Last Thursday we wrapped up our popular alternative business series in the chic, subterranean members' lounge at the Maddox Club in London, where 100 well-informed Esquire readers gathered to enjoy a few invigorating Monkey Shoulder cocktails while drawing on the experience and entrepreneurial savvy of Will King (smooth talking founder of King of Shaves).

Our third and final speaker (following Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing and advertising supremo Trevor Beattie), King opined with wit and wisdom on the relative merits of corporate bonds, the best way to challenge the complacence of monopolies, and why the lowest ebb of a recession is the best time to start a world-beating business. All in an evening's work...