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#146: Scale-ups & building an inclusive UK innovation ecosystem with Sam Smith
Sam Smith is a trailblazing entrepreneur, board advisor, and is a passionate advocate for inclusive, purposeful business. Best known as the founding CEO of FinCap, the first female led stockbroking firm in the city, she led the business from a startup within JMFinn to a £50 million investment bank, supporting hundreds of growth companies along their scale and exit journeys.
Over 24 years, Sam built what became Cavendish Financial on principles she still champions today: empathetic leadership, inclusive culture, and high impact governance.
Her bestselling book, the Secret Source, captures the mindset behind super scaling, empowering talent while staying true to purpose. It's no surprise that one of her favourite reads is Grit by Angela Duckworth, a philosophy she's lived by through every deal, boardroom and pivot points.
She now holds multiple NED roles across a range of sectors. In 2023, she co-founded The SuperScalers alongside Rosaleen Blair, CBE, and Ollie Barrett, MBE, a global community on a mission to help underrepresented founders grow from £1 million to £50 million+ in revenue. By connecting high potential entrepreneurs with those who've already scaled, The SuperScalers is shifting the narrative of who gets to build big.
Sam is also a committed voice for equity in entrepreneurship. She's advised the UK Government's Taskforce for women-led high growth businesses, contributes to the Scale Up Institute's work on female-led scale-ups, sits on the Everywoman advisory board and is a patron of the Entrepreneurs Network.
She's currently campaigning to integrate entrepreneurship into the school curriculum, giving every young person, regardless of background, the tools to shape their own future.
This podcast interview was recorded on 18 June, 2025.
We cover the following:
- 00:11 Meet Sam Smith
- 02:33 The UK scale-up story for women
- 03:18 Challenges and opportunities for female founders
- 04:44 The importance of community and the ecosystem
- 04:57 Leadership styles and cultural shifts
- 05:51 Blind spots
- 08:31 Funding and capital issues
- 11:02 The role of government
- 17:09 Inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem
- 26:33 The power of community
- 29:38 Building an inclusive innovation ecosystem
- 29:55 Challenges faced by female founders
- 30:29 A new financial system for women
- 31:12 The importance of inclusion in entrepreneurship
- 34:27 The potential of the UK in the global market
- 38:03 The need for a coordinated entrepreneurial ecosystem
- 40:41 Future vision for the UK scale-up ecosystem
- 42:49 The importance of education in entrepreneurship
- 51:44 Action plan for supporting female founders
- 56:06 Final thoughts.
***
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By Jana Hlistova
5
22 ratings
Sam Smith is a trailblazing entrepreneur, board advisor, and is a passionate advocate for inclusive, purposeful business. Best known as the founding CEO of FinCap, the first female led stockbroking firm in the city, she led the business from a startup within JMFinn to a £50 million investment bank, supporting hundreds of growth companies along their scale and exit journeys.
Over 24 years, Sam built what became Cavendish Financial on principles she still champions today: empathetic leadership, inclusive culture, and high impact governance.
Her bestselling book, the Secret Source, captures the mindset behind super scaling, empowering talent while staying true to purpose. It's no surprise that one of her favourite reads is Grit by Angela Duckworth, a philosophy she's lived by through every deal, boardroom and pivot points.
She now holds multiple NED roles across a range of sectors. In 2023, she co-founded The SuperScalers alongside Rosaleen Blair, CBE, and Ollie Barrett, MBE, a global community on a mission to help underrepresented founders grow from £1 million to £50 million+ in revenue. By connecting high potential entrepreneurs with those who've already scaled, The SuperScalers is shifting the narrative of who gets to build big.
Sam is also a committed voice for equity in entrepreneurship. She's advised the UK Government's Taskforce for women-led high growth businesses, contributes to the Scale Up Institute's work on female-led scale-ups, sits on the Everywoman advisory board and is a patron of the Entrepreneurs Network.
She's currently campaigning to integrate entrepreneurship into the school curriculum, giving every young person, regardless of background, the tools to shape their own future.
This podcast interview was recorded on 18 June, 2025.
We cover the following:
- 00:11 Meet Sam Smith
- 02:33 The UK scale-up story for women
- 03:18 Challenges and opportunities for female founders
- 04:44 The importance of community and the ecosystem
- 04:57 Leadership styles and cultural shifts
- 05:51 Blind spots
- 08:31 Funding and capital issues
- 11:02 The role of government
- 17:09 Inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem
- 26:33 The power of community
- 29:38 Building an inclusive innovation ecosystem
- 29:55 Challenges faced by female founders
- 30:29 A new financial system for women
- 31:12 The importance of inclusion in entrepreneurship
- 34:27 The potential of the UK in the global market
- 38:03 The need for a coordinated entrepreneurial ecosystem
- 40:41 Future vision for the UK scale-up ecosystem
- 42:49 The importance of education in entrepreneurship
- 51:44 Action plan for supporting female founders
- 56:06 Final thoughts.
***