Chloe Macintosh, 41, co-founder and creative director of Made.com

“If an opportunity comes up and you are not sure about whether you can complete the task, say yes, convince your boss that you are the right person for it, and then work it out as you go along. There is great value in being challenged outside of ones comfort zone and my experience is that the best outcomes come out of doing things you had to work out along the way. I have learned that i am my most productive, creative and efficient when pushed in an area where I have to think outside of what I know.

“Also, experts don't always know best. Having an impact often comes with having to make changes to the way things work, especially in the internet sector where being a contrarian may be one of the key to success. The experts from an industry will always tell you that your new idea cannot work, they are constraint by what they know and this stops them seeing the possibilities for changes.

“When we started Made.com, we met many experts across the various areas of the business, logistic, supply chain, warehouses, and also marketing agencies and designers, manufacturers. All of them said to us that Made.com will not work. People will not buy a sofa online without trying it, and from a brand they don't know and trust, and they will not wait three months for it to be delivered.

Britain’s most successful women on the career advice they wish they had aged 20