King of Shaves at Eton. Young shavers, Brand hurricanes, 20s MBA's...& Fireworks!
Courtesy Geoff Riley, head of economics at Eton College, I was delighted to speak to approximately 200 young shavers as part of a series of talks to their Entrepreneur Society, headed by co-secretary, Thomas Aedy. Having gone to school at Kirkley High, a comprehensive school in Lowestoft, Eton is probably as far removed from that place of learning as it's possible to be. It was great!
I was met by Thomas, a very assured young man (in his suit & tie - the tie came off shortly afterwards) at Eton landmark, 'the burning bush', and then ushered into one the 25 houses, for fireworks and dinner, kindly hosted by housemaster, Mark Fielker, along with Geoff and a dozen or so of the members of the Entrepreneur Society.
I had about an hour in which to try and impart my enthusiasm for what I do - how King of Shaves has grown, why I founded the business, the challenges, the rewards and the importance of being a 'momentum creator'. We touched on my 'life at the centre of a hurricane brand', the importance of calm (whilst storms are raging around you), why I think companies of the future should be constructed like a wheel, explained Brannovation, Smarketing, Props & Purdo's, took the audience through my '20 second MBA' course and afterwards, answered a series of intelligently framed questions from audience members (attendees were also from local schools, as well as students from Eton).
It was my first 'after dinner' presentation - normally, I try to carry them out in the morning, or at least during the day, but I got two huge rounds of applause, and at the end, Thomas kindly mentioned "I'd been the best speaker they'd had, so far" (I'm sure they say that to all the speakers).
Attendees departed with King of Shaves product, and assorted cans of Red Bull & Relentless - those who were there, will know why these were handed out.
These guys (and girls) are our future - and I hoped my brief discourse on 'Being the best you can be' enthused them to 'embrace change as a constant' - 'knuckle down and build momentum' and most important of all, to 'enthuse, exceed, enjoy'.
Thanks Geoff, and for your blog post too.
