A serial entrepreneur, investor, industry commentator and BBC Online Dragon, Julie Meyer is a game changer in every sense, with a holistic view for the role of the entrepreneur at the centre of society. In the first of a two-part interview for Entrepreneur Country magazine, Julie gives us an insight into what makes her tick and in our next issue she shares with us her vision of the ‘Big Society’.
Raised in California, Julie moved to France in the late 80’s after completing a B.A. in English Literature and Humanities at Valparaiso University in Indiana. After five years teaching English she returned to Boston where she worked for four years in an advisory role in the telecommunications sector. She returned to France in 1997 to undertake her MBA at INSEAD, moving to the UK in 1998.
“When I arrived in London I didn’t know anyone and that made me very driven and focussed. When I was in the very early stages of co-founding First Tuesday I remember that this girl I knew at INSEAD said to me one day- ‘you’re really interested in people aren’t you’ and the answer is yes I am.”
First Tuesday, the pan-European networking and events platform was, according to Julie, “ahead of its time both as a network and community. I was 33 when I sold First Tuesday but admit that I wasn’t able to do everything I wanted to do with the company but it was a case of the right offer and right time and we were able to sell in July 2000.”
“I did pretty well out of the First Tuesday exit which was enough to move on to start Ariadne Capital. I knew immediately that I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket and that I wanted to invest in a number of entrepreneurs, rather than just one business.”
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“I knew immediately that I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket and that I wanted to invest in a number of entrepreneurs, rather than just one business.”
Through Ariadne Capital, Julie and her team have advised on a number of high profile investments and acquisitions. Her philosophy remains to invest in individuals as much as ideas, particularly those entrepreneurs with a proven track record of success and ambition. She continues to seek out investment opportunities where the entrepreneur has the ability to see the big picture, trusting their ability to connect an idea and opportunity and to persist until they reach their desired outcome. Whilst connecting with dynamic and innovative people is a passion for Julie, those individuals at the other end of the spectrum are a source of immense frustration. Julie describes her greatest pet-hate: lazy people, “I hate lazy people. In fact I don’t just hate lazy people, it’s anyone who exhibits any kind of laziness that I hate with a passion. I can’t even hide it! I’m not even good at hiding it! My frustration and dislike is because laziness shows an implicit disrespect. It means ‘I’m not going to carry my weight and I’m going to expect you to implicitly carry it for me’. So for me it is really the disrespect you show to someone, by faking, pretending and avoiding and that forces me to pull people up and say ‘you’re not really pulling your weight are you?’ and I hate that.”
But even the Online Dragon has a soft spot and unsurprisingly it is her admiration for the tenacity and determination that she encounters day in and day out when working with entrepreneurs, particularly from an early stage start-up. “What gives me that warm glow inside is when companies against all odds are successful. A company that could be doing really well today, may have had many near death experiences over the years but most don’t want those to be publically known. Because I have a history with these companies I know the near death experiences and sometimes you know the funny quirky things. I’ve known CEO’s that in the early days didn’t think they could do it and were actively seeking out a Chief Exec. Now they are flying high and wouldn’t even want to be reminded of that fact but its’ just really cool to watch their personal journey, not just that of their company. I’m something of an introvert and its nice knowing these little secrets as you watch a person grow. In a positive way, they exceed their own as well as everyone else’s expectations and that’s a really cool and inspirational achievement.”
Julie’s ability to connect ideas and people has been a critical factor in the success of Ariadne. Maintaining an effective and dynamic network
15 entrepreneurcountry
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