For a chance to join us for the workshop prior to the talk, you need to be registered by 5pm on Friday 25th May and make sure you answer the registration question, “If you could ask Ken Segall one question, what would it be?“.

We will select, with Ken’s help, the participants over the weekend and let the selected attendees know by Monday 12 noon.

Leon Restaurants, purveyors of fine and healthy fast foods to the masses have launched their own bond issue, this time with payment in their own currency, the £eon pound. The £eon Pound can be used in their own restaurants as well as, they hope, other participating places in due course. This means that they can offer a relatively higher rate of interest on their bond.

Disclosure, I know the founders socially and think they run the best restaurant chain on the planet. I was more excited that they opened in Kings Cross than I was about the new concourse.

Henry even gave me a free wrap once but I do not own shares…

The Leon Bond…

Dear Leon Club Member,

Last month we sent out an email to a small group of Club Members to see if they would be interested in investing in a Leon Bond. We were overwhelmed by the response and have decided to launch it for all Club Members in early June.

This letter is intended to tell you more about the bond and to let you know what you will need to do if you want to invest, so that you can be ready.

“This is a brilliant idea! It sums up what I love about Leon :)”  – Leon Club Member

What is the Leon Bond?
We are often sent messages asking us to open new restaurants – so often that we wondered whether the people who eat with us would like to get involved in helping us grow. This kind of collaboration between customers and businesses is increasingly common – King of Shaves have issued a bond, as did our friends at Hotel Chocolat. It is very simple. Club Members who want to get involved lend Leon the money, and in return we give them interest along with some other edible and non-edible perks. We’d rather pay interest to our Club Members than to the banks.

What would we use the money for?
Expanding the Leon chain by opening new restaurants in carefully selected locations, creating jobs, and making good food available to more people. We are also planning to set up a not-for-profit Leon Foundation.  In future we may use the money to set up Leon outside the UK. A proportion of the money may be used to replace debt we currently hold.

The Leon Foundation
Our vision is to make it easy for everyone to eat good food. We are currently doing this in our fast food restaurants, but we believe that our expertise and contacts can be of use more broadly. So we are setting up the Leon Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation with the same vision. The first step of the Leon Foundation is to set up an annual summer cookery school with chef Mitch Tonks on the river Dart in Devon for children with renal illnesses, who require a very specific diet. The children we will be taking come from homes where very little or no primary cooking is done.

How does the bond work?
We are launching the £eon Pound: an alternative currency that will be available in Leon restaurants. You can use it to buy food, drink, cookbooks or anything else in any Leon. We are also talking to like-minded business who would accept them too.

- You buy a three year bond, after which time you can ask for your cash back or you can ask to extend

- You will be paid interest in £eon Pounds

  There will be three bond options you can invest in any combination up to £10,000 in total:

1. Invest £1,500 for three years and receive 120 £eon Pounds each year

- equivalent to a 8% net return or 10% gross return for the basic rate taxpayer

2.  Invest £3,000 for three years and receive 300 £eon Pounds each year

- equivalent to a 10% net return or 12.5% gross return for the basic rate taxpayer

3. Invest £5,000 for three years and receive 600 £eon Pounds each year

- equivalent to a 12% net return or 15% gross return for the basic rate taxpayer

- In addition to the interest, every bond will be entered into a seasonal prize draw only for Leon Bond holders. This will be drawn four times a year on the autumnal equinox, the winter solstice, the vernal equinox and the summer solstice. Prizes will include places at our cookery school on the Dart in Devon, residential cooking holidays, hampers of food from our suppliers and other goodies.

- You know the money is being put to good use: opening new Leons and the Leon Foundation

“Great idea – power to the people, not the banks!” – Leon Club Member

What happens next
We will be sending out a full invitation document to all club members in early June.

If you are not a member of the club, you will have to join to receive the document. You can join here http://www.leonrestaurants.co.uk/join/. It is simple to do and there is no fee.

There will be a simple online process where you can apply for the bond and make an electronic payment. The closing date will be in early July, so if you want to invest you will need to have the money available by then. If the bond is oversubscribed we will allocate it on a first come first served basis.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, you can send them to TheLeonBond@leonrestaurants.co.uk. If you do this, please leave a phone number.

Best wishes,

Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent
Leon Co-founders

• Translate Media, Co-Founder
• Cogenta Systems, Chairman
• Phagenesis Ltd, CEO
• Integrity Software, Group FD
• Energysys Limited, Operations Director
• Energysys.com, Managing Director
• Revolution Software, Managing Director
• Capital SCF, MD & Founder
• Fidelity Growth Partners, Partner
• MMC Ventures, Investment Director
• Global Sales Outsourcing, Director
• Angel Seeder, Entrepreneur
• Kernel Magazine, Reporter
• Cogenta Systems, CEO
• Kulu Valley, Business Development
• Top10, Co-Founder & CPO
• Grapple Mobile, Design Director
• Softcat Ltd, Chairman
• IdeaPlane, Business Development Analyst
• Episode LLP, GP
• Bossa Studios, Co-Founder, MD
• Telefonica UK, Head of Enterprise Lab
• DFJ Esprit, Partner
• Matchbox Mobile, Creative Director
• Optimas Consulting, Managing Director
• Amadeus Capital Partners, Investment Manager
• Simon-Kucher & Partners, Consultant
• Erevena Executive Search, Senior Partner
• Lily Innovation Advisors, Managing Director
• Jasper Apps, Director
• Goldmine Gaming, Managing Director
• IdeaPlane, Head of Sales
• ?What if! Innovation Partners, Co-Founder
• HuBCluB Europe LLP, General Partner
• Black Sheep Fund, Commercial Operations Director
• Softcat Ltd, Sales Manager
• Translate Media, Operations Director
• Red Badger, Founder
• TechSmith, Chief Evangelist
• Frogtrade, Head of Marketing
• DN Capital, Associate
• Erevena Executive Search, Consultant
• Samsung Electronics, Technology Manager (Strategy and Partnership)
• Locus Association, Chair
• MagicSolver, CEO
• Matchbox Mobile, Chief Sales Officer
• Propellernet, Managing Director
• Kulu Valley, CTO & Founder
• DataSift, CMO
• Redgate Software, Innovator, New Business
• Crelligo, Partner
• eHarmony.com, Country Manager UK
• Starbucks, CIO
• DFJ Esprit, Partner
• IdeaPlane, CTO
• Big Green Smile, Managing Director
• Kulu Valley, Operations Manager
• Revolution Software, Head of communications
• Eprospects, CEO
• Barbarians Gate, Founder web start-up
• dianomi ltd, CTO
• The Portable Office Company, Chairman
• Translate Media, Managing Director
• ARM Holdings, VP Corporate Business Development
• BskyB, Interim Marketing Director, Sky Sports
• Coachhouse Developments, Partner
• SoftSpot, Founder
• Oxford Capital Partners, Investment Director
• Succeed, CTO
• Erevena, Partner
• Ecuity, CEO
• Cronto, CEO
• Nielsen, Senior Analyst
• JustGiving, MD
• Top10, Founder & CEO
• Cogenta Systems, Marketing Executive
• dianomi ltd, Co-founder
• Succeed, CEO
• Inqb8tor, CEO & Founder
• Software Verification, Founder
• MMC Ventures, Simon
• Kulu Valley, I&S Manager
• Wrky, Founder
• Guestaurant, CEO
• MyDeco, CEO
• Jagex Ltd, CEO
• Paythru, Director of Innovation and Development
• Simply Zesty, Co-Founder
• Nakama, Practice Leader
• My Business FD, Finance Director
• Rated People, CMO
• Erevena Executive Search, Partner
• AskPeopleYouKnow, CEO
• SEP, Principal
• Erevena Executive Search, Chairman
• Swapit, Product Manager
• TalkSPORT, Brand Creative Director
• GE Energy, Management Consultant
• Drift Innovation, Partner
• Drift Innovation, Partner
• Samsung Electronics, Senior Engineering Manager
• Jagex Ltd, Chief Creative Officer
• Barclays, Banker
• CurrentBody, Director
• Ascensus, CEO
• Achilles, CIO
• The Worst Kept Secret, Co-Founder
• Kulu Valley, Accounts Manager
• Betfair, Strategy Manager
• SwiftKey, CMO
• Nakama, CEO
• Bossa Studios, Co-Founder, MD
• Experian Marketing Services, Head of Strategy & Development
• Succeed, CFO
• i2O Water Ltd, CEO
• ?What if! Innovation Partners, Chairman & Chief Enthusiast, Co-Founder
• Rated People, Founder & CEO
• MMC Ventures, Investment Director
• Erevena Executive Search, COO
• Kulu Valley, CEO & Founder
• Value Retail PLC, Director – Business Systems & Technology
• Drift Innovation, Co-Founder & MD
• Erevena Executive Search, Partner
• Pouncer Media Ltd, CEO
• StickyWorld, CEO
• Stirling Alexander Management Ltd., Director
• Nexmo, Inc., Interim CFO
• The BLN, Director
• BBC Worldwide, Product Manager
• ITV, Business Development Manager
• i2O Water Ltd, Software Director
• Redgate Software, Head of Creative
• Lloyd’s, CIO
• MEND, Director
• Numerous, Strategist
• The Coach House, Company Secretary
• LaunchPad Recruits, Founder
• Apoyer Networks, Founder
• Trinamo, Partner
• Philips UK, Marketing Manager
• Eden Ventures, Partner
• Drift Innovation, Partner
• Lily Innovation Advisors, Researcher
• ARM Ltd, Director of Online Tools
• Meerkatalyst, Founder
• Propellernet, Insight direcctor
• Erevena Executive Search, CEO
• Kaspersky Lab, Director of Customer Experience Europe
• TAP Biosystems, Chief Technology Officer
• Inqb8tor, COO & Founder
• The BLN, Business Development
• Domestic & General, HR Director
• SecretSales.com, Executive Chairman
• Hotspur Capital Partners, Partner
• Integrity Software, CEO
• Noreen Thompson Weddings and Events, Founder
• Delion Limited, Managing Partner
• 1011 Ltd, Founder
• Kulu Valley, Marketing Manager
• SapientNitro, Lead Strategist
• Drift Innovation, Partner
• True Knowledge, Founder
• Nerdvana Ltd, Director
• Kernel Magazine, Editor-in-Chief
• Kulu Valley, Product Manager
• WAYN, Co-Founder & Co-CEO
• Silicon Valley Bank, Director
• The Next Women, UK Editor
• Betfair, Senior Product Manager
• Storybricks, CEO
• Revolution Software, Head of technology
• Plum, CEO
• SkipperApps, Founder
• The Beans Group, Founder
• The BLN, Events Executive
• Barclays, Banker
• DFJ Esprit, Analyst
• Longreach, Managing Director
• Fox IT, CEO
• AMEE, Chairman
• Baby Beddings LLP, Director
• Globalview Advisors, Director
• BagThat.com, CEO
• Rated People, COO
• Taptu, VP Product and Engineering
• TLcom Capital Partners, General Partner
• Succeed, COO
• KIT Digital, VP Commercials Northern Europe
• LeanWorks, Co-founder
• SecretSales.com, Co-Founder / Buying Director
• TAP Biosystems, Head of Software
• ITG, VP, Business Development
• i2O Water Ltd, Chief Technology Officer
• Wish Want Wear, Marketing Director
• PyraSolutions LLC, Principal
• IDEO, Senior Interaction Designer
• WHEB Venture Partners LLP, Partner
• Succeed, BDM
• Hotspur Capital, Partner
• Moixa Technology, CTO & Founder
• Grass Valley, SVP EMEA
• Erevena Executive Search, Senior Associate
• Pembridge Partnership, Partner
• Swiftkey, CEO & Co-founder

It’s not too late to join us for our CEO Tales with Ken Segall on Thursday 31st May where he’ll be discussing life at Apple and the contents of his recently published ‘Insanely Simple – The Obsession that Drives Apple’s Success’.

PRE-EVENT WORKSHOP WITH KEN: For your chance to join us for an invitation-only workshop with Ken prior to the event opening, simply refer a friend today. A lucky attendee registered between now and 5pm on Friday will be chosen to join us along with whoever it was that referred them. So get registering and referring!

Ken has already answered one recurring question, ‘Can Apple be as successful without Steve Jobs leading the way?‘ in this guest blog post. If you want to ask anything else, feel free to chip in. As we now have a slightly bigger, upgraded, venue we still have some space so it is not too late to register.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are the other questions people would want to ask Ken…

If you could ask Ken Segall one question, what would it be?

• Which emerging nations does he feel has the levels of entrepreneurial verve that could match the creativity of Silicon Valley?
• Anti-patterns: Why did Sony go wrong when Apple went right?
• Who will win – the closed operating system of apple or the open architecture platform such as Microsoft?
• Is the marketing approach different for small, growing companies than for large corporations? Would “think different” have been the right approach without the global brand awareness already?
• How do you makes others see the value of simplicity?
• Do you think Apple has peaked?
• What are the disruptive changes that social networks bring to marketing?
• What’s the one piece of advice he’d give to Microsoft, Google, Oracle.
• Is Apple’s Insanely Simple approach going to limit their success in selling to businesses
• How was it working for Steve?
• What would you spend most of your time doing on a day to day basis?
• What would you spend most of your time doing on a day to day basis?
• Was think different the first campaign idea or did you have many others before
• Was think different the first campaign idea or did you have many others before
• IBM or Apple? Which is the more innovative in their business models?
• What are you most proud of?
• What other companies are insanely simple?
• How much of it all was Jobs and how much was the team? What’s the right mix of interference of those holding the vision vs those implementing it?
• How much of it all was Jobs and how much was the team? What’s the right mix of interference of those holding the vision vs those implementing it?
• Think of it to ask him on the night
• Think of it on the night
• How did you make it so simple!
• What other design do you admire in the online market?
• when will simple also mean cheap ?
• when will battery technology develop sigificantly ?
• Can Apple be as successful without Steve Jobs’ single minded focus?
• ?
• Would Apple have been so successful with ‘just’ great products and ‘average’ marketing?
• What does the Apple TV look like?
• Why do digital products seem increasingly complex?
• Where do you get your design inspirations from?
• what were the practical methods Apple used to innovate (meetings, focus groups?)
• How do you do?
• What is the thing most companies are missing?
• Could Apple have achieved the same success if they had chosen a different obsession?
• Can’t think of a good enough one at the moment sorry!
• Apple regularly builds simple and elegant products on initial release but then adds features and complexity over time. Does this result in an improvement or dilution of the originally executed idea
• What would the single bit of advice be he would give to companies aspiring to follow in Apple’s design and innovation footsteps
• How (if at all) would he recommend to engage customers during a product’s design phase?
• How does he get inspiration for his creative designs?
• Do his values in life cross over into his creative work?
• How does the creative landscape of the UK compare to the US?
• none
• What difference will Steve Jobs death really have on Apples future?
• Whose going to beat Apple?
• Describe a time when things were going bad.
• Who will win – the closed operating system of apple or the open architecture platform such as Microsoft?
• no questions
• What’s the one technology you think will drive consumer products in the next 10 years
• How much of the company was driven by Steve Jobs alone?
• does he think now that Steve is gone Apple will loose their direction?
• What other successful companies are applying simplicity to their product, marketing and strategy in the way Apple is?
• Which entrepreneur/CEO (e.g. Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey) do you think is most like Steve Jobs?
• What advice on branding would you have for a first-time entrepreneur?
• Given Steve Jobs didnt initially like ‘iMac’, how did you change his mind?
• how would you advise the UK & Ireland to play in the technology market with the continued rise of China?
• What is the most compelling thing that you find attracts the best engineers?
• How do your analogies relate to professional services organizations providing productivity coaching and consulting services?
• How do you preserve the culture of simplicity as the company grows?
• How would you apply the ‘insanely simple’ obsession to the financial services sector (banking, investing etc.)
• If he wasn’t at Apple which startup has he seen in the last 6 months that he would join?
• How did you manage to keep the brand and message simple throughout the world?
• What is you next big idea?
• Was design a major driver for simplicity or was it functionality?
• How did you encourage people to try your ideas?
• What is the event/idea/book that had the most impact on your creative thinking?
• If its so simple, why can’t microsoft do it?
• Did everyone else at Apple believe in “Insanely Simple”?
• Did everyone else at Apple believe in “Insanely Simple”?
• What is the single most important business principle that you have stuck with over the years?
• How to keep yourself creative
• What product/s / brand/s do you wish you’d been involved with?
• What has driven the mass following of Apple products and brand?
• What has driven the mass following of Apple products and brand?
• Did you ever think that the Apple brand would become such a household name?
• What was Steve Jobs’ most annoying trait
• What was Steve Jobs’ most annoying trait
• What are three frequent errors — admirably aimed at ‘simplifying’ customer experience — that you’ve seen recently?
• What’s been your proudest moment of your career (not necessarily the biggest)?
• What’s been your proudest moment of your career (not necessarily the biggest)?
• Do you think simplicity is a trend or a basic human need that will always be relevant? If it is a basic need, why are so few companies get it right?
• Where does the creative inspirations for Apple’s marketing programmes come from? (Jobs, staff, external, etc….)
• What’s the real value of building a software product brand name
• How do big companies stay innovative?
• Which companies inspire you?
• What one thing does he wish that he had done dfifferently during his time at Apple?
• How can the UK create the maximum value from its ‘creative technology’ talent?
• How can the UK create the maximum value from its ‘creative technology’ talent?
• How do you apply the concept of simplicity to creating your product and then marketing it?
• What will be your top 3 tips for a startup about to launch a new product?
• Where do you find inspiration for ideas on marketing products?
• Is there a size limit on how far you can go by keeping it simple
• If you’re starting a company what are the 3 things you should focus on to work towards achieving a brand like Apple?
• What is the one key thing that Apple deliver?
• Will come back to you on this
• After marketing Apple, does it feel like every Marketing job that follows is a comedown?
• Did you ever feel a marketing decision you’d made would ruin Apple’s credibility?
• How does Apple execute so well so consistently?
• What’s the best forum / procedure for ideation?
• What are the qualities of a great marketeer?
• How do you manage building and planning for today while continuously innovating for the future?
• Is “simple” the new “white”?
• Why can’t Microsoft do it?
• Was there a pivitol moment when the team at Apple realised that making things so simple was so important?
• to give more detail on the processes which generate and turn these product ideas into reality
• Is there a company that does what Apple does better than Apple?
• What do you do when you need inspiration?
• guest
• Best and worst things about apple
• What’s Apple’s next big thing and can they keep the hits coming?
• How do you ‘engineer’ simplicity?
• Would you like a drink?
• How many iterations of the iPhone before we saw it?
• What’s the principle way in keeping a brand and it’s marketing ideas fresh?
• How would you describe Jobs in 6 words?
• How do you work out whether the next product and it’s packaging will delight your customers
• What is a good name for a brand?
• What do you perceive as the greatest strenghts Europe has in technology – software especially – and how best can we leverage and grow these strenghts?
• Why is Apple so successful?
• Can Apple sustain its dominance?
• n/a
• Whats the one thing you wished you had done differently?
• WHAT DO YOU MOST FEAR IS TRUE?
• Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTV probably next. Does Ken think that the next big product is already being tested by Apple and any guesses as to what it could be?
• How do you deal with engineers who find it hard to see the results of their work through the eyes of a consumber using it for the first few times?
• how do you know when you’ve innovated “enough”?
• How do you continue to innovate at the leading edge as the product set becomes increasingly more successful
• How do you continue to innovate at the leading edge as the product set becomes increasingly more successful
• How do you continue to innovate at the leading edge as the product set becomes increasingly more successful
• I need to give that some thought….
• Can you protect the “insanely simple” in business?
• What was the most challenging project in Ken’s career?
• Can Apple think as differently without Jobs?
• Any advice on how a small startup can improve their brand awareness?
• Can apple continue to innovate as successfully in the next 10 years, as it has in the previous?
• Could apple have happened anywhere but the USA?
• Is Macintosh not a really strange name for a computer?
• Who else inspires you?
• What is it about your job/business/the tech industry that keeps you up at night?
• Why the letter ‘i’?
• How can simplicity be measured?
• How do you keep it simple, when so many want to make it complicated?
• What industries or products are most ripe for disruption through design?
• What do you think of Facebook
• How do you ensure that all aspects of the business deliver in accordance with the vision?
• How do you stay focussed on a long term vision and not be distracted or diverted by passing opportunities?
• With the prominent rise in Facebook and Social Media in general, will the bubble burst, and if so, who or what does he think will be the next area that will take the stage ?
• What’s your favourite insanely simple website (not including google search)?
• Why has the little “i” been so successful? In terms of how recognised it is.
• Which one other marketing campaign would you like to have led and why?
• How can the lessons learnt from apple be applied to the wider markets
• do you always follow your gut instinct
• How do you keep things simple for everyone when people’s desires often conflict?
• What’s all thew fuss about ?
• Can Apple’s success be ever lasting?
• How do you see Apple’s future without Jobs?

Our next BLN CEO Tales in London on 31st May with Ken Segall is proving exceedingly popular. Not only is Ken sharing one of the few ‘insider’s views’ on why Apple has been the phenomenal success over the past 15 years, his book, ‘Insanely Simple, the obsession that drives Apple’s success‘, has just hit the New York Times bestseller list with some rave reviews.

Thanks to the support of Imperial College Business School in offering us a larger venue, we still have spaces available, but hurry.

Ken will talk about his experiences at Apple as well what that means for any technology business trying to emulate their success. You would be simply insane to miss it. More info…

He spoke at last year’s Business of Software Conference about the job your product actually does (video and link to full transcript here).

How will you measure your life? does contain lots of great ideas about management, but more importantly, some brilliant ideas about managing and thinking about your own life and what is really important.

“Over the years, he also noticed that many of his former classmates at Harvard and University of Oxford, where Christensen was a Rhodes Scholar, had ended up deeply unhappy. “Something had gone wrong for some of them along the way: their personal relationships had begun to deteriorate, even as their professional prospects blossomed,” he writes in the prologue of his new book, How Will You Measure Your Life? Many of these folks stopped attending reunions, and Christensen sensed that they “felt embarrassed to explain to their friends the contrast in the trajectories of their personal and professional lives.” Bloomberg Businessweek

How will you measure your life? is less about business, more about, well, life…

“When people who have a high need for achievement—and that includes all Harvard Business School graduates—have an extra half hour of time or an extra ounce of energy, they’ll unconsciously allocate it to activities that yield the most tangible accomplishments. And our careers provide the most concrete evidence that we’re moving forward. You ship a product, finish a design, complete a presentation, close a sale, teach a class, publish a paper, get paid, get promoted. In contrast, investing time and energy in your relationship with your spouse and children typically doesn’t offer that same immediate sense of achievement. Kids misbehave every day. It’s really not until 20 years down the road that you can put your hands on your hips and say, “I raised a good son or a good daughter.” You can neglect your relationship with your spouse, and on a day-to-day basis, it doesn’t seem as if things are deteriorating. People who are driven to excel have this unconscious propensity to under-invest in their families and over-invest in their careers—even though intimate and loving relationships with their families are the most powerful and enduring source of happiness.” Clayton Christensen.

We just shipped 50 copies of the book to the first of the 200 or so people who have already registered for Business of Software.

We are offering the next 25 registrants for BoS 2012 a copy of the book too. We know you will value what it contains.

Our next BLN CEO Tales in London on 31st May with Ken Segall is proving exceedingly popular. Not only is Ken sharing one of the few ‘insider’s views’ on why Apple has been the phenomenal success over the past 15 years, his book, ‘Insanely Simple, the obsession that drives Apple’s success‘, has just hit the New York Times bestseller list with some rave reviews.

Ken will talk about his experiences at Apple as well what that means for any technology business trying to emulate their success. You would be simply insane to miss it. More info…

Some companies will always value venture funding from top quartile investors, not just for the money, but for the significant value that having such a firm on your side brings – both in terms of a network of useful people and in terms of the message such funding sends to the market. There is a huge difference between funding something on KickStarter, where you are doing the funding because you like the idea and want the product and ‘investing’ in a company for a return. Given the current, ahem, frothiness in the market, it is highly likely that some people will be investing in what they believe will be the next Facebook with no realistic understanding of the risks involved. Caveat emptor and all that though this is an interesting post on the Great crowd funding train wreck of 2013. Makes some good points.

Another alternative form of fundraising a few companies are looking at is a bond issue. A bond offers a company the opportunity to raise money without selling equity, you are offered interest on a loan for a fixed term at the end of which you get your money back. Clearly, this is not a very viable option for a startup company – there is no way you can have any visibility on their ability to have the cash at the end of the term, but for a more established company looking for growth capital, it seems to be an increasingly common option.

I caught up with Ed Orr, co-founder and Chairman of Mr & Mrs Smith at an excellent networking event held by Scottish Equity Partners recently and here he explains the thinking behind the bond that they have just offered to their members. It promises to pay a fixed interest rate of 7.5% in cash, or 9.5% in Mr & Mrs Smith tokens over a four year term. Bond issues are still subject to FSA regulation.

Broadly, the alternative options for them would be venture funding which would cost significant equity, an AIM listing – costing both equity and huge advisory fees (Ed used to be a broker so he knows the drill!), or a partial sale of the business. All of these options would mean there was less control in the new entity for the founders, higher advisory fees and  potentially significant management time involved in managing the process.

For relatively stable companies with predictable cash flows, bonds may become increasingly common as a form of financing growth.

Our next BLN CEO Tales in London on 31st May with Ken Segall is proving exceedingly popular. Not only is Ken sharing one of the few ‘insider’s views’ on why Apple has been the phenomenal success over the past 15 years, his book, ‘Insanely Simple, the obsession that drives Apple’s success‘, has just hit the New York Times bestseller list with some rave reviews.

Ken will talk about his experiences at Apple as well what that means for any technology business trying to emulate their success. You would be simply insane to miss it. More info…

Ken will talk about his experiences at Apple as well what that means for any technology business trying to emulate their success.

We were delighted when he agreed to write a guest blog for us and as we’ve asked each registered attendee to send us a question for Ken, we decided to ask him to pick one and answer it here. It is probably one of the most common questions asked about Apple. Here’s his response…

Ken Segall joins The BLN in London. 31st May.

Can Apple be as successful without Steve Jobs leading the way?

“It’s one of the more popular questions about Apple. And it was being asked even before Steve Jobs passed away. It’s a reasonable question, too, given that Apple’s astronomical success has been so clearly tied to Steve’s leadership.

If you care to take the pessimist’s point of view, you need only point to 1985 and summon the “history repeats itself” argument. After all, Steve Jobs did leave Apple once before, and the results weren’t pretty. A succession of three ineffective CEOs failed to produce remarkable products, and the company slowly slid toward mediocrity. After 11 years without Steve’s influence, Apple’s days seemed to be numbered.

However, I’m not a pessimist. I don’t give a moment’s thought to such worries—simply because the Apple of today bears absolutely no resemblance to the Apple of old.

People seem to forget that when Steve left in 1985, the company was practically a newborn, only about seven years into its journey. It had really created only three computer models: Apple II (a hit), Apple III (a flop), and Macintosh (great idea, not a commercial success). It didn’t have the track record of greatness it has today.

When Steve returned to Apple, he faced an almost impossible challenge. He had to lead a company teetering on bankruptcy back to financial health. Even more difficult, he had to lead it back to relevance. These were not things he could do overnight.

One step at a time, Steve executed a plan. He adjusted his executive team, bringing in the best and the brightest. He created the online Apple Store. He shook up the industry with iMac. Fairly quickly, he had managed to at least right the ship—Apple was profitable again. What became clear was that Apple did have a future, but only if it kept innovating.

With iPod, Apple looked beyond computers for the first time and began its transformation into a consumer electronics company. With iPhone, Apple redefined the smartphone category. And with iPad, it basically invented computers all over again—changing the way we connect to the world.

From the time Steve returned, Apple has created so many technology revolutions, such things are now expected of them. Every new product introduction is so eagerly anticipated, the buzz begins to build many months in advance. And the success of each product only creates a higher level of anticipation for the next product down the pike.

In short, Apple has become an innovation machine, having well absorbed Steve’s values. The executive team understands that Apple will continue to thrive only as long as it keeps innovating. And it’s well aware that a failure to innovate would put all of the company’s gains at risk.

In the future, many will look at decisions made by Apple and debate whether Steve would have made the same decision. That’s a pointless exercise. As civilization advances, as market conditions change, as new threats and opportunities arise, Apple will face circumstances that Steve Jobs never imagined. Tim Cook and his executive team will make their own decisions.

But I have no doubt that their decisions will be based on Steve Jobs’ principles—the same principles that have made Apple the most valuable company on earth.”

To hear more from Ken Segall and to ask your own questions, join us for what will be a brilliant evening on the 31st May, 2012 when Ken will be talking about his new book, listed in the New York Times Best Seller list this weekend. For more info and to register click the link below. 

The BLN CEO Tales with Ken Segall and UK book launch of ‘Insanely Simple: The Obsession that Drives Apple’s Success’. 31st May, 6-9pm, Imperial College London.

Tickets selling fast so register quick.

And the original.

Isn’t he a handsome chap? Smart too!

Join us for our next CEO Tales with Ken Segall and the UK launch of  ‘Insanely Simple – The Obsession that Drives Apple’s Success.’ 31st May 2012 in central London.

For more info and to register, click here.

Thanks again to Peldi for presenting a thoroughly engaging and insightful talk and thanks to all those who joined us on the day.

Founder and CEO, Peldi spoke at last week’s CEO Tales and I don’t think this will be the last announcement of cool things from Balsamiq in the next few months. As he says on the Balsamiq blog…

“One of our goals as a company is to be there where you need us, not to force you to work in a specific way in order to use our software.”

Go and try out Google Drive and give the Balsamiq Mockups tool a go. Let him know what you think.

Sugru is the amazingly vibrant, fun, putty-like, air-curing rubber that is increasingly being stuck to all conceivable gizmos across the globe. It is perfect for customising grips, filling holes, repairing objects, designing stuff, and generally improving life that little bit more. We thought we’d blog about it here at The BLN as we had the chance to have a play with some Sugru samples that were kindly offered to us at our CEO Tales with Peldi last night. It is really fun- like playdo for adults, and has a sensational start-up story to boot.

Meaning the word ‘play’ in Irish, Sugru was invented by Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh in February 2003 and by 2010 it was listed alongside the iPad as one of the top 50 inventions of 2010 by TIME Magazine. The iPad was number 34, sugru was number 22.

It has had mad reviews from the likes of Wired magazine, The Telegraph, BoingBoing, Fast Company, New Scientist, and MIT’s Technology Review. Better still, their website is crammed full of customer-Sugru love stories. Take a peek.  And below is a short, wonderfully composed video to give the non-user a better idea of it’s strength and potential.

Come and join the party. Register here.