The Gentleman‘s Journal Podcast
Business
Federico Marchetti is the founder and Chairman of YOOX-Net-a-Porter. He grew up in Ravenna, an ancient town in Northern Italy, which is home to some of the most historically significant mosaics in the world. And Federico describes his career, in fact, like a giant mosaic — a long process of placing building blocks on top of building blocks, slowly working towards a grand design.
After an early career in finance, Federico hit upon the idea of a luxury e-commerce site in 1999, at the height of the Dot Com boom. Most people thought he was crazy for attempting to fuse these two worlds — but after cold calling Italy’s most famous venture capitalist, Federico quickly managed to get the idea off the ground — and the rest, of course, is history. Today, YOOX-Net-a-Porter is one of the biggest e-commerce players in the world, with customers in over 180 countries.
In a fascinating episode, Federico describes how Apple took some of its inspiration from Italian typewriters; why none of us will be using mobile phones in five years time; and how the next Coco Chanel won’t be a designer — but a programmer.
”A sunny industry for shady people” – Inside the world of Oligart
Ollie Dabbous, Head Chef at HIDE: ”It’s a pretty extreme existence, the life of a chef...”
Oliver Bullough, Investigative journalist: ”If anyone really cares, they’ll just kill me. So why worry about it?”
“If I can’t look after a plant, how am I meant to look after a child!?” — Freddie Blackett, founder of Patch Plants
Does Hollywood have a steroid problem? Overheard at the Clubhouse
NFTs: An Insider’s Guide
Lord John Bird, Founder of The Big Issue: ”The only way you can get out of the sticky stuff is by devoting yourself”
Shooting Francis Bourgeois, with Photographer Isaac Marley Morgan
Tom Molnar, co-founder of Gail’s: ”Every time we open a shop, I still have that fear: what if no-one shows up?”
Inside the World of Billionaire Estate Managers — Overheard at the Clubhouse
How to invest in contemporary art — with John Russo, CEO of Maddox Gallery
Ruth Rogers, founder of the River Cafe: ”Never hire someone without going to a restaurant with them first...”
Ben Francis, CEO of Gymshark: “We made more money in half an hour than we had done in the entire history of the business…”
”Naivety is our greatest weapon” — Jamie Laing, founder of Candy Kittens
Scooter Braun, music mogul: "There is no retreat. We’re going to figure this out, or we’re going to die here"
Charlie Bigham: "If everyone's doing one thing, perhaps you should do the opposite..."
“The opposite of a good idea is often a great idea” — Marcia Kilgore, founder of Beauty Pie
“Fundamentally, culture comes from our streets” — Inside the retail revolution, with Ross Bailey, Luca Faloni and Archie Hewlett
"For our meeting with Rupert Murdoch, I didn't even have any shoes..." — Jack Rivlin, Founder of The Tab
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