Episode #28
Hannah Williams: How We Built Tiny Rebel, Scaled to 120 Staff & Started Again With Lucky No.7 Coffee
How do you help build one of the UK’s best-known challenger beer brands, walk away from the business you helped create and then start all over again in a completely different industry? Hannah Williams helped build Tiny Rebel from a home-brewing experiment into a major independent brewery employing around 120 people, while acting as CFO and helping scale the company through rapid growth. Today, she is CEO of the Alacrity Foundation, working with technology startups and entrepreneurs, while simultaneously building Lucky No.7 Coffee alongside her husband Mo. And she’s doing it with many of the same principles that helped Tiny Rebel grow: move quickly, test the market, build a distinctive brand, surround yourself with great people and learn as you go. In this live episode of Building The Brand from Ideas Fest, Hannah shares the entrepreneurial lessons behind building Tiny Rebel, launching a coffee brand, scaling a startup, building a team and creating a brand people actually remember. Want more from Building The Brand?Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter In this episode, Hannah reveals: How Tiny Rebel went from home brewing to employing around 120 people Why they ignored advice that the business needed a traditional marketing budget and backed social media marketing instead How Tiny Rebel hit its original three-year forecast within just nine months Why Hannah believes naivety can sometimes be more powerful than confidence when starting a business Why knowing when you are no longer adding value can be critical as a founder or senior leader How simply asking successful entrepreneurs for help led to mentorship and advice from people behind businesses including Gymshark and Grenade Why she hires for “will over skill” and believes attitude can be more valuable than experience Why great businesses require partnerships, co-founders and complementary skill sets How Hannah and Mo created the Lucky No.7 Coffee brand around their blended family of seven Why Lucky No.7 used events to test its branding, products and customer response before expanding Why moving into physical retail earlier than planned can sometimes create unexpected growth opportunities How Hannah combines startup thinking, technology and ecommerce with a traditional physical product business Hannah also explains the personal side of entrepreneurship: leaving Tiny Rebel after more than a decade, growing up around entrepreneurial parents, raising children around business and why financial success means less to her than creating experiences and making a difference to other people. Lucky No.7 Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/lucky.no7coffee/ Alacrity Foundation: https://alacrityfoundation.co.uk/ Ideas Fest: https://ideasfest.uk/ Under The Canvas: https://underthecanvas.co.uk/ 0:00 — From Tiny Rebel to Building Lucky No.7 Coffee 03:35 — How Tiny Rebel Started With Beer Brewed at Home 04:45 — Ignoring Traditional Marketing Advice & Betting on Social Media 05:25 — Hitting a Three-Year Business Forecast in Nine Months 06:30 — Why Naivety Can Be an Entrepreneurial Advantage 08:00 — Why Hannah Walked Away From Tiny Rebel 09:25 — How to Get Successful Entrepreneurs to Mentor You 11:00 — Knowing When You’re No Longer Adding Value to a Business 15:55 — “Will Over Skill”: Hannah’s Approach to Hiring Great People 22:00 — Why Entrepreneurs Need the Right Partner Around Them 26:45 — Building the Lucky No.7 Coffee Brand From Scratch 30:30 — Launching Into Retail Without a Traditional Business Plan 32:00 — Testing Your Brand Before Trying to Scale It 35:00 — Why Moving Too Early Can Sometimes Create Your Biggest Opportunity 36:25 — “Slow Down to Speed Up”: Balancing Momentum With Strategy 40:45 — Building a UK Coffee Brand Beyond Physical Stores 41:30 — AI Search, GEO & the Future of Ecommerce Discovery 43:25 — Why Hannah Never Feels Like She Has Done Enough
