Martin Vander Weyer Martin Vander Weyer

Entrepreneurship is a way of life

In the second of our series on ‘The Lifecycle of an Entrepreneur’, serial brand-builder and start-up investor, James Espey, talks to Martin Vander Weyer about his philosophy of life and business.

James Espey was born in Zambia and educated in South Africa before moving to London in 1977. For many years he worked for international drinks companies, developing brands such as Malibu, Baileys and Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

For the past two decades he has been an entrepreneur in his own right, as well as a mentor to others. He is a client of Julius Baer, which is also a sponsor of The Shaw Mind Foundation, a charity founded by Adam Shaw and James to support mental health sufferers and their families. 

James is the author of Making Your Marque, subtitled ‘100 tips to Build your Personal Brand and Succeed in Business’ — and he has an aphorism for every aspect of starting and building a business. ‘It takes twice as long, and twice as much money as you ever thought, to break even,’ he says.

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