EP 365 - We get quite Zen this week, talking to Energy Management specialist Simon Alexander Ong, not about heat pumps, solar panels or the national grid, but about how optimising your own energy levels are the key to personal and professional success. Simon talks to us about how energy management not time management is the key to personal productivity. Why laying out and sticking to a system for living is far more important than setting out individual goals, and the benefits of problem solving ...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 12Ep. 365
EP 363 - Turns out that leadership is always the problem, luckily it’s also the solution. We sit down with business turnaround specialist, author and reluctant influencer Chris Hirst to find out why and how to fix it (turns out that leadership is always the solution as well). Leadership transforms business for good and bad, Chris talks us through why the smallest unit of any business is a team, and that all teams have leaders. We also discuss ‘culture’ and why most leaders think about it the wro...
Jan 15, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 12Ep. 363
EP 362 - Richard has a wide career from running and building the family business, to acting as a chairman of a FTSE quoted company, to being an entrepreneur in Wine, Music, Cosmetics, Food Manufacturing, Hedge Funds, and more. To all of these activities he has applied a deeply independent mindset, this entrepreneurial independence is what has grown Oury Clark from a tiny firm in Slough to a unique Top 50 professional firm in the UK. We recorded this episode sometime back, and it was the final ti...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 57 min•Season 12Ep. 362
EP 361 - This is an absolute cracker from the archive for you this Christmas, one that will help you see the world around you through other people’s eyes. We meet adaptive and universal fashion pioneer Victoria Jenkins (don’t worry, she explains the difference between the two). We talk about how successive governments have created a truly hostile environment for disabled people. Why 2023’s “Ask Don’t Assume” campaign was, frankly, a right pain in the “ask”. And the problem that Victoria has with...
Dec 18, 2024•56 min•Season 12Ep. 361
EP 360 - Don’t knock teachers unless you’ve tried to do it yourself! Why politicians should find the money to fund education for all and stop using teachers as a political punchbag, especially if they have never set foot in a state school classroom. Our archive special this week is Mehreen Baig, author, documentarian and former secondary school teacher who makes a compelling case that failure to invest in young people in general and education in particular is storing up problems for society in y...
Dec 11, 2024•55 min•Season 12Ep. 360
EP 359 - We love opinions and James has plenty. After spending a couple of episodes looking at the global picture we get down to UK business brass tacks with Partyman CEO James Sinclair. James is full of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, business owners and anyone at the sharp end of leading a company in the UK. We talk about the importance of dreaming big, the value of vertical integration and how staying on top of your P&L and cash flow is the most important thing that any business owner ...
Dec 04, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 12Ep. 359
EP 358 - We revisit our first chat with Steve Keen - author, friend of the podcast and the first economist to warn of the 2008 financial crash. Appropriately, given the COP29 was all about the money, we chat about how economists have totally trivialised the dangers of the climate crisis, and what that might mean for humanity. We also discuss why trade unions are a good thing for the economy and why corporate behaviour in the UK would be better if we followed Germany’s model. Spotify Video Chapte...
Nov 27, 2024•50 min•Season 12Ep. 358
EP 357 - As COP 29 draws to a close in sunny, oil rich Azerbaijan we revisit our spirited conversation with political economist Grace Blakeley. We talk about Green New Deals and why we need to restore faith in democracy above all else. Grace makes a compelling point that dealing with Climate Change shouldn’t be put on the shoulders of individuals but those of institutions and businesses, as only they can affect the systemic changes required. We discuss how investing money in fixing problems now ...
Nov 20, 2024•53 min•Season 12Ep. 357
EP 356 - We are doing some hefty metaphorical redecorating at BWB at the moment (remodelling for our American friends). That means that we will be using the next few weeks to look back into our catalogue and republish some choice episodes. Conversations that we think are as relevant today as they were when they were first released. First up Martin Wolf CBE - Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the FT. We kicked off 2023 talking to Martin about the state of the Nation and his thin...
Nov 13, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Season 12Ep. 356
EP 355 - Sky and NBC ring announcer known as Big Mo is in the quiz seat for the B.O.B quiz showdown - personal trainers, corporate gifting, universal basic income and the significance of Super Bowl ads all make the draw for Kody's views - are they Business or Bullshit? Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Kody Mommaerts 00:43 Personal Trainers: Business or BS? 02:20 Corporate Gifting: Sincere or Fake? 03:44 Business Accelerators and Incubators 04:17 Right Wing Politics and Universal Basic I...
Nov 08, 2024•15 min•Season 12Ep. 355
EP 354 - This week we catch up with broadcaster, entertainer and tech entrepreneur Kody ‘Big Mo’ Mommaerts. Kody combines being “Big Mo” the ring announcer for Boxxer on Sky and NBC with being the COO of SaaS scale up Sports Thread . We chat about why the most important skills for any role are really hard to put in the job description, why being distinctive, putting time and effort into standing out is as important in business as it is in entertainment and why the rapid rate of change in both co...
Nov 06, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 12Ep. 354
EP 353 - Financial literacy expert Andrew Craig jumps in the seat to take on Andy's quiz card debate. They also delve into Universal Basic Income, the future of digital nomads, the relevance of ESG investing, the role of lawyers in business, and the potential of decentralised autonomous organisations. Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Andrew Craig 00:30 Personal Trainers and ChatGPT 01:17 Corporate Social Responsibility 03:27 Venture Capital and Incubators 05:14 Universal Basic Income 08...
Nov 01, 2024•18 min•Season 12Ep. 353
EP 352 - In a very timely episode, with our politicians talking about growth, budgets and black holes, we talk to author, investor and founder of Plain English Finance Andrew Craig about: > How Britain has shot itself in the foot through a series of dreadful regulations. > Why the awful state of the British economy is a function of the parlous state of the British stock market. > How improving overall financial literacy could help that. We don’t actually talk about black holes, but we s...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 12Ep. 352
EP 351 - Copyright lawyer Julius Stubbs jumps in the quiz seat to give Andy's business quiz cards a piece of his mind - office nap pods, Brexit, universal basic income and kangaroo insurance all make the shortlist (Julius's AUS story will have you in tears!) Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit Julius Stubbs 01:10 Team Building Exercises: Business or BS? 01:58 LinkedIn? 02:22 The Insurance Rant 04:12 Universal Basic Income? 06:28 In-Office Fitness Classes. Who's in? 06:44 Diversity Quotas Debate...
Oct 25, 2024•16 min•Season 12Ep. 351
EP 350 - The founder of I Am Stobbs, a specialist trademark and brand attorney firm, talks us through why even the youngest businesses should be thinking about their IP, but should spend the bare minimum on protecting it until they really need to. And when the point that they really need to protect it is likely to be. We also get into why AI is the biggest challenge facing IP, trademark and copyright law right now and why graphic designers and photographers might want to think about getting a di...
Oct 23, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 12Ep. 350
EP 349 - Female Angel Investor Sarah Turner jumps in the quiz seat this week to take on Andy's list of business conundrums - business attire, pitch decks, conferences and offshore tax havens all make the shortlist! Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Sarah Turner 00:43 Conferences: Business or Bullshit? 01:06 Offshore Tax Havens Debate 02:41 Flying Business Class: Worth It? 03:31 Unlimited Holidays? 04:23 Charities: Business or Goodwill? 05:14 The Strangeness of Wealth 05:30 The Apologetic...
Oct 18, 2024•10 min•Season 12Ep. 349
EP 348 - Just 3% of angel investments in Europe went to all female founding teams last year. Last time we checked, half the population was female (women also own 50% of the wealth in the UK!). Sarah Turner, CEO and cofounder of investment network Angel Acadame, gives us an education about how we can redress the balance and get rid of the Silicon Valley style macho bullshit.. We talk about how the Government fundamentally misunderstands the value of entrepreneurs, why nobody, left or right, is re...
Oct 16, 2024•59 min•Season 12Ep. 348
EP 347 - Med Tech expert Michael Branagan-Harris jumps in the quiz seat alongside Andy to plough through Andy's list of business terms .. or are they? Brexit, corporation tax, Bitcoin, unlimited holidays and drinking at lunch all make the shortlist! Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Michael Branagan-Harris 00:42 Royal Warrants and Brexit 01:25 Brexit's Impact on Business 02:35 The Future of UK Healthcare 06:41 Bitcoin, Drinking at Lunch and Unlimited Holidays 07:42 Challenges in the MedT...
Oct 11, 2024•13 min•Season 12Ep. 347
EP 346 - We chat with the founder & CEO of Device Access - who help MedTech companies gain market access and regulatory approval - about how over regulation can stifle innovation and lead to an adverse impact on patient care and outcomes. Michael Branigan tells us about: Why US companies aren’t interested infringing their devices to the UK anymore (hint it’s cos we are tiny) Why regulation is stifling innovation, and how that is bad for all of us, but particularly the NHS He also mentions Br...
Oct 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 12Ep. 346
EP 345 - Shazam co-founder Dhiraj Mukherjee jumps in this week's quiz seat playing judge and jury to Andy's random list of business topics - investment TV shows, work-life balance and climate change activism all make the shortlist! Are they business or bullshit? Pull up a chair, press play and find out. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to the Game 00:29 Investment TV Shows: Business or Bullshit? 02:19 The Early Bird Catches the Worm 03:11 Share Options: Motivating Employees 04:24 Work-Life Balance i...
Oct 04, 2024•23 min•Season 12Ep. 345
EP 344 - We catch up with Dhiraj Mukherjee, the man who successfully steered Shazam to a $400m sale to Apple, to talk impact investing, augmenting our behaviour with AI tools and why, given the rate of technological change, being taught how to learn is more important than being told what to learn. Dhiraj also takes Andy’s impromptu music quiz, we think he did OK, he thinks his son will be disappointed. Chapters: 00:00 BWB with Dhiraj Mukherjee 01:09 Meet Dheeraj 01:42 Impact Investing and Tech f...
Oct 02, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Season 12Ep. 344
EP 343 - Oil markets expert and CEO of Onyx Capital Group, Greg Newman is in the the quiz seat to discuss and debate various business terms: office spaces in the metaverse, Xmas bonuses, flying for meetings, drinking at work and offshore tax havens are all on the table. "Business or Bullshit?" is the question! Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Greg Newman 00:37 Office Spaces in the Metaverse: Yay or Nay? 00:58 Xmas Bonuses 02:12 Who Still Flies for One Meeting? 02:43 The Reluctance to Us...
Sep 26, 2024•13 min•Season 11Ep. 343
EP 342 - Oil. love it, hate it or just want to use less of it? Like it or not you can’t avoid it. We chat to Greg Newman, CEO of Onyx Capital Group, who helps us to unpick our planet’s tricky relationship with black gold. We talk democratising derivatives, tricky transitions and how increased transparency can help to build a fairer energy future. We also graciously allow Greg to plug his book 'World of Oil Derivatives' (OK, it’s a good book, you should read it) Chapters: 00:00 BWB with Greg Newm...
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 11Ep. 342
EP 341 - The Apprentice former contestant and Forbes '30 under 30' honouree entrepreneur Bianca Miller Cole jumps in the quiz seat discussing Andy's list of terms and concepts - founder's egos, mandatory lunch breaks, unlimited holidays, and family dynasties are all up for debate! Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Bianca Miller-Cole 00:33 Debating Founders' Egos 01:03 The Role of Money in Business 02:15 Mandatory Hour-Long Lunch Breaks 03:23 Unlimited Holidays: Pros and Cons 04:43 Equal ...
Sep 19, 2024•13 min•Season 11Ep. 341
EP 340 - Bianca talks about how she went from ‘first loser’ on The Apprentice to being an award winning entrepreneur featured on Forbes 30 under 30. We chat about society’s attitudes to failure and gender, how this impacts people professionally and why personal branding helps to improve your confidence in the workplace. Bianca also talks about balancing career and motherhood, and how family and personal connections are important for both. Andy also forgets the American word for braces. Chapters:...
Sep 18, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 11Ep. 340
EP 339 - Notorious Australian comedy act Wankernomics aka Charles Firth and James Schloeffel jump in the quiz seats this week vetting Andy's business terms as either business or bullshit: flying business class, spending time with kids versus building a business, offshore tax havens, and more is paddled on the table. Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Wankernomics 00:34 Face-to-Face Meetings: Business or Bullshit? 02:30 Flying Business Class: Worth It? 03:45 Conferences: Business or Bullsh...
Sep 12, 2024•10 min•Season 11Ep. 339
EP 338 - Charles Firth and James Schloeffel otherwise known as Wankernomics are an Australian comedy act famed for their (piss)take on today’s absurdities of workplace culture, capitalism, and the corporate world. Our unfiltered chat exposes the concealed incompetence behind business jargon and workplace language. We discuss generational and cultural differences in communication, the role of humour in office dynamics, and insights from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We talk about how to navigate...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Season 11Ep. 338
EP 337 - Former CEO of Porsche, BMW and Lamborghini, Kevin Gaskell jumps in the quiz seat to discuss and debate various business practices - from TikTok to corporate gifting, from metaverse offices to B Corp certifications, Kevin shares his wise and candid views. NDAs, alternative investment markets, and physical meetings vs. virtual ones also make the shortlist. Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Kevin Gaskell 00:37 TikTok: Business or Bullshit? 01:07 Corporate Gifting: Building Relation...
Sep 05, 2024•12 min•Season 11Ep. 337
EP 336 - Kevin was CEO of Porsche, Lamborghini and BMW in the UK who led the companies to hugely successful turnarounds and business growth. He remains actively involved in numerous companies worldwide, as both a founder investor and chairman, currently including the UK’s fastest-growing fibre network provider. To date, Kevin and his teams have created over £4 billion in shareholder value, making him one of the UK’s Top 40 leaders. We discuss Kevin's remarkable journey, both personal and profess...
Sep 04, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Season 11Ep. 336
EP 335 - Generative AI educator and author David Birss takes the business or bullshit quiz offering his insights on various topics. From client lunches to golden parachutes and tax systems, David shares his candid views and has a very strong message for all TikTokers! Chapters: 00:00 Business or Bullshit with Dave Birss 00:46 Silicon Roundabout and Client Lunches 02:56 R&D Tax Credits and Fraud 05:05 Dress for Success? 07:33 Golden Parachutes and Employment Law 12:30 Trickle Down Economics a...
Aug 29, 2024•22 min•Season 11Ep. 335
