YO! Sushi Founder Simon Woodroffe: Prison, Rock ’N’ Roll, Starting At 45 & Building One Of Britain’s Most Iconic Brands

YO! Sushi Founder Simon Woodroffe: Prison, Rock ’N’ Roll, Starting At 45 & Building One Of Britain’s Most Iconic Brands

July 1, 2026 · 1h 21m · Episode 15

About this episode

Simon Woodroffe shares his extraordinary journey from rebellion and prison to founding YO! Sushi and building a recognizable brand in Britain.

Can rebellion, enthusiasm and one strange idea change your entire life? Simon Woodroffe, founder of YO! Sushi, YOTEL and the wider YO! brand, shares the extraordinary journey from boarding school, rebellion, prison, rock and roll stage design and TV rights to launching YO! Sushi at 45 and building one of Britain’s most recognisable modern brands. Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial Want more from Building The Brand - connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter Get Simon’s book YO! Man: https://yo.co.uk/yoman/ ▪️Why Simon believes enthusiasm is the trait behind his success ▪️Why rebellion can become entrepreneurial fuel ▪️Going to prison and how it changed Simon’s life ▪️How Simon became a rock and roll stage designer ▪️Working around Rod Stewart, Queen, ABBA, Jethro Tull and major live shows ▪️Spotting the opportunity in music TV rights before the market existed ▪️Why the best founders can be early to a market without being reckless ▪️How a lunch meeting sparked the idea for YO! Sushi ▪️Why conveyor belt sushi, robots and Japanese culture felt like the future ▪️Launching YO! Sushi at 45 with his own money on the line ▪️How word of…

People in this episode

Host: James Burtt

Guest: Simon Woodroffe

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: YO! Sushi, YOTEL, YO! brand

Books & works: YO! Man

Places: Britain

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