SIMON
WOODROFFE
Simon left school at the age of 16 and spent 30 years in the entertainment business. His production companies in London and Los Angeles designed and staged concerts for many artists during the 70’s and 80’s, including The Moody Blues, Madness, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, George Michael and the world’s most famous concert in history: Live Aid in 1985.
In the 90s, Simon went into television. He spearheaded the development of television deals to show huge international rock concerts worldwide, including Nelson Mandela concerts, shows for Amnesty International and the Prince's Trust concerts.
In 1997, Simon founded YO! Sushi, a conveyor belt sushi bar. The concept was to make eating a complete entertainment experience and featured call buttons, robot drinks trolleys and Japanese TV. The first restaurant opened on London's Poland Street and became an overnight phenomenon. Today it continues to expand both at home and abroad: 45 sites by the end of 2007 in the UK, France, Ireland and the Middle East and forecast turnover of £30m.
In 1999 Simon won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and became part of the CBI/BCC Ambassador of Entrepreneurism campaign. In 2001 he was awarded the accolade of Best Venue at the Retailer of the Year Awards. In recognition for his contribution to hospitality, Simon was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2006.
Simon was an original “Dragon” on the BBC 2 produced worldwide hit programme Dragons’ Den as one of the formidable panelists, who make and break the dreams of would-be entrepreneurs as they pitch their business ideas for financing. Simon has also featured on Discovery TV’s VIP Weekends with Ian Wright, ITV’s Homes & Property, ITV’s The Millionaire’s Club and Through the Keyhole with David Frost.
As a result of being asked to share the story of his entrepreneurial success, Simon has developed a strong reputation on the UK and international public speaking circuit. Simon speaks openly avoiding business cliché and audiences find his story extremely inspiring and a catalyst for their own endeavours, be they in a large corporate setting or working at a start-up level.
Underlying each speech runs “Simon’s story” - an inspirational tale of changing fortunes in several businesses and this clearly has a powerful effect on his audience, provoking comments such as “Simon blew me away. His presentation was absolutely FAB. The pace and content were both fascinating and fantastic. He spoke with such passion and honesty that I felt truly inspired.”
The YO! story continues to develop. YOTEL, the world’s most radical hotel opened at Gatwick Airport in Jul 2007 with Heathrow opening in Winter and Schipol early 2008. The public love YOTEL and press has been fantastic: “It's definitely a hip new way to kip” (Sunday Times)
Simon continues to develop new YO! brands including YO! Zone: part spa, part café, part bar and part nightclub; and YO! Home: which will provide a futuristic take on the traditional home.
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