Startup Lessons, Resilience & How Failure Builds Success: John B Stapleton Explains

Business Without Bullsh-t

EP 407 - What does it really take to build a food empire from scratch?

We're giving our chat with John B Stapleton - serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of the New Covent Garden Soup Company and Little Dish a re-run to remind us about the hard-won lessons behind his multi-million-pound successes.

From inventing the UK’s fresh soup category to mentoring today’s challenger brands, John shares his insights on:

• Why resilience beats a “genius idea” every time
• How to raise investment when the market is stacked against you
• The truth about failure - and why it’s the best teacher for entrepreneurs
• Bootstrapping until you “know what you’re doing”
• The entrepreneurial ego: small “e” vs big “E”

Whether you’re launching your first startup or scaling towards exit, this episode is packed with real-world advice on how entrepreneurs really win - and why sometimes failure is the very thing that sets you up for millions.

Perfect for founders, investors, and anyone navigating today’s uncertain business landscape.

*For Apple Podcast chapters, access them from the menu in the bottom right corner of your player*

Spotify Video Chapters:

00:00 BWB with John Stapleton

00:40 John's Background and Achievements

01:19 Current Business Climate and Challenges

04:22 Investment Strategies and Advice

12:45 Mentoring and Advising Startups

14:25 Mission Ventures and Investment Platforms

18:17 Entrepreneurial Traits and Success

24:43 The Birth of Lamborghini

25:22 The Cult of Entrepreneurial Personality

26:29 The Value of Failure

28:51 Consumer Insight and Resilience

30:05 The Fresh Soup Revolution

34:21 Quickfire - Get To Know John

41:26 Wrap Up

Watch and subscribe to us on YouTube

Follow us:

Instagram

TikTok

Linkedin

Twitter

Facebook

If you'd like to be on the show, get in contact - [email protected]