Entrepreneurship Society: Angus Thirlwell
Thursday, November 8th 2012
The Entrepreneurship Society was very lucky to host the Founder and CEO of Hotel Chocolat, Angus Thirlwell, who visited Eton last week. Mr Thirlwell began his talk by outlining his company’s growth from a corporate mint supplier to an express delivery confectionery service to the more refined chocolatier it is today. He then educated the crowd on his chocolate and cocoa beans by handing out samples and explaining the provenance of the beans. He highlighted some important character traits of a successful entrepreneur, notably resilence, illustrating this by telling the story of when, soon after he had set up the company and taken on two large orders of mints for imminent delivery, the mint wrapping machine broke leading to he and his small workforce having to wrap 15,000 mints by hand! He also outlined the new areas that his company is expanding into, including their new hotel and their innovative shops (these work as retail centres by day but fine chocolate dining restaurants by night). In conclusion, this was another fascinating evening in the Entrepreneurship Society's series of speakers and I'm sure all who were there look forward to future meetings.
Jamie Cuffe (NCWS)
