Mike Southon
The Beermat Entrepreneur
Mike Southon is one of the UK's leading authorities on entrepreneurship and sales with a weekly column every Saturday in the Financial Times.
Mike is one of the most experienced business speakers in the world, a Fellow of the Professional Speakers Association, and speaks at conferences all around the world. Subjects include entrepreneurialism, helping non salespeople sell, and "Something About The Beatles" which uses The Beatles story as a metaphor for entrepreneurship and draws on his thirty years' experience as a professional musician.
Customers include Coutts, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Accenture, The European Commission, The Entrepreneur Business School (Bali), The MIT Forum (USA), The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (UK), the East of England Development Agency, Finance Wales, The Institute of Directors, and Rolls-Royce.
Mike is a Visiting Fellow in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at London South Bank University, and is a visiting lecturer at London Business School, Cass Business School and many others.
Mike Southon is a very experienced broadcaster and conference moderator, and has released over 80 podcast-friendly radio interviews with famous industrialists, entrepreneurs and business experts.
These include Allan Leighton (Chairman, Royal Mail), Sir Robin Saxby (former Chairman, ARM), Sir Philip Trousdell (former commander, NATO forces in Bosnia), Sahar Hashemi (Co-founder, Coffee Republic), Sir Keith Mills (Chairman, London 2012 Olympic bid) and Trevor Baylis (inventor of the clockwork radio).
- In the '80s, Mike co-founded, built and sold The Instruction Set, a software consultancy
- In the '90s, Mike worked with 17 start-ups; two later went public (and three went broke!)
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In the '00s, Mike has co-authored with Chris West four bestselling books:
The Beermat Entrepreneur, The Boardroom Entrepreneur, Sales on a Beermat, and Finance on a Beermat
"The presentations featured the leading figures in the industry and required a very skilled facilitator...Mike Southon has a rare blend of detailed technical knowledge and expert presenting skills….His understanding of the industry, event preparation and presentation skills are first class."
Thomas Chambers, CFO, Symbian
"Mike's handling of the event was both skilful and good-humoured. All the talks ran precisely to schedule, and his keynote speech on sales was very appropriate for our members. The feedback on the event was excellent."
John White, Chief Executive, Timber Trade Federation
"Mike Southon is more than Quite Interesting. He spreads insight and cheerfulness in equal measure, like an ambidextrous chef icing two cakes at once."
John Lloyd, producer of Blackadder, Not The Nine o'clock News and Qi
"97% of delegates said they were inspired by Mike' Southon's presentation. Comments included: 'absolutely brilliant', 'motivating', 'practical, concise tips', 'thought-provoking' and 'informative'."
Julie Readman, Chief Executive, Business Link for South Yorkshire
"Mike has a background of success that enables him to speak authoritatively for the need to focus on simple, strategic selling. All of this with the added bonus of a truly engaging character and presentation."
Virginia Flavin Pribanic, MIT Forum
"Wisdom without jargon: practical, practicable advice for the would-be entrepreneur."
Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder, Cobra Beer, foreword to The Beermat Entrepreneur
"This is a sales book for everyone, written with clarity and wit."
Stephen Fry, author, producer and performer, foreword to Sales on a Beermat
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Further Information
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icon bottom right; to view them in YouTube, click on the YouTube icon next to it. Most videos can also be viewed in Windows Media format (WMV) through the link underneath each clip.
Mike's clip in WMV format
