Tom Hawes’ Post

Tomorrow, we go for 2024 StartUp of the Year, change in the Coffee sector is coming ✊🏼 6 months ago, Perk were crowned the Retail Startup of the Year in the South East 🙌🏼 Thanks again Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE & Francesca James 🤍 Tomorrow we go for both the National crown & Overall Startup of the Year at the official StartUp Awards. 2 years ago when I founded Perk, this sort of recognition seemed way off 🚀 There would be days we wouldn’t even reach 20 sales across 9 hours. The location was wrong but so was the, ✊🏼 Brand ☕️ Product 🪧 Advertising Now, win or lose, I’m happy to know, we have a Brand which will truly REVOLUTIONISE the sector. In doing so becoming the largest Coffee company in the UK 🌱 Never give up & exciting times will come. Stay tuned, it’s going to be some ride 🔥 Key learnings: → Everyone starts somewhere — Wherever you are in your journey, don’t focus on others. Build step by step & you’ll surpass your competition faster than you could ever believe → Continually evolve — You must be big enough to admit your mistakes, learn from them & go again. Doubling down will only end one way → Take risks — You can’t change the game if you tow the line. Be brave, get out your comfort zone, be the change you want to see → Never give up — Persistance always beats resistance. The journey will be hard, there’s no getting around it, but YOU CAN DO IT! → Never settle — Think you’ve made it, go again, big corporates get lazy, that’s why they can be challenged. Don’t become one of them ————————— Who else is up for an award tomorrow night? Who’s won before? ————————— Tom Hawes Founder & CCB (Coffee Chain Breaker) ✊🏼

🚀 In 2019, my co-founder and I were flying high. One year later, we were out of business. This is my failed startup story 🔴. Back in 2017, my co-founder Stefan Rafales and I, started a company called RestoDepot. At the time, the F&B industry was at an inflection point. You could feel the buzz and the pull of the market. It seemed that there was a new restaurant business opening everyday. 💯 The idea behind RestoDepot was simple, simplify access to food service products for F&B businesses through our B2B e-commerce platform. Initially, we did really well: ◾ 50% monthly GMV growth for 24 consecutive months ◾ Partnerships wtih brands and principles like Nestle, ABC Heinz, Bungasari and more. ◾ Served customers like The Duck King, Ismaya and hundreds of more ◾ Successfully raised VC funding Then, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic hit us: ◾ Restaurants closed their doors, orders disappeared ◾ Our ARs froze and had to pay back with our own personal money ◾ Investors didn’t want to touch us with a 10 foot pole 8 months into the pandemic, we ran out of capital and made the hard choice to close down the business. As a result of winding down the business, we had to: ◾ Break the news to all our investors (some whom were my friends) ◾ Lay off 20+ amazingly hardworking people ◾ Couldn’t prove the doubters wrong At the time, I couldn’t see the silver lining and I couldn't see past the failure. 🔥 But looking back, I realize this was the most profound learning experience of my life. I picked up valuable skills around coding, sales, fundraising and leadership. Most importantly, it taught me the meaning of resilience. I learned how to face adversity head-on and emerge stronger because of it 💪. Ultimately, this experience didn't just teach me about business – it reshaped my entire approach to professional challenges and opportunities. Have you been through a similar situation? What did you learn from the setback? How did it shape you into who you are today? Leave your experiences and learnings in the comments! 👇 #startups #entrepreneurship #personalgrowth

✨ Big Milestone Alert: Crafty Ramen is now available in over 1,500 grocery stores across Canada AND we're partnered with HelloFresh nationwide! ✨ When we first started Crafty Ramen at-home, the vision was simple but bold: to bring high-quality, restaurant-worthy ramen to homes across North America. Achieving this kind of scale—especially as a startup—has been nothing short of a journey. Behind the scenes of every shelf placement, every partnership, and every package delivered to your doorstep, there are countless sleepless nights, tough decisions, and lessons learned. Building a startup means embracing the unknown, taking hits, and often operating on sheer belief when the path ahead feels uncertain. Here are a few truths I’ve learned along the way: *Growth isn’t linear—it’s messy, chaotic, and often comes with growing pains. *You’ll make mistakes—some costly—but the key is to learn quickly and adapt. *Surround yourself with a team that shares the same hunger and passion because, in the hardest moments, they’ll be the reason you keep going. *Celebrate every win, big or small. They’re what fuel the journey. To our amazing Crafty Ramen team: this milestone is because of you—your creativity, resilience, and tireless commitment to our mission. (Jared Ferrall 🍜 Miki Ferrall, Justine Seah, Adam Kennedy, Bill Hahn, CPA, CA, Vanin Ferrall, Joanna Silveri, Jonathon Barraball and so many more!) To our partners: thank you for believing in what we’re building. And to our customers: your love for our ramen keeps us inspired every day. This journey is far from over, but today, we pause to appreciate how far we’ve come. From a little 600 square foot ramen shop to a household name in the making, here’s to what's next. Slurps Up!! 🍜 #startupjourney #entrepreneurship #CPG #ramenstartup #CraftyRamen #hellofresh #growth

Alex Wright featured in The Times 📰 We’re delighted to share that Alex Wright, co-founder of DASH Water - a company in the ProVen VCTs' portfolio - has just published his first article for The Times. In it, Alex reflects on the key lessons he’s learned while scaling the rapidly growing seltzer brand. Launched in 2017, DASH faced a significant challenge during the pandemic as 65% of its sales had historically been tied to cafes and restaurants. Yet, a few years later, the company has captured 39% of the UK’s seltzer market, continuing to innovate in the drinks industry while making a positive impact on consumers and the environment. In his article, Alex also shares insights from his time speaking to Richard Branson about building successful companies, including some invaluable advice he received from the Virgin Groups founder on focusing on your objectives as a founder. Check out Alex’s full article to learn more, including his top tips for startup founders - and keep an eye out for a special mention of another ProVen VCTs portfolio company 👀. #scaleup #seltzer #vct #consumer

Got featured in a VoyageLA article and it's pretty cool to see our startup journey with Sam Nadler get some spotlight.  I talk about everything from our early days to what we're doing now with @ryzlabs . It's been a wild ride, and we're just getting started. Big thanks to TrailPR for helping us share our story!  Want to know more? Check out the article   https://lnkd.in/gEmc2dDn And hey, would love to hear your thoughts on it, so feel free to drop a comment below! #startup #startuplife

We moved back to Denmark 🇩🇰 for several reasons. One was that Marcus Maar started Plantbox.dk 🌱some months ago.. and it literally took off. It has been awesome to follow how a passion project turned into a business.. and today you can find his products in many Meny Denmark stores around the country - as well as online on Nemlig, Wolt, and other places coming up ❤️. It became practically difficult to manage all the logistical aspects of a scaling venture, as we had to turn down many opportunities and spent less time together as well as a family. Being here and being able to support each other makes more sense. So here we are attending our very first Høstmarked - hopefully not the last 🥳💪... also I realized it’s pretty cool that we’re both entrepreneurs as we kinda both find it easy to navigate the startup life and all the challenges & uncertainties it brings 😅 - and we’re definitely never bored 🤩 (attending the Høstmarked right after a wedding celebration the other day). Did you try any of the products? #plantbased #vegetarlivet #startuplife #iværksætteri

It’s So Hard to Grow a F#$king Startup in the eCommerce Industry Let me tell you why: 🙅♂️The Small Guys Don’t Get a Shot Look at industry panels. Who’s always on stage? The big players who can afford sponsorships and speaking gigs. Meanwhile, the smaller disruptors who could shake things up—get shut out. It’s a pay-to-play system, and it’s holding the entire industry back. 🗣️ People Want Change, But No One’s Willing to Change Everyone talks about disruption, but when push comes to shove, they stick with the same old strategies (particularly in Australia). It’s comfortable, sure—but discomfort is where true innovation thrives. ☀️ Nothing New Under the Sun We’ve nailed the basics: seamless checkout flows, better UX, faster shipping. But what’s next? How many times can you repackage the same ideas and call it innovation? The industry is stuck recycling incremental updates when what it truly needs is a revolution. —— I get it. Events and conferences need sponsorships to keep the lights on, and I respect that. But what if just one panel slot—or even 1% of the agenda—was dedicated to startups and disruptors? Retail Global is already doing this. We are so grateful to receive their Emerging Tech Fellowship Award, where they practise what they preach by actively supporting the little guy. We've seen epic growth through their support. Shout out to all the little guys disrupting the industry one day at a time! Keep pushing 💪 Mateship, Sami Jarrous, Daniel Menezes #startup #founders #ecommerce

Get started! The sooner you start, the quicker you learn...AND also improve. Start small and with some trusted relationships, almost like a soft launch you see with restaurants. Launch->Learn->Improve->Expand->Repeat “Every startup should start with a very small market. Always err on the side of starting too small. The reason is simple: it’s easier to dominate a small market than a large market. If you think your initial market might be too big, it almost certainly is.” -Zero to One, Peter Thiel

After a short LinkedIn break, we're back. And back with good news. Stroli has been shortlisted as a finalist for the UK StartUp Awards. We are happy to have this recognition and are very proud of our achievements, but it is only the start. We keep our fingers crossed for a WIN! About Stroli: We bet you can name a luggage brand. We bet you can name a rucksack brand. But can you name a shopping bag brand? We think not. Stroli will become the answer to that question. We’ve launched our first product group, the shopping trolley. This sector has grown 33% since 2019. We are now working on New Product Development to enable our expansion into the wider shopping bag sector.   The shopping bag sector is worth over £0.5bn in the UK. Globally the shopping bag sector is forecast to grow from $10bn to $17.6bn in the next four years. Yet there is no go-to brand. We have proof of traction. We have sold over 500 units. We have stress-tested our business processes. We have ambitious plans. We are raising under SEIS with an expected x20 ROI and foresee a bright future. WE ARE LOOKING FOR INVESTORS. Would you like to know more?  Come, join the Stroli revolution.

My mother always said, "Have respect for your elders." Picture this... You're in a start-up accelerator programme ready to pitch your innovative idea, and you’ve got a pool of other founders with decades of hard-earned life experience under their belts, waiting for their turn in line. Now, think of people like RAY KROC, who didn’t get involved with McDonald’s until he was 52, yet went on to build one of the most iconic brands in the world. Or VERA WANG, who shifted into fashion design at 40 and transformed herself into a global style powerhouse. Lest we forget COLONEL SANDERS, who founded KFC in his 60s - after years of bouncing from one career to the next. These are stories we all know and admire, yet so often we forget them when it comes to respecting the journey of entrepreneurship. Oftentimes we look down on start-ups, or even customers, with some silver in their hair. People in their 50s, 60s, and beyond have a special blend of preferences, passions, and drive that can be game-changing for any company. Let’s rethink age in business. Don't automatically view a founder's age, and automatically see failure. And stop overlooking a customer base that could bring incredible value to your bottom line, simply because of the years they’ve lived. Age is an asset, not a setback! #BusinessPsychology #SmallBusiness #BusinessGrowth #Ageism #StartUps #BusinessTips #BusinessMindset