How Do You Create a Market Where None Exists? Daniel Summerland on 5am start-up calls, bootstrapping, and why "every setback is just a detour"

When Daniel Summerland and his brother realised no one in the UK had made Wagyu beef tallow sprayable, they didn't just see a gap in the market - they saw a chance to create something lasting."I wanted to build something that would outlast me - a business that could look after my family and my parents, and create a legacy with my brother. When we realised nobody in the UK had made Wagyu beef tallow, which is normally solid at room temperature, sprayable and convenient, we knew we had something genuinely innovative. That became Gourmet Tallow. We were inspired by the risk-takers before us, but also by the opportunity to blaze our own trail with a product our market had never seen."

Turning that idea into reality, though, meant doing just about everything the hard way."Imagine running a 4x100 relay with only two people - you hand the baton over, then have to sprint ahead just to be there to take it back. Recently, my brother and I were building the business while juggling different time zones, with calls at 5am UK time or 11pm in Australia when Jamie was there on a business trip. But the real test was the product itself. Making a sprayable Wagyu beef tallow was far from simple and it took us a full year of trial and error just to produce a working prototype. The only way through was constant problem-solving and a shared obsession for progress. The grind has tested us, but it also proved we could handle pretty much anything. And when you're doing something you enjoy, the hard times feel worth it."

Instead of chasing investors or outside backing, the brothers built from the ground up - slowly, and with care."We bootstrapped it. Every penny came from our own savings. That forced us to be resourceful by cutting upfront costs, structuring lean, and building partnerships where our suppliers and collaborators shared both the risks and rewards with us. In many ways, that discipline shaped Gourmet Tallow into what it is today: resilient, creative, and built on collaboration."

The key, says Summerland, has been building resilience - and being willing to rework the plan as many times as it takes."Starting a business is the hardest thing we've ever done - though me having kids probably takes the top spot. The only way through has been developing a problem-solving mindset: whatever the setback, we immediately focus on how to solve it or move forward. You quickly build a tenacity that makes nothing feel impossible. Supplier pulls out? Then we find another one overseas, or even figure out how to manufacture ourselves. Every setback is just a detour, and almost every time you realise later it was the route you were meant to take all along."

He's quick to point out that success doesn't come from shortcuts - and that building connections is just as important as building a product. "Carve out time every week or every day to build your network. They will shine a light on where you are heading and which direction to take. The more light you have, the clearer and faster the journey on your path becomes."

So what are his rules for making it through?

1) Nothing worth having comes easy. Deliberately seek out the harder or more uncomfortable path.
2) Never stop. Most people give up just before the breakthrough.
3) Coffee. Lots of coffee."