In this episode of Your Mind Your Business, host Carina McLeod sits down with Jerry Lawson, Chief Frog and co-founder of Frog Bikes, to dive into the unplanned, resilience-fueled journey from corporate life to building a £10 million children's bike manufacturing business that sells in 50+ countries.

Chapters:

[00:00:31] Introduction to Jerry Lawson and Frog Bikes
[00:02:58] From Corporate to Entrepreneur - The Pivotal Moment
[00:11:48] Reality Check - Unexpected Global Demand and Challenges
[00:19:36] Crisis Management - Fires, Tax Investigations, and Resilience
[00:31:03] Managing Growth, Competition, and Team Responsibility
[00:42:47] Work-Life Balance and Partnership Dynamics
[00:48:35] Key Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

💡 Topics Covered:

✅ The transition from 20 years in corporate (Tesco, Amazon, John Lewis) to starting a children's bike company
✅ How a simple problem - heavy kids' bikes - sparked a £10 million business idea
✅ Research-led product development with Brunel University to understand children's unique needs
✅ The reality of manufacturing challenges, from factory fires to customs delays
✅ Building resilience through major setbacks including tax investigations and Brexit
✅ Scaling from 3 people to 100+ employees across 50+ countries without external funding
✅ Partnership with Team Sky and maintaining innovation leadership
✅ Sustainability innovations including 25% post-consumer recycled aluminium frames
✅ Managing the emotional rollercoaster of entrepreneurship with your life partner
✅ The importance of expert advisors and knowing when to ask for help

🔥 "You have to assume everything is gonna go wrong. There is a possibility that something will go wrong... you have this risk register, whether official or just in your mind."

💪 "You've just got to have total resilience... assume everybody's an idiot. So you ride defensive riding."

🎯 "We wanna make bikes that kids wanna ride, stores want to sell, and parents want to buy."

📌 If you're considering leaving corporate life to solve a real problem, or you want the unfiltered truth about building a manufacturing business from scratch without external funding, this episode reveals the grit behind entrepreneurial success.

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Discover more about Frog Bikes: https://frogbikes.com
Follow Frog Bikes:
https://facebook.com/frogbikes
https://instagram.com/frogbikes

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