When Aron Gelbard co-founded Bloom & Wild in 2013 with just £30,000 in savings, the online flower delivery market had no standout brands, inconsistent quality, and poor customer experience. Fast-forward to today and Bloom & Wild has delivered over 30 million flowers, raised £120M in funding, and pioneered the letterbox flower format that’s now industry-defining.

In this episode, Aron shares how customer feedback shaped the business from day one, the pivotal mistakes that became turning points, and why culture and values like “Care Wildly” have been critical to growth. We dive deep into early-stage challenges, international acquisitions, scaling operations across nine countries, and building a brand people genuinely love. If you’re serious about building a scale-up that balances innovation, customer obsession, and sustainable growth, this is an episode you’ll want to study.

Key Takeaways

• Why solving an emotional problem in a “broken” industry gave Bloom & Wild its competitive edge.
• How early mistakes with packaging taught vital lessons about iterative growth.
• The role of culture and values (“Care Wildly”, “Think Deeply, Act Swiftly”) in retaining top talent.
• Customer acquisition strategies that turned recipients into loyal customers.
• The challenges of international expansion during a pandemic and integrating acquisitions.
• Fundraising insights: why investors buy into a vision, not just risk mitigation.
• Expanding product lines beyond flowers to unlock new revenue streams.

🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday - so makes sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way.

🔥 Want to take things further? Join me in person this October at the Festival of Entrepreneurs on the 8–9th October at the NEC in Birmingham. The Festival of Entrepreneurs is where 5-10,000 ambitious founders come together to learn from the people who've actually done it. I'm giving my listeners free 2-day passes.

Real entrepreneurs, real stories, real strategies – exactly like what you're hearing right now, but live and in person. Go to www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and grab your free pass before they're gone.

 https://eventdata.uk/Visitor/FestivalOfEntrepreneurs2025.aspx?TrackingCode=ACHISNALL

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