MIPIM: A panel of bright young things converged on MIPIM to explain the secrets of their success at the Majestic yesterday afternoon.
A sign of the times was that much of the panel were focused on residential. Tom Mees and Ed Marsh, founders of FRT Developments, explained how they had launched a partnership of private developers looking to unlock potential in disused commercial property.
Knight Frank graduate surveyor Tim Lowe, star of Estates Gazette’s Lowe Cost Living, said anyone aspiring to work in property had to develop a thick skin.
“I’d been rejected by Knight Frank twice in the past,” he said. “I met my boss at a drinks party and I wasn’t sure I was prepared to be rejected there for a third time. But you need a bit of luck.”
For budding entrepreneurs, Ross Bailey, founder and chief executive of Appear Here, said starting a company at 22 had not been “smooth sailing” and that he had been on a steep learning curve.
Jo Leverett, head of international residential markets at Cluttons, added that there were challenges in being a female in the property industry. She was backed up by Bailey, who stressed that the industry would be stronger with a more diverse intake.
Becky Worthington, chief executive of Lodestone Capital, who was finance director of Quintain at the age of 29, said it was important to learn from mistakes.
Citing two of her own experiences of failure, she said it was vital to be able to lift the spirits of teams that had suffered setbacks.
The session, “The only way is up”, was supported by Cluttons and Malcolm Hollis and staged ahead of the MIPIM UK afternoon tea party.
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