Built Not Born In Business Podcast

Listen to this business podcast episode with Chris and Helen to learn how to navigate common obstacles and find success. Get practical insights on managing the daily realities of running a company. In this episode of Built Not Born in Business, hosts Chris and Helen sit down to discuss the real-world aspects of entrepreneurship. They break down the specific business challenges they have encountere...

Every successful founder you look up to is faking it more than they'll admit and the woman who said it has built something most people can't explain. Frankie James is the co-founder of Ideas Fest: part business festival, part awards programme, part the kind of room where founders actually drop the act. In this episode she breaks down how it started, why it nearly didn't survive and wha...

Running two businesses at once sounds like the fastest route to burnout, but it's the single reason our income stopped swinging from feast to famine. For years we lived the same cycle every business owner knows. One brilliant month, then a dead one. Work flooding in, then scrabbling around wondering where the next job was coming from. Everyone tells you to expect peaks and troughs, but nobody...

Juliet Barratt co-founded Grenade and sold it to Mondelez, but the exit wasn't the win every founder thinks it is. This is the real story. Most founders building toward an exit picture the same scene: the wire hits, the celebration starts, and life finally rewards the years of grind. Juliet Barratt lived that exact moment in 2021 and what actually happened bears almost no resemblance to the fa...

What happens when the hosts of Built Not Born in Business get put in the hot seat on their own show? In this special episode, returning guests Andrew Hulbert (founder of Pareto) and Kim Antoniou (founder of Auris Tech and Fonetti) turn the tables on Chris and Helen, the married couple behind Two Krakens and Thread & Pixel. Honest questions about how two people build two businesses, raise a fam...

What happens when someone spends fifteen years in live television, reporting on 9/11 as it unfolded, delivering the news of Princess Diana's death, navigating pressure cooker newsrooms at the BBC and ITV and then walks into the world of business? Arti Halai didn't just change careers. She carried something with her that most entrepreneurs spend years trying to build: the ability to earn tr...

In this episode of Built Not Born in Business, Chris and Helen reflect on one of their most powerful interviews yet with Stuart Trevor, founder of AllSaints, along with lessons from other successful founders they’ve spoken to on the podcast. This is not just about one story. It is about the patterns that keep showing up across every successful entrepreneur they have interviewed. From the reality o...

In this episode of Built Not Born In Business , we sit down with Stuart Trevor , the founder of global fashion brand AllSaints to talk about what it really takes to build an iconic brand and why the fashion industry needs to change. Stuart is responsible for creating one of the most recognisable fashion brands in the world. But after decades inside the industry, he’s now speaking openly about the...

Running a business is often romanticised online, but the reality is very different. In this episode of the Built Not Born in Business podcast, Chris and Helen reflect on the biggest lessons they have learned from interviewing successful founders, including entrepreneurs behind major brands, technology companies and high growth businesses. They discuss the real challenges business owners face behin...

She shut down her business. Lost a major client. Closed the office. Thought she was done with entrepreneurship. Then one conversation changed everything. In this episode, Kim Antoniou shares how personal tragedy, business collapse and relentless belief led her to build two mission-driven tech companies, including Fonetti, a platform transforming reading confidence for children across the UK. We ta...

In this reflection episode of Built Not Born In Business , we unpack the biggest lessons from our recent conversation with Andrew Hulbert and what they mean for founders building real businesses today. This isn’t a surface-level recap. It’s an honest discussion about what actually stuck with us and what we’re implementing inside our own businesses. We talk about: Why long-form video is one of the...

What does building a $100m+ business really teach you about people, leadership and success? In this episode of Built Not Born In Business, we sit down with Andrew Hulbert, founder of Pareto FM, to talk honestly about what it takes to build, scale and eventually step away from a business without losing yourself along the way. This conversation isn’t about growth hacks or surface-level culture talk....

What does it really take to build a £100m+ business in the real world? In this episode of Built Not Born In Business , we sit down with Tobias Allen to talk honestly about the lessons that shaped his journey, including what he learned from working with Alex Hormozi and Simon Squibb . Tobias breaks down the realities of building a high-growth business. The pressure that comes with scale. The person...

This intro episode explains why Mr & Mrs In Business has evolved into Built Not Born In Business and what this new series is really about. The original podcast started as honest conversations about life and business as a married couple. It was real, relatable, and helped a lot of people feel less alone in their journey. But over time, the conversations changed. The guests we were drawn to were...

In this festive 2025 edition of the Mr & Mrs in Business podcast, Chris and Helen sit down with Alicia, the newest team member at Two Krakens to share honest reflections on parenting, partnerships and the behind-the-scenes chaos of growing a business together. This episode covers everything from filming confidence, client relationships and podcast nerves to hilarious Christmas traditions, pare...

As 2025 draws to a close, Chris and Helen sit down to reflect on the biggest business lessons they’ve learned this year. From negative brand associations and content repurposing, to listening to your body and knowing when to ask for help. This episode covers everything from scaling businesses and facing online trolls, to how your team culture can be transformed with small, thoughtful changes like...

Marketing isn’t just ads, it’s every single interaction your business has. In this episode of the Mr & Mrs In Business podcast, Chris and Helen break down the truth behind effective marketing, why most businesses get it wrong and how real brand trust is built through consistency, personality and long-form content. From bad habits on airplanes to bad habits on LinkedIn, this episode is part hon...

In this episode of Mr & Mrs in Business , Chris and Helen sit down with Laura and Kelly from Hayley Windows to talk about the real experience of being women running a business in the construction world, from generational ownership to managing customers, pricing challenges and staying grounded in a very flashy industry. The conversation dives into what it’s like being women-led in a male-domina...

Running a business with your partner or spouse isn’t all sunshine and roses and in this brutally honest episode of Mr & Mrs in Business , Chris and Helen sit down with another husband-and-wife team to talk about what it's really like behind the scenes. From balancing childcare and chasing payments to late-night arguments and learning to define your own roles, this episode covers the challenges...

Ideas Fest 2025 completely changed our perception of what a business festival can be. In this episode of Mr & Mrs in Business , Chris and Helen reflect on their raw, honest and unexpected journey through the UK's most talked-about business festival. From initial skepticism to genuine inspiration, they walk through how Ideas Fest 2025 helped them reconnect with their own entrepreneurial spark....

Talbots Law is a West Midlands success story and in this episode of the Mr & Mrs in Business Podcast, Chris and Helen sit down with the Callum Haynes Sales Director and Nicola Reeve Head of Franchising to explore how Talbots Law have grown into one of the region’s most trusted and recognised legal firms, without losing sight of their values. They unpack the power of building relationships over...

Stop chasing viral content and start focusing on what actually grows your business. In this episode of Mr & Mrs in Business , Chris and Helen dive deep into the viral myth, explaining why obsessing over impressions and likes won’t bring in sales and what you should focus on instead. They break down why creating content for your ideal customer profile (ICP) leads to more meaningful engagement,...

Chris and Helen sit down with their business coach, Mike Allen from Stepstone Consulting, to dive into the realities of business coaching and why it's not what you think. After a year of working together, they discuss how the right coach can help you find clarity, regain your motivation and create a roadmap that actually works. In this episode of the Mr & Mrs in Business Podcast, they explore...

In this unfiltered episode of Mr & Mrs in Business, Chris and Helen throw out the rulebook and have a proper moan. From the rising cost of living and subscription overload to late parcels and the state of UK politics, nothing is off-limits. It’s honest, raw and absolutely needed. The pressure of always “staying positive” as business owners can build up and today, they’re letting it all out. Th...

In this episode of Mr & Mrs in Business Podcast, Chris and Helen are joined by branding expert Craig for a conversation on what branding really means for small businesses and why most companies get it wrong. They dig into the difference between a logo and a brand, the mistakes businesses make when cutting corners and the simple tools that can instantly improve your professional image. From dod...