Out of small acorns mighty oak trees grow, so states the old english proverb.
This extends to a variety of things, not least investment management, where interest in breaking away and starting up on one's own is flourishing.
But the operating environment for smaller firms is challenging, in particular the vast amount of regulation, says Dani Hristova, who became chief executive officer of the Independent Investment Management Initiative in May 2023.
Talking to Simoney Kyriakou in this latest FT Adviser editor's podcast she says she feels encouraged by the present interest in starting up small firms, but explains why setting up a firm comes with its challenges.
"It's really encouraging that we're seeing more and more organisations joining the Iimi and benefitting from the work that we do," she says.
"There are still very high calibre fund managers who are looking to break away from larger firms and harness that entrepreneurial spirit to start up on their own."
She adds regulation has become increasingly complex in recent years and says it was often created with larger firms in mind, which have bigger budgets to deal with it. But smaller firms are having to adhere to it in the same way.
She says: "We in the UK benefit from an incredibly robust regulatory framework, which is something that we should celebrate in the UK and it is something which is indeed a selling point in the UK as well.
"But what it means is...particularly when it's a fund manager who has been very focused on the investment piece and doing what they do brilliantly, that doesn't work in isolation and you have to build a business around that in order to be successful.
"Relative to other markets, particularly in the US, there are different, more challenging capital requirements in setting up a business in the UK for example, and adhering to the behemoth of regulation, which has sort of been increasing in amount and complexity."
The Iimi was created to champion the interest of smaller entrepreneurial boutiques.
The organisation has three core pillars, which are to create an even regulatory playing field, ensuring that larger and smaller firms can can coexist, promote the strengths of boutiques and facilitate commercial opportunities, and to ensure best practice and the sharing of institutional knowledge.
Since she joined just over a year ago the organisation has reached 50 members, and these present a valuable resource for start ups on the pitfalls and challenges of running a business, particularly early on.
She explains there are many decisions to be taken in the beginning that have an impact on how the business will grow, such as the company structure, whether it's a partnership or a private limited company.
