Business and a Brew

Toys R Us went from every kid’s dream destination to a cautionary tale of how not to run a retail empire. Founded in 1948 by Charles Lazarus, it started as a baby store before becoming the go-to big box toy retailer. For decades, it dominated the US toy market and felt completely untouchable. Then the internet showed up. By 2000, instead of building their own e-commerce game, they struck a deal wi...

Organic labels might look all wholesome and earthy on the shelf, but behind the scenes, it’s a chaotic cocktail of red tape, sky-high fees, and some seriously eyebrow-raising rules. This one’s about two friends running a cracking little tea and coffee business. They’re sourcing responsibly, passing independent tests, and doing everything by the book... except getting that fancy Soil Association st...

Stella Liebeck’s coffee burn case has been the butt of jokes for decades, but the real story? It’s anything but a punchline. Back in 1992, 79-year-old Stella spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee in her lap. Sounds minor, right? Except the coffee was served at a ridiculous 180 to 190°F and caused third-degree burns that left her needing skin grafts and two years of treatment. She asked McDonald’s for...

About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and smal...

Clarence Birdseye wasn’t just a guy with a name that sounds made-up; he was the biologist who turned frozen food from a sad soggy mess into a global game-changer. After dropping out of college and spending time ice fishing in Labrador (because of course he did), he clocked that fish frozen quickly in extreme cold stayed fresh and tasty. And just like that, flash-freezing was born. There were a few...

About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and smal...

Kodak’s story is the business version of “you had one job.” They gave the world the Box Brownie, the first colour film, and basically made photography a household thing. Founded in 1880 by George Eastman, they were the dogs bollocks of the camera world... until they weren’t. Fast forward to 1975 and one of their own engineers, Steve Sasson, invents the very first digital camera. Total game-changer...

Things took a darker turn with the story of DePuy’s ASR hip replacements, a medical device that promised mobility but ended up causing chaos inside the body. The ASR model used an all-metal design, which turned out to be a massive problem. Over time, metal debris would shed into the bloodstream, leading to serious health issues like metallosis, pseudo tumours, and even cognitive decline. The worst...

Let’s talk about BrewDog! The punk of the beer world that’s built its brand on disruption, bold claims, and a whole lot of attitude. Founded in 2007, they went from a small start-up to striking major deals, including one with Tesco, all while shaking up the industry with rebellious marketing and unapologetic messaging. In 2020, they bought 2,000 acres of Scottish land for their “Buy One Get One Tr...

We got into the glossy world of luxury brands and asked the question no one really wants to answer: how much of what we buy is about status, and how much is actually about ethics? Dior and Armani took centre stage after a 2024 report revealed they’d been slapping “Made in Italy” labels on goods actually produced in China. Bit awkward, considering the whole luxury vibe rests on craftsmanship and au...

We got chatting about EDF Energy, the power giant that’s got its fingers in sockets across more than 30 countries. Known for banging the sustainability drum and offering decent perks like job security, flexible working, and proper training, it’s easy to see why people line up to work there. But, like most corporate giants, it’s not all sunshine and solar panels. Projects like Hinkley Point C have...

We got into the seriously dramatic sibling story behind two of the biggest sports brands on the planet: Puma and Adidas. What started as a shared passion for making top-notch running shoes turned into a full-blown family feud with global consequences. Back in 1924, Rudolph and Adolf Dassler set up a shoe factory powered by a stationary bike. Their designs took off, especially with German athletes,...

We dove into the chaos of the Torrey Canyon oil spill, one of the first major environmental disasters of its kind, and let’s just say, it was an absolute mess. Back in 1967, the SS Torrey Canyon, a huge oil tanker, hit Pollard’s Rock in the Seven Stones Reef and dumped over 31 million gallons of crude oil into the sea. Cornwall, the Channel Islands, and parts of Brittany took the brunt of it. Coas...

We got chatting about greeting cards... and trust us, it’s a juicier topic than you’d think. From ancient Egypt and China to the boom during the Industrial Revolution, we took a little stroll through history and realised just how iconic that folded bit of card really is. The UK greeting card industry is no small thing either, bringing in a whopping £1.5 billion a year. With 94% of households buyin...

About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and smal...

About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and smal...

Love them or loathe them, Spanx has become a wardrobe staple for millions of women looking for that smooth, sculpted silhouette. But where did it all start? We’re going back to 1998, when Sarah Blakely, armed with nothing but a pair of scissors, a pair of sheer tights, and a frustration with visible panty lines, created what would become one of the most successful fashion inventions of all time. B...

James Dyson built an empire on relentless innovation, testing 5,126 prototypes before finally cracking the vacuum cleaner game. That kind of persistence is impressive, but does it mean Dyson is the golden standard of engineering, or just another brand riding on clever marketing? We’re diving into Dyson’s rise from scrappy inventor to billionaire businessman, comparing his journey to other accident...

For 100 years, Disney has been the ultimate storyteller, bringing us childhood nostalgia, cinematic magic, and theme park dreams. But behind the castles and catchy songs, things aren’t looking quite so enchanted. We’re digging into the controversies and cracks appearing in the House of Mouse. From early accusations of racial stereotyping and sexism in classic films to modern-day scandals involving...

What started as a quirky idea, renting out an air mattress to make a bit of extra cash, has exploded into a $31 billion giant that now rivals the world’s biggest hotel chains. Airbnb has changed the way we travel, offering everything from treehouses to penthouses in over 200 countries. But has this so-called travel revolution come at too high a cost? We’re unpacking the impact Airbnb has had on ci...

Football, the beautiful game, the world’s sport, the great unifier. But beneath the passion, the rivalries, and the stadium anthems, there’s a side to the sport that’s far from wholesome. We’re talking about corruption at the highest levels, the kind that turns a game of skill and dedication into a multi-billion-dollar power play. Since 2015, FIFA has been rocked by scandal after scandal, with $15...

Sustainability sells, but how much of it is real, and how much is just clever marketing? Patagonia has built its entire brand on environmental advocacy, championing recycled materials, fair trade, and transparency. From their Worn Wear program, which encourages customers to repair rather than replace, to their outspoken stance against destructive policies, they’ve positioned themselves as the gold...

Once upon a time, if you wanted professional-looking graphics, you either had to pay a designer or battle with the complicated world of Adobe. Enter Canva , the platform that flipped the industry on its head. What started as a simple idea from Melanie Perkins in 2000 has grown into a global design powerhouse with 190 million users across 190 countries. And the craziest part? It was rejected by 100...

The stats don’t lie. We’re digging into the hard-hitting reality of workplace fatalities, and the numbers might just make you rethink everything. In the UK alone, 137 people lost their lives at work in 2023/24. Falls from height and being struck by moving vehicles accounted for a staggering 70% of those deaths. The majority, 95% were men, and over a third were aged 60 or over. Construction and agr...

Why do we keep buying Starbucks, even when we know the controversies? In this episode, we dig into the story of the coffee giant that has become both a symbol of convenience and a lightning rod for criticism. Founded in 1971, Starbucks is often celebrated for its values and branding, but its practices tell a more complicated story. We explore the company’s public image versus its reality, touching...