Peter Cochrane worked for BT Laboratories, developing a range of technologies, systems, networks and services. He left in 2000 and, together with a group from Apple Computers, founded Concept Labs, which supports new technology enterprises.

Identify the right partners
A large company has all the resources in the world but is unable to move quickly – it runs in corporate treacle. Start-ups have all the flexibility in the world but no money. The solution is to combine the two and I wish I’d been able to spot this earlier on. I would then have started my business, Concept Labs, ten years earlier than I did, rather than starting at the cusp of the dotcom boom and then suffering from its decline.

Weak staff will hold you back
If you don’t have every component (people, technology and finance) in place when you start a business, then it won’t work. But the failure of a company is down more to its people than technology, market conditions or customers. If you have a weak CFO, CEO or CTO, you need to replace them. Do not be fooled by the idea that you can fix it straight away. I didn’t pay enough attention to people and ended up being involved 24/7 with certain businesses within BT and Concept Labs. When I do pay attention I don’t need to do a damn thing and can be very hands-off.

Know the difference between good money and bad
I’ve tried funding businesses through bank loans, venture capital and personal investment. Five projects I invested in have come and gone – I couldn’t raise enough capital or find traction. There is lots of bad money out there – it’s not interested in your business but in your car, your house and your shirt. You can get a lot of bad money from banks. Their only interest is in making percentages – at the first sign of anything going wrong they will call in the loan. By far the best route is for the business to be self-funded by the management team.

A contract does not equal money in the bank
I wish I’d realised how long the time can be between pitching for a contract and the cheque hitting the bank. In the dotcom boom, you’d pitch and the cheque arrived. But over the years that I have done business, it’s become a very long time indeed. If you are working with the Government for example, it can take up to two years. It’s certainly a case of, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. If you are going to work with the Government, it’s better to find a partner with a track record to support you and who can also open doors.

A lack of resources makes you clever
Companies by and large don’t recruit dummies – they recruit smart people but treat them like dummies. If you give people a fixed amount of money to achieve goals, they will surprise you by their ingenuity. Now I never tell people what to do – I just let them get on with it. A lack of resources makes people inventive. I now limit my resources and it makes me find new ways of achieving targets. Each year I’ve increased my work output tenfold.