Brewdog boss lost £150,000 but found 'sweet' love with Georgia Toffolo after deal went sour

Investing in businesses is a difficult balance and sometimes investors might make back less than they put in. However, the boss of Brewdog and long-time investor James Watt lost £150,000 in one single deal and says it was the best loss of his life because it led to him meeting and getting engaged to TV star Georgia Toffolo.

James was introduced to the I'm A Celebrity winner by founder of doomed business Clean Kitchen, who set the pair up on a blind date in 2023. The couple hit it off and James said they have been "pretty much inseparable" ever since. The couple got engaged two weeks ago.

The Brewdog CEO shared his story on LinkedIn, detailing how he "lost £150,000 but gained a fiancé". James shared: "I have a portfolio of 20 amazing companies which I have invested in, ranging from Mous to Tallow + Ash and from DASH Water to MOTH Drinks - B Corp™."

He explained he "loves" investing in early stage companies, adding that it "inevitably means that some of them don’t quite make it". He added: "Without being comfortable with the real possibility that you might sometimes lose your money, it is hard to back the eventual winners.

"Back in 2020, I invested £150,000 into a business called Clean Kitchen. Unfortunately, the business did not quite make it, and I lost every single penny of my investment. This loss remains, the single largest sum that I have ever lost on a single investment.

"They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case one of the Clean Kitchen founders was good friends with Georgia Toffolo and asked if he could set us up on a blind date last year.

"Despite having no idea who Georgia was, I agreed. She bumbled into my apartment like a little ray of sunshine and we have been pretty much inseparable ever since. Only two weeks ago we got engaged.

"Thus making my investment in Clean Kitchen has been simultaneously the worst £150,000 I have ever spent and, hands down, the best £150,000 I have ever spent. Sometimes, the real return on investment is the one you’d never predict.

"And I am pretty sure that planning a life with with Georgia is a far safer bet than investing in start ups."

Toff herself commented: "Oh this is very sweet I love you LOADS!"