The name may be familiar, but James Watt, founder of BrewDog, represents a very new type of business leader. Having interviewed 863 young entrepreneurs across four industries to discover what it means to be a "new economy entrepreneur", Shell Livewire and the London School of Economics published The Changing Face of Entrepreneurialism in June.

Echoing a Director report about the UK's "new revolutionaries" published in November 2005, the research found that entrepreneurship has become socially mainstream and a respectable career option. Young businesspeople accept and value the label entrepreneur—but it's not the be-all and end-all of their identity. They're aware of a wide range of social issues and tend to dismiss any of the Dragons' Den-style glamour sometimes associated with being an entrepreneur. Above all, they're less concerned with profit than with creativity and innovation and creating dynamic and enjoyable work cultures.

James Watt epitomises a "new economy" entrepreneur. Hard working, passionate, independently-minded, with a sense of fun; if there are some people who are discouraged from starting a business because of the perceived risk and hard work, he's not one of them. His Fraserburgh-based microbrewery business BrewDog is his fifth start-up and the 25-year-old says he puts in 16-hour days to fit it all in.

Shell Livewire judges felt BrewDog had "outstanding potential" and Watt valued the camaraderie of the competition [he was runner up to Tom Morgan, Dan Wedgwood and Lamorna Trahair of League of Adventurists International], not least because it can be "lonely" at the top. He says: "It was good to see the standard of other young entrepreneurs who were also taking the plunge and laying everything on the line to do what they wanted to do. We'd experienced the same challenges, so it was good to be able to share insights. And of course, the publicity was fantastic."

Watt started his own brewery "because I was fed up with the quality of mass-marketed beer." He says other beers are "full of junk and additives with marketing onslaughts designed to change our lives". Watt, on the other hand, says BrewDog is not a "faceless corporate monstrosity"—"I hate mission statements and business plans"—and its beers are hand-made using good quality products. "Consumers have more awareness about the ingredients of the products they buy," says Watt. "There's a growing discontent with mass-produced products. Our beers have no additives, no preservatives. I'll invest the Shell Livewire prize money [£3,000] in making the product even better."

Watt says he and business partner Martin Dickie have managed to attract funding without losing any equity in the firm. He admits running a small business is not without its challenges—"to maintain equity and steady growth is quite hard"—but is determined not to lose sight of his "original vision". He says: "The key thing is to believe in yourself and your idea 100 per cent because you will get kicks and knocks. I admire other companies (like Innocent and Howies) but the inspiration comes from me. I'm interested in originality and self belief."

Heroes: Innocent drinks; Howie's [organic clothing]
Villains: Faceless corporate monstrosities; junk additives; mission statements and business plans

www.shell-livewire.org
www.brewdog.com

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