The Entrepreneurship Debate - you either have it or you don't

If you’ve ever wondered whether entrepreneurs are born with some mysterious inner spark or whether it can be taught, nurtured, or downloaded from the cloud - you would’ve loved this year’s Big Debate.

Hosted by Gary Bishop (Arch Healthcare), with a panel of four brilliant and wildly different founders:

• David Ramirez, Co-Founder & CEO Wonderpack Eco
• Clare Griffiths, Founder of Thrive in Business and Business Development Manager (Entrepreneurship) at University of Brighton
• Antoinette Daniel, Founder of Just Helpers
• Lucy Butt, CEO & Co-Founder of Bramber Bakehouse

The evening was basically a masterclass in what entrepreneurship really looks like - and no, it’s not a walk in the park. Unless that park is uphill, in sideways rain, with a seagull circling your sandwich.

Born with it? Or built over time?

This question kicked things off, and the answers were as varied as the businesses represented.

David is the classic “started-a-business-at-six” type. Then again at 11. Then again at 19. For him, entrepreneurship is about acting on an idea - even when it’s difficult, inconvenient or uncomfortable.

Clare took a more balanced view: yes, some people have natural flair, but entrepreneurship is also a set of behaviours, mindsets and skills. And young people learn it best by doing—pitching, problem-solving, testing, failing, trying again… all the messy, exhilarating stuff.

Antoinette described herself as an “accidental” entrepreneur - someone solving a problem because someone had to. For her, it’s the courage to step forward when everyone else would step back. That spark can’t do it alone - it needs structure. That’s where coaches, mentors and support come in: the discipline wrapped around the crazy, brilliant idea.

And Lucy, it starts with passion - that burning desire to make something better, in her case the world for women and girls. That passion might light the spark, but it’s inner wiring - the way you're built - that keeps you going when most people would stop.

So nature or nurture?

Well so far, it sounds like it could be a mixed bag - an inner spark, fuelled by passion, and a sprinkle of lived experience.

Resilience: learned the hard way (often while crying into spreadsheets)

A theme that kept surfacing was resilience - not as a shiny aspirational trait, but as a deeply inconvenient life skill forged through failures, wobbles, and “why the hell did I start this?!” moments.

Clare teaches her students to “fail fast” (while young enough to bounce back). Lucy pointed out that resilience isn’t just built when things are going well - it’s earned in the slow patches, the stuck points, the “is this even working?” phases.

And Antoinette shared how her background as a care leaver shaped her mindset: when you don’t have a Plan B, you simply build a better Plan A!

David framed it as a “glass half full” thing. Entrepreneurs see challenges not as stop signs but as mountains to climb. Natural problem solvers who thrive in adversity.

The unglamorous bit: numbers, numbers, numbers

Ah yes. Cashflow. VAT. Margins. PAYE. The language of joy.

Every founder talked about this. And each one wished they’d learned it sooner.

Lucy admitted she’d avoided finance early on, assuming it just wasn’t her thing - only to discover she was actually pretty good at it. More than that: understanding the numbers felt empowering.

Antoinette echoed the same. If you want your good intentions to last longer than five minutes, you have to know your numbers.

As Gary put it, entrepreneurs spread themselves thin across disciplines—because they have to. You need just enough of everything (especially finance) to stay afloat long enough to bring in the experts.

And David reminded us of the hard truth: very few people will ever care as much as the founder. About the idea. The mission. Or the money. And that’s fine - once you stop expecting them to.

The emotional reality: entrepreneurs never switch off

One of the most relatable moments of the night was when the panel gently demolished the romantic idea that entrepreneurs are “so flexible” and “can take a day off whenever they want.”

Narrator: They cannot.

Antoinette nailed it: “The weight of the anchor keeps me tethered to the beast I need to keep feeding.”

Lucy said she’s learned the hard way that she is more than her job title, and that intentional breaks - holidays, Ibiza trips, spa days, family time… aren’t luxuries, they’re essential.

Entrepreneurs have to choose to switch off and step away now and again.

And sometimes that means leaving the school WhatsApp group (or at least muting it). If you know, you know. 

When’s the right time to start then?

Lucy started Bramber Bakehouse at 22, responsibility-free. That made it easier, she says. But everyone agreed that really, there isn’t a right time.

Clare’s advice - Start before you’re ready.

Antoinette’s advice - Start as soon as you have the idea.

And David’s advice - Just be ready to give it your whole mental focus.

The perfect moment will not arrive. So start anyway.

Collaboration beats competition - how very ‘Brighton’ of us!

Something beautiful emerged when the panel talked about Brighton’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Unsurprisingly, our town’s collaborative spirit came up. The Chamber. Networking. Founders championing each other.

But beyond Brighton, there’s still work to do.

Entrepreneurship isn’t evenly supported across the region.

Some Chambers are less active.

Some areas lack support networks entirely.

And access to funding - especially for women and women of colour - is still a huge barrier.

So what’s on the panel’s wishlist?

• More cross-Chamber collaboration
• More micro-loans and ethical funding
• More mentoring (especially early on)
• Larger corporates stepping up to support founders
• Universities joining forces, not working in silos
• Businesses celebrating each other, not just the big exits

Basically: more Brighton energy, everywhere please.

If you’re starting out, here what the panel want you to know

• Start now. Before you’re ready. Before it’s perfect.
• Know your numbers. They’ll save you.
• Don’t lose your spark. Protect the bit of you that makes you brave.
• Embrace diverse thinking. Different brains = better ideas.
• Find your people. Peer support is a secret weapon.
• Set boundaries. Burnout is not a personality trait.

And perhaps the biggest one of all:

• Define success on your terms, not the world’s, not LinkedIn’s. Success for some might look like growth and revenue but for others it might also look like balance, freedom, flexibility, or impact.

So…do you either have it or you don’t?

After hearing from this panel, we can safely say: it’s not an either/or situation.

Entrepreneurship is part instinct, part experience, part necessity, part stubbornness, part passion - and heavily fuelled by community.

It’s messy, thrilling, exhausting, hilarious, joyful…and occasionally terrifying.

But if the big debate proved anything, it’s that you don’t need to fit into a fixed mould to call yourself an entrepreneur. You just need the spark and the willingness to keep going.

And here in Brighton, we’ve got something that makes that spark burn brighter. A community of people who care enough to share, support, collaborate and lift each other up.

So maybe that’s the real answer to the debate.

Not “you either have it or you don’t”.

But you’ll go much further when you’re surrounded by others who believe you do.

A big thank you to Kerry Watkins from Social for Good for an excellent Big Debate writeup. 

Thanks also to our panel, our chair Gary Bishop, and to our sponsor martin searle solicitors. 

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk