Offcuts

On this episode, I chat with Fionn Hart - UK Country Manager at Flipdish . A Dublin-based digital food-ordering platform. We discuss the challenges of remote hiring, taking on the big food delivery apps, the power of customer advocacy, their recent €40m investment round, predictions for DTC food in 2021 and getting comfortable with worst-case scenarios.

I chat with Emilie Vanpoperinghe, co founder & CEO at Oddbox . We discuss the complexities of a food-based subscription model, balancing purpose and profitability, the advantages of being a B-corp, maintaining work-life balance when your co-founder is your life partner and why we should all be eating more wonky fruit and veg.

I chat with Amanda Hesser - co-founder & CEO at Food 52 . We discuss the early days of Food 52, the success of bootstrapping, pioneering the content and commerce curve, the power of community, the recent acquisition of Dansk and why failure was never an option.

I chat with Ian Baron - Chief Papa at Mamamade . We touch on the advantages of building a brand with your life partner, organically growing a community to 30,000 members, the art of asking the right questions, experiential supermarkets and the ideal vegan feast.

I chat with Gini Newton - co founder of Karma Cans and Karma Kitchen . We touch on how Karma Cans led to the creation of Karma Kitchen, the advantages of running a business with your sister, building communities and how a trip to Norfolk to buy a kitchen for £600 ended up being a very wise decision.

I kick off the season by chatting to Claire Warner, co-founder of Aecorn Drinks . We discuss her transition from big corporate to start up, the concept of unlearning, Aecorn's unique product development process and whether isolation has actually made us more open to new things?!

I chat with Eva Pascoe - a technology and eCommerce trailblazer, speaker, writer, co-founder of the world's first internet cafe and Director of Ecommerce at The Retail Practice. We discuss how the tragedy at Chernobyl led to her journey in technology, the shift from omnichannel to pure-play DTC, working smarter not harder and why 2020 was more challenging than the dot com crash.

I chat with Keir Whitaker - a digital pioneer, co-founder of Default (a Shopify app company) and a freelance marketing and business consultant for Shopify Partners. We touch on his 20+ years of digital experience, reimagining events in a post-COVID world, states of flow, t-shaped skill sets and nerding out on Bowie . The article that touches on individual contributors Keir mentions is this one: &n...

I chat with Shimona Mehta, Managing Director EMEA at Shopify . We look at predictions for 2021, whether DTC is being replaced by DTE (direct to everywhere), how brands are scaling responsibly and the word on every iOS users' lips - Clubhouse .

I chat to Ana Andjelic - a Strategy Executive, author of “The Business of Aspiration”, one of Forbes’s World’s Most Influential CMOs and recently appointed Chief Brand Officer at Banana Republic . We unpack some of the themes in her book, learnings from 2020, using your personal brand to add value and the importance of being patient.

I chat to Sam Jones, Co-founder and CEO of OOOOO , a new live commerce app connecting consumers with real people, real products and real opinions. We touch on Sam's unique journey, the reincarnation of live shopping, building a global team and selling Manchester United merch when you're a Liverpool fan.

I chat to Connie Nam, founder and CEO of Astrid & Miyu - a London based jewellery brand who placed ninth in the 2020 fast Track 100 list. We touch on the origins of the company, organic evolution, building communities, reimagining experiential retail and some tattoo talk. 

On the sixth and final episode of the Agency Side Series, I sit down with Piers Thorogood and Alex O’Byrne, co-founders of We Make Websites. We touch on how they met and started the agency, what’s changed in over 10 years of working together, the keys to a successful business relationship and how a £5 Gumtree ad changed the course of their lives.

On the fifth episode of the Agency Side Series, I sit down with Adam Clarke, General Manager EMEA at Reload Digital. We touch on what it means to be a truly global agency, keeping a cool head during periods of great change (e.g. a global pandemic), the pros and cons of staying niche and how not pursuing a PhD in history and politics led him down a digital path.

On the fourth episode of the Agency Side Series, I sit down with Kelly Brown, COO and CFO of The Working Party. We touch on managing a business when your business partner is also your life partner, the eComm and Shopify scene down under, the fluidity of culture and what she’d be doing if she wasn’t running an agency.

On the third episode of the Agency Side Series, I sit down with Paul Rogers, co-founder and Managing Director of Vervaunt . We touch on starting a business with his best friend, staying niche at scale, Shopify versus Magento and how doing spin classes with clients has given Vervaunt a competitive edge.

On the second episode of the Agency Side Series, I sit down with Leja Kress, CEO and Founding Partner of Sweden Unlimited . This is a pretty special episode as Leja and I share a passion for 80s new wave and post punk music. So it was a unique opportunity to sit down with her and learn how the band she formed with her husband and twin sister led to the creation of the agency, what they’ve learnt i...

On the first episode of the Agency Side Series, I sit down with Kelly Vaughn - Founder & CEO of The Tap Room . We touch on her unconventional background, building culture whilst not creating an echo chamber, the concept of an ideal client and advice she’d give to somebody embarking on their own agency journey.

On this episode, I sit down with Chris Nawrocki, co founder of Heur - an eCommerce growth and strategy consultancy. We touch on an array of subjects from Tik Tok to VC funding to sustainability to the existential crisis traditional agency models are facing, and everything in between.

On this episode, I sit down with Rob Bridgeman, founder and CEO of Snug - the sofa in a box company. We touch on his personal experience of moving house which lead to Snug, how they’ve bucked the trend of VC funding and creating not just a product but a category.

On this episode, I sit down with Raph Babalola - co founder of Temple , a new natural skincare and wellness brand for men of colour. We touch on his journey, building communities, starting a business in the middle of a pandemic, how he manages to juggle everything and advice for anyone embarking on a similar path.

On this episode, I sit down with Katherine Heath - Head of Social at Hug London  and an advocate for ethical and sustainable business. We touch on her journey, an ethical directory she co-founded, some recent headlines and tips to live a more conscious existence.

On this episode, I sit down with Matt Gillet, Chief Commercial Officer at Slerp . We touch on his Journey, the concept of change, whether food and hospitality has been disrupted forever and what he misses most about Australia.

On this episode, I sit down with E-commerce and Digital Marketing Consultant, Hannah Spicer . We touch on her journey, building a personal brand, the pros and cons of consulting, and - as you guessed it - the world right now.

On this episode, I sit down with Nicola Becerra (Head of eCommerce and Digital at Lightbox Jewelry ) and we touch on differences between London and LA, the state of D2C and her go-to food spot for when the lock down ends.