Business and a Brew

Imposter syndrome has a funny way of turning capable people into silent overthinkers. In this part 2 conversation, we sit down with Dawn Baxter and get honest about what imposter syndrome actually does in real life. Not just the wobbly confidence moments, but the chronic self doubt, the anxiety, the burnout, and the perfectionism that quietly chips away at brilliant people and entire workplaces. W...

Ever had that quiet voice in your head whispering, “I don’t actually belong here”… even when all the evidence says otherwise? In this episode, we sit down together with our producer and guest, Dawni Baxter from Beyond the Dawn Digital, to crack open a proper conversation about impostor syndrome. The kind that shows up when you’re doing well, leading teams, making big decisions and still wondering...

Grab your brew, because this one is a masterclass in how not to treat your customers. We’re talking about Dave Carroll, a Canadian singer songwriter who watched his guitar get manhandled by United Airlines baggage handlers back in 2008. He did what any reasonable person would do. He complained. He filled in the forms. He followed the process. And United did what United did best at the time… absolu...

This week we’re unpacking one of the most bonkers moments in modern banking history, the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. And yes… it involves social media, panic, and a truly eye-watering amount of money vanishing at speed. This episode is all about speed. The speed of information, the speed of fear, and the speed at which confidence can evaporate when Twitter gets involved. We chat about mi...

Put the kettle on, because this week we’re diving into the corporate buffet that is Cargill, one of the biggest companies you’ve probably never heard of (and definitely can’t avoid). They’ve got their fingers in more pies than your local bakery. On the one hand, they’re praised for keeping food prices stable, supporting farmers, and helping to feed the world. On the other? They’ve been accused of...

One of the wildest business stories of our time... Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos disaster. And honestly… where do you even start with this one? Holmes dropped out of Stanford at nineteen, put on a Steve Jobs turtleneck, lowered her voice about two octaves, and somehow convinced some of the richest, most powerful people on the planet to throw over $700 million at a device that never actually wo...

So… do you have to be slightly unhinged to start a business? Simon and I decided to tackle the question head-on... and honestly, the evidence is stacked against our sanity. We kick things off with some very British statistics from 2023: 800,000 new businesses registered in the UK , which sounds impressive… until you realise 20% don’t even make it through the first year and a whopping 60% disappear...

What’s really going on behind those “too good to be true” marketing promises? Simon and I are talking the good stuff first: marketing that treats people like actual humans (ground-breaking, we know). Clear communication, real expectations, transparency that isn’t just sprinkled on top like glitter. Then we jump straight into the chaos... the fear-based messaging, the “act now or you’ll die cold an...

In this week’s episode, Simon and I dive into a topic that comes up again and again… corporate denial. You know the one, the moment a huge organisation gets caught red-handed, denies everything with a perfectly polished statement, and quietly carries on making millions. Yep! We unpack some of the biggest examples from recent years and explore why it happens, how companies manage to bounce back so...

Grab your mug and settle in, because this week we’re tackling one of the biggest questions shaking up the creative world... can artificial intelligence really be creative? We chat about the good, the bad, and the slightly terrifying side of it all, from how AI can supercharge efficiency to the uncomfortable question of whether it could ever replace genuine human creativity. Spoiler! We’re not conv...

Fraud. Scams. Dodgy deals that sound too good to be true (and usually are). In this week’s episode of Business and a Brew , we dive headfirst into the wonderfully weird and slightly worrying world of fraud. From fake magazine ads to a suspicious pig purchase (yes, you read that right), we’ve seen and shared some stories that prove scammers will try anything . We get into the mechanics of how these...

Grab your cuppa, because this week we’re diving headfirst into one of the most divisive business conversations out there, niching. Yep, that old chestnut. On one side, we’ve got the anti-niche camp waving their “don’t box me in!” banners. They argue that telling every small business owner they must pick a niche is like telling a toddler they can only play with one toy forever. It’s restrictive, it...

Ever wondered what happens when one of the world’s biggest credit reporting agencies accidentally leaves the front door wide open... for 76 days? In this week’s episode, we dive into the absolute chaos that was the Equifax data breach of 2017. We chat through how it went from bad to worse, the PR disaster, the “less than £5 per victim” compensation that wouldn’t even buy a pint, and the eye-wateri...

Change. Some people love it. Most people… not so much. In this week’s episode of Business and a Brew , we dive into the messy, magical world of change management - or, as we like to call it, “convincing people to stop clinging to spreadsheets from 2004.” We chat about why change feels so uncomfortable, the resistance that crops up when businesses try to move from familiar (but painfully outdated)...

Is it all about the science, or can any business benefit? Let’s talk R&D When you hear Research & Development, you probably picture lab coats, test tubes, and big pharma breakthroughs. But guess what? R&D isn’t just for the science geeks... it could be hiding in plain sight in your business. We’re diving into the surprisingly wide world of R&D and how it’s not just about creating t...

Cornflakes: the innocent breakfast staple… or the crunchy legacy of a bizarre 19th-century wellness cult? We’re diving spoon-first into the truly wild origins of Kellogg’s, because this isn’t just a story about cereal. It’s a story about celibacy, enemas, and accidental entrepreneurship. Yes, really. It all started in 1894 with Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a wellness-obsessed doctor running a sanitari...

At first glance, it looked like the future of work. Open-plan spaces, kombucha on tap, and a promise to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork wasn’t just offering office space, it was selling a movement. By 2019, it had exploded into over 100 cities across 29 countries, racking up a jaw-dropping $47 billion valuation. But underneath the gl...

For decades, Boeing was seen as the gold standard in commercial aviation. The 737, launched back in 1968, became the world’s best-selling jet, trusted by airlines and passengers across the globe. But the story took a dark turn with the arrival of the 737 Max, a model that would come to symbolise how corporate pressure, poor design choices, and regulatory gaps can turn deadly. We’re diving into the...

Remember when getting a cab meant waiting in the rain, fumbling for cash, and hoping the driver knew your route? Uber came along in 2009 and flipped the script, offering sleek, on-demand rides with a few taps on your phone. What started as a luxury app has become a global giant, now holding over 75% of the US rideshare market and contributing a massive £5 billion to the UK economy by 2024. But inn...

We’ve heard the headlines... AI is coming for your job, your art, and now… your water supply? We’re unpacking the growing concern around the environmental cost of AI tools like ChatGPT and the infrastructure that powers them. These systems aren’t floating in the cloud on fairy dust... they require massive data centres, relentless processing power, and yes, a hell of a lot of water to keep them coo...

It looked like a real solution. It was sold like a miracle. And it ended up costing lives. We’re talking about the ADE 651, a so-called bomb and substance detector that turned out to be nothing more than a glorified golf ball finder. Marketed as a cutting-edge device capable of detecting explosives, drugs, and weapons from hundreds of metres away, it was nothing short of a complete scam. This devi...

Rebrands are supposed to be fresh, exciting, and a little bit fancy. But sometimes, they’re just a really expensive way to upset literally everyone. First up, the orange juice disaster of 2009. Tropicana decided to ditch the classic orange-with-a-straw design and go full minimalist. The result? A 20% sales drop, a $35 million packaging fail, and $30 billion in lost revenue before they sheepishly s...

The Britsh Airways vs Virgin Atlantic showdown in the 90s wasn’t just business, it was pure soap opera in the skies. Forget friendly competition, British Airways went full villain mode with a plot straight out of a corporate spy thriller. We’re talking BA staff pretending to be Virgin employees, digging through Virgin’s systems, planting fake news stories, and handing out cheeky upgrades. It was a...

Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder used to be a household staple, white, fluffy, and trusted since 1894. But behind the sweet-smelling clouds was a problem that definitely didn’t belong near babies (or anyone, really): asbestos. Despite evidence dating back to the 1950s showing traces of asbestos in their talc products, the brand kept things squeaky clean on the outside and carried on marketing i...

The Ford Pinto was meant to be the Beetle’s cooler, cheaper cousin, quick to market, easy on the wallet, and built in just two years. What could possibly go wrong? Well… quite a bit, actually. This little car had one big problem. If you got rear-ended, the fuel tank could turn your commute into a bonfire. Between 1970 and 1976, it was linked to dozens of deaths and injuries, with some estimates su...