Lawrence Jones born in Denbigh North Wales, moved to Manchester when he was 16 years old. He started his professional career as a musician and after selling his forst business to Granada Television, he moved in the the technology space, with a very successful web hosting business, UKFast. Managing director and founder of UKFast, Lawrence Jones describes himself as extraordinarily lucky. After escaping an avalanche in 2001, Lawrence puts his success down to “understanding the importance of maximising every minute of every day.”
I was asked recently to be on a panel for a great event organised by the 6th formers at William Hulme School, in Manchester. I had not been there since the old days when I used to kick goals through the posts on their front field for Ruthin School. As someone who failed dismally as an academic it was nice to be asked to contribute so I jumped at the chance. The line up consisted of 3 politicians, myself and another business person. One of the big topics concentrated around university fees and whether or not the £9,000 is fair. There seems to have been a massive cultural change over the last 10 or 15 years. Blair popularised the idea that everyone should go to… Read the Rest »
By the time I got the call, she was already in the Sea King helicopter. Some girls will do anything to meet Prince William. According to the eye witness reports, it was an impressive full-summersault, with a “Ben the Chef” style face plant, which are painful enough off a diving board into the sea, but on Snowdon, this is one place I like to keep my feet firmly on the mountain side. “The good news is she’s smiling, she’s a real tough character.” Jonathan reassured me. I clearly don’t have exclusivity on being accident prone. Our trips to Snowdon down at the Lake House (Castell Cidwm) are special. It is tough, and in windy conditions you have to keep your wits about you. And that’s… Read the Rest »
It seems like a lifetime ago when I arrived in Manchester. What a city, what an era. Bloxham was selling posters in Afflecks Palace, Ferguson had just arrived at United, Tony Wilson was giving the Factory a whole new meaning. Tim Bacon was a barman in JWJohnsons, Oglesby was at Cheadle Hulme where only weeks earlier I’d been playing against him on the great British rugby fields. Bruno was holding centre stage at the French Restaurant, at the then Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Midland Hotel. I was the cheeky piano player busking my way through life. I had never been so poor, but I had certainty that something good was just over the horizon. I learnt pretty early on that it was never going to… Read the Rest »
When we set up UKFast I could have only dreamed of a day like today. I am a big dreamer, but this was not something I’d have ever been able to visualise. Sat here on the Necker Belle with my daughters Tegan and Poppy, my wife and business partner Gail, the girl who has stood by my side throughout all the tough times, waiting for my team to arrive. You might at first think that it is easy to get carried away and think we’ve made it, but to the contrary, this trip is intended to help design the vision for the future. There is also a little holidaying thrown in for good measure, but ultimately we have a job to do. The owners of… Read the Rest »
Typing away on my iMac, plugged into iTunes on my iPhone, its difficult to comprehend how he did it. Every now and then, along comes someone special. They are special because they see the challenge and not the uphill struggle. There is no doubt, Jobs was aiming high. He enticed John Sculley away from Pepsi-Cola to serve as Apple’s CEO, asking, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” To change the world, you have to set out with this objective and it’s clear that early on Jobs understood the balance that style plays in the role of marketing and brand development. He understood the creation of the… Read the Rest »
To be truly amazing at something you have to invest huge amounts of time and energy. It requires commitment over and above the call of duty. This applies to all walks of life, athletes, business, musicians etc. You require levels of discipline that exceed the norm and the fruits of your labour are usually directly proportional to the effort and care you put in. This week I was invited to Manchester Town Hall for a civic welcome for Gábor Takács-Nagy. A Hungarian musician who joined the Manchester Camerata this summer as the Orchestra Leader. After a quick introduction, Gabor kindly treated us to a sneak preview of what can only be described as a new Camerata. The same people, the same instruments, but a totally different… Read the Rest »
What were you doing? What were you thinking? Where were you when the planes struck that terrible day? It was the first time I saw the immense power of the internet. I sat watching the video playing on a website. We didn’t have a TV at the office. I was at work with 18 people split between 2 businesses. 12 people selling mobile phones and the other 6 working away on the embryonic version of what is now UKFast. I sent people home that day. I have never done that before and I hope I never have to again. There are not many times I have felt defeated, but this was one of them. It was a day to reflect and grieve, not to win business… Read the Rest »
Even before I stepped foot on Necker, as we approached in the speedboat I was captivated. The Great House sat high on the hill proudly overlooking the bay. I was not prepared for the magic that happened that first time. Whilst Gail unpacked I went exploring. That’s when I first met Richard. I was looking at a picture above the piano, when he came over and introduced himself. The house may have gone temporarily, but this memory and a thousand like it will remain with me for ever and I know there are millions of memories from all the other people Necker inspires, not least the great friends I have made on that island. We always stayed in the Great House. Its a huge Balinese… Read the Rest »
So you want to be successful? Just how far are you prepared to go? Do you have what it takes? Do you know what it takes? All these questions need answering if you stand a chance of making a difference in your lifetime. The answers you give are all relative to the results that you will arrive at too. The more committed, the more passionate, the more determined, the bigger the outcome. The same philosophy applies to everything in life, sport, parenting, education. It is so simple, if you want to be good at something, you have to get obsessed and practice over and over again until you become an expert. As Tony Robbins says, “Repetition is the mother of skill.” Show me an expert… Read the Rest »
It all started once we’d made the decision to build our own data centre. Until this point we’d leased data centres and filled 3 in Manchester alone with a significant number of racks in Telehouse, London. However the facilities are fine if you just have a few racks and pop down every now and again, however we’d grown to around 300 which requires a large team working around the clock operating in the buildings. The facilities are not conducive to a happy working environment. They are cold, noisy and uncomfortable and as we did not control the building, it proved impossible to raise the standards to those we have in at head office. We had to fight to get a kettle in to the building, then… Read the Rest »
