The Gentleman‘s Journal Podcast

"It's a marathon AND a sprint" — Will Ahmed, founder of WHOOP

Will Ahmed is the founder of Whoop — the man behind an ingenious wearable strap that tracks your sleep, your recovery, your strain, and all sorts of other clever metrics. Its early fans included LeBron James and Michael Phelps — and its newest fans include most of the VC universe, who have just pushed Whoop to a $ 1.2 billion valuation. (Will, by the way, is still only 30 years old.) 

In this episode, Will tells us where the Whoop name originally came from; how the band became an accidental diagnosis tool for Covid; and the secret that nobody knows to gaining access to the world’s most influential figures.

 

The tinkerer-in-chief — Jamie Siminoff, founder of Ring

My guest on today’s show is Jamie Siminoff, the founder of Ring. Jamie is the start up world’s tinkerer-in-chief — a true inventor who first stumbled upon the idea for a smart, video-enabled doorbell because he wanted to communicate with delivery drivers while he was down in his garage. The journey from that moment — to a famous $1 billion acquisition by Amazon — is fascinating: full of ups and downs, near death experiences, luck and graft and even an appearance on Shark Tank. 

In this episode, Jamie tells us about the moment a random glitch very nearly destroyed everything he’d worked for, why celebrating is not always that helpful, and why you shouldn’t listen to any of his advice (or anyone else’s). 

"Make it better" — Jasper Cuppaidge, founder of Camden Brewery

Jasper Cuppaidge is the founder of Camden Brewery. After missing a flight on a round the world trip, Jasper found himself stranded at the Westbourne Pub in Notting Hill — and soon worked his way up from glass collector to owning his own establishment, via every single rung on the hospitality ladder. Later, he began brewing his own lager — and the rest, as they say, is history. By 2015 , Jasper had sold Camden to AB InBev, the biggest brewer in the world — though it still retains the start up ethos that Jasper instilled in it, all those years ago. In a highly enjoyable episode, Jasper tell us about the power of walking; how he brushed off accusations of selling out; and why a teenage brewing experiment nearly exploded his childhood home. 

"It's not a job. It's more than that." — Sir Martin Sorrell, advertising mogul

Sir Martin Sorrell is the advertising mogul who took a small company called Wire and Plastic Products (they used to make shopping baskets back in the day) and transformed it into the biggest advertising company in the world. After leaving WPP in 2018, he set up S4 Capital — a new, data-driven, obsessively futuristic marketing company for the modern age. It is already worth more than £2 billion, and, in his own words, has left the traditional agencies looking like dinosaurs. In a brilliant episode of the podcast, Sir Martin talks about his role as the third Saatchi brother; about plans for retirement (spoiler — he doesn’t have any); and about how his grandfather cut off a cossack’s arm at the age of 10.

Fortune favours the brave — Tim Warrillow, co-founder of Fever-Tree

Tim Warrillow is the co-founder and CEO of Fever-Tree, the mixer maker extraordinaire. The company was set up in 2003, when Tim and his co-founder Charles Rolls realised there were all this lovely gin sloshing about the place, but a pretty lacklustre selection of tonics. So he trooped off to the Democratic Republic of Congo to find the best ingredients in the world — and just about lived to tell the tale. There were naysayers, of course — there always are. But the product has always spoken for itself. Today, Fever-Tree is the number one tonic in the UK, in the face of some pretty serious competition. 

In this episode, recorded at Fever Tree’s global HQ in West London, Tim told us how an article in a discarded newspaper changed everything; what he thinks of the new hard seltzer trend; and why the phrase ‘pivot’ should be banished from the earth.

Special Episode! Inside the Crockett & Jones factory

Today we’re taking a deep dive into a brand we’ve loved for a very long time — Crockett & Jones. You’ll know them as one of the first names in  English shoemaking — they make beautiful handmade shoes in timeless styles, with true attention to detail and infectious enthusiasm.

So a couple of weeks ago we headed to their famous factory up in Northampton to meet the people behind the brand — from the pattern cutters, to the clickers, and the closers — and even several members of the Jones family themselves, who still run the business after more than 140 years. 

If you’re interested in British craftsmanship, interested in entrepreneurship, interested in how a historic, family run business adapts itself to the modern day — or if you just quite like shoes — then we hope you’ll enjoy this episode. 

Buy less, buy better — Jacob Dworsky and August Bard Bringeus, Asket founders

Asket is the fashion brand that doesn't want you to buy clothes. The company was set up in 2014, and it focuses on a permanent collection of a few beautifully designed and very well made garments. There are no seasons, no sales, no gimmicks, no fads. The manifesto is simple: buy less, buy better, and keep it longer.

In this episode, the boys talk about their first impressions of one another; their love of crayfish and schnapps; why the word 'sustainability' is rubbish; and how a year-long odyssey to design a single t-shirt nearly drove them mad. Enjoy!

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good — John Foley, Founder and CEO of Peloton

John Foley is the founder and CEO of Peloton, the at-home exercise company. John started out working in a candy factory, before a meandering career took him to Silicon Valley, the record industry, Barnes & Noble and beyond. At 40, he decided to start selling exercise bikes that let you attend spin classes whenever and wherever you wanted. 

Almost everyone told him it was a terrible idea. But after several years of sheer grit (and a few slightly wonky prototypes) the company is now a huge global success — it IPO’d last year, and has been one of the few real success stories of the Coronavirus pandemic, as more and more of us take to exercising at home. 

In this episode, John talks to us about the atmosphere in Silicon Valley during the dotcom boom; about his love for Snickers; about the demise of Kickstarter campaigns; and about his hatred for the phrase “chillax”.

Do interesting things, and interesting things will happen — Sir John Hegarty

Sir John Hegarty is the British Adman extraordinaire, and the industry’s favourite contrarian. He’s the founder of BBH, one of London’s best established and most successful ad agencies, and the brains behind decade-defining campaigns for Levis, Audi, British Airways and Johnny Walker. 

This is an episode from the Gentleman’s Journal archive — we recorded it back in the summer of 2018, but it’s only just seen the light of day. Thankfully, Hegarty’s advice, Oracle-like insight and counterintuitive outlook are timeless. 

In this episode, we spoke about how humour can always save a campaign; about the birth of Flat Eric; about how, actually, you don’t learn much from your failures; and about how storytelling gave birth to the modern human race. 

Don't fit in — Imran Amed, CEO of Business of Fashion

Imran Amed is the founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of Business of Fashion, perhaps the most authoritative voice in the entire fashion industry. Imran started the company on his sofa in London in 2007, and has since grown it into a media powerhouse that employs more than 100 people. In this episode, we spoke about all sorts of things in this very interesting episode: why you should look for your global niche, how ten days on a silent retreat changed Imran’s life, why his dream is to slam dunk like Michael Jordan, and how the high street can save itself in the current crisis.