Kristian Segerstrale knows how to blaze a trail. After pursuing mobile and social games for six years, the co-founder of Playfish (set up in 2007) sold the company to Electronic Arts in November last year for a cool $400m (£260m). "You've got to dare to dream big from the start," he says. "Nobody wants to back a company that's dreaming of being a small company in the corner of the world. You've got to inspire staff and investors to get behind you, so you are able to take on the challenge."
Entrepreneurialism takes a unique blend of talent, grit, timing and luck – but also the right team. Segerstrale encourages people to take creative risks. "You have to be comfortable with failure and celebrate the initiative of trying new things," he says. "The heroes are the folks who take risks that worked out, but we still celebrate the risks that don't. We're a richer company as a result."
While the US seems fixated on its domestic market, the UK is inherently international. But there is a disadvantage in terms of recruitment, and Playfish has had to look to Silicon Valley for experienced technical product managers with a focus on scalable consumer services.
Andy Moseby, corporate partner at leading UK technology law firm Kemp Little, says the UK was historically strong on technology and ideas but not commercialisation. That has changed. "People understand that they have to monetise their ideas as soon as they can, otherwise they don't have a business." Companies such as Glasses Direct, Dopplr and Promethean World show a new confidence among niche businesses. "They have picked a specific sector and aimed to be the best," says Moseby. "In this market, it's all about getting up and running and generating revenue as soon as possible, and also having the flexibility to recognise that it might not be your initial idea that makes you the money."
Four months into Huddle's US expansion, co-founder and chief executive Andy McLoughlin puts its success down to focusing on revenues. "We sacrificed building cool new features, and instead built features customers wanted or things we could sell for more money," he says. "We came out in a strong position and ready for long-term growth."
The focus for new startups should always be on making money. "VCs [Venture Capitalists] want to see traction in terms of users and revenue," says McLoughlin. "If you don't earn revenue now, you'd better have a bloody good plan for earning it in 6-12 months."
Trailblazers
The following companies, including stars of the Tech Media Invest 100 in 2009, continue to set the pace in the market and are the ones to emulate:
AdMob San Mateo, California: Google paid $750m to acquire the world's largest mobile advertising marketplace in a deal finalised in June; that's some testimonial
Glasses Direct Groundwell, Wiltshire: Founded by Jamie Murray Wells in 2004 when he was just 21, Glasses Direct has become the world's largest online optician
Playfish London: Another major deal of 2010, Electronic Arts' $400m acquisition of Playfish confirmed the scale and significance of social and casual gaming
Promethean World Blackburn, Lancashire: Developing interactive learning technology for education since 1977.
Adjug London: German internet media group Tomorrow Focus AG acquired a majority stake in December 2009
Dopplr Helsinki, Finland: Nokia acquired the social networking travel site in September 2009
Seatwave London: Europe's largest online fan-to-fan ticket exchange just keeps growing
The Hut Northwich, Cheshire: Operating e-commerce websites for Zavvi, Tesco, Asda and Lovefilm has resulted in more than £8m of annual revenues
Moonpig London: After sales of its online cards jumped 50% last year has recently expanded into flowers, gifts and the US. JK
