Through my coaching practice I meet a lot of start-up entrepreneurs and though it is usually hard to generalise about them, there is one surprisingly common theme - most have come into fmcg with little or no experience of the industry. While this shows guts and optimism - and it sometimes works - I can’t imagine starting out with no sector experience.

Experience counts, and good experience - in good companies - is incredibly valuable. Sometimes I think that if people from outside the industry knew how tough it is to make it in this business, there is no way they would ever start out. What you don’t know, you don’t worry about and maybe if you do have the experience, you’re already well aware of the poor odds and you’d rather take the corporate paycheck.

But if you are a superstar, chances are you are more valuable to your employer than they are to you. If you have worked a few good years for good companies, then what have you got to lose by following an entrepreneurial dream? If it works, fantastic. And if it doesn’t? There is much less shame in failure these days. Indeed, in the US, venture capitalists think it’s slightly odd if you haven’t failed at some stage in your career.

Anyway, back to you. If you do have good experience with a leading fmcg company and you have a good idea, which you’ve been sitting on for a while, you’re in exactly the position I was in before I started Gü. Boring your family and friends with your great idea that you’re doing absolutely nothing about, while your employer continues to reap the fruits of your labour.

Don’t kid yourself; if the going gets tough, they’ll drop you like a stone. And take a look around - there probably aren’t that many people over the age of 50. We work in a young industry.

OK, so here’s the gig: I’ve got a spare desk in my London office and I like being involved with bright, entrepreneurial people. You can either come into my business, where you will share in its success, or if I believe enough in your idea, I’ll invest in it. But I’m only interested in superstars.

We work in a mature industry, where annual growth rates of over 5% are seen as impressive. However, the great thing about it is that if you get it right you can hit the big time. Isn’t it time for something more exciting?