Simmy Dhillon, the founder of £50m-revenue food business Simmer, is looking on the bright side despite breaking his leg.
The entrepreneur came up with the idea for Simmer while at university after noticing how students were living off poor-quality ready meals.
He started with just £10 worth of ingredients in his university kitchen and has since bootstrapped the business to more than £50m in revenue.
Dhillon, who was included in BusinessCloud’s Founder 250 list, broke his leg last week playing football and won’t be able to walk for two months – but he’s refusing to let the setback get him down.
“There’s no point wasting energy wishing it hadn’t happened,” he said.
“My leg is broken – that’s out of my control. So I’ll control the controllables. The leg will heal. Work will carry on.
“And despite the fact my leg is currently snapped in half, I still have an incredible life, which I’m very grateful for. I’m even more grateful for the people in it myself back to full strength whilst running my business.”
His broken leg didn’t stop him attending The Sunday Times 100 Awards at the British Museum, where Simmer was recognised after securing fifth place in the rankings.
Arriving on crutches, he said: “Not even a broken leg could stop us. Not quite how I imagined turning up this year.
“Always such a privilege to be in a room full of people building brilliant businesses – the companies on the list contributed a whopping £4bn to the UK economy last year.”
Dhillon convinced his brother Jhai, a former professional footballer and certified nutritionist, and his mother, who taught him how to cook, to join the business.