A young London businessman is experiencing a remarkable turnaround, securing significant investment for his juice company just months after surviving a near-fatal shooting.
From Trauma to Triumph
Alie Sesay, aged 21 from Camberwell, was delivering his Elixir Punch products to a customer in Brixton Hill on 8 September last year when he was caught in a crossfire. A gunman fired approximately five times into the car park where he was sitting. The incident resulted in the death of 27-year-old Kyrone Moodie.
Doctors initially feared Alie had sustained serious organ damage from the bullet wound to his stomach. Remarkably, he was discharged from hospital within five days, with medical staff describing his survival as a 'miracle' given the bullet missed his major organs and arteries.
During his recovery, Alie was guarded by five armed police officers for his protection, as authorities were uncertain if he was involved with gangs and feared a further attack. He has since stated he forgives the shooter, believing the shots 'weren't intended' for him and that he was simply 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'.
Securing Major Investment
Just four months after the traumatic event, Alie's fortunes changed dramatically. He secured a substantial private investment after a video of him meeting social media entrepreneur Simon Squib at a Central London event went viral, amassing over one million views.
This investment has enabled him to produce a staggering 20,000 bottles of his Elixir Punch. Combined with the £5,000 he won as the Greenwich Entrepreneur Of The Year earlier in the year, this capital injection marks a pivotal moment for the business he started at just 14 years old.
'It has allowed my business to go from a start-up to a FMCG (fast-moving consumer good) brand,' Alie explained. His plans now include dominating the South East London market and expanding into other parts of the capital.
Looking to the Future
Alie describes the rapid shift from crime victim to receiving major investment as 'surreal'. 'You wouldn't expect your life to turn around from such a traumatic event,' he said. 'But ever since it happened, I continued to push through and continued to be consistent because I knew it wasn't my time to go, and my main focus is the business.'
The success is also a relief for his family, who have supported him tirelessly. 'My family are absolutely ecstatic because they've been the integral part of my business. They've helped me produce the drinks before I got to this level,' Alie said. Their weekly help on Saturdays can now ease as the business scales up.
To support himself while building the company, Alie has worked as a Teaching Assistant in SEN schools in Camberwell. He now hopes to pay himself a proper wage from the business by year's end.
His message to others facing adversity is one of perseverance: 'Don't feel waivered because in life there will always be a dip in the mountain, you can't climb a mountain that's smooth. You never know what's at the end of the tunnel.'
