Regarding himself first and foremost as an entrepreneur, Michele Appendino fell into Investing almost by accident. Working in consultancy in 1997, he and his partner saw an opportunity to explore first mover advantage and started buying shares in the Internet across Europe, and the rest, as they say, is history. Michele is a co-founder and Managing Director of Net Partners, a European venture capital firm focussed on financing private companies at all stages of development with offices in Brussels, London and Milan.

Q. What was your first investment?
Our first investment and our biggest success was a company called SelfTrade, which is based in France. They were the first online brokers in Europe to apply the flat fee concept in trade - like the e-trade model in the US.

Q. What are the best and worst things about being an investor?
I would say that the best thing is that you can be lucky! The worst thing would have to be that you can lose all your money and waste a lot of time.

Q. What type of company do you invest in?
I prefer to invest in companies, which have a lot of potential to grow. I like companies where the management are real entrepreneurs with whom I can have a good time developing the company together.

Q. How has your fund performed to date?
We have 3 funds. The first has made returns of several times the original investments, whilst the others are at too early a stage to say.

Q. What qualities do you look for in an entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur should have vision. They must combine creativity and rationality and be obsessed with detail. They must never forget that you need to work hard on the little things to implement the big picture.

Q. What would you do with you last £10,000?
If I only had £10,000 left, then I would definitely be a bit worried.

PERSONAL QUESTIONS

Q. What was your lucky break?
To meet Elena, my wife

Q. What's your motivation to work?
As an entrepreneur I would have to say that I don't see myself as "working", rather I believe in doing deals and creating things - developing funds, companies etc. I regard it as a personal achievement when I can see a company grow, and of course an added incentive occurs when there's an economic reward attached.

Q. What or who has been the biggest influence on your life?
My last year of high school in the US probably had the biggest influence on my life. While I was there during the 80s I saw a lot of entrepreneurial activity and decided that it was something that I'd like to do. My parents and my wife have also been very influential.

Q. What would you say is the most interesting part of your job?
My job means that I get to meet an enormous number of interesting people. In general I think entrepreneurs have a special spark that you don't always find in the corporate world. My job also gives me an opportunity to get closer to innovation, and to see early stage companies that will one day become very big.

Q. Where do you go and what do you do to relax?
To be honest, I don't think it's in my nature to ever fully relax, and I'm not sure that I need to. I love travelling and getting out of the city, spending time at home with my wife, and doing sports, when I can find the time.

Q. What do you feel has been your greatest personal achievement?
I would have to say that my greatest personal achievement has been starting this company and also being able to balance it with my personal life.

Q. Who would you most like to meet?
If I didn't already know her, I would be very keen to meet Julie Meyer.