Lessons in Risk and Reward From corporate finance to angel investing and Tory politics, Ed Pitt Ford shares his entrepreneurial journey, his investment strategies, and the mindset that has defined his career.
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Pitt Ford's story is all about taking risks, learning fast, and finding new ways to make things work. It's proof that sometimes, stepping off the beaten track is where the real opportunities lie. In this interview, Entrepreneur UK dives deeper into what has shaped his journey and forged his path.
What key moments in your career led you to transition from corporate finance to entrepreneurship and angel investing?
Entrepreneurship came first, from a cream tea shop when I was 11 in my back garden to a tutoring business when I was at University, I have always been trying things out to see what works. I was inspired by programs such as The Apprentice and Dragons Den, they got my mind racing so much I couldn't sleep thinking of all the opportunities!
Investing came a little later when I was 21 and put the £3,000 I had inherited from my grandmother into a trucking business, X-Stream Trucking (don't try and say that after a few drinks). I worked on that business from 2009 to 2015 when it moved over to the US and I stepped back. I had always had a career alongside everything else which kept me insanely busy but it wasn't until the investing was making far more than I could as a working man that I handed in my notice and went full time on entrepreneurship and investing.
Can you tell Entrepreneur UK readers about your new book Risk Required and the key lessons entrepreneurs can take from your journey to financial independence?
The book emerged from that moment where I quit my job. My friends all wanted to know what they should do with their money or how they could get out of some scary amounts of debt. So I set about documenting my story and the techniques I had used to amass wealth, borrowing money and investing it. Generally going completely against the standard advice. For entrepreneurs there are the classic lessons of keep trying! I don't know many people who have been successful on their first business. Then there is also my four golden nuggets for investing which equally apply to an entrepreneur starting a business. I would only invest money and/or time in a business that is scalable, profitable, desirable and has an unfair advantage!
Related: Turning Setbacks into Success
How, if at all, have your personal experiences, including that as a gay entrepreneur, influenced your leadership style and business decisions?
There have been two dominating influences, one was losing my father when he was 58 and I was 21. It was just as I was starting my first job and it was a very poignant reminder that life is short, your retirement may not happen so you have to enjoy life before then! The second was, as you mention, growing up gay. Being in a minority had me questioning the status-quo, it had me operating defensively as I needed to build up enough wealth to look after myself in case society rejected me and it built huge empathy. So I think how that plays through to leadership style and business decisions is a kind, caring, 'build you up', 'how can I help?' leadership style and an impatient, calculated risk taker when it comes to business decisions.
What are the top two lessons you've learned from angel investing that would benefit entrepreneurs?When presenting to investors make it easy for them. Pretty much without fail I have to do the return on investment calculation myself. It would be a joy if someone in their pitch said, we are raising at a £2m valuation and we expect to be able to sell the business for £12m in 5 years with no further raises and so in our base case you would be looking at a 6X return or a 43% Internal Rate of Return (IRR).
Communicate with your investors through the good times and the bad. When businesses are honest with me and communicate regularly, I do everything I can to help them and I am far more likely to invest in the next round even if things are tough. We are on the same side after all!
How do you balance your entrepreneurial mindset with your role as a Tory councillor?
These two go hand in hand, it is probably the part of me which gels best with being a Conservative. I want government to allow people to take their own risks and value for money. Entrepreneurship is all about finding new and more efficient ways of doing things and local government needs that now more than ever as budgets continue to squeeze. Local governments need to boost revenues where possible and I don't mean by raising taxes, they have a whole host of opportunities to exploit which require that entrepreneurial mindset. From something as simple as selling protein shakes in council owned gyms to renting out roof space for solar power on housing estates the opportunities are endless.
What opportunities or challenges do you foresee for entrepreneurs in 2025?
Interest rates should continue to fall in 2025 which should bring back opportunities as debt costs for businesses fall and the premium for small business investors over the "risk-free" rate increases. The big challenges are the escalating threat of war and trade tariffs. Anything that changes the rules of the game in which we operate make it difficult to plan with confidence and to build investor confidence.
