Team Profiles
Matt Knopp
Matthew Knopp has ten years entrepreneurial business experience working in the small business and SME sectors. He has run successful start-ups in IT, Internet, Design and New Media markets and was also Head of Business Development for Hoxton Bibliotech, the Shoreditch business support and training company.
He is SFEDI accredited as well as having the Institute of Management "Technology Means Business" (TMB) accreditation for IT advice.
Apart from running Business Talents Company, Matt has business interests in a telemarketing company and a software business. Matt’s core skills are in new business development, marketing and IT specifically with those companies involved in the Internet and other new technologies. In the last two years Matt has successfully helped over 200 businesses from .coms to creative design agencies to city accountants.
He is very experienced at delivering allocation over a wide variety of BL4L and LDA projects having personally written 25 completed businesses plans on the A2F project. With over a 50% successful rate in finding the right amount of finance for his clients.
Paul Hennin
Paul has a strong entrepreneurial background coupled with 12 years agency marketing experience.
Paul has implemented European-wide programmes for large brands including Mobil Oil and worked as a consultant for Coca Cola. At Yamaha he directed the worldwide motor sport PR programme.
He went on to successfully start-up, raise money and sell a marketing services dotcom. More recently he moved into IT with the wireless networking company FilFree Networks as Commercial Director where he helped re-position the company, secure the worldwide patent rights for its new technology and raise funds.
Paul has written 15 A2F business plans and specialises in finding business angel capital for 50K+ projects. He now has a strong client list in Shoreditch and Hackney of new media and publishing clients and is working towards his SFEDI in May.
Kingsley James
After teacher training, Kingsley spent 20 years in industry, in posts rising from production Manager to company group director.
Since 1987 he has worked as an Enterprise Adviser, and as a lecturer in Finance and Marketing. His main speciality is planning for start-up and writing the documents that help to raise finance either from banks or from public sector sources. In recent years Kingsley has helped many companies in the Arts and Creative sector. He has contributed, sometimes extensively, to almost 4000 Business Plans. He is the owner of a small business that sub-contracts to the heavy transport industry and is the appointed chairman on five rapidly growing small businesses.
As the most senior member of the team, Kingsley provides back-up advice and support to Business Talents and all other members of the team.
Mike Willets
Mike spent sixteen years with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant. In 1993, he set up the PwC Client Training Group, where he was Director responsible for Finance and Business training. He has worked with clients across a diverse range of industries at both national and global level, helping them to develop the skills and confidence to deal with business issues in a professional manner.
Recent activity includes:
•The development and delivery of a business and credit risk assessment programme for a team of regional sales managers, aimed at reducing their exposure to potential customer credit risk.
•Workshops and training to assist heads of department develop business plans in support of both corporate and individual goals.
•Mentoring the Sales Director of a publicly listed FMCG in areas of Financial Management.
Mike is a frequent speaker at conferences, and contributor to published articles, notably on the subject of performance management and managing virtual teams.
Barry Todd
Spent his formative years with a major financial institution where his principal activities were involved in Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
Since leaving the financial world, Barry has undertaken several roles as a
Commercial/ Managing Director, within both small/large companies representing a number of diverse industries. During this period, invaluable experience was gained in helping businesses grow, turnarounds and buy-outs. Until recently, he was engaged as the Managing Director of a Canadian public company with executive responsibility for International markets, business and human resource development. He currently acts as an Executive Board member of a medical device business.
Recent activity includes:
•Recruiting and building senior management teams both UK & Internationally
•Introducing cost and investment management initiatives
•Developing Sales channels into new markets with emphasis on margin
protection
•Prioritising and developing growth into new geographic markets inc. Far East
•Providing Strategic and Investor Relations direction at Corporate and Business Unit level
•Introducing effective performance reporting tools
•Developing market presence for business at various trade & industry conferences etc
Barry continues to speak at business and trade conferences on a variety of practical business related issues.
Sharon Daley
Sharon is a Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) and has 8 years experience as Financial Director for The Ealing Consortium, a 10 million a year turnover housing charity. She now delivers business and financial advise to a number of small businesses including a fashion house based in central London. She is Business Talents’ specialist financial consultant and works on a number of A2F financial models as well as setting up internal financial systems.
Nick Lawrence
Nick’s career in numbers started with the essential basics and progressed to the dizzy heights of finance director within a substantial ‘city’ brokerage.
Transferring corporate capabilities to the media sector, his contribution to the senior management team of an SME categorised PR agency, was significant in achieving and managing dramatic growth.
Nick founded FITE IT Ltd in 1999 as the first IT outsourcing organisation to place customer service at its core. With 20 staff servicing revenue of £1.5M throughout the UK, its success can be judged through both employee and client retention.
Other interests include a passion for the arts, particularly music, resulting in establishing/incorporating a record label now considered as a leader within its genre, and a brand associated with consistency and quality.
