Don’t Just Sell Something: Do Something! with David Hieatt - a podcast by Mark McGuinness

This week’s guest on the 21st Century Creative podcast is David Hieatt, entrepreneur, author, speaker and founder of The Do Lectures.







In 1995 David and his wife Claire Hieatt founded Howies - a company making clothes for people engaged in outdoor pursuits such as mountain biking, skateboarding and hiking.



Howies was a disruptive company, making clothes out of natural, low-impact materials, and taking a strong stand on environmental and political issues. Combined with its irreverent marketing tactics, this meant it attracted legions of passionate fans



In 2006 David and Claire sold Howies to Timberland, and the following year they began hosting The Do Lectures. This is an annual event, and a very unusual mashup of a festival and conference.



As David points out, inviting 100 people to a cowshed in Wales is very different to the kind of conference hosted at glitzy venues in New York or London. And yet it attracts speakers such as Tim Ferriss, Colin Greenwood from Radiohead and Bill Drummond of the KLF.



And if you’re not one of the lucky 100 people who can get into the cowshed, you’ll be pleased to know that all the lectures are available to watch for free via the website, TheDoLectures.com



David is also a speaker and author who has addressed Apple, Google, and many other top companies and events. His books include Do Purpose: Why Brands with a Purpose Do Better and Matter More.



A big theme of the Do Lectures and David’s books is about taking on big important challenges, and David’s latest venture, Hiut Denim, is certainly proof of concept.







The town of Cardigan in Wales was once home to the biggest jeans factory in Britain, with 400 workers making 35,000 pairs of jeans every week. But in 2002 the workers were all made redundant and the factory closed, apparently forever.



It’s a familiar story in developed western economies - factories close and industries die as manufacturing is outsourced to Asia and other places that can produce goods cheaper.



But David wasn’t happy with the familiar ending to the story, and decided to re-open the factory and re-hire all the workers who lost their jobs. People thought he was crazy, but the factory is now up and running, with a 3 month waiting list for jeans orders.



If you want to know how he did it, and if you’d like some inspiration on living a more unconventional, creative and rewarding life, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening to this conversation with David Hieatt.





David Hieatt interview transcript



MARK: David what made you want to become an entrepreneur?



DAVID: I guess when I was growing up as a kid I was just super curious about brands and business, and I would have my entire bedroom apart from windows and the door handle covered in posters from Nike, Adidas, Wrangler, Levi's. And when I was at school I was selling ice lollies in the summer because our school was two miles away from the local shop. So it fascinated me from a very early age.



MARK: And why brands rather than rock stars on your wall?



DAVID: I don't know. I just felt that I gravitated towards them. I was fascinated by the stories that they would tell, by the products. For me, I was going to trade shows at 13. I'd put a tie on. I would get secret past tickets, and I went to Bukta, which was a clothing brand.



I was 13 and I went to them I said, 'Look, unless you do these 23 points on your marketing, you're going to die.' And they went, 'Oh, thank you.' And they didn't do them and they did die, and so I was always interested, and I don't know why. I love music as well, but and I never really wanted to be a rock star. I just wanted to be that person who started that company that people like loved.



MARK: Okay.

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