Monocle 24: The Entrepreneurs

Cousins Robert Nightingale and Jonathan Cazzola grew up in the British countryside, where they developed a passion for vintage motorcycles. Amid careers in branding and design, they realised that the motorcycle world lacked a handsome and robust luggage and accessories brand and so decided to create one. The pair share the origins of their company, Malle London and tell us why they tested products on a 10,000-mile road trip across North America.

Thousands of start-up founders and investors from around the world attended this year’s edition of Web Summit in the Portuguese capital. We hear the stories of three entrepreneurs – from Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon itself – whose companies stood out from the crowd.

What does a brand sound like? This week we meet an entrepreneur and DJ who believes that every brand should have a strategy for sound. Brian d’Souza of Open Ear explains how to curate a brand’s musical identity.

‘Eureka’ is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by Daniel Giacopelli and the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’. In 1846, Edwin Fear established a watch brand in Bristol in the UK. The Fears Watch Company survived the 19th century and lasted through two world wars until the late 1950s when it shut down. We meet Edwin Fear’s great-great-great grandson, Nicholas Bowman-Scargill, who’s on a mission to revive the family firm to its former glory.

Which luxury companies are doing their part to protect the planet and how can consumers know which brands to trust? Diana Verde Nieto’s solution is something called the Butterfly Mark. Here she explains the power of trust and the twists and turns of her career in sustainability. Meanwhile, we meet two twenty-something brothers on a mission to create the world’s first truly premium sportswear brand for men. Castore’s Tom and Phil Beahon share their game plan.

This week we hear the story of Chaz Hutton who studied architecture in Australia. But what began as a hobby – drawing funny and observational doodles on Post-it notes – soon turned Chaz into an online phenomenon. Now with a new book, ‘A Sticky Note Guide to Life’, he’s left architecture for good. So what’s it like changing careers and going full steam ahead into the great creative abyss?

Acclaimed social scientist Dr Robert Cialdini knows all about persuasion and influence. He talks about his new bestseller ‘Pre-Suasion’, which reveals how the world’s best persuaders succeed based on what they do before they deliver their message. Plus: boot-makers in Norway, an Australian dog-walking company with a difference and the former Swiss diplomat running a boutique hotel in Kosovo that’s challenging ethnic stereotypes.

‘Eureka’ is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by Daniel Giacopelli and the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’. This week we hear the story of Gabi Lewis and his company Exo. While at university in 2013 Lewis ordered 2,000 crickets to his dorm room, which he planned on turning into tasty nutritious snacks. Today his company Exo produces protein bars made with cricket flour. We ask what went wrong in those early days and whether Exo can ever convince the western world to embrace insects.

The global travel industry is a juggernaut influenced by world events, hi-tech disruption, the rise of the middle class and long-term trends, one of which is the increasing desire for a genuine local experience when overseas. We meet the CEOs of two travel companies that aim to fulfil that need: Paul Christie runs Walk Japan, a pioneering tour operator that has been leading long trips across the country since the early 1990s, and Eric La Bonnardière is the co-founder of French start-up Evaneos, which connects travellers directly with local travel experts.

‘Eureka’ is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by Daniel Giacopelli and the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’. This week we hear the story of Craig Robertson, who tells us how he launched premium male skincare brand Filmore, which marries minimalist Scandinavian design with Scottish craftsmanship.

Daniel Lubetzky is the founder and CEO of Kind, the fastest-growing snack company in the US, and author of the ‘New York Times’ bestseller ‘Do the Kind Thing’. Lubetzky and his team have built a billion-dollar company based on healthy ingredients and a devotion to the philosophy and practice of kindness in everyday life. He talks to Monocle’s Daniel Giacopelli about everything he’s learnt.

‘Eureka’ is a weekly spotlight on business origins brought to you by Daniel Giacopelli and the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’. This week we hear the story of Cynthia Corbett, who began her career as an international economist working on debt conversion plans for Sub Saharan Africa in the 1980s. With a young daughter the constant travel put a strain on her family life so she quit her job and retrained as an art historian, eventually opening a gallery in her house. She shares lessons learned.

Velocity is an app that offers a curated selection of the world’s best dining experiences, picked by local insiders. The all-in-one platform is aimed at the jet-set crowd and lets users discover, reserve and pay for meals around the world. Co-founder Alex Macdonald shares the company’s story and vision. Meanwhile, former journalist Amanda Thomson moved to Paris to study the wine industry. Raised as a vegetarian and on a no-sugar diet, she now makes no-sugar sparkling wines and champagnes under her brand Thomson & Scott. She explains how she did it.

This week we hear the story of restaurateur Kurt Zdesar. Australian-born Kurt kicked off his culinary career with stints at McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken but was soon overseeing Nobu’s first European location in London, which received a Michelin star within 10 months. He’s brought all-day dim sum to London with his popular Ping Pong brand, launched Black Roe in Mayfair, his restaurant Chotto Matte is going international and he’s just opened a new Italian joint Fucina. Kurt shares his inspiration.

Hirofumi Kurino from United Arrows and Simone Cipriani from the Ethical Fashion Initiative discuss the creative partnership that led them to hitch a ride to Ethiopia. Then the CEO of Oliver Peoples explains why the US eyewear brand is making moves in Europe. And Palida Boonyarungsrit reveals how she’s leveraging her family’s multigenerational history of craft in Thailand to create her very own business.