January 08, 2025

"Picking the right founders is an art, not a science." - Darrel Connell, Managing Partner from IMBIBA

50 minutes

From Doubt to Drive – Entrepreneurs Only

Today, we have Darrel Connell with us, a trusted investor in our industry and Managing Partner at IMBIBA, a private equity fund specializing in the UK leisure sector. With over 25 years in the market, IMBIBA employs 14 investment specialists and manages €140 million, focusing primarily on F&B businesses such as Farmer J (www.farmerj.com) and Pizza Pilgrims (link to our podcast: https://t.ly/mznW8). Notably, IMBIBA is certified B-Corp.

Darrel discusses with us what makes a good investment: strong cash flow management, a high-quality team around the founder, proven consumer acceptance, and a solid property strategy—especially for emerging concepts. IMBIBA’s role is to support founders and their teams in areas where they might have weaknesses and to provide access to experienced management within the fund.

Darrel is the fourth investor featured on our show, alongside Henry McGovern (McWin) (https://shorturl.at/gClLc), Robin Rowland (TriSpan, https://t.ly/CkRdW), and Mats Lederhausen (https://t.ly/2WCga)

This highlights how critical funding and selecting the right financial partner are. We’ve also welcomed many entrepreneurs who have partnered with these private equity firms and shared their experiences, such as Victor Lugger, Laura Harper-Hinton, Alberto Cartasegna, and Thom Elliot and many more.

Mario, is also co-founder of White Space Partners, recently published a White Paper on “More than Money” (download here: https://tinyurl.com/WSP-2025-whitepaper ).

Back to the show, where Darrel dives into how to select the right concept within a crowded segment, such as pizza, and why IMBIBA chose to invest in Pizza Pilgrims. We also explore how IMBIBA balances providing operational support with giving entrepreneurs the freedom to make their own mistakes. Finally, we take a deep dive into the “brutal last five years” and the lessons learned.

Our Key Takeaways from an Industry Investor:

Look out for authenticity in your investments.

Get the property strategy right.

Don’t interfere in day-to-day operations.

Align with the founder’s strategy, not the investor’s strategy.

Be open about what a liquidity event means for the founders.

Resilience and adaptability of the team are key.

The restaurant industry is littered with “car crashes” of concepts growing too fast.

Picking the right founders is an art, not a science.

Money is always best spent on opening new stores and building out the team.

Insist on having a good CFO.

Investments need to be sustainable and scalable.

Allow the entrepreneur to fail—it’s part of the journey.

There are mistakes, and then there are MISTAKES.

Protecting cash during difficult times defines a great entrepreneur.

The mental health of the entrepreneur is crucial.

Motivate them to have a coach.

Encourage them to take holidays and go offline.

Entrepreneurs are humans with human problems.

Make it your default to help.

Too many people in the graveyard thought they were irreplaceable.

Mario frequently references the From Doubt to Drive White Paper, a summary of the first 30 podcasts featuring key learnings for entrepreneurs and leaders. You can download it here: https://shorturl.at/2REEy

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Recorded on 12th November 2024 via Zoom in London, UK (Darrel Connell) – Steelhouse, Netherlands (Mario C. Bauer) – Hamburg, Germany (Florian Schneider).

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By Mario C. Bauer, Florian Schneider, Axel Weber & Dr. Tillman Bardt

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