Paul Rosenfeld, Co-Founder PEN Partnership

In addition to keeping you updated about all the great things that are going on at The Clubhouse, we thought we would turn the tables and put the focus on all the exciting things our fantastic members are achieving!

For our February ‘Member in the Spotlight’ feature we spoke to Paul Rosenfeld, Co-Founder of PEN Partnership.

1. Tell us about your company.

We set up our management consultancy, Pen Partnership, four years ago to create a nimble business with a fresh take on providing expert advice. The Pen partners had worked together for the best part of 20 years; we were determined to move away from the traditional consultancy model to create a different service, with passionate experts obsessed about obtaining the right outcomes for our clients — where we could be judged by our results. Our core business is a consultancy focused on Financial Services, where we work with clients to help them find and deliver solutions to complex problems and to drive sustainable and effective change. Recently we have set up a Customer Experience business, which specialises in enabling organisations to achieve sustainable growth through delivering the best possible customer experiences. We plan to help kick-start more businesses and are always looking for great investment opportunities, with like-minded entrepreneurs, that need a combination of capital but also business know-how and management input to drive success.

2. What has been your biggest success so far?

The business has had a number of pivotal events, but our greatest success has to be building a high-class team. We have an internal mantra that our people have to be ‘The Perfect Fit’ for us and our clients. We take this very seriously and it drives not only recruitment but also the culture of our business.

3. What project are you most excited about right now?

We have a commitment to put 1% of our revenue aside for charity projects which we believe will make a significant difference to those around us. That now amounts to £120k a year. One project that particularly excites me is a possible apprentice programme for school leavers and disaffected young people.

4. How has being a member of The Clubhouse contributed to the success of your business?

When we started using The Clubhouse we were still in start-up mode. We intended to buy our own office but couldn’t find anything that would work as well. The nature of our business means that we work at our clients’ offices so most of the time we don’t need much space. The Clubhouse allows us to work in a high-end professional environment that can impress clients and gives us the flexibility we need. From the start it made us feel that we were punching above our weight. Now it feels like home, the whole team loves working here.

5. Where can members find you?

Pen has a number of dedicated desks at The Clubhouse on the lower ground floor of 8 St James Square. ● penpartnership.com

Quick Fire Round:

Favourite place to go in London?

St James’s Church ‘secret’ garden on Jermyn Street for a summer lunch break, or the RA friends café in winter.

Who inspires you and why?

Anyone who has successfully built their own businesses – particularly those who weren’t successful frst time. I am still in awe when I meet those with the stamina, dedication and unwavering commitment to make it work.

Best bit of advice you’ve been given?

A good business deal is only one that works for both parties — if it’s too good a deal for one side, it’s not a good deal.

If you were on a desert island, what would you bring?

My Amazon Prime card – I’m confident they would continue to find a way to deliver to me, wherever I am in the world.

Which super power would you like to have?

Not needing sleep – there’s just too much I still want to do and not enough time.

What is the worst business ‘faux-pas’ you’ve committed?

Priced an annual service way too low at the launch of a new business, which caused a lot of unnecessary growth constraints.