Chris Morton co-founded Lyst in 2010. The fashion search engine provides the inventories of more than 11,000 designers and stores, including Burberry, Valentino, Alexander McQueen and J Crew. It has raised £39 million since 2010, with backing from 14W, Accel Partners, Balderton, Draper Esprit and the teams behind luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH. Morton was previously an investor at Benchmark Capital and Balderton Capital, both based in London. Here, he imparts words of wisdom picked up on his entrepreneurial journey.
Childhood
"My dad is a British engineering professor, so I grew up with engineers around me. My mum is Spanish and a people person - she's all about emotion. You need both - the science and the humanity - to be a good startup CEO."
Education
"Follow your passion. While I was studying natural sciences at university I realised I didn't enjoy being in a lab - I enjoyed leveraging what it produced. If you are starting a company, you'd better love going in at all hours."
Vision
"Don't start a business just because you want to run one. I wanted to start a company from the age of 16. It wasn't until I was in my twenties and watching my flatmates trying to buy clothes online that I knew what it would be."
Pitfalls
"Every company you admire has been through tremendous ups and downs. Pete Smith, co-founder of Songkick, has consoled me before by telling me about all the problems his website had starting up. It helped."
Personality
"Anyone can be an entrepreneur. I've seen friends launch startups and there is no one personality type. That's why startups have different cultures - they all spring from the founder's personality."
Luck
"You should never underestimate luck. When Google announced boutiques.com just as we were launching Lyst, it could have killed us. In fact, it failed - but that was luck and nothing we could control."
Honesty
"Tell your investors the truth. When we saw the boutiques.com press release, we were based in a shed with no heating. We told our investors everything, and thought they'd flee. But they were more enthusiastic as it validated our ideas."
Routine
"Having a routine decreases cognitive load. Each thing you don't have to decide means you can focus elsewhere. Although that does mean I've eaten the same breakfast for the past two years."
Diversity
"Avoid confirmation bias. You should fight against every bias. In particular, don't just hire people because you like them. Diversity in every aspect of the business is always going to be an asset."
Foresight
"Every company is a tech company if they want to be around in five years' time. The question is, what do you do with the tech? Be stubborn on the vision, but be flexible on the details."
Reflection
"Walk to work every day, ideally for half an hour. That's a key time, so switch your phone off. You'll get your best thinking done then, and when you arrive at the office, you'll be ready."
Scaling Up
"You need to know when to stop building the product and start building the company. We went from 60 to 120 people in a year, probably too quickly. If you don't manage people well, the company will struggle."
Culture
"Company cultures are like all relationships - they need care and attention. We have offices in New York and London. Everyone visits both offices as they need to understand the vision and feel part of the team."
Research
"Never stop reading, even if it's hard to find the time. I recommend The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by philosopher Thomas S Kuhn - it explains what's happening today better than any business book."
1982: Born in Oxford
1985: Moved to Nasa's HQ in Virginia, US
1993: Returned to Oxford to attend the Dragon School
1997: Started his first business, offering storage to students
2000: Studied physics and philosophy at the University of Cambridge
2005: Hired as business-development manager at QintetiQ Group
2007: Began working as an investor at Benchmark Capital in London
2010: Founded Lyst
3 tips from the top
- You can't overestimate tenacity.
- Quit your job and do it.
- Everything is easier if you stay fit.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
