Monocle 24: The Entrepreneurs

In the debut episode of ‘Eureka’ influential tailor, menswear designer and entrepreneur Timothy Everest recalls the early inspirations, formative experiences, colourful characters and well-heeled advice that led him to launch his business. Presented by Monocle’s Daniel Giacopelli, ‘Eureka’ is a weekly feature brought to you by the team behind ‘The Entrepreneurs’.

Tucked in a narrow alleyway in Jerusalem is the city’s oldest tattoo shop, a family-run firm that’s been inking everyone from bikers to priests and pilgrims for hundreds of years. We meet the latest in a long line of family members to take on the business. Plus: we talk social entrepreneurship with the founder of Livoos, a new online luxury store that donates 50 per cent of its revenue to charity, and the founder of WeFarm, an innovative knowledge-sharing service for the world’s 500 million small-scale farmers.

We meet an ex-London banker who’s launched shoe company Sons of London to test out the direct-to-consumer business model. In San Francisco, Azhar Hashem, an ex-marketing executive at Google is creating a restaurant focused on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine – we discuss the transition in the run-up to the opening of Tawla SF. Then we head to Romania to ask why its health-food industry has not taken off in a big way. We’re in Bucharest to meet the entrepreneurs trying to make it happen.

How do you successfully reinvent a popular brand? Tony Conrad and Jeff Veen of Silicon Valley-based venture-capital firm True Ventures sit down with Daniel Giacopelli to discuss tips learned from growing, selling and then re-launching About.me. Plus: they explain why design is key and share tips for building a business that lasts.

Pippa Murray is a London-based marathoner who made delicious nut butter to fuel her runs. She tells us why she quit her day job to turn her passion into booming business Pip & Nut – and why it involved living in a shed for three months. Meanwhile in Tunisia, two friends have invented a radical clean-energy device that’s named after an ancient Carthaginian god and looks like a dancing rice bowl. Our correspondent in Tunis puts on her windbreaker to tell the story of Saphon Energy. Plus: sweatpants and sneakers worn far from the track and field: we break down the fashion of fitness and the branding of ‘athleisure’ with Raphael Güller from Winkreative.

Along with oxygen, water and shelter, healthy food is one of the bare necessities of life. So why is the modern food supply chain so broken – and how can we fix it? London start-up FarmDrop has a solution. Meanwhile, the owners of Earl of East London explain the nuts and bolts of growing a successful lifestyle brand and two design partners from Google Ventures outline their five-day ‘Sprint’ method for solving big business problems and testing new ideas.

How can traditional hotels fight back against the sharing economy juggernaut? We meet Caitlin Zaino, founder of Porter & Sail, a start-up whose secret weapon involves a dash of the high-tech and the charm and knowledge of an old-school concierge. We also sit down with the managing director of St Barths-based Sereno Hotels, who explains why the company is expanding to Lake Como. Plus: Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am tells us why musicians make natural entrepreneurs and Winkreative’s Raphael Güller asks whether sex really does sell.

Ghostly International was founded at the turn of the millennium in the college dorm room of DJ and Detroit native Sam Valenti IV. Since then the cult-favourite record company has signed on everyone from Matthew Dear to Gold Panda and evolved beyond music into design, clothing, tech and more. In this special edition of ‘The Entrepreneurs’ Valenti tells Daniel Giacopelli how he and his team have grown the business into a success and why there’s never been a more inventive time for smart entrepreneurs to enter the music game.

Byron Bay is the picture-perfect destination for an Australian holiday, known around the world for its pristine surf and bohemian lifestyle. But is the popularity of this town of five thousand people translating into a roaring trade for the local business community? We send Monocle’s Liam Aldous to find out for this special edition of The Entrepreneurs.

In the final episode of 2015 we profile good business practices with David Goldberg of Founders Pledge and Cynthia Salim of Citizen’s Mark. Plus: Roger Martin and Sally Osberg discuss their book ‘Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works’.

We look back over the past 12 months at some of the most memorable moments on ‘The Entrepreneurs’. We meet the CEOs of Rapha and MUBI, the menswear director of J.Crew, the creative director of Angels costumiers, the founders of Cobra Beer and Konik's Tail vodka, the author of 'Well Designed', and report on a radio station in Helsinki and a humidor workshop in Havana.

In a special Christmas-themed episode we head to Bethlehem to survey the city’s rich tradition of artisanship and visit Vienna to profile Lohner. We also meet a heritage motoring brand crafting electric bicycles and talk to the founder of Little Citizens Boutique about the timeless allure of a quality children’s toy.

From digital publishing to paywalls, we take stock of the world of online media and journalism with the man who curates the best writing on the web. A special half-hour discussion with Robert Cottrell, editor of The Browser. Robert speaks with Monocle’s Daniel Giacopelli about the thorny issues facing the world of media and journalism: which business models work, will the paywall disappear and how will we read and profit from online writing in the years to come?

When it comes to start-ups, is a houseboat the new garage? We hop on entrepreneur Pip Jamieson’s houseboat and discover how she established The Dots on London’s Regent’s Canal. Plus: barber-turned-entrepreneur Matt Raine and his business partner Matt Brooke discuss Mr Natty, their growing grooming brand for stylish gents around the globe.

We meet James Beshara, founder and CEO of Tilt, a crowdfunding service that’s sweeping across campuses and social circles around the world. Soheb Panja and Jeff Taylor also pop by to share the business model of their media brand ‘Courier’, a London-based quarterly publication covering stories of modern business. Plus: Geoff Mulgan from Nesta explains why most meetings are unproductive and gives his top tips for making them better.