The story of Coffee Nation and how to start, build and sell a high-growth business

By Martyn Dawes

A high-growth success story

Martyn Dawes set out to build a high-growth business with a simple idea and the will to do whatever was required to make it a success. Twelve years later he sold this business – Coffee Nation – for £23m.

Along the way, among many highs and lows, there was the thrill of seeing an idea come to life, costly failed trials and false starts, countless business plans, learning how and when to raise funding, the personal journey of surviving when success seemed so distant and securing contracts with some of the biggest retailers in the world. This is the story of how a great British business was built – from a blank sheet of paper – and how it came to be one of the nation’s favourite consumer brands. It’s also a guide to help any aspiring entrepreneur put their business on the path to high growth.

Through the course of an exciting narrative, Martyn shares his experiences of growing a business and his knowledge of what you should and shouldn’t do. Mistakes to avoid are revealed just as honestly as the good decisions, making this is an unusually frank and valuable account for anyone looking to build their own business.

All areas from start-up to exit are covered, including:

– How to come up with an idea and know if it’s any good
– Researching and testing your business model
– When you should not write a business plan and why not
– The process of pitching to investors and raising funding
– Negotiating contracts and controlling your finances
– A special final chapter on how to set up a business for high-growth from the outset

Coffee Nation was based on the reliable principles of a simple idea, a compelling vision, a high-quality product and relentless enterprise. If you have the desire and vision to build your own high-growth business – or you want to read a fascinating story of how it has been done – look no further. It’s time to wake up and sell the coffee.

Martyn Dawes is a successful entrepreneur. He founded his first business, MDA (Martyn Dawes Associates) in the recession of 1991. That business continues to trade successfully to this day (now called Dawes Ryan Consulting).

His idea for Coffee Nation came from a combination of seeing how many cups of coffee were being sold in convenience stores in New York and reading about the business model of a photocopier company. Four years later, after proving the concept, he raised £4 million in development capital from a London-based private equity firm.

Coffee Nation grew fast and secured long-term contracts with major retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury, Esso, Moto, Welcome Break and Somerfield.

In 2008 the company was sold for £23m, returning investors four times their money and was sold again finally to Whitbread/Costa in 2011 for almost £60m.

Martyn and Coffee Nation have won numerous awards, including:
-- Sunday Times/Virgin Atlantic Fast Track Awards 2006: Winner of the Innovation Award
-- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005, South Region, Consumer Products & Services
-- Coffee Nation featured in Real Business Hot 100 Index of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in the UK, 2005 and 2006
-- Sunday Times/Virgin Atlantic Index of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in the UK, December 2005, ranked no. 13
-- Sage Business Awards 2003, Best Business Leader (to 25 employees category)
-- Orange Small is Beautiful Award 2003; Best Demonstration of Entrepreneurial Passion