James Watt, the co-founder of Scotland’s largest independent brewery, BrewDog, yesterday launched his first book, Business For Punks, at BrewDog’s new Soho Bar in London’s Poland Street.
The book is intended to inspire entrepreneurs and to challenge traditional business ‘rules’, and James lays out the foundations for starting, growing and ‘kicking ass’ at whatever venture they set their minds on.
It’s clear that elements of the book – for example, ‘Networking is for fools’… – will upset conventional thinking and practice. On the other hand, who can argue with the success of BrewDog? H&C News has already read enough of the book to know that it’s very ‘readable’ – no management jargon to fight through here – and that the challenges it throws at readers are worth attention. Unshakeable self-belief is not for everyone, but is inherent in most (perhaps all?) entrepreneurs.
Practice radical and steadfast self-belief
Business For Punks documents the philosophy behind BrewDog’s success, charting James’ journey from a law and economics graduate, through his years as a sea captain to being at the helm of the UK’s fastest growing food and drinks brand. In just eight years, BrewDog has grown from an outfit of two guys and a dog to employing over 500 people across ten countries and four continents.
Citing the rough seas of the North Atlantic as instrumental in developing his approach to business, James Watt exhorts budding entrepreneurs to practice radical and steadfast self-belief in their pursuit of success. ‘Be a selfish bastard and ignore advice’, ‘Don’t start a business, start a crusade’ and ‘Networking is for fools’, are just a few of the mantras James encourages readers to follow.
Business For Punks tackles every issue aspiring entrepreneurs will face, from managing cash flow, marketing, developing a sustainable brand and the pointlessness of a ‘business plan’. Using examples from BrewDog’s own story, the book lays out the foundations for success on one’s own terms.
Inadvertently creating a whole new approach to business
James Watt commented
“I’ve often been asked if there’s a method to our madness, and through writing this book I’ve discovered there is rather a madness to our method. We set off to revolutionise the beer industry and quickly realised that the task was impossible through conformity and compliance. We are where we are today because of an unshakeable belief in ourselves, our mission and our beer.
“We didn’t know how things were meant to be done, so we just did things our own way, inadvertently creating a whole new approach to business. Our approach is not only applicable to the craft beer movement – we want to empower entrepreneurs in all fields to reject the tired ‘rules’ of business and be driven by passion. We’ve successfully led the craft beer revolution, now it’s time to lead the business revolution.”
With the table of contents styled as the ingredients for a business revolution, Business For Punks is intended as a blueprint for the 21st century entrepreneur.
BrewDog’s phenomenal growth is in part funded by its crowdfunding scheme, Equity for Punks, which launched its fourth round in April this year.
Business for Punks is published by Portfolio Penguin.
You can buy Business for Punks here!