What’s it like building the Best Restaurant in the UK? Hear from this week’s podcast guest, Sara Stark! Episode #24 of the Wild Business Growth podcast is MOUTH-WATERING and features the Head of Marketing & Creative at Dishoom, the highly-awarded Bombay Café that was voted Best Restaurant in the UK by Yelp reviewers in 2015 & 2016. Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and your other favorite audio platforms – subscribe and leave a 5-star review if you’re hungry for Dishoom!

What is the Wild Business Growth Podcast?

Hear how entrepreneurs & innovators unleash creativity to grow bigger and better businesses. Hear from an exciting new guest every single week who’s turning wild ideas into wild growth. Guests include startup founders, product inventors, social media influencers, and much more. Hosted by our digital marketing dude Max Branstetter – that’s me!

Episode #24: Sara Stark – Top UK Restaurant Marketer, Creativity at Dishoom

Sara Stark, the Head of Marketing and Creative at Dishoom, joins the show to share how the Best Restaurant in the UK on Yelp grew from a single London location to 7 locations across the UK that serve 50,000 people per week and have donated 5 million meals to charity. Sara was my Marketing Manager when I interned for Dishoom during my semester abroad in London in 2012. I had a sensational experience in London and quickly fell in love with the brand and food at Dishoom. It’s been so enjoyable watching Dishoom grow so much the past several years, and this podcast was an incredible way to reconnect with Sara. Sara is a super smart, creative, and friendly marketing leader who has been instrumental to Dishoom’s enormous growth and taught me countless lessons about marketing and work ethic. This episode covers everything from how Dishoom fosters a culture of creativity and care to how to maintain the quality of your brand while experiencing massive growth. Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:

  • The importance of company values
  • Why it pays off to be nerdy
  • The crazy creative things Sara and her team have created for Dishoom
  • Why you need to be open to failure
  • The restaurant ad that rocked the UK
  • Why managing a restaurant is like managing a small business
  • What the modern Digital Detox looks like
  • Sara’s favorite places to travel in Europe

Connect with Sara on LinkedIn and Dishoom at Dishoom.com and on Instagram and Twitter at @Dishoom.

Enjoy the show and deepen – don’t dilute! Check out the show notes below for much more detail.

Show Notes

  • Intro
    • [0:32] Email me at max@hippodirect.com for help starting and building your own podcast or with digital marketing
    • [0:50] Sara Stark LinkedIn, Dishoom website, Yelp
    • [2:22] What is Dishoom?
    • [3:00] About Dishoom, awards
    • [3:50] Dishoom charities
    • [4:50] How Sara describes the Dishoom growth journey
    • [5:20] How company values drive growth
    • [6:10] The crazy creative things Sara’s team does
  • Dishoom & Creativity
    • [7:20] How Sara and Dishoom stay creative
    • [7:40] Why it pays off to be nerdy
    • [9:06] Why you have to care about what you’re doing
    • [9:20] How to create a culture of creativity and care
    • [10:19] Being open to failure
    • [10:37] Dishoom Holi Party
    • [11:56] Dishoom Covent Garden, Chowpatty Beach Bar 
    • [12:20] The biggest things that have changed as the brand has grown
    • [12:40] How to deepen, not dilute
    • [14:40] Why managing a restaurant is like managing a small business
    • [15:10] How to maintain high quality while expanding
    • [15:30] The importance of culture, What does Seva mean?
    • [16:50] Connect with Hippo Direct at HippoDirect.com for all your mailing list, email list, and digital marketing needs
  • Wild Business Shoutout of the Week
  • Rapid-Fire Q&A

How do I start a podcast?

How’d you like a podcast of your own? Email me at max@hippodirect.com with questions on any part of the podcasting process:

  • Podcast Planning
  • Podcast Production
  • Podcast Promotion
  • More!

We’re happy to start out with a free 30-minute consultation and provide some helpful resources that have been instrumental in getting the Wild Business Growth Podcast up and rolling and connecting with high-quality guests. We love making your podcast the best it can be. Let your podcast Run Wild!

That’s a wrap! For this episode, of course. Stay tuned for a new entertaining guest every single week! Let us know any guests you’d like to see on the show and follow along for your favorite marketing tips, business tips, and podcasts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube. Sign up for the Hippo Digest email newsletter for your weekly recap of creative marketing. Let your business Run Wild…and Bring on the Bongos!!