15 Just do it
What does it take to build a successful business? Drive, enthusiasm, self-belief, a great idea, a great team and, of course, a little bit of luck. And to build a £40 million plus business before your 30th birthday? Well that takes something a little bit different. Coffin Mew met with the Just Develop It CEO Chris Phillips (pictured) and discovered that his hand is behind some of Hampshire’s most exciting and interesting businesses
What is the difference between a successful business leader and an entrepreneur? It is not an easy question to answer, but on meeting Chris Phillips, the CEO of Segensworth-based Just Develop It, you begin to get a clearer idea.
Entrepreneurs are risk takers. Those that are truly successful are prepared to bet the family silver time and again. They are prepared to face and accept failure, walk through it and start all over again. A good business leader – and all successful businesses need them – is a counter-balance. Someone who will question those decisions, take ideas forward and make them happen.
“Entrepreneurs are born that way,“ says Phillips, “and look at the world in a different way.“
And Just Develop It is a very different kind of business. Its roots are in web-based technologies, but now extend to children’s clothing, housebuilding, restaurants and nightclubs.
“I started my first business when I was 16 years old,“ says Phillips, “a webhosting service with friends and family paying £20 a month. Before long I had over 1,000 clients, but it grew too fast too quickly and the business was bought by a US IT company at just the right time.“
That first business didn’t make Phillips any money but it was, he says, perhaps one of the best things that could have happened.
“The US acquiring company invited me to work for them in Scotsdale, Arizona, and they taught me how to run a business. Those lessons have stayed with me.“
While in the US Phillips launched his second business – Intellichat, that allows companies to talk directly to website visitors answering questions and helping to secure a sale. It was at this time he met co-directors Brooke Bryan and Nick Baker.
“Brooke is, quite simply, one of the best coders I have ever met, and
“We have had to add the infrastructure a growing business needs – HR, a finance director, good external advisers, such as Coffin Mew,“ says Phillips. “Turning something that generates cash into a real company is a challenge and one that I relish.“
And that challenge has made Just Develop It, with its young work force (most have still yet to hit their 30th birthdays) a fun place to work. It has recently moved into new purpose- built offices that include table tennis tables and a host of other benefits, such as free massages and a dedicated chef that prepares daily hot meals and snacks.
So, with Just Develop It and its team still very young, what does the future hold?
Nick could sell snow to Eskimos,“ says Phillips.
It was this dream team that one year later would form Just Develop It, a group company that would eventually hold a diverse and exciting portfolio of businesses.
A number of companies quickly followed, including another web- hosting business and an online PC backup service.
“These businesses grew very quickly, with the web-hosting business adding 1,500 new customers every day,“ says Phillips. “It was an exciting time, and our businesses began to attract quite a bit of outside interest.“
Just Develop It soon sold the web-hosting business to the US company that originally purchased Phillips’ first hosting business.
“It wasn’t our plan to sell these businesses,“ says Phillips, “but we kept getting bigger and better offers. It would have been crazy not to sell.“
It was at this time that Just Develop It began to take a different direction. It began to invest in other businesses.
“We are in a very lucky position,“ explains Phillips. “We still continue to manage the technology businesses, including the web hosting business, but with time and
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – APRIL 2015
money on our hands I wanted to put it to good use.“
To date Just Develop It has invested in some 20 different businesses, all in very different sectors including house building, children’s clothing, restaurants, a nightclub and a golf course.
“I look to invest in people, rather than the business,“ says Phillips. “They must be hungry for success and have the drive and vision to make it work.“
Some of the Just Develop It investments are quite small – just a few thousand pounds – others are quite substantial.
Investment in Cloud Developments is one such example. To date, and in partnership with Bishops Estate Agents, Phillips and his team have developed or renovated 53 houses, 77 apartments and 11 commercial buildings.
“Those businesses in which we invest not only get our money,“ says Phillips, “they get time and support. I am looking for longer-term partnerships, not just a quick buck.“
Managing businesses is one of Phillips’ passions, but it is not without its challenges. Just Develop It now has some 40 full-time staff, with a further 150 people working for the businesses where it holds investment.
“It is the investment and growing new successful businesses that has me excited at the moment,“ says Phillips. “We will be making larger businesses and expanding our portfolio. I like looking at industries where I believe we can make the product or service better and more profitable.
“Whatever we do,“ concludes Phillips, “it will most certainly be fun.“
This is the latest in a series of profiles and articles on entrepreneurship supported by Coffin Mew, lawyers to entrepreneurs. Coffin Mew is a leading South Coast firm providing legal services and advice to owner- managers and business founders across the region
Details:
Just Develop It
www.justdevelop.it
Coffin Mew Nick Gross, partner
nickgross@coffinmew.co.uk
www.coffinmew.co.uk
www.businessmag.co.uk
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