Startup Secrets

In 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 requirements.   It was a conversation with a friend that sparked the idea for Manyminds, and Kirsty decided to follow through on her word, and in the process, won her first big deal!   Years on, Kirsty is captain of a fully functioning and ‘all steam ahead’ freelancing ship! If that’s not enough, Kirsty decided to write a book (see links), talking about her journey, and why the ‘Future is Freelance’!   If you’re currently working with freelancers, or have ever considered it, then this is a great episode to listen to. We also talk

In 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 not being able to get their music heard widely enough. He talks about the concept of ‘music syncs’ which was new to me, but very obvious when you think about it, and it’s a key element of the music marketing mix. He then built a company around this concept to match musicians and those in need of music, such as film producers, TV shows, live events, etc. Their next step is to move into the realms of creating original content, and you can read more about this on their website (see links).   After the recording stopped, we spoke mor

In 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, Synap now has 5,000 daily users, 13 million questions have been answered, and its users include; engineers, pilots, medical students and A-level students. Future plans include white-labelling and using the software within other industries, such as the work they’re doing with ‘MyTaxi’ in Dublin where they’ve seen driver pass rates increase massively since introducing the new system.   In this episode we talk about: Outsourcing Crowdfunding User Acquisition Staying local Incubators Accelerators And as always plenty more...

We 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 multiple firms, Tej founded his first startup, however, it wasn’t without a number of pivots, rounds of funding, and rebrands that they eventually landed on the company that came to be acquired: Kaptur. After Kaptur, Tej moved on to his second startup which he says ‘failed’, but he undoubtedly learnt a lot of lessons both in a business and personal sense. With years of entrepreneurial experience in his pocket, Tej moved on to Citi Ventures as an Entrepreneur in Residence, and then to Google where he works within there startup team.

In 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 own stamp on. OBI now work with a range of national and international clients including; The Hut Group, NCC and The Lad Bible.   In this episode we discuss:   Disruption, innovation, and keeping ahead of the competition Staff values and incentives Picking your co-founders Raising finance Growing a business in a volatile market And as always, plenty more...   Links mentioned in this episode:   OBI Property Instagram OBI Property Twitter OBI Property Website

David 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 presenting and communications.   After leaving the corporate world, he went on to start his own company where he predominantly taught public speaking and coaching. He realised most presentations were pretty terrible and instead of complaining about them he thought he'd do something about it!   He really put in his 10,000 hours to hone his craft, and has since gone on to present shows on Channel4, has hosted events for Virgin Media alongside Sir Richard Branson, and has even spoken at two TedX talks.   In addition to working with ind

In 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 Langdale Estate where he built 120 holiday lodges and from there, moved onto Nightclubs. In 2009 he founded PureGym, which quickly grew into Britain's largest gym chain with a membership of around 900,000 and plans to open 300 locations by 2020.    After years of planning, hard work and growth, Pure Gym was acquired in November 2017, at a valuation of £600 million!   This is an absolute must listen for all entrepreneurs, no matter where you are on your journey!   In this episode we discuss: Spotting trends Having a global unders

In 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 content with one store, Fred has since been building additional stores, recruiting others to run them, working on his personal brand, and planning how to add other income streams!   In this episode we talk about:   Choosing the right path for you eCommerce and drop shipping How to build and scale your first online store Building your email/contact list Developing a personal brand Multiple income streams And as always, plenty more   Links mentioned in this episode: Fred Buckley Instagram AliExpress Shopify Grant Cardone

In 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 “looking after Victoria’s Secret’s models”!   Tim and Airtasker have raised a huge $32million in funding and are now expanding into the UK after great success in Australia.   In the ever expanding market of the “gig economy” apps like AirTasker play an important role in allowing people to outsource small tasks, and allow people to find quick jobs.   In this episode we talk about: Fundraising The gig economy PR and marketing Virality and user acquisition The Network effect Working with a co-founder And as always, plenty more...   Link’s

In 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 into the journey, Claire has overcome a huge amount to get Mimi and Mago where it is. She recalls the time she sobbed all the way through her first major presentation, missed out on an order for 1million units, and battling with Trading Standards (only later to get them on her side.   This podcast goes into all the above and more and is an absolute must listen for anyone looking to start a business in the product sector.   In this episode we discuss: Patenting, prototyping, and testing your product Understanding manufacturing

In 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 which time he came up with the idea for Moonpig.com.   After years of planning, hard work, and very impressive growth, Nick sold Moonpig for a cool £120,000,000 (

George 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 which is used by 1/3 of GCSE and A level students in the UK, and over the past couple of years has achieved a successful exit to the Telegraph. This however wasn't without its challenges... they achieved huge user acquisition, constantly developed the platform, but did struggle to monetise!   Alongside Gojimo, George founded EdTech Exchange which is a network for EdTech founders (of which Titus Learning are a part of!). This started off as a way to speak with peers in the sector, but soon grew into a large organisation and a real b

Ron 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 thoughtleaders.   What's really great about this episode is we get to chat to Ron both as a business leader and founder, but also delve into the world of consultancy and how he assists startups and large companies alike to reach their potential. We talk a lot about implementing the processes needed to scale successfully, and how you can do this whilst retaining the company culture that you've created.   Having worked with the likes of Accenture, GSK, McDonalds, Starbucks, Pepsi Co. and so many more, this is a MUST LISTEN! Let me

Luke 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 resale market. Luke is aiming for Vibe Tickets to become one of the most disruptive presences in the secondary ticket market.    Amongst other achievements, Luke is the youngest person to ever make Business Insider’s 42 under 42 list – an exclusive list which tips up and coming entrepreneurs under the age of 42 for success. Luke is also a proud ambassador for Lancashire county councils Boost programme.    In this episode we discuss:   Starting young - the challenges and benefits  Lessons learnt from unsuccessful ventures V

Founding 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 marketing group. Essence focus on the paid media component of advertising, and across their 11 offices and 750 staff, they manage $1bn of digital media. Their customers (spanning 70 countries) include Google, The Financial Times, Universal Pictures, and eBay, just to name a few. What’s more impressive, they never received any external funding and managed this growth organically. We cover a whole heap of topics in this episode which I’ve listed below, and I personally found it very inspiring to see how a company can reach such heig

“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 worldwide!   As a fellow Yorkshireman it was great to chat with Mike about his journey from founding the company, through to the sale, and how he's stayed involved thereafter.    In this episode we discuss: Challenges of growing a company organically How to let people know you exist When to bring in a non-exec for outside advice How to structure your business for a sale Intrapreneur vs Entrepreneur Should you plan to sell from the outset When is the right time to sell How to find your ideal buyer Advice and top t

John 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 seriously hot topic amongst startups and established businesses alike, and there were plenty of questions I had for John (as well as few from listeners!) to go cover in our discussion.   Interested in running your own crowdfunding campaign, or perhaps investing? Then you need to give this one a listen :)   In this episode we discuss:   What is crowdfunding 'political campaign' vs 'marketing campaign' What are the different types of crowdfunding Which type of crowdfunding is suitable for your business What are some of the platfo

Aldo 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 discussion about 'blagging it', and doing what needs to be done in order to get the company out there. He starts off in great form by saying "I'm an absolute hustler" which is so true!   In this podcast we talk about:   Hustling and making the business your life Validating your idea How to increase your PR and publicity  Key lessons to increase your chances of success as a first time founder Working within an area you're familiar with Founder envy Managing and building remote teams The importance of getting to know your

So 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!   In the episode we discuss: An introduction to Seb Francis Seb's motivations for becoming an entrepreneur We hear a story about one of Seb's first money making ventures Seb explains if you need to reinvent the wheel in creating a new business? What is a lifestyle business? We find out if sacrifices helped get Seb to where he is today Seb shares how his company grew internationally We learn how to deal with the cultural challenges of doing business abroad We find out how Titus Learning is doing in bus

Lucy 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 influences Validating your business idea Finding the ideal co-founder Accelerators and incubators Investment - when to do it, how much you need, and what steps to follow Breaking the entrepreneurial stereotype And much more…   Want to find out more about Lucy and Bridge-U? Check out the details below:   Lucy Stonehill Twitter Bridge-U Website Bridge-U Twitter   Useful links from the podcast:   Preparing Today’s Teenagers for the 4th Industrial Revolution - Lucy’s LinkedIn Post The Lean Startup - Eric Ries The Four Hour W