Cassandra Jayne Harris

Cassandra Jayne Harris
Born (1982-01-04) January 4, 1982
Durban, South Africa
Residence London, United Kingdom
Occupation
  • Founder and Managing Director Venturespring
  • Advisory Board Member Wileyfox

Cassandra Jayne Harris (born 4 January 1982) is a Great British Tech Entrepreneur,[1] business angel investor [2] and founder of international venture development studio Venturespring.[3]

Harris and Venturespring played a key role in the creation of Wileyfox,[4] a British mobile handset that combines stylish handsets and service with CyanogenMod, a customised Android OS experience.

Harris made the Tech City Top 100 list in 2015 for her work with start-ups and has won several awards.[2][5]

Biography

Harris was born in South Africa but holds a UK passport; her mother is from Wincanton, in Somerset. She moved to London after attaining a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Computers and Marketing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.[2]

Her first start-up was the unsuccessful Atelier-To-Go. In 2012 she sold her shareholding and went on to co-found the tech education initiative, Freeformers.[2][6][7]

Harris’s angel investments continued, first with Taylor Morris Eyewear,[8][9] the British eyewear fashion brand created by her friend, Made In Chelsea celebrity Hugo Taylor, and subsequently with the world’s first ‘social petwork’, Petbu.[2][10][11]

Harris went on to found Venturespring, an international venture development studio. Venturespring specialises in bringing global brands, investors and talented entrepreneurs together, in order to develop innovative start-ups into independent businesses. The company’s first big success came when it won the contract to become Vodafone’s first ‘co-creation partner’,[12] a deal that enabled it to begin working with the telecommunications giant, to create new products and services, such as apps and wearable technologies. When Venturespring and Harris incubated and launched Wileyfox in 2015, it had gone from concept to launch in less than twelve months.

In 2015 Harris’s Venturespring launched a campaign backed by Mayor of London Boris Johnson and IBM. The campaign Smart City Challenge 2015[13] joined the increasing calls for solutions to smart city living and working.[14] Boris Johnson said of the campaign:[13] "I have no doubt that this competition will encourage our tech whizz-kids to use their creative nous and come forward with the solutions, to help us address these challenges and make London an even better city to live in."

Career

Early in her early career, Harris successfully built from scratch, the SEO department at Mindshare Worldwide. Subsequently, she worked on several high-profile blue-chip client accounts, including Unilever Unilever, before turning her full attention to start-up ventures.

Her first start-up was fashion e-commerce platform Atelier-To-Go, which she built for two years before selling her shareholding when seeing that it was not going to be a success.[6][7]

Harris has since backed a number of tech start-ups, including Taylor Morris Eyewear, the fashion label launched by her celebrity friend, Hugo Taylor.[8]

In her career, Harris has cultivated a large network of venture capitalists and built relationships with some of the biggest brands in the world.

Personal life

In 2013, Ms Harris became engaged to Formula One events entrepreneur Jonny Dodge.[15] She also counts famous entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den veteran Duncan Bannatyne [16] and business tycoon John Caudwell and wife Claire Caudwell, among her friends.[17]

Charity work

In 2011, prior to launching Venturespring, Harris co-founded the ‘digital transformation’ company, Freeformers, a social enterprise that combines digital skills training with business acceleration support. The initiative drew interest from the press [18] and garnered celebrity support.

The venture’s 1-for-1 training model (for every SME undertaking training, Freeformers trains one young person for free) has attracted several high-profile corporate clients, including Vodafone and Unilever.[19][20]

In 2013, Harris launched a programme, in partnership with the Knowle West Media Centre (KWMC) in Bristol to help young women, whom had been victim to domestic violent relationships, to boost their employment prospects, raise self-confidence and develop a better awareness of digital technology.[21]

In 2014, Venturespring launched a pilot to help ex-prisoners from HM Prison East Sutton Park into tech roles.

References

  1. ↑ Great British Entrepreneur Awards http://greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com/2015-shortlist-gbea/
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Spring arrives for start-up ventures, TechCity Insider http://www.techcityinsider.net/spring-arrives-for-startup-ventures/
  3. ↑ Cassandra Harris: How mentoring can make you a better entrepreneur, Smarta.com http://www.smarta.com/blog/2014/7/cassandra-harris-how-mentoring-can-make-you-a-better-entrepreneur/
  4. ↑ A British smartphone to rival the iPhone? Start-up Wileyfox is taking on Apple and Samsung with its new smartphone - and critics love it, The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/technology/11831492/A-British-smartphone-to-rival-the-iPhone.html
  5. ↑ National Business Awards 2015 finalists announced, Elite Business Magazine http://elitebusinessmagazine.co.uk/sales-marketing/item/national-business-awards-2015-finalists-announced
  6. 1 2 Atelier-to-go Sponsors London Fashion Week Jimmy Choo Party http://www.prlog.org/11672990-atelier-to-go-sponsors-london-fashion-week-jimmy-choo-party.html
  7. 1 2 Atelier-To-Go.Com Launches, Elle Magazine http://www.elleuk.com/fashion/news/atelier-to-go-launches-e-commerce-site
  8. 1 2 Meet the Angel Investor in Tech Startups and Founder of Venturespring, Start Your Business Magazine http://content.yudu.com/A2z77j/startJul14/resources/65.htm
  9. ↑ Hugo Taylor talks Made In Chelsea, Taylor Morris Eyewear & Valentine's Day, Reveal.co.uk http://www.reveal.co.uk/showbiz-celeb-gossip/interviews/a627131/hugo-taylor-talks-made-in-chelsea-taylor-morris-eyewear--valentines-day.html
  10. ↑ Businesses sponsor children to learn tech skills – then hire them, The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/businesses-sponsor-childrento-learn-tech-skills-then-hire-them-10493806.html
  11. ↑ Petbu Review, Iappadapt.com http://www.iappadapt.com/petbu-review-the-facebook-for-pets/
  12. ↑ Venturespring lands contract to be Vodafones first co-creation partner, Start Your Business Magazine http://www.startyourbusinessmag.com/venturespring-lands-contract-to-be-vodafones-first-co-creation-partner/
  13. 1 2 Munford, Monty. "The Smart City Challenge Finalists Will Change The Face Of London". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  14. ↑ Smart City Challenge 2015, Tech.London http://www.tech.london/news/smart-city-challenge-2015
  15. ↑ The Guy Who Loves Me Man Woos Girlfriend with Bond Style Proposal, The Metro http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/18/the-guy-who-loves-me-man-woos-girlfriend-with-bond-style-proposal-4236318/
  16. ↑ Duncan Bannatyne invests in a night out on the town with friends amidst revealing profit on fitness empire, Dailymail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2606799/Duncan-Bannatyne-enjoys-night-town-friends-amidst-revealing-profit-fitness-empire.html
  17. ↑ http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/claire-caudwell-attend.html
  18. ↑ Tony Hall's speech at the BBC Make it Digital launch on 12 March 2015, BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/speeches/2015/tony-hall-make-it-digital
  19. ↑ Vodafone UK launches digital skills workshops trial for SMEs in Leeds and London, Vodafone UK press release http://mediacentre.vodafone.co.uk/pressrelease/vodafone-uk-launches-digital-skills-workshops-trial-for-smes-in-leeds-and-london/
  20. ↑ How to turn companies into digital businesses, and young people into a talent pool, 2degreesnetwork.com https://www.2degreesnetwork.com/groups/2degrees-community/resources/how-turn-companies-into-digital-businesses-and-young-people-into-talent-pool/
  21. ↑ Girls Making History, KWMC http://kwmc.org.uk/projects/girlsmakinghistory/

External links

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