Bootstrapping Global Brands While Keeping 100% Ownership: Steve Perez on What Rally Driving Can Teach You About Focused Business
Steve Perez bootstrapped VK Vodka Kick from £200k to £65M in four years without investors, keeping 100% ownership. From MAFFEO DRINKS Episode 114: radical transparency with suppliers, payment terms as allocation tools, and why profit beats funding.
Most entrepreneurs waste months pitching investors who'll take 40% equity for speed they don't need, but what happens when you bootstrap from business failure to £65 million revenue while keeping 100% ownership?
We discuss this exact transformation with Steve Perez, who built VK Vodka Kick from a £200k trading operation to CBI Entrepreneur of the Year without surrendering a single equity point to outside investors.
The Real Cost of Taking Investment Nobody Talks About
Conventional wisdom says scaling fast requires venture capital. Pitch decks project founder salaries of £100k year one. Investment committees promise expertise and networks. But Steve faced reality after Global Beer collapsed in 1996: banks wouldn't lend, investors saw incompetence at best and fraud at worst, and his credit rating showed virtually zero.
We discuss how Steve's approach flipped standard fundraising logic completely. Founder salary remained zero while he worked weekend nights as a waiter and Saturday market stands. Every pound of profit became fuel for the next growth stage rather than satisfying shareholder expectations or exit timelines.
The difference? VK grew from £200k to £2 million year one, £16 million year two, £30 million year three, and £65 million year four. The investors who would have taken 40% for £2 million in year two missed a business that multiplied 32x in two years.
If the above resonates, it's because you live it every day.
Your stakeholders want numbers. Your team wants direction. Aligning the two? That's where everyone struggles.
I spend 51% of my time in the field. 49% in boardrooms. Both rooms talk to me because I understand what the other one is dealing with.
What follows are patterns from 1000+ practitioner conversations. Things people tell me they'd never say publicly. Principles to navigate your own reality. Not playbooks.
For drinks leadership, serious about seeing clearly. 👇🏻
