Business Leader

How do you become a disruptor in your industry, and prove that with innovation you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with giants? We spent the afternoon with BrewDog founder James Watt to learn how he and co-founder martin dickie built one of the biggest beer brands in Britain. A proud risk taker, James talked us through the unconventional path he took towards becoming an entrepreneur, securing funding for his business, and his dynamic approach to marketing and publicity. Our biggest takeaways from James’ story were: 💥 Don’t be afraid to think big and take big risks 🕒 Blocking out time to find inspiration is essential for the leaders who want to stay a step ahead 👥 There’s an art to building the right team for your company – it can make or break company culture and getting it wrong can cost you more in the long-run Our Under the Bonnet sessions give members an inside look at the companies who’ve aced their scale-up journey and continue to take their businesses to new heights. We’re here to inspire business breakthrough for the often-forgotten mid-sized business owners, and insider events like these play a key role in achieving our mission. Thank you, James for spending the afternoon and sharing your expertise with us. And thank you to all our members who attended, we hope you found the session insightful and left feeling as inspired as we did! Andrew Moses Charles Purdy Daniel Dunn Divyesh Kamdar Henry Braithwaite Izmail Fayyaz Jemima Boroughs Joseph Valente Julie Chen Justin Green Kunal Thakker Liam Clancy Mark Neilson Richard North Rob Lowe Rosie Speight Scott Woodhead Simon Britten Simon Ings Tim Bloch Tim Harms Toby Burton

The latest edition of Business Matters is out.     In this edition:     💡 Business lessons distilled from bourbon  💡 Recovery vs hard work: What can elite sport teach us?     💡 The role of technology in reviving the UK economy  💡 Cheeky Panda CEO: ‘Wear your brand’ to stand out 

Introducing our Business Leader Summit speaker Euan Blair ⚡ Euan is the CEO and founder of Multiverse and will be hosting a breakout session where he’ll be discussing the key skills business leaders need when building their companies. Join us on 26 March 2025 for the Business Leader Summit, the conference for mid-sized business owners looking to scale-up. https://lnkd.in/e6tY6sci

This week we’re joined by Uncle Nearest, Inc. founder and CEO Fawn Weaver 🎧 Since 2017, Weaver has been building whisky brand Uncle Nearest, inspired by the first known African American master distiller, Nathan “Nearest” Green. He was a former slave who worked very closely with Jack Daniel. It’s a story that fascinated Weaver when she first learned about it in 2016, so much so that she relocated from Los Angeles to Tennessee with her husband to learn more about the Green family – and ultimately launch a new spirits brand. That brand hit annual revenues of $100m in 2022. She is something of a trailblazer herself, as a woman of colour leading a major spirits company. In this episode, Weaver discusses her business journey - from leaving home at age 15 in Los Angeles to the strategies that helped her create a successful challenger brand, in an industry notoriously difficult to break into. Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eNeS44xX

Why are US CEOs nearly twice as likely to grow their businesses than UK CEOs? We believe that conversation and community is key. Todays’ Growth Workshop was another brilliant session, reminding us exactly why we do what we do. Thank you to everyone who attended and to our host Richard Harpin. John Darling Matthew Duhig Nick Gianfreda Anthony Koumi Christopher Mills Craig Peterson Steve Pratt Adam Prosser Steve White-Cooper Andy Boyd Leon Cook Richard’s 8 Secrets to building a £billion business are the perfect starting point for conversation for CEO’s and founders looking to take their businesses to the next level. It’s not always easy to see where you might be going wrong with your business, and having a blueprint written by an entrepreneur who’s been there and successfully scaled up can be the missing link between your business and exponential growth. In these workshops we discuss: 💷 How to get the right investment for your business 👥 Hire your replacement, so you can work ON the business instead of IN it 🚀 The importance of mentorship for ambitious, growth-minded leaders Are you ready to scale up? Join us at our next Growth Workshop: https://lnkd.in/ee87wbgA

It turns out that writing a monthly column for Business Leader is a really rewarding process for lots of reasons. Not least the feedback I have been getting from readers telling me the insights, tools and mantras they have found particularly helpful. This month's column is on something that is so relevant at the moment bearing in mind the pace at which everyone is working - the role of recovery time in your schedule. As ever, some brilliant lessons from sport, including athletes such as Lizzie Simmonds OLY and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill https://lnkd.in/eBgT5M_3

We are living through challenging times and there is a lot for our clients to process, whether they are investors or active entrepreneurs. The business leaders in this list have demonstrated an ability to navigate testing times and continual changes to build impressive and lasting legacies. Great to read the stories of these successful UK entrepreneurs.

Meet Business Leader Julie Chen ⚡ This week we're joined by the The Cheeky Panda | Certified B Corp founder and CEO for the latest episode of My CEO Secret. Richard Branson famously advised business owners to "Wear [their] brand", especially in the early days. Chen and her husband have taken this advice literally and make sure to wear their Cheeky Panda hats wherever they go. Leaning into this unique element of their branding, enables them to attract more attention for their business at the trade shows and networking events they attend. Cheeky Panda has grown from a small company relying solely on crowdfunding, to a thriving medium-sized business with products now sold in 12 countries and an annual turnover exceeding £12million. We're proud to have you as a member, Julie. Join us as we explore the secrets that grow mid-sized businesses. The full series is available to watch on our YouTube channel. 📽 Dougal Shaw

How do you unlock business growth? 🔑 Our weekly Growth Workshops are the first step in changing the business culture in the UK – encouraging the free flow of information between leaders and creating the support network that will help mid-sized businesses thrive. Thank you to our host Richard Harpin and our attendees this week. Your openness to sharing your stories and expertise is what makes these sessions so special. James Henry Bagley Ning Cheah Alexandra Fogal Melanie Hird Philip Jepson John Kearon Mike Llewellyn FCILT Felix Meller Tim Murray-Brown Rosie Speight Nicko Williamson Robert Wingrave Natalie Yaffe Maxime Leufroy-Murat If you’re a mid-sized business owner who’s ready to scale up, we want to hear from you. Join us at our next Growth Workshop: https://lnkd.in/ee87wbgA

This week, we’re joined by Alexandra Depledge, MBE on the Business Leader podcast 🎧 Alex Depledge and Jules Coleman sold their first business Hassle.com for nearly £30m. But instead of taking the opportunity to take a step back and enjoy life, they went again and launched a second start-up - Resi. So, what is it like building a business for the second time? What is different? And why do it all again? Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eNeS44xX