Sally Wynter

Wynter grew up on free school meals and said she had no positive role models in work or business. After graduating at 22, she freelanced at a small production company, where she first encountered people making money in unconventional ways; this sparked ideas for businesses, and she began attending networking events for would-be founders. She freelanced for ITN and worked as a film producer for a media production company.⁠[1][1][1][1][2]

In late 2018, Wynter noticed CBD taking off online but saw that potential customers were put off by the stigma around cannabis and the bitter taste of CBD oils; having made her own drink mixes at home since her second year at university, she decided to combine CBD with gin, a drink Britons already loved, so that consumers could try CBD for the first time in a relaxed way. In September 2019 she launched MUHU on a budget of about £1,000 and went full time with the business. The gin is made with hibiscus and infused with CBD, and the brand takes its name from a beach shack on the west coast of Thailand that she visited while travelling in Asia.⁠[1][1][2][2][2][3][3]

During development, the first distillation trials produced cloudy liquid; she and the distillery experimented with different forms of CBD extract until they found a method that produced a clear spirit. She taught herself subjects such as trademark law and spent money only where necessary, such as trademark applications and a website domain; instead of paying for advertising, she found press release templates online, pitched journalists for coverage, and used pre-orders to fund the first production run.⁠[2][2][1][2][1]

After MUHU’s online sales quadrupled following its first funding round, Wynter received an offer to buy the brand; she agreed an offer just five months after launch, and in late 2020 MUHU was acquired by the US private equity firm Next Frontier Brands for an undisclosed seven-figure sum. Next Frontier’s portfolio also includes Snow Leopard Vodka and Bottomley Distillers. She said press coverage even attracted the company that eventually acquired her. After the sale she worked with the acquirer for a time, and only confirmed the sale publicly on LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry in May 2022.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][2][2][3]

By May 2022, Wynter was advising business owners on strategy, marketing, and bootstrapping and had invested in the dating club Thursday and the tea-based canned drink IKO. She said people claim you need more than £50,000 to launch a start-up, but with the right advice that is not true.⁠[3][3]

In early 2023, Wynter launched PaperRound, a journalist-led training course teaching small business owners to manage their own PR rather than relying on expensive agencies; she also coached founders one-to-one on topics from go-to-market strategy to raising capital. She said she wanted to help underrepresented founders, including those from working-class backgrounds, get equal opportunities.⁠[4][4][1]

On July 28, 2025, The Venture RoomThe Venture RoomThe Venture Room is a UK entrepreneurial media brand centered on the YouTube channel @theventureroom. Through long-form interviews with founders and street interviews such as “Asking Millionaires How They Got Rich?”, it presents entrepreneurs’ stories and advice to aspiring business owners, and runs an entrepreneur community and brand partnerships.Open the full entry released a street-interview video filmed on Bond Street, London, in which Wynter was one of the interviewees. She said on the program that she currently runs a careers platform helping young people get into well-paying careers, and that her previous drinks company sold for seven figures: within a month of launch she received her first acquisition offer, which she turned down, then raised a first round from angel investors before the acquisition. She said she was earning about £10 an hour when she started, had almost no funds, kept things lean, and taught herself everything from trademark law to logistics and customer service.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][5]

On choosing an industry: “Pick an industry where there’s already demand. Trying to create demand or teach people about something entirely new is a massive uphill struggle, or you’ll need a lot of money. Go for something that’s already a trend — I layered the gin trend and the CBD trend for double effect — and pre-sell before you make the product.” (at 12:45 in the video)⁠[5][5]

On going from idea to launch: “Number one, talk to people in the industry. Message people on LinkedIn and ask for coffees and calls; be humble, say you don’t know anything about the industry but you’re ambitious and hardworking, and ask to borrow ten minutes to ask specific questions.” (at 13:17 in the video)⁠[5][5][5][5]

On luck: “Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. You have to put yourself out there to receive the opportunities people see as luck. If something feels uncomfortable, that’s a sign you probably need to do it; ambition without action is anxiety.” (at 13:38 in the video)⁠[5][5][5]

On your environment: “The biggest thing the rich have is the confidence of having seen it done. Put yourself in rooms with people smarter and more successful than you; seeing it done makes it possible in your mind.” (at 11:45 in the video)⁠[5][5]

LinkedIn: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-wynter/ (opens in a new window)⁠[4]