What It Takes with Olly Fawcett

Lucy started her publishing career at Conté Nast after landing her first role in their new client focussed publication department. After becoming bored of the lack of challenges Condé provided her she found her self on a ranch in America trying to write while living a peaceful life. Fast forward a few years, and just before the 2008 global economic crash, she launched a a magazine with her now hus...

Martyn Odell has had one of the most interesting careers that we have had on the show. From being the lead in a live nudity comedy show as a 20 year old, to working inside Joe Wick's Bodycoach business, and now taking on the global issue of food waste. There isn't much that Martyn hasn't yet done! But how can someone like Martyn achieve so much, and continue to balance the scales of life, work and...

Elliott Grover joined us to share his incredible journey through the restaurant world. After leaving Cornwall at 15, he worked his way up to become Executive Chef at The Cut, Britain's best steak restaurant, while also creating the menu for The Oscars. He began at The Ivy, moved to Le Caprice during its prime, and spent eight years at London's famous seafood spot, Scott's. After running ten restau...

Marisa Poster, co-founder of PerfectTed, shares her journey from a challenging childhood in New York to launching a clean energy drink brand. Struggling with ADHD and anxiety, she found relief in matcha after realising caffeine worsened her symptoms. After moving to London, Marisa and her co-founders identified a gap in the market for quality matcha. Their appearance on Dragons' Den led to a partn...

Alessandro Palazzi, the bartender behind Dukes Bar's famous martinis, has been honing his skills in London for over 15 years. With an impressive 46-year career that includes work in Italy, France, and the UK, Palazzi has become one of the world's top bartenders. How did this Italian-born drink maker become internationally renowned, and how does he continue to set the standard in the art of cocktai...

Jo Bird transitioned from Rankin Photography to a three-month adventure in Australia at 27. Upon her return, she became the Creative Lead for GymShark and Lounge, two of the UK's biggest brands. With her innovative approach, Jo played a key role in helping these brands break through in a competitive market. Now, she’s on a mission to establish her own personal brand after embracing new opportu...

Tom Aikens first walked into a kitchen at 18, and never looked back since. Up until he won 2 Michelin stars at 26, he worked under some of the best chefs in the world including Pierre Koffman & Joël Robuchon. In this episode of What It Takes, we spoke about his journey to winning his first stars, how he got there and the challenges he had to face along the way. Follow Tom: https://www.instagra...

The Resturant industry is not for everyone, it demands a lot from those who want to be successful in it. One of the successes is Tom Booton, who first walked into a kitchen at 15, and now at 31 he is the Head Chef at the incredible Grill at The Dorchester. For a 32 year old, Tom has already seen his fair share of success and failures, but he always learns from them and keeps moving forward. Follow...

Kym has now shot over 130 races for F1, across the globe. But he hasn't been doing it for his whole life, in fact he is relatively new to the world of F1. So what made him one of the best and most well known photographers in Formula 1, and what does it take to stay at the top of motorsport. Follow Kym: https://www.tiktok.com/@kymillmanf1?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/kymillman/ https://www...

Laura is currently launching Monk, a revolutionary ice bath brand which as been in development for over 2 years. But this isn't Laura's first business, she has not only already sold a brand she started, but also been through the high AND lows of building something from scratch. Follow Laura & Monk: https://www.instagram.com/laurafullerton/ https://www.instagram.com/discovermonk/ Follow...

He was once almost about to be the new face of Versace, but then he became the face of M&S! Chris Baber has grafted his was into many amazing opportunities with the food world over the last few years, from winning TV show Yes Chef to working with Aston Martin on incredible projects. Chris has done it all, but how does a passionate home chef make it to the main stages? Follow Chris: https://www.ins...

We all have ideas of what life would be like following the world's biggest artists on the road as they tour for months on end. Zak had just that experience when he followed his childhood best friend Ed Sheeran as he travelled with his show, but why did Zak give this up and start a canned wine brand? Follow Zak & Vinca: https://www.instagram.com/vincawine/ https://www.instagram.com/zakarywa...

Toby Hoppy has been behind the scenes of some amazing brands as they have grown in their respective industries. From Trip Drinks to Patch Plants, Toby's experiences within these brands and the skyrocket in their online growth gave him the insights and learnings to now be driving the growth of All Things Butter. Follow Toby & All Things Butter: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsbutter__/ h...

The UK is now fully addicted to running, and at the heart of it is Runna. The Running coaching app is taking users from being unable to run a few miles, to completing marathons around the world. It's not a surprise that Co-Founder Ben Parker, has not only completed & been a part of some incredible running achievements, but he has also an amazing passion for helping users reach their goals...

After starting and selling her first business, Lucy Busk went on to work with some of the most exciting new brands within the food & beverage space. Consulting them on how to grow their revenue through sales effectively and quickly. She wanted to get back to being a founder, partnering with her now Co-Founder Jeremy, she is now building NICE, a wine brand with a difference. But what is the big...

Leaving the security of a 9-5 can be scary, but doing it with only a small idea of what you might do with no real concept, name or starting place can be an even bigger jump. For Tom, starting El Rayo with his Co-Founder Jack, was just that. A massive jump from the corporate world into starting a brand new business with limited experience. Did the gamble pay off? What did it take? Follow Tom &...

Moth Drinks has seen some incredible growth over the last few years, going from 1 listing in the UK with two founders making the product by hand to a team of 30 with national distribution. Rob, Co-Founder of Moth believes this isn't just down to hard work, luck and timing but most importantly building a company culture that the team want to be a part of every day. Follow Rob: https://www.linke...

It's no secret that it's hard to have a successful career within the art industry, but what does it really take to be a world-renowned artist? Marine Tanguy has worked in the industry for over 15 years, working with some of the best talent within the space, at the highest level. She speaks about her own struggles to make it in the industry, and also how the landscape of art is changing, as...

Imagine your life as an addict from 12-15 years old, then going sober for three years, and then relapsing at 19, and then building a global brand at 22 with your two best friends, that gets investment from The Sidemen, Dave, & Ricky Gervais. Well, that has been Josh's life, and even after everything he has been through he is here today to tell his story, and truly prove, that if you just k...

Building a brand from £0 to £24 Million is not a simple process, however, THIS has managed to achieve it in just 4 years. But with achievements like this, the journey can't be smooth sailing. In this episode of WIT, Co-Founder Andy Shovel tells us his personal journey to get to this point and some of the reasons why THIS is currently outperforming its competitors. 00:00 - Intro 01:32 - Andy&#3...

In just 2 years, Quarter has gone from being a brand new brand, in a brand new sector, to now being stocked in some of London's hottest locations. Co-Founder Rohan tells us how it all happened, and the strategy to start building a new sector. 00:00 Intro 00:43 Early Beginnings 02:31 Rohan First Business03:00 How Quarter Started 06:14 Did you want to be a founder? 08:00 Is being A Founder What...

This week we sat down with Sam Matanle, Founder of Batch Ldn, and one of the founding team at Punchy Drinks. After spending 5 years at Punchy, Sam saw all of the highs and lows, and learned a lot about how to be successful in a hard industry. Sam then wanted to start his own journey and launched Batch LDN, and amazing brand, trying to make a massive difference in the space. 00:00 Introduction 01:0...

Welcome to the first episode of What It Takes! In this first episode we sat down with the Founder of Puresport Grayson Hart, to speak about his journey of building the #1 CBD brand in the UK Puresport. Puresport has seen some incredible growth over the last few years, and one of the strongest areas of their brand is their community. We speak to Grayson about how to build this, and of course so muc...