Business for Punks: Break All the Rules--the BrewDog Way - Hardcover

Watt, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1101979925 ISBN 13: 9781101979921

Publisher: Portfolio, 2016

Synopsis

Forget about building a business—businesses fail and fade into oblivion. Start a revolution instead. 

James Watt started a rebellion against tasteless mass market beers by founding BrewDog, now one of the world’s best-known and fastest growing craft breweries, famous for beers, bars, and crowdfunding. In this smart, funny book, he shares his story and explains how you too can tear up the rule book and start a company on your own terms. It’s an anarchic, DIY guide to entrepreneurship—and a new manifesto for business.

After spending seven years on the high seas of the North Atlantic, James Watt started BrewDog craft brewery in Scotland with his best friend, Martin Dickie. They didn’t have a business plan. All they had was a mis­sion to revolutionize beer drinking and make other people as passionate about craft beer as they are. 
 
They’ve succeeded. Within a few years, BrewDog was huge—a world-famous craft brewery with beer bars around the globe and hundreds of thousands of fans. Those fans became literal backers of their business with the introduction of an unprecedented crowdfunding movement, Equity for Punks. And in rewriting the record books and kickstarting a revolution—James and BrewDog inadvertently forged a whole new approach to business. 
Business for Punks bottles the essence of James’s methods in an accessible, honest mani­festo. Among his mantras: 

·  Cash is motherf*cking king. Cash is the lifeblood of your company. Monitor every penny as if your life depends on it—because it does.
·  Get people to hate you. You won’t win by try­ing to make everyone happy, so don’t bother. Let haters fuel your fire while you focus on your hard-core fans.
·  Steal and bastardize from other fields. Take inspiration freely wherever you find it— except from people in your own industry.
·  Job interviews suck. They never reveal if someone will be a good employee, only how good that person is at interviews. Instead, take them for a test drive and see if they’re passionate and a good culture fit.

Business for Punks rethinks conventional business wisdom so you can go beyond the norm. It’s an anarchic, indispensable guide to thriving on your own terms.
 

About this title

About the Author

JAMES WATT, captain and cofounder of BrewDog, was a fully qualified deep sea captain, having earlier completed an honors degree in law and economics. He traded in being a salty sea dog to start BrewDog in 2007, with Martin Dickie. He was awarded Great British Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. Along with Martin, James hosts the reality TV show Brew Dogs on the Esquire Network, which airs in seven countries.

Review

"An undeniably engaging read with tangible, pragmatic advice...and seasoned wisdom”
—The Scotsman

"An idiosyncratic guide for budding entrepreneuers"
—Financial Times 

"[Watt] explains how a company that started in a shed in Scotland became an operation with an annual turnover of £50 million and sales in 55 countries...useful tips for a fledgeling entrepreneur with a bright idea"
—The Times 

"BrewDog represents the future...They've crafted their own success. And if a couple of Scottish guys with a faithful dog can, you can too."
 —Will King, the founder of King of Shaves

About this edition

• Publisher: Portfolio
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1101979925
• ISBN 13: 9781101979921
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256