Have you ever felt like you were going to get "found out"? I know I did.
Back in 2017, I spoke at a Bloomberg event on the future of the property industry, hosted by Simon Murdoch of Episode 1 Ventures.
I was terrified of public speaking before that day, I don't think I slept the night before.
On the panel was:
1. Alex Chesterman (who founded and exited Love Film, Zoopla and since then Cazoo)
2. Russell Quirk (the outspoken founder of eMoov and now ProperPR)
3. Daniel Gandesha (founder of Property Partner, who had just raised £20m, and now Onate)
And me, a first time founder who had just raised a £350k seed round.
In the centre of the room was a large oval table, surrounded by other proptech founders. Behind, a row of chairs reserved for academics, journalists and investors. It was an intimate setting and all eyes were on the four of us.
Just before it started someone told me it was being broadcast live on Bloomberg TV.
I could not have been more nervous. I thought I was going to get "found out" and that I’d be asked to leave halfway through with people kicking me on the way out.
Fortunately, it went well. I knew my onions and had good feedback. More so, I eventually settled in and enjoyed it. I did, however, make a bold prediction about how to do planning better. I proposed that urban infill and brownfield sites (which is all of suburbia!) held so many opportunities that it should be the first place we look at for additional housing supply.
From that day on, I wasn't as nervous about public speaking ever again. Nothing has changed about my public speaking ability, but now I know that any fear is in your own head, and that it is unwarranted. The only way to learn that is by doing it.
What got me thinking about an event way back in 2017? Well, last weekend something changed. The Government released a “planning passports” policy proposal, saying that high quality homes on brownfield land could get fast-tracked, and that is what I proposed that day.
It’s taken many years for me to feel justified in my original argument but it’s finally come and I think, if pushed through, this could have very beneficial impacts on housing supply and jobs, while demonstrating that planning can be done better.
You can read the article about planning passports here: https://lnkd.in/gTAyXvqc)