Founded & Grounded

The world of insurance is a grey area for many people in more ways than one, so allow Sam White to inject some colour to the proceedings... Setting up in business following a chain of life-changing events, Sam now presides over two successful insurance companies in the UK and Australia who are explicitly putting the consumer at the heart of their proposition. But, as is so often the case, the entr...

Besides climate change, the issue of microplastics is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing society. Passionate to put his engineering talent to use, but unable to find a business that matched the scale of his ambitions, Adam Root founded Matter - a company built on the principle of capturing, harvesting and recycling microplastics. In conversation with Founded & Grounded, Adam talks...

" Information is abundant... wisdom less so. " It's no secret that access to knowledge and mentorship is fundamental to success in many aspects of life, not least business. But, on a Diverse Founders Programme, it became apparent to Dayo Akinrinade that these all-important connections were held within privileged circles - so she decided to set up Wisdom . Wisdom has harnessed the social audio phen...

Meet Steve Neil... 'Brand Protector' and director of The Trademark Helpline . Steve's mission is to ensure that business owners look after their intellectual property and the brands they've started from scratch. But he had to balance that with the challenges of becoming a business owner himself - a tale worthy of a reality TV series. It's '2-for-1' in this latest edition as Steve not only shares h...

There are lots of reasons why people become entrepreneurs. Nav Sawhney had three, instilled within him from a young age, and these inspired him to develop a product that would enhance everyday life for the consumers of tomorrow. As our latest guest entrepreneur, Nav explains to Founded & Grounded how the plight of refugees, the central role of women in life, and the intrigue of engineering were th...

After becoming a Mum, Dominique Woolf wanted to take life in a whole new direction and literally bring some spice to the proceedings. So, using her sales background and Thai heritage, and winning over the local farmers' market in North London, The Woolf's Kitchen got cooking. In our first episode of 2022, Dominique talks through the reality of running a business and being a parent (spoiler alert:...

Verity owned a sandwich business. Charlie ran nightclub nights. Both were passionate about fast food. Neither had run a takeaway before. 6 weeks later they signed the lease for their first premises, and Oowee was born. In this episode we cover the world of fast food, charting the rise of this Bristol-based business that responded to changing consumer behaviour and food trends, including the growth...

One piece of advice? "Just do it." Meet Ally. He's got a lot of time for meaningful workplace benefits - less so for Advisors. Ally's the founder of Juno - a business at the vanguard of the wellbeing economy, with the goal of changing how people interact with their employers. An entrepreneur simply because he had to be, Ally shares with Founded & Grounded the bumpy road to creating a business that...

If 'too much information, too little time'   is the great problem of our age, this business has a 5-minute solution. Patrick Walker is a veteran of the 'big tech' scene having held senior positions with Facebook and YouTube. But he was moved to go it alone to address the issue of sheer volume of content, and 'hack knowledge' to provide users with briefer and more positive online experiences. Thus,...

How does it feel to be suicidal? One man who knows is Nick Hussey, founder of Frahm - the business behind high-quality, long-lasting jackets for the real world. Nick stared into the abyss after the collapse of his first company but, with the help of his wife and an old school friend, came back to start and succeed with a new enterprise. True to the ethos of Founded & Grounded, and alongside the bu...

" If you have a great product, your business should succeed." We meet Edgar Thoemmes , co-founder of Virtually There and Canton Tea, about how two very different businesses steadily grew and found their audiences. Edgar describes the seismic impact of Covid (and how Virtually There anticipated the boom in flexible working), how taking the long term view can pay dividends, and being in a position t...

To kick off Series 3, we meet Banasa Williams - co-founder of Ksoni, who produce plastic-free bathroom wellness products such as shampoo and bodywash. With the global environment high on the agenda this autumn, Banasa talks about the "payoff" required for products and brands to truly call themselves sustainable. We also get to hear about the challenges of supply chain, how you can learn from other...

In anticipation of Season 3 starting later this September, we welcome back listeners to the podcast which shares the stories and wisdom of early-stage entrepreneurs. There are more great guests on the horizon and new ways to get involved with the show - we're starting by asking for your summer break inspirations and big decisions -  plus we welcome a brand new member of the Founded & Grounded team...

For our season 2 finale, we speak with Chris Goodfellow; CEO of content marketing agency, Inkwell . When he left an old employer, Chris did something unconventional - he bought one of their brands and rebooted it to become a successful annual challenge - The Pitch - helping startups raise millions of pounds. In conversation with Ollie, Chris talks throughout about the importance of founders puttin...

"Women can have children - and know there's a safe secure way of returning to work." Meet Jess: Mum and co-founder of That Works for Me . When a chance moment - and a gap in the freelance recruitment market - presented itself, Jess took the initiative to serve a large untapped (and talented) audience... that of Mums. 72% of professional women leave the workforce within 3 years of having children -...

How to design a business that meets your expectations. Meet Mikey, Co founder of Cold Email, a SaaS start-up taking the hassle out of lead generation.  Mikey's no stranger to the start-up scene,  having co-founded Escape the City.  Mikey shares his tips on how to validate your business idea, how to find a mentor and the challenges of running a business with 3 young children. An episode not to be m...

Meet Thomas, co-founder of Aisle 3 ,  who shares his insights into how his start-up propelled itself into the 1% of start-ups that raises funding.  We discuss the world of price comparison, how Aisle 3 are a  'shopper obsessed' business, the trials and tribulations of fundraising two rounds of investment and the future of e-commerce.  Aisle 3 aims to give shoppers the complete view of all of their...

" You don't need anyone else to believe in you... other than you ."  This episode's guest entrepreneur is Suz: Mum, former accountant, bodybuilder - and founder of The Proper Oats Company.   Suz shares her experience of starting a business amid a global pandemic, in her words "launching an on-the go product when the world wasn't going anywhere!" There's the importance of finance, networking and so...

The sisters on a mission to change the beauty industry. April and Nikki share their story of why they started Handsome , the app for beauty professionals.  We discuss their challenges, what it's like being sisters in business and what the future holds for the beauty industry and Handsome.  Text us your feedback and feature on the show Support the show Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners: N...

Want to turn your passion into a business? Want to know how to you figure out who your target audience is? In Episode 11, hear from Mark, who shares his insights and speaks openly about the challenges he faces a sole entrepreneur.  Mark Makin is the founder of Spontza, a marketplace that connects Businesses & Brands directly with Sports Clubs, Athletes, Fan Channels and Events. Check out Spontza b...

Episode 10 we catch up with Maud, co-founder of Adapt, a study planner app for students. Adapt was built using Google’s Design Sprint process. After intense testing and quick growth they knew that Adapt had a market however Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works for Maud and her co-founders. This episode covers being an accidental entrepreneur, testing your idea, adapting your business model and se...

Season 2 episode 9 we chat with Helena co-founder of TrueStart Coffee, the feel good coffee company. TrueStart has a strong ethical and sustainable ethos, and the coffee exists to make you feel great! Helena discusses the importance of a positive mindset as a driving force for a successful business, and being brave when repositioning your brand to appeal to a broader audience. Episode 9 also cover...

Episode 8, we catch up with Liam JE Gerada co-founder of Krepling, a centralised commerce platform for entrepreneurs, business owners, and enterprises. Born in South Africa and having moved to Malta, Liam is 21 and running his second successful business. Episode 8 discusses the advantages and challenges that come with being a young entrepreneur. Episode 8 covers topics including working with famil...

Episode 7 is back in the USA with Paul Yacoubian, founder of copy.ai, “an AI powered assistant for writing and brainstorming marketing copy”. Paul gives us a great insight into AI, founders launching in public, benefits of gaining early adopters and his 7 key lessons for someone looking to start-up a business. These include: Don't focus on optimising Pixel perfect is a waste of time User experienc...

Episode 6, we chat with Daniel Snow, co-founder (alongside his brother Jonathan Snow) of The Snow Agency, “a performance-based, digital marketing agency that specialises in scaling e-commerce brands”. Our second US founder on the podcast, provides great advice for e-commerce and discusses the ups and downs that comes with working with family. Other topics include scaling challenges, finding what m...