The founder of Carphone Warehouse addressed an audience of students and potential entrepreneurs at the Entrepreneurs@Manchester speaker series.
Sir Charles said that his one piece of advice was to be persistent, adding that those who are successful are those who can persevere when times are tough.
He opened the night by giving a brief history of his business journey and said that one of the cornerstones of the Carphone Warehouse’ success came down to continually asking the question: “how do we develop our culture and deliver consistency?”
Asked about what gave Carphone Warehouse a particular edge in a notoriously difficult industry, Sir Charles said that “when they zig, we zag”, indicating that it was this entrepreneurial spirit to be different that was the basis of the company’s growth.
He thought that the future of entrepreneurship was healthy, indicating that he believes “it is quite cool to be an entrepreneur now”, whereas when he originally started, there was only really one entrepreneur which was Richard Branson. Indeed, he pointed out that people generally trust smaller businesses rather than large organisations today, which gives entrepreneurs a greater potential start.
Sir Charles Dunstone was speaking at the Entrepreneurs@Manchester speaker series organised by Manchester Enterprise Centre and supported by A2E Industries. The discussion was chaired by Vikas Shah MBE.
The next event in the series is on the 27 November at AMBS, where we will welcome Wayne Hemmingway, co-founder of Red or Dead. Register for your tickets here.
