- MASTERCLASS LIVE
The things that we don’t talk about in business
With Mike Hill, One Planet Pizza, Blue O’Connor, Kings Grooming & Lisa Fox
In business we talk a lot about success, but what about the taboos in business that EVERYONE goes through but few talk about? Business failure, debt, mental health pressures, hidden disabilities…
In this playback from a live panel as part of VegfestUK online, we approach the subject with some much-needed honesty about the journey that business owners and those running a business actually go through. That might be the mental health toll of running a business, dealing with the reality of debt and business failure and how to get through it, or living and working with disabilities that might be invisible to others.
Hosted by David, we are joined by three vegan entrepreneurs who have each successfully overcome their own struggles in business: Mike Hill from One Planet Pizza, Blue O’Connor from Kings Grooming, and our own Lisa Pannell.
Livestreamed as part of VegfestUK Online
We have been overjoyed to run these series of business panels as part of VegfestUK Online who have continued to give all vegan businesses a platform throughout the pandemic.
Mike Hill is the co-founder of One Planet Pizza, a successful vegan frozen pizza company stocked by Ocado. But before One Planet Pizza, Mike’s first business faced debt and eventual bankruptcy which took three years to pay back. Mike talks about how he got through what was a very difficult time, both personally and professionally, but how failure is often an important part of the journey to success.
Blue O’Connor is the founder of vegan men’s grooming company Kings Grooming. Blue faced his own struggles with mental health in his 20s and now uses his platform to fight the stigma of men’s mental health. We will be talking to Blue about the importance of mental health when you’re running your own business, why it’s important to reach out and why we don’t go public with the problems that we all face.
Lisa Pannell is the co-founder of Vegan Business Tribe and consultancy Promote Vegan. Diagnosed with autism as an adult, Lisa spent a lifetime having to mask an invisible disability that was draining and confusing in equal measures. Lisa beat the odds to launch two successful vegan businesses and talks about how she has found success by learning to accept and embrace her differences.
