Coutts Forum for Entrepreneurs  -
Sir Terence Conran

On Thursday 18th October, as part of the Matthew Williamson 10 years in fashion exhibition at the Design Museum, Coutts & Co hosted a Coutts Forum for Entrepreneurs over breakfast with guest speaker Sir Terence Conran.

Against the stunning backdrop of Tower Bridge this one-off event gave guests the opportunity to hear Sir Terence's personal success story and ask questions about his long-spanning and highly successful career.

As one of the world's best-known designers, restaurateurs and retailers Sir Terence founded businesses including the Habitat chain, with the vision to bring good, modern design to the high-street and Conran Holdings, which comprises renowned restaurants and shops in cities across the world.

Sir Terence spoke about and answered questions on his career to date. He talked about his founding principles, drivers, inspirations and the challenges he has faced, including:

Design for all

"Design should have a practical purpose and be available to everybody. For example, when you come to talk about furniture as art I hate it." Early on Sir Terence quickly realised the importance of making design accessible by putting extra effort into everyday objects to make beautiful, yet inexpensive products. His founding principle behind the success of Habitat was to create affordable and intelligent design.

Ambition

Sir Terence has always had a strong ambition for design and he feels the UK now more than ever realises the importance of design to the fabric of this country - financially, economically and culturally. His message to the audience was that every good entrepreneur should want to back a winner and he believes that in his experience the future lies with the creative industries.

Perseverance

Sir Terence feels he never had a great master plan, but he grasped hold of opportunities as they arose. More importantly he had faith and perseverance when people told him it couldn't be done. He used the example of one of London's first waterfront regeneration projects, Butler's Wharf, situated south of the River Thames. He was told "The City will never cross the river." Butler's Wharf home to several Conran restaurants and the Design Museum is now a bustling visitor destination with some of London's finest restaurants and riverside apartments.

The event forms part of Coutts' ongoing commitment to provide platforms for entrepreneurs to network with like-minded individuals and discuss their own business ventures and the challenges and achievements associated with them.