The Stirling Business Podcast

AI in the 1980s. The early days of OCR and intelligent character recognition. A stint with the people who helped build the internet as we know it. Then, in mid-life, a decision that many would call reckless but Tina Covielllo calls necessary: stepping off the corporate treadmill and going to art school. That pivot becomes the foundation for two very different but closely linked ventures, both root...

Too many people treat Stirling like a quick photo stop: Castle, a coffee, then straight back on the road. We wanted to challenge that with a simple idea, build the kind of boutique accommodation that makes you want to stay the night and use the city as your base. Mark Wallace sits down with us at Studio King Street to unpack how King Street Apart Hotel came to life inside our 45 King Street develo...

A city-centre workspace can be more than desks and Wi‑Fi. Mark Wallace joins us for a role reversal and puts the questions to us about how we’re building two connected brands at 45 King Street: Working Flexi Spaces and King Street Events, right in the heart of Stirling. We get specific about what people actually want from flexible office space after Covid: private offices on a licensing model rath...

Stirling is not just a beautiful place to visit, it is a place that can teach businesses how to learn. I’m joined by Alaa Gerad from the Stirling Centre for Strategic Learning and Innovation, a Scotland-based think tank and act tank working with organisations across more than 20 countries to build real capability in organisational learning, innovation, and futures foresight. We talk through Alaa’s...

Stirling keeps turning up on screen, often when you least expect it. One day it’s a medieval stronghold or a gothic graveyard, the next it’s doubling for another city entirely and selling the illusion perfectly. We sit down with author and academic Tom Christie to unpack why filmmakers return to Stirling again and again, and what his new book Lights Camera Stirling reveals about the city’s hidden...

Fresh food is easy to take for granted until you’re deployed, cut off, or travelling for months with no resupply. We’re joined by Stuart Preston, founder of Okal Astronautics, to talk about a bold idea with real engineering behind it: ag tech that can grow nutritious food anywhere from frontline conditions to future space missions. Stuart shares how 16 years as an Air Force aircraft engineer shape...

Your heating system might be wasting money on something you cannot even see: dissolved gases in the water. We sit down with Stirling inventor Jim Bissett, founder of Biscuit Controls, to explain Hydrogenie, a retrofit device designed to remove dissolved oxygen, capture sludge, and improve how central heating systems behave in the real world. Jim breaks down the core physics in plain language, from...

A new visitor levy is on the way for Stirling, and if you run accommodation or work in tourism, the details are worth getting straight now. We’re joined by Jillian Schofield, Service Manager for Culture, Events and Tourism at Stirling Council, to explain what the Stirling Visitor Levy is, why it’s being introduced, and how it will work in practice for guests and providers. We talk through the head...

A tour bus full of strangers can feel awkward, until everyone realises they already share the same songs. We sit down with Fiona Boland, director at Scotland Folk Tours, to unpack a fresh kind of Scottish tourism where live folk music is not an add-on but the thread that ties the whole journey together. Fiona shares her own path from guiding in Paris to building tours across Scotland, and why she...

What happens when a lifelong nurse builds an aesthetics clinic on the values she learned at the bedside? We sit down with Victoria MacDonald of VMA to trace a path from surgical wards and cancer care to a thriving, medically led practice that puts patient safety first and marketing hype last. It’s a candid look at growing a business without losing your why, and the surprising power of family cultu...

A shuttered coffee shop, a health scare, and a city centre in flux—Sarah Macmillan threads these turns into a single, generous idea: food as a tool for dignity and connection. We sit down with the founder of Kitchen at 44 to unpack how a home baking hustle became a community interest company shaping Stirling’s social fabric, one shared plate at a time. From Glasgow roots to King Street, Sarah’s pa...

Start with a simple truth: you never say you’re from a retail park. We dig into what makes a place feel alive with Professor Lee Sparks, whose four decades in retail studies and university leadership reveal how business models, planning choices, and community action shape the heart of a city. From the early lessons of a Queensland shopping centre to chairing Scotland’s Towns Partnership, Lee maps...

A city after dark tells a different story—and Stirling is ready to write it. We sit down with Kevin Harrison, director of Artlink Central and partner with Scene Stirling, to unveil Culture Night: a citywide celebration designed to spark the night-time economy and turn heritage into living theatre. Built on the energy of Stirling 900, the event blends headline performances with free pop-ups so anyo...

What if complex builds felt calm, honest and human from day one? We sit with Pam Wilson—co-founder of Kevin Wilson Master Builders and Scotland’s female president of the Federation of Master Builders—to unpack two decades of lessons that turn disruption into trust and craft into confidence. Pam’s path wasn’t straight. She moved from communications and hospitality into construction, splitting roles...

We trace Anna’s path from arriving in Scotland to founding a fast-growing club for Ukrainian businesswomen, turning fear and isolation into practical support and shared strength. From first meetups to national chapters, we explore education, partnerships, and the shift from support to voice. • founding purpose to support displaced Ukrainian businesswomen  • growth from local meetups to UK-wide mem...

Karen Somerville shares how a sealed glass angel turned a whisky legend into a global brand, then charts her pivot into mentoring, festivals, and hands-on consulting. We explore practical networking, women-led business support, and why calm problem solving beats panic. • origin of Angel Share and the whisky myth • scaling craft glassware into global export • limited editions and collector demand •...

A fresh start can change a life, but turning that energy into a movement can change many. We sit down with Pauline Elizabeth—teacher, endurance athlete, and team captain of the Dawn Patrol Riders—to unpack the Doddy800: an 800-mile effort from Melrose to Dublin raising funds for My Name’ Is Doddy and motor neurone disease research. What begins as a story about a name change becomes a blueprint for...

We sit down with Lee Foster, founder of Revitalised Business Club, to map how a coffee meetup grew into a hybrid network built on structure, trust and practical sales mentoring. From table talks to peer cohorts and a Stirling co‑working perk, this is networking that delivers. • Lee’s corporate sales roots and move to Scotland • Why Revitalised Connected People was created and named • Coffee chat t...

We sit down with Maggie Gorman, Director of Business Support and Development at Ceteris, to explore how a unique landlord-with-purpose model drives growth for founders across Forth Valley. From startup advice to accelerators, women’s networks, and Skillshare, we map the path from space to scale. • Ceteris origins in 1984 industrial decline and mission for economic growth • 21 properties across 10...

We share why every business has a digital footprint worth defending and how simple layers turn chaotic risks into manageable routines. Ray maps recent UK breaches to practical fixes and explains the path from corporate engineer to founder building end‑to‑end protection. • value of defence in depth across devices, networks, cloud and people • why social engineering and phishing still drive most bre...

A law can change behaviour, but practice saves lives. We bring on former Police Scotland chief firearms instructor Scott Williamson to make Martin’s Law real for everyday operators, from boutique hotels and co-working hubs to universities, shopping centres, and major venues. Scott shares how to turn policy into clear actions your team can learn fast and repeat under pressure. We start with why the...

A derelict department store, a bold pension strategy, and a belief that buildings should trade like living ecosystems. We sit down with Neil to share how we transformed 45 King Street into a boutique apart-hotel and flexible workspace that runs on smart tech, focused design, and community energy. We trace the leap from three decades in corporate sales to a SaaS pension-backed acquisition, breaking...

Most teams don’t need more AI hype; they need better decisions. We sit down with data expert and founder of Head for Data, Colin Parry, to strip AI back to what actually moves the needle: clean inputs, clear processes, and tools that match the job. Colin’s path from renewables and wind turbine analytics to leading data science teams gives him a rare field‑to‑boardroom perspective on how to build s...