Becoming an entrepreneur the easy way

Stelios visits Tanaka Business School, 27 July 2005

Attracting the best entrepreneurs to Tanaka Business School is important to us, and to our students. We're ranked as 5th in the world for entrepreneurship, and as the Imperial College business school, our reputation is well known. But our students also benefit enormously from real life case studies - "how I did it", by people who have successfully climbed the business ladder.

And, as entrepreneurs go, there are only a few people who are household names - but only one who is known simply by his first name.

On 27 July Stelios of easyGroup fame provided a packed audience of 250 students, alumni and other guests with insights into the easy brand, along with much practical business advice.

The majority of the seminar on brand extension was taken up with a question and answer session; and it was clear that the audience were drinking up the advice given to them by one of today's most recognisable and successful businessmen.

Highlights

Q - Was the use of orange intentional?
A - Not really, it looked best on the planes

Q -Do you leverage on the brand or innovate?
A - easyjet was an innovative business in that I created a low cost, no frills airline in Europe. The easyGroup has different approaches - some companies take a bite of market share, others are innovative. There's no straight answer.

Q - Is there one rule to break?
A - You don't always have to know your market inside out. I knew nothing about airlines but I went into it anyway. No one thought you could do airfares without travel agents - but I went ahead with the online, "buy direct" model - because I knew it would succeed.

Stelios biography

o 38 years old, from Athens
o 1984 graduated from London School of Economics
o Followed this up with MSc in Shipping Trade and Economics from City University Business School
o Best known for creating easyJet at 28
o easyJet PLC was partially floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2000 but Stelios remains the largest single shareholder
o  he has established more than 16 ventures, the first of which was Stelmar Shipping at the age of 25
o Sees himself more as the manager of the brand and less as a manager of one of the companies

easyGroup companies now include internet cafés, car hire, online price comparison, personal finance, cinema, buses, male toiletries, online recruitment, pizza delivery, music downloads, mobile telephony, hotels and a cruise line.