Olly Bengough: Bar Owner to Media Mogul

Olly Bengough started his first business in his twenties when he opened a bar on the King’s Road in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood. From there he went on to set up venues which have become London institutions, including Infernos in Clapham and Koko in Camden. Along the way he started up the music festival Lovebox with members of Groove Armada.

But it was Olly’s love of foreign and independent film that led him to set up the foreign film and lifestyle TV channel Cinemoi. But how do you start a TV channel when you know nothing about the business and operations of TV? And then how do you launch it in the US, when it is virtually impossible for an outsider to do just that?

Olly’s entrepreneur story is an adrenalin-filled journey. He shares all the chaos, the hard work, the chance meetings with Martin Scorsese and his practical advice for anyone wanting to start their own business. And that advice applies equally to anyone looking to take a risk in their career more generally.