Inspiring entrepreneur, Polly Barnfield, has taken the retail world by storm with her new app: ‘Maybe’. Talking at the Moreton Enterprise team’s ‘Directors’ Table’ she spoke to the girls about perseverance and survival in a male-dominated environment.

Maybe is a platform that allows any retailer to connect their online, offline and social retail experience. However, this very successful start-up isn’t Polly’s first company! She has also founded the very successful, Everyclick, which is a company that provides online fundraising tools for UK charities. So far it has raised over 9 million pounds.

At our last Directors’ Table, we were lucky enough to meet Polly. She began by telling us a bit about herself, and she also provided a valuable insight, giving our intimate gathering a taste of what it is like for a woman to work in what is essentially an all-male environment, which of course is the theme that all the Directors’ Tables have focused in on.

Polly’s motto is, ‘you must never ever, ever give up’. When Polly agreed to answer our questions, everyone took advantage of the opportunity. Our questions delved further and further into the world of business and a woman’s place in it. We talked about dealing with difficult partners in business, how to hold your own in a room where there are predominantly males, and of course the development of a company such as Maybe.

These discussions lead onto a very exciting opportunity for the girls who attended. Polly brought up the idea of having a focus group, where we are able to give her feedback on her app, Maybe, and tell her our honest opinions.

This opportunity will be a great experience for us, as it can give us some real insight into developing a company. It will also give us some valuable skills in expressing our ideas clearly, working together to come to conclusions and making compromises to make ideas feasible.

Thank you so much to Polly for coming to talk to us, and we cannot wait to see her at our first focus group meeting!

Ellie