How This Couple Built a Restaurant Food Critics Can't Ignore

The High Performance Podcast

High Performance

Sports, Self-improvement, Mindset, Growth Mindset, Health & Fitness, Non-negotiables, Education, Life Lessons, High Performance

4.8 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This episode wraps up our 'Startup to Standout' mini-series, presented in partnership with Lloyds Bank. In this final episode, Jake joins Thomas and Gemma, the passionate duo behind ‘L'Hexagone Bistro Français’, a charming restaurant that celebrates the rich flavours of French cuisine right in the heart of Norwich. The couple chat about the journey that led them to open their doors in Norwich, from their love of French cuisine to the excitement and nerves of launching their own restaurant. They open up about the inspiration behind their brand and the courage it took to break into the restaurant scene together. They also discuss balancing the demands of parenting with running a bustling restaurant, along with the tough times they faced, especially when COVID-19 hit just as they were getting started. Thomas and Gemma share the valuable lessons they’ve learned, from weathering setbacks to finding the resilience to keep going, encouraging anyone with a business idea to take the leap if their vision is clear. Lloyds Bank is here to help businesses like L'Hexagone thrive. With guidance, funding, and personalised support, they empower entrepreneurs to take that leap, whether it's opening a new location or just starting out.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi there, I'm Jay Comfrey and this is Startup to Stand Out, a short series from high performance in partnership with Lloyd's Bank.
0:08.0	And this is actually the final episode of our mini series. I've loved talking about entrepreneurship, sharing with you the challenges of businesses, how hard it is to actually go it alone.
0:18.0	And look, many of us know that entrepreneurship journeys are tough, but the stats
0:21.4	drive home just how hard it is. 60% of businesses fail in the first three years, 20% of them
0:27.5	fail in the first year, just 42.5% of new businesses make it to the five year mark. And that's
0:34.7	really what this series is about, just understanding the challenges, but also
0:38.1	inspiring people like you to give it a go. And I'm feeling rather inspired today because I'm
0:43.0	returning home actually to Norwich to meet the owners of a gorgeous French restaurant called
0:47.5	Lexagol. And you know what? Stats around new restaurants are even more alarming than the ones I
0:52.7	just told you. 60% of restaurant businesses fail in the first year.
0:58.2	So why? What can we learn from today's conversation to help other people?
1:03.1	Well, I'm really pleased to say that actually Lloyds have supported Thomas and Gemma,
1:07.8	the founders and creators of Lexagon who set the business up. They've provided
1:11.5	holistic business support, as well as guidance on starting growing and managing their awesome
1:16.5	business. So it's time to find out what Thomas and Gemma can share with us about their story
1:22.3	so far. Hi, Jake. Welcome to Lexagon. Nice to to meet you Gemma. Thank you for having me.
1:29.3	I've just been talking outside about the challenges of running a business, right?
1:33.3	Which we will get on to, but before that, let's talk about the fun stuff.
1:36.3	So this is run by you and Thomas.
1:38.3	Business partners and partners?
1:40.3	Yep, husband and wife and business partners, yeah.
1:43.3	So, yeah, the whole hog.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from High Performance, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of High Performance and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.