Nick Michaelson, CEO of Silver Fox, a leading UK manufacturer of labelling solutions, was one of four successful businesspeople who discussed entrepreneurship with some 100 Year 12 business students at Burlington Danes Academy in West London, at the end of September, at an event organised by the Founders4Schools service. Nick’s company has been delivering solutions for the Energy, Power, Rail and Data & Telecoms industries worldwide for some 30 years. It received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise – International Trade, in 2005.

Nick joined American entrepreneurs Panni Morshedi, Vice President of Product Management at Wonga.com; Kate Hammer, Joint Founder of Kiln Ideas Ltd, and Brynne Herbert, Founder & CEO at MOVE Guides, to speak to the students. The ‘lone Briton’ among the speakers, Nick was invited to speak by Sherry Coutu, CBE, the founder of Silicon Valley Comes to the UK (SVC2UK) and Founders4Schools, a free service for teachers in secondary schools across the UK which aims to make it easier for teachers to arrange events at their schools. Stemming from a successful series of industry events under the SVC2UK banner, the Founders4Schools programme champions entrepreneurism and seeks to encourage school-aged children to attain more by considering entrepreneurship as a viable career choice.

The four entrepreneurs were asked to speak for some eight minutes each and then take questions from the students. In particular, the speakers were specifically asked to address:

• What inspired them to set up their company?
• Were they the company’s founder or a member of a founding team?
• Why do they find being an entrepreneur ‘high impact’?
• What do they enjoy most about their career in entrepreneurship?
• Why should students consider this career option as a career choice?

Nick Michaelson said: “It was an honour to play a part in the Founders4Schools programme. Over the past 30 years, Silver Fox has been at the forefront of the development of innovative durable and time-saving labelling solutions. This is driven by a passion for excellence and a determination to be the best in our field. Today, our solutions more than hold their own against products from some of the largest companies in our business – and we’re still improving our solutions. Our goals are to design, develop and supply complete labelling solutions including software, hardware and label material ensuring a highly time saving and durable solution for all our customers. We aim to make labelling simple, fast and effective while offering exceptional levels of customer service and continuing to offer industry-leading innovation.

“Put simply, we’re working to turn Time into Profit.”

Nick Michaelson speaks to students at Burlington Danes Academy.

Sherry Coutu spotted Nick Michaelson and Silver Fox via the LinkedIn social media platform – illustrating Silver Fox’s increasing social media presence and visibility.