People Doing Things

Cheers to Fabian and Rohan. They run Quarter, a light gin with quarter the alcohol and quarter the calories. The pair are tapping into the massive boom for no & low alcohol alternatives, driven by people looking to reduce their alcohol consumption and make better choices. Quarter provides the perfect refreshment without compromise. Why have one when you can have four? Not only is the product delightful but the brand ticks all the boxes. It's a masterclass in how to launch a brand. From an iconic and memorable name and new category creation to beautiful eye-catching design and top draw photography. No surprise that Fabian and Rohan hail from the brand world. With Fabian doing a spell at Design Bridge before moving into the restaurant world. And Rohan running Reggie, his own brand consultancy, after also spending time at a number of agencies. However, despite us in the brand world thinking brand is everything. Tapping ourselves on the back. It's not. It's only one part of a much bigger puzzle. There's production, innovation, distribution, investors, sales and growth all to get your head around. And while there is a growing tendency for agency folk to ditch the services industry and turn their hand to running their own brands - it's not always as easy as they first imagine. In this episode we get the low-down on Quarter and find out how it's really going behind the gloss of Instagram and a shiny website. Tune in to find out.

Say hello to Neil Tanna. He runs Howbout, a socialising app, on a mission to change the way people get together no matter whether it's a beer, holiday or a zoom get-together. Since they started they've made some serious headway raising over 650k, being used in over 40 countries and helping organise over 40,000 events every week. Their aim is to make organising getting together easier, taking the hassle out of painful WhatsApp groups, multiple social calendars, endless locations and outdated facebook groups. But the big question is, how do you get people stuck in their ways to actually download and start using the app. Not to mention all their friends. In this episode, we talk tackling behaviour change on a big consumer level, why Neil decided to up sticks and leave the legal world and what it takes to succeed as a social app when we already feel over apped. Not one to be missed.

Say hello to Nicole Compen. She runs Raye The Store, a travelling grocery store shining a spotlight on some of the most innovative, up and coming new food, drink and wellness brands. Raye's current pop-up on the King's Road features &SODA, KYOOT, SOLO, MOTH as well as friends like THIS!, QUBA, NUISANCE and many many more. The carefully curated line up ranges from Kombuchas and fermented hot sauces to adaptogenic nut butters, mushroom beers, designer olive oil, CBD infusions and next gen sustainable supplements. 90% of which are UK brands. So in this question we ask what are the key trends driving the rise in pop up grocers, both here in the UK and in the states? In this episode, we speak to Nicole about what the hottest trends in FMCG are right now, the human behaviours that are driving them as well as what excites her most about where Raye The Store could go in the future. Enjoy.

Introducing Kaew (Kay) Suppamas on the show today. She runs Leafage, a terrarium company on a mission to inspire inner growth by nurturing through nature. Think Patch Plants meets Headspace, selling DIY terrarium kits and doing team building workshops with the likes of Facebook, Slack, Nike & ASOS. The brand was born in 2017, a year after the tragic loss of her father, where Kaew realised the importance of putting your wellbeing first. This was channelled through her love of plants into terrarium design and has evolved over time from a personal project to a passion project into a fully operational business. To date Kaew has sold over 1000 terrarium kits, has conducted over 500 workshops and now leads a team of 7 looking to grow and expand in the future. Now we've all seen a massive renewal in home pride (especially over lockdown) with house plant sales growing exponentially but... could terrariums become the next big thing for urban dwellers, limited for space, looking to make their homes more homely. In this episode we discuss dealing with trauma, turning a personal project into a business and how terrariums make the perfect gateway home plant.

Introducing Barry Darnell for this special mentor edition. He runs one of my favourite studios, Analogue. He also runs one of my favourite drinks brands &Soda. The studio started very humbly back in 2006 doing posters in Leeds for bars and record labels. Since then they've grown to work with the likes of Nickelodeon, MTV, Universal Records, Portobello Road Gin, Netflix and Coca Cola, always bringing their own attitude, non-conformity and playful charm to the table. More recently they've helped create some of my favourite new brands: the psychedelically moorish Eat My Cookies, the shimmeringly stylish Unicorn Tears gin and the iconic vodka & soda brand &SODA - which they own themselves. What I love about Analogue is that they bring this almost childish energy to all their work. This allows them to flex from projects like Barbie to hard seltzers, Star Wars to Gen Z beauty. If I were starting a brand, they'd 100% be one of the agencies I'd speak to first. In this episode we talk about their journey so far, their approach to creativity and how they are taking on the hard seltzer market with their very own &SODA. Enjoy.

Say hello to Hugo Tilmouth, co-founder of The Up, on a mission to upgrade every hospitality experience. Now you might not have heard of The Up, but I bet you've most likely used one of their products. Ever run out of battery in a pub or restaurant? That's Charged Up - their mobile charging power banks, allowing you to charge up on the go. Ever used the sanitisers on public transport? That's Cleaned Up - their mobile sanitiser stations, allowing you to clean up on the go. Ever used an app in a pub or restaurant to order drinks? Well that might very well be their new app Served Up, to help get you served up while out and about. And while they are not a direct-to-consumer brand, what I really like about The Up is their DTC approach to B2B - partnering and innovating to create the best experience for the customer. Now while Hugo is self-employed his CV boasts an impressive array of accolades. A BA in Engineering. A masters in renewable energy. Made £1mn in a week at the start of the pandemic and was recently on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list. His company isn't doing bad either. They won grants from Shell's LiveWire & 02 Think big. And raised £3.5mn from Jon Hegerty's 'The Garage' as well as Jam Jar and Founder's Factory. They're now stocked in 35,000+ venues across Europe with big brands like Brewdog, Pizza Express and WeWork cheering them on. Not bad for 4 years in business aged 25. In this episode we talk about their modern approach to B2B, the journey so far and about the beauty of 'bashing down walls'.

Say hey to Noor, founder of Kyoot - a super fun, super sustainably all organic, gluten-free, vegan chocolate brand. So Noor is pretty cool. She's a former chemical engineer with a lifelong chocolate obsession turned chocolate founder. Putting her skills in the lab to work in the kitchen. But it doesn't stop there she has a mad colourful style that comes to life through her brand. It's super energetic, whacky and a little bit hippy. A bit like her flavours - my personal favourite is the Vanilla Quinoa Pops. Well worth a try for the choccy curious. In this episode we talk about her obsession with chocolate, how she's applying her craft and what it's like getting started. Enjoy.

Say hi to Hector Hughes. He co-founded Unplugged back in 2019, on a mission to get people off their phones, spending more time in nature. They're building a network of off-grid cabins and offline experiences across Europe. Their journey is underpinned by the belief that our constant screen time is putting a heavy cost on our productivity and wellbeing with traditional remedies like silent retreats being inaccessible and modern solutions like Headspace or Calm keeping us evermore dependent on our devices. Enter Unplugged. You book your escape. Lock your phone away. Unplug and recharge. It couldn't be more timely. At the moment they are currently raising 300k in a strategic Angel round to help them build the next 5 cabins. Looking to fundraise another 1 million later this year. And it doesn't stop there. The pair have big ambitions looking to build 1000 cabins over the next 8 years across the UK and Europe. Personally, I think the world needs more businesses like this and founders like Hector. Businesses with soul. Leaders with compassion. If you follow Hector you would have read his insightful newsletters or seen his self-aware Linkedin posts - '10 ways I fucked up fundraising'. There is a new wave of entrepreneurship rising and I believe Hector is part of that wave. In this episode we talk about the need to switch off in today's world, the rise of staycations and where he thinks the world is moving.

Introducing Anthony Rose. He founded Seed Legals back in 2016 - the world's first legal automation platform for startup funding. They help founders start, raise and grow their business by providing them with all the legals they need to get going. They are now the largest closer of funding rounds in the UK, having helped launch over 20,000 UK startups to market.

After having started, sold and invested in a number of businesses in his early career, Anthony got tired of the slow, arduous and expensive legal processes around starting a business. He wanted to use his knowledge and tech expertise to transform the experience and pioneer a new category: law tech. And what a time to be leading this new category. New businesses are rising at an exponential rate. In 2020, 835,000 new businesses were registered. A record £663 million was raised in start-up funding and we had some pretty amazing IPOs lately - OATLY, AIRBNB, and DELIVEROO to name a few. In this episode we have lots of tips and tricks for young founders looking to raise money. Well worth a listen. Enjoy.

Meet Will cofounder of L'Estrange London. What started out as a passion project to reimagine the humble hoodie has transformed into redefining modern menswear with their unique clothing system rooted in versatility.

Originally stocked in the likes of Saks Fifth Avenue, Collette and Isetan in Japan, the pair crowdfunded £370k allowing them to drop out of traditional retail and go direct-to-consumer, moving beyond the hoodie into shirts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, trousers and quilts. Experimenting with pop-ups both in Soho and central London, this quickly led to them launching their own stores. One in Covent Garden and now in Notting Hill. However, while L'Estrange are taking on the men's wardrobe I don't like to think of them as a fashion brand. They are more of an ideology. Their mantra 'with less do more' allows them to tap into wider conversations around essentialism, sustainability and style, flexing into multiple dialogues and appealing to a growing mindset many modern consumers now share. In this episode we talk about their journey so far, where they are going and the importance of building a brand around an idea, not just a product. Enjoy.