Episode #31
Building a Business with Meaning | Nish Sharma's founder story
Is what you're building actually connected to who you are? And would you know if it wasn't? Nish Sharma knew. He had the banking career, the best car, the best house, four holidays a year - and a question he couldn't shake: what am I actually doing? The answer arrived at his grandmother's funeral. In the grief that followed, he found a 100-year-old family story nobody had ever finished: a bootlegger great-grandfather who started an alcohol enterprise with a Scottish army officer in 1940. Nish decided to finish it — in Edinburgh, with a Scottish gin and rum that carries both worlds in, and on, the bottle. What followed was anything but straightforward. Near-bankruptcy. A wall of silence from UK retailers despite offering to pay for the shelf space himself. He survived a heart attack and put it in an email to a buyer who kept saying no. He chased one contract for five years and felt flat when it finally landed. The private jet he always dreamed of? There's a model one on his desk. Now he drives a van. Listen to this episode to find out: What he actually wrote in an email to a buyer who'd repeatedly rejected him How a bootlegger, a Scottish army officer, Indian passport holograms and the Gaelic word for tea ended up encoded in his bottles Why angel investors who demand revenue proof before investing have got it backwards Why his philosophy is "it has not worked, it is working just now" and what it means if you're building for the long term What shaking hands with seven or eight billionaires taught him about wealth, success and what you actually need Connect with Nish: Rutland Square: https://www.rutlandsquarespirits.com/ On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishantsharma08/ Chapters: 00:55 — The business, the products, the team 02:25 — "Who am I?" Assam, Punjab, Edinburgh 04:59 — Banking: paid the bills, didn't serve a purpose 07:13 — Four businesses that failed before this one 08:44 — "It has not worked, it is working now" 10:43 — What a decade in banking actually gave him 14:15 — The global palate argument 16:41 — The shelf space offer retailers turned down 18:08 — The funeral and the 100-year legacy 19:28 — "Stories live forever. Products don't." 20:03 — The bottle: passports, tartan, 1940 and 2020 23:13 — Near-bankruptcy and the angel paradox 25:14 — Why Scotch whisky is a generational business 26:36 — How tech broke investor psychology 27:07 — The bigger plan 30:57 — "Elon Musk is going to Mars. I'm just building on Earth." 31:31 — The van, the model jet, the payroll 34:53 — The one thing he'd do differently -- Thanks for listening. Curious Business is here to bring you insights, experiences and ideas from founders, leaders and experts to help you think differently about your business and its marketing. My name is Stephen Morris and I help start-ups and scale-ups get momentum in their marketing and pipeline. Like to know more? Book a discovery call: https://www.curiousbusiness.co.uk/discovery/ Or sign-up to 'The Prompt' my monthly newsletter: https://www.curiousbusiness.co.uk/signup/ If you'd like to talk about how podcasts can build reach, enhance authority and fuel your pipeline, visit: www.curiousbusiness.co.uk .
