Bulletproof Entrepreneur

S02E08 James Watt - Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog: Resilience and Vision - The incredible stories behind a billion dollar business.

April 06, 2023 Alan Smith Season 2 Episode 8
S02E08 James Watt - Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog: Resilience and Vision - The incredible stories behind a billion dollar business.
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Bulletproof Entrepreneur
S02E08 James Watt - Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog: Resilience and Vision - The incredible stories behind a billion dollar business.
Apr 06, 2023 Season 2 Episode 8
Alan Smith

Send us a Text Message.

To celebrate the landmark 25th episode of the podcast, I was delighted to be able to speak with the Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog, James Watt.

BrewDog is valued at over $1,500,000,000 and is one of the UK’s leading Unicorn companies... However, it’s been far from a smooth ride.

Having decided that a career as a lawyer ‘in a cheap suit doing glorified admin’ wasn't for him, he spent several years working on a North Atlantic fishing boat and that’s where a lot of his business resilience came from.

We discussed many areas of business but these stood out:

  • Marketing; He shares some incredible stories about the crazy stunts that BrewDog created to gain publicity. Some were wildly successful and some less so - but they all got tons of attention for the brand.


  • The value of constraints: He tells the story of their pitch to the TV show Dragon’s Den and what happened next. It’s a masterclass in creativity and how to use constraints to your advantage.


  • A powerful vision: James is crystal clear about his values and that of the company, the team and the community that they’ve created. And he doesn't hold back on defining the vision - total world domination!


James is a world-class storyteller, a rebel, a leader and undoubtedly a Bulletproof Entrepreneur.

You are going to love this conversation- ladies and gentlemen I give you Mr. James Watt. 

Links:

https://www.brewdog.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-watt-21a5a912b/?originalSubdomain=uk

James Watt - BrewDog CEO - YouTube

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers


This podcast is produced by GR Media
Sponsored by Capital Asset Management

Show Notes

Send us a Text Message.

To celebrate the landmark 25th episode of the podcast, I was delighted to be able to speak with the Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog, James Watt.

BrewDog is valued at over $1,500,000,000 and is one of the UK’s leading Unicorn companies... However, it’s been far from a smooth ride.

Having decided that a career as a lawyer ‘in a cheap suit doing glorified admin’ wasn't for him, he spent several years working on a North Atlantic fishing boat and that’s where a lot of his business resilience came from.

We discussed many areas of business but these stood out:

  • Marketing; He shares some incredible stories about the crazy stunts that BrewDog created to gain publicity. Some were wildly successful and some less so - but they all got tons of attention for the brand.


  • The value of constraints: He tells the story of their pitch to the TV show Dragon’s Den and what happened next. It’s a masterclass in creativity and how to use constraints to your advantage.


  • A powerful vision: James is crystal clear about his values and that of the company, the team and the community that they’ve created. And he doesn't hold back on defining the vision - total world domination!


James is a world-class storyteller, a rebel, a leader and undoubtedly a Bulletproof Entrepreneur.

You are going to love this conversation- ladies and gentlemen I give you Mr. James Watt. 

Links:

https://www.brewdog.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-watt-21a5a912b/?originalSubdomain=uk

James Watt - BrewDog CEO - YouTube

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers


This podcast is produced by GR Media
Sponsored by Capital Asset Management