What It Takes with Olly Fawcett

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzi7WIDadKM Justine Palefsky co-founded Kindred by cold-emailing a spreadsheet full of her old colleagues' spare rooms. Four years later it's a $150M-backed home-swapping network with 400,000 members who've hosted each other for half a million nights, and she still checks herself in the mirror every morning and says: don't me...

Justine Palefsky co-founded Kindred by cold-emailing a spreadsheet full of her old colleagues' spare rooms. Four years later it's a $150M-backed home-swapping network with 400,000 members who've hosted each other for half a million nights, and she still checks herself in the mirror every morning and says: don't mess this up. Justine Palefsky is co-founder and CEO of Kindred, a memb...

Watch full episode here: https://youtu.be/yuPWhdEfCfkGeorge Sullivan was written off as a kid, kicked out of a school his parents nearly broke themselves paying for, undiagnosed ADHD, and eight jobs in three years before he ever built anything real.13 years later, he's the founder of The Sole Supplier, Europe's leading sneaker and streetwear platform, reaching 4.5M+ people a month and driv...

George Sullivan was written off as a kid, kicked out of a school his parents nearly broke themselves paying for, undiagnosed ADHD, and eight jobs in three years before he ever built anything real.13 years later, he's the founder of The Sole Supplier, Europe's leading sneaker and streetwear platform, reaching 4.5M+ people a month and driving over £350M in revenue for brands like Nike, adida...

Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1dDekfoibMFrom Bollywood dance choreographer… to HSBC speechwriter… to one of the sharpest comics in the UK.Eshaan Akbar breaks down what stand-up actually teaches you: reading rooms, earning trust, surviving bad gigs, and why “bombing” is often an audience warm-up problem (his words… 😅).If you’ve ever felt like you’re starting late, p...

Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdQgcTOyK3I Jun Tanaka got kicked out of college at 19. The letter that told him so is where his career in food started. From there, Le Gavroche, Chez Nico, Marco Pierre White's three-star kitchen, and eventually his own restaurant, The Ninth, where he won a Michelin star he never set out to chase. He opens up about the two hardest y...

Jun Tanaka got kicked out of college at 19. The letter that told him so is where his career in food started. From there, Le Gavroche, Chez Nico, Marco Pierre White's three-star kitchen, and eventually his own restaurant, The Ninth, where he won a Michelin star he never set out to chase. He opens up about the two hardest years of his life, a 3am call about a fire at his restaurant, and a stage...

Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/gT9a7rc3TCIStuart Trevor is the founder of AllSaints and one of the most influential figures in British fashion. In this episode of What It Takes with Olly Fawcett, Stuart shares the extraordinary story behind building AllSaints into a global fashion brand, his early career designing for Reiss, and why he walked away from the company at its peak. From...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdWVHaSQStE The man who made millions of people click play on The Diary of a CEO just walked away from the job! In this episode, Anthony Smith, the show's Director of Trailers for four and a half years, reveals the death threat, the burnout, and the real reason he quit one of the most influential roles in podcasting. Anthony Smith spent...

The man who made millions of people click play on The Diary of a CEO just walked away from the job! In this episode, Anthony Smith, the show's Director of Trailers for four and a half years, reveals the death threat, the burnout, and the real reason he quit one of the most influential roles in podcasting. Anthony Smith spent four and a half years as Director of Trailers for The Diary of a CEO,...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOqTOdD8Qr0He spent two years going to allergy clinics and drinking twig tea from a Chinese doctor who didn't speak a word of English. Turns out it wasn't allergies. It was mold poisoning, and it only showed up once he'd stopped numbing himself with a decade of drinking he never told anyone the full truth about. Hector built Unpl...

He spent two years going to allergy clinics and drinking twig tea from a Chinese doctor who didn't speak a word of English. Turns out it wasn't allergies. It was mold poisoning, and it only showed up once he'd stopped numbing himself with a decade of drinking he never told anyone the full truth about. Hector built Unplugged, the off-grid cabin company that locks your phone in a box for...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-itMEAbNqDo Nobody walked into Simon Woodroffe's restaurant on opening night. Two weeks later there was a queue down the block that lasted five years and it started with an idea nobody in Britain had ever heard of. Simon Woodroffe OBE is the founder of Yo Sushi and Yotel, and one of the original Dragons on Dragon's Den. Before any of...

Two major record deals, and Billy Lockett walked away from both with nothing to show for it. Then his own manager told him an idea was career suicide, he did it anyway, and it changed everything! Billy Lockett is a self-taught singer-songwriter and pianist from Northampton who has spent over a decade in the music industry, including two major label deals (Warner, and a Virgin-affiliated US label)...

Nobody walked into Simon Woodroffe's restaurant on opening night. Two weeks later there was a queue down the block that lasted five years and it started with an idea nobody in Britain had ever heard of. Simon Woodroffe OBE is the founder of Yo Sushi and Yotel, and one of the original Dragons on Dragon's Den. Before any of that, he lit Rod Stewart's stage show, worked in the rock-and-ro...

Two major record deals, and Billy Lockett walked away from both with nothing to show for it. Then his own manager told him an idea was career suicide, he did it anyway, and it changed everything! Billy Lockett is a self-taught singer-songwriter and pianist from Northampton who has spent over a decade in the music industry, including two major label deals (Warner, and a Virgin-affiliated US label)...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtU5289Jn1sJulia Baldet left a successful career in investment banking and private equity after years of relentless pressure, burnout and serious health issues. In this episode of What It Takes, Julia shares the complete story behind building Elevate Smoothie Bar, one of London's fastest-growing wellness brands. This is an honest convers...

Julia Baldet left a successful career in investment banking and private equity after years of relentless pressure, burnout and serious health issues. In this episode of What It Takes, Julia shares the complete story behind building Elevate Smoothie Bar, one of London's fastest-growing wellness brands. We discuss: • Why she walked away from finance • The burnout that changed her life • Becoming...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtC3qsGHGU0&t=322s Paul Ainsworth built one of the UK's most respected independent restaurant collections from scratch, in Cornwall, starting with sandwiches and cream teas. In this episode, Paul talks about growing up in a guesthouse, working six years under Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road (and being there for the third Micheli...

Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwbREb-yihwKirk Haworth has been through every challenge the hospitality industry can throw at someone. From training in some of the world’s best kitchens, to having his career completely stopped by chronic illness, to rebuilding everything from the ground up. We go into the realities of kitchen culture, the physical toll of the industry...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpfEW1uBYh4 Rosie Skus3Afs_miniProfile%3AACoAACul1k0Bsjk-QJlAwwFbCgAhd7DZInTUE4gnt agency, two weeks before Covid shut down the entire hospitality and music industry. Today, Molto provides the entertainment for some of the most prestigious venues in the world: The Dorchester, The Savoy, Hermès, Google, and the 50 Best Hotels. In this convers...

Rosie Skuse launched Molto Music Group, a live music and entertainment agency, two weeks before Covid shut down the entire hospitality and music industry. Today, Molto provides the entertainment for some of the most prestigious venues in the world: The Dorchester, The Savoy, Hermès, Google, and the 50 Best Hotels. In this conversation, Rosie's tell us about:— Why starting with nothing is actua...

Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtC3qsGHGU0&t=341sPaul Ainsworth built one of the UK's most respected independent restaurant collections from scratch, in Cornwall, starting with sandwiches and cream teas. In this episode, Paul talks about growing up in a guesthouse, working six years under Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road (and being there for the third Michelin...

Full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH8Xvqk2ZykPeony Li built Jude, a women's bladder health brand, in a category that almost nobody would fund, talk about, or believe in. Two years after appearing on Dragon's Den, she's doing £16 million in revenue and growing. In this episode, Peony talks about growing up in Hong Kong with entrepreneur parents she rarely saw, moving to...

Peony Li built Jude, a women's bladder health brand, in a category that almost nobody would fund, talk about, or believe in. Two years after appearing on Dragon's Den, she's doing £16 million in revenue and growing. In this episode, Peony talks about growing up in Hong Kong with entrepreneur parents she rarely saw, moving to the UK alone at 15, leaving investment banking because her in...