The Start-Up Diaries Podcast

After successfully monetising her financial wellness plan on Instagram, Laura Pomfret decided to leave her well paid job to bootstrap her very own start-up: Financielle. Based on 'The Financielle Playbook', the app offers a step by step guide to taking taking control of your money and being financially well. In this episode, Laura chatted to Chris about the idea behind was she terms &apo...

Richard Milnes is the Co-Founder & CEO of Zaptic, the no-code platform connecting frontline manufacturing teams. Unlike some other founders, Richard didn't have his 'big moment' on his first try as entrepreneur, or even his second... or third. Zaptic was the product of 5 pivots, and a 'dangerously agile' planning methodology that has since become a firm part of the com...

PixelMax are the 3D technology software business revolutionising the hybrid working experience through the power of their fully immersive 3D worlds. From delivering box office branded virtual events, to recreating your office floor, PixelMax are a start-up hot on everyone’s radar right now. In this episode, Chris sat down with Co-Founder Shay O’Carroll to hear all about the whirlwind story behind...

In our first episode of Season 3, we’re joined by James Lomas, the newest CTO at Bionic, a B2B comparison platform for business essentials. Bionic are a long-term onsite recruitment partner of ours and in this episode we’ll be talking through their transition into becoming a tech-centric business, the war for Tech talent and the topical question of flexible working-policies. James also delved into...

Host Chris McGowan reflects on the key takeaways from  just some of our incredible guests across season 1 & 2 , including Michael Brennan, Jessica Jackson, Mo Aldalou, Lydia Jones, Heather & Tom Staff, Chloe Barrett, Dom Raban, Anna Sutton, Andy Still & Ashley Lockwood. This episode will cover key areas within the Start-Up journey including culture, funding & investment, mental hea...

For most start-up businesses, the pandemic has been a difficult wave to ride, with many unfortunately not making through to the other side. But what if your business idea fit perfectly into the ‘new normal’? With the introduction of working from home and the ban on hospitality during lockdowns, Ashley Lockwood had not one, but two businesses that prospered in the post-COVID era. Desk Mate, a stand...

Netacea is one of the leading bot management solutions on the market. But for this Manchester-born start-up, securing a spot amongst industry leaders was no small challenge, as they entered a mature market dominated by the U.S. In this episode, Andy Still, CTO of Netacea, sat down with us to discuss their journey from spinning out of Intechnica, to the challenges around becoming a serious voice in...

Making good friends at university has often been put down to how you fare in the social ‘lottery’ that is first year halls of residence. But with 40% of all university dropouts in the UK being due to loneliness, it’s in the best interest of the universities as well as their students to improve social experiences in the first instance. Enter Umii, an app that facilitates the first introduction betw...

With most services now available to us at the touch of a button, it’s surprising that the hairdressing & beauty industry had not ventured into on-demand tech solutions to reach their customers sooner. However, Sam Lowe, Founder of Barba & Beautey saw the gap in the market and is in the process of building a product that does just that. Aiming to bring these industries into the twenty-first...

Leeds-based data consultancy business, The Data Shed, prides itself on being a value-driven organisation, so much so that their values underpin the very essence of what they do and who they hire. But how do you determine the values that set the tone of your entire organisation, and how do you find likeminded people that will truly live and breathe them too?  In this week’s episode, CEO & Co-Fo...

Dom Raban, Co-Founder and CEO of Xploro set out on a mission-driven tech project to build a product that could bridge the gap in communication between paediatric patients and their consultants around what they can expect from their hospital experience.  Xploro is a mobile application that uses augmented reality, gameplay and artificial intelligence to communicate healthcare information to children...

Starting a £4 million NET turnover business from your living room sounds too good to be true… but Hanna Putjato made it her reality when she spotted a gap in the eyelash extension distribution market. Originally moving to the UK unable to speak any English, Hanna trained as a lash technician with the ambition of learning the language, never dreaming that she would walk away as the Founder & Ma...

The Modern Milkman was created with a clear vision - to revitalise the traditional milkround on a mission to reduce plastic waste, after being inspired and disheartened by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet. Having secured Series A funding at the start of the year, the tech for good business are gearing up for national expansion and are in the process of rebuilding their tech platform to support agg...

Pitching can be daunting on a good day, but pitching to the United Nations was just a part of the process for EdTech company Near Life, an immersive and creative learning platform that was initially created as a humanitarian project. Five years later, Near Life is preparing to launch Near Life Creative, a VR product in partnership with the World Health Organisation that is so versatile it can be u...

The Start-Up Diaries is back with a bang! In the first episode of series two we welcomed start-up Founder Chole Barrett to the show as we discussed all things business, her background in dressage, dentistry and law.  An incredibly ambitious founder, Chloe has a love for learning which ultimately steered her into creating Immersify Education, the company that harnesses augmented reality, interactiv...

It’s not every day that your business gets sued by James Bond… but for Street Group, their newly launched product was too good for them not to fight back! In this week’s episode, we caught up with Heather and Tom Staff, the brother and sister duo behind Spectre Sales and Lettings, an estate agency canvassing tool that is revolutionising the property industry.  Tom & Heather discussed what led...

In this week’s episode, we sat down with Lydia Jones, CEO & Founder of Housemates, a student-first digital housing platform, to hear all about her journey into tech and the story behind her entrepreneurial mindset – from selling turkeys, to building fitness apps, to changing the UK’s student renting industry!  Lydia talked us through the importance of having a clear vision for your businesses...

If you’re working in Tech, it’s more than likely you'll have heard of Tech Nation: the national network and growth platform for tech entrepreneurs. We had the opportunity to sit down with their very own Mo Aldalou, Entrepreneur Engagement Manager, to get the inside scoop on all things Tech in the North-West.  Mo shared his insider knowledge on the current state of the North-West eco system an...

In this week’s episode of The Start-Up Diaries, we’re joined by Chi-Chi Ekweozor, Founder of Assenty. After spotting an opportunity to provide a solution for a gap in the events market, Chi-Chi has developed a simple Q&A function device into an audience interaction and live virtual polling tool, proving that often the most straightforward ideas are the most effective.  Chi-Chi talked us throug...

In this weeks episode we were joined by Manoj Varsani & Marco Ferrari, Co-Founders of the property finance platform Hammock. Having recently raised £1million in seed funding, the team are preparing to launch their brand new current account for landlords. Sitting down with Oli Lochhead from our London office, the pair talked us through the processes they have in place that have enabled them to...

How do you scale a multi-million pound business without any external investment? Co-Founder of video animation platform Viddyoze, Joey Xoto, talked us through how he and his Co-Founders utilised the power of their networks to create an incredibly successful affiliate programme that enabled their business to gain over 100,000 customers in under 5 years.  Talking us through some of their major decis...

In our latest episode we sat down with Investment Director at GC Angels, Jess Jackson . GC Angels are one of the leading early stage investors in Greater Manchester and have invested in 22 businesses since 2018, so Jess and her team know exactly what to look out for and what NOT to do when approaching your first round of investment. Jess took us through: -What to consider when approaching your fir...

Having worked as a lorry driver after leaving the army and studying for a Business Degree, Erin became frustrated with the outdated haulage sector, often experiencing lower wages, higher fees, poor communication, and wasted time. Noticing an opportunity to bridge the gap and improve the lifestyle and earning potential of HGV drivers in the UK, the concept of Avail was born and Erin spent the rest...

Collabco are a pioneering EdTech business providing flexible technology solutions for universities and schools around the globe through their core product, myday. At the start of the year Collabco were gearing up for an exciting period of growth when the world was suddenly put on hold by Covid-19. Sitting down with CEO Andrew Taylor, Chris McGowan will be finding out how Collabco have used their t...

When Broadstone was founded in 2016, it's three Co-Founders, Tom Pickersgill, James Doyle & Nick Groves, had a clear mission: to power the hourly paid workforce community and make hiring better people both faster and more transparent. In our latest episode of the Start-Up Diaries, Chris McGowan sat down with CEO & Co-Founder, Tom Pickersgill, to talk about Orka's impressive zero...