“The strength of wolves lies in their pack,” says Alistair Hargreaves, CEO of Wolfpack Lager, a west London-based craft brewery.
He is referring to the culture of teamwork that permeates the company he co-founded with former Saracens rugby club team-mate Chris Wiles in 2014.
“What I wanted to bring from Saracens to the Wolfpack is that spirit of unity, that camaraderie. We can do better with that,” added former USA winger Wiles.
They believe that cohesive teams perform better and have made it a priority to instill this ethos in the company through flat management structures, openness about financial targets with staff, and great meet-and-greets.
“We offer our staff opportunities beyond the business and the bar,” says Hargreaves, a tall South African who stands 6ft 7in.
The Wolfpack Bar is three separate pubs, each with its own unique vibe
Emma Pharaoh
Recently, Hargreaves and Wiles appeared at the Sport of Business event hosted by the Evening Standard and American Express on 12 June, where they discussed how sporting spirit can influence and enhance business skills, and now they are both sharing further insights from their entrepreneurial journeys.
In a wide-ranging interview, Hargreaves and Wiles revealed how they have incorporated the values they learned from rugby into the Wolfpack organisation. Reflecting on their time in rugby, they drew parallels between the challenges faced in sport and those encountered in business, highlighting resilience as a key skill they have learnt from their athletic careers.
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Learn from your mistakes as you grow
Connecticut-born Chris Wiles also played for Saracens.
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“High-level sports requires an element of toughness,” Wiles says. “You have to deal with failure quickly and bounce back. You're winning one minute and losing the next. It's the same in business: there are a lot of ups and downs.”
Their journey with Wolfpack hasn't been without difficulties — the co-founders admit they made some initial mistakes — but they learned valuable lessons from these experiences.
“In the first year, the main source of income for the business was the Wolfpack bus which was parked at Saracens' stadium on match days. What we didn't realise was the off-season when there were no games but we still had costs involved,” Wiles admits.
Continuously adapting to challenges and learning from both successes and failures has helped me grow as an entrepreneur.
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The transition from professional sports to entrepreneurship comes with unique challenges: Hargreaves and Wiles have had to leave behind dressing room camaraderie, adapt to new environments and carve out a place for themselves in the entrepreneurial world.
They stress the importance of determination in overcoming these challenges and succeeding in new fields. “It leaves a big hole,” says Hargreaves, who captained Saracens until his retirement in 2016. “It's about figuring out where you fit in the world. The lesson is to acknowledge it's difficult but to bounce back rather than feeling sorry for yourself.”
South African Alistair Hargreaves played for Saracens for four years.
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They have used their personal stories and experiences to connect with consumers and differentiate themselves in a competitive beverage market.
But they know the Wolfpack brand needs to move beyond its identity as former rugby players and establish its own unique value based on product quality and customer experience.
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The pair founded the Wolfpack after retiring from rugby.
Emma Pharaoh
“The strength of any brand is that it lives on beyond its founder. Our founders gave us a head start. It's a great origin story. But now we need to translate that into real value,” Hargreaves added.
Going forward, the focus is on expanding the business by opening more pubs and selling more beer to a wider range of customers.
Hargreaves says: “The business is thriving and has a strong brand and purpose at its heart. We have three pubs in Fulham, West Hampstead and Queen's Park and our aim is to grow to 15. Put simply, we want to sell more beer to more people.”
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