Founder and CEO of Hippo, Adam Lewis, shares the story of Hippo and the Brew Society.
One of the things I enjoy about having Hippo’s HQ in Leeds is the “digital scene” here.
There’s a lot going on, and many of the businesses are both friends and (friendly) competitors. When we lose bids (as we inevitably do), it’s always under the banner of:
“Damn you… But rather you than someone else!”
The amicability extends to getting together occasionally to have a natter and/or a moan over a beer. Usually in “our” pub. The Brew Society.
This is, of course, the real secret to our success. But contrary to popular belief, it’s not actually ours at all.
The real honest story of two idiots and a pub.
I should start by admitting a few things. Firstly, Liz was sensible enough to extract herself from this endeavour before we even began. And secondly, yes, Rob and I did at one point fully intend to run a pub (for the first time), alongside running a digital consultancy (also for the first time).
The “brilliant” idea was hatched at an early Hippo Christmas party at the ill-fated White Cloth Gallery.
As the evening went on (and we got progressively more squiffy) we were told the venue was closing, leaving the space vacant. There was also a newly refurbished office upstairs.
You could almost see the cogs turning.
We didn’t just want an office (or just a pub).
We wanted to create a place. An environment that was not any old boring office, but a destination. A place that would attract people to us, where they wanted to be. We wanted a space for clients, teams and friends to get together, solve problems, challenge each other and run sessions and events; to have the conversations that matter.
So we hatched a plan.
We’d shop around locally and appoint a provider to build and run the space for us, potentially as a joint endeavor. We wanted a seamless space where our customers would also be theirs, and theirs ours, with their team helping to run the social and collaboration space below our office.
After a few false starts, we were introduced to Nino and Rich, who were already running established businesses in Harrogate: Café No. 35 and The Little Ale House. They knew how to create the kind of place we had in mind (within our price range), and create a space that works as a café during the day, and a bar in the evening that would act like a social space, alongside an event space (the Hippocampus) and our office.
Things were just getting exciting (we had paid for, and endured the fit-out), when our own internal team of the time, staged an intervention, and asked Rob and I to really think about our priorities and where the focus of our efforts should actually be.
They were right. And after all, what did we actually know about running a pub anyway?
So we (reluctantly) handed over operational responsibility to Nino and Rich, and took a stake instead.
The Brew Society was born!
So… It IS your pub then?
Yes, and no.
The reality is Joe and Andy, who run it day-to-day, have built it into what it is. They poured work and heart into it in the early years, only for it to be decimated during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, and built it up all over again. They’ve invested years of hard graft into The Brew Society and done a far better job than Rob or I ever could have. It’s a joy and a pleasure to be in the same building as them, and they have 100% nailed the brief and earned their success.
So one evening, over a pint in Brew, Rob and I had a moment of clarity. Whatever success the place had wasn’t down to us, it was built by Andy and Joe. So we gave them our shares. Because they’d earned it.
So no, it’s not still / officially ours. But it is our place, and a key chapter in the last decade of Hippo’s story, with more yet to come.
In hindsight, the intention of creating a place people want to be, probably says more about how we’ve built Hippo than any strategy ever could. Uniting people who want to build something brilliant, who want to collaborate and have fun along the way.
Not just an office. Not just a supplier. Something more human than that.
So for those who’ve been a part of the last 10 years with us, we’d love to see you again at Brew Society on the 15th April for an evening with Hippo and Friends, celebrating our first decade..
It’s been an absolute blast.
