A few years ago I was a broke, university dropout, living in a studio-flat in a rough area. At 18 I started a company which would eventually become "Social Chain" - an industry leading marketing company. At 26 the company was generating $600m a year in revenue. At 27 I resigned as CEO, and launched 'The Diary Of A CEO' podcast with the simple mission of un-filtering success and giving you the knowledge you need to create the life you want. Thank you for listening. IG: https://www.instagram.com/steven TW: https://twitter.com/StevenBartlett LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenbartlett-123
E157: Brewdog Founder: The Untold Story Of One Britain’s Fastest Growing Companies: James Watt
James Watt is the CEO and founder of Brewdog, the Scottish craft beer sensation that is now valued at $2 billion. A former sea captain, he’s had to navigate increasingly choppy waters at Brewdog.
But after a string of allegations rocked the company, ranging from personal impropriety to financial misconduct to marketing scams, James has had to start from scratch in Brewdog’s reputation, and on his own management style. For the first time, James walks us through his mistakes, what he denies, and what he defends.
Where does the line blur between a hard-driving start-up and a toxic culture. It’s a tricky balance many challenger companies have to contend with. James’ is a story where he sailed a little close to the wind, when the revelations dropped it looked like everything he built could slip away. Can he navigate Brewdog back to dry land? He tells us exclusively how he plans to.
Topics:
- Your early years
- Being a sea captain & what it taught you
- The start of Brewdog
- Your marketing principles
- Adjustments from being a fisherman to CEO of a global company
- Your leadership evolution
- Why don't you step down as CEO?
- Did you ever imagine you’d be here?
- Forgiving your mother for creating 'that voice?
- Punks with purpose letter
- Horrific interviewing techniques
- Why did you invest in Heineken?
- Autism
- Whats the silver lining here?
- Anxiety & therapy
- The future of Brewdog - sustainability
- Finance advice
- The last guests question
James:
https://www.instagram.com/brewdogjames/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/BrewDogJames?s=20&t=wXnTEyTvBKbmeTrXwFFrcg
Shows mentioned Good Ship BrewDog, BBC sounds - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0cfkklv?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
The Truth about BrewDog - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0013yfj
Books mentioned:
Ben Horowitz - amazon.co.uk/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
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