“Never not do something because you don’t have the money. If you want to do it enough and you’re focused enough, the money will find you” – Julie Meyer*

She may be American by birth and exhibit all the outward signs of being a fully focused, goal orientated, “winner take all” native, but she prefers the culture and the people of her main base in London and is seen as one of the 50 most powerful women in Europe, according to the Wall Street Journal. Julie Meyer has risen to become one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs, yet at age 42 is still searching for the next “aha!” moment, even as she strives to help somebody follow in her footsteps.

Meyer is well-known for being fast on her feet and making quick decisions, some of which come back to haunt her. However, she is known for her work in bringing capital to the table for hungry entrepreneurs, and for a business accumen which found its roots when she started First Tuesday back in 2000. The underlying concept was, in fact, created in the fall of 1998 and was designed to be simply a networking event series, focused on the first Tuesday of each month. However. the concept snowballed and by the time the company was sold in July 2000 it was responsible for networking 500,000 people each month and the company’s sale duly netted her $11 million.

With funds from the sale of First Tuesday, Meyer set up her next creation, Ariadne Capital, a company that is involved at the core advisory level with digital media and communication ventures. She is currently raising a significant sum to form a venture capital fund going forward and is shrewd enough to seek out equity stakes in key startups in exchange for the provision of services and advice. She is no doubt motivated by her original investment of $35,000 in First Tuesday, which realized a more than 30,000% return.

Julie sees the current economic environment as the best time to move forward. “One of the fundamentals of investing is to buy low and sell high, it doesn’t get much lower than where we are now.” She is always a champion of free enterprise noting that “government cannot make revenue, companies do that” and calling for a relaxation of Britain’s typically restrictive higher income tax band rates.

Meyer is an acknowledged workaholic, committing seven days a week and spends little time on her personal fetish, which is to enjoy some spa relaxation time with friends. She has something of a golden touch and has helped famous startups such as Skype, Emap and Spinvox to gain their considerable footings.

Living in Europe for most of her adult life, she has a degree in English literacy, an MBA and strong business and emotional ties to her adopted London. She is still single and has no plans for motherhood, but is however setting up a foundation for teenage girls to help them focus on what they could become and in turn bridge what is still an imbalance between successful men and women in the higher echelons of business and commerce.

Meyer is well respected and has an impeccable track record. She may not consider herself to be ambitious, but her achievements precede her.

Matthew Toren

* source: timesonline.co.uk