Business Matters: In Conversation

The 4Networking founder on losing a £2m business overnight, the BBC Panorama and Channel 4 stalking case, and the four seconds that nearly ended it all. Brad Burton, the founder of 4Networking, bestselling author and Britain’s self-styled No.1 motivational business speaker, returns to In Conversation with Richard Alvin for one of the most unflinching interviews Business Matters has ever published....

In this episode, we’re joined by Gary Moffatt, Managing Director, and Lesley Leach, People Director at Chubb Fire and Security UK & Ireland. They share how Chubb Fire and Security UK's leadership philosophy is empowering every employee—from apprentice to executive—to lead with integrity, confidence and purpose. Discover how Leader Labs, mentoring, and a values-first culture are transformin...

In this episode, Richard Alvin speaks with Sara Sabin, a transformational leadership coach, about the importance of emotional mastery and intuition in leadership. They discuss how emotions influence decision-making, the significance of emotional neutrality, and practical techniques for leaders to process their emotions effectively. Sara emphasizes the role of intuition as a skill that can be devel...

Welcome to a new episode of  In Conversation , the  Business Matters  podcast with  Richard Alvin . In this episode, we sit down with  John Wegman, CEO of Customs Support Group , to discuss the complexities of international trade, the impact of AI on customs processes, and how businesses are adapting to an increasingly turbulent global supply chain.   In this episode: •  Customs Support Group’s Gr...

In the latest edition of 'In Conversation: The Business Matters podcast,' join host Richard Alvin as he delves deep into the intricacies of the UK organic farming sector with none other than Guy Singh Watson, the visionary founder of Riverford Farm . In this captivating episode, listeners will gain invaluable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing organic farming in the UK,...

Richard Alvin sits down with Gareth Scargill from University of Leeds’, Nexus and we thank episode sponsor M&S Corporate Gifts, for more information Visit  ⁠ marksandspencerforbusiness.com ⁠ Now innovation hubs are stepping in to help startups overcome their challenges. One of these pioneering resources is University of Leeds’, Nexus . Here, expert academics advise the surrounding region’s you...

Richard Alvin sits down with the co-founders of new streaming platform lounges.tv Scott Green & Craig Gardner. Lounges.tv, showcases exclusive content of rising content creators and gives a new chance for their talent to be noticed and most importantly, to be more quickly financially rewarded. The content creator industry has never been bigger. With a staggering 3.7 million new videos flooding...

Richard Alvin sits down with Ben Read, founder of Redeployable and we thank episode sponsor M&S Corporate Gifts, for more information Visit marksandspencerforbusiness.com Redeployable is a platform aimed at simplifying the challenging journey out of the military and into new, fulfilling careers.  As a former British Army Sergeant himself, Read could see that there was a problem; leaving the mi...

This week we delve into the world of training and employment schemes, skills, careers and future of work opportunities as we’re joined by Daniel Brett, Vice Chair of the T Level Ambassador Network, and brothers, John and James Lack, who have both studied T Levels in different skills areas.   Our guests take us through what T Levels are, with John and James talking us through their first-hand exper...

Richard Alvin is joined by, award-winning entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of cutting edge logistics company GV Group, Tevin Tobun. Tevin's company is behind a number of brands that offer logistics services to the food service sector. The firm works in both the commercial and public fields and its clients include hotel groups, restaurants, contract caterers, supermarkets, schools and healthcar...

Colin Bell, business growth director of the North East Local Area Partnerships joins Managing Editor Richard Alvin to talk about the Governments Peer to Peer networking initiative. 

Founder of Laughs Last and author of Making Sales Channels Work plus Fractional Sales Officer for tech start-ups Marcus joins us to talk about how to boost your businesses sales'.

We are joined today by Phil Storey, a Leeds-based tech entrepreneur who has launched a pioneering app designed to highlight the importance of website maintenance and power digital growth. Storey, a website developer with almost a decade of experience developed multi-functional app Glow to streamline the processes involved with website maintenance and transform perceptions of how important it is to...

Peter Ryding, award winning CEO mentor and Founder of VIC (AI e-coaching interactive software for employees) talks to Richard Alvin about how to navigate through the current business environment.

Emma Robinson, co-founder of Huddersfield based Red Diamond Recruitment joins Managing Editor Richard Alvin to talk about how Covid-19 has changed the global recruitment process and why many employers have really embraced diversity to grow their businesses. 

Karen Emanuel, CEO of Key Production, and winner of the NatWest Everywoman Award in 2018 tells us how her business, and the music production business has fared during the Lockdown and what advice she would give to fellow entrepreneurs on how to cope. Plus as Karen started Key 30 years ago after being made redundant during a recession with £2,000 redundancy payment she gives advice to others who mi...

Brad Burton joins Managing Editor Richard Alvin to tell us about what happened when, the face-to-face business networking company he founded, 4Networking came to a shuddering halt when the Coronavirus lock-down hit and they had to create 4online or have their 14 year old die.  As Brad is also the UK's No.1 motivational business speaker, working with the likes of Bentley, JCB and Xero Richard asked...

Gareth Smyth runs business brokerage, Hilton Smyth, which was ranked number one in the UK for volume of businesses sold in the first quarter of 2020. He talks to Richard Alvin, Managing Editor about how to value, sell or buy a small and medium sized business. Gareth also explains that businesses that have survived the Coronavirus pandemic are most probably worth more than they were before the pand...

Jeff Kelisky is CEO of, leading online investment platform, Seedrs he joins Managing Editor Richard Alvin to talk about how SMEs and smaller companies can gain investment from other entrepreneurs and the investor community and trade shares as easy as trading as a public company. 

Barney Wragg, co-founder and CEO of robotics firm Karakuri talks to Business Matters managing editor Richard Alvin about how his company  is bringing the fourth industrial revolution to the food-to-go industry. Barney talks about how food retailers and restaurants are having to rethink how technology can be deployed alongside the chefs and staff to help and give reassurance to customers of minimal...

Charlie Mullins OBE, the founder and chairman of Pimlico Plumbers and former Channel 4 secret millionaire, joins us to talk about how to survive and thrive during the COVID 19 crisis and he also gives us his thoughts on the Mayor of London Sadique Khan's increase of the congestion charge. 

Mark Wright, the 2014 winner off the Apprentice and founder of digital marketing agency Climb Online gives us his advice or boosting your business online and tells us what it's like to have Lord Sugar as a business partner during a lockdown.

The trailer for our new podcast where Richard Alvin, our managing editor, will be speaking to some of the UKs highest profile entrepreneurs. From TV Dragons’ to some of the most inspirational founders in business today.    Richard will also be speaking to specialists in every field imaginable to get you advice on: marketing, social media, HR, legal problems and how to cope with the ‘new normal’ as...

Managing Editor Richard Alvin talks to Blur Group CEO Philip Letts about jobs for the boys and s-commerce

An interview Tristram Mayhew, Tristram founded Go Ape in 2002. They now are 45 businesses in the UK, (& have expanded into the USA with 6 courses open by this summer), with UK turnover of £12.5m and growing, with very healthy profits. They have created over 650 worthwhile jobs in the UK and another hundred in the USA.