People Doing Things

Welcome Amin. He founded Qube, the world's first members-only studio for music and content creators. With locations in Acton, Hackney, Canary Wharf and soon Elephant and Castle, their studios enable musicians, podcast hosts and content creators to rehearse, experiment, record, host, and capture a range of content whenever they like.  Amongst their audience are musicians like Lewis Capaldi, Raye, J...

Introducing Sidney & Declan. They founded outdoor clothing brand Fera - a love letter to the British outdoors. Founded in 2022, each capsule celebrates different outdoor culture, from fly fishing to country pubs and outdoor cooking.  Their collections are made up of hard-wearing canvas gilets, sherpa fleeces, field shirts and double knee trousers - bringing a rugged, hardworking and boxy style bac...

Say hello to Thom Elliot. Back in 2012, he and his brother James founded Pizza Pilgrims - a remarkable journey that turned a simple tuk-tuk into a pizza empire spanning over 20 locations. Fueled by a passion for authentic Italian pizza and disillusioned with their previous careers in advertising and TV production, the brothers bought a Piaggio Ape and set off on a month-long pilgrimage across Ital...

Introducing Frazer Thompson, the visionary behind Chapel Down. Frazer's journey began in an unexpected way—he founded Chapel Down in 2002 after a playful wager with a friend led him down the path of winemaking. What started as a gamble transformed into a success story, with Chapel Down emerging as England's leading winery and achieving a stock market valuation of £120 million. Frazer's early days...

Say hello to Nick and Toby. They founded 'Ask Us For Ideas' (or AUFI for short) back in 2010 connecting ambitious businesses with the top 1% of creative agencies globally, from startups and scaleups to household names. Born out of the last recession, they've experienced the growth of a totally different brand building landscape firsthand. From the rise of social media and DTC brands to the boom of...

Introducing Andy Shovel. He co-founded the plant-based meat alternative brand THIS!™ back in 2019 on a mission to force the world's livestock into retirement. Only five years on, his vegan start-up is now valued at over £150mn and doing exactly what it set out to. Last year alone they saved 557k animals from the slaughterhouse targeting reforming meat lovers searching for familiar textures and fla...

Welcome Sam and Imme. They're the co-founders of Botivo, the small batch aperitif inspired drink on a mission to put the craft and depth of flavour from the alcohol world into the non-alcohol space. Based in Hertfordshire, they use a combination of natural ingredients starting with an apple cider vinegar and wildflower honey base with botanicals of wormwood, rosemary, gentian and thyme with an ora...

Say hi to Stu Macdonald - the founder of Manilife, the undisputed champion of peanut butter. It all started back in 2014 when Stu moved to Argentina seeking to escape a looming job in accountancy, swapping numbers and spreadsheets for peanuts and social enterprise. While working for a peanut butter estate in Buenos Aires, he fell in love with jars of the gold stuff and started selling them whereve...

Introducing Jono Holt. Ten years ago he founded Otherway, the strategically-led studio where design and advertising work together to connect brands with a new generation of consumers. Forged from a background in advertising but with a desire to create omni-channel brands in a fast-changing digital world; Jono spotted the DTC trend early, looking to brands like Warby Parker in the states, going on...

Say hey to Ellen Miles. She runs Dream Green, a social enterprise on a mission to make cities greener by giving people the information, inspiration, and tools to get guerrilla gardening. Based in East London, they've provided youth groups with nature-based skills, communities with grant funding and advice, and festival-goers with messy, radical fun. Through a range of online guides, real-life work...

Say hello to Morgan and Rima. They founded Peachies - a nappy brand supporting families through the first 1,000 days. Engineered to be a super soft upgrade with unrivalled performance and no nasty chemicals. Their mission is to change the world, one poop at a time. When we think of nappies, we think of brands like Huggies and Pampers, big brands that have dominated the market for years, followed b...

Introducing Xavier Baker on the show. He runs the Isle of Wight Distillery, home to their signature Mermaid Gin in original, pink and zest formats - as well as newly launched Spiced Rum and Salted Vodka to keep your taste buds refreshed.    If you thought their bottles were the only things filled with spirit you'd be wrong. Xavier is unstoppable. He's not only a self-taught brewer and distiller bu...

Introducing Henry Hales. He founded SIRPLUS, the relaxed tailoring brand born from surplus fabrics with a vision to create clothes that are worn more, last longer and adapt to the seasons.  What started off as turning excess shirt fabric into upmarket boxer shorts back in 2010, has transformed into a British menswear staple offering a whole host of product lines, from shirts and knitwear, to outer...

Introducing Freddy Manduca. He founded Newfoundland, one of the UK's leading providers of diagnostic tests and medical devices, on a mission to make self-testing accessible across a myriad of health concerns.  What started as a desperate race to provide the UK with enough Covid tests has pivoted into a business predicated on the idea of convenient and affordable self diagnosis for the people. This...

Introducing Laura Jardine Paterson. Founder of Concat, the first digital-led company by all refugee and female developers based in Lebanon. It's one of the most ethnographically rich businesses I've come across in a long time. A sign of the times in a way that is positive, progressive and profound.  Take every single stereotype about web development; male-dominated, tech-focused, for profit, based...

Say hello to Mark and Gyve. They founded Suri, the world's sleekest electric toothbrush, equal parts stylish as it is sustainable. Founded in 2021, they decided to re-engineer the toothbrush from the head down, when they learned that over 4 billion toothbrushes are chucked away globally each year. That's a lot of plastic, enough to stretch around the circumference of the globe, end to end, 17 time...

Say hi to Gabriel Bean. Him and his business partner Bryn Ferris, launched Grounded in 2020 and are the most natural plant-based protein drink out there. Listed in the likes of Whole Foods, Selfridges and Planet Organic - they are on a mission to make the cleanest protein shakes on the planet, using only real ingredients straight from the ground. Turns out it's harder than you think.  Thing is, wh...

Introducing Tom Finn & Kristoffer Sølling. They're the founders and directors of Regular Practice - one of my favourite up & coming branding agencies and one of It's Nice That's One's To Watch . Based of Broadway Market in London's Hackney. Despite working with big businesses like Fred Perry, Tom Dixon, Acne Studios and Tom's - their specialism comes from variety - working across multiple categori...

Welcome Jack Chaplin. He founded Padel Shift, a builder and operator of Padel tennis sites around the UK. They currently have 2 sites with several more on the way. Their remit: to get more people playing the game that's taking the world by storm.  So what is Padel and why is it the fastest growing sport in Europe? Padel is a squash-tennis hybrid racket sport, which is almost always played as doubl...

Say hi to Nico Willson on the show today. He co-founded Futsol. A lifestyle destination for football lovers. They sell sophisticated football apparel for on and off the pitch.  Despite football being the most universal sports in the world. A sport where no matter where you are you can drop a ball and have a kickabout with someone - no matter your background, race, language or gender. But it's a ga...

Welcoming Ally Fekaiki on the show today. He's the founder of the world's largest employee wellness platform - Juno. A global platform that gives employees flexible access to meaningful benefits all in one place.  Table football, subsidised cafes, monthly pizza. The reality is that workplace perks are anything but. On the whole they are top down initiatives, a percentage of revenue, a line marked...

Say hello to Louise Macnab. She's the international attorney turned gut health campaigner - starting a movement with her brand Jerms - an all-in-one Gut Health support with Probiotics, Prebiotics, Digestive Enzymes & Organic Superfoods.  Working hard and under high pressure as a corporate lawyer in New York and Brussels, Louise started experiencing burnout and chronic stress induced gut issues lik...

Introducing Caspar Rose. Foodie, Spin Instructor, charity advocate and founder of The Wellness Food Group (TWFG) - a merger between Fresh Fitness Food and Detox Kitchen. Two function-first meal prep businesses who've paired up to co-create a healthier nation through convenience and personalised nutrition with more lined up to join their house of brands in the next 12 months.  Caspar leads Fresh Fi...

Say hello to Amelia Christie-Miller. She's the happy go lucky founder of Bold Bean Co, on a mission to make you as obsessed with beans as she is. But here's the thing. These beans aren't just any beans. These are chef approved, top of the range, foodie favourites - meaning you can give Heinz the can and explore a whole new world of protein rich legumes.  She first discovered beans while she was on...

Introducing David Begg. His career to date has been nothing short of illustrious. After studying engineering at Durham and Cambridge, he spent ten years in consulting before becoming one of the founding team members of Booking.com. He then went on to co-found Tom Dixon and education tech company Magic Town before finding his spiritual home in REAL Sparkling Tea. According to the sommeliers at The...