With an entrepreneurial spirit that started at school, it's no surprise that Dan Warne found himself drawn to the chaos of working in start-ups in their early stages. Now he's building a business of his own.
From selling detention lines at school to selling gas and electricity at university, Dan's entrepreneurial journey started at a young age. This continued through his early career, and while working at a music publishing label he came up with a new idea for a music platform, which he set up with the CEO. The experience gave him invaluable insights on how to start a business, and ignited his passion for working in start-ups.
Fast forward a few years, after working at Orange and Travel Zoo, Dan joined Deliveroo as MD in 2014, becoming their 12th employee. It was during this time that he learned a lot about the food scene. After five years the company had grown significantly and Dan realised he was better placed in a company earlier in the lifecycle.
And then came Sessions. Combining his knowledge from Deliveroo with his passion for the music industry, he founded a business that identifies talent in the UK's food scene and works with them to bring this to consumers, much like a record label would do with artists.
The business is anchored with food halls in Brighton and Islington, but it's technology that Dan has a real interest in. After raising over £8m at the end of last year (2021), they've launched a consumer app and have invested in various technologies. They're even working with an AI company to build technology that shows whether a dish was prepared correctly.
In this episode, hear how Sessions has grown since its inception in 2019, the importance of being sustainable, recruitment strategies in the current market, future expansions, and more!
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