Ep.46 How Paul Lindley Grew His Business from an Idea to $120 Million Annual Revenue in Under Ten Years

If you're wondering how to develop your brand so that it can scale rapidly and take on competitors, no matter what their size, then you're definitely going to want to check out this episode of the Dent Podcast. I talk with Paul Lindley, founder of the iconic brand, Ella's Kitchen. Paul's business has grown at an astonishing rate, now occupying 30% of the market share in the UK and selling in 40 countries worldwide.

Paul himself is a multi-award-winning entrepreneur, having been named in Management Today's Top 50 Entrepreneurs to watch, and winning the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year prize in 2011. Since exiting his business, he's gone on to write Little Wins, a book on how adults can unlock their creative potential, and set up the charity, Key is E. Listen to this episode to find out how you can harness your creative spark and apply it to entrepreneurial success.

In this conversation, we get into all of this…

• Why Paul left his top career to become an entrepreneur

• The methodology Paul followed in setting up his business – how he focused on a business plan from a financial point of view and brand from a consumer point of view

• How Paul pitched to some of the biggest retailers in the country to get his first deal

• The big mistakes that many entrepreneurs make when pitching to big corporate businesses

• The steps that Paul went through to doubling the business' turnover year-on-year for the first six years

• Paul's attitude towards risk as an entrepreneur and understanding the consequences of failure

• How to avoid being taken advantage of when getting your product onto retailers' shelves

• Paul's tips on hiring and motivating staff – how you can use more than just monetary incentives to energise your team

• The importance of listening to your consumer and keeping an eye on what's happening in the marketplace

• The thought-process that Paul went through when selling his business and the important steps he followed while exiting

Paul will also be sharing his success story at the London Brand Accelerator on Friday, 31st March. He will be going through how entrepreneurs can build a business which has formalised assets and how you can ensure your business retains its value if you exit it.