Amelia Christie-Miller: Founder and CEO of Bold Bean Co

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1:52BKFC 94, Till vs. Romero. Watch it live only on DAZN. Sign up now at DAZN.com. Welcome to the Jazz Shapers podcast from Mishkondorea. What you're about to hear was originally broadcast on Jazz FM. However, the music has been cut due to rights issues.

2:13This is Jazz Shapers with Elliot Moss on Jazz FM. In partnership with Mishkondorea. It's business, but it's personal.

2:26Listen in colour. Welcome to Jazz Shapers with me, Elliot Moss, bringing the shapers of the business world together with a musician shaping jazz, soul and blues. My guest that I'm extremely pleased to say is Amelia Christie Miller, founder and CEO of Bold Bean Co. on a mission to make people obsessed with beans. It's quite a mission. Having grown up in a family besotted with food, Amelia had a game-changing moment while in Madrid with a hangover and nothing in the house sweet but a jar of heirloom butter beans. Trying a spoonful straight from the jar, she was struck by how delicious they were compared to the tin versions in the UK.

2:58Working in food sustainability, Amelia became inspired by chef's creativity with beans and well aware of issues around soil health, meat overconsumption, and the environmental benefits of growing beans. Beans, she thought, could change the world. I really hope she's right. And she set her mind to changing their image. Founded in 2021, Bold Bean Co. have since launched two recipe books, one hot off the press, and their range of jarred premium beans sold in many supermarkets, including a recent partnership with fellow bean obsessive Otter Lenke. It's great to have you here. The name of your company, Bold Bean Co.

3:32Am I right? Maybe I didn't watch the right film on TikTok or wherever it was. You actually asked people what you should call this company. Yeah. Oh, you did? originally um i was going to call it humble foods humble beans which is obviously the kind of the reputation of beans currently the humble and i actually wanted it to be ironic i wanted to be like you know a bit kind of kendrick lamar like we're not humble we're actually really proud um but it was a touch of nuance which i think people weren't really getting and i realized i needed to lean into actually people will if we say we're humble foods we're they're just gonna be like oh, you're humble.

4:07We need to say what we are on the tin. And I got, I kind of got a hundred, list of a hundred names. And at the time I was living with my parents during lockdown on Instagram. And I had about 400 people following me, complete strangers. And I said, okay, voting, which, which one do you think, you know, should be the name? And they kind of whittled it down to two and Bold Bean Co was decided. And the other one was Legume something. think legume yeah legume like legume i mean it's kind of quite like you know could be french chic but i'm very glad we went for bull bean well it's also a bit clever isn't it you realize people do just as you said want want to know what what they're actually buying um it's one thing to be obsessed with beans and and you know the story and you were drunk and then you weren't drunk and then you had the beans and all that and we won't rehearse that it's another thing to really be so obsessed that you create a company where's that obsessive streak from amelia oh good question I think it's really hard to say.

5:05I think like drive and passion. I was working in the food sustainability sector. And sadly, often when you're working in the space, it's actually quite depressing. And I am naturally a very hopeful and optimistic person. And I don't like just kind of looking at what's going wrong with the world. I like thinking about positive solutions. And I, you know, was observing at the time that brands, I believe, have the power to change how people eat and change food culture. And I really wanted to be on a positive mission to do that in the UK. And for me, beans are the world's best food and the food that we all need to love.

5:43And I'm not alone now, which is amazing. There's a lot of people who believe the same. I love lentils. I love black beans, but I haven't tried your queen beans. And there's a few other things I really need to get into because I feel like an amateur. And I'm in the presence of a professional. But that just to push on the point, though, to go and do something, was that your way of saying, if I don't do this, I'm not going to make a dent? Was it that you couldn't work for someone else to have the impact that you wanted to have? Yeah, I mean, I would say I was working for a food tech startup beforehand that I was very passionate about.

6:15It was all about kind of building transparency in the supply chain. And I wasn't in control of its outcome. It ended because it went bust and the founders fell out. And I think that I'd given so much of myself to that business and passion to that. And I realized actually, sometimes you've just got to rely on yourself to where you put your work and having the outcomes you want. So I think there was an element of that. But I've also always wanted to run my own business. I think as a woman, I always wanted to be a parent and to be able to work and have a career alongside. And And sadly, the world is still really challenging for women in that space.

6:56And I saw the only way you could really get yourself flexibility and things like that would be working for yourself. And so it was something I always saw as a kind of something I wanted to do in the background. And then it kind of coupled with the obsession. It was just the right time. All things came together. You talked about being a woman. You talked about children and you talked about balance. When you first looked at setting this business up, did you try and fundraise immediately? and was that an obstacle or was it more about I've got I can do some stuff without getting going and was it a problem being a woman who was a founder yeah so I think I started working on the business when I was put on furlough and eventually made redundant which was an amazing gift really because I was paid to work on you know my own business and I think that really helped because classically women are less risk-taking they're more risk averse and they're less likely to make that jump.

7:50And that kind of probably helped me through that stage. And then I did a round of investment with angels kind of a year later. And I think what I observed was people believed in the idea and in me, hopefully, but I think the confidence I had on my own value of the business was very different to my peers who were male fundraisers who kind of would value their business is so much higher. I was like, oh, but it's not really worth that much. I haven't got enough, you know, but there was so much better at sort of striving for that. And what I was really fortunate is that I actually had, you know, relationships with these peers who helped me identify, actually, I should be valuing my business higher.

8:33And almost even if it's completely out of my comfort zone, it's imposter syndrome, but it's not really worth that, helped me get there. And I think that was really important, having that comparison to help me be brave. yeah but did it feel was there a physiological sense of uncomfort when you were pushing beyond the valuation in your own head that you you thought is that where you is that where you where it lived definitely I was sort of like crippling inside and being like oh my god what have I just done and then it it worked and I was like oh wow so actually but how did you get over it because that's it's you know we all we all experience that sense of I I shouldn't be doing that I shouldn't be thinking that I shouldn't be asking for that how did you then cross the rubicon I think that as soon as, you know, I realized people were willing to invest at that valuation, I then kind of stepped into those shoes and sort of was like, believed it myself and actually saw it as a kind of really empowering to be like, actually, I've now got to live in this.

9:31People believe in me. And that's that I found really validating. And then getting going right at the beginning. What was the first couple of steps to get Amelia out of the starting from the starting gun? I always say talking about it and telling as many people as possible, which a lot of people want to keep their business idea secret. But by talking about it, people open doors and people want to help you. And also, no one can be bothered to do your business idea. So I don't actually think, you know, telling people, no one, I told lots of people, no one's done a bean business alongside me. But it keeps you accountable because next time you see them, if they're like, how's that bean business going?

10:11you're like oh god i actually didn't end up getting it off the ground it there's a there's your ego at play so i i think it's really important i think the first step is to telling people asking people for help because there are so many people out there who do want to help and what about the energy sappers were the people that went why would you do that amelia yes how do you steer clear of those i think they come along and i think what you need to do is make sure that i yes i believe from a passion from a purpose perspective from the planet and people but I also went to the British Library and I believed strongly in a business case.

10:44I saw the data of the category and I saw it slightly growing. I saw the early backlash against ultra-processed foods and those sorts of business case studies really helped me push through and be like, actually, I don't agree with you. I think there's something in this and that kind of helps you keep going. Ignore the naysayers. Ignore the people that don't know the facts about the sounds of it. Much more coming up from my business shaper. It's Amelia Christie Miller coming up in a couple of minutes. But right now we're going to hear a taste from the Mishcon Innovation Series, which you can find on all the major podcast platforms.

11:19Lydia Kellett invites business founders to share their industry insights and practical advice for those of you thinking about getting into an industry and starting your very own thing. In this clip, we hear from Tarek Ralph, architect and founder and CEO of Catalog, a digital work hub aiming to give people a radically simpler way to coordinate work. The Mishcon Innovation Series. inspiration from founders of cutting-edge businesses in association with Jazz Shapers with Mishkon Dereya. I think founding your own business has a lot to do with understanding what you're looking to do in founding a business.

11:54Like, why do you do it? Betting on yourself and acquiring all the skills necessary to build a team, build a product, market it, raise the capital. It can be quite a lot of friction, but it can also be quite a lot of fun. and if you know why you're doing it, it gets a lot easier. I've always been interested in making and building things, which is where I got into architecture, which is where I've been making software. And so large parts of my job don't feel like a job. The parts that, you know, running a company still, there's a million friction points every day. There's friction with customers, there's friction with product, there's friction with all kinds of, you know, unforeseen issues that pop up every now and then.

12:31But when you find joy in the act of building, which is what I do. It just becomes a necessary pain and the side effect. And so knowing why you're building a company, why you want to start a business and what you're looking to get out of it and having clarity around that generally helps quite a bit. The Mishcon Innovation Series in association with Jazz Shapers with Mishcon Derea. Jazz Shapers on Jazz FM in partnership with Mishcon Derea. It's business, but it's personal. You can enjoy all our former business shapers on the Jazz Shapers podcast, and you can hear this very program again with Amelia if you pop Jazz Shapers into your podcast platform of choice.

13:12My guest there, as I've said a few times, is Amelia Christie Miller, lovely name, founder and CEO of another lovely name, Bold Bean Co., on a mission to make people obsessed with beans. So you set this company up in the middle of COVID, by the sounds of it, 2021, and now you live in Barcelona. You have a team that works all the way around different parts of the world or Europe. very modern yeah very modern avant-garde amelia but you are you know you don't have a space that you have to have everyone in what's that like in practical daily grind terms so the reason why we do it is because i believe people work the best and the most productively where they are the happiest and for some people that's living by the sea for some people that's living close to the mountains.

13:57But it also, it's really brilliant environment for people with caregiving responsibilities for parents, which typically these responsibilities fall on women. And I've got a lot of women in my team. I think how it works practically is we do things like, you know, we'll do a cook along where we all buy the same ingredients and we cook a bean recipe at, you know, 1130. And then we're all on Zoom together. And then we have it all for lunch and we're connecting that way. And then we also do points in the year where we all come together and spend time together but it's a really quality time it's connecting time it's not kind of a quick cup of tea and in the office it's like pure people bonding connecting time so i think that's that's what it looks like but i i believe it's one of our superpowers um where some people would be think we're crazy but that's kind of the risk is often where the reward is as well.

14:52Absolutely. And for you in Barcelona, where you are, are there other people that come to an office with you or are you absolutely at home working? Yeah, there's a few people in Barcelona. We get together at least like once a week. There's also obviously we've got a lot of people in London, we've got people in Sheffield, we've got people in Bristol and Edinburgh. So they, you know, will come together, you know, every month or quarterly. It's just kind of depending on the department and, you know, how connected we've been that quarter already. And in terms of distribution, I mean, I know you're in the UK, you're in some big places, M &S, Waitrose, probably you can name 50 others.

15:31Are you in other countries as well, or is it just the UK at the moment? At the moment, we're just in the UK. Yeah, we've launched in, we're in most of the major supermarkets, Tesco, Morrisons, and growing. But we have plans, you know, to test the water in some other countries as well, see if we can make them obsessive beans. Is it nice running your own business? Is it slightly strange looking in on yourself and going, I'm just Amelia and I wasn't doing this a few years ago. Now here I am. Suddenly I've got a little empire brewing. Are there moments when you pinch yourself? definitely definitely I think it's it's more and more it's becoming about the people in my team and watching them have such passion for what we're doing and believe in the mission and the purpose and seeing them flourish has has been a part of building a business that I didn't realize would be so rewarding because it started off and it was just me and a jar of beans whereas now it's a load of people who are all you know very ambitious and driven to make an impact with this brand.

16:31And obviously, look, no business is plain sailing. Where do you go for help when you are a bit stuck or when the system you set up, which as you say, the risk is where the reward is and vice versa, the reward is where the risk is. When it's not going right, where does Amelia go? One thing that is amazing about the food industry is that we're not competing with many brands. You know, we can speak to the founders of Dashwater, of Pippinut, and they're facing very similar challenges to us and have amazing experience, which is so relevant to us. But we're not competing at all. So the beautiful thing about the food industry is that everyone wants to help each other and does help each other.

17:15So it's a really amazing place and space to be because there's always someone at the end of the phone who's been through it before that you can give a call to. and I definitely do a lot of that. Do you? Yeah. And funny enough, you mentioned Dash and Pippa Nutt and both founders have been on Jazz Shaper. So you're in good company. You're pregnant. Yes. Yes, there's a thing. And you are going to be having a baby. I won't say, you can say whether it's a boy or a girl if you want to, but I won't reveal. But you're going to be having one quite soon. Trepidatious, I imagine, obviously about, you know, and excited about having the baby.

17:49But here you are and you mentioned it, a woman in business and you're running your own thing and you talked about balance, you're going into a new territory where you're now literally going to be living the thing that you have been thinking about. What worries you about maintaining that balance and your investors looking at you going, oh, it's different now, Amelia. I mean, really? Are you focused on all these other tropes that pop out? Is that going to happen or not? Yeah, I think it's impossible to go into this chapter as any woman and not be worried. They're now calling it matrescence, which is like a formal word for the transition you go through as a mother.

18:24So I have no idea how I'm going to feel and how my relationship with work, which work is my whole life now, is going to be. But I'm also really hopeful and I really want to prove to other women who are hesitant about starting businesses that you can run a business and have a family and not be the person who's sort of two weeks after birth, you know, back in the boardroom. I don't want to be that. I want to set an example to my team that taking time off is actually something you can do without compromising your career. And I believe I've set up or been with an amazing team behind me who will carry it through and carry through the culture and keep helping it grow whilst I go through a major life transition.

19:14Yeah. And is there a timeframe you have in terms of not going back to the business as much as you can? Yes, I want to take at least kind of three to four months off and then hopefully longer if I can. But obviously, I'm going to be flexible because my first baby is Bold Bean Co. and I want to make sure that's good as well. So if something were to go wrong, then I can come back into the business and support where possible. But I also really believe in my team. I think that I'm going to be delighted and realize how redundant I've probably become coming out the other side of maternity leave. Has anyone said anything that's annoyed you already?

19:54I remember I've talked to a number of very successful female entrepreneurs and I've had Debbie Waska on the program a few times talking about fundraising. And I still, as a man, am embarrassed and beyond and ashamed of some of the things that men say. on your cap table, your investors, are they well-behaved and civilized people? Or have some of them, maybe I shouldn't do this to wait at your cap table, but in general, have there been some silly comments? Or in fact, have people been quite enlightened about the whole thing? I actually intentionally wanted a lot of female investors, which I do have.

20:27So nearly half of our investors are women. So they've actually been incredibly supportive. And I think that building the right support around you, the people who understand the transition is really important. so that you don't feel like you're having to pretend to be a different kind of person. Because at the end of the day, people invest in, they invested in me as a founder and this is part of me. So they've got to invest in all of it. Well, as I say, it's changed, but you're not having a personality transplant. You're becoming a mum, which is one of the most brilliant things and becoming a parent as a parent.

21:00I can say this, it's the most extraordinary thing that happens. Not much changes. I mean, Amelia, you won't really notice this Christmas when you've got a small baby in your arms. No, no, don't worry. Anyone that says it's going to be a change, it's obviously exaggerating. We'll have our final chat with my guest there, Amelia, and we've also got some corto alto because we are very cutting edge here on Jazz Shapers and that's coming out for you too. And all of that in just a few minutes. Don't go anywhere. Jazz Shapers on Jazz FM. In partnership with Mishkondorea. It's business, but it's personal.

21:31Amelia, Christy Miller is my business shaper just for a few more minutes and she's the brains and the brawn now behind Bold Bean Co. And they're going super strong. You've written two books. The first book, I like the title, by the way. It's obviously very clever. The first book was called, is called Bold Beans, Recipes to Get Your Pulse Racing. See what we did there. Very clever. And we've got a new book out. You've got a new book out. I didn't get anything to do with it. Two days ago, full of beans. Do you like writing? Love, love it. Do you? Yeah, I think recipes are such an important part of helping people see how delicious beans can be.

22:07We want to tempt people into beans. They know they should eat them for health and sustainability, but actually, let's make it joyful. And obviously, our jarred beans, which are so delicious, you can eat them straight from the jar, are part of that. But recipes and exciting people for all the tempting things that they can eat is so key. So I love that part of what we do, and I'm really proud of the cookbooks because so much love goes into them. You don't have to be honest, but if you are, it'd be great. And to me, I'm not great at spending time cooking. I love a well-cooked meal. I love someone who's spent the time, taken the time.

22:42But for me, it's like, oh, really? The recipes themselves, I would be so fearful. I had a blank page and I had to fill them up. Where have all these recipes come from? Your head or lots of other people? Yes, so we've been, so a year before I launched the beans, I started sharing bean recipes. So over the years, I have, and my team has as well, We've understood what really makes people love and enjoy eating beans, making it easy. So we've learned a lot along the way. And then we also know our customers really well. We know the kind of, you know, flavors they're excited by, but also practicalities that they need.

23:18Like they need a quick and easy dinner that is nourishing, that's hearty, that's delicious, that can be done in 20 minutes. So we're thinking about these different lenses. But really, you start with kind of flavors. You start with ingredients. and because beans are such a wonderful base, they can go into any cuisine, they can work with any ingredient really, it means that they're incredibly versatile. So you can kind of start with the other ingredients that go with it and then you kind of go from there thinking, oh, what would be good if we've got some feta, maybe it would be really nice for something sweet or acidic and you go from there.

23:52And the trusty baked bean, I believe, has made an entrance into your life. Yes. What's your twist on the baked bean, if there is one? Well, I actually hated baked beans growing up. I really like them. Oh, that's great. And actually, you should like them because they are, you know, it's amazing. Are they pinto beans? What are they, the actual beans? So we actually, we do a small white bean, but ours are gourmet. They're kind of as if you're making baked beans from scratch at home. So they taste very different to the Heinzes of the world. And that's intentional because people who love Heinz should continue eating Heinz.

24:23This is for people who maybe want something that is more like a home-cooked meal, less processed and really flavor first you know we've got a smoky chili baked bean which is delicious with some pickled red onions on sourdough toast it's a different experience and then maybe it's that sunday brunch morning experience or it could be hungover experience well no good thing is with ours you definitely don't need to be hungover you just want that that morning elevated you're going to feel great afterwards um and bring people back to a british classic that is so good for you and the planet um and because everyone should be eating more beans they should be apparently you're obsessed with them um and very briefly just before i ask your song choice it's clear you love writing and bringing this to life because that's a way of persuading people to eat beans it's also clear you love the business of building a business if i had a had to make you choose just one would it be writing or would it be the business which is a mean choice and obviously is purely theoretical?

25:25I probably believe that the business is going to have more of an impact in our mission long term. So I could lean on other writers to help with that journey. But I think the business, you know, the beans and the engine of a business can create amazing change in the world. So I would say probably the business and I would lean on lots of other writers. Except that in her eyes, she's saying, but the joy earlier comes from the writing. even though I'm very joyful about business don't make me stop writing it's probably true keep writing keep doing the business keep people obsessed with beans it's been great to see you good luck with your arrival later this year may it be a swift and healthy one that's all you need swift you'll know why I say that after the event we can talk then listen just before I let you go what's your song choice and why have you chosen it um I have chosen Palo Nuttini Scream I used to work as a private chef and I remember I was by myself alone in um in Mallorca for two weeks cooking for this family and the album had just come out and I was kind of like go for hours long walks and it was when I realized I was just daydreaming about food the whole time in this cooking I was like I have to work in the food industry um so it kind of reminds me of that but I think it's just such an upbeat song I love it Paolo Nuttini there with Scream the song choice of my business shaper today, Amelia Christie Miller.

26:48Her advice to everyone thinking about a business is to talk about it. Don't be secretive. There's no need because no one else can be bothered to do your idea. And a lovely thought that where people are their happiest is probably where they should work. Absolutely great stuff. That's it from Jazz Shapers. Have a lovely weekend. Jazz Shapers on Jazz FM. In partnership with Mishkondorea. It's business, but it's personal. We hope you enjoy that edition of Jazz Shapers. You'll find hundreds more guests available for you to listen to in our archive. To find out more, just search Jazz Shapers on iTunes or your favorite podcast platform or head over to mishkon.com forward slash Jazz Shapers.