Changing your world is a damn hard task, so stop trying alone: Collaboration is the key to your success with Chris Drummond
As a part of our quest to champion purpose-driven entrepreneurs across the world here is the story of Chris Drummond, the fourth of our Humans of Happy Startups Series.
The Happy Startup School first met Chris at our Summercamp in 2014. That fateful weekend. This guy is part of the Happy Startup School fabric and has one hell of a story to share…
Chris Drummond
Founder of Crafted Crate
Based between Brighton, UK and the mountains
Chris, I’m especially excited to share your story. Let’s dive straight in. Tell us the driving force behind launching your startup Crafted Crate
I set out to build a company entirely based on one notion, to create a world where I got to spend more time with my family & to improve our quality of living.
I have learned more this year about creating possibilities than I have in my entire life. I would love to shortcut this learning for you to go on and do the same.
So, hold on, buckle in and prepare for a rollercoaster of emotions.
Until this day…
I have been acting as an MD in a family heating engineering company I reluctantly joined 15 years ago.
I told both myself and my family that I was not in this for the long haul. I was simply stopping by to earn money and get myself back out to the mountains where I felt most at home. In my head, then and for the past 15 years, this was not my path and I was not supposed to be here.
At least that is what I told myself.
What I really learned in this past year is that the path I took, the very path that I chose for myself, was exactly the right path for me.
I would imagine there are much easier ways of learning that you are in the right place, where you do not give yourself shit for 15 years and enjoy the ride for what it is.
But hey, where is the fun in that.
How could I sit here and type, teaching you how to avoid such long term learnings without having been through it myself.
The truth is, this family company gave me everything, I now know it is my Dad that I have to thank for so much of the journey that I am now embarking on. Without him, all of this opportunity I am about to tell you about would have never come to light. So for that Big Al, I thank you with all my heart.
You can indeed, like I, give yourself shit for a long time for the path that you are on, but if you truly believe you are on this path without learning anything or growing within yourself, then get the fuck out.
I ask you to really think about this, have you really learned nothing on your venture?
Even if you are rapidly learning what not to do, how not to build your company and how not to go about your life.
Is that not the most valuable learning you could ever do?
No self-help book on this planet can teach you what the world is throwing in your face everyday.
Great perspective. If someone had an idea they were ready to pursue, what advice would you give to them before they begin?
You don’t have to save the world.
First, you have to save yourself.
The best way to do this is surround yourself with inspiring minds & likeminded souls.
I chose to do this in a field, what looked like from the outside, a hippy convention of purpose driven hungry humans. I now fondly talk about this place as where it all began. The Happy Startup Summercamp.
I can not sell this to you like the title may suggest. You will be happy upon attending this life changing whirlwind of emotions but you will also be crying, breaking down, realising how wrong you got it, realising how right you got it, finding out you really are not alone & on the contrary there are a whole bunch of fucked up humans walking around just like you.
These humans though, for me at least, just so happened to be 100 super heroes on a mission to all help me out on my venture.
You can choose to build your startup slowly and give yourself enough time to talk yourself out of just about every single decision you make.
Or, you could learn rapidly and turn the statistics of failed startups around in your favour.
They say 9/10 startups fail, these stats are not that inspiring for a budding entrepreneur so lets change them together.
If you take one lesson from my ramblings, please let it be this:
Go & find like minded souls, be vulnerable, open up and let them in.
I promise you that collaboration is the key to your success.
Start talking about your story, about your needs, why you need to move on from your current role and seek the path that is right for you now. Only then will these unsung heroes give you everything in their power to help you succeed.
I chose beer.
Well this is not entirely true, beer happened to be the outcome of what I chose.
What I actually chose was people.
The craft brewing industry is full of inspiring minds that are all on the same mission.
Although they are in business strictly competitors, you would never know this from the way they act. This entire industry are on a hand in hand mission to drive forward their love of craft and collectively show the world together why it is so great.
This was the perfect fit for my new found love of collaboration.
No matter what the product, who would not want to be involved in this.
So my best mate Russ and I decided that it was only right for us to build a service to showcase their talent, hand pick some of the worlds finest craft beers and send you on a journey of discovery.
A crate of 12 small batch beers from independent brewers delivered to your door every month. With a added mission to save these badass heroes from the inevitable path of cooperate destruction.
So, Crafted Crate was born.
How did you get Crafted Crate off the ground?
Crafted Crate is all about the experience and excitement of trying new flavours & styles, stumbling across your new favourite beer.
So Russ and I decided that instead of planning an entire company and to take over the world, all we really needed to do was test our concept.
So, we went on the hunt for 20 very different & awesome craft beers. Arranged a little gathering by reaching out to people in our own social reach, then created a little pop up beer tasting event.
With only a few days to get ready we decided to pull in a few favours. We called on the Happy Startup crew and borrowed their co-working office for a night. Called a designer friend, giving her 24 hours to come up with a logo based on the worst brief ever (payment was yes, you guessed it…beer). We then raided a family friends warehouse for props & glasses. Grabbed as many friends as we could to help us not look like complete idiots. Built a very poor website to enable us to get sign-ups for any interested (slightly tipsy) folk and crossed our fingers.
It was after we put our idea out there, told people a little about our story that we started to get more and more help from others that loved what we were up to.
So, go build the most stripped down version of your product, shout about it, invite others in to share your story with you & you would have successfully taken your first step to building your new business, where you get to tell your world exactly how it should be.
I can not emphasise enough to you how important it is to just take that first step.
Have there been any pivotal moments in your journey?
Just over 2 years ago I met a now great friend back at Summercamp, the place where I found my like minded souls (go find yours now please).
Jack Hubbard a co-founder of a PR & Marketing Agency in Brighton. Jack stood up at Summercamp and although his talk was inspiring and thought provoking, I could not help but think that this guy had stolen my dreams.
He hangs out in the mountains (one of my biggest loves) got to help out as many startups as he could (another one) and led life the way he wanted, surrounded by his family and choosing to spend time only on what he believed in.
So I tracked Jack down and went to hang out with him & his family in the mountains.
What I did not know then, which I know now, this little venture I embarked on with my family (including the Ginger Bullet of a Dog we call Marvin) was the very start of a collaboration that would end up being the final push over the line I needed.
Back in March, sat in the mountains, it was there that I learned to strip back everything in business.
Build a service or product without all the noise, keep it simple and save all your time and effort for building the right company for you, one with your purpose and one that told your story.
My story has gone on to gather a tribe of beer loving humans that have helped me realise the very notion I started this all with. Surrounding myself with my family and buying ourselves time for our greatest adventure yet.
Jack and I launched Crafted Crates first product from his garage, a stripped back version of its highly strung predecessor, the Crate was ready to go out in to the world.
Roll forward 8 months and I found myself sat in front of Directors from Jack’s founded business Propellernet. Where I was being offered a buy in to Crafted Crate that was so aligned with how I wanted to go about my business I had to keep asking myself how on earth this all came about. These guys had the last missing piece to my puzzle in building the business I wanted to be a part of, the one that will go on to realise my dreams.
So, as I said, collaboration is key. Opening up and letting others in is the fastest way to build your company.
Without this line of thought, I would have not been where I am right now, certainly not as quickly as I have got here.
Through collaboration I have managed to build a scalable business that runs from a warehouse, one that I do not need to attend, one that I do not even have to pay for.
I have built relationships with incredibly talented brewers, now becoming my extended family, all because I let them in to my story and helped them share theirs.
I have the best fall back team known to mankind, they call themselves the Happy Startup School, these guys have been there for me every step of the way.
I have also come to realise that the most important collaboration I could have made was the one I made 5 years ago when marrying my wife Kat. As it is through her support that I have been able to go on this somewhat loose cannon of a journey without going insane or losing any limbs.
I have now resigned from my MD position and the Family company where I learned it all. You will find myself, Russ and Jack between Brighton and the Alps, building the best beer company in the world.
It is so wonderful to hear the giant leaps forward you’re taking with the support of friends. My final question is what’s next for Crafted Crate? How can readers be a part of this?
Whats next for us: In light of these collaboration learnings, we have launched Crafted offering up shares in our company to the first 500 people that join. We are looking for a bunch of likeminded humans that believe in making life better, having fun and following their dreams. Or you can just like beer. Come join the party.
Upon joining the Crafted tribe you will be asked to share something on our Beer Powered Bucket List, where every 500 members we grow by we will be granting them one of their dreams. Yes this is utter nonsense, yes it is us blagging our way around actually building a business in the better known sense but this is us & exactly the company that I want be a part of.
