When redundancy hits, and you are feeling at your lowest, don’t have a look at it as a setback, as a substitute see it as a redirection. Use that point to test in with your self and ask: “What do I actually wish to do? What are my objectives and desires?”
Will King did precisely that after he confronted redundancy.
He realised he was sad and so determined to take the leap and turn into his personal boss—however he additionally knew he wanted to create a fantastic product.
And with that, King of Shaves was born, the primary firm available in the market to supply shaving oils and a razor-burn-free shave.
Uncover how Will received his product into massive retailers resembling Boots and the way he differentiated each his enterprise and advertising and marketing to compete towards rivals resembling Gillette.
Right here’s what we cowl:
Use redundancy as a launchpad not a setback
Back in the day of the Yellow Pages
Solve a problem and fulfil a need that isn’t already being fulfilled
Building an authentic tone of voice
Be open to new way of marketing and look for advantages to your brand
Keeping your business privately owned
Rival companies will play dirty
The downfall of the shaving bond
Fund your growth by selling more of your product
How Covid impacted King of Shades
In the eye of the storm—businesses battling recession
Being direct to community should be your marketing strategy
Transferrable skills from the yacht to the boardroom
Use redundancy as a launchpad not a setback
Bex Burn-Callander:
Will, it’s so great to have you ever on the present. How are you?
Will King:
Bex, you understand what? I feel we have been chatting earlier and stated it’s been 10 years since we final noticed one another and right here we’re 10 years later, and also you haven’t aged a bit.
I do know you’ve gotten a child on the best way, and also you’ve already received one and it’s so pretty to see you, and I’m nonetheless shaving lives, Bex. That’s what I’m doing.
Bex Burn-Callander:
I really like that you’re nonetheless on model, and I really feel as previous as time. So I really like you for saying I haven’t aged.
Will King:
Oh cease it.
Bex Burn-Callander:
However yeah, you’re proper. Once I was beginning my profession as a enterprise journalist specializing in entrepreneurs, you have been simply an obsession as a result of primary, you have been doing so many cool issues that had by no means been carried out earlier than with King of Shaves.
Quantity two, you have been all the time nice for a quote, since you all the time simply stated precisely what was in your thoughts, and also you by no means held again, which was nice.
And three, you all the time picked up the telephone. So that you have been a part of my sort of mini-MBA as a enterprise journalist, simply studying from you.
So it’s so good to be catching up with you once more.
Will King:
Oh, thanks, likewise.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Effectively perhaps we should always begin then. Take me again to the heady days of 1993.
Inform me the way you got here to create this disruptive model.
So that you’ve been made redundant, is that proper? Inform me the way you got here to the world of shaving lives.
Will King:
Goodness, me. We’re going again 29 years, Bex. So I used to be 26 or 27 years previous then, and I used to be working in convention and occasion manufacturing, however there was a recession within the UK, and I used to be made redundant.
I went from my £40,000 a 12 months job and firm automobile, to a motorcycle. I used to be actually not that completely satisfied to be sincere with you.
I made a decision to do two issues.
Firstly, I needed to be my very own boss. The entrepreneur phrase wasn’t actually used rather a lot then. I imply, in fact you had Alan Sugar and Richard Branson, however aside from that, it was very, “You’re beginning your personal enterprise, actually?!”
Secondly, I wanted to make a product.
I hated shaving. I’d studied engineering at Polytechnic, now Portsmouth College, and The Physique Store was massive, aromatherapy and important oils have been massive. And I believed, may you shave with pure oils?
They lubricated and foams didn’t, they’re chemical-based merchandise, and so I purchased a guide in Henley on easy methods to combine important oils. I went dwelling and combined up some important oils and months later I arrived at a formulation that appeared to not gunge up the sink an excessive amount of however did ship a pleasant shave.
You’ve a service oil, and you’ve got important oils, and I didn’t get razor burn for the primary time in my life. I imply, that was an enormous factor. I’d all the time had rash pores and skin. And we needed to put on fits, shirts, and ties again then.
I believed, perhaps if it really works for me, it would work for different individuals.
And that’s how I got here to create the unique King of Shaves shaving oil, the final one among which I’ve right here is 30 years previous.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Wow. Nonetheless in its packaging.
Will King:
And that went on the underside cabinets of Boots in Might 1994 after heaps and plenty of telephone calls and plenty of journeys up the newly opened M40 after which the M6.
And naturally after we’d received it into Harrods the place I’d rung up Mohamed Al-Fayed and received put by way of.
I received put by way of to his assistant, and so they listed the product, and it’s unimaginable now, Bex, after I look again on it.
In 1993, not solely was I capable of launch a product, however there was no expertise to talk of then, the web wasn’t invented but actually, and the whole lot was paper.
But additionally extremely the timing was so wonderful as a result of I had one competitor that was Gillette. So there have been actually no different shaving manufacturers aside from Wilkinson Sword. No Nivea for males. No L’Oréal Males Professional, no Bulldog, no nothing.
It was me and my two canines, the Fox terriers, out the bed room, and we received it on to the Boots shelf with the client Fiona Kemp.
Our gross sales went from £300 a 12 months to £57,000 a 12 months after which to £250,000 once we received it into Sainsbury’s after which £500,000 once we received into Tesco. Then I suppose by 1998 the remaining was historical past, we’d turn into this challenger model to Gillette.
And for those who didn’t like Gillette, effectively, we have been sort of the one different possibility. So unimaginable.
At present, you possibly can not imagine that it was simply us and to paraphrase a few well-known sporting manufacturers, inconceivable is nothing, I simply did it.
Right here I’m 29 years later. So it’s nice to be on the pod with you.
Again within the day of the Yellow Pages
Bex Burn-Callander:
I’ve received so many questions, Will.
First I’ve to ask, how did you get Al-Fayed’s quantity?
Will King:
So how did I get Mr Al-Fayed’s quantity?
Effectively, initially, I picked up Yellow Pages, a giant yellow guide of phone numbers that you simply used to have delivered to your door yearly. I lived in London, and it was listed. That’s nonetheless their quantity now.
I rang up the switchboard and requested to be put by way of to the client and no person would assist me. I used to be attempting to write down letters, you needed to ship letters again then and stamps and put parcels within the publish and hope they turned up.
You most likely know, my first job was promoting promoting house for Haymarket, for a advertising and marketing journal. So I had no situation choosing up the telephone to individuals if I didn’t know them.
And I simply thought, you understand what? I’ll ask to be put by way of to his workplace, and I used to be.
So I stated, “Hello, I’m Will King, and I’ve launched this model King of Shaves and Harrods is the world’s finest recognized and finest division retailer, and I’d like to share with Mr Al-Fayed what my plan is.”
And the girl stated, right here’s his fax quantity. So I faxed it over and the following day I had an order.
Resolve an issue and fulfil a necessity that isn’t already being fulfilled
Bex Burn-Callander:
Effectively, it’s wonderful.
And I really feel like we are able to’t stress sufficient that you simply have been the unique shaving disruptor since you stroll right into a grocery store or right into a chemist, and also you see all these manufacturers on cabinets, however there was actually just one.
So I wish to know, initially, how exhausting was it to be the primary disruptor? What was the pushback like?
Was there a response when immediately this whipper-snapper was attempting to say shelf house?
Will King:
That got here later.
I imply, positively once we launched our razor in 2008, that was fairly punchy as a result of Gillette for the primary time went on 50% off a few of their handles, which they’d by no means discounted earlier than.
However going again within the early days, no, once we received into Harrods, then though the gross sales have been tiny, I had a stockist and I knew I needed to get the Boots purchaser, a woman known as Fiona Kemp, and I knew her quantity. Metropolis Gate Nottingham NG2 3AA.
I can nonetheless bear in mind the unique Boots central Nottingham publish code.
Bex Burn-Callander:
You’re displaying off now. I don’t know the way you bear in mind all this stuff.
Will King:
Oh, effectively these have been essential milestones and I simply badgered Fiona. I wouldn’t say badgered, I used to be politely persistent.
And on the finish of the day, after many faxes, she granted me a gathering, and we had a 15-minute assembly in December 1993 or January 1994, early then. After which I heard nothing for weeks and months and I believed what’s taking place?
Then I received a letter, an old-fashioned letter by way of the publish from the buying workforce at Boots, saying, “We wish to arrange and are available on as a provider.”
And I believed, effectively, that’s it. I have to be in. I imply, she actually didn’t have a lot to lose. So we have been placed on the underside shelf, we have been promoting it at £2.99. Gillette was at, let’s say £1.99 or £2.49.
We have been at £2.99, so what have been premium mass available in the market. So we delivered margin to them, and you understand what? It was a tiny little bit of shelf house. It was on the underside shelf, and what was the chance of it didn’t work? Like nothing.
After which in fact, no person knew who the heck I used to be or something. So there was no pushback as a result of the Gillette guys would’ve gone, oh there’s this bizarre shaving oil known as Kings of Shaves on the underside shelf of Boots. I imply, yeah. Okay. Transfer on.
After all, as a result of it solved the issue and I feel that’s essential with individuals listening to this podcast, for those who’re doing a services or products, it’s a must to clear up an issue.
It’s a must to fulfil a necessity that isn’t already being fulfilled.
You’ll be able to’t simply launch one other sort of shaving gel as a result of Gillette have been doing shaving gels or one other sort of shaving foam. So we’re doing shaving foam.
So we got here up with the shaving oil after which the aloe-based alpha gel, the shaving gel, plenty of aloe in it, which is sweet to your pores and skin.
These have been two distinctive merchandise.
Extremely, the pushback solely actually began after 1999 once we have been on the highest shelf at Boots, we’d signed Ted Baker, the perfume licensing deal to earlier 12 months.
Boots had that as effectively. Fiona introduced that into Boots too.
So we received in King of Shaves, we received in Ted Baker, and we received in Fish. I launched all of these three with Boots, and we have been on prime shelf, after which we’re on mid-gondolas. After which while you’re on a mid-gondola, which is the massive slice of shelf on the highest, and also you’re doing 3 for two or £1 off, effectively your numbers begin to rocket.
So we went into this epic double-digit development after which individuals took discover and Nivea for Males launched in ’99, in fact. And that took them 11 years to get to overtaking us in quantity two place extremely. And L’Oréal Males Professional launched in 2004.
So extremely, we’d had an 11-year run with simply Gillette because the competitor.
Then, in fact, it was straightforward to poke enjoyable at Gillette and be a bit cheeky and be a bit controversial. And the web got here alongside and all of these things occurred, and I suppose we have been simply fortunate and loads of life, Bex, is timing. We have been simply fortunate.
I imply perhaps fortunate I used to be made redundant, in any other case I wouldn’t have carried out it. Fortunate the web got here alongside within the mid-nineties, fortunate males’s magazines got here alongside within the late nineties, you had magazines like FHM with one million month-to-month circulation.
We’d be in there with an advert or editorial, and subsequently we began to get actually observed.
I’ve since spoken to individuals within the business and extremely, they stated there are two CEOs of huge PLCs now, and so they stated, “What you probably did, you simply confirmed that the massive guys may very well be challenged, and that gave us permission to create our companies and imagine in our manufacturers as a result of we noticed what you probably did together with your little shaving oil and what you grew to become within the mid to late noughties, 2010, 2015 and so forth.”
And that was unimaginable.
However to return to the merchandise, it’s all in regards to the product. The product’s received to be nice. That’s why iPhone’s such a preferred international product. And it’s like, Tesla’s such a great electrical automobile.
These are nice merchandise, and so they did have visionary entrepreneurs behind them, Elon and the late Steve Jobs.
But it surely’s all in regards to the product. If the merchandise sucks, you’re going to go nowhere.
Constructing an genuine tone of voice
Bex Burn-Callander:
The product was nice, however you additionally had a specific tone of voice that was simply so cheeky. I imply, we’re so accustomed to it now as a result of everybody does it.
You purchase your oat milk, and also you see that very same sort of voice on the aspect. However on the time you and perhaps harmless, it was all model new, this concept of a model that reached you another way, communicated a special approach.
Will King:
Indubitably. And positively I got here to know the harmless guys fairly effectively. I feel they launched in 1999 or perhaps a 12 months earlier. And loads of them they stated after I met Wealthy Reed and the fellows behind it, they stated loads of our learnings have been formed by what you probably did since you gave a humanity and a tone of voice and an authenticity to your FMCG or your merchandise.
Clearly Mr Gillette had died 100 years in the past, so he wasn’t capable of, and by this time Proctor and Gamble have been seeking to purchase Gillette, and so they positively have been by no means going to present Gillette a humanity as such that we see as we speak.
Clearly handed that within the mid noughties, when Mike Dubin launch Greenback Shave Membership, which is the standout direct to shopper success story within the 2010, ’20, he was a standout comic.
I imply our blades are nice, and he went on there, and he crashed a web site, and it went out after which in fact received his exit to Unilever in 2016 for a billion {dollars}.
The one D2C model who’s managed that degree of exit, though he’d misplaced $400m and Unilever since misplaced I feel one other $300m with it.
However as by the by, he received his exit.
However once more, he had that tone of voice and that tonality and that authenticity and that real rapport, which I suppose introduced us collectively all of the years in the past while you have been journalists and seeking to cowl startups or scale up or gross tales like we did at King of Shaves.
Be open to information approach of promoting and search for benefits to your model
Bex Burn-Callander:
And also you have been saying that product is the whole lot, product plus persona, I feel on this case.
However have been there any choices that you simply bear in mind making in these early days that you simply assume have been actually pivotal to the expansion?
And I do know you stated about being very persuasive and really persistent for instance with consumers, however after you first received your run on the shopper, what have been the good choices that actually stood you in good stead?
Will King:
So I feel the good choices that the get go positively have been that we caught to our knitting when it comes to King of Shaves. So we did a shaving oil after which for 2 years we simply had one shaving oil. After which we thought it’s promoting all proper, perhaps we may have two.
So we went as much as Boots, and so they stated, “Oh, for those who’re going to do one other shaving oil, why don’t you do some shaving gels?”
And we’re going, “Oh, if we did some shaving gels, why don’t you cease them?”
They usually’re going, “Effectively yeah, as a result of your gross sales are sort of on fireplace. So that you’ve received a model consciousness after which when you are at it, why don’t you do males’s skincare? There’s no males’s skincare.”
So we did males’s skincare in 1996.
And I feel listeners listening to this in 2022 will assume, cling on a minute, we nonetheless see all this hype about males and skincare now.
That is like 25 years in the past and these guys have been doing a males’s moisturiser, an exfoliating scruff, a cooling publish shave balm. And we did.
And once we got, I suppose, the permission by the retailers to go and mainly make no matter we needed to make, which we then did, you then get a confidence after which a perception, yeah, so long as you persist with what your core competency is.
And positively for the primary 9 years, we have been superb at sticking to the core competency of King of Shaves.
We have been fortunate to get Ted Baker as a perfume licensing deal as a result of we’d written to Paul Smith after which Ray Kelvin, the founder who’s now stepped down, however was the shareholder then. Their gross sales have been solely £15m a 12 months. They hit a market cap 4 years in the past of a billion kilos.
Our timing was good and that we had King of Shaves within the mass house, so shaving lives, and stuff, however in fact perfume is nice.
And when you have a model identify like Ted Baker, that was roofing it within the late nineties with Britpop and the whole lot, you had perfume and perfume has loads of margin.
Additionally, it’s an enormous variety of gross sales at Christmas for Christmas gifting. So we had a belts and braces shaving model, King of Shaves, after which we had Ted Baker because the licensing, the licensing gig. And the 2 of them appeared to coexist very effectively.
There wasn’t any crossover between what I used to be doing with shaving or perfume was doing with Ted. In order that was good.
You’ll be able to sort of preserve your eyes on two manufacturers without delay and see the place they’re going. And I feel sticking to your knitting on the get go is crucial and in addition, I suppose, embracing new alternatives.
So I’ve a trait curiosity for what are issues, and why are they taking place?
So for instance, when the web got here alongside, you’d see this HTTP://www.firstdirect.co.uk/welcome. Oh, what’s that each one about?
After all that was the beginning of the web, and I used to be capable of purchase shave.com for £18 on a bank card as a result of on the time all people’s going, there’s this web internet factor coming alongside and what does it do, and it’s by no means going to take off and bear in mind we have been on dial up. So 2.4 kilobytes higher second, 2,400.
We’re now, I feel I’m on 195 mg obtain in the meanwhile. I imply, it’s unimaginable, however that, and in latest phrases with what’s taking place with NFTs and board eight yacht golf equipment and the entire crypto factor and now internet three and the metaverse and this and that and the opposite.
I’ve all the time been superb on what’s coming down the observe at me after which see if it will have a bonus to a model.
So focus in your model. Simply preserve it tight, but additionally be open to new methods of promoting it. And we have been very open to these, and so they have been very cheap as effectively.
Conserving what you are promoting privately owned
Bex Burn-Callander:
You have been speaking about different rivals within the sector who’ve exited. And over time with King of Shaves, there have been a great deal of rumours, a great deal of massive manufacturers courting you, nevertheless it by no means, inform me about that journey.
How come you by no means bought and made God is aware of what number of tens of millions?
Will King:
I by no means based it to promote it, and so many founders I see now they get on the runway, and so they increase a pre-seed collection A, B, exit, exit.
And also you assume, no, why don’t you simply construct a rattling good enterprise?
And you understand what? It could preserve you going all of your life. But when someone does provide it to you superb, you may promote them. I feel lots of people get terribly fixated, particularly now on a three-to-five-year increase, burn, after which exit.
You’ve seen in latest days with this value of residing disaster that these inventory markets crashed when it comes to package deal items and stuff and types like that, as a result of individuals gained’t be spending as a lot, however I digress.
So in 2012, ’13, we’d been engaged on a hyper glide razor, the tremendous hydrophilic coated one that you simply simply add water and shave.
We launched that and an funding banker known as William Blair received wind of us launching it. We have been then approached by a giant on-line retailer, even greater now about being purchased by them, after which William Blair needed to rep us. So that they grew to become our funding financial institution and so they repped us.
And that was simply carnage as a result of I’d launched this razor, we had some teething manufacturing points across the blades and the cartridge, which is painful.
I used to be to and from Japan the place we have been sourcing the metal blades from, and the deal with was designed and made within the UK and the cartridge was made within the UK.
After which we had this deal happening after which the corporate that have been going to purchase us flaked on my birthday in 2014, actually walked away as a result of we hadn’t received a patent by way of on hyperglide in North America, which subsequently did come by way of, as a result of Gillette have been agitating towards it. However we stated that was ridiculous. We’ll get it.
By that point it had been within the press, and I used to be drained in 2014, I used to be actually fairly worn out, and I took the choice to step down, and it was within the press on the entrance web page of The Telegraph and the Inform and the whole lot, The Instances, on the enterprise part, the king steps away from throne, all these items.
However reality be instructed, I used to be simply drained and upset that these massive firms didn’t comply with by way of.
However anyhow, that there’s a silver lining to the story, in fact, as a result of what I then discovered is, effectively, cling on one of many firm that walked away from us, I can’t identify them, however walked away from us. I rang him up and stated, “Why must you stroll away?”
After which he says, “Effectively, you haven’t received a patent.”
I stated, “Effectively, we have now now for hyperglide, is that what you needed then? The hyperglide manufacturing unit tech, is that what you needed? Not King of Shaves?”
And he goes, “We have been by no means actually fascinated by King of Shaves, however we love your expertise. Can we purchase it?”
We bought it for some huge cash and that was some huge cash.
And what that meant, I suppose it took us out of proprietary shaving manufacture, i.e. our personal distinctive cartridge and deal with, nevertheless it delivered a fantastic return on funding.
By then you definitely’d had Greenback Shave come into the combination and Harry’s. They have been financed by large enterprise capital out of North America. Each of them raised simply shy of $400m every. So that they have been punching massively within the UK.
I feel maybe our timing with promoting the hyper glide tech and subsequently exiting the {hardware} as I known as it and going again to the software program, the shaving gel, and oils, then perhaps that was time. However then that was all the stuff, and we all the time get inbound even now. I imply, we get inbound on a regular basis.
However as a result of I’ve not been CEO for seven years now, however I’ve formed the narrative of the enterprise and the model, we’ve received a fantastic new packaging refresh coming down the observe, and it’s pretty, nevertheless it’s like, look, if someone actually desires us, and so they’re going to be not silly about it and superb.
However loads of any founder or any scale up enterprise, listening to me speak and for those who get courted by an inquisitor, whether or not it’s non-public fairness or a giant non-public firm or a PLC or a competitor, you’ve simply received a tread weary.
As a result of so a lot of them flake, and infrequently they only wish to discover out what’s your particular secret sources. They genuinely do wish to see in the event that they’ll get an opportunity to look beneath the bonnet and see if there’s an electrical motor on the wheels and subsequently no engine, or if it’s simply received a standard engine.
You bought to watch out of that in enterprise as a result of there’s a fantastic worth in know-how.
You’ll be able to defend innovation with patent like we did with hyper, however know-how is mission important, and so they can get your know-how, and you bought to watch out.
However that’s the place we’re as we speak. Nonetheless privately owned, however you by no means know what could be coming down the observe.
Rival firms will play soiled
Bex Burn-Callander:
Effectively, it’s attention-grabbing as a result of we had somebody come on the present a short while in the past speaking about what number of rival firms will, for instance, take a tiny stake in a crowdfunding spherical simply to get entry to your monetary paperwork.
Will King:
After all.
Bex Burn-Callander:
And to get superior discover when issues are coming and also you simply, it’s straightforward to neglect that firms can battle soiled and-
Will King:
They do.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Yeah, and so they do, precisely.
Will King:
They genuinely do. And particularly the larger ones, as a result of you’ve gotten greater firms, however they in fact have them workers on the market. The behaviour of the worker may decide the face of the corporate.
In the event that they do one thing foolish, like we had guys that Gillette who have been caught turning our razors round in Sainsbury’s, yeah. In order that (beep) me off. So I truly simply received it within the press.
After which Justin King rang me up whom I grew to become mates with and stated, “Oh, you understand, may have at the very least instructed us earlier than you place it into the nationwide paper that Gillette goes round, turning your razors round, we’d have regarded into that for you.”
I stated, “Effectively, that’s superb, Justin, however I put like 15 million quid into this launch and it simply (beep) me off me, to be sincere with you, I wouldn’t try this to Gillette. So why did their area gross sales pressure really feel they needed to do it with us?” Ridiculous.
Bex Burn-Callander:
How did you discover that out? Did somebody offer you a name and say, effectively, you’ll by no means guess what I simply noticed.
Will King:
Yeah. Yeah. We received a photograph of the sphere merch workforce on the market, simply turning them round on the shows.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Oh my God.
Will King:
However that’s rampant, that behaviour. I imply, for those who bear in mind Richard Branson’s Virgin Coke and the behaviour of Coca-Cola when he launched in North America.
Coke have been by no means going to let Branson launch Virgin Cola in North America ever in a gazillion years was that ever going to occur, not to mention British Airways.
Bear in mind the scandal with BA and Virgin once they tried to do the soiled tips within the late nineties with that, I imply that was entrance web page information every single day and that was British Airways.
Bex Burn-Callander:
It was nice publicity then.
Will King:
Nice publicity.
The downfall of the shaving bond
Bex Burn-Callander:
And Will, I’ve talked about the way you have been a pioneer when it comes to a disruptor within the shaving class, however you have been additionally a pioneer in ways in which you raised finance.
I bear in mind writing in regards to the shaving bonds at a time when this was virtually fully exceptional.
Are you able to inform me about intelligent methods that you’ve got raised development capital for the enterprise and the way you’ve sort of modified the connection? That is like earlier than crowdfunding.
Modified the connection between a enterprise and their buyer.
Will King:
I imply, it positively was, Bex and going again to the names, shaving bond 007%.
After we did that in 2007 is what’s known as a retail mini bond, which I’ll admit ends a bit sadly actually on all of this as a result of it received very misused and is now regulated by the SFO [Serious Fraud Office] and the FCA [Financial Conduct Authority], however I’ll come on to that.
However on the time within the mid noughties, we had so many inbound individuals who needed to purchase shares in King of Shaves. Folks have been calling up, “Can we purchase shares in your organization?”
We go, “No, it’s non-public.”
“Oh, effectively you going to drift.”
And we go, “No, don’t actually fancy it.”
“Oh, OK. I’ll keep on shopping for your razor or your shaving gel.”
And I purchased, I don’t know why I purchased it. I purchased a site. I used to purchase lots of of domains. I imply, I used to go bananas about, I might purchase the trademark as effectively.
And I purchased, you bear in mind saving bonds? Yeah. Financial savings bonds.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Yeah.
Will King:
And I believed I simply purchased shaving bond. I believed that’s humorous. It’s simply to play on phrases. So a saving bond, shaving bond. And I purchased it. This was earlier than I made a decision to do it.
We had fairly a cool lawyer known as Reminiscence Crystal, and I used to be their entrepreneur in residence after I stepped down at King of Shaves.
I did a three-year stint working with Leslie, the chairman and Nick, the CEO. I stated, “Oh, we wish to increase cash, we have now individuals wanting to purchase shares. I imply, can’t we simply do one thing to present them an involvement in our firm? Might we situation a bond like a PLC did? Are you able to do a bond, like a premium bond?”
Leslie says, appears at Nick or appears at her advisor and says, “Might they?” And he appears again, and he stated, “We’ve got to ask Deloitte.”
So that they received Deloitte in, and so they say, “Proper, this man, he’s received a worthwhile firm. He desires to situation bonds in his enterprise.
“He desires to pay 7% coupon on him as a result of he thinks he’s humorous. He’s shaving bonds. He’ll get some good press on it. He’ll give the bond. He’ll return the capital and curiosity after three years and folks will get some free merchandise, a duplicate of his guide and a certificates.”
So that they go, “Is he going to have the ability to repay the cash? Is he going to make use of the cash to purchase non-public jets or yachts or what’s he going to do along with his bonds?”
And naturally I’m going, “I don’t wish to try this. I imply, we’re simply going to place it into the corporate and scale a enterprise and goodness sake.”
After all that’s what individuals did with it down the observe, which I’ll come on to, which is gloomy.
However in 2008, ’09, we launched a shavingbond.com on the papers, and it simply took off. The press went bananas round it. I don’t, for those who bear in mind, I feel Patrick Hosking wrote a extremely aggressive artwork piece on it in The Instances about belief his razors, not his bonds, and this and that and the opposite and ah and this.
But it surely was new, and all people liked it and got here in, after which in fact it went large as a result of Reminiscence Crystal, the place we’d created this retail mini bond is what it grew to become known as for a retail firm, a retail mini bond.
I invented it mainly. They did all of the authorized after which Reminiscence Crystal made most likely tens of millions doing the jockey membership bonds, or this or that.
Crowdcube then launched, and so they have been doing the platforms, and so they have been it after which all people was doing it.
Then in fact in round 2018, there have been firms utilizing it to lift £200m to £300m of the bonds from gullible buyers or gullible is the fallacious phrase, unsophisticated buyers, who thought their cash was being invested in property and with a return.
And naturally it wasn’t.
It was being spent on vehicles and jets and planes and all of the (beep) that I stated we’d by no means do.
Sadly on the finish of getting created that pretty piece of means to lift cash and pay individuals for being concerned and provides them shares and provides them possession and involvement, in fact it received abused.
However now I might advise listeners cling on to your fairness in any respect prices. That’s the costliest piece of finance you are able to do.
On Dragons’ Den, you see Steven Bartlett in there saying you possibly can’t give away 50% of your organization for £30,000 to Deborah Meaden. Yeah, that’s not proper. I imply A, she’s wealthy already. B, you’re (beep) when it comes to any future elevating and C, it’s throughout.
So that you’ve received to attempt to get both financial institution debt or bill factoring that we used the place you’re taking a Boots bill, and then you definitely receives a commission to, give them a form of premium to the individuals who advance it.
I had bank cards, early days, loans, mates, and household. We then had enterprise grants for the federal government, DTI mortgage assure schemes within the late nineties, which the federal government assured 85%, if it went Pete Tong and no companies have been instructed about it as a result of it was just like the mortgage of final resort that Barclays would ever wish to give out.
If it went fallacious, it meant that the federal government’s going to choose up the tab, and it makes Barclays’ form of asset checking and threat, the chance workforce look (beep). Yeah? And so no person talked about these debt loans.
So it’s like shopping for a home. You’ll be able to’t purchase a home straight up £400,000 in your first 12 months. You purchase it over 30 years, 25 years on a coupon. And for those who’re capable of increase the debt on the idea, the corporate’s received a shot of succeeding, that’s the best way to go and promote your shares as late as you possibly can.
I nonetheless stay the most important shareholder with King of Shaves after 30 years, extremely, which is sort of good.
I’m fairly completely satisfied about that.
Fund your development by promoting extra of your product
Bex Burn-Callander:
No, that’s attention-grabbing since you hear loads of optimistic opinions of the entire funding angle, and you’re saying go debt, and we don’t typically hear go debt. We hear keep away from debt.
Will King:
Effectively, I feel you’ve simply received to make certain what debt you possibly can repay. I feel, bear in mind once we have been doing our enterprise, the rates of interest have been increased. I imply, rates of interest very low now, or the bottom charge is.
Bex Burn-Callander:
For now.
Will King:
When you’ve got a enterprise capitalist, let’s say they purchase 30% on a publish cash of £2m. They’re going to be a 10x on that, as a result of it’s received to make the cash work for them.
So if you’re £2m firm, once they’ve are available in and given you some spends, you possibly can’t flip it into £20m.
Effectively, the following spherical then different individuals might be going effectively, cling on a minute, it’s not labored on the market. Then that’s a nightmare.
It’s even worse for those who increase too excessive, say you increase at a £10m or £50m valuation and get £2m in, however then there’s no gross sales. Then you’ve gotten a down spherical, which is the nightmare of all nightmares, as a result of it’s going to zero.
After all, you’ve gotten SEIS [Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme], and you’ve got EIS [Enterprise Investment Scheme] and you’ve got let’s simply name it tax environment friendly funding schemes that folks can do.
However finish of the day, for those who can find yourself proudly owning or hanging on to as a lot of your fairness in your organization as doable, and also you imagine it has a future, and it has successful probability, it’s higher to personal 100% of one thing than 1% of one thing, for those who see what I imply.
However I’ve by no means owned 100% of King of Shaves other than the day I based the enterprise after I then needed to promote some shares, and I bought 35% of shares for £15,000. There we’re.
A 12 months later I bought 10% for £10,000. And inside years it was valued at £22m.
Bex Burn-Callander:
However you needed to get these raises. You had to try this. You needed to undergo that course of to get it to the £22m. In any other case, it will’ve simply stalled anyway.
Will King:
Effectively I feel loads of the King of Shaves development, going again now 20 years, loads of it was natural. I imply we simply lit off like a rocket.
If you’re in a hyper development, you’re doubling your gross sales yearly, yearly, yearly, yearly you bought no situation cash coming into the enterprise.
The banks love you. You’re posting income. You’re posting development. We had a profile, as you’ll bear in mind, within the SME house, the entrepreneur house. And it was pretty.
However for those who want cash, you want cash.
However there are different methods of hustling and getting cash and getting there. And perhaps it’s simply good old school promoting of your nice product, however you’ll want to promote extra of your product to finance the expansion of what you are promoting.
Not increase extra money.
Bex Burn-Callander:
It sounds radical now, doesn’t it?
Simply fund your development by promoting extra of your product. Don’t exit and lift a great deal of cash. Simply be actually profitable.
Will King:
On the margin, and be sure you have a extremely good product margin. You’ve received to have a robust margin, so that you’re not simply shopping for it at a pence and promoting at two pence.
It’s received to have a great margin in-built.
How Covid impacted King of Shades
Bex Burn-Callander:
And Will, the idea of a play on phrases, I really feel this has been a working theme in your life, in your companies since you had like Will King, King of Shaves, you acquire the shaving bond due to the saving bond. There’s been all these tales.
I bear in mind there was a narrative about you and the paper calling you King of Shades as a substitute of King of Shaves. After which that led you to begin a sun shades enterprise.
Will King:
The sun shades. Yeah, I do know. I do know I’m sucker for the punnies.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Sure. What occurred to the sun shades?
Will King:
So that they’re there.
So all of this, that is going again 10 years after I was with Tiger, Mike’s spouse, and we have been at an occasion, and I used to be written up as being the founding father of King of Shades. And so I trademarked it as you do, since you thought why not? And received it.
When you’ve gotten a reputation King it infers it’s one of the best sun shades. Yeah. Infer it’s one of the best. It’s prefer it may very well be Ray-Ban, King of Shades, for instance. And Budweiser was king of beers.
However as a result of I’ve received kind with King of Shades and proudly owning that without end, then I used to be capable of get it. I spent some huge cash, raised cash, debt truly from family and friends. I stated, “Effectively, that’s humorous, that appears good.”
It was a little bit of a aspect hustle, and it was flipping exhausting, and I needed them to actively hug your face.
They’re known as shug sun shades, I’ve them out of inventory at my blooming web site as a result of I can’t get the manufacturing unit to make them within the UK as a result of they’re rammed with different stuff.
However that’s by the by, that’s a teething situation, however thought why not? They usually’re sun shades that hug, and so they just like the razor we developed with the lively hinge that truly hugs your head. But it surely was exhausting.
I did it myself with monetary backing from some previous mates of mine who simply thought, “Oh, that’s fairly humorous, and we’ll give him, he can do it, and he can preserve it out of the King of Shaves house and there might be no confusion.”
We launched it and effectively in fact Covid occurred.
So we launched it on Kickstarter throughout the pandemic, which was most likely not one of the best factor to do. That was my optimism shining by way of exhausting and strongly. Due to this fact, though we’re locked up inside, individuals would purchase my Will King sun shades, which in fact they didn’t.
Bex Burn-Callander:
No one’s assembly anybody. We’re not attempting to impress anybody as a result of we’re caught indoors.
Will King:
My timing was off then.
Then we launched them and was very, we had loads of challenges with the manufacturing within the UK, not with the lenses, however with the frames as a result of the UK factories weren’t capable of work on the precision ranges that Chinese language ones may.
However I didn’t need them carried out in China as a result of I felt the lively head-hugging body design would get ripped off.
I selected to do it within the UK, and we had large points with the manufacturing unit. We had Covid. We received the software working, we received a few thousand pairs made. I’ve received model ambassadors carrying them within the Olympics and crusing and stuff like that.
However we couldn’t convey the price of items down in a approach I hope to from our £69, I feel £79, it’s on the web site, £63 with 10% off.
I needed to get it sub £40, even £30 and I couldn’t do it. I feel it’s a kind of moments the place I’ve received some nice patents on it, which I really like. They’re good for an additional 15 odd years. So I’m relaxed about that.
I’ve received individuals saying to me, there’s one man particularly saying, “We’ve received to do it, we’re going to do it.”
And I’m saying, “Yeah, however the timing it’s not fairly proper but. I simply must work out on the tooling with the tooling guys, why it’s been so tough to make these frames when it must be so easy, after which we’ll go once more.”
What I feel individuals don’t essentially realise is that earlier than Greenback Shave Membership launched, he’d launched a 12 months earlier than, and it was an entire catastrophe. Then it was pulled off the web, and it was rebooted, after which it launched massively.
So I feel no person will get the whole lot proper on a regular basis. I’m carrying them after I’m crusing on groups of their classics yacht regatta subsequent week, the crew might be carrying them.
But it surely’s promoting tens of 1000’s of them in 12 months one. No, we bought a few 1000’s. It was painful. The corporate owes me some huge cash, however it’s what it’s.
I’m happy I did it, however not the whole lot works out, listeners.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Effectively, you don’t know, you don’t know the way that is going to pan out.
As you stated, you possibly can come again brighter and tougher, and we may very well be speaking in one other 10 years’ time, and it may very well be even greater than King of Shaves.
Will King:
It may very well be.
Within the eye of the storm—companies battling recession
Bex Burn-Callander:
Will, you’ve talked in regards to the difficult buying and selling atmosphere on the market, like insane worth rises.
Does it assist that you simply’ve been by way of recessions earlier than?
If I bear in mind in 2008, and I used to be asking you whether or not King of Shaves would survive the recession, and also you have been like, effectively, what do you assume? Do you assume beards develop extra slowly throughout a downturn?
Will King:
Yeah. Possibly I used to be slightly flippant about that one. It was when the bids got here in, wasn’t it? It slowed us down.
Bex Burn-Callander:
However I’m questioning what you’ve realized from being by way of these cycles earlier than, which you assume has ready you to make higher choices this time spherical.
Will King:
I imply, I based King of Shaves within the recession within the early nineties. So that you’re making a enterprise at low water, so you understand the tide’s going to come back in ultimately. And that was good timing, nevertheless it was additionally tremendous robust.
The monetary crash, I imply now could be a shocker often because the world was wanting fairly good, to be sincere with you.
I’d simply been on the America’s cup and in Valencia, and we have been truly on the verge of profitable a giant enterprise competitors then with H Boss, Halifax Financial institution of Scotland, for those who bear in mind them, and naturally they then ceased to exist throughout the 12 months and have been nationalised by the federal government.
That presaged together with loads of adjustments in working practices, you had social, YouTube was massive by now. Google was massive. Twitter was about to be launched. Fb was getting massive and folks have been now like, we’re speaking, Bex, by way of the display screen.
Whereas in departs we’d meet up within the espresso store or on the workplace, and we simply do that over a mic, that’s what we’d do. Now we’re doing it over tech. Seeing that occur, then in fact we had the entire Brexit horrendousness of effectively we’re popping out of there. In order that was a hiatus.
Extra not too long ago, in fact Covid, which was the surprising recession for a lot of firms, and for us included, no person may go to Boots or Superdrug to purchase a product. So Amazon grew to become our primary form of gross sales channel for about six months. It’s not anymore, nevertheless it was.
However I feel to reply your query, sure, in fact, for those who’ve seen what a storm appears like and the way ugly a hurricane could be and what to do, if it’s a bit windy on the market, and also you’ve nonetheless received your sails up, and you understand that you simply pull them down very fast and run for a pleasant mangrove swamp, for those who’re within the Caribbean and dodging a hurricane, that’s what you do.
I feel loads of youthful entrepreneurs, particularly the Millennials and particularly the Zoomers now the Gen Z, they’re seeing these come virtually one after the opposite, after the opposite. They usually should assume, “Hey, give us a break.”
So that they’re seeing it, however in fact, if you understand what it appears like, you’re higher outfitted to cope with it fairly than pondering it’s going to be OK and blow away, and it’ll be gone tomorrow.
And naturally it typically isn’t.
Bex Burn-Callander:
However do you then cease spending on advertising and marketing, for instance, that’s the traditional, or do you then put a halt on development plans and watch for issues to get higher?
Or are you extra of a contrarian the place you assume truly this can be a good time to speculate, this can be a good time to construct stronger relationship with prospects.
Will King:
Excluding Covid, I might usually double down on my advertising and marketing throughout a time of financial hiatus, as a result of you possibly can most likely get extra bang to your buck. For those who’re promoting a commodity product like a shaving gel or a shaving oil, the extra market share you will get.
It could’ve been insanity for anyone to spend any cash on advertising and marketing in Covid since you may go nowhere, and you possibly can do nothing aside from order in stuff. And shaving, guys would then simply went from shaving each different day to not bothering to shave for per week or two weeks.
It didn’t matter, provided that the missus or the companion may need stated, “Oh, you’re a bit stubbly now, may you’ve gotten a shave?” And he stated, “Effectively, if I’ve to.”
I feel any quantity of promoting then I feel would’ve been cash poorly spent. Popping out the opposite aspect, sure, it’s essential to rebuild the belief, and also you’re seeing that.
However I feel in a recession, usually I might be contrarian, however the pandemic was an uncommon international recession, and it was simply goodness me, save the ship. We don’t wish to die. Like all people else.
Bex Burn-Callander:
No. 100%.
Being direct to group must be your advertising and marketing technique
Bex Burn-Callander:
You talked about advertising and marketing simply then, and you’re one of many people who I see as being an final advertising and marketing whizz, a number of the unimaginable campaigns that you simply put out for King of Shaves, simply so eye catching. So hilarious.
So how do you attain prospects as we speak? Are you on TikTok? I do know you’re nonetheless on Twitter, however what media do you utilize now?
Will King:
So I feel the place King of Shaves is now, we’re an almost 30-year-old model. So we’re a bit middle-aged, actually.
We’re having a reboot with our packaging, which might be coming in Q3, early This autumn this 12 months, which is able to hopefully assist us to attraction extra to a youthful demographic. I hope.
We’ve by no means actually had, I might name structural success with social promoting, and I don’t assume any or many shaving manufacturers have.
It’s like, for those who do a TikTok, and it’s a video of hairstyling, or a makeover. For instance, Revolution Magnificence they’re large on TikTok. It’s large on Instagram. It’s large on socials. It’s large as a result of it’s a magnificence and make-up model enterprise and skincare, they’ve simply carried out Rev Males.
However shaving it’s effectively, I’ve had a shave, and I’m not recognized to stubble and effectively, that’s thrilling then. I’ll flick down and eliminate it. A and B, sure. We’re wanting into it there.
We did have King of Shaves on TikTok two years in the past, however we have been too early, and now it’s a large studying channel and going forwards I feel once more, it’s very, very exhausting for manufacturers to work out easy methods to appeal to prospects.
I’ve received a 22-year-old son, Cameron, who performs in championship rugby, I don’t know the way you’d market to him. He doesn’t watch linear TV. All the pieces’s on demand. It’s all WhatsApp, non-public chats and secret stuff. I don’t know the way, I have no idea.
I feel I’m fairly a wise advertising and marketing man, however I’m positive TikTok would come into that arsenal, however then males aren’t into it, or younger males aren’t into it in the best way that youthful ladies are into it.
It’s now way more of a studying channel as YouTube has turn into.
It’s a studying channel. It’s not a lot a humorous dance channel, dad dance channel it’s way more of a Discovery Channel.
However phrase of mouth, I feel the massive model that’s carried out tremendous effectively is George Rawlings’ [dating] app known as Thursday. Cleverly the app solely works on Thursday, you possibly can solely obtain it on Thursday. That’s it. That will get to chop by way of for me.
After all, it’s received such a following now that they’re taking on bars with singletons. That’s wonderful. That’s group constructing.
I feel any model proprietor or enterprise proprietor on the market now, we at the moment are residing within the age of the group. It’s about being direct group. You’ve received to attraction to the tribes of individuals on the market.
We’ve had traditionally Apple fanboys, we’ve had individuals who love Tesla’s, IBM by no means had any fanboys, you simply didn’t get excited to be purchased it. But it surely didn’t have that piratical, fanatical tribal group to it.
For those who have a look at manufacturers like Dan Murray’s Heights, the mind meals dietary supplements, and he’s constructed the model and the enterprise round a single product, a complement, and a group. He’s gone from nothing in two years to £6 million AR I feel and does tremendous effectively.
All the pieces I now have a look at, whether or not it’s Above and Past, that’s very group pushed, after which King of Shaves, we’ve received to, let’s say reboot it to be group pushed, however we dwell in a really completely different world, Bex, to after I was 27 and all people was clean-shaven, until you have been the geography college trainer or the mad professor.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Now everybody’s received massive itchy beards. It strikes me although that for those who don’t know the way you’d promote to Cameron, your son, it’s best to rent Cameron, your son, to really inform you.
Will King:
Yeah. He doesn’t wish to work for me. He’s grown a beard. He’s grown a beard, that’s not proper.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Oh, the traitor.
Will King:
The traitor.
Transferrable expertise from the yacht to the boardroom
Bex Burn-Callander:
And Will, I’ve another query for you, which is definitely about crusing.
You talked about that you’re going crusing in per week and I feel I bear in mind accurately, truly, the job that you simply first needed to do while you went to college was that you simply needed to design yachts.
So speak to me about crusing, your nice ardour and the way a lot of your time are you spending doing that now?
And the way is that complementing you as an entrepreneur?
Will King:
Completely. I imply, that’s a fantastic query. I imply, crusing is my absolute ardour and had I handed my A-levels in 1983 and never received a C and two E’s I’ve been finding out ship science and yacht design at Southampton College and gone on to be, I hope, a well-known yachts designer.
However I failed my A-levels and did a level in mechanical engineering.
However the entrepreneur aspect of it’s actually essential. And loads of entrepreneurs do sail. So Larry Allison, Charles Dunston, Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS, and there’s a purpose for that as a result of there’s an unlimited quantity of information factors that while you’re crusing, you’ve gotten to pay attention to and be capable of cope with, particularly for those who’re yacht racing.
So that you’ve received, in fact, you’ve received the yacht, you’ve received the gross sales, you’ve received the ropes, you’ve received the crew, you’ve received the path, you’ve received the techniques, you’ve received the technique, you’ve received the navigation, you’ve received the beginning time, racing plenty of completely different sails that you simply put up at completely different instances, relying in your angle to the wind after which completely different weights of sails that you simply put up in numerous wind strengths.
So for those who’re listening to this pondering, goodness me, that sounds sort of sophisticated, it sort of is at that degree of crusing, however there are additionally yachts, dinghies which have a single sail, like a topper or a laser that I began crusing with.
So entrepreneurs want to have the ability to actually course of and act on an unlimited quantity of information, actually in a short time to achieve success as a result of change occurs quick, and it’s solely getting sooner.
If you’re in a position, not essentially simply you, however have individuals round you that I say you possibly can delegate to nice individuals. I’m all the time massive fan of this hashtag delegation, delegate to nice individuals. On a yacht it’s the identical.
Though I’m a part of the crew, there’s an Olympic class technique techniques man, the proprietor’s driving the boat. You’ve then received an incredible man who runs what’s known as the mast, which is pulling the ropes up and down, a future Olympic hopeful on the fore deck.
You’ve received loads of expertise round you, however in fact there’s no level crusing your yacht quick within the fallacious path, Bex, that isn’t quick.
So in something like in life, simply be certain that, you’re clear in regards to the path you’re getting in. And also you’ve received the proper expertise together with you and the proper sails up on the proper time to ship on the promise of hopefully of a win.
Anyone who thinks crusing is dear is elitist, and it’s this and that it isn’t truly. There are all the time individuals in search of crew. There’re all the time methods of stepping into it. It’s accessible.
I’m crusing truly with my first hero, Eddie Warwick, who I met after I was 14 on the Nationwide Crusing Middle, after which I grew to become the UK’s youngest crusing teacher at 15, the next 12 months.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Full circle.
Will King:
It’s pretty to be reuniting with him after 39 years.
Bex Burn-Callander:
Effectively, better of luck on the voyage. And I really like a sports activities analogy. So I really like that time about studying all the info and adjusting your course and the way that’s helpful in enterprise.
Will, thanks for all of your insights this afternoon. It’s such a pleasure catching up with you.
Will King:
Such a pleasure, Bex. Thanks a lot.
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