The Smart Life

From natural resource to business priority. In this special Earth Day episode of The Smart Life podcast, we explore a shift that is starting to reshape how businesses think about water. Water is becoming a core part of infrastructure, with real impact on operations, risk and long term growth. We are joined by Gert-Jan Maasdam, Partner at Blue North Partners, a leader in scaling high-impact water t...

Summary Caroline Laurenson, founder of TL Tech Smart Home Solution and Kind Space, shares her journey of starting a family business and creating a wellbeing Alexa voice app. She discusses the inspiration behind her business, the challenges she faced, and the benefits of running a family business. Caroline also talks about the process of creating her first voice app and the importance of user feedb...

In this episode, Jess and Laura interview Angela Garwood, a writer and blogger, about her journey into journalism as a mother. Angela shares that she didn't always want to be a writer, but writing was always a passion of hers. She talks about the importance of having mentors and seeking guidance from experienced professionals in the industry. Angela also discusses the challenges of being a freelan...

Summary In this episode of the Smart Life podcast, Jess and Laura interview Charlotte Boundy, the founder of Bright Sparks PA. Charlotte shares her journey from being an actress to starting her own personal assistance company. She discusses the challenges she faced as an accidental entrepreneur and the importance of believing in yourself. Charlotte also talks about the training process for her PAs...

Summary In this episode, Jess and Laura interview Louise Ralphs, the creative mastermind behind Lou Paper, a custom wedding stationery studio. Louise shares her journey from studying graphic design to working in fashion buying and marketing before finally pursuing her passion for illustration. She discusses the challenges of running her own business, the importance of having a support network, and...

Summary In this episode of the Smart Life podcast, the hosts discuss mental health in the context of managing stress in a deadline-driven environment and navigating the complexities of remote and hybrid work. They also explore the challenges of maintaining balance as working parents. The guests, Jonathan Curtis and Laura Bull, share their personal experiences and offer strategies for thriving in h...

Summary In this episode, Jess Hadleigh discusses how technology can be used to achieve water sustainability with Gert Jan Maasdam and Adam Williams. They explore the pressing challenges of water scarcity and the impact of climate change on water resources. The conversation highlights promising water-saving technologies and innovations, such as digital monitoring of water networks, precise irrigati...

Having been our first ever guest on The Smart Life back in 2019, Delta Dore’s Senior Area Manager John Bradford is back to chat with us in the final episode of Season III. He reflects on how much the industry has changed since he last appeared on our podcast, when we were still pre-pandemic, pre-energy crisis, pre-cost of living crisis… Against this backdrop, John discusses how much our attitudes...

Throughout Adam Williams’ career has been an abiding passion for enabling technology that positively impacts on the way we live.  Adam has over 25 years experience in delivering growth for new technology businesses across the UK and Europe.  From a background with global companies including Samsung and Sony, he has broad expertise in the connected home space, including SmartThings, Enjoy Technolog...

John Steven has over two decades of experience in the home automation industry, and currently works as the EU Installer Channel Sales Director at tadoº, a leading smart thermostat and climate control company based in Munich. He has come a long way since his first job out of school, selling bikes in Halfords. But he says the spark that started there and has followed him throughout his career in con...

With over 30 years working in the computer and electronics industry, Lino Notaro has seen first hand the inordinate amount of technological progress over the last four decades. We’ve come a long way, he says, from the early days of his career working in the then-up-and-coming computer games industry of the 90s where he had to convince consumers that computers were not just a flash in the pan.  Tod...

A chemical engineer and project manager by background, Caroline Laurenson runs TL Tech with her husband. They are united in their mission to find new ways for smart tech to empower people to maintain independence in their own homes, and are passionate about breaking down barriers to help people access digital solutions. When the pandemic hit, they needed to adapt their approach, and discovered a n...

Twenty years ago life-long techie Nick Sutton picked up a book in his university library called ‘The Smart Home for Dummies’. Feeling inspired, he applied for jobs in this then-burgeoning industry and he has never looked back. Today Nick is the Smart / EV Charger Product Manager for the Luceco Group, a British-owned manufacturer and distributor of lighting, electrical, portable power, and AV produ...

Welcome to The Smart Life, a podcast from Beacon Agency that explores the latest in Smart Home and Internet of Things technology.  Would you believe, we’re now in our third season? And Thomas and Jess have handed the hosting reins over to me, Sophie. A story forager and seeker of connection, I’m the Content Director here at Beacon.  Ok, confession time: when it comes to technology, I’m not exactly...

Thomas is joined by Beacon's Digital Communications Strategist, Ruthie, to talk about all things Digital Communications, especially for the smart home market. Want to know more about building a community? SEO? Paid Social? This episode is a great starting place. To find out more, sign up for our upcoming webinar at this link ! Or Copy and Paste this link into your browser: http://beaconagency-co-u...

In the second part of our festive special, Thomas and Ruthie continue their review of the past 12 months and their predictions for 2021. Featuring more contributions from our returning guests, an in-depth look at privacy and data, and a discussion of smart energy; what a way to wrap up the year.  Once again, Merry Christmas from the team at Beacon Agency!

This week, Thomas is joined by Beacon's latest addition Ruthie Pinion to take a festive look back at the past year, and a look forward to 2021. With contributions from returning guests, part one of our two-part festive edition covers everything from electric vehicles, smart energy, security, wearables, and a healthy dose of Christmas puns.  Merry Christmas from the team at Beacon Agency!&nbsp...

This episode, Thomas is joined by Roamler UK's Pete Gilbert to discuss how the gig economy is shaking up the customer experience for smart home, as well as the impact of privacy concerns, and what the millennial generation might expect from their home and devices in the future.

This episode, Thomas and Jess are taking a deeper look into the opportunities and dangers of smart home, IoT, and other technological developments impacting future generations. With guests Adam Williams (Lightwave) and Nikesha Davis Shanks (City Farm Systems), the episode covers everything from the changing nature of technology in education, our right to privacy, and the social gap and elitism dri...

Jess & Thomas are joined this week by Natalie Wathan from Schneider Electric to discuss the opportunities the smart home presents to help an ageing population live independently in their homes for longer, ensuring they're safe, connected, and healthy.

Jess is joined this episode by Daniel Bastone from Airthings to explore the impact that smart home and wearable technology can have on our health and wellbeing, as well as the importance of data, privacy, and what the future holds for our home lives.

Hosts Jess and Thomas are joined by Caroline Laurenson, Managing Director of TL Tech, and Kris Gamble, Director of Customised Ltd to discuss how society can harness smart home technology to deliver and improve care within the community. We also take a look about how far the industry has come, but also the challenges that retailers, manufacturers, designers, and policy makers need to face to improv...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Smart Life podcast! We kick off this season with one of the biggest questions we're facing: how do we get to carbon zero? Thomas is joined by Remi Volpe from Schneider Electric, Stephen Pattenden from the UK Smart Homes and Buildings Association, and the podcast also welcomes back John Bradford from Delta Dore.

Episode 4: In this episode, Thomas chairs a panel at the June 2019 Smart Homes & Buildings Association event held at BOSCH's brand new Innovation Hub. He's joined by a panel of experts from across the smart home industry discussing the importance of security and privacy in the smart home.

Episode 3: Jess and Thomas are joined by Abi Coften and Oliver Tadd from MiHome at Energenie to discuss their smart home solutions, as well as talking about energy efficiency, diversity in tech, and how different demographics are responding, and buying in, to the smart home.