Jon Gadget on The Gadget Shop, Red5 and Starting Over on YouTube | The Pacecast

"What you can conceive and believe, you can achieve." In this episode of The Pacecast, Anita is joined by Jon Elvidge, otherwise known as Jon Gadget, the entrepreneur behind two of the UK's best-loved gadget retailers, The Gadget Shop and Red5. Jon shares the extraordinary story of how a phone call made on a whim led to him remortgaging his house, getting fired from his job, and opening the UK's first Gadget Shop in Hull's Princess Quay in 1991. He talks about scaling the brand to 50 stores nationwide, the collapse of a planned stock market float during the dot-com crash and a bruising High Court battle that followed. Jon also reflects on ventures that didn't work out, including wearable tech company MoodBeam and how a video of his new Land Rover Defender, filmed on his phone during lockdown, sparked an unexpected new chapter as a full-time YouTuber with a quarter of a million subscribers.Whether you're an entrepreneur, retailer, content creator or just love a story of resilience and reinvention, this episode is for you. Chapters 1:13 – Introducing John Elvidge and The Gadget Shop6:01 – Electrifying his bike and winning Young Engineer for Britain13:14 – Moving into sales and finding a natural talent for it15:13 – The idea for The Gadget Shop takes shape25:17 – Signing a 25-year lease31:26 – Opening day of The Gadget Shop35:13 – Rapid expansion to 50 stores nationwide41:42 – The failed stock market float and dot-com crash54:45 – Starting again: launching Red 51:04:53 – Selling Red5 to Menkind1:08:11 – MoodBeam, Monocle Madness and other new ventures1:12:34 – Reinventing himself as Jon Gadget on YouTube1:28:34 – Career highs and the biggest lesson learned1:33:56 – Life's big questions: purpose and legacy🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with business leaders, entrepreneurs and change-makers from Hull, Yorkshire and beyond.#ThePacecast #GadgetShop #Red5 #Entrepreneurship #Retail #YouTuber #BusinessPodcast #Leadership #Hull #YorkshireBusiness #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneur #HullBusiness #UKBusiness #PaceCommunications