Lord Karan Bilimoria - Cobra Beer founder

Karan Bilimoria was a Cambridge law student when he discovered that the UK just didn’t have the right beer for his favourite curry. Ignoring his degree and his family’s military background, he decided to solve the problem by setting up Cobra Beer when he was just 27. It went on to become one of the most awarded beers in the world. Since then, he’s applied his entrepreneurial mindset to a huge range of organisations, including as President of the Confederation of British Industry, working with government during COVID, when he was the first person to suggest the widespread use of lateral flow testing and saving thousands of lives. He’s now Lord Bilimoria, an independent crossbench life peer, and still just as focused on taking action. How does he approach decision-making? What does he see as the role of luck? What is the one thing he thinks everyone should remember when it comes to making choices?

Key takeaways:

·   He introduces the concept of luck as "when determination meets opportunity," highlighting the need to be proactive in seizing life's waves of opportunity.

·   He contrasts the entrepreneurial mindset of "playing to win" with the bureaucratic mindset of "playing not to lose," encouraging listeners to adopt a proactive and positive attitude towards opportunities.

·   Bilimoria discusses the significance of trust and credibility in business, drawing from personal experiences where his unwavering faith in his product helped him overcome the credibility gap.

·     Cobra Beer https://www.cobrabeer.com/

·     Cambridge University https://www.cam.ac.uk/

·     Confederation of British Industry https://www.cbi.org.uk/

·     TED Talk by Karan Bilimoria https://youtu.be/J4yzoTClUMk?si=Q29ifNgfRHrE53W_

·     House of Lords https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/

·     University of Birmingham https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/

ABOUT BRUCE WHITFIELD

Bruce Whitfield is an award winning journalist, best-selling author and popular speaker who has spent over two decades hosting a nightly business radio show, questioning influential people about the decisions they made. More on bruce here: www.brucewhitfield.com

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