One Alfred Place is a new social hotspot for entrepreneurs. Jon Card attended its recent launch and found rock dinosaurs mixing it up with some of the UK's best entrepreneurs
Rock n’ Rollers are often arch-capitalists, no matter how anti-establishment they like to appear. The Beatles may have sang Money Can’t Buy You Love but at a similar time Ray Davies of the Kinks was moaning about how the taxman had taken all his dough.
I have never really believed that musicians were quite as enthusiastic for a revolution as they would have their fans believe. Or at least, I imagine their views tend to change once a few royalty cheques have cleared the bank. But then making money could be argued to be a socially progressive act in itself. The early industrialists were certainly shaking up the old order of things when they were building automated factories and forging new metals. In fact, they revolutionised the whole planet. Similarly, many of you today are clearly not content with the status quo (I’m not talking about the band) and are embarking on your own mini-revolutions. But whereas entrepreneurs shake up the economy, pop music has a similar effect on the social fabric.
I would have liked to have put musing such as this to Nick Mason, drummer of Pink Floyd, while he was at the launch party of a new networking club for entrepreneurs, One Alfred Place. Nick along with Mike Rutherford from Genesis has put some money into the project that aims to be the top hang-out for entrepreneurs in London and beyond. Nick is an ostensibly bright chap, educated at Cambridge, and appears to have turned into something of a business angel post-Floyd. He might have started singing ‘Money it’s a gas…’ but we’ll never know as sadly he left before I could collar him.
The club itself, which is located just off the Tottenham Court Road, London is exciting and impressive in several ways. It’s huge for one thing with a whopping 10,000 sq ft of floor space. Also, the décor is remarkable as the walls are plastered with Warhols, Hepworths and their ilk; co-founder Robert Devereux is a major art collector and has donated a few from his collection to the building. The club also includes the usual bar and restaurant but also has a number meeting rooms, a boardroom, hotdesks suites and restrooms (including one with a bed). There’s Wi-Fi access throughout and members can also gain a personal PA. The club’s founders reckon this gives it right mix of social and business to be truly successful and places such as Adam Street might soon be given a run for their money. Membership is £1500 a year, although as co-founder Rob Shreeve pointed out that this is tax deductible. About 100 entrepreneurs have already joined, including arch networker Oli Barrett, so needless to say word is getting out. Take a look and let us know what you think.