Natalie Massenet started as a fashion editor at Women's Wear Daily, later moving to Tatler. Not the most obvious start for a career in e-commerce, but in 2000 she founded Net-a-Porter, the online boutique that sells haute couture to style-conscious but time-poor fashionistas.

Defying the Jeremiahs who said fashion online would never fly, the company now operates across Europe, North America, and the Middle and Far East. It employs more than 460 people in its offices in London and New York. Net-a-Porter sells hip designer labels, including Miu Miu, Chloe and Marc Jacobs, and boasts same-day delivery to addresses in Manhattan and London. In 2008-09, profits at the London-based business more than tripled to over £10m on £81.5m sales.

Net-a-Porter is one of Britain's fastest- growing companies, and Massenet has had offers worth many millions for the business. But she has not yet been tempted to accept any of them, having found herself a perfect niche in the cut-throat world of fashion.