The Diary of a CEOKrept: From Rapper To Building A £17.5 Million Baby Business! | E164
EVERY SPOKEN WORD
150 min read · 30,013 words- 0:00 – 3:11
Inro
- KRKrept
Someone grabbed my chain, and then I just remember seeing knives.
- NANarrator
A BBC live music event was ended early last night. The rapper, Krept, was attacked backstage.
- KRKrept
If this was a millimeter deeper, then it would've been a different scenario.
- NANarrator
He's a rapper and has collaborated with the likes of Headie One and Stormzy. Krept and Kone!
She is the freak of the week.
- KRKrept
Kone and Stepdad was killed.
- NANarrator
Karan out of the room trying to fight them. Two more gunshots. Everything silent.
- KRKrept
We can either go and retaliate or we take this music thing seriously, actually try to make it out of where we're coming from. The next thing we put out went viral. Skepta reached out and said, "Oh, we wanna bring you guys on tour." It was such a life-changing moment for us. We started doing radio, TV, and we started branching out.
- NANarrator
Narler's Baby, full of natural goodness.
- KRKrept
You would never put a rapper launching a baby skincare line in the same sentence. You should always feel uncomfortable, almost like you shouldn't be here. And that's the growth room, man. You can't be afraid of that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you know what the company's valued at?
- KRKrept
17 and a half.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What do you think Blaine would think of Narler Baby?
- NANarrator
Cadet, whose real name was Blaine Johnson, has died.
- KRKrept
He was on the brink of doing something great. (instrumental music plays)
- SBSteven Bartlett
What's on your mind?
- KRKrept
We've got this complex, like, I'm not gonna cry. Like it makes you feel like less of a man or something. I swear this scares me.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So without further ado, I'm Stephen Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself. (instrumental music plays) Krept, first of all, thank you for being here. I think it's... Gotta be honest, I think you're one of the smartest looking guests I've ever had sit in the chair.
- KRKrept
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
I'm very jealous of your outfit today.
- KRKrept
Thank you, man.
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's, it's sick. I mean, the designer's a friend of mine who, um, who I met in Manchester a couple of, couple of months back. But where I wanted to start with you is, um, back in South London, back in Croydon. I want you to, if you can, give me the context in which you were, you were raised. And when I say context, I mean like what were those things in your environment at an early age that ultimately shaped who you were and left those little kind of foot... Those fingerprints on your personality and character?
- KRKrept
To be honest, like, when I was younger and when I was in school, like, all I knew and all my friendships knew were, you know, gangs and, you know, that kind of lifestyle. That's all that we saw. Like, you know, everybody that I would go to school with or, you know, outside of school, that was... That's what it was. And, you know, we got caught up in a load of nonsense growing up, but I was one of those people that always saw the bigger picture, and I always thought, "I don't wanna end up going to jail, and I don't wanna end up dying," because that's what I saw. Like, I, I've lost so
- 3:11 – 10:32
Early years
- KRKrept
much friends due to, you know, coming from where we're coming from, and like seeing friends that I've grown up with pass away to violence or crimes or, you know. Friends, I've got loads of friends that are in jail for life, and some for even things they didn't even do. So I always used to be like, you know, when, when, when my friends was doing this or doing that, I'd always be like, "I wanna, I wanna try and do this and try and do that," and I... Because I do not wanna end up in jail or dying. Like, that was, you know... That's what we was used to, like, and it's sad because it's like... It felt so normal. Like, the first time, you know, I was like 13 and hearing gunshots outside my house and coming out and someone's on the floor dead, and I'm a 13-year-old young boy, and it was like it was normal. It wasn't even like something that seemed abnormal at the time. It just felt like this is how it is when you live where you live or where you're from where you're from, and that's what it was. Do you know what I mean? And I feel like I've always, always had my eye on being more than that. Like, all the time. So when, you know, my friends was getting involved in certain things, I was like, "No, I'm gonna, I'm gonna finish college, I'm gonna go to university, and I'm gonna try my best to keep myself, you know, on a positive path." Like, and I always thought this all the time, and I always said, "Yeah, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna fall into this trap," because I'm seeing, you know, my friends falling into... I'm seeing my friends go to jail, I'm seeing my friends die, and I'm like, like, "When is it..." And it's, and it doesn't end. It doesn't stop. You know, new issues happen. Now, you know, you've got a problem with these people because of this, or like... And it just... It's a constant cycle, and I feel like I didn't want to get trapped in that cycle.
- SBSteven Bartlett
What was your family unit like?
- KRKrept
Um, my, my mum and dad wasn't together. Um, my father went to jail for a lot of my childhood, um, and, you know, he... So he wasn't around for a lot of the important moments in my life and that age where I feel like you probably need, you know, a father figure there. Um, he wasn't, um, because he was in jail, and, you know, again, that's what I was, you know, seeing and that was what was a norm to me, you know. Um, growing up, my mum was single, and it was... She was just, you know, doing her best to look after me and my brother, um, and I feel like she'd done an incredible job, but there was still... I'll never forget, there was a moment where...... something happened and police came to my house. And I'll never forget, my mum said, "I failed as a mum." And I can't explain how that made me feel, and I was like, "There's no way on earth that I'm gonna let those words even become a reality." So I remember from there, I was like, "I am going to make this woman proud, h- n-, like, if it's my, the last thing I do." And that was a really, really big, you know, motivational moment for me.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Why did that matter so much to you?
- KRKrept
Because my mum did everything she could, you know. She tried her best as a, as a single mum, she tried her best. She always, you know, wanted the best for me and wanted the best for my brother, and, you know, being a single mum, knowing that there's bills, and knowing that she was stressed, and this, that, and the fourth, like, I know she wanted the best for me. And me feeling like, you know, I haven't even tried to appreciate or repay her for that, and her feeling like a failure, even though she done her absolute best. So that resonated with me and it really hit me when she said that. And yeah, from, f- I remember from then, like, the motivation I had. I was like, "I'm going to." 'Cause I- I- I didn't even wanna stay in uni or I didn't wanna, like, I was thinking, "Ah, that's long. I don't, like..." And I was like, "No, I'm gonna go all the way and I'm gonna graduate. I'm gonna make her run and say, 'My son's got a degree.' I'm gonna do that, and I'm gonna do my music, and I'm gonna be successful and that, and she's gonna be proud." I spoke it and knew it was gonna happen because I was so determined from, from there to, to make it happen. So yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Often when you're from an environment where people are being tempted to choose a nefarious life, so wh- when they're being tempted to choose a slightly, maybe it's a criminal lifestyle or something, because they don't have the same level of opportunities in that environment. So often people look back and they can almost see how it could've gone another way fr- for them. How they could've been tempted in that other path, because there's no doubt temptation to choose another path would've been present in that environment. When you look back on, on those times, can you, can you see how things could've gone another way?
- KRKrept
100%. Like, there, there, there was, you know, there was one specific moment that, um, I remember when it was when Konan had a situation where his, his stepdad was killed and his mother was shot.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Can you tell me about that incident? What-
- KRKrept
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You read about that in a song.
- KRKrept
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Your-
- KRKrept
A song called My Story, um, where Konan was, um, I'm thinking he was coming back from radio and Konan, um, when Konan got back, basically there was people waiting for him, and he was walking to his door, and he had his key in his hand. And he's always been a, a paranoid person so he's always, like, ready to put his key in and, 'cause like, he was always alert and he alwa- he was just an alert person. He's always alert and on point. And if this was probably anybody else, they probably would've died. But he was just by his door and then he heard (imitates running) people running behind him. He h- and he just knew straightaway. He didn't look back, he just put his key in the door, turned it, opened it, closed it. And then that's when, you know, he realized like, "Okay, someone is definitely here to try and kill me." And they got in the house, um, and they basically went, they're holding the door upstairs, um, they've shot through the door. And one of the, the, the bullets, you know, hit Konan's mum, and then Konan's stepdad at the time ended up wrestling with them and then he ended up getting shot, um, and, and dying. And then, um, the guys left, but, you know, it was that situation that happened and
- 10:32 – 17:16
Could you see how things could have gone a different way?
- KRKrept
as you can imagine, what that, what effect or, you know, that would've had on him and everybody around him. So I remember we were sitting in a car and our friends was like, "Look, we can either go and do this and, and retaliate." Or whatever it, whatever it was, and I remember there was that moment of, "Or we, we, we take this music thing seriously and, you know, don't throw everything away right now and actually try to make it out of where, you know, we're coming from." And there was that moment of like, "We're gonna do the music. We're gonna focus and put our all into this and, you know, see what happens." And that was like a moment where that could've easily gone a completely different way. Like, we literally had nothing. It was, we, I remember we had an argument over the last bit of chicken and chips because that's the only money we had. Like, we had nothing. And Konan was homeless. Like, it was like probably the, one of the worst periods of our lives and definitely Konan's for sure. Um, and I feel like from there, we done Otis, which was like a, a cover of Jay-Z and Kanye's, um, song, and-... that song went viral.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
And it was like, it was the perfect time for something like that to happen because we could've done that and not done what we've, you know, not done anything and then we could've just, you know, somehow slipped back into or whatever. But it was literally from that moment, the next thing we put out, bearing in mind we've been putting out music, you know, and we've never had a moment like that before. And the next thing we put out after this disaster that's just happened, the next thing we put out went viral. And everything changed from there, literally. You know, we put this out and then from there we ended up, you know, Skepta reached out and said, "Do you want to bring your guys on tour?" And, you know, for any musician, when you go on tour and do live music, it's like for the first time, it makes you feel like you're really a musician. Like, I'm really doing this for real. And that was really like a, a, a special moment for us that he's asked us to come on tour during this period. We was, we were so new as artists. Skepta didn't, you know, we would've just done the tour for free. He didn't even, he didn't even just have us on the tour supporting. He paid us. Like, he paid us per show, like. And when I mean we were so ... We was like, "We're gonna get paid to come on tour with you on a tour that is already sold out." He didn't need us there. And he had us on, on the tour and paid us as well. And it was just, like, such a life-changing moment for us. Like, you know, I- I- I, I just feel like the, the, the, the stars aligned or something. But, you know, being in that moment where you're like about to throw everything away to then you're on stage live with thousands of people in front of you. Like, from that transition to that in-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... in, in ... You know, you couldn't make that up. Like, that was just, uh, it was just a crazy time and I feel like ... Yeah, man. I feel like we obviously made, you know, the right decision and, yeah, we've never looked back since, man.
- SBSteven Bartlett
The person that, um, carried out that attack, um, did you ever find out why they did it? And did they get caught?
- KRKrept
It's, it's weird because we don't actually. We'll never know who, who done it because-
- SBSteven Bartlett
You'll never know who done it?
- KRKrept
No, because we ... There was two people there.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Oh, right.
- KRKrept
Um, and one person got arrested for it, but it, at the end of the day, you still don't know, you know, who done it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And, and they got sentenced?
- KRKrept
Yeah, they got sentenced. Think they got found with the weapon or something like that. But, um, yeah, there was two... So we don't actually know who's, who's done it up until today.
- SBSteven Bartlett
We know a lot about mental health these days, so more of a conversation now. But h- how does... You know, you were, you were by his side, how does Konan deal with that? Both of his parents being shot, one of them dying?
- KRKrept
Konan is like ... I- I- it's one of those ones where I can't even explain on his behalf because it's not even something I can even comprehend being in that situation. Um, what, what I know he, we have done is, you know, stayed doing music and doing what we love and actually growing in that world and actually, you know, becoming someone from doing what we love and, you know, the success that it's brought and all of, you know, the great things that have happened and, you know, us just growing and growing and growing. I feel like that has been a major distraction from the harsh reality of what's happened in, in his life. Do you know what I mean? And, um, I feel like if we didn't, you know, have the success we had, I don't know what would've happened.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But it's in- it's interesting because I'm not sure if success, um, success heals. Like, you used the word distraction, it's actually the word that I would naturally use. It kinda distracts you from the pain and then what you tend to see when I sit here with a lot of people is they, they still have to, at some point, address that pain.
- KRKrept
Address that pain, exactly.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Or it'll turn into alcohol or other things.
- KRKrept
Exactly. Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
You know. Um, and we see, see that a lot with musicians especially, you know. So that's kind of what I'm getting to. You've been through the same, you've been through the same hurt and you've lost people in your life as well, so you can kinda speak to that as opposed to speaking to Konan's situation. But how, especially in like, in that culture, in like the Black culture, and especially Black men, they don't talk about mental health, really.
- KRKrept
At all. But-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Especially 10 years ago, no fucking chance.
- KRKrept
No, definitely not.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Do you know what I mean?
- KRKrept
It's like, we've got this, I don't know, complex or we've got this thing where we're like, "No, we're all right." Like, "I can get through it." Like, "I'm not gonna
- 17:16 – 19:51
Mental mental health
- KRKrept
cry."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
And I don't know wh- why or how or why we've been conditioned in this way. But we have and we feel like, you know, we don't need to talk to anybody about feeling down. Like it makes you feel like less of a man or something. I'm not sure what it is, but, you know, it- it- it's definitely something that's important to me because, like, my, one of my best friends committed suicide. And I have no idea why up until today. So-
- SBSteven Bartlett
You're talking about Nash?
- KRKrept
Nash, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
And I- I don't know why. Like, the last time I was with him, we were celebrating that we'd just finished a song. Like, "Bro, we did it." And he was like, "I can't believe we've done it. We've done it." And he was so happy. And then he was showing me like, "Look at the emails I'm getting from people, like, that are showing interest in..." He was so excited about it. But then a few days later-... he jumped in front of a train. Like, what was... What did I miss? I was with him, spoke to him all the time. Like, and it was just, it was like... And we're like this and he didn't not once express or make me feel that he was depressed or going through something mentally. Like, I didn't know and I'm with him every day. I didn't see it. So that's how I know how important it is, you know, for us as men, and black men, to, you know, really not, you know, hide and cover and... In our, in our feelings and our emotions. And there's nothing wrong with talking about it or telling someone or going to therapy. Like, there's nothing wrong with that. I feel like I don't know why, I don't know why, but that situation made me realize how bad it is, because I genuinely didn't see anything wrong with him. Like, we're speaking all the time, he's updating me, "Look, well, this has just happened. I'm going here, I'm going there, I'm doing this." Like, "Oh, this has just come into the shop. I've got this order." Like, we're like... You know, and then we celebrated the fact that we finished the shop-
- SBSteven Bartlett
A-
- KRKrept
... and it was built.
- SBSteven Bartlett
So, so for context here, you, this is when you launched, um, Crepes & Cones?
- KRKrept
Yes. So, b- b- before launching Crepes & Cones, Nash was the person
- 19:51 – 28:42
Nash - Krept and Konan
- KRKrept
that was going to run it and manage the store. And-
- SBSteven Bartlett
For anybody that doesn't know, so s- s- I kind of heard this story that someone, a fan had tweeted you guys one day about, uh, how funny it would be or something that if you opened a restaurant-
- KRKrept
Oh, yes, yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... called Crepes & Cones.
- KRKrept
Yeah. Um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
You trademarked it all.
- KRKrept
Yeah, no. I... Basically, I, I can't remember. I had a conversation with someone one time and then... And like I remember the, the name came into my head. And then I just tweeted one time.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Right.
- KRKrept
I tweeted in 2014. I said, "One day, we're gonna have a restaurant called Crepes & Cones." And I just thought it was a sick idea, sick name, sick play off of the name. But in 2014, I never had anything. So, it was, it was, it was just what... It was a really big just putting it out there, by the way. One day. I don't know if it's ever gonna happen because, you know, I'm not in a position to make this happen, but I feel like I will be one day. And I just put out the tweet, and then I saw people were like, "Oh, that would be sick, that would be sick." Loads of retweets. "Oh, that'd be sick." And then it was like, "Okay, one day." Like, we'll revisit that conversation and then, um-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Did you trademark it? (laughs)
- KRKrept
I didn't, you know.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's nice.
- KRKrept
I didn't. I s- no one did, luckily. We trademarked it-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
... a bit later down. But we d- we didn't even... I don't think I could afford to trademark it-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah (laughs) .
- KRKrept
... at the time (laughs) . Like, I, I don't even think I could have afforded to at the time when I'd, when I tweeted it. But I remember, um, speaking to Nash about it and saying, "Yeah, one day like, you know, I'm, I'm... This is what we... We need to do this one day." And he was like, "That would be sick, that would be sick." But he was working in property and he was doing really well doing what he was doing. And I remember he called me and he was like, "I wanna, I wanna... You know, it's time for change, man. I wanna do something else. Um, what about the idea that you were saying, the Crepes & Cones thing?" And I was like, "Yeah. Let's do it." And this was at a time when I c- I, I could do it. And you know, and Konan was like, "Yeah, let's..." Like, he a- we... He, he already knew it was something that we wanted to do. Do you know what I mean? So, um, it was just like, "Who are we gonna get to lead this for us?" Because obviously we're musicians. We need someone that, you know... And when Nash broke down, you know, everything that he had been researching, learnt and, you know, people that he was gonna get onboard to, to be a part of it and this, that and the fourth, it was just like, "This makes sense. Let's do it." And there's no better person to do it with than one of our best friends. Do you know what I mean? And so we decided, yeah, we're gonna do it. Um, and yeah, that was a nightmare in itself. Like, you know, just building a shop, like having builders going missing or, you know, people trying to be middlemen skimming off the top and this, that and the fourth and-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Taking advantage of you because you're musicians as well, right?
- KRKrept
Yes. So we probably ended up s- spending triple what we should have spent on building it. Um, and it took like a year. Like, when I mean me and Nash was probably sleeping in that shop. There was days we had... We did sleep in the shop because we, you know, we had to do deliveries in the, the next day and, you know, we need to get this done and, you know, we need to do that or do this and... And then we, we didn't trust any builders. We didn't trust anyone, so we had to be there while they was doing it to make sure they're doing it in a way that we told them they were gonna do it. You know, because we'd leave them, they'd come back and then something's not done or... And it's like, "What have you been doing in the last week?" And it was... And it was just... It was the, it was the, the... Probably just the worst like, you know, experience in terms of our intro into this business world. Uh, I, I hated it. Like, I was... I'm not gonna sit here and say like, "Yeah, it was great," it wasn't, it wasn't. I hated it. I put my back up and it was like, "Okay, I don't, I don't..." I know stepping into this world, I'm not gonna trust anyone now. And that really, that restaurant really changed me as a, a businessman. Really changed me as a, as a... The way I think and, you know, the way I approach things and-
- SBSteven Bartlett
How?
- KRKrept
In terms of like... Before if somebody would come to me and say, "This is how much this costs to do this," I would probably be like, "Okay. Sounds reasonable. Let's do it." Now, I'm gonna ask 10 other people and get other people to ask another 10 other people and gauge if this makes sense and this is the right thing to do or not, or I'm getting the best value for money. Before I wouldn't do that. And I do that with everything 'cause like I'm, I'm, I'm-... double-checking everything, every aspect. Is this the best kind of thing to do, or is there a way I can do this in a better way for the same price? It, and it's just made me like that, and it, I feel like it's turned me into a bit of a monster. Not a monster, but, like, I'm just really not the same person I was when I was making, you know, crepes and cones.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's what adversity does, though. You, you build a callous, and that becomes, like, self-defense, right? So more than anything, you want people to know that you're gonna ask those 10 questions before they even come to you.
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Because then they won't, they won't try it. So you're playing self-defense, which is what I do as well. It's like, if you know I'm gonna ask 10 questions, you're not gonna give me the, the bad price the first time y- you come up 'cause you know-
- KRKrept
'Cause you know.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... 'cause every time, I interrogate it. Even if I end up saying yes, I'm gonna ask you all kinds of shit. (laughs)
- KRKrept
Yeah, I get that a lot now, like, from-
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs)
- KRKrept
... from people that I use and work with, and they're like, "Ugh, here, here he goes again-"
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. (laughs)
- 28:42 – 37:51
Finding out about Nash
- KRKrept
we was gonna just cancel the, the launch, and then someone close to him was like, "He wouldn't want you to do that." And then we made a decision and said, "Do you know what? We're just gonna do it." Um, we ended up having to find, you know, all the people, the staff, people that he was contacting and try and get a hold of them to keep this thing going for launch. Um, and I managed to kind of get majority, but not everybody, or everything in, in line that he had prepared. We're grieving, and we're launching, and we don't know what we're doing, at the s- all at the same time. So, and the day, his launch day, you know, we've got the Mayor of Croydon coming. I'm cutting the ribbon at the shop. And the whole time, I'm thinking about Nash. Like, "Nash should be here." We're taking a picture. "Nash should be in this picture." Like, when we open these doors, I don't even know what's going on. So people thought we was there because of PR, and we're in a restaurant serving people, doing this, doing that. No, we wasn't. I wasn't in there because of PR. I was in there because I had to be in there, had to work in there. I had to, like, I was literally working in that restaurant, you know, cleaning toilets, wet, you name it. I was doing everything, you know. And people thought it was a PR thing and was doing it for PR, and it genuinely wasn't. Like, I didn't know what I was doing. And it was, it was scary, man. Like, it was like we've literally just launched this massive thing. The queue is from here till the end of the road. Like, I've never seen anything like it. The queue was so long. It's like, "All these people are coming to eat here. Oh my God." And, you know, "We're going through this." And, you know, it was, it was...It was, like, bittersweet, but mainly bitter because, you know, it was... You know, in the restaurant world, you're dealing with people's emotions. You're not dealing with... You're... Forget your emotions. You've got to deal with the staff's emotions, you've got to deal with the customers' emotions. If your chef is not in a good mood today, he's now gonna burn this rice, or he's gonna do something maybe out of character or, or something. Um, and so I've got to rely on my chefs' emotions every single day, even if he's going through his own issues or... And it's not just one chef, there's two, three, four. Then, you know, if your, your main bar person, it's a Saturday, busy night, decides, "I'm not turning up for work," because they've had an argument with their partner, or whatever it is, what do, what do I do? So this whole business is reliant on other people's emotions. And even the customers. The customers come in, they're not in a good mood. They're already just, "I'm not in a good mood. I want my food and I want it in five minutes. And if I don't get it in seven minutes, I'm kicking off." But just because they're in that mood. So you're, you're constantly dealing with emotions and people's feelings every single day, and for you to get that right every single day, and everybody's emotions be great, and everyone's in a great m- Like-
- SBSteven Bartlett
While you're still dealing with your own, right?
- KRKrept
And we're grieving. Do you know what I mean? And I remember COVID happened, and then it was just like... It just gets even worse. And our, our restaurant was, you know... It was about coming in there, vibes and experience the music, drinks, this, that and the fourth. And that was what it was. So it wasn't like takeaways. Like, you know, everyone's like, "Yeah, just adapt and do takeaways." Yeah, that's fine, but our whole business was b- built on vibes, and we did, we did, like, Sunday events, and we... Like, it was really an in-person... That, that's what we created. But the restaurant done so well, it managed to, you know, survive throughout the COVID stuff. But then, we was not gonna reopen because of the stress and what it was doing to us mentally. I didn't care about the money. You know, people were like, "Ah, you're sitting on a goldmine. If you get this right, you just... Just get it right and, you know, you can..." And I was like, "I hear you. Sounds great. I can't deal with it." Like, it's too much stress that... Like, I was in there every day, I was losing weight, I was, I was drained, tired. You know, I remember a guy came in and stole everything because he pretended to be a friend of ours and the staff that was working there, or the cleaner, believed him and was like, "Yeah, your friend came in and took all the i- iPads and all the, the, the equipment." And I was like, "What? What, why, why would you... What are you talking about?" And then gone in there, there's nothing there. Like, they've taken all the stock, this, that. I was like, "What is going on?" Like, "This is c- this is crazy, I can't deal with this." And it was just like, "I'm not... I don't care what potential this has, I'm not doing it." And then, um, my f- my friend/bouncer introduced me to some guys and said, "Look, these are some really good guys. You know, they've got these successful restaurants. They run it amazingly and this, that and the fourth. And, you know, they're interested in partnering up with you guys to just, you know, make this work because, you know, you, you clearly got something here." And these guys came and they said, "Look, we, we, we'll deal with that. We'll take away all the headache. Let's, let's, let's make it work, man. We, you know, we see, we see this being big. We feel like we can franchise it. We feel like we can do this, that and the fourth." And I was like, "Cool, let's do it. Let's give it another shot." Um, um, as long as, you know, I don't have to bear that, that, the brutal reality of, you know-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Running a business.
- KRKrept
... running a restaurant.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Have you ever, have you ever, um, have you ever, like, truly taken time to... Because you used the word grief, "We were grieving." What does that actually look like when you say, "We were grieving"? Because from what, from what I'm guessing it, and from my assumption of hearing this story, it seems like your version of grieving has always been ju- to just kind of distract yourself.
- KRKrept
That is literally what I do. And I just feel like... And I don't know if I feel like I'm scared to stop and take everything in. So I'm always just keep... I'm just like, "Oh, that's happened. Got to keep going." 'Cause if I stop and... And I don't know if that's a recipe for disaster or not. I'm still waiting to find out. I don't know. When, when Nash passed, it was like, I felt like, "Okay, I've got to make this work now. I've got to make Crepes and Cones work because what... There's this, this..." Like, he'd done so much, and we spoke about so much and, you know. This can't just die in vain. I feel like through the stress, that was one thing that made me just feel like, you know, "I'm just gonna... You know, I'm just gonna deal with it, I'm just gonna deal with it." It was only being forced by COVID to stop everything, where I sat down and was like, "This-"
- SBSteven Bartlett
"Do I wanna start this shit again?"
- KRKrept
Yeah. "Do I wanna do this again?"
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm.
- KRKrept
Do you know what I mean? But what kept me going was that and... Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
How are you feeling though? When... Because, again, you, you know, you keep yourself busy, you keep yourself distracted, but what's going on, on behind the mask, like, underneath the hood? Everyone on the surface, you know, you, you, you're keeping up appearances to keep things, the ship moving, but how are you actually feeling? Like, when you go home at night, and when you do have those moments to yourself in the car, like, how are you feeling?
- KRKrept
Believe it or not, I don't really have them moments. Like, I literally will be trying to do something until I'm tired and go to sleep, wake up and continue doing it again. Like, I, I don't feel like I've sat down and taken in everything that's happened. I don't think I have.And, I swear it, it scares me because I'm like, "You're taking in so much. You're taking on so much." And all I do is just, you know, keep working. I keep doing this, I keep doing that. But then I feel like, you know, I've got a lot of positive, you know, even, I don't wanna call it distractions because it's my life. So I'm not really being distracted because this is my life and this is what comes with it, and this is what I'm doing, and this is what I love doing, and I'm doing that. But, at the same time, I am dealing with a lot of grief. Like, a lot of it. And I haven't sat down and, you know, taken it all in and said like, "Wow. Like, how am I feeling?" Because I'm always just trying to distract myself, I guess. But...
- SBSteven Bartlett
Have you ever seen moments where that grief or that, all the things you have been dealing with have caused your behavior to change in an unpleasant way? That sometimes is one of the like, the indicators that there's something, there's something underneath going on. Kind of like what you said about yourself, just, you know, there's, when you're dealing with things, maybe the first thing that might go, I mean, some people start self-medicating with alcohol or whatever it might be, but then other people you just see changes in their behavior. They may, they might get a bit more angry, they might be a bit more cold, a bit
- 37:51 – 42:18
How are you feeling?
- SBSteven Bartlett
more distant, a bit... You know what I mean? Have you ever, have you ever seen any of those symptoms in yourself because of the grief?
- KRKrept
Yeah. I think cold. Um, and I feel like I've dealt with so much, I'm not dealing with this. And I feel like... So when something happens where I feel like I'm not dealing with it, I'll just switch off.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Are you thinking about, like, relationships? Or are you thinking about-
- KRKrept
Friendships. Re- whatever it is. Like it's not, you know, whether it's business, whether it's making a decision that you might not have made before, I felt like. You know, I might have been too nice here or been too nice there, and just everything's just made me feel like, you know, I've b- I've been through a l- a lot more. I'm not gonna make you add to my stress or make this add to my stress. So I'm really quick to just dismiss things or, you know, and I feel like I've, I've become a little bit more cold to it because I'm just like, "I'm not gonna deal with that. I'm not gonna..." Uh, it's, it's almost like I'm protecting myself from feeling any more hurt-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm.
- KRKrept
... or emotion.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's one strategy, isn't it? Just to numb life.
- KRKrept
Yeah. It's just like, I'm like, "Ooh, negative vibes."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm.
- KRKrept
"Oh, this is..." No, no, no. No. I'm just like this. And I feel like, you know, uh, anything that I feel is remotely negative, I'm just like, "I'm out."
- SBSteven Bartlett
That is probably a good short-term strategy in some situations. But over the long term, again, there, there's probably, probably a cost. Especially now that you're a father, right?
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
And one of the things you're trying to instil into your own child is probably, like, emotions and understanding your emotions, and that it's okay to feel. And, and even going, uh, the other place I, you know, you, I think people often see it is in their, like, romantic relationships.
- KRKrept
Mm.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When you're in... 'Cause men and women have a different, uh, way about them emotionally.
- KRKrept
Yeah, definitely.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Typically, right? And so, um, women are typically more in touch with their emotions and men are typically less in touch with their emotions. At least that's a, a broad sort of stereotype. So it sometimes can make it difficult when a man has, like, numbed himself to deal with stuff to then be able to emotionally connect with some, a woman in the way that... I'm talking about myself as well here.
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That she, she, she needs in order for you to speak the same language, if you know what I mean.
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
When your, when your music career started taking off and all these crazy things start happening, um, what, what, w- in your own estimation, what was the moment where you go, "That was, meh, everything really, really changed when we dropped that."
- KRKrept
Um, everything really, really changed, Otis was like a partial change.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That was like the s- the first lift off.
- KRKrept
That was the first lift off, but it was like, "Okay, what's next then?"
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
And then the next big moment that we had was when we released our project called Young Kings.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
It was like our, uh, independent mixtape-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... that we'd done. Um, and we got a Guinness World Record for it for being the highest independent charting album.
- 42:18 – 50:12
When was it when everything changed for you?
- KRKrept
Just do you. Do whatever it is that you want to do. There's independent pluggers that will plug you to radio them self. You don't need a label to get, do all of these things. Just do it yourself. Put it out yourself. Like, don't watch, and then they're gonna come to you." I'll never forget it. He said, he said, "They're gonna start coming to you." That was like a really important moment for us where...... we rel- released our project and the music that we made was just like what we wanted to make. And, you know, we made Don't Waste My Time-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Hmm.
- KRKrept
... and when we made Don't Waste My Time, it was like, it was purposely made to be like, "Yeah, we don't care what anyone has to say. This is the music that we wanna make," or, "We're gonna say what we wanna say on this song and you lot can't s- tell us anything." I'll never forget, when we put it out, it just went crazy. Like, the song started going everywhere, we were performing it. Then we, you know, the song ended up on, um, Creed, the movie, and like, you know, Artibello's entrance song. Like, it was a massive moment in Creed. And it was like, we'd done all of this with a song that we knew, like, we, we just thought, "This is it. This is what we wanna do."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Don't Waste My Time?
- KRKrept
Yeah. That was Don't Waste My Time. And we was just like, "Yeah." Like, and then as Skepta said, everyone were running to you. Now everyone was like, "Oh my God, want a sign?" Record labels left, right, center. "Oh my God," like, throw a chequebook say, "Yeah, we want you, we want you." And then it just really was like a, it was like a really 360. And, and then w- we started doing radio and, you know, TV. And we started, you know, really branching out. And people were always like, "How did you get into that?" But the reason why we, how is because we always over deliver on little opportunities.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
So, we got a radio opportunity to do, to, to, with Apple, to do a show that they'd been doing with everyone. So not everyone, but like a selective few artists. Everybody gets, I think, like six s- episodes, um, and then they move onto the next artist. We ended up on episode 36 or something. But it was because we was like, "We got this opportunity. We know how everybody else has done these shows and what they're expecting," which is they're not expecting much from us, but what if we make this a sick show? What if we go out of our way, bring other guests on, pl- have games, let's do fun, let's do fun things. Let's make this entertaining and actually make this show a good show. And that's what we did. So our show was nothing like what they expected. We went above and beyond. We had everybody coming on our show from Americans to Swiss, French, to, you know, the Daves to AJ Tra... Like, everybody's come on our show. And we didn't have to do that. We didn't get any extra to do it. We just said, "We're gonna, you know, take this opportunity and make the most of it." And from that, you know, they kept offering us more shows and more shows and more shows. And then someone, you know, brought up the, the TV show The Rap Game and said like, "Who do you think?" And because of our radio show and like, they was like, "No, these guys would be great for this," that opportunity came to us and someone recommended us to do The Rap Game. And then we ended up in TV. But that was all because we just put that extra bit of effort in a small opportunity. And I feel like a lot of people, you know, don't even think like that. Like, some people think, "There's an opportunity here. This is what's expected of me. This is what I'm gonna do." And I just don't f- I just don't live by that. And Konan, we don't live by that because I feel like if you over deliver and show what you actually can do in any situation, what can come from that is gonna be a lot more. And it's always worked.
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's so true that you can take a ... When someone presents you with an opportunity, they're actually, it's almost like they're actually, what you see there, some people will see an opportunity, but what you're actually ... If you look behind the opportunity, there's a set of dominoes.
- KRKrept
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
That if you flick the first domino and you succeed in the first opportunity, there's this cascading set of opportunities that arise from it. But if you don't do a good job on that first domino, hitting that first domino hard enough, you'll never start the sort of, you know, the knock-on effect. And I see that in everything that I've done, even becoming a dragon or ... You know, 'cause it's very easy when you become a dragon just to fall in.
- KRKrept
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
Just to fall in line, right? Just to sit there.
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
But for me, it was like, here's an opportunity for me to really try and express myself.
- KRKrept
Exa- And I-
- SBSteven Bartlett
You know what I mean?
- KRKrept
And, and I, I notice that when I watch it. I'm just like, "I'm so glad-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
... he's just being him."
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
And saying, like, what he truly feels-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
... and not just-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah. (laughs)
- KRKrept
Like, it's sick to see, do you know what I'm saying?
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause, uh, it's funny 'cause I, it wasn't, I'm not saying, I'm not saying it was a, maybe it was a little bit conscious, but my thinking is, "Look, I'm gonna, I, I can get kicked off this show anytime."
- KRKrept
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
"I might as well, like, do it my way and have a bit of fun with it."
- KRKrept
Yeah, yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
"And at least, like, leave a mark." Because the dragons in the past that I've, like, resonated less with are those that didn't show the full side of their personality and acted too much like a dragon. And acting like a dragon, to me, is it, is like sitting there and just like, "I'm out. I'm out. Like, I like your business. That's good. I'm going to invest." So for me, it's like, well, in reality, my personality's a bit more diverse than that. So.
- 50:12 – 57:08
Your relationship with money
- KRKrept
Never gonna ...
- SBSteven Bartlett
I never knew. My first car was a Range Rover Sport, and it w- they wouldn't let me put it in my name. So I'd ... I ... My business partner had t- 'cause he had credit, he put it in his name and then ... So I was driving around in this Range Rover Sport living in a seven-bedroom house with a tennis court, and my cr- I connoissei- they wouldn't lend me £200.
- KRKrept
(laughs)
- SBSteven Bartlett
(laughs) 'Cause I destroyed it when I went to uni.
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I dropped out of uni straight away. But I'd gone and I'd got these overdrafts and just blown them.
- KRKrept
The overdra-
- SBSteven Bartlett
CCJs.
- KRKrept
It's like they set you up for it.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah (laughs) .
- KRKrept
Like, I swear to you.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah (laughs) .
- KRKrept
Like, it's like, 'cause I know so much people that's gone down that same university path of-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah, yeah.
- KRKrept
... they offer you this big shiny £750 check-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah (laughs) .
- KRKrept
... that you don't have to pay back and th- the interest free.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah, you do have to pay it back but ... (laughs)
- KRKrept
But you have to pay it back, but, like, the way they coat it is in, like, you know-
- SBSteven Bartlett
It's free money so you just do it.
- KRKrept
... free f- it's a trap that we fall into-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
... because we don't know the consequence-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
... of if you don't do this, then this happens. And I just feel like it stems from us ... I feel like this being something that we should learn at, in school. Like, you know, before we start taking credit out and start doing things that affect our credit, we should be learning about it. But there's nothing that, you know, really teaches you that in school. Uh, and you know, all my peers, all my friends, and n- none of us knew nothing about credit. And I just think wh- why, why is it, like, so hidden? Or why is it not really projected? Is it a parent's role to tell them about credit? And, you know, I feel like it now it is, because it's probably become a lot more of a thing nowadays. But, yeah, and, and just things like, you know, when you, you, you end up in this world of business and, you know, there's things that you find out about, you know like, EIS, SEIS-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... and stuff like that. And I just f- I just couldn't believe this stuff existed. And it was like, yeah, when you, you know, if, if you ... You know, I've got someone, a, a, a Jason, um, who invested in Crepes and Cones and stuff like that, and, you know, had no idea about EIS and SEIS and that he could get, you know, a percentage of his investment back and, you know, from tax that he's re- previous ... And this is like, what? Why don't we know about this? Like, why is this ... You know, there's, there's so much, like, even research and development-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... you know, you being able to claim money back from that. And it's like, a lot of people have- probably watching this have no idea what I'm talking about-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- 57:08 – 1:06:00
The Hiphop culture making people want to spend money
- SBSteven Bartlett
to signal to everybody else-
- KRKrept
That they have enough.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... that they've got it-
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- SBSteven Bartlett
... by making reckless money decisions. And that's this kind of perpetual cycle, 'cause then people are looking up at them and going, "Okay, when I get it, I'ma buy the bottles of Dom Pérignon and I'm gonna..."
- KRKrept
Yeah, and, and, and, and it's like, it's one of those ones where it's like you can't even really help, because y- y- you know, we can make, you know, all of these decisions and let's show them, like, "Look, you can do this and, you know, invest your money and do this, do that," and forth. But to someone who is coming from nothing that's just got this big fat check from a record label, you're gonna tell me not to go and buy a watch or not to buy a chain and match everybody else that's looking, you know, that, you know, everybody, all the girls love and this, that-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... or whatever it is that they're reason, they reason for feeling they need these things or these items. Like, how do you tell them, "No, don't do that. Do this"?
- SBSteven Bartlett
Well, I think it's, I think part of it is people like you, who've been through that, who they can, who they trust, 'cause that, if someone else says it, they ain't gonna listen. If their mum or dad says it, who ain't been through that process, who ain't made the mistakes
- KRKrept
Uh, I can't-
- SBSteven Bartlett
... that they're gonna listen.
- KRKrept
... tell you the amount of times I've spoken to, like, young-
- NANarrator
Artists.
- KRKrept
... artists and said, "Don't go and just splash your money, or don't, you don't need to go and buy these things, or buy that, or you don't need to do it." And they're like, "Yeah, but I, I need the chain at least. Like even maybe if it's just a chain or I need something to look like a rapper."
- SBSteven Bartlett
That's what I'm saying. So it's like self-fulfilling. It's a cycle.
- KRKrept
Yes.
- SBSteven Bartlett
'Cause they're going, "Well, if I don't get the chain, then I'm not that rapper who I wanna be someday." So if that rapper that they wanted to be someday was talking about investing and starting companies and, and all that stuff, they might be saying, "I need to invest this money in the stock market, or I need to buy a property because Skepta's just bought..." You know what I'm saying?
- KRKrept
But the i- the issue is, is, you know, they, they, they need to understand that that is a, a longer game, and it's more about the future. But as a rapper that might blow up now-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... they're gonna get these bookings and be on these t- television programs, and be in these clubs, and be in these parties with the artists that are shining, that have the good watch on, that has this, that are gonna be around that.
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
So that's immediate. You know, so telling someone, you know, "Forget the immediate, think about the long term," but they're in the media-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Yeah.
- KRKrept
... every single day and witnessing the immediate now. How do you tell them to ignore that? It's hard. So even when I, you know, I sit down and have these... Don't get me wrong, like there's, there are a lot of people that do listen, and you know, "Do you wanna do other things?" And you know, they'll come and ask me for advice and ask me to intro, to introduce them to this person or that person, and I'll, I'll always do that. But there's definitely been a lot that's like, "No, but I, I definitely need the chain," or, "I need, I need to at least have, you know, a bust-down Rolex. I need it. Like, I need a bust-down." Like, everybody's been saying, you know, you watch all the, uh, you know, big artists in the world, they've all got crazy chains on. Like, you know, you look at Hov, Jay-Z, he's one of our biggest, you know, the people that we look up to as a musician and a businessman. He's gotten a sick watch every time I see a new picture of him. Or he's got... You know what I'm saying? He's got a big chain. Like, he's still, there's still that element. I feel like f- for artists, the compromise is both. Like, go and do that stuff, but you still need to do that stuff. Don't just do everything and buy, you know, spend your money and splash your money on cars and jewelry and this. Don't do that. Maybe, you know, if you wanna do, get your little starter pack and-
- SBSteven Bartlett
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... you know, be on your way, cool. But don't, you know, go and spend all of your money or a big chunk of your money on that. Like, you know, if you wanna do that, do it in, you know, s- other stages or do it in-... you know, you don't have to do it all at once.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I guess, like, I understand the point as well about like, this is branding at the end of the day.
- KRKrept
It, it, it is. Like, it is. Like-
- SBSteven Bartlett
But behind Jay-Z-
- KRKrept
Yeah.
- 1:06:00 – 1:18:06
Nala's baby
- KRKrept
how it, how it started was Sasha, who's Nahla's mum, um, was pregnant with Nahla and she became really like, "I want everything natural. We're having a baby, I want the best for her." As, as mothers do, do you know what I mean? And th- she got introduced to an app, it's like a product re- re- rating ingredient app, um, called Think Dirty. So it rates products from zero to ten. So ten being the absolute worst and zero being the cleanest. So we're getting, you know, baby shower gifts and loads of people are giving us gifts and loads of them are products and, you know, skincare, haircare products. So we're putting all of these products in the app and all of these products, you know, they're claiming that they're this, that, and the fourth, and a lot of the products are coming up as eights and-... fives and, like-
- NANarrator
You scared me.
- KRKrept
... looking for the zero, like, "W- is there any zero, zeros here?" Like, because it literally rates each individual ingredient.
- NANarrator
Oh, so zero's a good score?
- KRKrept
Zero's the best score.
- NANarrator
Okay.
- KRKrept
So that means it has zero bad ingredients in there. And, like, it highlights each ingredient of what number it gives each, each ingredient and how harmful. Then you can click on it, it gives you the details. It's really detailed and, you know, thorough. So, I was like, "There's no zero rated, like, baby range in any of these... any of the brands that we're getting." 'Cause all the brands was like... they're available in all the high, high, high street, um, retailers and stuff. So I'm just like, "Nah, this just can't be right." And she was just like, "I don't want to use anything on, on her when she's born," 'cause why is there no... And then we did see, like, a few random zeros here and there, but, you know, they're either really expensive, you know, we're talking like £20 a bottle, £25 a bottle, or whatever it is, or they're from another country. They're not even sold here. Um, so, you know, when she kind of brought this to my attention, it was like me having my business hat on. I was like, it was just like, "Why don't we, why don't we make, make it? Why don't we make that?" And then we thought, "Is there a reason why there isn't? Maybe, maybe there's a reason. Maybe it's not feasible or what's the reason? Why isn't there? Why doesn't this exist?" And then, um, it was like, "All right, cool. Where do we even start?" And then I reached out to someone, um, I'm not su- I'm not sure she wants me to say her name on that because she's really, like, private, but she's a G. And I, I, I, I brought the idea to her and she was like, "This is a sick idea." And, um, funny enough, I met an amazing manufacturer like a week ago. So I will present this to them and see if it's something that they want, would want to do. Um, but let's, let's, let's mock up the branding and let's get the branding right so that, you know, when we bring it to them, they can kind of vision it. So, you know, we're working back and forth with, with the branding and we're like, "Yes, this is it. This, this looks exactly how we want it to look." And, um, she took it to the manufacturers and the manufacturers was like, "Let's do it." Like, "This sounds like a, an, an amazing, you know, idea. Um, you've clearly done research and you clearly have a USP and, you know, we know exactly what you lot want for this product. So this sounds like a journey that we would love to embark on." So, you know, getting the tick from the manufacturer was important for us. You know, 'cause there's loads of... And, you know, sh- she was one of the people as well, her, getting her st- stamp saying, "Yeah, I think, like, this would be great." And, um, so we've started developing the formula and, you know, they were like, "Okay, so what do you want?" I was like, "Look, I want a brand, a skincare range, not just a, a, you know, one SKU, but, like, a, the whole range. It needs to, for one, be a zero rating on this app. All the ingredients need to be a zero." "Okay, we'll get to that." I said, "I want it to be 100% natural," I was, "The most natural you can get it." And then they came back and, and was like, "You know, 100% isn't what we would advise for kids because, you know, microbes and fungus growing on products. You need shelf life so, you know, you need to have a preservative in there and, and... And there's different types of preservatives. There's natural alternatives." Um, and it was like, "Okay, cool. We just want it to be the most natural you can possibly get. Like, we want it to be as naturally derived as possible," and we wasn't gonna settle. And there was that and then there was the checklist of... the parent checklist of, you know, vegan, cruelty-free, you know, tear free, so if it goes in their eyes, it doesn't burn, alcohol-free, all of these... Sensitive skin, eczema. And then, you know, 'cause we took so long formulating it, Nahla was born and she had eczema, so that was like... You know, it needs to be suitable for eczema. It needs to not irritate eczema. It needs to, you know, be suitable for sensitive skin at least. We need all of these checklists. And then they was like, "Okay, that's great." And then we was like, "But we want it to be about £5, £5.50." And that's where it was like, "Okay, this is gonna be really kind of difficult to do." Because it's like, if you want such a great product, it's gonna cost a lot. And then it made me realize why there's... this doesn't exist maybe. Maybe. I still don't know. But why doesn't this ex-... And it was like, "We've got to really take a hit on the margins. But if we believe that we can make a great product and sell loads of units, then, you know, it's about the mass amount of sales rather than the niche market that can afford an expensive product." And-
- NANarrator
And di- d'you, you started this business with your ex-partner?
- KRKrept
Yes.
- NANarrator
At the time when you started this business, were you still together?
- KRKrept
Yes, we was.
- NANarrator
So you actually... You, you separated in the time formulating the business?
- KRKrept
Yeah, we did.
- NANarrator
Lot of people, I mean, o- obviously, you've been-
- KRKrept
For a lot of people, that would have been it.
- NANarrator
Yeah.
- KRKrept
You lot broken up. But, you know, I feel like one thing we definitely prioritize is putting our daughter first. And, you know, we feel like this is something that, if we get it right, it can be something we can pass down to our daughter or, or, you know, her to be proud of. You know, 'cause we... You know, when she's older-
- NANarrator
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
... we might not even be in the company still. I don't know what can... Anything can happen. We might not even be here or whatever.
- NANarrator
Well, do you know what the company's valued at?
- KRKrept
Our one?
- NANarrator
Mm-hmm.
- KRKrept
Yeah. At the moment, 17 and a half.
- NANarrator
17 and a half million?
- KRKrept
Yeah. Based on the orders that... Obviously, the amount of stores doing the orders. And that wasn't even including, like, D2C. It was just based on, you know, our orders from-... Boots and o- uh, the rate of sale that it was expected to hit, which we've absolutely smashed since launching. But, um, yeah, it, um... And the, the investment as well, so.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I mean, I've been seeing online, it's been selling like crazy and-
- KRKrept
Well, it's... Like, my team has put in a order o- like, uh, um, hundreds of thousands of bottles, yeah? Hundreds of thousands of bottles. Me being me, like, "Guys, this is a lot of bottles." Like, "This is a lot of bottles." Like, "Are we sure we are, need to buy this many bottles?" And my, my team, they're like, "Hey, look, trust me. We know what we're doing." And then we're, wha- a week and a half in and I've run out of bottles. And we've already put in (laughs) the order for the, the next, um, cycle of production already. And that was meant to last us three months, and we've done all of our bottles in a week and a half, I would say. Well, no, nearly two weeks. People literally can't find it. Going to the store, it's sold out, sold out.
- SBSteven Bartlett
I saw people selling it on eBay and stuff.
- KRKrept
It was cr- it was crazy. Like, people literally, people are still trying to get ahold of it. They're going into... I'll get messages every day, people typing, "I can't. It's not available. It's not available. It's not available." And we've just literally had to, you know... We sold out on our website. Our stock, gone. Like, everything was just selling out everywhere. It was like, it became like gold dust. People was like, "Oh my god, I finally, I managed to get one bottle. It was only a conditioner, but, you know, I, when you restock, I..." It w- it, it's crazy. And we just did not see this. We knew it was gonna ... It was like when... I knew it was gonna do, like, well, in terms of, like, I thought people would resonate with this because it's actually a really amazing product. But it's actually exceeded everyone's expectations and, you know. Now Boots is like, "Yo, we need a lot more stock." And it's like, how have we got to place another order already of making more stock to be available? And it's just like, at this rate, like this rate of sale, like, what we valued our thing was before, it's like, we definitely undervalued ourself here based on what's, what the, what's happening here. And, you know, now we've got to think, oh my god, we've actually got to think about the next phase of investment now, because, you know-
- SBSteven Bartlett
I'm gonna make you an offer.
Episode duration: 1:47:47
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