Writing this blog has been really exciting and challenging. I have faltered on occasions in trying to keep up with a daily blog and I have settled on making sure there is at least something fresh twice a week. More than that is great and recent events have helped me write lots but I do hope that the New Year is actually less eventful.

There is a famous Chinese curse which most people think is a wish; “may you live in interesting times”. If anyone doubted that this was a curse, I think the events of 2008 have paid rest to those doubts. 2008 has seen Lehman Brothers, Woolworths, MFI, and Zoom airlines to name just a few companies go bankrupt and I do not think anyone could have predicted this (other than Woolworths) a year ago.

Of course it is sad and the cost to those thousands of dedicated staff who have given their working lives to these businesses is immeasurable. Schumpeter, a famous economist wrote about the ability of the market to engage in “creative destruction”. His argument was that capitalism has a built in ability to destroy lame companies and from the ashes arises new opportunities and new renewed strength.

There is a Darwinian sense to this. It is not about survival of the fittest, but survival of those that are most readily able to adapt to changes in the environment. On many occasions I have stated that it is this ability to adapt to change that is the key to business success. That is why most companies need to change management at different phases of growth. Each phase can call for different skill sets and experience.

Anyway, back to 2008. I hope it has been an exciting year for you. The highlight for me was launching this blog and launching and co-founding a fund management business. I received a cheque for £79 this week from Google and it was the first bit of money I have obtained from the Blog. So a big thanks to all you readers – and for clicking on those Google ads!

From my limited experience the biggest joy of running an enterprise is when you get the first cheque. It is a sign of validation of your project. When someone values your efforts enough to pay you for them – it is a great feeling!

May I once again, thank you for your support over 2008 and wish you the very best of luck for 2009. I have a feeling the next year is going to be a great year for new opportunities. Only the brave will be starting up – and the money is still out there!

In the midst of the financial meltdown, we were able to raise £11m – for the right team and business the money will always be out there.

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