tech, especially Internet of Things tech.
What book/magazine/blog would you recommend people read, and why?
Wired magazine gives good insight into new tech and its uses. Financial sections of any quality paper/websites will give good indications of business landscape and performance in your sector.
Why do you love being a VSU mentor?
I enjoy meeting new people who have a passion and energy often about a business area I know nothing about and this rubs off on me and make me work better. Also, it doesn’t matter what the business is, the same issues and challenges come up and it is great to be able to give advice or discuss how to approach these things in a different environment.
What’s the best startup advice you have received?
Do as much research on your market as possible. There is so much information available that it can sometimes be overwhelming, but being able to articulate a clear understanding of the market dynamics is critical. Know your numbers also or you will be caught out quickly!
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