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Index/Startups & Founders/Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall
Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall artwork

He Risked Everything At 47 To Build Yo! Sushi | Simon Woodroffe OBE

Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall · 2026-06-23 · 1h 0m

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Episode notes

Simon Woodroffe left school at 16. He got arrested at 19. He built stages for rock bands, sold TV rights, and spent decades figuring out how the world worked. Then at 47, with no restaurant experience, he put his entire life savings on the line and opened Yo! Sushi. It changed everything. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Simon and Alex talk about what it actually means to risk it all, why he believes it is never too late to start, how he negotiated a 1% royalty that made him more than everything else combined, and what 50 years of doing things differently has actually taught him. We also get into his new autobiography, Yo, Man!, Dragons’ Den, Yotel, and why the unconventional path is often the only one worth taking. Key Takeaways • Why starting later in life can be an advantage, not a limitation • How Simon built a £1 million opening using £200k and a lot of pulled favours • The 1% royalty he negotiated that outlasted everything else • Why megalomaniac control at the start is the right strategy This episode is powered by WorldFirst , specialists in international business payments.

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