TechFEST BC

06/19/2026

TECHNOLOGY... "total knowledge and skills available to any human society", as defined by a very reputable dictionary!

An interesting take on TECHNOLOGY...

05/10/2026

Five of the most surprising lessons I’ve learnt in life…

After sharing five of the most important lessons I’ve learnt in my career, Amitt Jaiswall left a comment asking what lessons I’ve learnt that have been the most surprising. It really got me thinking.

As someone who learns on the go, says yes to almost everything, and never plans too far ahead, I’ve had my fair share of unexpected wisdom. These lessons would be my top five:

1. You don’t need a perfect idea - you need a real problem. Most of our biggest ventures didn’t start out with a polished plan. We were just reacting to different hurdles and problems. Virgin Records may have never grown into the brand it was if a postal strike hadn’t forced us to pivot away from our mail-order retail model.

2. Kindness can be a strategy, not just a virtue. Kindness was ingrained in me from my parents. Little did I know how far it would get me in business. People open up when they feel safe. Kindness builds trust fast. Relationships are always more important than transactions. None of this is possible without a foundation of kindness. So long as it’s authentic, it can also be strategic.

3. The scariest moments bring the most clarity. Whether it was writing a letter to my children before a dangerous hot air ballooning expedition, or whenever I’ve faced a near-death experience - these moments make you acutely aware of what matters in life.

4. Most people are just as uncertain as you are. I realised this when I was a teenager pretending to be a credible publisher and all throughout the Virgin Records days. Whether it was a powerful executive or a global rockstar, I began to realise that everyone has fears and no-one has it all figured out. The power comes from being scared but showing up anyway.

5. Being calm is more important than being right. Whether it’s a crisis, a high stakes meeting, or any situation, really - panicking and overthinking is your biggest enemy. Accept you don’t have all the answers, listen to wise people around you, stay calm, and move forward with clarity. In a stressful situation, composure is more important than volume.

04/15/2026

When I was 16, I built a business from inside a phone box.

We didn’t have computers, the internet or smartphones. I also didn’t have a network. I didn’t have funding. And to be honest, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing!

All I had was a telephone box, a phone book, and a big idea. I wanted to start a youth culture magazine so young people could better understand what was going on in the world, and have a safe place to learn about topics no-one talked about at the time - like abortion or finding community as a gay person.

The problem was, no one knew who we were. We had no advertisers, no office, no contributors and certainly no credibility.

At a bit of a loss, I decided to open the phone book and started calling people. I would ring up big companies and ask to speak to the person in charge of advertising. When they answered, I’d do my best to sound far more experienced than I was.

“Are you interested in reaching the most influential young people in Britain?”
“Your competitors are already advertising with us.”
“This is going to be the biggest youth magazine in the country.”

Call by call, rejection by rejection, something started to happen. A few people said yes. Then a few more. I could hardly believe it. Eventually, we had enough advertisers to print the first issue.

That scrappy little magazine went on to interview people like Mick Jagger and John Lennon and it taught me one of the most valuable lessons of my life: You don’t need everything figured out to get started. You just need a bit of tenacity, a lot of self-belief, and the drive to keep the promises you’ve made (especially when they’re a little ambitious!).

04/15/2026

“The Codekeepers”

They stand in harmony with the fabric of reality; preserving the patterns that connect cosmos, nature, and the unseen code beneath it all.