Burberry ousts its CEO and could you survive 378 days of team bonding?

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The UK's new chancellor Rachel Reeves said on taking office that she is seeking a “mandate for growth” and looking for ideas that can help new UK businesses to grow and flourish. At Business Leader, we want to inspire and support high-growth companies as well, and one way we do that is through our My CEO Secret video series.

This week we feature Matt Grech-Smith, co-founder of the company behind the Swingers urban crazy golf chain. The company started out in London but has expanded internationally, opening courses in New York and Washington.

It was a ‘meanwhile’ space that provided Grech-Smith with his business breakthrough. Such sites are usually available on a short-term lease at a discounted rate, perhaps because there is a vacancy that's hard to fill or the property will soon be redeveloped or demolished.

Grech-Smith and his business partner Jeremy Simmonds had an idea they called “competitive socialising”. They wanted to take the idea of mini golf, more often associated with trips to the seaside, and transplant it to an indoor, inner-city venue. They also wanted to serve people cocktails and street food while they putted their way around the neon-lit course – all highly Instagrammable and perfect for office nights out.

A pop-up, 7,000-foot warehouse in east London gave them the chance to test out the idea for five months in 2014. Even though the property was far from ideal, they were able to prove that the concept was popular with customers. In fact, the bookings website crashed due to the demand and the test site made a six-figure profit.