A lot of us dream about starting a business. But so many people spend years and years planning a business without actually taking the plunge and going for it. We want to plan for every challenge and potential problem, and forget that the most important step is to just start something. It turns out that some of the best businesses are born from spur of the moment decisions and taking surprising and exciting risks. In this episode of Deep Dive I chat to Thom Elliot, co-founder of the restaurant business Pizza Pilgrims. Pizza Pilgrims started on a whim when Thom and his brother went on a trip around Italy trying to taste test the best pizzas in the country. From there, Pizza Pilgrims has become an award winning business, which has survived all the adversity of the pandemic to celebrate its tenth birthday this year. In this conversation we talk all about how to become an entrepreneur, how to turn set backs into opportunities, and the importance of taking risks when starting your dream business. Enjoy!

Season 7 Episode 6

6:30 The origin of Pizza Pilgrims

15:57 Thom’s trip to Italy

22:55 The importance of random conversations

29:36 Getting Pizza Pilgrims off the ground

37:00 The difference between employment and entrepreneurship

45:22 Should you quit your job to start a business?

51:19 Why you need to take risks

58:16 Founder’s naivety

1:06:33 Pizza Pilgrims’ stats

1:11:15 Sustainable growth and long- term thinking

1:20:10 How Pizza Pilgrims survived the pandemic

1:31:54 Franchises and the Pizza Academy

1:38:44 Growth and giving back

1:45:19 Balancing family life

1:48:21 Lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs