Plain speaking has never held Peter Hargreaves back. In this candid and outspoken book, the multi-millionaire founder of investment company Hargreaves Lansdown tells the story behind its extraordinary success and gives his forthright views on what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur and as an investor.
Starting from his spare bedroom with a single phone and borrowed office equipment, Peter and his business partner Stephen Lansdown set out to build a business that would consciously be different from that of all their competitors. They have held fast to their unconventional ways ever since, regularly turning the company's strategy and business model upside down in their relentless effort to give their clients the best information, the best prices and the best service.
Widely recognised as the number one firm in their business, Hargreaves Lansdown was floated on the London stock market in 2007, valued at £800 million. In For A Penny is a must read for anyone who wants to understand how the investment business works, what's wrong with conventional management wisdom and what's right about the true meaning of entrepreneurship.
"Unaffected, down to earth, supremely practical and blessedly free of business school drivel"
- Drayton Bird
"...In for a Penny is both an adventure story and a primer on how to grow a business from scratch. ...Every chapter is laced with humorous anecdotes and valuable business lessons."
- from the preface by Jim Slater
"I have long been an admirer of the very successful firm that Peter Hargreaves has built up through hard work, very high standards and exceptional vision."
- Anthony Bolton, President of Investment, Fidelity International
Author's Note
Preface By Jim Slater
Prologue: The Little Man in Times Square
PART ONE: The Making of a Business
The Bake House and Beyond
The Money's in the Post
Enter the Rochdale Cowboy
Where are the Customers' Yachts?
The Crash of '87 and Other Headaches
Fighting the PEP Wars
The Tesco of the Retail Investment World
Fearlessly to Market
PART TWO: What I Have Learned (So Far)
Finding Your Customers
Making Your Organisation Work
Making Sense of Investment
Epilogue:
The Simple Pleasures in Life
Acknowledgements
About Peter Hargreaves
Peter Hargreaves has over twenty-five years experience in investment having co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the UK's leading independent financial service providers, in 1981. Previously, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant and worked for KPMG, Unisys Group and Whitbread Plc. Peter is a non-executive director of ITM Power Plc. and a Member of the Securities & Investment Institute.
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