Levi Roots- Starting From His Own Kitchen
Picture the scene for a minute. A guy with dreadlocks who started making something in his kitchen with no money is waiting for his opportunity to go on Dragons Den, which is the UK version of Shark Tank. He walks up the stairs playing a guitar and singing a song that he had written himself. You can imagine what was going through the minds of the investors as it was certainly a novel entrance and one they had never seen before. This was Levi Roots and his story is one that really is rags to riches and it gives you hope that your life could work out the same way.
The origins of Levi.
Levi was originally born in Jamaica in 1958 and was actually a friend to Bob Marley and spent time with him when he lived in the UK. Occasional jobs, picking up money from time to time, and playing his reggae music whenever possible. However, life was always a bit of a struggle and he ended up in a poor suburb of London trying to make ends meet, but it was his Jamaican origins that would ultimately prove to change his life.
His business.
In London there is a world famous carnival in Notting Hill every year and this was where Levi really kickstarted his business career. His sole product was his very own cooking sauce, which became known as Reggae Reggae Sauce, which he created, manufactured, and bottled in his own small kitchen. However, a carnival was certainly the best place to sell such a product, which he eventually did do and sold 4,000 bottle in just a few days. This success is regarded as being the turning point for him and led to him developing the belief that he did indeed have something that people would want to purchase and this ultimately resulted in him applying to pitch his idea on national TV in 2006.
TV and changing his life.
If you are in any doubt about the potential effectiveness of these kinds of programs, then maybe this guy will change your mind. As was mentioned earlier, his entrance was unique, but his pith was far from perfect with him even making a mistake whereby he claimed to have an order for 2.5 million liters, but the actual order was for 25,000 kg which is something completely different. The main thing was that the investors saw enough merit in his product leading to two of them investing a total of £50,000 for 40% of his business.
The outcome of that deal.
The outcome of that deal was not only his product flying onto the shelves across the UK, but Levi himself became a bit of a personality. Within weeks of the episode airing it was announced that one of the largest supermarket chains in the country was going to stock it in over 600 stores. The others soon followed with it leading to Levi creating a whole host of other products along the same lines, which he continues to do to this day.
Now, the Reggae Reggae brand consists of various flavors of jerk sauce, marinades, sodas, ready meals, cookbooks, and has generally made cooking from the Caribbean cool. When you then add in his appearances on television, he has certainly come a very long way from a small apartment in that poor part of London.
His belief in supporting others.
Since then, Levi has become a major supporter of helping up and coming entrepreneurs to get started in the world of business. He does this by supporting a UK government scheme, of which he was one of the early founders, whereby people get help from a business mentor and limited funds from the government to help them to turn their business dreams into reality.
His overall success.
By 2014, Levi has an estimated fortune of £35 million, which is very impressive considering the small profit margins with his products and that he only has 60% of his company. His fortune is only going to continue to grow as his products have really been accepted in the UK and his energy is infectious for most people and he is certainly a perfect example of how your personality can play a major role in the way that your business develops. The fact that he is then trying to pass on that energy to other people who are in the same boat as he was in 2006 is to be applauded.
Turning your life around in just a few years is always impressive and perhaps the best lesson to learn here is that investors do not always have to be a bad thing. Instead, with the correct people you could really make your fortune, so do not simply dismiss it as Levi is glad that he accepted that offer.
