Bulletproof Entrepreneur #78 Sir Tom Hunter - The Incredible Journey From Market Stall to Billionaire.
Today on The Bulletproof Entrepreneur, you’re going to hear from a man whose story is almost impossible to compress into a single sentence - because it’s part grit, part luck, part audacity… and entirely remarkable.
Sir Tom Hunter grew up in the small Scottish mining village of New Cumnock, where his father ran the local grocery shop. It was there - stacking shelves, serving neighbours, and learning the value of every pound - that Tom absorbed the lessons that shaped everything that came next: look after your customers, keep your word, and work harder than anyone expects.
From those beginnings, he went on to build one of the most successful retail empires the UK has ever seen. The story isn’t neat. It’s not linear. It’s full of missteps, brass-neck decisions, fake-it-till-you-make-it moments, and an unshakeable belief that the best way to learn is to do.
You’ll hear how he started by selling trainers from the back of a van… how he leveraged luck by simply showing up… how a chance encounter led to selling more shell suits than anyone in Europe… and how an almost absurd coin toss sealed a £296 million deal.
But you’ll also hear the parts of the journey most people never talk about. The weight of shutting shops. The backlash after the sale. The pressure of the financial crisis. Losing hundreds of millions. And the resilience required to rebuild from the inside out.
It’s rare to sit with someone who has not only succeeded at the level Tom has but is also willing to speak honestly about the parts that don’t make the headlines.
And today, he goes further - sharing the philosophies that now guide his work through West Coast Capital and The Hunter Foundation… why he believes entrepreneurs are the engine of the UK economy… what government consistently gets wrong… and the one piece of advice Warren Buffett gave him that changed the way he thinks about family, money, and legacy.
It’s a conversation about risk, resilience, humility, generosity, and what true wealth really means.
So settle in. This one is special.
Links:
https://www.thehunterfoundation.co.uk/
https://www.westcoastcapital.co.uk/
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness: Amazon.co.uk
Barbarians At The Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco: Amazon.co.uk
This podcast is produced by GR Media
Sponsored by Capital Asset Management