Today we’re chatting with David Barker, who in his own words is an accidental entrepreneur. We actually think he is a serial entrepreneur, but that’s not the point! In 1994, David was one of the UK’s first internet entrepreneurs and we wanted to find out how to use your mindset to make things happen. Cue lots of really interesting chat with David generously sharing some secrets of his success including:
- It’s easy to give up too soon – always have a plan B, but don’t start it until you have exhausted plan A.
- Don’t be afraid of failing, most people do at some point. Failure is just working out how something doesn’t work, so you’re adapting and evolving.
- True entrepreneurs are not just about money, all of us will always lock into a dream, an idea, a thought, something that is burning inside us that we’ve got to do.
- Be willing to say no to people who advise against doing something that you truly want and believe in.
- Most disruptive entrepreneurship occurs because a system or process is not good enough and we need to make it better.
David’s career and business history demonstrates lots of innovation, and inevitably some challenges, so he’s the perfect choice to tell us about the mindset and what has worked for him.
About David Barker
David always wanted to work in technology and as his school careers advisor said he wouldn’t make it, David was determined to prove him wrong. He did this spectacularly by being an early adopter of the internet, and co-founding one of the UK’s first ever digital marketing agencies in 1994 – way ahead of the rest of the world! David has an impressive track record in business and entrepreneurship, and much of what he does is driven by a wider social purpose to dispel inequalities. You can contact him here: