Jensten’s Hardie on the need for Nike-like entrepreneurs

If you hear the word ‘entrepreneurship,’ what springs to mind? Does it conjure up the slightly cliched likes of Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, or Deborah Meaden – or do you go to the start-up stereotype? Those who have risked it all with little money behind them with a vision for a product or business.

Maybe you think bigger – the entrepreneurial and innovative brands rather than individuals. The original version of Nike, for example, or Apple.

The UK insurance industry has plenty of examples of each. From the early architects of the consolidators to the ambitious account executives who fell out of them to set up on their own, through to the eponymous broker that is now challenging the old oligopoly of the global top three, our sector has always been a hotbed of entrepreneurialism.

But as the big get bigger and the price of entry for start-ups increases, how do we maintain our entrepreneurialism as an industry in the face of the structural changes around us?

Increased regulation, for example, can be off-putting when you’re thinking of going it alone. Whether it’s the time it takes to get authorised or ongoing compliance and regulatory requirements, both impact start-up numbers.

Funding is another obvious factor. There is understandably more interest from external investors in backing large-scale established businesses than there is in smaller start-ups, which means the money needed to start a business combined with the cashflow required to make it to breakeven and drive growth is often unattainable.

If you’re an employee unhappy with the employer you’ve just inherited, or a new business executive wanting a slice of the action, you now have the widest number of start-up options available to you.

And of course, when it comes to structural change, you can’t ignore the impact of consolidation and the polarisation between big and small brokers. 

But with size, and in particular growth by acquisition, comes the inevitable challenge around culture. Without the right environment and reward system in place, apathy and conservatism can creep in. At best it’s corporate culture; at worst the antichrist of entrepreneurs.

Ironically though, these evolutionary changes are helpful. Entrepreneurialism is self-selecting.

If you’re an employee unhappy with the employer you’ve just inherited, or a new business executive wanting a slice of the action, you now have the widest number of start-up options available to you. 

Whether it’s the traditional network models, or the appointed representative route, or the “broker in a box” concept from a franchise network. Some of these even provide seed and growth funding now too.

At the other end of the scale, there’s also a new breed of large brokers that are acting in a more agile and entrepreneurial way than a typical organisation of their size. 

They’re creating attractive environments for employees and vendors – environments where people are encouraged to challenge the status quo, take risk, and importantly, where they can take inspiration from their customers.

And that’s the key point.

The concept of entrepreneurialism only works when you’re looking outwards, not inwards. The secret sauce is always a customer focus. Something, sometimes, there is a danger of forgetting when the world changes too quickly around you.

So, it doesn’t matter if you’re an individual looking to set up on your own, or a business owner with Nike-level ambitions, remember there is an ecosystem sitting behind you.

Just do it.