The Room Where It Happened

From a childhood helicopter dream to building and selling a £4.1bn company, Richard Harpin shares the moments that nearly ended, and ultimately defined,his journey as a founder. In this episode, Richard takes us inside the make-or-break decisions behind HomeServe, including the last-ditch mail shot that saved the business when they had just £10,000 left in the bank, and the devastating moment a pa...

What begins as a personal crisis quickly turns into a leap of faith. For Olivia Ferdi, everything changed seven weeks before her wedding, when a serious ACL injury forced her to confront her health, and her future, head on. In this episode, Olivia shares how that moment sparked an immediate decision to walk away from a career in law and commit fully to building something of her own. She takes us b...

When Heights hit a wall after rapid early growth, founder Dan Murray faced a brutal truth: the product wasn’t the problem, the story was.  In this episode, Dan takes us inside the moment everything changed, explaining how a simple rebrand unlocked a new phase of growth, and why founders often look for answers in the wrong places when momentum stalls. Dan is candid about the decisions that nea...

What starts as a side idea quickly becomes a full-scale obsession. For Will Shu, that obsession turned into Deliveroo, and it began with him delivering meals himself, learning the business from the pavement up. In this episode, Will takes us inside the early days of building a food delivery company from scratch, including the mistakes no one sees, the moments that tested his resolve, and the reali...

What happens when a career built on spreadsheets collides with a gut-level belief in great food? John Eckbert’s path to becoming CEO of Five Guys is anything but conventional, and it nearly didn’t happen at all. In this conversation, John unpacks the improbable steps that took him from banking into the heart of one of the world’s most recognisable fast-casual brands. He shares how a single moment...

Before it became a worldwide holiday staple, The Elf on the Shelf was simply a Pitts family tradition, one that Christa Pitts helped turn into a cultural phenomenon through grit, creativity, and unshakeable belief. In this episode, Christa looks back on the early days of being rejected by every publisher, the decision to self-publish with her family’s savings on the line, and the scrappy marketing...

From Top Gear to The Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm, Andy Wilman has spent decades redefining what car television can be, and learning a few hard lessons along the way. In this episode, Andy opens up about the high-stakes Amazon deal that launched The Grand Tour, the legal and creative gymnastics of building something “like Top Gear, but not Top Gear,” and the spontaneous tent idea that became the...

From delivering coffees at 14 to becoming CEO of Matchroom Boxing, Frank Smith has lived every side of the fight game. In this episode, Frank reflects on the defining moments that shaped his career, from his first “final warning” as a teenager to leading global events watched by millions. He shares the unexpected twists behind major fights like Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul, the lessons learned fro...

In this week's notebook I discuss the importance of not just finding your why, but acting on it. I share the unexpected panic I felt travelling back from my interview with Robert Lewandowski because of the thought I might miss my flight home. That rising fear revealed something important: when your purpose shifts, your reactions shift too. For me, family has become my why, and anything that pulls...

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou joins us from Monaco to revisit the moment easyJet was created, beginning with the 1994 launch, where he persuaded his father to back his idea for a new kind of airline. He reflects on the early years of bold marketing stunts, legal battles with British Airways, and a fierce rivalry with Ryanair that pushed him to keep costs low, move fast and build a brand the public inst...

In this week's notebook, I talk about the fear I felt going into an interview with footballing superstar Robert Lewandowski, why we should enjoy our struggles, celebrate ourselves, and actively seek fear, not run from it. If you're currently feeling paralysed by fear or dissatisfied with everyday life, this episode's here to remind you that life's not meant to be perfect. Be proud of yourself and...

How does someone go from tinkering with computers in a small Manchester bedroom to leading Microsoft UK’s AI revolution? For Darren Hardman, it began with curiosity, hard work, and a lesson that changed his outlook forever: success isn’t about working more hours, it’s about working with purpose. In this episode, Darren shares the defining moments that shaped his leadership journey, from early sacr...

In this week's notebook, I talk about the invisible force that quietly decides the quality of every relationship, the surprising link between doing the hard things you’d rather avoid and living a longer, calmer life, and the truth about time — how we use it, and how it completely changed my view on discipline and what’s truly important. If any part of you feels stuck, stretched, or short on motiva...

As founder of Nails Inc., Thea Green built one of the UK’s most successful beauty brands by combining creativity with integrity, and knowing when to pivot. In this episode, Thea shares the defining moment she decided to close the last nail bar and shift fully to retail, the lessons learned from turning down early acquisition offers, and the challenge of letting go after selling the business to fin...

This week, I open my notebook to share how walking away from TV changed my life — and why ego nearly cost me purpose. I break down what’s really driving the future of podcasting, and the one thing that matters more than audience size: trust. Plus, a reminder that who you choose to walk with will define how far you go. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As founder and CEO of WHOOP, Will Ahmed turned a college dorm room idea into one of the most influential performance technology companies in the world. In this episode, Will shares the leap of faith that started it all, the early rejections that tested his resolve, and the pivotal decision to pivot WHOOP from a hardware company to a subscription model, transforming its future.  He also reveal...

This week in my notebook, I’ve been thinking about time — how quickly it moves, and how much of life we spend rushing to catch up with it. In this episode, I talk about rediscovering patience, the difference between recreation and re-creation , and the reminder that anything above zero compounds. If you’ve ever felt like life is moving too fast, like you’re running out of time, or like chaos has b...

As a digital pioneer across companies like Amazon, McDonald’s, and Volvo, Atif Raffiq has built a career turning legacy brands into innovation powerhouses. In this episode, Atif shares how his first month at McDonald’s led to a billion-dollar digital transformation, the culture shock of bringing a Silicon Valley mindset into a 60-year-old global icon, and the behind-the-scenes moments that reshape...

This week in my notebook, I’ve been thinking about what it really means to live well — not just to achieve, but to feel okay while doing it. Somewhere along the way, it’s easy to confuse progress with pressure, and ambition with never feeling enough. In this episode, I unpack a few lessons that stopped me in my tracks this week — about how we measure success, what we give up in the chase for it, a...

Rapper, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Nala’s Baby, Krept has built his success on more than music, it’s been about discipline, ownership, and learning from failure. In this episode, Krept opens up about the make-or-break decision to turn down a major private equity deal and focus on building his brand at home before going global, the setbacks that nearly derailed product launches, and the lesson...

This week I open my notebook on three lessons that hit hard; Why the people you surround yourself with are the invisible architects of your life How every success story begins with being bad at something Why holding steady in the messy middle is where most people give up but the real growth begins. I share what I learned from sitting down with the founders of Whoop and EasyJet (episodes coming soo...

Emily Frazer’s path to becoming a leading force in live sports events was anything but traditional. Without a university degree and after jobs ranging from gymnastics coach to estate agent, she found herself at Matchroom, where a sudden promotion into event direction pushed her to grow fast and take on big responsibilities. In this episode, Emily shares candid reflections on battling imposter synd...

This week I share the lessons that have stayed with me — from Mudita , the joy of celebrating others’ success, to what I learned from Eddie Jordan about being the spark of light in the room. I open up about walking away from BT Sport and the identity shift that came with it, and reflect on Hector Bellerín’s idea of living like a candle — staying steady no matter what’s happening around you. Hosted...

As co-founder and former CEO of Deciem, Nicola Kilner helped build one of the most disruptive beauty companies of the last decade, but the journey was far from straightforward. In this episode, Nicola shares the career-defining advice she received from Estée Lauder’s Leonard Lauder, the bold decision to boycott Black Friday in favor of values over sales, and the unexpected rise of The Ordinary, a...

This week Jake explores how failure is an instrument for success, how to reframe those who doubted you as a collaborator and why writing a "To Don't" list is just as important as a "To Do" list. He also answers a question from a listener, struggling with a new promotion at work and offers a candid exploration of times that Jake has struggled to show how they can shift their mindset around imposter...