The Founder's Room

Ryan Taylor interviews Scott Williams from the Property Developer Show Exhibit and Podcast. Scott explains his national exhibition, the Property Developer Show, a free platform for SME property developers that connects developers and service providers with speakers across six events in Bristol, London, Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, typically hosted at stadium venues; Manchester d...

Ryan Taylor interviews Sam Cook, owner of Blue Bricks Magazine, a UK property investment magazine for experienced investors and developers with a 10,000 reader print audience plus events like awards, clay pigeon shooting, horse racing, and conferences. Sam explains buying the business in 2022 after working as marketing manager in 2021, the challenges of print subscriptions, and why Blue Bricks has...

Ryan Taylor interviews Scott Hilton of Box Property Management in Bristol about property management versus high street letting agents, criticising high fees like renewal charges and high staff turnover, and arguing landlords are shifting toward independent agencies for better service and clearer flat-rate pricing. They discuss pressures on landlords from tax and compliance, including Section 24 mo...

Ryan Taylor is joined by Sue Wesby who explains her family-run vehicle wrapping/signage company (about £700k turnover) and why they’ve stayed boutique, while diversifying into property and hands-on mentoring. She outlines her property journey - three flips, two held as Airbnbs, and plans to buy and hold in the Northeast - plus her deal metrics (recovering most capital, location, and value-add). Su...

Ryan Taylor interviews Oliver James of Property Branding about improving podcast conversations by starting naturally, then focusing on practical business issues. Oliver explains his biggest current challenge is filtering inbound demand to choose the right long-term property clients and partners, especially developers, rather than chasing all revenue. Oliver speaks about how branding and marketing...

Ryan Taylor interviews fashion founder Nic Stoddart about building her womenswear brand Tiempo. Nic shares how she left her job after encouragement and financial backing from her mum, and explains her 10-year fashion background, including learning the “full picture” of running a brand at Boohoo. She contrasts property’s lumpy returns with Tiempo’s consistent sales, noting average order value aroun...

Ryan Taylor is joined by Marc Bird, explains his vending and gaming machine business, run with partner Alex, including their complementary sales strengths, lead sources (website and Google ads) and the continued value of door knocking. He shares key numbers and realities of the trade: over 1,000 venues and 1,500 machines across the UK, small team structure, six-figure revenue, and how product mix...

Ryan Taylor sits down with Shyheim Prince, founder of High Living Estates, a Midlands-based property investment agency aiming to become a global investment partner. Shyheim discusses being diagnosed with ADHD and autism, how early trauma and school struggles shaped his focus and creativity, and his path from a fashion background and 14 years at Boohoo in logistics efficiency to building a property...

Today we interview Aston Haslam - A 28-year-old Manchester-based property investor discusses his background in e-commerce and building a property portfolio focused on social housing and supported living, plus his property community, the Members Club. He explains how the problems of not knowing what’s happening inside managed properties led to creating DAXOME, a hardware-and-software platform using...

Ryan Bevan, co-founder of House to Home Supported Housing, explains how the CIC grew with steady organic growth to around 540 bed spaces and 98% occupancy, providing low-level supported accommodation and weekly in-person support to help residents build skills and move into their own tenancies and employment. He shares his background in finance, property acquisitions for supported accommodation, an...

Lee Thompson discusses his two property businesses: Your Property Centre (sales, lettings and management across Greater Manchester) and Thompson Estates, a sister company focused solely on Tameside to build a community-based estate agency. He explains the strategy behind keeping Thompson Estates hyper-local, including plans to support a local Ashton hospice by donating a percentage of fees in the...