3.5X Podcast: | Start-ups | Entrepreneurs | Scale-ups
83 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago -Hosted by Seb Francis, The Startup Secrets podcast delves into the stories of entrepreneurs and business leaders around the globe. We find out what makes them tick, the challenges they’ve faced, and the journey they’ve taken to start and grow their company. Aimed at entrepreneurs young and old, Startup Secrets will act as a complete ‘how to’ and real insight for both aspiring and established entrepreneurs.
You can download each episode, and keep up with the latest news at www.startupsecretspodcast.co.uk
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Episodes
#33: “Don’t try and be superman” - Harry Hugo
February 10, 2019 15:10 - 34 minutes - 62.3 MB“Don’t try and be superman” with Harry Hugo Offices in London, New York, Singapore, and Monaco. 100+ staff. Working with some of the world’s biggest brands. A $50million business. Oh yeah… and they’re only 3 years old!! In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Harry Hugo, Co-founder of The Goat Agency. I joined Harry at their stunning offices in London and we chatted about their amazing growth in such a short period of time, his backstory and previous experience, and ...
#32: “Fail to plan, plan to fail” - Chris Forbes
February 04, 2019 18:16 - 25 minutes - 58 MB“Fail to plan, plan to fail” with Chris Forbes In this episode I was joined by Chris Forbes, Co-founder of The Cheeky Panda, a massively innovative company offering sustainable tissues made exclusively from bamboo! Starting out in 2016, The Cheeky Panda have managed to gain a presence in 15+ countries, won various awards, and have been featured in numerous publications. They have been through a number of funding rounds, including Crowdfunding and offering equity, both of which su...
#31: “The idea of perfect evidence is a trap” - Rob Fitzpatrick
January 07, 2019 21:50 - 34 minutes - 78.9 MB“The idea of perfect evidence is a trap” with Rob Fitzpatrick Ever since I first read ‘The Mom Test’, I’ve been obsessed with recommending the book to friends and entrepreneurs who are looking for business advice. For me, it’s the ultimate ‘how-to’ guide when it comes to validating business ideas, understanding your customers, and deciding whether you have a real idea of value. To say I’m excited to have the author, Rob Fitzpatrick, as the guest on this episode is a huge understatement...
#30: “Insecurity drives improvement” - Phil Neal
December 24, 2018 16:34 - 28 minutes - 64.8 MB“Insecurity drives improvement” with Phil Neal In this episode, we had the amazing opportunity to chat with one of (if not THE) most prolific EdTech entrepreneurs in the UK: Phil Neal. For any listeners who went to school in the UK in the last 30 years, there’s a very good chance you’ve used or been exposed to Phil’s software. Phil is the brains behind the SIMS Management Information System, used in over 80% of (or 20,000!) schools in the UK. It’s reached many 10s of millions of ...
#29: "You need to be unrealistically optimistic" - Steven Mendel
December 09, 2018 20:44 - 25 minutes - 58.8 MB“You need to be unrealistically optimistic” with Steven Mendel Have you ever been fed up of sorting your insurance or the costs involved? Course you have! Did you do anything about it? Probably not! But, that’s exactly what this episode’s guest did back in 2012! Steven Mendel is the CEO and co-founder of Bought by Many, a free, members-only service that helps you find insurance. Since 2012, they’ve seen rapid growth with 80+ staff and over half a million members around the globe....
#28: "You’ve got to walk the walk” - Jamie Bolding
November 27, 2018 17:15 - 35 minutes - 80.9 MB“You’ve got to walk the walk” with Jamie Bolding 4 billion+ video views every month 100’s of millions of social media followers 150+ staff across the UK and US and all just in 4 and half years… In this episode we chat with Jamie Bolding - Founder and CEO of Jungle Creations. Jamie spotted the potential and power of social media at very early stage, and it was that foresight, along with some careful strategy and great content, that has led him to build such an impressive compa...
#27: "Only start a business if you absolutely have to” - Brian Meece
November 12, 2018 17:29 - 42 minutes - 97.4 MBIn this episode I had the pleasure of chatting with Brian Meece - Co-founder of RocketHub, Founder of Wingadoos, and a pretty mean ukulele player! Brian has also spoken at world-renowned events such as SXSW, TEDx, and the World Economic Forum. Brian has always had a huge interest in music, and for a good chunk of his life (and still to this day) has played in bands, performed, and recorded. It was his love of music that led him to his first venture, RocketHub. RocketHub was created as ...
#26: "Say yes to absolutely everything” - Filli Studios (Sam King, Andy Asprou, and Thev Edirisingh)
October 22, 2018 16:31 - 40 minutes - 91.6 MBIn this episode I had the pleasure of chatting with not one, but three entrepreneurs! I headed to the London offices of Fillistudios where I spoke with the co-founders; Sam, Thev and Andy. It was great to get a different perspective from the three guys, including the sales, technology and community growth. Fillistudios was the result of select set of skills each of the team had, and they now have a database of close to 3 million (yes you read that right) influencers who they work with ...
#25: "You have to be in love with your problem" - with Lydia Yarlott
October 08, 2018 16:41 - 24 minutes - 56.9 MBThis episode we speak with Dr Lydia Yarlott - Founder of Forward Health, the ‘MedTech’ startup connecting healthcare teams around the world. After graduating from the University of Oxford, Lydia began her career as a pediatrician. Not long into her working life, Lydia faced a challenge that thousands of healthcare professionals before her has already encountered - a lack of efficient technology solutions that would allow them to spend more time with their patients. Lydia, along w...
#24: "It's easy to start, but hard to master" with Jacob Wedderburn-Day
September 25, 2018 07:56 - 31 minutes - 57.4 MBIn this episode I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Jacob Wedderburn-Day, the Founder and CEO of Stasher. After graduating from the University of Oxford to complete his Economics and Management degree, followed by UCL for his Masters in Economics, Jacob founded Stasher alongside his co-founder, Anthony. In the early days, Stasher was referred to as the “AirBnB for storage” - a no doubt complimentary term for the young company, but one which Jacob and his team were keen to shak...
#23: "The future is freelance" with Kirsty Hulse
September 10, 2018 21:41 - 29 minutes - 67.3 MBIn this episode, we were lucky enough to speak with the Founder of Manyminds, Kirsty Hulse. Manyminds is a digital marketing agency, BUT,, “The digital marketing agency that is actually different”... and after speaking with Kirsty, I can see exactly why! Kirsty worked within the SEO and PR industry for 10 years before she got a bit fed up with the stale environment, and people paying above board for services that could have been delivered better, faster, and more in line with their req...
#22: "Our main focus is on creating something amazing" with Ricky Hill
August 27, 2018 16:00 - 32 minutes - 59.9 MBIn this episode we have the pleasure of being joined by Ricky Hill: Founder of SYNCR, and CEO of Born Communications. Ricky joined Born straight out of university, and it wasn’t long before he was running the show. He’d had an immediate impact on the company, and has since expanded it to include Born Music which is one of the most read music blogs in the UK! As a musician himself (a drummer obviously… just look at the guy!), Ricky had a shared frustration with his band members of...
#21: "It can be hard to give up control" with James Gupta
August 13, 2018 16:00 - 27 minutes - 63.4 MBIn this episode we speak with fellow Yorkshireman, James Gupta. Founder and CEO of Synap - The revision app used by 1 in 4 medical students in the UK. Like most great inventions, Synap was born from first-hand frustrations. 3 years ago James was a medical student at The University of Leeds where he identified issues with the way revision was taking place, so like all great businessmen, when he had a problem and no known solution, he created one. 3 years since it was founded, Syna...
#020: “Keep asking yourself why” with Tejpaul Bhatia
July 30, 2018 17:23 - 40 minutes - 92.3 MBWe had the pleasure of being introduced to Tej through a mutual friend of the show, and how glad we are that the intro was made! Tej is an entrepreneur through and through, and isn’t shy about talking about the personal and emotional side of entrepreneurship. After quitting the ‘dream job’ with ESPN in 2007, Tej wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do, but he was fed up with being told ‘no’ and knew he needed to be in charge of his own destiny. After a period of consulting for m...
#19: “Always offer the right advice, not the easy advice” with Will Lewis
July 16, 2018 16:00 - 34 minutes - 78.5 MBIn this episode we speak with Will Lewis, Co-founder and Director of the Manchester-based boutique real estate firm, OBI Property. “It was a stupid time to set up” admits Will, but nonetheless, 8 years on, OBI is doing better than ever, and part of their success could well be down to never having “that easy patch”! OBI was the first company Will started, and after time within the corporate sector, he was ready to create a disruptive and innovative company that he could put his ow...
#18: "The big guys? They're only human" with David McQueen
July 03, 2018 18:13 - 32 minutes - 74.6 MBDavid McQueen is a professional speaker. Some would describe him as a Motivational speaker, others a host/facilitator, and others will recognise him from his podcast or previous TV shows. However you'd describe him, he's an absolute expert when it comes to all things 'communication'! David started his working life as an accountant, and, as a self-proclaimed 'proper geek', then transitioned to a second career in technology. In both of those careers he spawned a love for effective presen...
#17: "It's quite difficult being a pioneer" with Peter Roberts
June 18, 2018 13:41 - 31 minutes - 71.2 MBIn this episode we’re very excited to chat with an amazing guest, Peter Roberts, founder of Britain's largest gym chain, PureGym. Peter himself states that he’s come from a family of entrepreneurs and his entrepreneurial ventures have always been borne out of frustration that others were not doing things, or were not doing it right. Peter started his business in the leisure sector, which he launched in the 70’s after becoming a qualified chartered surveyor, he then moved onto La...
#16: "It's all about the freedom" with Fred Buckley
June 04, 2018 23:25 - 26 minutes - 60.8 MBIn this episode, we speak with eCommerce whizz kid Fred Buckley! Until Summer 2017, Fred was your typical student, however, he was inspired by others in his school and those he saw online to reach ‘financial freedom’. After receiving amazing grades at school, Fred chose to not go to University, and instead decided to create his first online store and delve into the world of drop shipping. After only 6 months he’d managed to scale his store to turn over $50k per month!! Not conte...
#15: "99.9% of people are good" with Tim Fung
May 21, 2018 23:18 - 29 minutes - 66.5 MBIn this episode we speak with Sydney native Tim Fung, Founder and CEO of AirTasker - the online community for with over 1.5 million users! Airtasker was borne out of a very real frustration Tim had when moving house. He needed assistance with smaller jobs but no marketplace existed - so he did what any natural entrepreneur should do and built one! Tim has gained a mass of experience over the years, including working in Finance, being involved with other startups, and even “lookin...
#14: "If I knew then what I know now I'd do it differently!" with Claire Mitchell
December 10, 2017 17:14 - 54 minutes - 124 MBIn this episode I speak with Claire Mitchell - the brutally honest Founder and CEO of Mimi and Mago (formerly Chillipeeps)! I had the pleasure of meeting Claire at an event in Leeds where we were both sharing our entrepreneurial story. What blew me away with Claire's presentation is how openly she spoke about the challenges she'd faced, the amount of time it took to get her product to market, the huge costs involved, and all the other hurdles along the way. Now about 10 years in...
#13: “It’s just as important to not start a business that isn’t going to work” with Nick Jenkins
November 25, 2017 17:47 - 33 minutes - 24 MBIn this episode I speak with a dragon... in the TV sense at least! I had the pleasure of chatting with Nick Jenkins; founder of Moonpig.com, Dragon on the BBC's Dragon's Den, Philanthropist, and Angel Investor. Nick has an amazing backstory, starting with him reading Russian at university, before going on to live in the Soviet Union (as it then was) and surviving its downfall. Further to starting and successfully exiting a business in Russia, Nick went on to do an MBA in the UK during ...
#12: "You have to be looking to build a £100million+ company" with George Burgess
November 15, 2017 00:07 - 39 minutes - 25.5 MBGeorge Burgess... where to start? Founder of revision app company that raised $3million, Venture Partner for InMotion (Jaguar Land Rover), Stanford Uni dropout, Co-founder of EdTech Exchange, public speaker, and part-time 'tinkerer'! Further to meeting George at The BETT Show earlier this year, we stayed in contact via the EdTech Exchange network he co-founded. After finding out more about his story it was one I just had to share. George founded the revision app company Gojimo w...
#11: “The most painful word for most entrepreneurs is no." with Ron Carucci
October 28, 2017 06:01 - 52 minutes - 34 MBRon Carucci is the co-founder and managing partner at Navalent, working with CEOs and executives pursuing transformational change for their organisations, leaders, and industries. With a 30-year track record helping execs around the globe, Ron has worked with startups to Fortune 10s. He has worked in more than 25 countries and is the bestselling author of eight books. Ron's work has been featured in Fortune, CEO Magazine, HBR, BusinessInsider, MSNBC, Business Week, Smart Business and thought...
#10: "When everyone else sees a problem, entrepreneurs see an opportunity" with Luke Massie
October 14, 2017 11:37 - 40 minutes - 30.9 MBLuke Massie started his business journey at the age of just 17 when he launched a call centre in the cut throat world of insurance. After 12 successful months of trading, Luke sold the business to start the next chapter of his entrepreneurial journey – a student discount and benefits website. With a real taste for business, and an understanding of the commercials, Luke founded Vibe Tickets in 2013 to address a very common issue that he experienced himself - the hyper inflated ticket re...
#9: “If you really really want to be successful, you have to pick an arena and become absolutely excellent at it” with Matt Isaacs
July 21, 2017 04:00 - 43 minutes - 41.4 MBFounding partner of one of the world’s largest digital marketing agencies, angel investor, and father of 4 just in case he’s not busy enough! In this episode we chat with Matt Isaacs, Chairman of Essence … and it’s a beauty! Matt co-founded Essence with his two friends and colleagues in 2005. After some seriously explosive growth (at one point growing tenfold within 3 years), and with turnover into the 100s of £millions, Essence were eventually acquired by WPP, the world’s largest market...
#8: “We all want to be an overnight success… but that takes a long time” with Mike Wilkinson
July 06, 2017 22:01 - 56 minutes - 45.2 MB“We all want to be an overnight success… but that takes a long time” In this episode with Michael Wilkinson, we take our first look at an entrepreneur who has successfully started, grown and exited from their company. After 7 years hard graft, Michael Wilkinson and his co-founder Steve Holt, sold their company 'i-Education' for very healthy sum, but also realised their dream of seeing the product being used by even more students than they ever could have imagined - over 12 million worl...
#7: “All new ideas will be incubated through crowdfunding” with John Auckland
June 16, 2017 22:15 - 59 minutes - 54.5 MBJohn Auckland is the founder and CEO of Tribefirst, a published author, and a Virgin StartUp Ambassador. He's an expert on all things crowdfunding, and with the increasing interest in this area for businesses, I couldn't wait to get him on the podcast and chat further! In their very own words "TribeFirst helps you build a loyal tribe of customers through crowdfunding, via recognised global platforms such as Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Crowdcube and Seedrs.". Crowdfunding is a serious...
#6: "I'm an absolute hustler" with Aldo De Pape
June 02, 2017 21:33 - 55 minutes - 50.7 MBAldo De Pape is the Founder and CEO of TeachPitch, a technology that helps teachers identify the best online teaching resources. After founding in 2014, TeachPitch is already been utilised in over 125 countries (yes, 125!!) and they've received investment from China as well as the UK. Last year they completed a £300,000 investment round via Crowdcube, and they have just launched their latest round on Crowdcube which you can view via the link below. Aldo and I have had many a discussi...
#5: "An idea is only worth anything when it's put into action" with Seb Francis
May 19, 2017 21:27 - 55 minutes - 51.3 MBSo this episode is a little different :) A while back I was contacted by Lisimba Pink who hosts his very own podcast. I was super excited to hear that he wanted to feature me, and chat about what I've achieved with Titus, and my own entrepreneurial journey to date. I really enjoyed chatting with Lisimba, and felt there were some useful pointers in my own story to share with everyone. I've kindly 'borrowed' Lisimba's show notes and details below for you to refer to. Hope you enjoy! ...
#4: "You don't know what you don't know" with Lucy Stonehill
May 05, 2017 16:00 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBLucy Stonehill is the Founder and CEO of Bridge-U, has been selected as one of Forbes’ 30 under 30, and is responsible for raising a huge $2.5million investment. After working in the legal and consultancy sectors, Lucy had the idea of Bridge-U, a platform that harnesses big data and machine learning to enable schools and students to make smarter and more efficient decisions about their university/college placements. In the podcast we talk about: Lucy’s background and key inf...
#3: "Don't try to boil the ocean" with Oliver Page
April 20, 2017 16:02 - 53 minutes - 49.5 MBHaving grown up in a family of entrepreneurs, you could say that Oliver Page was always destined to start his own companies - however, it's his drive and passion for finding and fixing very real problems that has led him to where he is today. Having started his first company, Nutkase Accessories, at 17, he has since gone on to attend Draper University, talk on the TedX stage, travel the world, and start up business no.2, Scooterino. He's had some amazing success with fundraising and ha...
#2: "If you work hard enough, you will create your own luck" with William Adoasi
April 20, 2017 16:01 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBYOUR CHANCE TO WIN A VITAE LONDON WATCH!! Before I tell you more about Will, I have to mention the amazing chance you have to get your hands on one of the unbelievable watches by Vitae London! Will and Vitae have kindly agreed to giveaway a watch to one lucky listener!! All you have to do is share this podcast with the hashtag #startupsecrets on Twitter, or tag the Startup Secrets Facebook page on FB. We'll the pick one lucky listener at random and announce the winner on 20th May 2017!...
#1: “The ultimate failure is giving up” with Jacob Hill
April 20, 2017 16:00 - 1 hour - 73 MBJacob Hill is first and foremost an entrepreneur. He caught the business bug as a teenager running a sweet selling enterprise, followed by local music events. During his enterprise degree he founded his first ‘proper company’, The Lazy Camper. His entrepreneurial antics led to him winning a string of awards, including the Yorkshire Post’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and the Duke of York’s Young Entrepreneur Award. However, after some challenging times, Jacob’s personal and business...