Bottled for Business: The Less Gassy Guide to Entrepreneurship ~ Paperback ~ Karan Bilimoria

"Every bit as good as the beer itself." -SIR RICHARD BRANSON, Founder and Chairman, Virgin Group So what does it take to be a successful entrepreneur? There are many different answers, but according to Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, do the following and you won't go far wrong: be creative, go the extra mile, have confidence in yourself and your team, get lucky, be disciplined, take the long-term view, learn constantly and don't be afraid of serious amounts of hard work. Bottled for Business gets to the heart of how and why Cobra Beer has developed into one of the world's best-loved brands. It is a story infused with the passion, belief, energy and vision of its founder and shares the ups and downs of how Cobra got to where it is today. But more than that, it is a story of inspiration for anyone who has dreams of running their own business. PRAISE FOR BOTTLED FOR BUSINESS "The inside scoop from one of the country's leading entrepreneurs-essential reading." -Richard Reed, Co-founder, Innocent Drinks "Inspiring! A fascinating story of one entrepreneur's journey, worth the cover price for the 'Financing Cobra' chapter alone. Bilimoria has learned every trick in the book about how to finance a growing business. If you're running a growing business, and don't want to give away the store, READ THIS BOOK!" -John Mullins, Professor, London Business School and author, The New Business Road Test "An inspirational story." -Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP "Bottled for Business is the extraordinary account of a Cambridge-educated Indian lawyer's dogged pursuit against the odds. The book is compelling, not least because it strikes at the Achilles heel of entrepreneurship in that it details the translation of a vision into reality. A clever and useful book." -Dr Mark de Rond, University Senior Lecturer at Judge Business School and Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge University "Reflecting the enormous success of his business career, I have no doubt that Bottled for Business will be a bestseller." -Lord Levene, Chairman, Lloyd's, and former Lord Mayor of LondonTable of ContentsAcknowledgements. Introduction. 1. Persistence Pays. 2. The First Steps. 3. Financing Cobra. 4. Look After Your Product. 5. The Cobra Family. 6. "My Name Is Dave and I'm A Curryholic". 7. Restless Innovation. 8. Putting Something Back. 9. When The Going Gets Tough. 10. Going Global Appendix.Author BiographyA Cambridge law graduate, Karan Bilimoria started his career somewhat incongruously as a chartered accountant at Ernst & Young. He was also Sales & Marketing Director at European Accounting Focus Magazine. Also incongruously, it was approximately a year later that he began to realise his vision for a less gassy, premium quality lager brewed to appeal to ale drinkers and lager drinkers alike. At the time, Karan was 27 years old and with GBP20,000 of student debt. Since founding Cobra Beer, Karan has also expanded his product range to include General Bilimoria Wines in 1999, and founding Tandoori Magazine and curryzone.com. He is a member of the government's National Employment Panel, and Chairman of The Panel's Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Board. He is also Vice Chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Asian Business Association.