Frances Valintine

"If you’re the main income earner or you’ve got children and dependencies, the chance you’ll take a risk is probably quite low. But as the kids get older or you get more equity behind you, your risk profile changes. What we do know is that entrepreneurs are most successful when they start a business in their 40s. Perhaps it’s their life stage and experience that means they can more easily understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur."

"100% you can learn the behaviours of an entrepreneur. The one thing that’s hard for people is to develop an appetite for risk. All the other elements of evaluating businesses, seeing opportunities, understanding how to scale, reading business cases and spotting possibilities for expansion – you can learn all those things, they’re fairly formulaic. Once you’ve got those skills sorted, you need to know the sector – to understand the market space and competitor environment. The risk taking however is a very personal aspect and in part, circumstantial."

"I certainly fit all the characteristics of one. I’m happy to take high levels of risk, I understand impact and scale. I can see the direction trends are moving and that’s crucial, because if you get in front of the curve, you’ll benefit. My motivation has never been about financial success. It’s always been about making an impact that changes whole industries."