Nathalie Richards

Nathalie Richards

CEO of EduKit. Passionate social entrepreneur. MBA (INSEAD), former management consultant and IT project manager. Extensive experience working with and advising youth charities. Fluent in French and Italian.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathalierichards
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edukitters
London
Member since April 16, 2014
Quote
I'm a professional 'dot connector'. I love connecting the great people that I meet and I founded EduKit to connect all the amazing youth focused projects out there with young people who need their help the most. Quote_down
  • About
Investor interests
Locations of interest
Credentials None
Education
1999 Leicester Uni , BA , Economics
2008 INSEAD , MBA , Strategy
2011 Birkbeck Uni , MA , Ethnicity & Culture

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:
EduKit
Companies I work or worked for:
Apple, Accenture, Hewlett-Packard, KPMG
If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

My favorite startups:

uberVU, Twitter, Groupon, Apple

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

It's very hard work in every sense of the word but one. It's long hours, it's physically and mentally challenging and it's very stressful. But it's never boring and I'm always excited about what tomorrow will bring.

What's most rewarding is seeing your idea take shape. We are now a team with an innovative product, strong values and a clear mission. Seeing us become an established entity, able to positively impact the lives of the next generation is hugely rewarding.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Not testing each and every assumption that they have made.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. Test all of your assumptions, no matter how sure you are that they will hold. You will often be surprised (both good and bad surprises are a regular occurrence!
2. That no entrepreneur can be successful without an amazing team behind them. So a key part of my role is to find, retain and motivate great people
3. Not to leave any stone unturned - opportunities often present themselves when you least expect it.

Full bio

I am a former a management consultant / IT project manager (Accenture, Autonomy, Apple). I studied Law & Economics at university and have an MBA from INSEAD.

I am a board advisor at Generating Genius and a school governor at Beckmead School in Croydon. I’m really passionate about helping students locate and make the most of all the great, fun opportunities out there.

At EduKit, we try to lead by example. We think back to when we were kids in order to better understand the opportunities and challenges ahead for the young people that we are trying to help. It's been an eventful 2 decades since I was at school and I'd never have dreamed I'd be the CEO of an IT company.