Say hello to Mark and Gyve. They founded Suri, the world’s sleekest electric toothbrush, equal parts stylish as it is sustainable. Founded in 2021, they decided to re-engineer the toothbrush from the head down, when they learned that over 4 billion toothbrushes are chucked away globally each year. That’s a lot of plastic, enough to stretch around the circumference of the globe, end to end, 17 times. Turns out it’s harder than they thought. So what’s their thesis on getting people to ditch other ...
Jul 13, 2023•39 min
Say hi to Gabriel Bean. Him and his business partner Bryn Ferris, launched Grounded in 2020 and are the most natural plant-based protein drink out there. Listed in the likes of Whole Foods, Selfridges and Planet Organic - they are on a mission to make the cleanest protein shakes on the planet, using only real ingredients straight from the ground. Turns out it’s harder than you think. Thing is, when you start a brand your ideals quickly have to face up to business realities. ‘I want my [insert un...
Jul 04, 2023•39 min
Introducing Tom Finn & Kristoffer Sølling. They’re the founders and directors of Regular Practice - one of my favourite up & coming branding agencies and one of It’s Nice That’s One’s To Watch . Based of Broadway Market in London’s Hackney. Despite working with big businesses like Fred Perry, Tom Dixon, Acne Studios and Tom’s - their specialism comes from variety - working across multiple categories and life stages. From fashion and art, to F&B, hospitality, tech and beauty - using t...
Jun 20, 2023•36 min
Welcome Jack Chaplin. He founded Padel Shift, a builder and operator of Padel tennis sites around the UK. They currently have 2 sites with several more on the way. Their remit: to get more people playing the game that’s taking the world by storm. So what is Padel and why is it the fastest growing sport in Europe? Padel is a squash-tennis hybrid racket sport, which is almost always played as doubles on an enclosed court surrounded by glass and metallic mesh walls. The beauty lies in both its rule...
May 12, 2023•30 min
Say hi to Nico Willson on the show today. He co-founded Futsol. A lifestyle destination for football lovers. They sell sophisticated football apparel for on and off the pitch. Despite football being the most universal sports in the world. A sport where no matter where you are you can drop a ball and have a kickabout with someone - no matter your background, race, language or gender. But it’s a game that’s lost some of its charm - embroiled in over-commercialisation and at times, corruption. From...
Apr 26, 2023•31 min
Welcoming Ally Fekaiki on the show today. He’s the founder of the world’s largest employee wellness platform - Juno. A global platform that gives employees flexible access to meaningful benefits all in one place. Table football, subsidised cafes, monthly pizza. The reality is that workplace perks are anything but. On the whole they are top down initiatives, a percentage of revenue, a line marked ‘culture’ on the company P&L spreadsheet. Sweeping generalisations that neither employee or CFO p...
Mar 14, 2023•43 min
Say hello to Louise Macnab. She’s the international attorney turned gut health campaigner - starting a movement with her brand Jerms - an all-in-one Gut Health support with Probiotics, Prebiotics, Digestive Enzymes & Organic Superfoods. Working hard and under high pressure as a corporate lawyer in New York and Brussels, Louise started experiencing burnout and chronic stress induced gut issues like SIBO, leaky gut, chronic fatigue and anxiety. In search of a solution, she uncovered the vital ...
Mar 06, 2023•31 min
Introducing Caspar Rose. Foodie, Spin Instructor, charity advocate and founder of The Wellness Food Group (TWFG) - a merger between Fresh Fitness Food and Detox Kitchen. Two function-first meal prep businesses who’ve paired up to co-create a healthier nation through convenience and personalised nutrition with more lined up to join their house of brands in the next 12 months. Caspar leads Fresh Fitness Food, a tech-first, personalised meal delivery service, after having worked as a chef at a numb...
Feb 18, 2023•39 min
Say hello to Amelia Christie-Miller. She’s the happy go lucky founder of Bold Bean Co, on a mission to make you as obsessed with beans as she is. But here’s the thing. These beans aren’t just any beans. These are chef approved, top of the range, foodie favourites - meaning you can give Heinz the can and explore a whole new world of protein rich legumes. She first discovered beans while she was on an Erasmus exchange in Spain. One morning, like most students, she was too hungover to go shopping a...
Jan 22, 2023•30 min
Introducing David Begg. His career to date has been nothing short of illustrious. After studying engineering at Durham and Cambridge, he spent ten years in consulting before becoming one of the founding team members of Booking.com. He then went on to co-found Tom Dixon and education tech company Magic Town before finding his spiritual home in REAL Sparkling Tea. According to the sommeliers at The Fat Duck , REAL is the ‘finest non-alcoholic drink on the market’. Brewed with some of the most expe...
Jan 14, 2023•37 min
Joe Benn. Founder, advisor, connector, AND FMCG fanatic. He’s had over a decade of experience working with fast growth disruptive businesses, including co-founding UGLY drinks back in 2015. UGLY was a truly original challenger brand that won fame and fortune across both the UK and in the US, rebranding sparkling water as the soda drink of choice, before others followed suit. In 2020, Joe stepped away from the company, and has since gone on to advise a number of FMCG brands like allplants, Tenzin...
Dec 13, 2022•30 min
Say hello to Hermione Underwood on the show today. A founder, serial entrepreneur, recovering workaholic and newly appointed CEO of J.S.Vitamins in the UK and Europe. Starting off with LVMH in Australia, Hermione went on to start her own PR agency The H Collective. But that wasn’t enough. This experience and network enabled her to co-found jewellery brand, a leather goods brand and a wine brand in fairly quick succession. Now she heads up J.S.Vitamins over here with a clear sense of purpose: to ...
Nov 16, 2022•35 min
Say hello to Deniz Ficicoglu. She co-runs BettaF!sh, heating up the alternative seafood space with a 100% plant-based tuna made from seaweed and fava beans. The Berlin startup is part of a growing fish-free category that netted $116mn in VC funding last year. BettaF!sh kicked things off a year ago when they launched their three flagship TU-NAH Sandwiches across 4,000 ALDI stores in Germany. This was the largest launch the alt seafood category had ever experienced. They subsequently launched thei...
Oct 27, 2022•33 min
Introducing George Frost. He runs Duppy Share, a London based, Caribbean born drinks business inspired by rum folklore. A brand so synonymous with rum in the UK, that you’d be hard pressed to remember that they’re only seven years old. No doubt you’ve tasted their blends of Jamaican and Barmudan rums, on the streets of Notting Hill carnival, mixed your own at a house party, or danced the night away with a raised, golden Duppy cup in your hand. (And if you haven’t I’d recommend their 5 year old, ...
Oct 08, 2022•39 min
Introducing Digby Vollrath on the podcast. He co-runs Feast It, the UK’s leading digital event marketplace, connecting party planners with over 1500 of the best suppliers, from food and drink, through to florists, photographers and marquees in just a few clicks. Launched in 2017, on a mission to simplify organising events, they’ve become a go-to destination for weddings, corporate parties and festivals - working with the likes of Spotify, Soho House and Secret Cinema. They’ve also facilitated pa...
Sep 10, 2022•29 min
Introuding Huw and Becky, business partners and partner partners on the podcast. They run Paynter, a clothswear brand selling limited edition jackets, in batches, four times a year. Launched in 2019, each jacket is made-to-order, taking 6-8 weeks to be made, operating a no waste business model. But if you thought getting your hands on one of these jackets was easy. You'd be mistaken. Each batch is one of a kind from their initial chore jackets to later iterations using varying materials such as ...
Aug 21, 2022•27 min•Ep. 77
Say hello to Kate Hamilton. She co-runs Sonder & Tell - a brand strategy and story agency fighting for words to be considered as early as possible in the brand building process. Working with the likes of Rude Health, Mindful Chef, Bumble and AirBnb, they help brands find their voice and tell their story. Their newsletter, The Word, floods copywriters' inboxes all across London and the world. They believe that when it comes to brand building, the words often take a back seat. An afterthought ...
May 08, 2022•29 min
Say hello to Robyn Nicholl. She is the co-founder of Step - The app for finding, saving and sharing your favourite places. Launched in 2021, this new app allows you to share all your top recommendations with friends and family while also connecting you with travel tips from knowledgeable millennials and experience focused GenZers - or as they call them on the platform “Culture Curators”. The insight. Well, we all know the scenario. You've booked a city break to Amsterdam. You've left the researc...
Apr 29, 2022•29 min
From growing up on a farm in Devon to running a chain of upmarket kebab restaurants, Sam & Elliot Day are two brothers on a mission to rebrand the frozen meal aisle with their latest venture, FieldGoods. Born in 2021, they deliver a range of frozen meals to your door or local farm shop store. Slow cooked beef chilli, cauliflower butter masala, sustainable fish pie - their menu is a winner for those looking for good quality, taste-filled convenience. Take them out of the freezer, 7 mins in th...
Apr 26, 2022•30 min
Introducing Dan and Harvey. They run ᵒSmall World, an on-demand marketing agency tailored for start-ups and scale-ups. Their focus: to use the power of challenger brand thinking to build, grow and scale new businesses. The story began, when Dan (a strategist) and Harvey (client services) were furloughed from advertising agency Dark Horses, at the beginning the Covid pandemic. After a week-long spell trying their hands in magic and trying to write a cook book, they quickly decided to return to wh...
Mar 16, 2022•32 min
Say hello to Danny Giacopelli, Editorial Director of Courier, a magazine telling stories of modern business, inspiring people to work better and live smarter. Launched by Jeff Taylor as a free paper in 2013, it has since grown to a readership of over 100,000 people worldwide. Danny himself joined a few years later from Monocle, ready to bring his editorial skills and cultural insights to the table. Since then they have launched their own website, established their own podcast, written guides, pu...
Feb 21, 2022•32 min
Welcome Ivo. He co-runs Sapling Spirits, a Climate Positive British Spirits company selling vodka and gin to some of the world's best restaurants, retailers and countryside connoisseurs. Each bottle plants a tree; on a mission to plant 1 million by 2027, using their clean, creamy, and smooth cocktails to persuade people into toasting for the planet. You can even track your own tree using their neat tree-tracker. So far so good. To date.,they've planted over 50,000 trees, with 75,000 on the horiz...
Feb 03, 2022•25 min
Say hello to Sam. He runs Guardian Angel, a UK-based death tech start-up helping people plan for and manage death. For Sam it all started with the tragic loss of his mother to a road accident. She was still young and like most of us just hadn’t got round to sorting out a plan. Grief was tough but the admin was overwhelming. Drawing on his own personal experience, Sam's on a mission to rattle the bones of the glum death industry and add a bit of life to the experience. Since starting the business...
Jan 29, 2022•28 min
Say hello to Duncan Keith. He co-runs Days, a truly alcohol-free brewing company. Launched back in October 2020, this Scottish 0.0% beer startup is riding the wave of moderation. Starting as mainly a direct-to-consumer brand they're now in over 500 physical locations, having sold over 1/4 million bottles to date. Having recently raised £1mn to help fuel their growth with investors such as Mindful Chef's Giles Humphries, Propercorn's Ryan Kohn and Camden Town's former MD Adam Keary, they are prep...
Jan 05, 2022•29 min
Introducing Lottie Unwin. She runs The Copy Club, a micro community for marketeers and founders looking to grow their network, share their knowledge and up their skills. They run monthly social events, run their own courses and have a super engaged slack channel. They also do mentor matching for marketeers starting out and run their own recruitment service. To date they have done 150+ events in person and online, have 10+ courses and have over 700 members. Not bad. Micro communities are massivel...
Dec 09, 2021•34 min
Introducing Max Whicher. He runs Spin Brands, a social media agency dedicated to delivering scale through social. Spin Brands work with 100's of brands including the likes of LVMH, Tango, Funky Pigeon, Google and LoveHoney - ranging from strategy and creative to organic, ambassador and paid. What they're doing is clearly working. The agency recently announced a client freeze. After 250 new enquiries, the 40 people strong agency announced that they were pausing new clients until 2022. Mic drop. B...
Nov 17, 2021•38 min
Cheers to Fabian and Rohan. They run Quarter, a light gin with quarter the alcohol and quarter the calories. The pair are tapping into the massive boom for no & low alcohol alternatives, driven by people looking to reduce their alcohol consumption and make better choices. Quarter provides the perfect refreshment without compromise. Why have one when you can have four? Not only is the product delightful but the brand ticks all the boxes. It's a masterclass in how to launch a brand. From an ic...
Oct 27, 2021•45 min
Say hello to Neil Tanna. He runs Howbout, a socialising app, on a mission to change the way people get together no matter whether it’s a beer, holiday or a zoom get-together. Since they started they’ve made some serious headway raising over 650k, being used in over 40 countries and helping organise over 40,000 events every week. Their aim is to make organising getting together easier, taking the hassle out of painful WhatsApp groups, multiple social calendars, endless locations and outdated face...
Oct 14, 2021•36 min
Say hello to Nicole Compen. She runs Raye The Store, a travelling grocery store shining a spotlight on some of the most innovative, up and coming new food, drink and wellness brands. Raye's current pop-up on the King's Road features &SODA, KYOOT, SOLO, MOTH as well as friends like THIS!, QUBA, NUISANCE and many many more. The carefully curated line up ranges from Kombuchas and fermented hot sauces to adaptogenic nut butters, mushroom beers, designer olive oil, CBD infusions and next gen sust...
Oct 04, 2021•29 min
Introducing Kaew (Kay) Suppamas on the show today. She runs Leafage, a terrarium company on a mission to inspire inner growth by nurturing through nature. Think Patch Plants meets Headspace, selling DIY terrarium kits and doing team building workshops with the likes of Facebook, Slack, Nike & ASOS. The brand was born in 2017, a year after the tragic loss of her father, where Kaew realised the importance of putting your wellbeing first. This was channelled through her love of plants into terr...
Aug 27, 2021•30 min
