How a uni student used the creator mindset to build Britain's fastest-growing food brand (TLAC Success Story #002)

Simmy Dhillon grew up watching his parents work hard jobs - his dad in a factory, his mum doing shifts at a supermarket.

From a young age, he had one clear goal: make enough money so they could retire.

By the time he reached sixth form, he was working three part-time jobs.

Then he became the first person in his family to go to university, heading off to study Economics at Bristol.

While feeling like a bit of an imposter at university, Simmy noticed something interesting.

His friends where spending £20 a day on bland, healthy lunches.

The kind of spending his parents - his dad in a factory, his mum working supermarket shifts - would never understand.

He had a simple thought: "I could make food that tastes twice as good, for less than half the price."

So he ran the idea past his friend Tyrone: "There's a lot of people who want to be healthy but don't have time to cook."

He'd call it Rice n Spice, sell nutritious meals to students for £5 a pot (he’d then deliver it to other students on a second-hand bike he bought off Gumtree).

Tyrone's reaction after the first taste test? "You know I would've told you if this was dead... but this is good STILL."

(that £10 worth of ingredients and one friend's honest feedback was the start of what would become a £10m business).

Fast forward to Summer 2018 (think World Cup + Heatwave) - Simmy was making £5,000 a month from his growing food business while working an internship at an investment bank.

While his colleagues were renting nice London flats, he was sleeping on an air mattress in a friend's kitchen, above a takeaway, in the summer heat.

He'd work at the bank during the day, study for exams in the evening, then squeeze in whatever sleep he could on that blow-up mattress in a noisy, sticky kitchen.

Why live like this when he could afford better?

Because every penny was going back into the business.

At the end of that summer, he realised investment banking wasn't for him.

Instead of following that path, he poured his life savings and internship money into fitting out their first commercial kitchen.

After graduating, he did land a job at Google - dream roles by most standards (the kind your parents tell their friends about at every opportunity).

But even though the lowest-paid people there were making £50,000 - more than both his parents' salaries combined - something didn't feel right.

Six months later, he left.

As he puts it: "If I stayed at Google and did the best work possible, I still wouldn't be anywhere near where I am now."

Today, the results speak for themselves:

• Over 1 million meals sold

• £10m+ in revenue

• 184% annual sales growth

• Ranked 11th in Sunday Times' fastest-growing companies

• 200,000 followers across social platforms

And the biggest win?

This year, Simmy finally achieved his childhood dream: his parents retired.

Now, Simmy's story has a lot more to it, I could go on for a lottt longer - but here are the key points from this journey (and what you can learn):

First, notice how he started small but thought big.

He didn't wait for perfect conditions or big funding - he started with £10 worth of ingredients and a second-hand bike.

Second, look at how he validated his idea.

He saw a real problem (expensive, bland healthy food), created a simple solution, and tested it with one honest friend before scaling.

But the most interesting part?

When success started coming - the £5k months, the Google job - he didn't change course.

He kept living like lean, reinvesting everything back into the business.

This is exactly what I mean when I talk about thinking like a creator.

Instead of hiding away until Simmer was "successful", Simmy shared everything.

Every milestone, every setback.

He turned their family story into the business's story.

"We're not a faceless company," he says.

"We're a real family who are passionate about food and wellbeing. We pour our heart and soul into our business and people resonate with that."

They kept things lean too.

In 2022, they had just 6 people in their remote team.

Today, after growing 20 times over, they only have 8.

Their philosophy? Do more with less.

This is what the creator mindset looks like in action.

Starting small, staying authentic, and bringing people along on the journey.

That's why Simmy's now my favourite person to follow on LinkedIn (77,000 others agree).

Check out a few of his top posts here:

1. In 2016, my first year of uni, I told my new friend Tyrone ‘I’ve got this idea’…

2. At 21, I was earning £5000 a month, but sleeping on a friend’s kitchen floor.

3. This is exactly why I made my team fully remote.

Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱

Jordan

P.S. Want to learn how to apply these principles to your business? That's exactly what we're exploring in Think Like A Creator. Click here to join us.

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