Taking a Punt

There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. So said Ratty in Wind in the Willows, and he may have had a point. 

This month I spied none other than Jeff Bezos, founder of the mighty Amazon, weaving his way down the sunlit river Cherwell in Oxford. On the day his company was busy snapping up online retailer Zappos for a cool $850m, billionaire Jeff was relaxing at über-conference TED Global. As the saying goes, some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs know when to take a punt. 

TED, it turns out, is a heady mix of stunning speeches and diverse delegates, blended together in an intoxicating week-long cocktail. Founded in California, word has spread online through the popularity of TED Talks, downloaded 100 million times by over 30 million people. Here in Oxford, Meg Ryan and Cameron Diaz can be seen at the bar, rubbing shoulders with rocket scientists and rock musicians.

My lastest Growing Business column is now online…