From Start-Up, to Scale-Up, to Sale… Then Doing it Again

In this informal discussion, Rishi will run through some of his biggest challenges; the surprises, successes, and learnings along the way; the differences in doing it a second time; and advice to fellow entrepreneurs who are starting, scaling or exiting businesses.

This breakfast will cover:

• the challenges of starting and scaling a business;
• the lessons of exiting;
• the difference of building a business for the second time.

Leap 100 Power Breakfasts

These breakfast meetings are small, informal affairs. We restrict them to around 18 people – mostly the founders of Leap 100 companies. Our principal guest kicks off with roughly 10 minutes of introductory remarks; a light breakfast is served; and ideas and experiences are exchanged under Chatham House Rules. Attendees find them to be a useful forum for speaking candidly and learning from other entrepreneurs.

Rishi Khosla

Rishi met his business partner, Joel Perlman, while they were studying for their Masters at the LSE. After a few years of working for other organisations, they set out on their own and launched Copal, a financial research outsourcing company. From £40,000 of their own start-up cash, they scaled the business to almost 3,000 employees across 11 markets in 12 years, eventually selling it to Moody’s Corporation in 2014 for a significant sum.

Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, they started their next venture in September 2015, launching a bank in the UK (OakNorth) to tackle a problem that they had faced while trying to scale Copal – bespoke lending to SMEs. In the 28 months since their launch, they're employing around 180 people, have lent over £1bn, secured over £300m in investment and a valuation of almost $1.3bn.

Contact events@tenentrepreneurs.org to find out how you can attend.