In this must-read book, Luke Johnson compresses two decades of hard-won business experience to inspire – and guide – everyone about to set off for life as an entrepreneur.
Johnson, the man behind the growth of PizzaExpress, is one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs with an estimated personal fortune of £120 million. In Start It Up he reveals the realities of running your own business and tackles the crucial issues: finding the right idea, sourcing capital, and more.
Order a Copy
For eight years between 1998 and 2006, Luke Johnson wrote a regular column as ‘The Maverick’ in The Sunday Telegraph.
His short, pithy essays tackled subjects ranging from rich lists to bankrupt companies, from high finance to investment techniques, from philanthropy to trophy wives, bringing a practitioner’s eye to the commercial world and the people in it. The Maverick quickly developed a cult following among readers who wanted to understand the blunt truth about investment, entrepreneurs, business history, and corporate life.
This book brings together 84 of the best articles, with updates, in a single volume. What makes them unique is that Luke Johnson is not just a first-class writer, he is also one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs. He made his name with Pizza Express, has run and owned businesses in many different sectors, and now takes stakes in fast-growing businesses through his company, Risk Capital Partners. He is also Chairman of Channel 4. The diversity of his experience enables him to write with insight and perspective about the very serious matter of making and losing money.