Cash is the enemy of creativity!
The Founder and CEO of King of Shaves, Will King gave an engaging and dynamic presentation to a large audience of economics and business students at our Entrepreneurship Society last night. The UK sales figures for the new Azor razors are quite remarkable and are testimony to the impact that this challenger brand is having on a monopolistic/duopolistic market. In the past four weeks in the UK KoS has sold 107,000+ Azor system razor handles and 602,000+ Azor Endurium cartridges.
Conventional MBA theory would suggest that the barriers to entry are just too high for a new firm to dislocate and disrupt the cosy market power of Gillette and Wilkinson Sword. The razor remains of the most patent protected products in the world and the billions of blades sold each year (at profit margin of over 90 per cent) represent an enormous cash cow for the US shaving giants. But easy cash can often stifle genuine creativity. The momentum of passionate and persistent challenger brands who truly understand the web and who talk to customers in a different way can make a big difference. The big Mo is with King of Shaves and it is easy to see why!
Will reports on his visit here
Our next meeting (Thursday 12th November) focuses on global economics and is with Paul Donovan, Chief Economist of UBS.
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Running an Entrepreneurship Society
Several colleagues have asked me to provide a brief overview of how our school Entrepreneurship Society is run. We don’t offer any formal examined courses in business and management at our school although we do have quite active Young Enterprise groups in Year 11. Around 40-45% of our year group opt for AS Economics in Year 12, 20% also take AS Politics.
Keynes and Entrepreneurship Meetings
Our programme of speakers for the new term is nearly complete. As always a warm welcome is extended to any colleagues living in the vicinity who might want to come to a meeting and perhaps bring some students. As regular visitors will know, there is no formal ticketing but it is always helpful to know who plans to come so that we can organise car parking and get a feel for numbers.
Here is the programme
Keynes and Entrepreneurship Society Meetings
Eton Keynes and Entrepreneurship Society Meetings
Our current programme is detailed below. If teaching colleagues would like to come to one or more of the meetings with their students please get in touch and I will make arrangements.
October
Thursday 1st: Chris Coleridge (Founder and CEO of V-Water) - Ent Soc
Thursday 8th: Pierre Lagrange (Co-Founder of GLG Partners) - Ent.Soc
Thursday 15th: Charlie Gilkes (Founder of Kitts Nightclub, Barts Bar and JetSet Parties) Ent.Soc
November
Thursday 5th: Lord John Eatwell - Keynes
Thursday 5th: Will King, CEO of King of Shaves (Entrepreneurship) - Ent Soc
Thursday 12th: Paul Donovan (Chief Economist at UBS) - Keynes
Thursday 19th: Tim Harford (Financial Times and Undercover Economist) - Keynes
January 2010
Thursday 21st: Jon Moulton (CEO of Alchemy Partners) - Keynes
I will post details of additional meetings as they are arranged
Keynes and Entrepreneurship Society Meetings this Spring
As always a warm invitation is extended to colleagues who might want to come along to one or more of these meetings. Please let me know beforehand so that we can get a feel for numbers!
Thursday 22nd January
Keynes
Will Whitehorn
CEO of Virgin Galatic
Thursday 5th February
Entrepreneurship Society
Christina Domecq
Founder of voicemail-to-text software firm SpinVox
Thursday 26th February
Keynes
David Miles
Managing Director and Chief UK Economist at Morgan Stanley
Thursday 5th March
Keynes
Stephen King
Group Chief Economist for HSBC
Thursday 12 March
Keynes
James Bevan
Chief Investment Officer for CCLA
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