Exceptional

Profile: Farfetch
Farfetch.com sells
products from 300
luxury boutiques
around the world.
biggest risk is not to take risks at
all.” It’s a bold statement, but José
Neves stands by it. “In a world that
“The
is constantly changing, the biggest
risk is to stand still,” he says.
“Look back 30, 40, 50 years and it was the opposite,”
he continues. “If you had a cash cow, the attitude was:
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ You would protect that cash
cow, or make acquisitions and try to achieve a position in
the market that protected it. These days, it’s impossible
to think like that.”
round sealed Farfetch’s status as a unicorn — one of
an elite group of businesses founded since 2003 that
are now valued at over US$1b. Last year, the Financial
Times named Neves as one of its top 20 European
tech entrepreneurs.
Start small
It’s all a long way from Neves’ beginnings in Braga in
northern Portugal. Living in the heart of the country’s
clothing and fashion region, it made sense for the
young coder (grandson of a cobbler) to target his first
“The biggest risk is not to take risks at all.”
Keep innovating, keep changing, keep looking for
what’s next — it’s a mantra that has served Neves well.
The 41-year-old is CEO of Farfetch, the world’s leading
high-end fashion boutique website. On Farfetch.com,
brands such as Alexander Wang, Givenchy, Valentino
and Dolce & Gabbana sit alongside each other, making
it an essential destination for fashionistas.
The company employs more than 1,000 people in
its offices around the world, while a recent funding
software venture, Grey Matter, at local shoe and clothing
manufacturers. Then, not content with supporting the
fashion industry, he set about gatecrashing it. In 1994
he started a shoe design company called SWEAR, and in
1996 he opened a showroom and store in London.
Fast-forward to 2007, when Neves had the idea of
starting Farfetch. “It was clear that online fashion, and even
online luxury fashion, was going to be big,” he remembers.
“Sites like Net-a-Porter were already fantastic businesses.
36