Curious Customer - the Consumer Podcast.

Vishal Kumar is the founder of Caira Camera — a camera that bridges the gap between your smartphone and professional equipment. Before launching his business, Vishal worked as a data scientist at Sotheby's, where he started creating his own content and quickly discovered the frustrations that come with traditional photography workflows. His experience led him to ask a simple question: why sho...

We're living through a major shift in how brands are created. Andy Hooper, co-founder of R3, reveals that celebrity-endorsed products are evolving into celebrity-owned brands where stars actually have skin in the game. When Kevin Hart opens Hart House or Selena Gomez creates Rare Beauty, they're not just lending their name for a paycheck—they're building something they genuinely bel...

What if your electric car could make you money while you sleep, or your energy company actually helped you save instead of just sending bills? In this episode, Tim Heal, Chief Strategy Officer at Octopus Energy, reveals how the way we power our homes is fundamentally changing—and why it matters for your wallet and the planet. For decades, energy companies have operated on outdated technology, trea...

Ever wondered why you feel more connected to certain creators than others? In this episode, Harry Fitzgerald, co-founder and COO of Fanvue, reveals how the way we interact with our favorite artists, athletes, and influencers is fundamentally changing—and why that matters to you as a consumer. Harry breaks down the seismic shift happening right now in the creator economy. For years, creators have b...

Meet Hannu Ryöppönen, a veteran of the food industry with an impressive track record that spans some of the world's most recognizable brands. As Group CFO at IKEA for over 13 years, he was behind the scenes of those famous meatballs and hot dogs you grab during your furniture shopping trips. He later moved to Ahold, one of the world's largest grocery retailers, and has served on the advi...

Yoann Pavy has built his career transforming how consumers interact with some of the UK's most innovative brands. As a growth and marketing leader at companies like Deliveroo, Depop, and PerkBox, he's helped scale multiple billion-pound consumer businesses. Now, as Chief Growth Officer at AI Apply, Yoann is tackling one of the most stressful consumer experiences: job hunting. AI Apply is...

Kevin Xu quit his engineering job at Google and Stripe to solve a problem millions of Americans face: how to invest wisely without getting scammed or losing money to Wall Street insiders. After teaching himself to trade through Reddit forums and turning $35,000 into $8 million during the GameStop saga, Kevin founded AfterHour—a social platform where everyday investors can see exactly what successf...

Ever wonder why some brands stick with you while others are instantly forgettable? Or how a simple social media stunt can suddenly have everyone talking?  In this episode, One of One Brands founder Arnava Asen reveals the sophisticated psychological tactics that drive your purchasing decisions—often without you even realizing it. From that spontaneous shoe purchase where you later discover everyon...

Meet Max Marchione, a remarkable entrepreneur who's already built a quarter-billion-dollar company before hitting his thirties. As president and co-founder of Superpower, Max has transformed his personal health struggles into a mission to democratize premium healthcare. After spending a decade battling chronic migraines and mysterious health issues that stumped over a dozen doctors, he discov...

Ruth Handcock OBE, CEO of Octopus Money, has identified a massive gap in the financial services industry that affects millions of people. While wealthy individuals can easily access personalized financial planning, and basic investment platforms serve those ready to dive in, there's virtually nothing for people who simply want help creating a plan for their money. In just over two years, Ruth...

£250M of cars! Meet Aidan Rushby, the CEO and co-founder who turned his fear of car dealership rejection into a £250 million business opportunity. After experiencing the anxiety of not knowing his car buying budget, Aidan spotted a massive gap in the UK's used car market where 7.5 million vehicles change hands annually. His solution? Carmoola, a direct-to-consumer car finance provider that pu...

What happens when a tech investor decides to revolutionize travel during a global pandemic? Meet Cat Jones, founder and CEO of Byway, who launched her flight-free travel company in 2020 while on maternity leave. Unlike traditional travel that treats the journey as a means to an end, Byway focuses on making the journey itself the destination—connecting travelers across Europe through trains, boats,...

What happens when you combine a gorilla, Phil Collins, and chocolate marketing genius? Phil Rumbol joins us to share the story behind one of advertising's most memorable campaigns. With an impressive career spanning from InBev's award-winning Stella Artois work to his groundbreaking tenure at Cadbury, Phil knows what it takes to build brands that stick. At Cadbury, he faced a critical ch...

Maxime Barbier’s journey is anything but typical. A serial entrepreneur from Paris, Maxime built his first business at just 22, later selling it to national television in France. But what came after was even more transformative. Faced with the question of “what's next?” after a successful exit, he took 100 coffees with 100 strangers - an experiment that reshaped his view of purpose, connectio...

What happens when a young lawyer realizes that adult friendships are slowly fizzling out because time becomes a luxury? Neil Tanna found himself watching his social connections fade as the demands of professional life took over, and instead of accepting this as inevitable, he decided to build a solution.  As CEO and co-founder of Howbout, Neil has created something that's resonating powerfull...

As the Founding Designer of Lovable, Nad Chishtie isn’t just building another web tool—he’s helping reimagine who gets to build software in the first place. With a mission to flip the 1% of people who can code into the 99% who can create, Lovable is already turning heads with its impressive $60M run rate in under a year. Nad brings years of product and design thinking to the table, but it’s his ab...

As the Senior Director of Marketing at LEGO, Madelaine Edwards carries a huge legacy on her shoulders - and does so with clarity and purpose. In this episode of Curious Customer, she joins Matt to share how a 90-year-old brand continues to evolve without losing sight of its origins. Starting from a small Danish carpenter’s workshop in 1932, LEGO has become one of the world’s most recognized and lo...

From the top ranks of Ford and General Motors to launching one of the world’s fastest-growing car brands, Alain Visser has seen the auto industry from every possible angle. With nearly four decades of experience, including leadership roles at Opel and Volvo, Alain grew increasingly frustrated with the industry's lack of real change. That frustration became the fuel for something bold. In 2015...

Before he was revolutionizing fast food delivery by air, Yariv Bash was literally shooting for the moon. As the co-founder and CEO of Flytrex, Yariv is now leading the largest drone food delivery service in the U.S.—but his journey began with building the first private spacecraft to (almost) land on the moon. That project raised over $100 million in donations and sparked Yariv’s belief in what’s p...

Welcome to Curious Customer – the podcast for anyone fascinated by the ever-changing world of consumer brands, products, and behaviour. Whether you're deep in the trenches of marketing, building the next big startup, or simply love decoding what makes people buy what they buy, you’re in the right place. Hosted by venture capital investor Matt, this show goes beyond surface-level chatter to un...