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" To be a designer today is to be an entrepreneur. Whether you're a two-man operation in Shoreditch or a 3,000-person, vertically integrated brand, you need to have the wherewithal to run your business through investment, considering everything from start-up funds to your exit plan or what it takes to go public. "

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" It's interesting to see how some of the womenswear designers that we have long worked with at Net-A-Porter are developing menswear collections - Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Richard Nicoll. "

Natalie Massenet

Long

How

Interesting

" It's a false assumption that people with a lot of money have a lot of free time to shop. "

" Never forget that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression - with investors, with customers, with PR, and with marketing. "

" One of my goals is that, at a dinner party some time in the future, someone will say, 'Oh, my nephew is starting a ready-to-wear brand', and 20 people will turn around and say, 'Is he? Can we invest?' in the same way that, now, if you were to say, 'My nephew is starting a mobile app,' everyone would say, 'Oh, smashing! Can I invest?' "

" When I'm working, I have a hard time switching off, and when I'm not working, I have a hard time thinking of ever wanting to work again. "

" Brands will increasingly handle their own e-commerce and rely less and less on local distribution partners. Why should they give away their profit margins? "

" Once you start a business, you have to grow it and grow with it - starting a business is not just for Christmas. "

" I love contemporary culture. Even the stuff I don't like. "

Natalie Massenet

Culture

Even

" I've taken the love of fashion from my mother, and journalism from my father. "

" I don't have a mentor in the strict definition. I take as much advice and inspiration as I can from the people I am close to. "

" When I started Net-a-Porter, I knew nothing. And I was pregnant. Starting a new venture and being pregnant for the first time are pretty similar in many ways. If you knew what was going to happen to you, you wouldn't venture down that road. "

" We're seeing a crazy appetite for people to acquire and invest in British businesses. "

" The Internet is a gift to fashion. "

" People ask if I walk around and pinch myself. Yes, I do. "

" I think fashion is actually very good training for being in the tech world, because it's all about moving on to the next thing, looking for the next thing, not getting stuck in the past. "

" I'm an accidental entrepreneur. "

Natalie Massenet

Accidental

Entrepreneur

" When you love something, it doesn't feel like work. "

" Britain has the most creative, dynamic and nimble fashion industry in the world. "

" I believe all positive things and negative things are valuable because they shape you. "

" I cry at anything remotely touching - smile at me warmly and I'm off... television also does it, everything from 'X-Factor' to cereal commercials. I cry when I am tired. I also cry when I laugh. "

" If you want success, be unique. "

" I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with an English literature degree and travelled for a year before going to work. "

" Ambition is important. Of course you can't get anywhere without talent, but there are a lot of talented people. To succeed, you have to be the most ambitious talented person. "

" Grown-up clothes are more appealing because customers need to be able to project themselves into them. "

" Every year I go to the Google Zeitgeist conference, which is invite-only, and I'm one of about 20 women and five fashion people out of the 400 there. "

Natalie Massenet

Fashion

Women

" I envision a day when a businesswoman will be having lunch, and then her phone will ring. When she opens it up, she will see an image of the latest Marc Jacobs coat that just arrived in stock. With a click of a button, she can purchase it and then find it waiting for her when she gets back to her office. "

" I'm supporting the School for Creative Startups because the project's ambition - to boost innovation and the culture of entrepreneurship - is something I feel strongly about. "

" When I was a teenager, a psychic told me, 'Your biggest challenge will be life-work balance.' That's certainly turned out to be true! "

Natalie Massenet

True

Challenge

" The interesting thing about London is that there are always stylish surprises around every corner. "

" People always say to me, 'You've really strived to redefine retail.' But the reality is, I wanted to redefine magazines. "