Sherry Coutu: ‘I’m most likely on LinkedIn for 2 hours a day’

Welcome to the second collection of Small Enterprise Snippets, the podcast from SmallBusiness.co.uk. Right this moment’s episode options Sherry Coutu, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and one of many main names within the UK digital sector.

We discuss ideas for funding pitches, time administration and difficulties within the tech sector.

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Good day and welcome to Small Enterprise Snippets, the podcast from SmallBusiness.co.uk. I’m your host, Anna Jordan.

Right this moment we’ve Sherry Coutu, a serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor. She’s additionally on the board of Founders4Schools, Workfinder, Raspberry Pi, the Division of Tradition Media and Sport (DCMS), Pearson and the London Inventory Trade.

We’ll be discussing the most typical slip-ups that companies make when pitching to buyers and probably the most urgent points within the digital sector.

Anna: Good day, Sherry.

Sherry: Good day.

Anna: It’s pretty to fulfill you. How are you doing?

Sherry: Yeah, I’m very nicely, thanks. Good to see you.

Nice. OK, I’d like to begin off by going again to the start. Because the intro suggests, your background is in digital and tech. You had been a developer and programmer earlier than you grew to become an entrepreneur and an angel investor. What was it like being a feminine developer on the time you began out?

Sherry: Properly, I’ve by no means been a male developer. I feel I got here to it pondering it wasn’t that uncommon being a feminine developer. I had studied at EF Worldwide and another girls had gone into digital once I was on the London College of Economics learning so it didn’t appear that uncommon. I’d joined a big consulting firm and that enormous consulting firm had numerous girls in that consumption and we had been all programming. It didn’t appear that irregular to me. I used to be doing issues that I believed had been fascinating and I used to be studying expertise that I didn’t discover that tough and that I loved, so it was fairly straightforward by and enormous. I didn’t know on the time how uncommon what I used to be doing was or could be seen afterwards.

When did that change into obvious?

Sherry: I don’t know. Once more, I don’t strategy issues on a gender foundation. I noticed different people that I appreciated who had been doing work that I loved, and we had tasks which had been fascinating. When did it change into obvious? You do type of discover that you just’re usually the one lady within the room, and it was most likely afterwards that I believed, ‘Oh, that’s odd. It’s not 50/50 – it’s loads lower than that’. It didn’t trouble me that a lot – I used to be fairly absorbed in what I used to be doing. It was actually fascinating work.

It’s a great way to take a look at it and a few girls thrive on that sort of environment as nicely. It’s an identical state of affairs for buyers. What had been the most typical pitching errors you noticed from companies pitching to you?

Sherry: Properly, I feel there are a pair – I used to be fascinated by your query earlier. And I feel there’s a few widespread points. One will not be researching. I’m a member of the Cambridge Angels and have been members of HBS Angels as nicely. And if an investor involves you they usually haven’t researched who they’re within the room with, that’s actually widespread blooper, and it’s not a smart one.

I feel if I had recommendation for them, it’s to analysis who you’re pitching to and know what’s of their portfolio and to know what they’ve what they’ve executed earlier than. I feel, having anyone clarify to me one thing that, clearly, in the event that they’d checked out my background, they’d perceive that I knew. It’s a waste of their time, whereas you may get into extra detailed issues instantly in any other case.

The opposite concern, one thing that’s unforgivable to me as an investor will not be understanding who your buyer is. Or demonstrating your keenness to please that buyer. A scarcity of give attention to that’s actually annoying to me.

I feel the one motive we’re given alternatives as entrepreneurs is as a result of we are able to delight prospects and create issues that can assist them of their life in a mess of how. And I feel an absence of buyer focus is annoying to me. And it’s often makes for a reasonably quick assembly. And it undoubtedly signifies that I gained’t comply with up as a result of, it’s like, nicely, why are you doing this? The primary query I’m usually asking is why are you making an attempt to resolve this downside? Who’re your prospects? What does this do for them?

Yeah, precisely. So, encouraging higher work expertise in school is a key focus for you particularly simply now, what sort of boundaries do you assume that small employers face when taking up work expertise pupils?

Sherry: Work expertise for people in class and in college is one thing that I’m actually eager on. I don’t consider it as boundaries. I feel all small companies have tasks that they should get executed. You may ask a full-time everlasting worker who’s already working full tilt to do a venture, or you’ll be able to assume, ‘Are there ways in which I can get different people from outdoors my firm that may have a contemporary view, who I don’t have to supply a everlasting job to, to get this venture?’

To me, the largest concern there’s as a small enterprise individual is discovering people to do these further tasks that I actually wish to do for my prospects. Possibly it’s in order that I could be extra obsessive about my prospects and get them extra specializing in a brand new product improvement or prospects in a brand new nation or in a brand new metropolis. However I feel that present college students at college, supplemented presumably by college students doing their A Ranges, are a good way of getting tasks executed shortly and effectively. And hey, you would possibly even be capable of rent the coed who’s doing the give you the results you want afterwards.

However all of us have tasks, we’ve all received dozens of tasks. Possibly it’s sitting down and pondering of which of the tasks I’ve that might be appropriate for 5 college students doing a month or 5 college students doing a few weeks, breaking it down into one thing that may be completed that might be significant to me as a enterprise.

Taking it again to the beginning, for an employer that has by no means executed work expertise earlier than, has by no means provided a sort of programme of kinds –

Sherry: They don’t want a programme. They’ve received tasks on a regular basis. And all of us have tasks. I feel there are large firm methods of approaching work expertise and there are small firm methods of approaching work expertise.

The large firm methods are usually structured programmes that occur in June or July. They usually is likely to be fairly cumbersome on the corporate. What I’ve seen work brilliantly for small corporations, small and medium sized corporations and start-ups and scale-ups are becoming a member of venture groups, or all engaged on a venture that the employer desires to get executed that may’t get executed every other method.

And that signifies that for the supervision of that venture, you’ve received 4 people on it, however you set collectively the transient that may take you a tiny little bit of time, or you could possibly use Workfinder, we’ve received greater than 100 briefs which might be applicable to ask college students at college. You might take one among our briefs of, nicely, you is likely to be fascinated by this, right here’s the way you do the sort of venture.

You transient them on the primary day, you contact base with them for half an hour simply to be sure that they’re going alongside the precise path for the size of the venture, and then you definitely get them to current the venture view on the finish. I feel it’s nice. And then you definitely use it, as a result of it’s a venture that can aid you do one thing extra to your prospects that you just haven’t been capable of do, as a result of everyone’s actually busy. I imply, we all the time are pressed for time in small companies and enormous companies.

Yeah, completely. What’s the sort of state of issues in the mean time when it comes to small companies taking up work experiences? Is it fairly widespread? Or might it’s executed extra extensively?

Sherry: Properly, I’d find it irresistible to occur extra extensively. But it surely occurs extra usually in start-ups and scale-ups than it does in giant corporations. We revealed this on the Gallup Institute earlier this yr, that it was it was extra seemingly that that they had taken on college students each at college and in school to do these further tasks in small and medium-sized corporations.

For me, I’ve received infinite tasks. I’d slightly have a relentless stream of people.

And I feel the opposite one of many different boundaries is that enormous corporations are likely to do it in the summertime, however once we spoke to small and medium sized corporations, that they had tasks all yr spherical, they usually didn’t need to be constrained to having to do it in July or one thing like that. With plenty of different small corporations that we work with, it labored high quality round it Founders4Schools fitted in by all year long in order that it really works higher with them.

Anna: I suppose they’ve the benefit as nicely as a result of They don’t have the processes and the departments to undergo that bigger companies do.

Sherry: Yeah, precisely. They usually could not they usually’ll have pressing tasks that pop up, perhaps it’s a pitch, perhaps it’s a pitch for a buyer and what you want is anyone to ask, ‘Properly, are you able to do a bunch of buyer analysis for me?’ We don’t know these people, use Google, use LinkedIn. Yeah, assist me put collectively this pitch. However there’s plenty of actually good tasks that assist people who’re in school and college perceive what work expertise is. It’s deeply significant to the corporate, it additionally offers them a correct sense of what it could be prefer to work for that firm.

But it surely’s risk-free as a result of perhaps it’s every week, perhaps it’s two weeks, perhaps it’s a month they usually can select, they get the venture executed, they determine in the event that they find it irresistible, or they hate it. In the event that they find it irresistible, they’ll carry on speaking in the event that they don’t find it irresistible, they’ll strive totally different venture and a distinct sort of firm and see in the event that they like that business higher.

Really, as recently pertains to your experience and for corporations within the digital sector, they usually’re experiencing numerous upheaval in the mean time – politically, financially in so many alternative methods. What would you say are probably the most outstanding points affecting the digital sector proper now?

Sherry: Properly, most lately GDPR was a change. I feel was a change for the nice as a result of it protected shoppers and prospects and made certain that every one corporations had been being aware of whose knowledge it was that that they had the privilege of being a custodian of. So, I feel I feel there’s that.

Within the UK, I’m not going to say that phrase [Brexit], however it’s been more durable. It’s been more durable to retain people from Europe for causes which might be outdoors of our management, and that’s tough. Attracting people who’ve the precise ability set can also be actually tough as a result of there’s been a sequencing concern with small corporations, we create plenty of jobs, however they’re jobs in agile administration and knowledge science.

Colleges and universities aren’t but churning out people who’ve these expertise. And I feel fixing that concern in order that we small digital corporations don’t endure from a ability scarcity any longer is definitely very a lot on my thoughts. And I hope to make some contribution to that agenda.

Anna: It feeds again into the work expertise as nicely, doesn’t it? You train them as early as potential and allow them to know what alternatives are on the market.

Sherry: Yeah. And I feel it’s understanding that you just’re not going to have the identical job for 30 years, and truly, that basically sounds fairly boring anyway. Let’s type of simply assume that we’d like the framework for working right here on the sort of venture for the sort of firm for a time frame after which we’ll transfer on and we’ll do one thing else.

The wants of the shoppers will change. And our wants as we undergo our personal lifetime change as nicely. Typically we’ll work full time, we would work very flexibly once we’re having kids. After which as soon as they’re off at college, we would return as much as full-time or, like me, select a portfolio of issues, which is like having a bunch of part-time jobs, all of which I like.

However I like the pliability of this. Should you take heed to LinkedIn, the common individual now has 25 jobs between commencement and retirement, seven totally different identifiable profession streams. What’s your subsequent profession stream? I imply, it’s sort of neat when you consider it that method.

What would you say to small enterprise house owners who perhaps have hassle establishing what expertise their workforce wants, and perhaps the sources nicely, to supply them?

Sherry: Properly, I feel there are some nice on-line sources. For employees I take advantage of LinkedIn Studying rather a lot. For coding expertise, there’s Coursera, there’s Udacity, there’s Futurelearn, there’s numerous free on-line programs that permit us to upskill our workers.

I feel all of us have to be studying all the time. If we don’t spend money on ourselves because the chief of a small enterprise and we don’t spend money on our workers then nicely, it is likely to be more durable to retain people, it may additionally be more durable to meet these buyer orders as a result of they’ll be asking us for stuff that we don’t know the right way to do.

I feel I a dedication to continued studying and permitting and inspiring creativity in ourselves and within the people that work for us as a tradition of studying is admittedly necessary.

Really, now that we’re bearing on it. You match loads into your days and clearly, there’s the continuous upskilling as nicely. What sort of time administration ideas do you’ve gotten for our listeners who could also be struggling and a bit stretched?

Sherry: I’m certain anyone who is aware of me doesn’t essentially assume that I’m nice at managing my time. However I attempt to. I feel in case you’re a portfolio, it’s fairly useful since you compartmentalise issues and also you’re context switching. That retains you contemporary. It additionally retains you managing fairly intently. One thing that I’ve used for a very long time is making an attempt to be at dwelling 20 out of 30 nights, particularly when the children had been at dwelling and youthful, being at dwelling 20 to 30 nights a month. And in case you’ve received that rule that you can be at dwelling by 6pm or earlier in case you can, that means that you can present the dedication that you must your loved ones and to your self.

I attempt to train as a lot as I ought to. I’m undecided I feel most likely within the final month, I’ve undoubtedly damaged my rule. However I’ve received I’ve received coaching arrange in January, February and March and it’s scheduled into my diary. I attempt to schedule issues.

I do attempt to overview on a weekly and a month-to-month foundation. Am I content material with how I’m spending my time? And once I went to the rule of 20 or 30 nights at dwelling by 6pm, I discovered that as a result of there’s so many fascinating issues occurring on a regular basis. And I wished to do every thing I actually did discover myself out each evening. And then you definitely assume, ‘My God, I haven’t actually seen my kids. I haven’t spent any time with my husband, and I don’t be ok with that.’ And so I simply type of put a tough and quick rule and it’s like, nope, that is how I’m going to do it from now and it really works.

Are you working whenever you’re dwelling at 6pm? Or is that a cut-off level whenever you cease working?

Sherry: I’ll cease working. Not essentially for the day – I would go in and again on it between 10pm and 11pm and simply type of plan out the subsequent day. I do are usually crazily busy. Even when it’s simply planning out what you’re alleged to put on, since you’ve received this little jingle jangle of conferences and also you assume, ‘Good Lord, what’s going to navigate by that set of conferences of that day, what am I going to put on?’ Simply type of fascinated by the the way you’re going to execute the subsequent day, if it tends to be blended up. I don’t ever go to an workplace and sit at a desk.

I feel, ‘I’m going to be dwelling with household. I’m not going to have my phone on, I’m going to focus,’ and that provides them the precise message. And it additionally offers me the discharge that you just want as an individual from work.

Do you rely extra on people or tech to type of aid you organise your schedule?

Sherry: Each. For the tech, I take advantage of calendar Google Calendar. I’m not making an commercial for Google. However I feel many small companies use it slightly than among the extra conventional ones. And if I’m assembly somebody, I requested them to append in what the agenda is and what the papers are. My name ahead file will not be a bodily name ahead file that say, it’s actually within the description of that. And I discover that basically useful as I put together for the conferences, I discover the flexibility to ask people to conferences from inside your diary. After which in case you transfer it, all of them get notified and also you don’t must do all of that’s actually useful.

I do have an government assistant (EA) who I like and he or she’s sort of a magician, as a result of I are likely to need to do too many issues than would possibly really be potential, and he or she makes it much more potential than it would in any other case be. I do depend upon her and revel in the truth that she helps and may be very au fait with and good at utilizing know-how as nicely, which is useful to me.

Should you’re a small enterprise proprietor and you could possibly have an entourage of kinds, what sort of people would you rent when it comes to, say, a PA or an accountant?

Sherry: Properly, I will surely use LinkedIn very aggressively. I most likely am on LinkedIn two hours a day as I put together for conferences as I analysis the people that I need to pitch these kinds of issues are the people that I’m about to talk to. I feel it’s actually necessary to make use of instruments which might be there. An accountant? Sure, you undoubtedly want accountants. I feel in small companies, there are nice half time accountants that you may that you may have. And I’m an actual fan of these since you don’t essentially want a full-time one. And there’s numerous significantly girls returners to work who’ve been full-time finance administrators they usually’re there with youngsters they usually need to work on a part-time foundation. And I feel they’re a godsend to many, many, many small companies.

Anna: Appears to work for everyone, proper?

Sherry: Yeah, completely. You might be a small firm of ten people, you would possibly want somebody who’s doing finance a pair days every week nicely, you want anyone who’s a returner, returning to work for that. And on PA I don’t know if everyone wants me know, there’s plenty of people that I do know that work in giant tech corporations that not have PAs there’s many people who’ve the entire senior administration crew has a type of shares in EA or a PA, I feel many people and in reality, it’s been proven that 65 per cent of these jobs have already disappeared as a result of people are utilizing applied sciences extra aggressively.

Should you have a look at the analysis on what jobs are disappearing, sadly, PAs and EAS are undoubtedly far much less prevalent than they had been 5 years in the past, however I couldn’t be with out LinkedIn. I additionally use a service known as Accompany which can type of harvest your diary after which it’ll provide you with notes in regards to the backgrounds of the people that you just’re assembly the day earlier than. And in case you don’t use it, you must use it as a result of it’s superb. I discover these I discover these actually, actually useful.

Properly, I realise you’re busy woman, so I’ll wrap up by coming again to your experience as an investor. You had been an early investor in companies like LoveFilm and Zoopla noticed for brand new tech corporations trying to pitch what would you be on the lookout for of their pitch?

Sherry: Properly, for me, fixing an issue that issues is a very powerful factor.

I’m significantly involved in the way forward for work. It’s been an actual curiosity for 20 years that the talents disaster is getting worse. And I’m involved in working with others to repair that downside, which I feel is the primary downside that we’ve. I’m additionally very within the utility of AI and ML within the sphere of well being. And I feel that, simply across the nook, there are some nice options to essentially irksome horrible issues of a well being nature, that know-how will assist us resolve. And people who’re decided to resolve these issues utilizing know-how will assist themselves, so I’m significantly involved in these two areas.

Some people draw back from them as a result of they’re sophisticated, and a few people draw back from them as a result of they’re extremely regulated. They’re actually necessary – the well being of our residents is admittedly necessary, as is the flexibility to have the precise expertise so you’ll be able to prosper and make a contribution to your neighborhood.

I’m not that involved in listening to people pitch me on issues aside from these two type of, they’re pretty broad topics. However these are those who what I’m actually involved in and could be an energetic in what they name good cash, slightly than simply dumb cash. I’m and might most likely assist in some methods as nicely.

The well being and wellness business is huge. What would you say to entrepreneurs who’re postpone by a considerable amount of competitors within the within the sphere?

Sherry: Create a incredible product that your prospects love. That’s method higher than the rest, that they’re both getting the best way that, you already know, 40 per cent of our GDP is managed by corporations that didn’t exist 5 years in the past. Take into consideration that. What competitors? There are actually large points which might be completely unsolved. And we entrepreneurs, and the people who discover entrepreneurs are the one ones who’re going to resolve it on the time on, on the timeframe that we’ve received accessible to us. So, I’d say, resolve them. Do it.

Anna: Fabulous. Properly, that looks as if a very good place to wrap up. Thanks very a lot for approaching podcast.

Sherry: My pleasure. Thanks very a lot for having me and good luck with every thing.

Anna: You could find out extra about Sherry at uk.linkedin.com/in/coutu. You too can go to smallbusiness.co.uk for extra on elevating capital and managing your time. Keep in mind to love us on Fb @SmallBusinessExperts and comply with us on Twitter @smallbusinessuk, all decrease case. Till subsequent time, thanks for listening.