Episode 18
Simon mitchell
CEO of KERB Food & Founder of KIN London
ON THIS EPISODE OF ‘JUST ONE THING’:
Our guest on this episode is Simon Mitchell, CEO of KERB Food and founder of events agency KIN. Simon’s impressive career spans over two decades in events and hospitality, beginning behind the decks as a DJ before moving into event production and leadership, where his creative drive and commercial instinct really stood out.
Ten years ago, he joined the fledgling street food collaborative KERB as Managing Director and now leads the business as CEO, overseeing its transformation into one of the most influential forces in the UK street food scene. Under Simon’s leadership, KERB has expanded from local markets to bricks-and-mortar food halls, securing long-term residencies at venues including Kew Gardens and the National Theatre.
He continues to push the brand into new territory, with international ventures in Berlin and San Francisco, and a strong focus on nurturing the next generation of food entrepreneurs through KERB’s inKERBator programme.
Simon brings sharp business acumen, creative energy and a deep understanding of what makes experiences and people succeed. We’re delighted to have him with us.
Watch Simon on YouTube or listen to him on Spotify or Apple podcasts
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Hi Simon aged 21 (1999)
Don’t worry about the millennium bug. Nothing happens. And the Dome? They eventually find a decent use for it and you’ll even spend a fair bit of time there!
It’s time to stop DJing. You’ve given it five good years, and while it’s been fun, you’re not exactly tearing up the decks. It’s not your future. That degree of yours? It won’t be the thing that defines your path either. But the time you’re spending with friends right now that will shape you. Make the most of it.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You’re already on the right path. That love of parties and bringing people together, it’s more than a hobby. It’ll become your career. That buzz you get from watching people come alive at an event you’ve helped shape? That never leaves you.
Don’t be afraid to go it alone. You were never meant to be told what to do. You need to carve your own path. You’ll feel like an imposter more times than you’d like, but that voice in your head isn’t always right. You’ve got more leadership in you than you think.
Keep reading those business books. They’ll shape how you think. But look out for Awaken the Giant Within by a guy called Tony Robbins. That one changes everything.
There’ll be some curveballs. Big ones. The kind you don’t see coming. But those are the moments that will make you. You’ll come out of each one stronger, clearer, and a little more certain of who you are and what you stand for. The decisions you make in those moments will shape your career more than any title or job ever will.
Don’t forget to have fun. Life’s too short to take everything seriously. Say yes to the trip, the party, the random night out, that adventure. Keep making memories. It matters more than you know.
Only work with people you genuinely like. You’ll spend more time with colleagues than almost anyone else, so choose wisely. Surround yourself with good people , the ones who push you, challenge you, and make the journey more fun. Building the right culture isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s everything.
Oh, and that Claire girl you’ve just met? She’s still around 26 years later and is the mother of your two boys. Be kind to her!
Enjoy the ride. It’s going to take you exactly where you’re meant to be.
Simon (2025)
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Our guest on this episode is Simon Mitchell, CEO of KERB Food and founder of events agency KIN. Simon’s impressive career spans over two decades in events and hospitality, beginning behind the decks as a DJ before moving into event production and leadership, where his creative drive and commercial instinct really stood out.
Ten years ago, he joined the fledgling street food collaborative KERB as Managing Director and now leads the business as CEO, overseeing its transformation into one of the most influential forces in the UK street food scene. Under Simon’s leadership, KERB has expanded from local markets to bricks-and-mortar food halls, securing long-term residencies at venues including Kew Gardens and the National Theatre.
He continues to push the brand into new territory, with international ventures in Berlin and San Francisco, and a strong focus on nurturing the next generation of food entrepreneurs through KERB’s inKERBator programme.
Simon brings sharp business acumen, creative energy and a deep understanding of what makes experiences and people succeed. We’re delighted to have him with us.
Mel: Welcome to the podcast, Simon.
Simon: Thanks guys, Simon.
Max: Indeed.
Simon: Thanks for having me.
Max: So, Simon, to those who don't know you, introduce yourself and tell the world a little bit about you from your perspective, I suppose.
Simon: Yeah. Simon Mitchell, I'm currently Chief Executive of KERB, known as a street food collective, but really a lot more than that. Now, we support independent food and drink businesses across the world, been working in events and catering. My whole career started when I was 16, done various different things.
Max: And tell us one thing that perhaps some people might not know about you.
Simon: Something someone might not know about me. I tell this story all the time, so most people do know that know me, but, I started my career as an average DJ.
Max: Okay.
Mel: Where did that start? In clubs in…
Simon: So that started… it's quite a funny story. I'm Jewish. When I was 13, I had a Bar Mitzvah. It was more for my parents. I hated it. A year later, it's my sister's Bar Mitzvah and I decided that I was going to DJ for her and I saved up some money. I bought a DJ mobile disco kit for about 150 pounds, probably, I think it was from a bloke in the local Currys, set it up and DJ my sister's party.
Then started playing around and DJing and we got a gig, DJing and under 18 rave in a club in Kensington High Street. Think it was called Central Park. It's not there anymore, obviously. And we got spotted by these guys who were promoters of bigger under 18, the biggest under 18 club nights and they asked us to do a guest slot at their next event and it all sort of snowballed from there.
Mel: And how old were you at that point?
Simon: I started when I was 16.
Mel: Wow. So most 16 year olds at school maybe have a Saturday job or out there DJing.
Simon: Yeah, I ended up DJing every weekend, pretty much throughout that kind of later childhood teenage years.
Max: I don't know if I could imagine, as a 17-year-old bloke doing countless DJ sets of under 18. I mean, you must be there going, alright guys, you know, the cool factor and then every girl throw themselves at you as well.
Simon: I wish. I'm not sure that happened as much. I think it did in my head, thinking back, but we did. I did lots of other things. So, it kind of snowballed from those gigs into doing corporate gigs and kind of, inspired, how I started selling Christmas parties early on in my career, I did two summers in Ayia Napa which was memorable.
Mel: Whenever I hear Ayia Napa, I just want to go Ayia Napa.
Simon: I know. I still like. I still love garage music. I wasn't there DJing garage music, but I still love it from those summers. It was pretty fun. It was whilst, I was at university. So, breaking up in May, flying to Cyprus, being there the whole summer and then coming home was really amazing at that time.
Mel: So, you had this real entrepreneurial spirit from a very young age, where did that come from? Your family in that way, was there friends around you that were entrepreneurial? Was that just something within you that …
Simon: I'm really not sure where it came from? Like my mum was, you know, a beauty therapist from home, so she kind of ran her own business. But I think it was that my dad works in clothing manufacturer, in a factory. In fact, most of my family are kind of in fashion and beauty, apart from me. I tried it one summer. I got sent to the Far East to see if I wanted to work in the rag trade. Hated it, so maybe it was the fear of being dragged into that, that made me want to start my own thing. But I always had this thing in me. I always had this… I was that kid that was, I'm gonna be a millionaire when I'm 21.
Max: Where did that come from?
Simon: I don't know. I think we were right growing up. We weren't rich, we weren't poor. It was pretty, fairly middle of the road. I don't know, I had this desire for success and it really for me.
I left school after my A levels and I went and worked in the city for a year because that was going to be my way to make loads of money and I was going to be that city trader. And I absolutely hated it. I couldn't have hated it more. I'm not a good day drinker. I'm still not. And I get dragged to the pub at lunchtime and then lose loads of money in the afternoon and I saw my mates at university having a great time. I'm like, “What am I doing? I hate this. It's not for me.” So, I quit after one year and then went to Manchester and joined my friends at university.
Max: So, you went into the workforce and then kind of came back.
Simon: Yeah.
Max: So, would other peers of yours then be doing their Gap Year and finding themselves in Thailand, whilst you assume to be…
Simon: No, to be fair, not many of my friends did a gap year. Most of them went straight to university. So, they were there when I decided to go. I was just a year behind some of my friends at the time.
Max: What was school like for you when you were younger?
Simon: It was good. I went to a pretty terrible school. It's interesting, actually, because at the moment, my son is thinking about what secondary school to go to. And it was like, first we were, like, heartbreak in my life. I didn't get into the secondary school that I wanted to get into, that my friends got into and I got into, really, bad, pretty dodgy local school. And remember that summer being terrified of going there.
There were you hear all these stories about schools and what was going to happen to me and it was dodgy and it was pretty rough, but I think that maybe was quite formative of like, trying to get away from that and seeing some of the kids there and what they were doing and how they ended up. I think I was fairly lucky to not go down a different path. And I wanted to kind of rise above that.
Max: It's interesting, where you said wanted to make a million by I think you said, like, your 20s.
Simon: Still trying.
Max: Still trying is that often it's either that you're doing it to get away from something or you've seen something you aspire to.
Simon: Yeah.
Max: And it's one of the two that kind of take you to this quiet earlier ambition, where you like and monetary gain, is a kind of target.
Simon: I really can't put my finger on it. I'm not a materialistic person, until two months ago, I drove a smart car. I'm not into flashy things and spending lots of money. I think it's more success, it's more achievement based for me than monetary. I probably didn't realize that at the time and thought it was money and that money would make you happy. But actually, I think, the journey and the success is actually the thing that rewards me and that sense of achievement.
Max: And with that, what is it about it? Is it peer recognition and kind of just trying to dig into that success. What does success look like?
Simon: It’s not proving myself right, that I can do it.
Max: Okay.
Simon: That's the thing for me. It's, I could do that. I could take this to the next level. I can grow this. I can fulfil either the companies or the venues potential. Now, with what I do, I'm also really inspired by taking the team with me and letting them share in their success. When we refinanced KERB two years ago, we created employee share pool, so 12% of the group of the whole of KERB is owned by the team. And that was really important to me that we bring people on the journey and they're rewarded in that as well.
Mel: So, you mentioned there and it's really interesting because you say in your letter, this idea of an imposter syndrome and that voice in your head at different times, is that still there? Even now, at that level of success that you've had and looking back, or has it peaked up at different points of…
Simon: Yeah, I think I've always had it and I've always doubted myself, can you really do this less so recently. I think it manifests itself now with projects. So, if we open in a new country or a new food hall, or we go down a different direction.
That's when I'm like, can I really do this? Have I bitten off more than I can chew? Have I been greedy? Is this going to work? Is more the… you're out of your depth type feeling, rather than can I do it?
I actually have quite decent self-belief now. I do think I'm a pretty good leader, but I've doubted myself for a very, very long time.
Mel: And what you do now? Because it's always really interesting when we have guests on the sofa and we talk about this, because it's quite often seen as somebody more junior might think it, or it's very female focused and actually most people, at some point, if not consistently, have those doubts. So, what do you do now to sort of quieten that voice down and go, right? I know this is coming up, but I can do X, Y and Z and I can quieten that voice, or I can put my energy into something, perhaps more positive.
Simon: I think it's experience. I have had a lot of help and support and done a lot of things over the year and it's the experience to know you can do it and believe in yourself now. I'm not a person that gets stressed anymore. I used to. Don't worry.
I have, I think, a really good, balanced perspective on life without being too wanky. It's not that deep. I say this to people at work all the time. It's a job, it's a career. I have a responsibility, because we employ a lot of people now. But there are things that are more important. Your health is more important. Your family are more important.
When I started KERB, it was a big thing for me to create a culture that I believed in. It's always banned around the phrase, you spend more time with the people you work with and your friends and family. So, if you're going to do it, have an environment that you enjoy.
I can't remember the question now, I've gone off on a massive tangent, but I think, we've created that kind of environment that is a nice environment and I don't worry. It's more about joining the journey now than stressing about it.
Max: How would the team describe you, then, as a leader or boss?
Simon: Positive. So, this is the one I get a lot at the moment. I'm very positive, you know, I'm always kind of going forward. I'm always driving forward. I'm always coming up with new ideas. I'm always hungry for more. I'm a big believer in growth. Petra, that founded KERB challenged me a lot on this in the early days. Why are you doing so much? Why are we growing so quickly? Why are we going down into this new business direction?
The answer is, you need growth because you need to create opportunity for the team. So, I'm always thinking of the next thing, because if we don't grow, how do people rise up? How do you create that opportunity for people to grow in the organization? They can't. They have to leave, if you don't grow. So, I'm always trying to think of the next thing. How do we keep growing? How do we keep pushing forward? What's next?
We're opening a new concept in the next week, which is a complete tangent for KERB, because we wanted to have something slightly different than the big, massive food halls. And that was a growth thing. It was how can we do more smaller things in the UK?
I've always come out with new ideas. They hate it. They hate it when I come in, I've got an idea. The worst thing is when I go on holiday. So I'm a real like, I'll say on holiday and when I switch off, is when the ideas come. And I'll have a notepad thing on my phone and I'll write pages and pages of notes on it every holiday. They should be worried, because we're on a three-week holiday next week.
But they hate it when I come over there, because I'm like, right? I've had an idea or an epiphany, this is what we're doing. And so very positive. I think I kind of motivating, level headed, bit crazy, but all the best are. I think and I hope that's what they say about me.
Max: So, you're saying, kind of always forward thinking, forward looking, forcing you to reflect back then. And the premise of this, obviously, is the letter to your younger self. And we find that people often in those kinds of positions are so forward, focused on growth and stuff. How did you find the reflection back and looking back at your kind of journey?
Simon: It was really interesting exercise. Because one, no one could help you, because no one knows that story better than you. And two, I haven't thought about it for a long time, I haven't really sat down and thought about that journey and what's got me to where I am now. So, it's quite an enjoyable process.
I think the early years were quite interesting, like I was a bit lost. I had this obsession with being my own boss, so left my first job after a year and a half, two years, to start on my own, ran it for 10 years. I think people thought we were successful. I'm not sure we were as successful as people thought, but we weren't really going anywhere. It needed a wakeup call and a shock to kind of get me to go to the next level. And that was the thing in the letter, there's been, like, very clearly, two or three things in my career that have happened that have kind of forced me almost to drive to the next level. So that was kind of interesting.
Max: What was it? And we were talking a bit before that you believed being your own boss was the route, because you have had and, in your letter, you mentioned, a couple of jobs as well and kind of entrance into the industry was through concerto things like that. At what point have you decided that actually self-employment for me, being my own boss and what was those kinds of earlier it was employment years.
Simon: It was way before concerto. It was when I was 16, as well as all the fun DJ stuff, I ran a mobile disco. People could book me to do their birthday parties, weddings, whatever. So that was my first kind of entrepreneurial taste. And I liked it and I think I liked the reward that came with that and that you could carve your own destiny. The story is, I then went to work and actually set up a company for the guys that employed me, guy called Bert. He runs a company called Uptown Events. They're still going. I always remind him I came up the name of that company.
They're lovely guys and Bert was my first mentor. He taught me everything I know about sales and I quote him often now. Things that he told me and I probably didn't realize it at the time, how much I was learning from him. So, we created this company. He was in the nightclub business. Nightclubs at the time didn't employ their managers and we kind of brokered that world between nightclubs and corporate sales. So, our business was basically selling corporate clients into nightclubs for their Christmas parties before anyone else was doing it.
And we did it for a couple of years. And there were three of us. We were partners, but Bert and his partner, Mark at the time, were running their other businesses and I got quite frustrated with that, that this is going really well. We're really successful and I appreciate the opportunity, but I can do this on my own. I don't need you.
So after, however, long it was, I left and set up on my own. Set my first business, which was Impulse Events. And it was that desire to think I could do it on my own and I can do it better. It's that frustration of not being in control and being able to do it the way I want, how I want, etc.
Left them, set up Impulse Events, ran it for 10 years almost. We were quite successful. We won some awards. It was a decent sized company and then the banking crisis hit and that was a real moment for me. I think we thought we'd made it and this was going to go on forever. Up until the banking crisis, the world had been quite stable for quite a long time and no one kind of prepared you for these shocks.
We'd have a good year, we'd make some money. We'd pay ourselves. I remember the year before the banking crisis, I bought BMW. I thought I was the nuts in my late 20s. Then the crisis hit and we didn't have any money in the bank because we'd taken it out every year when we met, whatever we made, we took out the business. We were predominantly selling corporate Christmas parties, which is discretional spend. We had lots of clients that were banks.
The market fell out the business, and it was incredibly scary time that forced me to reassess a lot of things. That was like a real defining moment in what I want to do. The one time I went back into employment rather than being my own boss.
Max: That was the Concerto.
Simon: That was when we joined, yeah, I joined Concerto.
Mel: It's an interesting process, because I think everybody that we've had so far and the people we've talked about, COVID has been, obviously, the most recent crisis moment. I guess it really changed the industry. But there have been quite a few since 2008 along the way that I've learned. So, what were the lessons that you learned then that you thought, if I ever do this again? I'm going to do these sorts of things differently.
Simon: The biggest lesson I learned in the banking crisis was cash is king. Everyone teaches you how to read a P&L and balance sheets and everything. But as I said, no one kind of taught you the value of cash and having cash in the business and leaving in the business. I've been very prudent with all the businesses I've run since, in leaving money in the business. As I said, we took everything out every year that we made. It's about building the business and not just about profit and taking the cash out. That's really stuck with me, because we really got caught with our pants down and we had a successful business, but because we've left nothing in it, we basically lost it overnight, through completely out of our control.
The first thing was cash and keeping cash in the business, not having debt. I'm very nervous of debt.
The second, the biggest thing, though, was that anything can happen. You never know what's around the corner. Don't think this is going to carry on forever, because you've had a great year. Next year is going to be a great year. You don't know what's around the corner, so you've got to prepare for the future. You've got to hedge your bets.
So, I think having a very diverse business is really important and that's why we do have a diverse business. I think they're the key things.
Max: Interesting and so with that and I think where we've discussed these types of journeys with a lot of entrepreneurs, that are self-employed, that is it. They're on their way. Their trajectory is and it might be that they're serial entrepreneurs, for you going back into employment, what were the lessons that you learned there? And equally, how did that then kind of set up the foundations, for now is super successful business in KERB and the other projects that you've run.
Simon: It was a really interesting time. Obviously, the banking crisis has hit terrifying. I remember just thinking good, I bought my first flat a few years previous. I'm thinking, I'm going to lose everything. I'm going to lose my flat. I'm going to have no money. I'm going to go and have a job. Can I go and have to get a job? I managed. Basically, we had to let everyone go. And my partner left of his own accord. He didn't want to stick around.
I managed to kind of navigate my way out of it. I had an amazing, amazing bookkeeper at the time. She was an older lady and she really taught me how to kind of navigate my way through that financial turmoil. Again, really big lesson, just be honest. We found ourselves in a position that we'd owed a lot of people in the event industry, a lot of money that we couldn't pay.
She was like, Simon, you've got two ways of going. You can wind up your business and they never get a penny. You try and change your trade your way out of this and you be honest. And she made me pick up the phone to every single one of them and say, this is where we are. This is what I can do. I need your help, because we've been going 10 years and we're nice people and we'd always paid on time. Every single one of those phone calls was positive and everyone helped us.
There were key people that I'll never forget in that time. That were like, take as long as you want, as long as you pass. If it takes a year, it takes two years, do that. So, we managed to navigate our way through the banking crisis without going bust.
But that was exhausting and I needed a break. It was burnt out from that. It wasn't rewarding clearly. I had some personal issues. My mum was very ill and I just needed a bit of a break from that fast-paced entrepreneurial world. I did a lot of business with Concerto.? They approached me and kind of the Impulse business was bought into Concerto and I was bought in. I was told to one day take over the business. That was what was sold to me, which has made it attractive that one day I'd be the CEO.
Very quickly after that, they hired a CEO and that's where things took a turn for the worse. So safe to say, I didn't get on with her. I didn't think she was very good at her job, but I learned a lot about how not to run a business from her and actually from some of the founders of that business taught me how not to run a business. And something that looks really glitzy and shiny on the outside when you get inside, it is not what you expect.
I spent five years there, met some great people, I met Peter that produces this podcast. I loved the time for the people, but it was a terrible business run by terrible people and I learned a lot about how not to run a business there. And they are lessons that have stuck with me every day since and I talk about it all the time.
I think sometimes, it's very easy to be told what to do and whatever, sometimes learning how not to do things is also really, really interesting and has probably been as formative as anything I've ever done. So, I did five years there.
Turning point was that my son was born, my eldest son, and Concerto offered no parental leave for dads. So, I had to take, it was two weeks statutory pay, which is on 160 pound a week or something. So, I had to take two weeks holiday to be with my wife and my son. When my son was born, during those two weeks, I was like, I'm not doing this anymore. So, we've just moved house, we've just had a baby and I go back to work and I quit my job.
Mel: Life has gone down really well at home.
Max: Yeah.
Simon: That was an interesting conversation and it went along the lines of, I know this is the right thing to do, just trust me. And that is, believing in myself. And is a big part of the last 15, 20 years, but I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't work for them. I had no passion, no drive. I didn't want to do well for them. I wanted it…
Max: But did you have any sort of…
Simon: No.
Max: Idea, a pathway or anything?
Simon: No, not at all. So, I was going to leave, I was going to set up my own event agency and just start from scratch again. That was the plan. And what happened was concerto made me work my notice. So, three months’ notice, I think, from memory. And during that time, KERB approached me. And the reason KERB approached me was the year before I'd had one of my epiphanies.
So, Peter Kerwood and I organized the staff party for the Concerto and we didn't want anyone to work, so historically, all the chefs would have to work and cook the food for the team. We wanted everyone to enjoy the party, chefs and all. So, I was a big fan of KERB. So, my story with KERB started in 2012. I was at the launch event of KERB as a guest with my wife. I was massively into that street food scene that was emerging at that time.
Max: You can say this is pretty unknown at that time.
Simon: We turn up. There was a thing called tweet up, which was on Twitter. And you'd, JD that founded street feast, ran it and they'd announced that they'd have a street food truck on the Blackfriars bridge. And if you came, there'd be someone like in the early days, like a Bleecker burger or a chicken sour was there and they'd have a secret bar and if you knew a password, you could get a can of red stripe for a pound. And it was really exciting.
I was a fan of KERB. I'd been going to all their events. Peter and I organized a staff party, but didn't want to do the food, so we called KERB and we said, could you send us three food trucks? And they did. We got outside cocktail company to run the bar.
So rather than, the share house wine and Peroni, we had some really nice cocktails. And the feedback from the team was unbelievable. This is great food. We've got this amazing mother flipper burger and great cocktails. And I kind of left that guy, this is really good. Why aren't we selling this?
Everyone at the time was selling these packaged corporate parties that were beer, wine and soft drinks and the beer was a Peroni and the wine was a three pound bottle of Majestic Wine and the food was bowl food or a seated dinner. They were your options and mass produced and not really that inspiring.
So, we came up with this package that we sold the Christmas prior to me leaving, which was Christmas party. We KERBed in the street food. We had craft beer. We had Camden Town Brewery doing it and a cocktail company and sold, like hot cakes. So Petra called me and said, we really like this. We think there's something internally…
Max: Petra is the founder.
Simon: Petra, is the founder of KERB and said, we think that, there's something in this event, catering, would you do some consultancy for us and help us see if we can use our network to do catering. I was like, I could do better than that, just quit my job. So, we sort of dated for three months whilst I was working my notice and what started as consultancy very quickly, kind of pivoted. Petra turned around to me one day and said, I've changed my mind. I don't want a consultant, Simon. Really sorry. I'm gonna recruit an MD. And I was like, That's me.
I remember I said to her, meet me tomorrow. We met for coffee at notes in Kings Cross. And I said, I want that job. That's me. And she was like, that's great. I don't think we could afford you. So, we agreed this hybrid deal whereby I would come to KERB and be their Managing Director, but I'd also set up the event company on the side. And notion it was kind of I'd run KERB three days a week and I'd run this event business two days a week and that's what we set upon.
I left and I joined KERB and it's gone pretty well since, but there was a little period there where my wife was very, very worried that I'd quit this job, that was quite well paid, for a successful business that's been around for a long time to go it alone again, but it ended up okay.
Mel: And where did the Tony Robbins book come in?
Simon: So, taking a step back, it was during my time at concerto, so I was a bit lost. I'd had this business for 10 years that was doing well and I had a good reputation. I'd nearly lost it. It was very stressful. I just lost my mum. I wasn't that happy at Concerto. My wife and I went on this holiday, we've both been through some personal stuff. Let's go on a big, amazing holiday and then we'll think about maybe having kids after and whatever else.
We're at Heathrow Airport about to leave and my wife's like, we're going to be of two weeks. You can annoy me. You need to buy a book. And I'm not a big reader and I spent like ages walking around the bookshop in Heathrow. I couldn't find anything. And she picks up this Tony Robbins book called, “Awaken the Giant Within.” She's like, Oh, you love it. You love a business book. Read this. And I'd never read what I would consider a self-help book before in my life. I read business books on strategy and leadership and motivation, but never a self-help book. Anyway, to keep her quiet, I bought this book.
And I'm reading it on holiday and it really, really clicked with me. And I know it's cheesy and I know people have a very polarized opinion of Tony Robbins, but this book in particular, really resonated with me. And there was one key theme. There's a section about limiting beliefs and how people have a belief network that is ingrained in them from childhood. And some people have limiting beliefs. I realized that I had some limiting beliefs that were stopping me from really being successful.
Max: When you say that, that's kind of ingrained in terms of beliefs. So, people's ambitions only go so far. Is it that they kind of put themselves into a pocket of possibility type scenario?
Simon: Exactly that. I think, it's from your lived experiences. It was, for me. It was like I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I wanted to be successful. I don't think I ever really had 100% faith I could do it and be really successful, one. And two, I think the knocks I'd taken through the banking crisis and everything else had really not my confidence. And I think, this book is called, “Awaken the Giant Within” and it really did that.
I left that holiday after reading that book a monster. I really did. I had absolute belief in myself. It gave me some really key kind of techniques to be more successful. How to set goals, I always wanted to drive forward and whatever, but it wasn't structured. And it was like, I literally got back for that holiday and I created a vision board. And it's cheesy, I know, but I did.
The house I wanted to live in, the holidays I wanted to have, the things I wanted just to kind of really visualize it. And it kind of got me into manifesting. I've been down a few rabbit holes since, of manifesting, I believe in manifesting what you want. I'm a big believer in mindfulness and it kind of touches on a bit of that, bizarrely, about kind of separating your thoughts and being in control of your thoughts.
Honestly, since I read that book, I don't think I've ever been stressed since, because I've learned how to separate those thoughts and feelings of… it's just work. Sorry, when I say I haven't been stressed, I don't get stressed at work. I worry about my health and I worry about my family, but I don't get stressed about work anymore, ever, because it's just a job and it's just a business. But, there are things that more important, but the limiting beliefs thing was huge. It really got me to think I can do this and think bigger and really back myself, to take my career to the next level.
Max: If you were to say that book got wiped off the face of the planet, you needed to take your lived experience and your kind of personal beliefs of what's worked, what hasn't, things like that. And you were to speak to Simon about to kind of help drive Kerwood, someone that's setting up a business for the first time as either a first-time entrepreneur or someone that's leaving perhaps their full-time employment, what would the kind of the key advice be to them?
Simon: The first thing to say, being completely honest, is, I don't think entrepreneurship and leadership is for everyone. I don't think everyone can do it. I think you've got to have something in you. You've got there is a natural, given talent that enables you. Some people just can't do it, but someone that has that passion and that ability to be a leader, an entrepreneur, I would say, like the sky's the limit, that's the easiest way of putting it is, don't be risky.
Don't just go out there and do crazy stuff. But I think, if you're good at what you do and you genuinely believe in yourself and you have a great team around you, you can achieve anything. And I know it's cheesy, but I genuinely believe if I didn't read that book, I would not be where I am now in my life and my career.
I genuinely believe that I had such a fundamental shift on me, on what is possible. I don't think I would have had the guts to quit my job. I don't think I would have had the belief in myself and my ability to take KERB in the places that we've taken it. It's been the most incredible 10 years, we are global business now. There's no way I would have believed in myself to do that without that kind of little lift, that little bit of inspiration, that I could take it to the next level. And I genuinely believe that.
So, if I was going to tell someone, it would be, I would tell them the paragraph from the book about limiting beliefs, I would say, don't restrict yourself from what is possible, anything is possible. If you believe in yourself, you have the right team, you have the capability, you have the skill, anything is possible.
Max: We've been in a bit of a hardcore sesh on Shark Tank recently and my wife is launching her thing and love a bit of Dragon's Den. But I've only just really realized what this whole premise of the American dream is versus the UK entrepreneurial, kind of, support network economy and in that anyone from any background can achieve anything, whereas it leads into the UK being, actually, if you're a certain community, you are the sum of what you see around you and actually the limitations there.
And so when you're saying that it actually really connects, with that kind of the US piece. Obviously, Tony Robbins being quite a big advocate and the US side of things, I just find it quite interesting that the books spark that, whereas they celebrate it and that's, I think, why we're losing some entrepreneurs over there in that. It's easier to be supported and as a network and it connects back to Elevate. We try and support and lift each other up and peers actually, in the kind of the wider business world economy, it doesn't happen so much. I find it quite interesting.
Simon: I agree. I think, it's an interesting phenomenon of, you know, we kind of sneer at the American dream, don't we? I feel like some people resent success in the UK.
Max: I think in the US, you said, you say your ambition and someone might turn around and say, So, how can I help you?
Simon: Absolutely right?
Max: In the UK, me like… so that's gonna work.
Simon: Yeah and I've been really fortunate in my career that there have been a few people that have really supported me and…
Max: Give me a shout out who are they?
Simon: So, thinking back to the start, Bert, so he was the guy that I was this 16-year-old kid, when he met me, DJing his parties and I pitched him the idea of us setting up a business together to sell corporate clients into nightclubs, he backed me and they gave me an office and they put the money in to do it and off we went. He not only backed me, but he really mentored me. He taught me everything I know about sales and, I quote him when I'm doing sales. I still do sales training. I do sales training at kin every now and then. And I still quote him on some of the things he taught me, 20 plus years ago now. So, Bert was the first one. In my early days at Impulse, there was a really, really memorable moment that sticks out for me.
There's a company it's still going, called Icebox. They make cubed ice, but they also make ice sculptures. And we did a really high-profile event at the Serpentine Gallery. It was for the times and we'd ordered a copy of The Times newspaper frozen in a block of ice and it arrived and, it wasn't perfect. There were lots of air bubbles and it didn't look great. Didn't look like what we were sold. So, I complained to Icebox and Philip Hughes, who's the founder, called me and apologized profusely and said, Look, I'd really like to invite you down to the warehouse and show you what we do and talk to you and do more work with you and say, sorry.
So, my partner, Jamie and I at the time, went down there. We had the most amazing chat over vodka in his office. And obviously I knew him a bit from the event community, but I remember really, really vividly he was like the chair of the event industry network, which was then called ISIS. I'm not sure, what it is called now. Unfortunate name. It sounds turns out.
He turned around and said to me, like, you're going to do big things in this industry. And I bet you now, I bet you a tenor one day you end up the President of whatever they call it, of ISIS. And I was absolutely no way, that's not for me. But it really stuck with me that he had that faith in me and I never did it and I probably should call him and get that tenor.
But that moment really stuck with me that this guy who I respected in the industry that had been around a while had the faith in this young guy that I would go on to good things. I really remember that conversation vividly. Then, kind of moving forward during my time at KERB, in the early days, Petra, who was the founder, had a business coach, a lady called Suki and she insisted that I went and saw this business coach. I don't need a business coach. I know what I'm doing. I don't need a business coach. Anyway, this lady was incredible and I worked with her for my first five years at KERB and it was supposed to be a business coach, but it ended up being more of a mentoring relationship, where she was a sounding board.
When those demons came in, when that imposter syndrome hit, she was always an amazing person to bounce ideas off of, Am I mad doing this? Is this too risky? Can I do it? She taught me models of businesses, that kind of go up and down.
It was kind of mentoring with a bit of kind of science behind it. And she was really, really helpful to me in my first five, six years at KERB in kind of backing me and supporting me and taking the business to the next level and giving me that confidence to do it.
Then, more recently, there was a guy I met through football. I'm a waffler fan. Sorry, there are more than one of us. I met a guy at football, called Richard Hilton, who founded Gymbox.
Max: Another Gymbox fan, by the way. One of my favourites.
Simon: I was introduced to him. He was really, really, I met him and we had a chat. And he was really inspiring and, I spent a lot of time talking to him through COVID about what we do with KERB and how we take it to the next level. And he was really generous with his time and experience in kind of helping me come up with the structure that we then put in place post COVID for the business that enabled us to scale quite quickly. And I don't have any experience of that, I'm not in the corporate finance world. I never have been. And he was really helpful. And, again, just really generous, wanted to help, didn't ask for anything in return ever. But was just a really great mentor and sounding board. I really respect him.
Max: I've met him once and I sold him about 150 spinning bikes about 20 years ago.
Simon: Yeah. I mean, he's got a great story. His story is amazing of how he ended up with like Gymbox and obviously he sold it. And he's now open Fairgame and about to open his second one. And he's got a great story.
Max: The campaign that always stood out was that outside, they have this, not like a sandwich board, like an A frame type scenario and it would just basically say, come inside. Don't worry, we'll tell your mum, you joined Fitness First, yeah. And I just love that, like a real, kind of punchy way of doing it.
Simon: He's a great guy. His background was in marketing.
Mel: Obviously, KERB has gone through an unbelievable transformation and I think Londoners and probably across the UK and globally now, have got lots of thank you for bringing such innovation and great food to the city. I can put my hands up to that as well and I'm sure your Jewish mother was very proud. But there's been some real challenges through that time.
So, can you tell us a little bit like, some of the highs and maybe some of the challenging moments, because you also had COVID through that period as well?
Simon: There's been a couple of really defining moments. The first one was, when I joined KERB, we were a place making business, essentially, is what we did. We were two things. We were a membership network for the best street food vendors in London and we bought them together as a support network. But for our kind of landlords clients, we were place making, is what we did. The first market that really put KERB on the map was King's Cross. We were place making that space for what is there now, to prove that people would come there for food.
Max: As place making, just to kind of explain what that is in?
Simon: If you remember King’s Cross back in the day, it was nightclubs, prostitutes, drug dealers, no one went there for food. So, when the development started, the landlords knew that they had to change the culture of the area to get people coming for food. So, the first thing that was on that space was KERB. We fed the builders in the early days, but it got people coming to an area that they weren't used to coming to for really exciting food.
Now, you've got some amazing restaurants, Coad Office, El Pastor, Tacos, brilliant restaurants there. But we, we were there to make the place to create a sense of it being somewhere you would come for food and culture and music and we'd put on big events on granary square for 1000s of people for free. Again, to start attracting people to that area, to get people used to coming to King’s Cross for something different.
What that meant was we didn't have any long-term contracts in place. We didn't have any security for the business. All the markets were enrolling one-year contracts, when we had this very fledgling event catering business that you could see had some legs. It was a good alternative to the norm.
I got it in my head that KERB needed a home. It needed a base. It needed a flagship that we could call our own and be in charge our own destiny. Very early on, we won the rights to manage Camden Market, West yard. And going back to my letter and doing business with people you like and you respect, amazing opportunity for KERB, amazing opportunity and financially, it was by far the biggest thing we'd ever done, game changing for the business.
But the people that own Camden Market didn't align with KERB’s beliefs. In two years in, we're about supporting independent food and drink and we're being told, Oh, you need to ask your fish and chip vendor to leave because we're going to put Camden fish and chips in that we own. And Fundy pizza need to leave because we're going to put Camden pizza in that we own. And that just didn't chime with our beliefs and our values of supporting independence and we're still really true to that to this day, we only work with genuinely independent businesses.
So, we end up leaving Camden Market of our own free will. But that was the time as well where we found the Seven Dials Market and that was the first big moment for KERB. I was obsessed with finding a food hall for KERB and finding us a home and Suki, my mentor, I used to meet her at the hospital club on _____ 4412. She had a membership there. And I would walk past Thomas Neil warehouse, which had been stripped empty by the landlord two years prior. And they just put in these amazing festoon bulbs and gaze in the window genuinely thinking this would be an amazing food hall.
And I think six months after I first saw it, I was absolutely crushed, because it was announced that Street Feast had signed the lease our main competitor on this building gutted. I mean, listen, it was a pipe dream. We didn't have the money, we didn't have the experience to do it, but crushed, anyway, kind of, forgotten about that until maybe another six months down the line. I hear through the grapevine that Street Feast have pulled out of this site.
Again, very, very fortuitously, I'd met someone at a KERB event. We did a fried chicken battle called bucket list. And I met this guy, who I met him because he came with his kids and we don't allow kids in and had to turn his kids away. And we had a mutual friend who said, do me a favour, let him in. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow. And he's a really a big player in the property game. So, I let him in with his kids. Next day, get an introduction to him, guy called Nick marks and he comes to see me and he's like, What do you want? I said, I want a food hall. And I've heard this rumour that Thomas Neil's warehouse might be available and I don't know how we can make it work, but that's the kind of thing I want. 24 hours later, he phones me back. He's got, I've got you a meeting with Shaftesbury, the landlord. So, okay, fine. Anyway.
Long story short, Shaftesbury took a massive gamble on KERB and they really believed in our ethos of supporting independent food and drink at the time. Their whole strategy for Seven Dials was independent businesses. Neil's yard, all those areas Neil Street, were all independent businesses and they love the idea and they really want to support us.
So we came up with a deal that we thought would work for them and would work for KERB, amazing. And then they called us and said, Oh, we're really sorry. We can't do it anymore. We've had a massive offer from H&M for flagship retail unit, sorry.
Once again, I was crushed. And then, the retail apocalypse happened, where retail just went to shit and everyone was closing their stores because the internet happened and people works out you could buy clothes on the internet.
So, six months later, I get a call saying, oh, you know that food? Yeah, we're back. And I was like, they like, you still want to do the deal. I was like, Oh, I might need a bit better deal now, anyway, we got the deal.
Max: How did he get that deal?
Simon: We had a very, very forward thinking, brave landlord that was willing to take a punt on little KERB. And we were tiny at that point, we probably employed 12 people. We were running these lunch markets. The biggest thing we'd ever done was Camden. All the money we were making was coming from the event catering and we never really talked about it. No one knew about it, but that was kind of where we were building up a bit of a war Chester. So, we had some money, but they did a really good deal where they helped with the fit-out cost, but I still needed to raise 2 million pounds and had no idea how to do it.
So, this guy, Nick, who I'd met, says, I can help you. I'll take you to meet some people. So, I spent about three months kind of speed dating, private equity and high net worth individuals and we ended up with a couple of offers, actually, for the money. Again, going back to that, working with people you want to work with, we went with a private family office who owned hotels, purely on the basis that they seemed like good partners and they seemed like good people that we could do business with and they believed in our vision.
And we had a better offer on the table from a very high-profile investor that has a TV show about entrepreneurship. We decided to not go with because these guys were more aligned with us. So, we actually managed to raise the money, I think, with about a week to spare. And we opened Seven Dials in September 2019 and that was the biggest moment of my life where I doubted myself was like, What have I done? We risked the house on this thing. We really did, if it hadn't have worked, KERB would have been over. Thank God.
From the moment we opened the doors in 2019, it was pretty much an overnight success. We were rammed from day one and people started saying really nice things about us, that it was a great food hall, we done a great job.
And six months later, COVID hit and no one saw that coming. And I remember this vividly, the day we had to close. I was there and I cried. I put so much energy into this thing and risked so much to make it happen that I couldn't believe it was going to be taken away from us, from something that was completely out of our control. I was pretty convinced we were going to lose it and we're going to lose the business because we've been open six months. How the hell are we going to surprise everyone thought that?
So, the opening of Seven Dials was massive for us. It put us on the map and it really was the thing that's still now, people ask what I do for a living and I'm terribly explaining what I do. My wife says, When I explain what I do, it sounds like I run a burger van. I haven't got my elevator pitched down at all. But you say to people, Kerwood, dunno. You say to people, have you heard of Seven Dials market? And pretty much everyone from London go, oh yeah, I know there. I've been there. Oh yeah, that's us. So it was a real thing that put us on a map.
Then COVID hit and we had to rethink everything. But, it's interesting because and I hate saying this, but COVID was actually quite good for KERB, having come out of it, it didn't feel like it at the time and it wasn't going through it. Obviously, lots of people died and it was terrible. But as a business, we came out of COVID quite well and there were a few things that happened.
Firstly, we didn't realize this, because we'd grown so quickly, we didn't even have a finance department at KERB. We had a part time FD and we had a bookkeeper and a week before COVID hit, I recruited our first ever full time FD, lady called Dommy and it turned out we were losing money at Seven Dials and we didn't even know. So, we had time to pause and think about how we run the business and how we make money. Obviously, the furlough scheme stayed saved all our staff and that was absolutely incredible.
So, having grown so quickly from this tiny market business to this really big event caterer that we were at the start of 2020 with a big, giant food hall, it kind of, allowed us to catch up with ourselves. And I didn't furlough myself and the FD couldn't be furloughed because she'd only just started. So, we spent the whole of COVID remotely trying to sort out how we structure this business, how we run this business.
Second thing that happened was I took a call very early in COVID from Compass Group, from a guy called John Davis that runs Levy, which is part of Compass that does sports stadium. And I don't think I would have taken that call if it wasn't for COVID, because I was quite arrogant at the time and KERB was very about the Indie and Compass are the biggest catering company in the world.
But we'd started doing work with them at Excel Conference Center, catering their events and he liked what we did and he liked our story and had this vision of sports stadia. And, wouldn't it be great if you went to a sports stadium and on the concourse instead of getting a really crappy football burger, you got a mother flipper or a bleaker. And what he really got was that, in order to make that happen, we are going to make less money, but as Compass pass, they're going to have happy customers.
It's not a secret how these companies make their money in stay there, is really the hospitality and the bars. So, we could give a little bit up on that concourse food that we don't really want to be doing anyway. And we've got one chef that's trying to do burgers and fried chicken and pizza and everything else. Why don't we give it to independence and take a little bit of money, but create an amazing story for that stadium and, yeah and supporting independent food.
And he really, talk about working with good people. We really clicked from day one and he really believed in our vision and I believed in his vision too. And we did a deal to sell half of the events catering business, just the events catering business to leave the UK and that money really helped save our business. What it also meant was, when we came out of COVID, we came out like a steam train.
So firstly, with Seven Dials, we did a deal with the landlord. So the landlord were incredible shafts. We were amazing with kind of rent reductions, rebates, whatever. And our investors were very in supportive too. What we agreed with the landlord was, whenever we can open during COVID, with whatever crazy restrictions there are, with scotch eggs or whatever else, we will open and that really stood us in good stead. And what happened was Londoners started to come to Seven Dials Market and we weren't getting Londoners before. We were getting office workers and tourists and all some people were coming to Seven Dials for the day. And it became a bit of a thing that Londoners do as well.
Seven Dials Market came out the blocks really fast and we'd managed to organize ourselves so we were making money. And from the minute we reopened Seven Dials, it's been incredibly busy and I'm so thankful for that. But what happened with the Compass investment was, the events catering part of our business just skyrocketed and we found ourselves in places we never dreamed of.
So, we're suddenly in Birmingham as a London based business. We have a huge footprint in the Midlands now, Aston Villa, Villa Park, we have 10 food trucks outside two giant bars and we have half a dozen food vendors inside the stadium as well. We do Birmingham City now, but we were doing Tottenham, Chelsea. We did the Wimbledon Championships. We did Cheltenham races. We do Goodwood. The opportunities that that deal presented to us, were immense and enabled us to come out of COVID very quickly and scale very fast. We also ended up in San Francisco. So, IKEA had discovered Seven Dials Market just before the pandemic.
Max: IKEA the furniture.
Simon: IKEA the furniture people and they wanted someone to create a white label, Scandinavian inspired, plant based food hall.
Mel: I was going to say, tell me you've not got a new recipe for those meatballs.
Simon: No. So, we were like, hang on a minute. You've got this. I think they're the third largest retailer of food in the world, IKEA. Why do you want to build a food hall with independent food? But it's then moving into city centres. So, they're moving away from the big blue boxes. Environmental issues are very important to IKEA. To get to a big blue box, you have to drive. So, they're moving more into a high street. And, they bought a shopping centre in Hammersmith and they wanted us to build a food hall adjacent Scandinavian inspired plant forward.
Then again, in COVID, I had one of them. We pitched for this during COVID, remotely. One of the most ridiculous phone calls of my life, where they said, Oh, we've decided we don't want to do this in Hammersmith anymore. It's not the right location. I was like, okay, but we still want to do it. I said, okay, cool. Where are we doing it? San Francisco. So, off we went to San Francisco, not knowing anything about the city and 12 months ago, we opened a 50,000 square foot food hall in San Francisco. We now have two in San Francisco, and we have a food hall in Copenhagen.
Max: I was gonna say, to add to the global expansion piece is now what four?
Simon: Yes, we've got two food halls we manage in San Francisco, one Saluhall for IKEA and another one called Public Market in Emeryville in Oakland. We have a food hall in Copenhagen, which is underneath Danske Bank’s head office, which is brilliant. And we recently opened our second flagship food hall in Berlin, very similar to what we've got in Seven Dials Markets that opened about 10 weeks ago and is the second kind of branded big KERB, food hall.
Max: It's just amazing. Do you ever think you could have even started COVID, four years ago, imagined the kind of growth?
Simon: No. I mean, when we opened Seven Dials market was we were going to do one. This was going to be our base. This is our flagship. This is what kicks off everything else and supports it. We were going to do one. And because it was so successful, we got lots of calls from landlords. And we traveled the UK for a while looking at, you know, sites in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and we quickly came to the conclusion that actually, we like doing these big food halls, 20 plus 1000 square foot.
Unfortunately, UK, there isn't another city that can sustain that seven days a week. And if we went to Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, it'd probably end up being open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and it still costs the same to build. And pretty much the rents a bit cheaper, but not enough to justify that. So that's where we came up with the idea of taking it to.
Now our strategy for the food halls is iconic locations in high footfall global cities. So, we don't go into shopping centres. We are doing brilliant buildings. So, Seven Dials Market is in this amazing Victorian warehouse. Berlin's a bit Blade Runner esque. It's a former IMax cinema, very famous building in Berlin, that's been converted into this food hall, so very shiny glass metal. So, that's kind of our strategy now for what we do and where we go.
But no, couldn't have imagined it that we would be doing, running, I never, ever had on my kind of vision board visual board or my top drops card that we'd be running a global business and we've been employing people in the States and in Germany and in Copenhagen.
It is really a pinch me moment, we employ over 300 people now. If you told me a few years ago that the company would be that big and catering some of the largest sporting events in the world, I would not have believed you. It's been the most incredible journey.
It was one of the tale of two parts. It was like this build up, pre-COVID with the thing that kind of captured people's imagination in Seven Dials market, then a little pause and then this like massive growth. Since COVID, that just hasn't stopped. Yeah, it's been incredible.
Max: Amazing.
Mel: And let's take it somewhere where it's very close to our hearts and we've seen a lot of synergies. Is obviously the incubator and Care Plus and the work that you're doing around coaching, supporting and mentoring independent food business entrepreneurs, because it's the stats are incredible of what you guys have been doing and it's, probably, people will know you for the food, but might not see that side of it.
Simon: It's really interesting. So just very quickly, what happened was, two years ago, we merged the business into a group structure and one ownership and took a bit more investment in and we wanted to not be considered to sell out and we wanted to protect the part of KERB that we're almost passionate about, which is kind of the membership and the network.
We ring fenced part of KERB that is our markets, our membership and the incubator or into a social enterprise. So, it's called KERB plus and it's nothing to do with the rest of the business. Is a limited by guarantee, ring fenced social enterprise. And what that is, it's a place where, one, the network of 150 members comes together and there is a support network for them. We help them all with their health and safety. We help them all with opportunities, obviously, but, it's a place where they share information with each other. There is a network. We have a Slack channel where, oh, my fries broken. Can I borrow a fryer? Does anyone know where I can get a gas engineer. I need staff for this weekend. So that network, you can imagine, of 150 businesses, is really powerful.
But the real magic is in what the Incubator has become and that is taking people from disadvantaged backgrounds. So, we have over 10 charity partners that refer as people and that could be ex-offenders, it could be refugees from TERN, entrepreneurial refugee network. It could be ex-homeless people from St Martins, all walks of life.
People that have suffered domestic abuse get referred to us and we have two pathways.
One is a coaching for work scheme. So, we get referred people. We give them a paid London living wage, four-week work placement across our site. So, Seven Dials Market, National Theatre and KERB Social Club when it opens next week. We also run the same program in San Francisco, which I'm really proud of. At the end of four weeks, they get a professional coach throughout that time. And, at the end of four weeks, we offer them employment in our network. We've been really successful with getting people from difficult backgrounds, employment in hospitality.
The second pathway is something I'm very passionate about, because we give people the opportunity for financial freedom to be their own boss. So, we run a program called streets ahead, which is backed by McCain. People that refer to that program can download for free our online course of how to start a street food business and they get assigned a business coach and through a period of, however, long it takes them, could be four weeks, could be six months, they work with their coach to go through that program and develop a business plan. Some of the people in that scheme are in prison. We have actual laptops in prison where people can study that for their release. It could be someone that has recently come to the UK as a refugee, all kinds of people, we work with them to create a business plan.
We have a panel day twice a year where roughly 10 businesses come and cook for us and pitch their idea and they can receive up to 10,000 pounds each to start their own business. In the two and a half years since we started this scheme, we've donated over half a million pounds to people to start their scheme. The thing that makes it great is the coaching and mentoring and it is the network. You are being able to give these people a full-time coach that can work with them and support them and be that support network for them, is invaluable.
It's the thing in KERB, I'm actually most proud of. I'm very lucky, I'm one of the judges at these panel days and you get to hear these people's stories of where they've come from, how they got, where they are, their vision for the future, which is really inspiring? If you are successful and get granted the money, what are you going to do with it? What is it going to mean for you? And we're just putting in place now post investment coaches as well. So, you'll get a coach, mentor that will work with you past your investment as well, to help you through those first steps of owning your own business, which is a whole another world.
So, yeah, we really get the value of mentorship and coaching. I think half the team at KERB would be considered mentors to our members. I think that's what sets our food halls apart.
To be honest with you, I think a lot of food hall operators create a landlord tenant relationship. We don't. We see that we're in it with the vendor and their success is our success. So, it's in our interest to coach them and mentor them to be the best they can be and be more successful, because we both share in that success through our food halls and through our events. So, we are big believers in that and we provide it formally, informally, across our business.
I'm a big believer in people getting a mentor. And I've been, you know, over the years, constantly encouraging my senior management team to find a mentor, because it's those people that have pushed me through my career to break through, that have really helped me, the Berts, the Richard Hiltons, the Suki, that have really given me that confidence and belief to go to the next level. And without them, I wouldn't be here and, I think lots of people wouldn't. And actually, I'm placing my career out where. Don't have someone and it's a real thing that I often think about is I need to find someone new that can help me now.
Max: Was a program. Don't know if you've heard it called Elevate, potentially, no, I agree. We find that there's kind of five or six key moments where people kind of go through these places and moments of where they've not been before that they need that support. So just before we wrap up with the big question, then…
Peter Kerwood: It’s just you need to spend what the question is, because we do this every time and you don't know what the podcast about, you won't know. The big question is, what is your one piece?
Simon: I'm not doing it yet. I've got a question before that.
Peter Kerwood: I know. If you're going to go into that, can you just think about what's written down. You just need to say what's written there.
Simon: I have to read it?
Peter Kerwood: Well, I mean, it'd be good if you can say it like…
Simon: Yeah.
Max: Perfectly. So, they can chuck it.
_____ 10552, yeah, yeah.
Simon: Okay.
Max: I mean that correspondence from a mentoring perspective is so true. Actually, we've got quite a few CEOs and seniors and MDs because they're in a place where they've never been before and you still need support guidance, which is a lovely way of bringing us kind of to the point of our big question, if you like. But just before we ask that, given the power of that book and the whole premise around thinking big, what is the next big thing for you? What is the future? What does that next big step of success look like?
Simon: We just recently rethought our strategy for KERB and we've got two goals and they're pretty lofty. One is to be the leading large-scale event cater in the UK and the other is to be the best food operator in the world. That's what we're going for. We want to be recognized as the number one food or operator globally and the best large-scale event cater in the UK.
Max: Brilliant.
Mel: So, I have this gorgeous photo of you and I am also a child of the 90s, so I remember the curtain haircut very well. Where were you at this point?
Simon: I was just finishing up University. I had a funny time at university. I was like, working out what to do and where I was and, like lots of people, just enjoyed the party and the fun and hadn't really thought about it too much. Obviously, didn't know it then. But I just met my wife, like, literally, that year we met in 1999 when I was 21 years old. We had a little break, but we're still together. Now, we've got two kids.
It was a real kind of, not turning point, but it was a great moment, really, to be 21 and be having fun and doing all that stuff and not really knowing what the future hold. I wasn't really worried about it. I was kind of like, I'll work something out. And that's where I came up with the idea for uptown events. I don't really want to go in the corporate world. I like this DJing and putting on parties, but I actually need to make some money out of it now. And the idea came around somewhere around that time.
Mel: So, the whole premise of this podcast is built around the idea of the advice you'd give yourself in younger years if you could. So, looking at 21-year-old Simon there in Manchester, living his best life, what would be the one piece of advice that you would want to share with him?
Simon: I think my one piece of advice is to lead by example and I think, to believe in yourself, but to lead by example. I've always had the ethos of not asking anyone to do something you wouldn't do yourself, even in my early days as an event manager. People used to be able to smoke and I always tell this story. Someone that ran an event that marched around with a clipboard and saw a full ashtray and went and found a waiter or waitress to clear that ashtray, as opposed to clearing it themselves, wouldn't be working for me very long. If you see an ashtray that's full, you clear it yourself. You don't go and find someone else to do it, even if you're the Event Manager. And I've always that's always stuck with me, like never ask anyone to do something, you're not prepared to do yourself, lead by example. In my later career, create an environment that you want to work in for other people.
Max: Amazing.
Mel: Thank you. Oh, go on.
Max: We're just going to say just a huge thank you. It's been amazing hearing the journey, your story, but also then the KERB progress. It's been incredible.
Simon: Thanks.
Mel: Thank you so much.
Simon: Thank you.
Max: What brilliant conversation and an incredible guest Simon was.Mel: He is such a brilliant example, and we've seen a few of them across the podcast, of people who just have this sense of what they should be doing and where they want to be and being open to the fact that that's not linear on it's not a perfect trajectory. And we talk a lot about squiggly careers or being open to different opportunities. And Simon's such a great example of having this sense of what I should be doing, but keeping going and going, Okay, this wasn't it. And okay, that didn't work out as I thought. But I'm going to take this next opportunity, or I'm going to go and try something here, and even to the point of stepping back into employment at a point and being open to and honest with I need something different at this point, so that's going to look different for me. And okay, it's not the right place. So I'm going to go off here now and do it. And I think that should give people confidence that just because you're on a certain path, if it doesn't feel right for you, can shift, and it can lead to better places.
Max: Yeah. And I think with that, it being so open to opportunities, because they look so different in different times at different places, to your point is that there's a financial crash and then there's a covid crash and a load of other things happening along the way. One of the key things that really I liked, and I made the point about this kind of the US pump it, you know, yes, we can do it. Attitude is he really kind of understood or understands, and you mentioned the point about a book meaning a lot to it, but, but something clicked where it unlocked his belief in his own potential. And I think we all as human beings have a natural, inbuilt self doubt, or perhaps a limiting kind of element to us, whether it's through protecting us from risk or danger, but suddenly believing actually you could achieve huge things and you don't even necessarily know exactly what they are, being open to them mean they're more likely to happen. And it sounds a bit wishy washy, but gosh, listen to his conversation and how he articulates it. What a brilliant example of exactly that.
Mel: And I think What's lovely about it is that it was something so simple. It was the Tony Robbins book, and it was a paragraph in a book that unlocked that. And I think so many of us are looking for big moments, big unveils, these big epiphany moments, but they can be quite quiet or quite simple, and just something so small, seemingly, can unlock so much potential and so much power. And I think that's a real opportunity for people to think about just be open to those things, and what reading that thing or meeting that person, or doing something slightly different might unlock for you, and like you say, just where that's led him is incredible.
Max: And throughout the journey, is the mental element of and you know, he was very forthcoming with those key people that have helped him, and someone 26 years ago who he still references now on his approach to how you sell, or someone that has helped be just that sound board, and those individuals that have given him support, financially, morally along the way. I don't know anyone, and I don't think there's been a single guest on here that hasn't had at least two, if not three or four people that have meant or enabled them or supported them and helped them achieve it, which, in their own words, if they didn't have those people wouldn't be where they are today.
Mel: And Isn't it lovely to see all the work that they're doing being given back so care, plus mentoring, that they're providing the support they're providing a lot of what we're trying to do in elevate with with new gen as well. They're already established with supporting different people from different backgrounds and different opportunities to get into the industry and giving them a second chance. And I think it is, well, obviously it's hugely aligned to the Elevate values and what we believe in, but it's great to see businesses doing so well, then investing back into the future of that particular industry and space. So I think absolute kudos to them, and I'm taking so much away from that conversation.
Max: Imagine if every business did that, mega.
What the industry says about our podcast…
Our sound and mix engineer is Matteo Magariello and our producer is Peter Kerwood.
About Elevate
Elevate is a pioneering free mentoring programme that has been designed with a specific goal in mind – to inspire, inform and empower people within the event industry.
Elevate operates thanks to the generosity of our Partners; Cvent, Jack Morton Worldwide, Live Union, Powwow Events, Protein STUDIOS (venue partner), PSP, The Production Department and We Are Collider. Our Supporters include; CastleBell Ltd, Trivandi, TRO, Xquisite Productions, SPECIAL SAUCE TRAINING LTD (training partner), Times Ten Coaching, Nic Neal (people and culture partners).
Together, we’re changing lives, careers and the events industry for the better.