Startup QA James Watt, Co-Founder, BrewDog

Startup QA James Watt, Co-Founder, BrewDog Startup QA: James Watt, Co-Founder, BrewDog Image source: James Watt, BrewDogTapping into the insurgent, establishment-storming principles of punk, BrewDog, the startup brewery founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, has become the fastest growing drinks company in the United Kingdom.Anyone remotely interested in exploring  how the DIY ethos of a youth-culture revolution can be turned into a viable business model should read fascinating book written by James Watt, Business for Punks: Break All The Rules â€" The BrewDog Way.If you’re still looking for actual results, then check out this brief video tour of the cavernous BrewDog eco-brewery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire that the company  driven by these rebellious business instincts has created.VIDEO SOURCE: BREWDOGJames Watt and Martin set up BrewDog in 2007, with two employees  and  two shareholders (and a dog, as the BrewDog website points out).By the end of last year, BrewDog had an workforce of 540 (and one dog), 44 bars, brewed 134,000  hectolitres (hl)  of beer, and HAD 32,000 shareholders, following  what BrewDog  proudly declares to have been the largest equity crowdfunding scheme in human historyâ€"Equity for Punks IV.James Watt took some time out from BrewDog’s self-declared “assault on humanity” to take to the AGENT Startup Hotseat, and  field our questions on  his career to date. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 1. Very simply, what does your company do?Very simply, we produce some of the best  craft beer in the world, and we are firmly on a  mission to make as many people as passionate about beer as we are. We’re giving fellow beer-geeks across the globe front row seats to the craft revolution; to  strap  in, and get a glimpse of what beer  should  taste like.2. What was the ‘Eureka!’ moment?A chance meeting with the legendary beer writer Michael Jackson led to Martin (Dickie, BrewDog  Co-founder) and I deciding to take the plunge, follow our dreams and start our very own brewery. Upon tasting one of our ea rly brews, Michael told us to quit our jobs and start brewing beerâ€"it was the last bit of advice we ever listened to.In  2007, bored of the industrially-brewed lagers that were dominating the UK beer market, we jumped in headfirst and BrewDog was born.  Personally, the big moment for me was my first taste of Sierra Nevada Pale: the quality and taste was, at the time, unrivalled. That singular sip continues to drive me to make the best beer I can. Our punk  revolution shows no sign of slowing: we’re doing  things on our own terms and continuing to make our missions a  reality. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 3. What were you doing before starting?After turning my back on a legal career, I found my legs on the high seas of the stormy North Atlantic, starting on the deck of a deep-sea trawler and eventually becoming a fully qualified captain. Spending five years working in one of the toughest environments on earth taught me everything about people, leadership, r isks and teamwork; enough to take BrewDog’s craft revolution global.4. How are you funded?Our record-breaking crowdfunding scheme Equity For Punks tore up business convention in 2010, recruiting more than 46,000 likeminded beer-fans, and, to date, raising  more than £26m over four roundsâ€"more than any other equity crowdfunding effort on record. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 5. What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs starting their own company?Be selfish, do what you want, and ignore advice.Image Source:  BREWDOG