Piers Linney

Jonathan Piers Daniel Linney (born 15 February 1971 in Stoke-on-Trent^[1][2][3]) is an English businessman, who was the Co-CEO of failed cloud-based IT business Outsourcery as well as a string of other failed businesses,^[4] best known for being a "dragon" on the BBC Two business series Dragons' Den from 2013 to 2015.

Linney also appeared on the Channel 4 series The Secret Millionaire in 2011, where he worked in Wolverhampton at a Young Offenders' institution.

Early life

With both Bajan (Barbados) and English heritage, Linney, the son of Derek and Norma Linney, grew up in Stoke-on-Trent before moving at the age of nine with his family to the small mill town Bacup in Lancashire,^[5] where he attended the local comprehensive school after failing his 11+. With aspirations of being his own boss even at the age of 13, Linney cut out his local newsagent by going direct to the wholesaler to start his own paper round, planting his entrepreneurial seed by building it up and then selling it off.^[6]

Career

Although Linney is usually described as an entrepreneur, he has a professional background in the City. After studying Accounting and Law at The University of Manchester, he qualified as a solicitor in the City with SJ Berwin. He left law to join the UK investment banking team at Barclays de Zoete Wedd, where he met Simon Newton in 1997, followed by time spent working at Credit Suisse, where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions and leveraged buyouts. Linney left banking in 2000 to start an internet business and has since been involved in a number of technology, media and telecommunications businesses as a founder, director, investor and adviser. After becoming the CEO of a corporate finance boutique, Linney became a partner in an alternative investment fund providing structured debt and equity financing to small cap public companies.

In 2007, Linney led, in alliance with his friend and business partner, Simon Newton, the buyout of Genesis Communications,^[7] a mobile voice and data reseller company. In 2009 Genesis acquired Thus Mobile from Cable&Wireless and rebranded as Outsourcery to focus on the cloud IT and communications opportunity. In 2012 the company was valued at £43 million^[8] and the mobile business was sold^[9] to create a pure-play cloud business, which was funded by the founders and private investors.

Outsourcery was floated on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2013 raising £13 million.^[10] and became a market leader in the delivery of cloud and unified communications solutions based on Microsoft technologies and grew to revenues of £8m. The business was provided with a debt facility by Vodafone which won two large FTSE 100 customers base on Outsourcery's solutions. However, the company suffered from slow revenue growth and remained unprofitable. In return for additional working capital from Vodafone the business was required to be sold in June 2016 for an undisclosed sum and an offer that required the business to be placed into administration. [http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/alliance-news/detail/1466091964084865900.html]]]

Despite this, Linney was a founding member of the Governance Board of the UK's Cloud Industry Forum^[11] and regularly appears in the media to discuss the benefits of cloud computing. In 2013, Linney was recognised in the JP Morgan sponsored Power List 2013 as one of the top 100 most influential black Britons.^[12]

Recently Linney has joined the Cabinet Office SME Panel advising on small and medium business issues, despite never having sold anything to the government.^[13] Linney has also established the not-for-profit organisation workinsight.org, a national digital platform that connects young people to local employers. The scheme aims to create better access to work valuable work place experience, and has received backing from Microsoft and Esther McVey, MP and Minister for Work and Pensions.^[14] Linney was named Entrepreneur Leader of the Year at the 2014 Black British Business Awards.^[15]

Dragons' Den

In 2013, Linney joined the panel on the BBC Two television series Dragons' Den, along with fellow new dragon Kelly Hoppen. They joined in the eleventh series. Linney also appeared as a dragon in the twelfth series of Dragons' Den which began airing on 20 July 2014. In January 2015, Linney announced that he would be departing the show at the end of series twelve, in order to focus on various other projects and work related to enterprise, diversity and inclusion, including his not-for-profit digital platform, workinsight.org.^[16]

Dragons' Den investments

• Skinny Tan – £60,000 for 10% of the business (joint investment with Kelly Hoppen)
• Mainstage Travel – £100,000 for 15% of the business
• Vini & Bal's Rustic Indian – £50,000 for 30% of the business
• energyEGG – £50,000 for 30% of the business
• Skribbies – £30,000 for 12.5% of the business (joint investment with Kelly Hoppen)
• Lost my Name – £100,000 for 5% of the business

Trustee

As an extension to his interest in business, Linney is a founding Trustee of the Powerlist Foundation^[17] which aims to identify and support tomorrow's leaders irrespective of their race, gender, faith or ethnicity. He is also a trustee of the innovation charity with a £300 million endowment, NESTA^[18] and he is also a trustee of Plotr.^[19]

Linney is involved with Virgin Unite^[20] and a range of other charities as a donor or patron. Linney is also in the process of establishing his own charity, workinsight.org, to provide equal opportunities for work place insights.^[21] failed businesses.

Interests and personal life

Linney married Tara Bishop in 2003: they have two children Tiger and Electra. Linney is a cycling and mountain-biking enthusiast.

References

External links

• Official website
• Piers Linney on Twitter