Last month, we were lucky enough to attend a presentation – hosted by the North East Entrepreneurs’ Forum – featuring the life and times of one of our most inspiring entrepreneurs – Willie Harcourt-Cooze, founder of ‘Willie’s Cacao’, the UK’s only small cacao grower and producer of artisan chocolate.
As the blizzards raged outside Wynyard Park House, Willie thoroughly entertained us with his stories of plantations in the cloud forest of Venezuela, his love of adventure and travel, his passion for pure cacao and the wonderfully generous and supportive people he seems to have a knack of bumping into just when everything looks as if its about to hit a wall.
And, as we heard about the trials and tribulations of his personal journey, what struck us was Willie’s sheer determination to succeed. “Sometimes the road less travelled is longer, harder and less certain but that is why it is exciting. You do not always end up somewhere you want to stay, but you learn so much getting there it is always worth the journey.”
That’s an important lesson for us all.
