Lalvani delivered a guest lecture: Taking an Idea to Global Success; this was followed by a question-and-answer session for students from Lalvani and his wife, Tara Lalvani, at the University’s Marylebone Campus.
Tej Lalvani is an alumnus of the Business Studies BA course (now Business Management BA Honours), Honorary Doctor of Letters, Visiting Professor at the Westminster Business School, previous Dragon of the BBC’s Dragons' Den programme and CEO of Vitabiotics. Dr Tara Lalvani is a former dental surgeon, beauty entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Beautifect.
Lalvani spoke about the importance of action, specificity, resource management and preparation to entrepreneurship. He said: “The key is not to try and be everything to everyone. It's about being niche, about being specific, about offering something different to what everyone else does...You're better off having a thousand people that love your product than five thousand who think it's okay, because these thousand people are going to really talk about your product, advertise it to other people and they're going to talk about it to other people as well.
“Of course, running a business is like a disaster waiting to happen, but the key is trying to be prepared for that disaster; because when things get difficult, it's that persistence that gets you to the next level. Reaching this will not only bring you great sense of personal achievement but also financial reward.”
Tara Lalvani talked about the process of realising she had a solution for a problem that other women also dealt with, and how she began to make a product to solve it for others. She said: “I had no previous experience in business. I was coming from a science background. I felt like I was completely out of my depth, but I didn't let that stop me. I just went for it. I had a vision of what I was trying to create, and I just took one step at a time. It's all about taking action. So many people have great ideas every single day, but it's about actually just taking one step at a time, and that's what it takes.”
University Head of Development Jordan Scammell said: “I want to thank both Tej and Tara for their highly impactful engagement with our students this month. The time, and level of interaction, they provided to our students was very much appreciated and you could see just how much our students took away from this inspiring opportunity. Both are incredible role models and I look forward to working with them further in the future to support more students.”
Dr Rebecca Wang, Assistant Head of the School of Organisations, Economy & Society, said: “I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Tej and Tara for their kindness and generosity in sharing insightful advice about how to take an idea to a global success. It was impressive to be immersed in such an interactive atmosphere, where their energy and passion instantly drew the audience to them. Our students participated with huge enthusiasm and will have benefited tremendously from listening to their journeys and advice.”
Tej Lalvani also attended a 6 December lunch with the Big Idea Competition Winners. The Westminster Big Idea Competition is the University’s annual student and graduate business innovation competition in partnership with Santander Universities UK. The competition encourages and supports applicants to develop their entrepreneurial skills and to build and grow their businesses.
Rumen Rachev, Digital Systems & Technology Officer at the Westminster Enterprise Network (WeNetwork), said: “The Big Idea Competition supports students and graduates to build and grow their businesses with access to funding and meaningful connections. The networking lunch was an excellent opportunity for the winners to share their business journey, aspirations and receive invaluable feedback and guidance. We are grateful to Tej for this compelling engagement, underpinning our mission of fostering the next generation of entrepreneur talent.”
Learn more about enterprise and entrepreneurship opportunities at the University of Westminster.
