The Engine - Founders Stories

In this Founder Stories episode, Guy Walker (CEO of Talentia Group) discusses why he’s invited onto many podcasts, what topics he avoids, and his wide portfolio of startups and investments alongside his core education and public sector recruitment business. He explains how he manages time through strong delegation and by focusing on sales, relationships, and problem-solving, and reflects on being...

In this Founder Stories episode, Tessa Clarke, co-founder and CEO of OLIO, explains how her farm upbringing and a moving-day experience sparked the idea for a hyper-local app that helps neighbors give away surplus food and household items. She shares key facts about food waste - one third of food globally is wasted, food waste would be the third-largest emitter if a country, and in the UK 60% occu...

In this episode, the host speaks with Dominic McGregor, founder of Fearless Adventures, about what he’s building now and the experiences that shaped him. Dominic explains Fearless as an investment-and-support business that helps founders scale through three areas: people (via an academy and talent pool), funding (investing in companies), and marketing (with an emphasis on founders articulating the...

How do you turn a shared passion for sport into a rapidly scaling business that reaches thousands of children every week? In this episode of Founder Stories , Donna Owen sits down with Asher Smith and Jack Pearce , the co-founders of The Athlete Group . From their early days as teenage sports coaches to building a multi-brand organization, Asher and Jack share the raw reality of scaling a service-...

In this episode of Founder Stories, Joel Harrison discusses launching B2B Marketing in 2004 to fill a gap in the marketing media that largely ignored business-to-business marketing, and how the company helped shape an ecosystem where agencies and marketers now identify as B2B. He explains the evolution from a print magazine (which stopped publishing a few years ago) to Propolis, a peer-to-peer adv...

Is AI the "silver bullet" for your business, or is it just creating more noise? In this episode of Founder Stories, Donna Owen sits down with her close friend and serial entrepreneur Andy Hallett. With a career spanning recruitment, technology, and executive coaching, Andy cuts through the current tech hype to discuss the immutable fundamentals of building a successful business. Andy sha...

Is the story you’re telling yourself about your business actually a prophecy for its failure? In this episode of Founder Stories , Donna Owen sits down with George Terry , Co-Founder & Creative Director at Winbox . George pulls back the curtain on the psychological "mental game" of being a founder, exploring how our internal narratives can either lead us to "weird places" o...

How do you go from dropping out of school at 17 to building, scaling, and selling a massive B2B software company? In this episode of Founder Stories, Donna Owen sits down with Ed Johnson—the "original influencer" before the word even existed. Ed shares the raw, unfiltered truth about his entrepreneurial journey, including the "bugs" and roadblocks of his early ventures and the...

How does a "rebellious" student who failed his A-Levels go on to build a 25-person agency by age 22 and later launch a market-defining AI company? In this episode of Founder Stories, Donna Owen sits down with Leo Rogers, the founder of Curvo. Leo shares his unconventional journey from fixing corporate IT servers at 16 using nothing but a Google search bar to revolutionizing the sales ind...

What happens when you go from being a well-known industry leader in your home country to a total stranger in a new one? In this episode of Founder Stories, Donna Owen sits down with Paul Ryazanov, the founder of MageCloud. Paul’s journey is a masterclass in resilience, moving from a childhood in the Soviet Union to building a premier global e-commerce agency. Paul discusses the psychological and o...

Welcome to The Engine – Founders' Stories Podcast . In this episode, host Donna Owen is joined by Rodrigo Malachias , Co-Founder of MedibleGo and CEO at Medible . Rodrigo shares how he built two global companies by combining technology, strategic consulting, and a deep commitment to understanding SMEs. He takes us through his journey from early technical training in Brazil to leading multinat...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by Riaz Kanani, a Serial Entrepreneur. Riaz shares his journey from starting businesses at a young age to leading successful ventures. He talks about his experience in building companies, exiting major players like IBM, and his approach to scaling businesses. Riaz also discusses the importance of adapting to changing...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by Bianca Bass , Chief Marketing Officer at Privalgo and brand consultant. Bianca shares how she helps companies grow by aligning brands with business goals. She talks about her journey from working in large companies like TripAdvisor and Selfridges to advising startups on marketing and storytelling. Bianca explains...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by Mike Adams , Founder & CEO of introstars , and Founder & Startup Mentor at Skyler Gotham . This platform rewards people for making warm business introductions and is quickly growing across London and New York. Mike shares how he went from being a shy, introverted teen to a top networker attending over a th...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by George Lineker , Co-Founder of YourBusinessNumber . This company provides a second phone number and eSIM to help freelancers and small businesses separate their work and personal lives. George shares his journey from a previous failed app to building a lean, bootstrapped business over four years. He discusses the...

Welcome to The Engine Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen sits down with Chris Silvestri , a Conversion Copywriter and Founder of Conversion Alchemy , a company helping B2B SaaS businesses grow through customer-focused messaging. Chris shares how he moved from industrial automation in Italy to building a lean and profitable business in the UK. With a background in software engineering...

Welcome to The Engine Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen sits down with Nathan Bethell , Founder of REFORMERPILATES.COM , a platform uniting studios, instructors, and fans of REFORMERPILATES. Nathan is also a B2B Marketing Consultant at B2B CMO , with over 20 years of experience in marketing across publishing, tech, and IT services. In this episode, Nathan shares how he went from runn...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen chats with Luke B. (Luke Barry), Co-Founder and Head of Growth & GTM of How Ya Doing , a talent-as-a-service firm that combines deep sales expertise with executive search proficiency. Before launching his own business, Luke spent 15 years in enterprise sales and payments with Lloyds Bank and Citibank. His journey into the corpor...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen chats with Jules Robertson , Co-founder of Tally Workspace , a platform helping startups and scale-ups find flexible office spaces. Jules shares how COVID sparked the idea, how she and her co-founder bootstrapped early on, and why speaking to thousands of businesses shaped their growth. She also talks about balancing work with mothe...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen talks with Darren Westall , Co-Founder and CEO of Paiger , a business development tool for recruiters. Darren shares how his tech background and early sales hustle helped him build Paiger from the ground up. He opens up about learning by doing, bootstrapping the company, and growing it while balancing family life. Darren also reflec...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen talks with Leroy Lawrence , the Founder of Pigee Inc , CEO of Quadron Capital Ltd , Angel Investor and Director at Lawrence Investment Holdings Ltd , and Chairman of Wellbeing of My Baby . Leroy shares how his travel struggles inspired Pigee, an AI-powered shipping tool that helps tourists and local shops send items home easily. He...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by Cameron Briggs , the CEO and Co-Founder, and Itamar Yeshua , the COO and Co-Founder of Vente AI . They share how their experience in recruitment led them to create Venti, an AI-driven platform designed to help recruiters find leads and connect with hiring managers quickly. Cameron talks about his passion for sales, whil...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by Marina Robertson, who is the Owner and Founder of BERKANO Consulting . Marina shares how her love for learning, her journey from Greece, and years in construction shaped her business. She talks about leadership, building confidence, and helping others grow with the right tools. Marina isn’t just a founder; she’s focused...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by David Clark is Founder of bobcheck , Managing Director of Cataphract , and Investor at Equitas . David shares how his years in recruitment, a lightbulb idea during lockdown, and his ADHD journey shaped his business. He discusses building a niche product, lessons on persistence, and turning challenges into strength...

Welcome to The Engine - Founders' Stories Podcast. Host Donna Owen is joined by Thomas Vose , founder of HireAra , a startup that uses AI to help recruiters format CVs. From a student project to a big tech acquisition, Tom talks about how he turned a simple idea into a fast-growing business and shares lessons on risk, teamwork, and the future of AI. Thomas isn’t just an entrepreneur; he loves...