Why are you investing in digital?
"I'm very excited in general about the embryonic digital economy. Obviously companies such as Google have created big revenues but we're still inventing the digital economy.
I've invested in one or two start-ups and have a few rules. First, there needs to be a team behind it rather than one person with an idea. Second, the team has to have relevant experience. David Gilbey and Mike Clowes [the founders of AskPeopleYouKnow] have great experience in consumer facing media - i'd say formidable - first in magazines and then they did a great job at AOL.
The other test is that I always need to persuade a friend to invest too - that's always my sanity check."
What's the idea behind AskPeopleYouKnow?
"The philosophy behind is that Google is a great search engine, but a bit of a blunt instrument. My opinion is that more focussed search engines will start up. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways of informing your decisions and that, more focussed offering, is interesting."
How is it going to make money?
"The revenue model for AskPeopleYouKnow at the start will be through display advertising and paid search, which is conventional in a way. There are adults buying things on AskPeopleYouKnow so they are worth advertising to.
In the future the potential is for location-based services and that's what AskPeopleYouKnow will offer. There's also opportunities to provide a white label community for retailers."
What plans do you have to get more involved in digital?
"I'm an investor, not an executive and have invested in MyVideorights and sit on the board of YouGov so there is a theme to my portfolio and I'm fascinated by digital media.
All business start-ups are high-risk and you have to pick winning ideas. I have a pretty bulging portfolio but I'm always in conversation with a couple of companies. People come to me with ideas which is great."
What's your opinion on internet ad spend overtaking that of TV?
"TV ads have mostly been in the doldrums because of the recession and CRR [contract rights renewal]. But TV is great at reaching the mass market. It's something I like to call the meerkat principle. Why would a price comparison site have an ad amost every hour on TV? It's about using each medium to its strengths and TV's is reaching the mass market."
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