Sound Advice: Entrepreneurs Unfiltered
As a small business owner, you'll have a million different questions. The award-winning Sound Advice podcast is the place to go for answers. In Season 1, we talked about how to make your business financially successful—in year 1 and beyond. Writing a business plan that works, finding your first customer, starting up with zero capital, and being tax compliant—you name it, we covered it. For Season 2, we dug even deeper into what it’s really like to run a business, with unfiltered advice and real, human stories from successful founders and CEOs. The wait is over: Season 3 Entrepreneurs Unfiltered, now explores business from the perspective of startup superstars, from British fashion, PR, and human rights guru Lynne Franks’ experience growing London Fashion Week from scratch to Christopher Money, founder of Kith and Kin, on having the guts to start a business with a Spice Girl. Season 3 is jam-packed with essential tips, stories, and ways to build a business from the ground up. With a little help from your host and esteemed finance journalist, Bex Burn-Callander, get a everything you need to build your own business future one episode at a time.
Sound Advice: Entrepreneurs Unfiltered
Phil Pinder: I turned down £200k and built a spellbinding brand
In a world where magic and adventure come to life, Harry Potter fans have cast a spell of their own, creating a wave of business opportunities and immense growth.
Phil Pinder and Ben Fry found a way to capture this enthusiasm for all things wizardry and created their first business, The Potions Cauldron—a place where fans can immerse themselves in the universe and enjoy an enchanting brew or 2!
In June 2023, with a vision to scale, they took their business to Dragon’s Den and after being offered quite possibly the largest sum to date of £200,000, they simply refused to part with a third of their company and had no choice but to turn down Peter Jones himself.
But since then, they’ve been busier than ever, opening wizarding golf franchises and shops across the UK. Their mystical drinks are now stocked in Hamleys, HMV, and Center Parcs, and they've landed a deal that will help them to produce a million bottles per year.
So, the real question is, how did they do it? And how did they fund their expansion and confidently find their footing without the backing and mentorship of a Dragon? In this episode of Sound Advice, Phil tells us how they took this idea and turned it into a magical destination business.