The Entrepreneurs

‘Eureka’ is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by Daniel Giacopelli and the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’. This week we hear the story of Cynthia Corbett, who began her career as an international economist working on debt conversion plans for Sub Saharan Africa in the 1980s. With a young daughter the constant travel put a strain on her family life so she quit her job and retrained as an art historian, eventually opening a gallery in her house. She shares lessons learned.

Velocity is an app that offers a curated selection of the world’s best dining experiences, picked by local insiders. The all-in-one platform is aimed at the jet-set crowd and lets users discover, reserve and pay for meals around the world. Co-founder Alex Macdonald shares the company’s story and vision. Meanwhile, former journalist Amanda Thomson moved to Paris to study the wine industry. Raised as a vegetarian and on a no-sugar diet, she now makes no-sugar sparkling wines and champagnes under her brand Thomson & Scott. She explains how she did it.

This week we hear the story of restaurateur Kurt Zdesar. Australian-born Kurt kicked off his culinary career with stints at McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken but was soon overseeing Nobu’s first European location in London, which received a Michelin star within 10 months. He’s brought all-day dim sum to London with his popular Ping Pong brand, launched Black Roe in Mayfair, his restaurant Chotto Matte is going international and he’s just opened a new Italian joint Fucina. Kurt shares his inspiration.

Hirofumi Kurino from United Arrows and Simone Cipriani from the Ethical Fashion Initiative discuss the creative partnership that led them to hitch a ride to Ethiopia. Then the CEO of Oliver Peoples explains why the US eyewear brand is making moves in Europe. And Palida Boonyarungsrit reveals how she’s leveraging her family’s multigenerational history of craft in Thailand to create her very own business.

Presented by Monocle’s Daniel Giacopelli, ‘Eureka’ is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’. This week we hear the story of Jane Porter, founder of bespoke uniform design company Studio 104. For better or worse, first impressions count and in hospitality a quality uniform for a concierge or maître d is worth its weight in gold. So why are many uniforms so unappealing? Jane Porter had the same question, so she quit her job as a fashion buyer and did something about it.

In an age of digital distraction and constant interruption one company is taking a stand for minimalism through good design. Punkt. is a Swiss brand that creates products to simplify our frenetic lives. Their latest creation is a mobile phone that does just two things: make calls and send texts. But is this minimalism for the sake of minimalism or is Punkt. on to something deeper? We meet Petter Neby, the company’s CEO and founder to find out.

Presented by Monocle’s Daniel Giacopelli, ‘Eureka' is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by the team behind 'The Entrepreneurs’. If you’re a parent of a certain age you’re likely to know stylish baby-stroller brand Bugaboo. Designer Max Barenbrug was a student in Amsterdam in the mid-1990s when he formed the idea for the company. Bugaboo has since become a design icon and kickstarted a revolution in mobility products. Barenbrug explains how he spotted the opportunity and what happened next.

Not long ago Texas-born Mickey Ashmore was a 20-something finance graduate working for Microsoft. Now he’s affectionately known as the Sabah Dealer, the founder of a hugely popular and fast-growing brand that sells slip-on shoes based on an old-school Turkish design. Ashmore shares his tale. Meanwhile, we meet Simon Talling-Smith, the man overseeing the European launch of a disruptive airline called SurfAir. Think of it as the Netflix of the skies: pay a flat monthly fee and you can fly as much as you like. But will the business model take off?

Presented by Monocle’s Daniel Giacopelli, ‘Eureka' is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by the team behind 'The Entrepreneurs’. Tom Donald is an Australian composer and concert pianist whose work has been featured in award-winning films. He’s also the founder of the London Contemporary School of Piano. Tom tells us how he turned his passion for pianos into a business.

We visit God’s Own Junkyard, a family business in a quiet neighbourhood in London that has perfected the art of making signs. We also meet an Australian entrepreneur who set off for gelato school in Italy and returned to Melbourne with a delicious company: Pidapipó Gelateria. Plus: former airline pilot Roland Wehrle talks healthy food and building his company Not Guilty.