Six years ago, when Natalie Massenet was trying to raise money for her internet start-up, Net-a-Porter, a luxury online fashion boutique, no one was interested. "This was when people were throwing millions of pounds at almost any web company, but they heard 'women' and 'fashion' and 'internet' and said it didn't compute," says Ms Massenet.

By forging ahead, however, Net-a-Porter now has every other brand in the luxury world playing catch-up.