The CEO of Huel, James McMaster, invites us to their HQ in Hertfordshire for a fascinating chat about how the meal replacement company has grown from a garage to international success. We talk about the astonishing speed of growth in 6 years, that’s taken the company to a revenue run rate of $100,000. How did they do that? And did anything go wrong on the way?

James also tells us about his route to CEO, from being the kid that reads the business pages before the sports ones in the newspaper, to running a company – via several other careers in finance and the food industry.

Additional Material

“Master Chief” - Waze

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Is it possible to create a multi-million pound business without losing your ideals; even the ones you’ve held since childhood?

This is An Invitation to Meet... Saasha Celestial-One, co-founder of sharing app Olio. Originally a way for communities to share unwanted food, it’s now expanded to include much more.

Saasha tells us about the negotiations to raise $43 million dollars in round B funding last year, and how she “stalked” a Tesco boss to secure a deal helping the supermarket distribute surplus food.

And we chat about her early days growing up in Iowa with her “hippy entrepreneur” parents, who instilled in her the value of not letting things go to waste.

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Former Youtuber turned entrepreneur Caspar Lee joins the show to talk about his incredible career as one of the first-ever social media stars and his new job as co-founder of the Influencer marketing company.

Caspar turned his back on creating videos with tens of millions of views, including many featuring A-list Hollywood stars, to pursue a long-held passion to build a start-up with his business partner Ben Jefferies.

So how does someone who has made such a success of themselves doing one thing manage to transition to something else?

He gives advice for those who want to become the next big thing on TikTok, and for those who want to work with them on brand awareness campaigns.

And we talk about the pressures that being a Youtuber can bring to a young person, and what it’s like being “the grandfather of the internet” aged just 27.

Additional Material:

Joe & Caspar hit the Road: BBC Studios

Caspar Lee: Youtube

Wonder Park: Paramount Pictures & Nickelodeon

Influencer

Check out the Evening Standard’s Watercooler Event at Olympia London on May 25th and 26th. It’s a free to attend, two-day exhibition and conference on workplace wellbeing and the future of work. The event brings together the very latest thinking from over 100 experts, alongside actionable and tangible solutions, to holistically support health, mental health and wellbeing of employees across the UK and beyond.

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When Des Gunewardena teamed up with Sir Terence Conran to open up a restaurant in London, people told them they were “totally, totally stupid”. What does a “finance guy and a designer” know about the hospitality trade?

Today, the company that evolved from that partnership, D and D restaurants, operates more than 40 establishments in London, Paris and New York.

In this episode, Des tells us they set up a restaurant because Terence was fed up with France having better ones than Britain, and how they became so popular he read one woman had to change her own kitchen décor because someone said “it looked like a Conran restaurant, and she was very upset”.

He also reveals his top tips for business, including advice for people venturing into the restaurant trade following two years of turmoil thanks to the coronavirus pandemic... and what he thinks of the UK government’s support for hospitality. 

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How do you sell an idea that’s so innovative, a lot of people don’t understand it?

This is an “Invitation to Meet…” Holly Tucker MBE, who founded the Not on the High Street marketplace 16 years ago, when Amazon was still a bookseller and Etsy didn’t even exist.

Now running the Holly & Co small business advice company, she tells us how she used the power of story-telling to drum up finance and persuade the public to use her site when “people still didn’t like putting their credit card details into a shopping portal".

We also talk how “this is the age of the female entrepreneur,” even though women only receive around one percent of venture capital funding.

And we discuss how someone today can repeat her success of taking a business idea from the kitchen table to becoming a household brand.

Holly will be appearing at the Evening Standard’s SME EXPO event at Olympia London. You can get more details, and free tickets, here.

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What happens when you find yourself in a position of influence perhaps unimaginable from when you were young? This is an invitation to meet Peter Flavel, the CEO of Coutts – the Queen’s bank.

We’re going to talk about how a kid who grew up in Adelaide became the boss of one of the UK’s largest private banks, with an office looking down the Mall to Buckingham Palace.

Since taking the helm six years ago, he’s been behind a transformation of the bank that’s seen it join the B-Corp movement, which aims to promote “business for good” with conservation at its heart.

You can learn about what B-Corp status means, how to get it, and what opportunities there are for members.

We also talk about entrepreneurship, Cop26, and the responsibilities that those about to create considerable wealth have to their communities.

Peter will be speaking at the Evening Standard's SME EXPO at Olympia London. You can learn more about the free event, being held over two days on May 25th and 26th, here.

You can see the rest of the B-Corp Movement video here

"Spider-Man: No Way Home": Sony Pictures Releasing

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From the horse-drawn carriages of George IV, to the rise of the modern city, and through the work from home era, the Evening Standard’s been covering business in London for nearly 200 years. We’ve got the contacts book to prove it – and now we want to share it with you.

We’re giving you an invitation to meet some of the most influential and powerful people in this city, so they can give you the advice, and highlight the opportunities, to help your business grow. Start your week with us every Monday morning.

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