What they said!

Flotation
‘My first mistake was to select a nominated adviser before anyone else.’
Steve Evans, chief executive officer of Accident Exchange

Corporate governance
‘Sarbanes-Oxley will come into fruition soon and auditors will get very rich!’
Nick Langford, London Stock Exchange

Valuation
‘All fund managers see companies as overvalued until they become involved, then those companies become undervalued.’
Bill Brown, Isis Asset Management

Product Development
‘People always think that focus groups and tasting panels are for big companies, but you can do it on a shoestring’
Cally Affleck, founder of mail order coffee business Boaters

Takeovers
‘Many insurance brokers are willing targets. They just don’t have the balls for regulation by the FSA’
David Worsley, chairman of Community Broking Group

Ageism
‘I’m getting on a bit, but there are three other people in this firm older than me. They keep me young. As long as I’m chief executive, their jobs are safe’
Kevin Ashby, CEO of PatSystems

Joint Ventures
‘I did a 50-50 joint venture – looking back, the partner should have had 51 or 49. I’d never do a 50-50 venture again – you need to decide who is going to lead‘
Al Gosling, founder of Extreme Group

Initiative
‘When we started we had no office furniture. We borrowed a couch from the furniture store below, removed the tags and used it for meetings’
Leonard Brody, founder of Ipreo

On the ball
‘Aloof? No, as CEO I don’t do aloof. I do engaged. Period’
Bob Holt, Mears Group

Flotation
‘It’s great being listed on the market – it stops you from adopting a maverick style’
Karren Brady, managing director of Birmingham City Football Club

Technology
‘Mine is the only office in the building that doesn’t have a computer that works’
Philip Green, retail entrepreneur

Overseas expansion
‘German culture is the most difficult to deal with – they have a very ingrained way of doing business’
Toby Esser, chief executive of reinsurance broker Cooper Gay

See also: Ten inspirational entrepreneurs share quotes from their biggest doubters