The Gentleman‘s Journal Podcast

The unstoppable Paul Smith

Paul Smith is one of the most successful mens’ fashion designers in the world, and a titan of British industry. After a bike crash as a teenager, Paul's rise in the world of fashion was slow and steady but ultimately unstoppable. From a tiny shop in Nottingham, Paul now operates over 300 stores worldwide, and still oversees every single area of the business himself.

In today's episode, Paul tells us about his Bespoke by Appointment service; why the most dangerous thing you can do is follow trends; and what to do if you ever receive a live pigeon in the post.

The 25-Year-Old CEO – Ross Bailey

Our guest on today's podcast is Ross Bailey, the founder and CEO of Appear Here. 

Ross left school at 16, and soon found that his infectious enthusiasm lent itself perfectly to the world of business. His first true entrepreneurial venture, founded when he was just 19, is the one that he still heads up today. Appear Here is now the world’s largest online marketplace for short-term retail spaces – a kind of Air BnB for commercial property. A major driving force in the pop-up sector, the company works with thousands of established brands and fledgling businesses every year, and has just overseen a very successful expansion to Paris and the US.

Today, Ross tells us how a Jubilee-themed party accidentally kicked off the entire business, what it’s like to be a CEO of a multinational company at the age of 25, and why he never wants to hear about another clean-eating start up ever again.

Our thanks once again to Mark's Club for playing hosts.

Print is dead, long live print – Nicholas Coleridge

Our guest this afternoon is Nicholas Coleridge, the Chairman of both Condé Nast and the Victoria & Albert Museum. For many years, Nicholas has been the figurehead of the international magazine industry, acting as both an adoring cheerleader and a hardnosed innnovator.

As a former editor of several high-profile titles, and the departing managing director of one of the world's most influential publishers, Nicholas knows the industry from cover to cover – and might just be able to predict the next installment in its turbulent modern history.

In today’s episode, Nicholas discusses his greatest journalistic scoops and stunts; what not to do if you want a job at Condé Nast; and why magazines are best enjoyed in the bath.

Our thanks to Mark's Club for their hospitality.

 

Time is Money – Wilhelm Schmid

In this week's episode, we talk to Wilhelm Schmid, the CEO of German watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne.

Though Wilhelm’s background is in the automobile industry, he has, since a very young age, been obsessed with watches. He’s in the right place, then – based in the famous watchmaking town of Glashütte in Germany, A. Lange & Söhne is perhaps one of the most celebrated and venerated watch brands in the world.

Today, the CEO tells us how a watch can possibly cost 2 million euros, why smart watches are doomed by their very nature to fail, and why gentlemen are still so in thrall to measuring time.

Our thanks, once again, to Mark's Club for playing hosts.

Vogue Traders – David Gandy and Terry Betts

David Gandy is the most successful British model of his generation, a fashion entrepreneur in his own right, and an investor in several menswear start ups. He's joined today on the show by Terry Betts, the former Buying Director at Selfridges and now the head of business development at Thread, the revolutionary online stylist. 

In today's episode, these kingpins of the fashion industry tell us why menswear has exploded in the past decade, how the rise of influencers could be a dangerous thing, and why we may all soon be getting our clothes delivered from a blimp. 

Look at the mountaintop, not at the mountain – Geoffrey Kent

Geoffrey Kent is the founder, chairman and CEO of Abercrombie & Kent, the world's first ever luxury travel company and still the industry's gold standard.

In this week’s episode, the travel tycoon tells us how he convinced the richest man in the world to become one of his first customers; why most entrepreneurs fall at the first hurdle; and how an incident with a tailored shirt changed his outlook on life forever.

Our thanks to Mark's Club for playing hosts.

The Future of Wealth – Alex Scott, Charles Hambro, and Piers Hedley

Getting rich is easy. It's staying rich that's the hard part. Today, we speak to three titans of the wealth management industry – Alex Scott, Charles Hambro, and Piers Hedley – and discover just how much this ancient game has changed in recent years.

From the fallout of the financial crisis, to the rise of millennial billionaires and the advent of investment algorithms, today's guests give us an unprecedented insight into wealth management’s inner workings, its future, and the strategies that will help secure it.

Along the way, Alex, Charles and Piers tell us how they can instantly tell a good entrepreneur from a bad one, how the wealthy make their own luck, and how everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.    

Becoming a green energy mogul – Arthur Kay

Arthur Kay is the founder and CEO of Bio-Bean, an award winning clean energy company that recycles old coffee grounds into advanced bio-fuels. Arthur chanced upon the beautifully simple idea while he was studying for a degree in architecture, and kicked off the company just a few days after he graduated. Very soon, he had raised several million pounds in private funding and built an expert team with decades of combined experience in the energy industry. Today, the waste from one in ten of the UK's cups of coffee goes through Bio-Bean's factory. 

In this episode, Arthur tells us how ideas mean nothing without execution, about the danger of being labelled a “green” entrepeneur, and how he hopes to hack the world’s major cities, one problem at a time.

A passport to the high life – Aaron Simpson

Aaron Simpson is the founder and chairman of Quintessentially, the world’s most famous luxury concierge company. Founded with university friends Ben Elliot and Paul Drummond in the late nineties, Quintessentially has become the gatekeeper of the good life, offering its clients unprecedented access to just about anything. Today, the company has over 3,500 employees, offices in 60 cities around the world, and big, big plans.

In this episode, Aaron tells us about his project to build the world’s biggest superyacht, the changing spending habits of the mega rich, and his secret plans to create the world’s most ambitious immersive experience.  

Our thanks to Mark's Club for playing hosts.

Cause trouble – Henry Porter

Henry Porter is the UK Editor of Vanity Fair and a renowned political columnist. Speaking to us just a week after the General Election, Henry gives the inside scoop on the modern media landscape, before telling us why he was compelled to start The Convention – an organisation that holds the debates that parliament won’t.

Along the way, he talks to us about the importance of causing trouble; the dying craft of self-editing; and the power of finishing what you’ve started.