March 26, 2020
reading time: 8 minutes
We've created a gin for every entrepreneurial character trait. Cheers!
What makes a successful entrepreneur?
Is it intellect? Or diligence? Have they always been overachievers, even at school?
This alone cannot be the reason, as the school careers of various entrepreneurs prove. David Karp, the creator of Tumblr, never even graduated from high school. Matt Mullenweg, who started WordPress, dropped out of college, as did Bill Gates. Arash Ferdowsi, the co-founder of Dropbox, dropped out of school in his last semester.
What makes successful entrepreneurs is not primarily their degree, or experience, or network, but their character. Where others give up, they don't let themselves get dejected. Where others are blind, they see potential. Where others shy away, they are not afraid to take a risk. They are driven by courage, determination, and a vision.
To us at LGT Vestra, time and again, getting to know entrepreneurs is truly inspiring. It might be their passion for creation, or their surprising ideas, or their refusal to follow the masses. When getting to know some of them in the context of our EY Entrepreneur of the Year sponsorship, we found that successful entrepreneurs share similar character traits:
These thoughts and observations inspired us to get creative ourselves. We decided to catch the entrepreneurial spirit in a spirit: Together with the Cambridge Gin Distillery, we developed eight gins, one for each character trait. We chose the main ingredient for each gin by researching the symbols and history behind each character trait. For example, the Ancient Greeks used thyme to promote courage – ideal for the fearless entrepreneur.
Getting these ingredients to work with the taste of the gin was an art perfected by the Cambridge Gin Distillery and their rigorous distilling method. Each of the botanicals assigned to a character trait was distilled individually and under vacuum to achieve the perfect flavour. Lucy Lowe, co-founder of the Cambridge Gin Distillery, explains: "Temperature, timing and pressure are just three of the nine variables that we tailor to each and every botanical." William Lowe, their Master Distiller, then blended these individual distillates into a harmonious whole. "In our eight years history, this is the only time we have created gins to reflect a character trait. We really enjoyed the challenge."
We now regularly host gin tastings. At the recent NOAH London conference, we asked our guests to pick the trait they most identified with. Our determined gin proved to be the most popular, reflecting the strong-minded qualities of the entrepreneurs present.
Images: Cambridge Distillery
Inspiring entrepreneurs
Thanks to its sponsorship of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award, LGT Vestra meets truly inspiring entrepreneurs time and again. The award recognizes entrepreneurial achievements of individuals and companies from over 60 countries.