Owning a vineyard and making your own wine; one of the more romantic capstone dreams. There are so many alluring elements, from the beautiful wine estate with green vine canopies stretching into the horizon, the connection with nature and the land.

Wingman has worked with some of the top Venture Capitalists, investors and entrepreneurs. For those looking at the Venture pillar as their Capstone, the process remains the same - the first step is awareness. We sat down with one UHNW client that outlined what they look for when they are considering venture investments..

Overall the city has cultivated high-value knowledge-based economy. MK is now second only to London in the UK for the number of startups relative to the city's population…Part of the Oxford Cambridge Arc and perfectly placed for tech, motorsport, spin outs, MBAs and UK HQs… Time for MK to thrive…

We spoke with Jeremy Williman the British Entrepreneur and former chief executive of Tensator, the world’s largest crowd control company. Jez scaled the Tensabarrier that is familiar to anyone queuing in any venue from airports to clubs to cinemas. ‘Dragonfly’ is Jez’s new Capstone project, the hyperscooter which brings luxury to the future of micro-mobility.

You’re committed to your Capstone. Next is building the right team to support you on your journey. You want a high-performance team given the importance of the project and what is at stake: time, money, reputational risk

It’s not every day you meet someone, and you casually ask them ‘who is your Wingman’ – and their response is… ‘The Dalai Lama’.​​​​​​​ Johan Ernst Nilson is a Swedish explorer who has completed more than 53 adventures in 160 countries. He is an 'environmental explorer', using his expeditions and adventures to highlight/campaign for climate-related issues and environmental awareness.

We spoke with Grant Ashton the founder and CEO of the iconic Mayfair private members’ club for wine lovers 67 Pall Mall. Within five years the club is already established as the haven for oenophiles in the heart of St James’s. The team regularly win Best Sommelier in London awards and, with over 26,000 bottles of wine from 42 countries and 1000 wines by-the-glass, the club is considered to have one of the best wine lists in the world.

Over the past 25 years as a marketing expert, Barnaby has advised and created over 550 brands/ rebrands - at all levels of company size and purpose from startups and SMEs to FTSE/NASAQ listed companies alongside NGOs. Many of the brands he helped launch have become household names

In conversation with our Wingman in Hong Kong. Ten insights that provide food for thought for brands and sports marketers. From the scale of China to Asian brands entering the global stage via plarforms such as the FIFA World Cup, rugby and skiing.

A partnerpreneur is a business owner who sets out from the start to partner with others to create new commercial opportunities, joint ventures and collaborative products and services”… As a partnerpreneur you maximise partnerships to drive your business. You’re an expert at this. The mindset and model can always be best summarised as “two heads are better than one”.

We spoke with Zsolt Lavotha, the Hungarian-born pharmaceuticals executive best-known for running numerous multibillion-dollar companies across four decades in healthcare. Zsolt returned back to day-to-day management as acting-CEO of Swedish Biomimetics 3000 (SB3000).

We outline the keys to progressing a meaningful career as a trusted advisor. It's tough at the top! This is the time to be more human, focus on deeper connections with people, reminding ourselves on how to build & sustain effective relationships and look for help and support... Be or find a Wingman! 

Austin is one of our favourite places to operate in. Forbes rated it number 1 in America's fastest growing cities. Its a potent mix of tech companies, HNWI that have an alternative and challenger mindset. A hot climate means work-life balance is important to those in the city.

One fine wine brand that has fully embraced a hybrid digital business model is the fine wine Private Member’s Club 67 Pall Mall. The Club, founded in St James’s London in 2015 by then-banker Grant Ashton, was originally designed to be the perfect physical place for wine aficionados, enthusiasts, makers, traders, writers, journalists and sommeliers to meet and share their passion for wine

We look at some of the food trends and predict / pontificate on the brands in F&B that will accelerate their growth (and others that will slow)...

By 2025 we won’t just watch F1, we’ll experience it, event participate in it. We’ll be the 21st car on the grid being able to race against the cars virtually. Fans will be able to watch via video streaming anywhere in the world at any time, including the full back catalogue of races all served up to you by your virtual personal assistant.

Capstones are projects or ventures outside of one’s main achievements, beyond profit and designed from personal passions. They are activities that a HNWI decides to take on, usually in their spare time, in order to gain some benefit to themselves. The project is outside their day to day successful business and is driven by motives other than pure profit.

The hypothesis after many years of working with, in and observing big companies is that many have toxic cultures. A lot of this also happens in small companies and upstarts... but our 20 reasons are definitely prevelant (in our humble opinion) in today's big businesses: 

Are you feeling like the working day goes in a flash, you have been too busy fighting fires to sit down and decide what needs to be done. Or actually get done what you set out to do?