How This Couple Built a Restaurant Food Critics Can't Ignore

0:28Watch it early on the High Performance App. journeys are tough, but the stats drive home just how hard it is. 60 % of businesses fail in the first three years. 20 % of them fail in the first year. Just 42.5 % of new businesses make it to the five-year mark. And that's really what this series is about. Just understanding the challenges, but also inspiring people like you to give it a go. And I'm feeling rather inspired today because I'm returning home actually to Norwich to meet the owners of a gorgeous French restaurant called Lexagon. And you know what? Stats around new restaurants are even more alarming than the ones I just told you.

1:0460 % of restaurant businesses fail in the first year. So why? What can we learn from today's conversation to help other people? Well, I'm really pleased to say that actually Lloyd's have supported Thomas and Gemma, the founders and creators of Lexagon, who set the business up. They've provided holistic business support as well as guidance on starting, growing and managing their awesome business. So it's time to find out what Thomas and Gemma can share with us about their story so far. Hi. Hi, Jake. Welcome to Lexicon. So nice to meet you, Gemma. Thank you for having me. I've just been talking outside about the challenges of running a business, right, which we will get on to.

1:45But before that, let's talk about the fun stuff. So this is run by you and Thomas. Yes. Business partners and partners? Yep, husband and wife and business partners. So, yeah, the whole hog. Where did you meet then? We met in France, in Carcassonne, for my 30th birthday weekend. Happy birthday! That's a good birthday weekend. Yeah, a nice present. So, yeah, I came away with a Frenchman, so, yeah. And we were long distance for three years, and then Thomas moved here, and he always knew he wanted to open his own restaurant, and I just kind of came along for the ride and helped as best I could. So obviously he's a Frenchman.

2:22Yes. So your food is French? All French, yeah. How do you kind of describe to people what a lexicon is if they don't know? We just, the very first thing we say is we're a simple small bistro. So it just kind of like sets people's expectations because we're not fancy. It's just home-cooked food. Thomas doesn't measure anything. He doesn't write down his recipes. It just all comes from his heart and his head and it's a lot of family recipes. So we like to kind of set the tone, just come as you are. It's like our home, we want you to be relaxed. Everything's in French, so even the menus. So it's really funny if people come to the window and they see the French and like, oh, no, that's not for them.

3:02And off they go. Other people who like to have a bit of fun come in and try and speak French, which we love. And I can always interpret the menu for them. but it's just about having fun and everything's French. So our music, our wine, Thomas, and he's kind of on show and you can see him cooking. Very bien. Me too. Very little. That was literally it for my friend. Look, there's some nice things. I see you've got a good food guide plaque in the window. On the wall over there is the famous Jay Rayner, the food critic who gave you an amazing write-up. So before we meet Thomas and talk about some of the tough things, I'd love to know how it feels when those like seals of approval come your way as a business.

3:45It's mad. It's crazy. It's I think because everything moves so quickly, you just take like a little second to be like, oh, my goodness, pinch yourself. But then you have to keep going. You have to clean the restaurant, you know, get everything ready for the next service. But Sundays on our day off, we do kind of sit in our garden and a bit like, gosh, that did really happen, didn't it? or look at the plaque or have a peek at the review and think, wow, yeah, that did happen. So it's... But I think you always stay humble. Like, you can't... This is who we are. And it's so nice to get those acknowledgements.

4:19Yeah, yeah. And we frame it. Quite right. You should frame... Listen, where am I winning is an important question you should ask yourself often. And those are areas where you're winning. So now that we've met the sort of main act, should we meet your assistant? Should we go meet the chef? Yes, let's go for it.

4:43Yeah. Thomas. Hi, Al. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. How are you doing? Yeah, not too bad. Sorry to disturb your preparation for lunch today. Oh, that's all right. You're going to get involved too, I think. Of course. I'm happy to do anything. Are you happy to try? Yeah, what would you like me to do? Maybe help me to cut some shallots, yeah? Sure. If I show you my new finger. Listen, Thomas, tell me. something I'm really interested in is how this works as a couple like in a relationship but also in a business relationship how do you how do you deal with that to be fair we do we did really really nice I thought like first time like that may be quite hard to work you know like work with your wife like spend all the time together must have been like really hard but I think that's like give us strength you know like we really really strong because it's just yeah we trust each other.

5:32I know she's gonna be on time, she's not gonna be on time and yeah I think I think it's why we like a strong business because it's just the two of us. Hold on, so people often think owning your own business is glamorous, like is it honestly the two of you? Just the two of us, yeah we've got KP who came at the weekend to give us a hand, just to wash up a bit. So who things and tidies asked for a service? Me, yeah. And who gets to make sure all of the food's been delivered? and that's me and what about bookings and stuff you deal with all of that yeah Jim I manage everything I'm not stuff familiar we have the phone and you're quite often flipping a steak with a phone so it's quite an old school setup here it is it is it is really old but we're quite proud of that I think it's it's traditional and it's nice to have the control and yeah yeah we're 50 50 and we both care so much so I do think that shows it shows in the food it shows in you know the email responses I think.

6:30Yeah, well yeah that's us yeah there is no there is no fake things or other person we're gonna you know answer the phone like so it's yeah it is us. We've got an open kitchen so you can literally see Thomas prepping, cooking as you walk in and I think that there's no hiding everything's on show. And what about my... I've sliced up some shallots That's a super job. Whilst watching you as well. You've got the job. Thanks very much. It always sounds really romantic. I mean, I was actually saying that you two could be a movie. You know, Gemma goes on holiday. She meets a gorgeous Frenchman in Carcassonne, brings him home, and they set up their own little bistro in a cute little lane in a beautiful city.

7:13But that just, that is fairy tale, right? Let's talk about the reality of actually doing this. When you decided, right, we're going to go for it, how nervous were you both? Yeah, really, really nervous. Because I think the thing I was thinking, don't be too old. So you, because I remember we have been working with people who say they dream of opening their own business. And they were, oh, not this year, oh, not this year, or maybe later. And they end up being 60 and be like, oh, no, it's too late. I won't do anything. So I think we're like both, come on, we need to push each other and get the confidence to, yeah, come on, crack on, you know.

7:53We need to start finding premises, finding all the things we need to be able to open a restaurant. And start saving up and be like, yeah, let's go. When those first phone calls came through for bookings, we were so nervous. And we actually cut it at half the bookings. We were like, no, we're not doing any more. And we were just like this, really tense the whole service. In case you couldn't handle a problem. Yeah, even if I went to like through French school, you know, and everything is just really stressful. I think any opening of a restaurant, new kitchen, new thing is just super stressful. I remember not drinking or eating for two days.

8:34Yeah, it just had that stomach churning feeling, didn't it? Yeah. Just really, really tense. It's worth it. Yeah. That's, I would say it's worth it. It's worth all the pain, all the sweat, all the blood. It's just, yeah, work out that will pay one day for sure. We have amazing support with our family who... Yeah, gosh, glad we've got them. I mean, even from the start, they were painting here. It's been like a real family effort. And it's nice that they kind of always believed in us, even when we didn't ourselves so much at the start. Do you not believe in yourselves at times? It's hard. It's hard.

9:08You know, like you need to be confident enough. but at the same time you wait for people judging what you do and are they gonna love the concept because everything as you can see everything is in French, French music, French wine, the menu is in French, that can put some people off you know. At the start it comes from a good place but lots of people say oh you should do this or you should do that how about this and you know it's coming from a good place but you kind of have to say thank you but no this is what we are. We won't do Spanish wine, we won't do like other things. But even I think growing, like you could get carried away here and go, let's open a hundred lexicon restaurants across the UK, but are you quite firm that this is the size and this is how it stays, so it's a real lifestyle business?

9:53Yeah, this work for us, I think like 30 covers, it's just perfect because I'm on my own in the kitchen, there is no other people to help me prep or cook, Gemma's on her own, so same, she needs to run the food downstairs, upstairs, the things having an open kitchen make me like I can, you know, like when customers came in, if Gemma's upstairs taking an order, that work, if we were like bigger, if I was in the kitchen, you know, far away at the back, we need to have staff and it's just, we love how it works, we love how we've got the control on everything and go bigger, I don't think it's the solution, I think.

10:29I love the simplicity because it means that you're not running your business with an ego you're running it in the heart yeah yeah exactly yeah now we're really low case you know we just we take like all of these nice greeting things but i'm just like i just always remember remember to be like well okay you know you you're just a chef you know you're just cooking you know so just like yeah keep everything school i love that well look it's lovely to stand around and chat i'm very glad i was able to chop the churlop we let's all be honest with each other, we know that I'm not getting a job in this restaurant anytime soon.

11:02But one thing I am really good at is eating food. So I thought that we could maybe sit down, eat some of your amazing food, but then I would really like to talk to you actually about the challenges, about the hard times, about the low moments, the self-doubts, because you've run this restaurant through a coronavirus pandemic, which is quite remarkable. So why don't we chill, Gemma, get some coffee and we'll let Tomas do what Tomas does best. Thomas, well done for all your hard work. Thanks a lot. This is for you. Bit of fire lit for you to try. Lovely, we've got eggs, we've got pate, steak, fruits.

11:37I hope people are watching this on YouTube, not just listening to this on the podcast, by the way, because they need to see how gorgeous this food looks. Bon appétit. Thank you. We've discussed so many of the great moments, like the romance of working together, running your own business, the amazing reviews you've had. but look we can't not have an honest conversation right about business so if I was to ask each of you what is the lowest point of the last few years I wonder whether you've given me the same answer or different answers I'll go first shall I definitely for me the lowest part was we just got going in January 2020 so we got the keys in November of 2019 and it was like full steam ahead We were here, we were both working other jobs while we were doing this place up.

12:20So here at all hours, trying to get ready, like the big push. And then we had two and a half months, if that, and then lockdown came along. So there was so much uncertainty for everyone, but we literally thought that was it. Well, we had a good two and a half months and had no idea if we'd ever open again. So we'd just got in the swing of things. We had Valentine's Day, didn't we? that kind of like really set us on our way and then we were clearing out the fridges, turning everything off, taking home half open bottles of wine, drowning our sorrows. But that was just a nightmare. I couldn't really couldn't believe it.

12:56I thought well that's just our luck you know. We just got going and then that came along and I know everyone was in the same boat and no one knew what was happening but that hit really hard. We were really low at that point yeah but i think same for me yeah that was yeah coronavirus was like the big it because you just just finalize you open you start feeling your dream you know you just start feeling it and boom you need to shut and it's lots of questions are we gonna survive are we gonna be able to pay our bill are the customers gonna return nobody knows what that was going to be so So yeah, that was really, really stressful.

13:39And we had to decide, because all the other restaurants, they kind of jumped into, oh, let's go for takeaway. But we were so new that a lot of people hadn't even eaten here. So the last thing we wanted to do was for that to be your first experience, just a box. Yeah, something in a box, yeah. So that was a really difficult, do we do that or do we not? Do we just sit tight? So it was just lots of gray area that you just felt you had no control when you just worked so hard to get open. But being a family, I think that's what helped us. We didn't have any staff to pay or anyone to care of, you know, just ourselves.

14:15So yeah, that was like, okay, put yourself away from the business, make sure the business survives, even if it's a bit, you know, lots on your shoulder and just try to go through all of that. And yeah, and we did. Well, I'm glad you survived because the steak is amazing. And the shallots that I cooked on top of yours. I'd chop those shallots coming in for a moment. The reason why I really wanted to do this series was because I think that often people won't come into business because of the fear of the unknown. So the more that we can talk about the things you've learned, I think the better for them.

14:48So for someone watching this series thinking, maybe I do take a chance, maybe I do go for it. I'd love to know the things that you've learned along the way that you think would be really valuable for other people to know. Yeah, I think, yeah, I will say like go 100%, you know, like try, you know, like make sure, make sure you have a bit of a setup, you know where you go, you know, don't go too crazy, just have a plan, stick to the plan and just, yeah, just, just go for it. I think it's the best advice, you know, like we are like we are the KP who wanted to open his business and we're like go, you know, just Go for it.

15:22Live your dream. Just try it if it work Good if it doesn't work You have tried, you know, it's like it. I think have a clear vision And try your best. It's really hard to stick to that when when you do put yourself out there and people try and chip in you know, with their advice, which is really nice and kind, but if you stick to what you vision. But then at the same time, maybe if it doesn't, we were lucky that our vision did work and people did recognise what we're trying to do, but I guess you do have to adapt. But to be fair, at the start, we were open for breakfast and that just didn't work.

15:59We were eating all the pastries every day. It was just like, no, we can't do this. There's a plus there. We got rid of that, didn't we? and when we got busier, Thomas just couldn't prep for breakfast, lunch in the same time. So we did adapt in that way. So I guess just constantly, like you learn every second of the day and you just don't ever, you won't ever know everything. Like each day is so different. It's unbelievably different to the next, isn't it? Yeah, I think, yeah, go for it. What about not allowing business to overtake a relationship? Because I know that loads of people dream of exactness going into business with their partner or their husband or wife.

16:40I guess having children, you just put that hat on the second you get home and it's all about them. But I'm doing the emails kind of in between clubs. And he's doing that for a bit. So I'll do these emails. So just that's your I think we're good at boxing things. So, you know, who is stupid? Thomas gets here at 8 o 'clock, I see Leo off to school and I get here about half 8 and we say, oh morning, morning, it's like you're just starting your working day even though I've seen you like an hour ago. Yeah, but we do well, that's why I think, you know, for people who work and spend, yeah, sometimes like 16 hours a day working together, I think we do really well.

17:22But you're so focused on your end of it, aren't you? Like you're the food, I don't interfere with that whatsoever, So that's completely Thomas. So I guess it's like two different sides of the business and you don't do any emails. No. Hopefully, because they'll be interesting. But yeah, we're just very separate almost, but under the same roof. It sounds like you've kind of worked it out, but without stumbling in, you've kind of had a clear plan or you've thought about all of the possible things that might go wrong, right? Yeah. Are you planners? You plan a lot? You're not. Thomas' favourite saying is, we will see.

17:56Yeah, really French. And I guess I've learnt that you do need that. Like, I'm a Virgo, I like to plan, and, like, being with Thomas for 10 years, and we will see, you know, it's so French. So we've taken the best bits of each other, I think. I think, yeah, definitely, yeah. Yeah, it's just, like, the right balance, you know. I've got a bit of temper, Gemma is really, really calm, so sometimes she'll calm me, and sometimes that's the reverse. I'm just like, oh, yeah, for that, yeah, no, just chill out. We'll see, see how it goes. and yeah, we're not good at planning in advance, but yeah, we do work well together, that's for sure.

18:32You see, from my own personal experience, I think the mindset of we will see is really valuable when it comes to setting up a business because when I've set up businesses in the past, I've always thought I know the answers, right? But I never have the answers to everything. So the only approach is we will see. You just kind of have to do it. And I wonder whether you agree with me on this point that nothing gives you the thrill of owning your own business. As hard as it is, that feeling of ownership is special. It is. It is. I won't change anything. If that stops working, I will try to do something else.

19:10I think I will not be able to go back. It's just you need it. It's the adrenaline, you know, all the challenges. I think it's so nice to have a bit of power in this industry, especially. because if somebody comes and they're not very nice, we don't have them again. And that's our right, really, isn't it? So we protect our space as much as we can. We invite you in and this is who we are. If it's not for you, don't come back. Go somewhere else kind of thing. So it's nice to be able to be like that nicely but stand your ground a bit with it and call the shots and make sure we know we work flat out but then we can take our kids on a summer holiday and we do close for that.

19:54So we've got goals to aim towards. So I had this idea that really this year was about supporting businesses from a business perspective. And it is, but it's also supporting businesses on a business perspective so they can then live their dreams, right? Yeah. So what have you learned about support? Supporting other businesses, other businesses supporting you and the power of doing this together, not on your own. Yeah, that's so important. And Norwich is amazing for that. Even other restaurants. So on our opening day, something didn't work in the kitchen. So Thomas was like, I can't do this. I can't prep, yeah.

20:25And Richard lent us his kitchen at Benedict's for an hour. So it's just, and. It's just like lots of support. Other chefs with no animosity. I think that people are just like part of what you do and just like you are, you know, yeah, come on. And if you need any help, do you need new supplier? If you need anyone to supply wine, veg, whatever. They're just, they're just ready to give you, you know, their number. and not like, oh, yeah, none of my business. I think the lens is really nice for that. It's just like a small community of people who take care for each other. Amazing. Well, I must say, that was so enjoyable, not just because the food was magnifique, but also because Thomas and Gemma are so honest about the truth when it comes to running and owning your own business.

21:12And when we think about going on our own entrepreneurial journey, and I know this because I've been there myself, It's all about the romantic, the exciting, the positive stuff. But the truth is there's some really hard moments. And that's why it's absolutely clear to me that support is what businesses need if they're going to survive and eventually thrive like Lexigon is. So the message really from this series is that good things are happening right now in British business. And if you've been inspired from these conversations to give it a go yourself, then Lloyds Bank have got the ability and the expertise to support you in any business venture.

21:45well look i've really enjoyed bringing you this series here on high performance obviously we've been speaking to restauranteurs digital marketers scientists entrepreneurs and having finished this journey i think from my perspective it's really hard not to believe that there are good things happening in british business um but of course you can't do it alone and i think sometimes in entrepreneurship we're guilty of only speaking to other entrepreneurs about our entrepreneurship journey but i believe that support and help and guidance is so important and sometimes to get that the best thing to do is look to people who aren't entrepreneurs, but often know exactly what you need, which is why I'm really excited now to introduce to you Ellen Caulfield, the CEO of Business and Commercial Banking at Lloyds.

22:25Ellen, thank you so much for talking to us. How are you doing? Yeah, I'm great. Thank you. For me, personally, it's been amazing having these conversations about how businesses kind of forge those difficult early few years. And I'm really interested actually in your experience as the CEO of Business and Commercial Banking at Lloyds. Why do you feel it's such a challenge for businesses navigating that early period? Because it seems to be everyone's in the same boat. In my role as CEO of BCB, I see businesses at all stages. So right away from startup up to 100 million turnover. It can be challenging starting a business and growing a business.

23:02You have heard from businesses that I've spoken to. And the things that they say that we can help and support with are things like feeling alone. It can feel pretty daunting. Speaking to other people that started and growing a business is really helpful. Share, you know, share experiences. And also get help and guidance, which is available from, you know, people who have had similar backgrounds or similar experiences and what stages that business and what they've been like and share them and look, turn to your accountant, turn to your bank. They can also provide support and guidance, as well as local business networks.

23:45And make sure you've got that network you can call upon. That's probably the first point I'd say. And then planning is really important. Think about where you want to be in one year, where you want to be in three years, where you want to be in five years, and break that down, because that's where it can be a little bit daunting. Break it down into steps and have your journey in sort of manageable phases and then think what do I need for each of those steps to achieve them what skills are needed because the skills will be different depending on different stages and then some entrepreneurs though they they invest in their business and think about the business but they don't think about themselves as well they're the engine and they're the brain power behind that business so they they need to think about how am I growing myself as well as my business and then the last one would be thinking about funding, what type of funding and finance do I need for my business and what will work for me and my business?

24:37Whether that's bank finance, you know, could be an overdraft, a term loan, asset finance, specialist import or export finance or third party equity, things like business angels or venture capitalist or even crowdfunding. But think about those options, what are available and what benefits and what fits with you best. Brilliant advice, I'm sure it'd be so valuable for many people. Look, one of my frustrations, Ellen, is the sort of negative bias when we look at the news. Everyone wants to tell us that things are awful. I actually think very differently. And I think particularly when it comes to British business, I think we're in a really exciting phase.

25:13I'm interested though, from your experience, how you've seen that landscape change for startups and small businesses in the past decade or so. Starting a business has always been about, previously, spotting an opportunity and meeting a demand with a product or a service. I think over the last few years, I've seen a couple of themes emerging, which are different to that. People have previously set up businesses before because they've, you know, got a skill or spotted a business opportunity. And a fair few are sort of midlife, you know, mid-career. But now we're seeing Gen Z entrepreneurs. They're not wanting only sort of financial independence, but also striving for a better work-life balance or having a sense of purpose by doing something.

25:56they're really passionate about. And that then sort of links me into sustainability and social impact. We've seen a real emphasis on sustainable and socially responsible practices. That's a strong driver for people setting up their businesses. I think the three things that come through for me are, you know, people, planet and profit are now widely accepted as measures of success. It's great. And I recently spoke with Richard Branson on high performance and he said to me, entrepreneurs will save the world. And I think it's a great line, which echoes nicely what you're saying. Right, final question then.

26:30Someone's watched the series. They maybe haven't ventured into this world before. They've been inspired by the stories that they've seen, the conversations that we've had. And if they're now thinking, right, I think I might just do something and maybe my first port of call needs to be to pick up the phone to Lloyd's. Can you give me some real specifics of exactly what you would do for those people at the very start of their own journey? We have advice and guidance on our website about setting up and growing your business. This covers a range of things, including understanding your market, as well as financing.

27:00There's also support for things like building mental resilience and avoiding burnout. We've recently launched the new phase of our Startup Scale Up program, which is a free program designed for supporting entrepreneurs and early stage businesses in business essentials like digital, innovation and growth planning. The program's open to all UK-based businesses, not just our customers. and some groups of entrepreneurs can face additional barriers so we offer focused support to meet particular needs a few examples of those would be supporting black-owned businesses we have our black business hub on our website that provides information on the support that provide to black entrepreneurs which empowers diverse founders with resources and support to build, grow and scale their businesses.

27:52We've also helped disabled entrepreneurs with an estimated 25 % of entrepreneurs having a disability or a neurodiverse condition. And 84 % of those founders feeling that they do not have the equal access and opportunity. The whole business ecosystem needs to do more to create systemic change. We're working in collaboration with other external partners, industry bodies, and the government to better understand the needs of founders. And I'm really proud to be sitting on the board of the Lilac Review with some inspiring people to advocate and lead this activity. And then also I touched on women-led businesses as well.

28:38We're investing in initiatives that support growing and helping to scale businesses and build regional ecosystems. We're enabling better access to finance networks and resources through partnerships such as Lifted, which is a nationwide initiative that's creating regional growth board in five cities across the UK, and a bid to make high growth entrepreneurship more accessible to women outside of London and the southeast. Brilliant. Look, Ellen, if entrepreneurs can change the face of the world, I think, you know, you at Lloyd's are helping to change the face of banking. It feels like a long time ago that the only reason you went to the bank was to withdraw some money, pay some money in or just deal with the financial side of your business.

29:20I love this holistic approach you're taking to supporting all kinds of people in all kinds of different ways. And the more that we can talk about that, the better it is for entrepreneurship, the better it is for business. So thank you so much for partnering with us. I'm so pleased that we've done it. I love the approach you're taking on every level. And it was lovely to chat. Thank you. Thanks, Jake.

29:42I really hope you've enjoyed listening to From Startup to Standout. For more information, just check out the Lloyds Bank business website. And I'll see you soon.