Jamie Barber is an award-winning British restaurateur, founder and CEO of Hush Mayfair, the Hache Burgers Chain and the Cabana Brazilian Barbecue group. Jamie loves to cook and has a huge bank of recipes up his sleeve. Jamie and his business partner Myleene Klass came together with a mission to help people eat brilliantly at home and provide exceptionally tasty and high-quality meal kits, so they created My Supper Hero. Kits are delivered to your door with a 3-day shelf life. Most of the prep has been done for you, and you should be able to put your meal together in under 10 minutes (oven time aside).

There’s always a lightbulb moment before the beginning of a new venture. What was that moment for you?

Over lockdown, Jamie and Myleene were feeling “kitchened-out” and looking for alternatives to spending endless hours thinking about what to cook, shopping, chopping, peeling, cooking and washing up. Takeaways felt junky and unhealthy. They tried some of the basic recipe boxes but found the recipes quite bland and the amount of cooking still time consuming. They just wanted to eat brilliantly at home without the fuss, with less than 10 minutes of preparation, and without having tons of mess to clear up. And that was the genesis of the idea for My Supper Hero. As the restaurant scene returned, it quickly became clear that people couldn’t eat out every night of the week (!) and that My Supper Hero was still really needed in weekly meal routines.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

Persevere, adapt, and stay in the game. And if possible, take every call and every meeting, because you never know where it might lead.

What are your thoughts on failure?

Failure is never pleasant, but it comes with the territory. Founders carry an inordinate amount of pressure and responsibility towards stakeholders (investors, employees, suppliers). If we live by the code of “doing the right thing” then failure should come without stigma but could be a valuable learning experience.

Working with a co-founder can be tricky, so understanding and compromise is important. How have you both found the process of building a business together? What makes it work?

I’ve always enjoyed having a business partner or co-founder. Partly the shared experience is a useful sounding board and provides good checks and balances, but also makes the journey more fun!

But my co-founders have also had very different skill sets to mine with different areas of talent and responsibility. If the demarcation isn’t clear, it’s a recipe for disaster.

How did you fund the business in the early stages?

The standard start-up way. Friends, family, previous investors, all under the EIS scheme. The start-up journey is one long money raise through to an exit.

What does your business offer its target audience?

Once a week, we help people make their night in a night off by providing restaurant quality suppers that they can put together in less than 10 minutes. We give our audience time back, coupled with a delicious, inventive, and creative dinner.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

We are a lifestyle choice. We are premium but affordable. We choose not to compete with the basic recipe box market. Our customers are using us and an alternative to takeaways, cheaper than eating out, and in most cases provide meals that could not be cooked from scratch without a huge amount of time, skill and effort.

Keeping an eye on the numbers in any business is important. How do you ensure that you’re always up to date?

Cashflow is a daily part of start-up management.

Is word of mouth working to your advantage?

Advocacy is our most important acquisition tool. People using My Supper Hero genuinely love it and it becomes an indispensable part of their lives. Telling their friends is going to be the key to our success.

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey. How are you combating that feeling whilst pushing forward?

It’s all about sharing. My family live the journey with me, and I do feel sorry for my wife! I am part of a global community of entrepreneurs called YPO and regularly meet with eight members in a forum type setting. We have the opportunity in total confidence and without judgment to share problems and experiences and I find this set up very helpful.