I’ve no idea whodunit. The Reverend Green is now a ‘fixer’, Professor Plum a video-games billionaire and Mrs White the housekeeper a former child star. Yes, in a dramatic relaunch, the Cluedo characters of old have been reinvented for our modern times. Part of me wishes only half of them had been changed, to mix it up a bit. But the idea of a vicar hanging out with a former child actor, standing next to a games entrepreneur is bordering on the ridiculous.

Did you invent your job or did someone else invent it for you? I’ve been pondering this lately and wondering if someone could launch a business idea they didn’t come up with. This concept is heresy in some quarters, while others are relaxed about it. After all, new managing directors are headhunted all the time. Or is there something different about start-ups? Would such a thing as an Ideas Orphanage work, where early-stage ventures are put up for adoption? Or is the passion needed to start a company reliant on the founder giving birth to the business, core idea and all?

Talking of adoption, what would you do if you were a banker? That’s the question Crédit Mutuel asked its customers recently. It’s a crowd-sourcing tale I’ve been reading about in my book of the month, Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. ‘Si j’etais Banquier’, turned into a smash hit, with thousands of customers submitting their ideas, the highest rated of which are already being put into place. Smart thinking from a bank. And if a bank can have an online suggestion box, then why not a whole country? Where’s the suggestion box for Britain? 

My speed-networking ways have been spotted by the co-ordinators of Global Entrepreneurship Week, who have asked me to visit no fewer than 11 countries over the next three weeks. The word on the street is that I’ll need some Melatonin to keep me going as I rush from Toronto to Santiago, Mexico City, Sydney, Johannesburg and back again. Business events can be a bit stagnant, and when you’re trying to get an idea off the ground, you need to connect with people, fast. Challenged to meet people they’ve never met before for just three minutes each, I’m hoping that my whistle-stop tour will kick-start many a decent conversation.

Caspar Berry spoke first, and I couldn’t have asked for a better opening to my latest London salon. The former professional poker player delivered an inspiring talk on the themes of risk and decision making. Handing over to our next speaker, the Reverend Joanna Jepson, he confessed to having started his career on the set of children’s TV drama Byker Grove. Had I thought it through, I might not have asked a vicar to speak immediately before Shed Simove, author of Ideas Man and one of the producers of Big Brother. While Joanna might not have approved of his day job, at least his talk was enjoyed by audience member Michael Smith, as he took a break from running Mind Candy, his highly successful games design business. Vicars, child stars and games entrepreneurs…

About the author

Oli Barrett is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Make Your Mark with a Tenner, the national competition in which 10,000 school pupils have to see what they can achieve with £10 in one month.  He’s the co-founder of WebMission and sits on the Prime Minister’s Council on Social Action, where he recently helped create the UK Catalyst Awards, the community awards for social technology. He also brought speed networking to the UK and has helped to launch several businesses, including language practice company FriendsAbroad.