James Watt

In 2008 we applied to Dragon's Den & got as far as a screen test and we pitched our hearts out before the producers rejected us.

They deemed Martin & myself not investment worthy.

We were totally crushed.

We were prepared to offer the Dragons 20% for £100,000. Based on our latest BrewDog valuation, that investment would now be worth almost £360m meaning the Dragon's missed out on by far the best deal in Den history.

We got over the rejection eventually. But it took a while.

#craftbeer #craftbrewery #dragonsden #brewdog

Inspired by ALDI's take on Punk IPA from yesterday, we are making a new beer.

YALDI IPA is coming soon!

Maybe our friends Aldi UK will even sell it in their stores?

#brewdog

Dragon's Den Rejection: The Sequel

Some of you may be familiar with the ill-fated story of BrewDog and Dragon’s Den.
 
In 2008 we applied to Dragon's Den & got as far as the final screen test and we pitched our hearts out before the producers rejected us.
 
They deemed Martin & myself not investment worthy.
 
We were totally crushed.
 
We were prepared to offer the Dragons 20% of our business for £100,000. Based on our latest BrewDog valuation, that investment would now be worth over £300m meaning the Dragon's missed out on by far the best deal in Den history.
 
We always look to find opportunity in adversity so spurred on by the rejection we came up with a brand-new plan to grow our business and involve our fans as investors.
 
In 2009 we launched Equity For Punks as we pioneered a whole new generation of business model and built a global community of over 220,000 amazing investors.
 
Our Dragon’s Den rejection turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to us.
 
But our Dragon’s Den story does not end quite there. A couple of years ago The Dragon’s Den producers were looking for new Dragons and I found myself on the final shortlist.
 
Once more I made it to a final screentest as I sat alongside Deborah Meadon as we assessed whether we would invest in a prospective business.
 
Once more I fell short at the final hurdle, narrowly missing out on fulfilling one of my lifelong ambitions and becoming a Dragon.
 
However, just as in 2008, I decided to use the rejection as a catalyst to try and create something better. Just as the 2008 rejection helped us a whole new business model, I have used the most recent rejection to come up with a brand-new concept when it comes to raising start-up finance.
 
It launches Thursday.
 
With BrewDog we have been fortunate enough to build a unicorn, now I want to help others do exactly the same.
 
Watch. This. Space.

Before starting BrewDog I went to nautical college, became a captain and spent 7 years on the North Atlantic on the boat in this picture.

Working in one of the toughest environments on earth taught me so much about people, leadership, teamwork and adversity.

Many of my unorthodox business strategies that put wind into the sails of the pirate ship that is BrewDog were forged on the tempestuous Atlantic Ocean. In one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet there is no place for doubt; risk is all encompassing, leadership needs to be quick as well as decisive, and survival is always the first step to success.

Hanging up my captain’s hat was tough, but I had found some- thing I loved even more than the ocean: craft beer.

In May 2012 Diageo cheated BrewDog out of an award we rightfully won.

At the time, we were tiny.

In December 2020 we overtook them in UK Off-Trade beer sales.

Karma.

I am the worst boss in the world.

I have:
 
- Gifted 20% of my shares in BrewDog to everyone on the team.
 
- Pioneered Real Living Wage in our industry and paid it for over a decade.
 
- Shared 10% of the business’s profits evenly with the entire team.
 
- Launched a world first 50% profit share model for our BrewDog bars team members.
 
- Didn't take a salary in 2020 during Covid-19 to protect as many jobs as I could.
 
- Personally gifted over £250,000 to team members & their families going through hardship.

- Twice made the Sunday Times list of best 100 companies work work for (2023 & 2017) in the UK based on an anonymous staff survey.
 
- Offered everyone in the team a fully paid month-long sabbatical for every 5 years of employment.
 
- Introduced ‘Pawternity Leave’ -  a week off work if you get a dog to help your new family member settle in.
 
- Introduced ‘Punk to Punk’ bonuses so that team members could financially reward their colleagues.
 
- Covered the cost of my £500,000 gold can mistake personally so that it did not impact the team’s bonuses. 
 
- Mentored dozens of people to help them develop their careers.
 
- Introduced the BrewDog Salary Cap, meaning nobody could join the team and be paid more than 7 times our entry-level salary.
 
And it gets worse. I’ve also:
 
- Created thousands of jobs.
 
- Paid hundreds of millions in taxes.
 
- Invested £200m+ into developing our economy. 

Yet, if you read the media you would be forgiven for thinking that I am hands down the worst boss in history, the Darth Vader of CEOs.

I’m not asking for special treatment.

But actions always speak louder than headlines.

And I’ll always strive to put my team, my business, and my principles first.

So I guess I'll keep being the worst 😂

The story of BrewDog's 2020 in 6 pictures:

Hand Sanitiser (we donated over 500,000 bottles!)
ALD IPA.
Barnard Castle Eye Test (crashed our website for 9 hours). Vaccination Centres.
Becoming the world's first carbon negative beer business. And creating the BrewDog Forest.

#environment #sustainable #brewdogtomorrow #climate #craftbeer #climatecrisis #sustainability #climatechange #brewdog #brewdog

We are going to put an urban forest & garden on the roof of our new Manchester location.

BrewDog DogHouse Hotel Manchester: Coming summer 21

Bar | Terrace | Hotel | Rooftop Garden

Today is the official opening day of BrewDog Gatwick!

This is site number 128 for BrewDog and this one is very special.

Massive thank you to our business partners at London Gatwick & SSP Group plc for making this one happen 🍻

We would love to do more airport sites soon - which airport would you love to see a BrewDog in?

It’s time to actually do something.

I’m sick of talking about how broken our government is. And I'm sure you're sick of hearing about it 😅.

So, I am introducing Shadow Doge.

You can think of it as the unofficial, underground cousin of America’s Department Of Government Efficiency.

Here’s what we are going to do:

- Using extensive Freedom of Information requests to public bodies to delve deeply into how carelessly our tax money is being spent.

- Put an anonymous hotline in place for public sector workers to report waste (link in comments)

- Publish a monthly report which shows all the ways we have found that the government could be more efficient with how they spend your hard-earned taxes.

- Take an entrepreneurial approach to the public sector and highlight billions of pounds of potential savings.

- Publish a league table of the worst offending public bodies when it comes to wasting our money.

Labour inherited a mess—but Rt Hon Rachel Reeves has made it worse:

Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs.
Growth has tanked. 
Inflation is spiking.
Our entrepreneurs are leaving in droves.

Whilst today’s paltry growth numbers show the economy essentially flatlined for the last 6 months, the real story is that GDP per head dropped in Q4 2024 meaning that the standard of living dropped for everyone in the UK.

As the government grapples with downgraded economic forecasts and higher borrowing costs, 0.1% growth in Q4 is not going to plug the serious gaps in our public finances.

The government is facing 2 very difficult options:

1️⃣ Raise taxes→ which will further annihilate our economy and drive even more job creators out of the UK.

2️⃣ Cut spending→ which will make already failing public services even worse.

Together with the business community, I want to show there is a better way.

We show that if our government can become significantly more frugal with how it spends our money that will represent a far better solution than further increasing taxes which just leads to job losses and economic pain for everyone.

The UK government will spend £1.276 trillion this year.

If we save just 1%, we could fix our budget deficit.

If we save 10%, we could build the strongest economy in the world.

(A good place to start would be the £749 million the government blows on PR every year...)

And by the way, this isn’t about party politics. I remain agnostic.

14 years of Conservative government left the country in a mess. Labour is making it worse. This is about fixing the system. I am open to work with any political party to help make our country better for everyone.

The more badly spent tax money we can help identify and save, the more we can invest in the things that are most valuable to us – job creation, education, and our NHS.

No more complaining. It's time to find a solution.

Together, as a collective, we can save our country and help build a better future for everyone.

Introducing Planet First Locals. 🍻

If any bar sells 2 BrewDog beers on tap we will work with them to calculate their carbon footprint, build a plan to reduce it & offset their current footprint in our amazing forest. 🌳

Giving people more planet friendly places to hang out. 🌎

#sustainability #sustainability #sustainable #sustainable #environment #climatechange #ecofriendly

A crazy 30 second phone call changed BrewDog forever.

A few months after starting BrewDog in 2007, the business began to grow and we decided to advertise for our first ever full-time role.
 
We posted the job details on brewing notice boards online and I sat braced for a stream of amazing candidates to come across my desk.
 
Alas, nothing.
 
2 weeks after we posted the job advert, we had not received a single application.
 
I guess not too many people were keen on moving to a remote part of Scotland to work for a then tiny brewery for a starting salary of £22,000.
 
19 days after advertising the role, I received one solitary email from an Indian gentleman called Narayanan Madasamy - CEng CEnv FIChemE.

He expressed his interest in the role, but also outlined his package requirements should he consider it further: These included a salary of double what we were offering plus a whole host of additional benefits including a company car, a dental plan, a medical plan and private education for his daughter.
 
I quickly replied, expressing my gratitude for his interest but regrettably informing him at this time, we were unable to offer more than £22,000 and that we could provide none of the additional benefits he was looking for.
 
30 seconds later my phone rang.
 
I picked up the phone to be greeted by an exceptionally cheery voice. I was in shock as that voice informed me:
 
‘Dear Mr James, I am delighted to accept your kind job offer in your email.’
 
I didn’t even think that I had made a job offer.
 
After a split second of deliberation, I thought what the hell: nobody else had applied and Narayanan’s voice sounded very friendly and extremely eager.
 
Realising that we did not have much to lose I replied:
 
‘Great, when can you start?’
 
We quickly sorted all the logistics, I picked him up from Aberdeen airport 12 days later and the rest is history.
 
The gamble paid off, for both of us.
 
Narayanan excelled during his 8-year spell with us in a variety of roles. Initially starting in a brewing role, he progressed to become our Operations Director and latterly leading the Global Sales function in our rapidly growing business.
 
As well as being a key team member, Nara was also an exceptional singer and we were often treated to him singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in various styles (disco, Christian, Hindu, funeral) at BrewDog team barbeques.
 
I had such a good feeling about Nara that I offered him a role after 10 seconds on an international phone call. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut instinct, however illogical or irrational it may be.  
 
Pretty much all of my best decisions have been purely gut instinct and pretty much all of worst decisions have been when I have used logic to try and dissuade me from doing what my gut was telling me was right.
 
And if you gut instinct takes you down some crazy paths, just be grateful for the adventure you are going to have along the way.
 
Nara and I certainly had an amazing adventure together.

Would you like to be able to buy a BrewDog LEGO set?

I love this country.
I built my business in this country.
I’m raising my family in this country.

But I refuse to stand by and watch this country fall apart...

→ Businesses are collapsing at record rates. The UK lost 37 shops a day in 2024.

→ Jobs are vanishing. 169,395 job losses in the retail sector alone during 2024.

We haven't even had the new National Insurance rate kick in yet. I expect that number to increase, dramatically come April.

→ Our standard of living is plummeting. Real GDP per capita dropped significantly over the 2nd half of 2025 and continues to decline.

And while this is happening, our government is burning through taxpayer money and consistently hiking taxes while delivering less and less in return.

That's why last week, I launched Shadow Doge to highlight government waste.

Today, it evolves into Corgi: The Coalition for Organisational Reform & Government Improvement.

Here’s what we vow to do:
✅ Uncover billions in wasted taxpayer money.
✅ Publish reports exposing exactly where the system is broken.
✅ Work with ex-civil servants, data scientists, and AI engineers to propose real solutions.

Already, over 200 amazing experts have volunteered to help—working for free—to hold the government accountable.

I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who is helping!

Nobody understands inefficiencies in the public sector better than the people working inside it. Corgi will amplify their voices and bring real solutions to light.

I’ve spoken to CEOs, founders, and business leaders across the UK. They all say the same thing: 2025 will be brutal.

- More layoffs.
- More businesses shutting their doors.
- More families struggling to keep up.

I'm done just talking about this stuff; I want to take action.

And if you're sick of watching this country sink— get involved.

It's not a silver bullet, but it's a start.

👉 Link in my bio and comments.
♻️ Please share to help amplify the message and impact.

This is BrewDog Aberdeen- our first ever BrewDog bar and we opened it in 2010.

It is still crazy to think that from this one small location in Aberdeen there are now over 120 BrewDog bars all over the planet. From Las Vegas to Tokyo & from Berlin to Mumbai.

And whilst we have loads of amazing locations, our first ever one in our hometown still holds a very special place in my heart.

At BrewDog we are focussed on building the best business we can, which is why the open letter from former team members that we saw on Twitter was so upsetting, but so important. Our focus now is to listen, learn and act.

As a fast-growing business, we have always tried to do the best by our team — we do have thousands of employees with positive stories to tell as a result. But the tweet we saw last night proves that on many occasions we haven’t got it right. We are committed to doing better, not just as a reaction to this, but always; and we are going to reach out to our entire team past and present to learn more. But most of all, right now, we are sorry.

It’s hard to hear those comments, but it must have been harder to say them. We appreciate that and we will endeavour to honour that effort and courage with the real change it deserves. We aren’t going to make excuses, we’re going to take action. From our commitment to sustainability to our passion for beer, BrewDog has always been defined by taking responsibility and continually improving. This is no exception.

We are going to use today's events a catalyst to be the best employer we can be.

James

I was on Sky News Today. My message: The UK Government are fast asleep. They have hung the UK hospitality industry out to dry. Millions of people are losing their jobs today. Hundred of companies are on the brink today. Soft-loans, with details not to be announced until next week will be too late to do any good.

And to my team: This week has been very tough. But I have been blown away by the spirit, by the resolve, by the determination and most of all by the fight from every single one of our incredible team members in the face of extreme adversity. Go Team.

First look at the BrewDog & Friends BrewPub in Wapping.

Expect a pop-up brewing residencies from the world's best brewers, an urban forest, community gardens, meeting areas, events space & a visitor centre detailing the building's incredible history.

And all carbon negative too. 🍻🌳🌍

Our BrewDog Bars now share 50% of their profits with the amazing people who work in them!

We want to pioneer a whole new people-first business model for hospitality.

This is just one of many new initiatives we announced to mark our 15th anniversary: bit.ly/39nHK0O

#people #business #hospitality

The first photos of our new beer hotel in Edinburgh which officially opens this week Our team absolutely nailed this project!

It is our 3rd hotel. You can expect a rooftop terrace bar, beer on tap in all rooms, epic minibars and, of course, fridges in the showers for showers beers!

Book here: http://bit.ly/3FG7a4D

Say hello to our latest location.

BrewDog Basingstoke.

We are scheduled to open 27 new locations in 2022!

This year we decided to do a radically different type of Christmas advert. 🎄

We took the money we would otherwise spend on our Christmas ad and we gave it to a homeless charity instead.

Hey Everyone,
 
Some of you will have seen the story in The Guardian today. These stories and the attacks on myself and the business are of course a distraction.
 
Despite that, we remain hugely committed and excited about the opportunities ahead of us. I am absolutely passionate about making sure we are the best employer we possibly can be and to that end we are making some significant announcements shortly.
 
However, you all deserve a bit more of an explanation as to what is actually going on here. I regret having to comment on this publicly, but it’s clear that the attacks on us are not going to stop.
 
I have been subject to a 2 year-long coordinated criminal campaign of online harassment, defamation, blackmail, significant fraud, and malicious communications. This campaign began when appalling lies about me were sent by third parties, operating through troll accounts, to a large number of my social media connections. In their own words they have been working together on ‘a plot to bring James down’.
 
We subsequently engaged the services of digital investigative specialists to seek to identify the source of these damaging and false allegations and identify the individuals who defrauded me. As a direct result of those actions, and following a court order obtained from the High Court based on written evidence, we were able to identify individuals involved.
 
I have a duty to act in the best interests of the company, our employees and investors: this duty extends to protecting the business from malicious individuals who wish to cause us harm.
 
The objective of our enquiries was to understand the extent of the campaign against us and to take appropriate legal action to bring it to an end. A criminal prosecution for serious fraud and malicious communications is now under way in a court in London. There are related civil proceedings underway in The Court of Session in Scotland. Furthermore, there is a separate police complaint against a PwP founder for blackmail.
 
Given that there are criminal proceedings, I am obviously not allowed to comment further.
 
Criticism of our business is fine and often warranted – I fully accept that. Colluding in illegal activity to damage me or the business is not.
 
Whilst the last few months have been tough, I’ve never been more motivated to support and lead the continued development of this amazing business and our fantastic people.
 
This was never about money for myself or Martin. Ever. We could have cashed out years ago, never bought the Lost Forest, never signed off a further £70m+ investment this year alone. It’s about doing something different and building a business we are proud of and I’m sorry that there are a handful of people on a criminal mission to bring us down.
 
However, I remain excited about what we can build as a team over the remainder of 2022 and beyond.
 
Hold Fast,
 
James

Hey Dragons – wanna to make a charity bet?
 
Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett, Sara Davies MBE, Touker Suleyman & Peter Jones – are you up for a little challenge?
 
I recently announced my Dragon’s Dregs initiative. With Dragon’s Dregs I am investing in some of the wonderful businesses that have been rejected by the Den.
 
So, Dragons the bet would be as follows:
 
I invest in 3 businesses that the Den rejected. We then measure if they are more valuable in 2 year’s time that your 3 latest Dragon’s Den investments.
 
The winner is the one with the most valuable 3 businesses. 🏆
 
The losing party then has to make a £50,000 donation to the winner’s charity of choice.
 
So, is any Dragon up for the challenge?

Get out of the sun today and heat today!

If you're in a part of the country that is super hot, you can cool off in any of our bars today, grab some water and keep it chilled.

Just pop in, stay safe, and no, you don't have to buy anything.

We can't wait to welcome you back to our bars so will be throwing open the doors the minute we're allowed to.

A 1 minute past midnight 4th July we're throwing an Equity Punk exclusive preview night in Shoreditch, Newcastle and Manchester.

Book here: http://bit.ly/BDUnlocked

BrewDog bars are statistically the safest place to work other than hot desking in a prison.

Our DeskDog package has unlimited coffee + a pint at the end for just £7.

Night owls who like to work late, I’m afraid 10pm is the limit 😉

To book: https://lnkd.in/dTiMRjY

Another 60 seconds behind the scenes at BrewDog video.

This time looking at our offices BrewDog HQ.

Shot and edited by me, so sorry that the production value here is pretty scrappy!

After 2030 is just too damn late.

We are in the midst of a climate crisis, a crisis of our own design, driven by big business.

Here is what we, at BrewDog, are doing about it: bit.ly/2YtAokl

Now is the time for all businsess to step up and make things right.

#brewdogtomorrow #climatechange #sustainability #environment #climatecrisis #climatecrisis

Our US Business grew 77% in 2019.

Making it the 2nd fastest growing top 100 craft brewery in the US last year.

So excited for our fantastic US team led by Jason Block
They are doing a brilliant job and making a big, silly gamble look like a half decent business decision too!

#craftbrewery #beer #brewing #craftbeer

Mushroom compound mycelium is a fully biodegradable, recyclable & compostable packaging solution.🍄

We are now trialling this at BrewDog, on our online shop as part of our commitment to the planet. 🌎

Spon 3, a wild blue berry ale is available in this packaging: bit.ly/3watbnD 🍻

#packaging #ecofriendly #sustainability #sustainable #environment #plastic #plasticfree #circulareconomy

Viva Las Vegas ⚡️🇺🇸🥳

I still can't believe this is happening! It just feels like yesterday that BrewDog was 2 humans & 1 dog in a derelict shed in Fraserburgh.

Opens Q4 this year. Construction is going well. This video is when we had to close down the strip!

BrewDog Hong Kong makes 129!

We are really excited to have opened our amazing new location in Hong Kong taking out global tally up to 129.

It is remarkable to think that when we opened our first site in Aberdeen over a decade ago we were only ever intending to open one bar, and it was only to give ourselves and our friends somewhere cool to hang out in our hometown in north east Scotland.
 
Despite the challenges in the boarder economy we are really proud that we continue expanding, continue creating jobs and continue giving people more fantastic locations to enjoy world class craft beer.

Next up - BrewDog Gatwick in early December.

Should I delay marrying Georgia Toffolo? I need some help guys...

Here's the story:

I’m making an investment into WiLD PACK - an incredible UK-based raw dog food business transforming dogs' lives through raw, natural nutrition. I’m a massive advocate of the mission.

And the founder Georgia Toffolo 😆.

Yes, I’m biased. But in my defence, it is a bloody great business.

But my tax advisor just dropped a bombshell on me the other day:

If I marry Georgia within 3 years of investing, I become a ‘connected person’ under HMRC rules, and I lose the EIS tax relief 😅 .

So now I’m facing the ultimate question:
👉 Delay the wedding for 3 years and lock in the tax relief?
👉 Or forgo the tax break and marry Georgia in 2025?

What would you do?

A) Love always wins - take the tax relief hit ❤️
B) True love can wait for 3 years - secure the relief 💷 😬

Drop your votes in the comments - and if anyone knows about a loophole (Option C) I am all ears 😂.

What do you do when you’re told your beer is forbidden because it has a bird on it?

If you're our clever distributor in Wingman Iceland, you:

- Listen to the decision of the ATVR (the only shops allowed to sell alcohol in Iceland)
- Put a VERY simple sticker saying 'CENSORED BY ATVR' on the bird's face face
- Smile when ATVR then say the sticker means the Wingman cans can now be sold
- Go about your business, knowing you are a true BrewDog hero.

Vel gert, Iceland!

I wanted to share the BrewDog CrewPrint to give you all a snapshot into our culture.

First released in 2019 our CrewPrint outlines loads of our internal initiatives such as:

Unicorn Fund - we share 10% of our profits with our team.
Salary Cap - no one can join our business and be paid more than seven times the current entry level wage in our business.
Pawternity - anyone who adopts a dog or gets a puppy gets a week off work to help their new family member settle in.
Punk to Punk - our peer to peer bonus system.
The BrewDog Academy - where our own senior leaders share their learnings with our team.

And many more initiatives too!

You can download it here: https://bit.ly/2OYE2ku

Tag a freind of colleague who would appreciate a window into our culture!

#culture #business #culture #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #team

We got the memo 👑

6.5% Elvis Juice is coming back.

After 2030 is just too damn late: Amazon, Unilever, bp, Diageo, Nestlé, Ben & Jerry's (plus many others)

We are in the midst of a climate crisis. Action is needed now.

Here is what we @BrewDog are doing: bit.ly/2YtAokl

What other businesses need to do more? Tag them here to help drive change.

#climatechange #environment #sustainability #climatecrisis #climate #climateemergency #brewdogtomorrow #sustainable #brewdog #climateaction

Some exciting BrewDog People News
 
I’m really excited to share the news on 3 internal promotions in our senior team. Firstly, Lauren Carrol has been promoted to our Chief Marketing Officer – Lauren has been outstanding in all the roles she has worked in across our business and contributed massively to everything we have done over the last few years. As our new CMO she has huge potential to positively impact our growth as well as play a very important role in our senior leadership team.
 
Secondly, James Brown has been promoted to the CEO of BrewDog Bars. JB has been instrumental to the growth of our bar business since he joined us over 7 years ago and as well as running our bar business overall he has been key to the epic new locations in Vegas and Waterloo. I am excited to work closely with JB to further develop our retail business in 2023 and beyond.
 
And finally, I am very happy to share the news that Tom Reding is our new Chief Digital Officer. In over 3 years at BrewDog Tom has excelled in leadership roles across content, E-comm and all things digital. Our digital strategy is vital to our overall ambitions and I am delighted to have Tom lead this part of our business along with his brilliant team.
 
Lauren, JB and Tom are all world class senior leaders who have developed brilliant careers for themselves as they have progressed through the ranks at BrewDog. We are all very lucky to have them as part of our team and to be able to work with them on a daily basis.
 
Their progression is also testament to The BrewDog Salary Cap and our philosophy of developing the next generation of senior BrewDog leaders through our own teams as opposed hiring these leaders externally.
 
The BrewDog Salary Cap means that no-one can join our business for a salary which is more than 7 times what our entry level position is paid. Furthermore, salaries are capped at a maximum of 14 times the entry level position, increasing by one for each year of service. For context, among the top 300 US businesses, the average pay gap between the CEO and the median salary is a staggering 670 to 1.
 
At BrewDog we are committed to developing our own leaders and offering ample progression opportunities for our amazing team members. This helps us build a new type of business, one that rejects the status quo and turns normal business assumptions on their head.
 
Well done again Lauren, JB and Tom.

Welcome to The Lost Forest. 🌳🌲🌎

9,308 acres in the heart of the Scottish highlands where work is now underway on one of the biggest forest creation and peatland restoration projects the UK has ever seen.

As part of our commitment to sustainability:

We are planting over 1 million trees 🌳
We are creating a bio-diverse native broadleaf woodland 🍂
We are rewilding a huge chunk of the Scottish Highlands 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
We are restoring thousands of acres of peatlands 🌿
All to help us save our home planet 🌎

Thanks for buying our beer and helping support this vital project. 🍻

Sorry, it's impossible. That’s what 6 legal firms told us when we pitched our plan for Equity for Punks to them.

We wanted to do something no one had ever done before—turn our customers into investors and build a community that shared in our success.

After being told it was impossible 6 times, we decided to do what any sane person would do... and try again 😆.

The seventh firm said it just might work.

The only hitch? They wanted £100,000.

And we had less than £10,000 in the bank...

But we shook hands and went all in anyway with some wild PR stunts to grab attention.

Like hiring out a helicopter to fly over London and rain hops from the sky.

It was a huge, expensive gamble that was either going to save us or sink us.

The gamble paid off. That first round of Equity for Punks raised £570,000 and kept us going when we had nothing left.

But more importantly, it gave us a community that still drives everything we do today.

Here’s the lesson:

Every “no” gets you closer to the “yes” that matters.

But you’ll only get there if you keep showing up.

Keep staring impossible in the face until it can no longer ignore you.

The best ideas don’t succeed because they’re easy - they succeed because they are wild untamed things that ordinary people will think are impossible... until they work.

Equity for Punks broke every single crowdfunding record out there - and wrote the rulebook on crowdfunding for future businesses to follow.

So, what’s an “impossible“ idea you are fighting for? Keep fighting.

You might end up writing a rulebook of your own one day.

-----

Follow James Watt for more on facing rejection and coming out on top.

Thrilled to announce that BrewDog have been awarded the Waste Prevention and Management Award, at the prestigious 2022 Footprint Drinks Sustainability Awards.

A massive thank you to Footprint for this amazing award, and for recognising our sustainability initiatives here at BrewDog.

Our on-site bio-energy facility project has been recognised for its efforts in reducing local environmental impacts. Working towards a target of zero-emissions in 2023 is no small feat, but alongside many other sustainability initiatives, our fully integrated bio-energy facility will get us there.

How? Well, our bio-energy facility will:
 
🙅‍ Convert unwanted liquid residues into on-site bio-energy.

📉 Reduce site emissions from effluent disposal and fossil fuel use.

👍 Meet production requirements within the brewery.

🌍 Produce clean HGV fuel, recycled water, and green CO2.
 
You can read all about our on-site bio-energy facility in our latest MEGA Report 👉 https://lnkd.in/ewiYW36S

#sustainability #bioenergy #environment #zeroemissions

Yesterday we protested against the postponement of Cop26 which was due to host vital discussions on the climate crisis.

Today we host ALTCOP, an alternative climate convention with speakers from Patagonia, AllBirds, LUSH, VICE & more.

Today 2-6pm: ALTCOP.EARTH