Between the Spreadsheets

In this Episode we spend time with Jillian Lavender and Michael Miller who run The London Meditation Centre and New York Meditation Center. As Jillian and Michael take us through their journey from their corporate lives and the changes that took place we are fortunate to also be able to hear more about the benefits that vedic meditation practise is bringing to the increasing number of people they are seeing who are in search of some way to cope with the world as it is at the moment. And as we recorded this on 11th February we knew so little of what was about to happen with the virus. So we expect much of this may well resonate with you a little more. 

We hear how Meditation is so fundamental to who they are and what they do …and the enormous impact it has had on their own lives. 

But they also tell us it wasn’t always like this and how when they set out it felt a little like stepping in to the unknown. And how having one another to go through the journey with has made things so much easier. Jillian tells us that she could never have imagined that one minute she would be running a corporate business and then training to be a teacher of meditation. Michael tells us about leaving his career in LA and moving to London and what happened next. And setting up the business when yoga was so new to the western world but it was so much easier having each other and understanding what one another were doing and providing the support to build the business together. 
 

We talk about mental strength, personal fulfilment, sleep, complementary skillsets and much more. 

We loved spending time with Jillian and Michael and we hope you love listening to them. 

You can find more about Jillian, Michael and the business at https://www.londonmeditationcentre.com
On Instagram at londonmeditationcentre and newyorkmeditationcenter
And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LondonMeditationCentre/ 
And on Twitter @LondonMedCentre 

We recorded this Episode with Slisha Kankariya and Anubh Shah from With Clarity on a call to their New York offices at the end of January this year and as it goes out at today on 7th April 2020 it is incredible to see how much the world has changed within those few weeks. And whilst everything is different we hope you enjoy hearing their story of meeting, falling in love and that moment when Anubh talked to Slisha about going in to business together. 

Slisha and Anubh met in 2013 and went on to create their company together where they’re disrupting the engagement ring business and it’s fascinating. But whilst they were building a future together and had the same goals they experienced so many challenges that they almost stopped before they really got started. 

They share a big challenge with us around convincing investors that couples make good founders... and they tell us how they addressed this and what happened next. And as we all find ourselves working from home and integrating all facets of our lives there are definitely some learnings from this story to take away. 

With Clarity were recently voted the 18th fastest growing company in the US by Inc Magazine and number 3 in New York City by Cain’s New york business Fast 50 list. Phenomenal growth in such a short period….

We hope you enjoy this Episode and the love, warmth, focus, drive and innovation that Slisha and Anubh show in all they do.  

You can find them at https://www.withclarity.com
On Instagram they are at mywithclarity and
On Twitter you can find them here @MyWithClarity

In this Episode we meet Jan Deruyck and Morgane Leten who started out on their Couplepreneur journey just last year in 2019 and are building Guut - https://guut.co – their new and very exciting health coaching business where they help people live their best lives. Jan, Morgane and I recorded this session in January and little did we know that within 2 months the world would look so different and our lives so very different. But so much of what they cover I think will resonate as they share so much and this is so real, raw and full of such emotion. I think and hope it will touch many of us deeply. I laugh lots in this interview too as Jan and Morgane share more on how they met one night following which they didn't think it likely that would happen again. 

The journey they went on to get to building a business together is in itself brave and courageous and already busts open so many of the myths around being a Couplepreneur. But also just managing life and adapting to so much - again what we are all experiencing in these days, weeks and months ahead. And as they tell us, even in the time since they've set up the business some things have changed and developed as they've listened to clients and their needs and have been able to adapt. 

Whilst they had ideas on the side they never really thought about doing something together. But the day their son was born changed everything and their journey unfolds from here and leaving the 'golden cage' and its safety, selling up and embarking on an adventure of exploration that would take them and their 10 month old son across Mexico, Costa Rica and the US. And the discovery that resulted in the creation of their coaching business. 

Jan and Morgane tell us how important structure and habits are, their sources of inspiration, what they are learning about one another in working together and how having a network of advisors early on has been key for them. They also share more on how you see a different side when working with one another that you haven't necessarily seen before and this has involved seeing some insecurities and some vulnerability that you aren't use to seeing. 

They tell us how being direct is a blessing as is being able to take fast decisions but how adding in filters has been important for them too as their working relationship has developed. 

Their sources of inspiration include hearing more about the impact Brene Brown has had on Morgane - https://brenebrown.com
Jan shares more on David Apstein and his book Range - https://davidepstein.com/the-range/ and we hear more about the impact that Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow had on him - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjVQJdIrDJ0 together with other podcasts that provide inspiration and learnings. Lots to take out here.

As we live through unprecedented times so much of this I hope will resonate with you. And I hope you enjoy their honest, real, heartfelt and inspiring story.

You can find out more about the business at https://guut.co
You can follow Jan and Morgane and what they are doing on Instagram at guut_company
And you can sign up to their fabulous weekly newsletter here - guut.co/home-subscribe 

In this episode John and Sara Gaughan take us back to when they met 29 years ago and their journey together since. We hear how John knew within 4 months of getting his break in to recruitment that he was going to do it for the rest of his career. He’d found something he was good at, he enjoyed and he could embrace. 

Whilst John initially went on to found Finlay James, a digital and tech recruitment business, it wasn’t until 10 years on that Sara joined the business. This is such an interesting story of how that came about and how John and Sara had never even thought about working together until one evening when this came up in conversation over a drink with John and his business partner. We talk about what’s been happening since joining forces to become a Couplepreneur. We cover growth, culture, self-care, diversity, alcohol and integrating all facets of life and how they manage it all. And we also talk about the children of Couplepreneurs. 

Sara shares more on https://pattymccord.com and the impact Patty had on her. Sara also discusses her Masters and some of its key and enlightening findings. 

It’s really exciting to witness their innovation with the new offices in San Francisco and New York and the creation of Talentskowt, their new brand in 2019. You will get a sense of the passion they bring together in everything they do. And how strong they are together. They are learning so much, trialling new initiatives and tell us what hasn’t worked and what they’ve learnt in the process. We discuss 'boomerangs', effective decision making (24 seconds, 24 minutes, 24 hours) and hone in on some of the things they have learnt about one another particularly around risk taking. 

They also share more about living in the present and future and how that has changed, particularly for John. 

Inspiring, endearing, insightful and provocative in equal measures. 

You can find out more about the businesses at https://www.finlayjames.co.uk and https://www.talentskowt.co.uk and follow them on Instagram at Finlay James and talentskowt_
You can find them on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FinlayJamesAssociates/ and https://www.facebook.com/talentskowt/ 
And on Twitter - @FinlayJamesLtd and @Talentskowt 

In this episode we hear about how coffee brought Christian and Amber Meier together in 2006 when they met in Canada and how coffee has remained hugely significant in their lives. Christian’s professional cycling career took them to Europe where they decided to make Girona in Spain their home. 

It was a discussion and a seminal moment in 2014 on a Spanish beach – where Amber couldn’t carry on living the way they had and was considering returning to Canada - that would set them on a journey of discovery, change, fulfilment, joy, setbacks, learnings and so much more. Following this La Fabrica was born. 

They love what they do but in setting up the business together they know that they’ve needed resilience on another level to overcome the setbacks and together they have achieved this. They tell us how getting the right people has been one of the hardest things but so crucial to their business success. Authenticity runs deep for Christian and Amber and staying true to who you are as you will hear. 

This driven, engaging and inspiring Couplepreneur who have a passion for coffee, bikes, riding and hospitality have gone on to set up La Fabrica, The Service Course and Espresso Mafia and have expanded internationally to the UK and Norway in the last few months. Christian tells us how he wants the business to be one of the most relevant cycling brands in the world.

I loved meeting them recently and I was lucky enough to do this at their newly launched and very beautiful location in Wilmslow in Cheshire and hearing so much about their authenticity and how they are the motivation for one other.

They had launched just 2 weeks earlier and the team were hosting a dinner that night so you may hear champagne corks popping and lots of frivolity in the background and whilst we could have carried on talking for so much longer this was our cue to wrap things up and let the champagne flow. They have much to celebrate as you will hear from the interview and many exciting developments happening with the business.

A Couplepreneur to watch indeed. I hope you love listening as much as I did in producing this, our first Episode of the new Series.

You can find out more about the businesses at https://theservicecourse.cc, https://www.lafabricagirona.com and https://espressomafiagirona.com
You can follow them on Instagram at theservicecourse, lafabricacafes and Espresso Mafia.
And you can find them on Facebook here - https://www.facebook.com/theservicecourse/, https://www.facebook.com/lafabricagirona/ and https://www.facebook.com/espressomafiagirona/

Throughout our conversation together we also talk about where they met in Canada and getting married just off Vancouver Island and I mention how I was close to there on Berry Island last year staying at Farewell Harbour - https://www.farewellharbour.com - a stunning location watching Orca and walking with Bears - you have to see it to believe it. And another Couplepreneur run business too. 

I’m Tricia Bacon and I'm delighted to tell you a little more about Series 2 of our Between the Spreadsheets podcast.

I’m the founder of Couplepreneurs, a growing global community of couples in love and in business. This is a growing economic segment and one that I believe is somewhat undiscovered, unknown and undervalued. There are many thousands of Couplepreneurs in the UK, millions globally and this is definitely a thing. It’s happening in all sectors and across all ages. There are huge ridiculous myths that exist around being a Couplepreneur not least that they aren’t a viable investment opportunity.

Couples can be stronger together, they have each other’s backs and complementary skillsets that enable the business to thrive. And Couplepreneur businesses are being set up in a myriad of ways whether through a strategic plan, falling upon an idea, at a particular life stage and also, at times, as a result of trauma. Many themes are emerging. And as we live the 100 year life we are witnessing more couples exploring ways of working together. 

In this series we continue to shed light on these incredible people and what and how they do this. We also need to bust open the myths and find out what it’s really like to be a Couplepreneur. Each couple we meet shares so much - their insights into just how they juggle work, life, love and everything in between. These are real, raw and inspiring stories of their journeys together.  

In this series we meet the following Couplepreneurs from around the globe

Christian and Amber Meier who live in Girona in Spain and run La Fabrica, Espresso Mafia and The Service Course cycling brand that are experiencing so much exciting growth.

Sara and John Gaughan who share the journey of their international tech recruitment brands Finlay James and Talentskowt from where it all started back in 2003.

Jan Derucyk and Morgane Leten from Belgium who have just embarked on their Couplepreneur journey having established their innovative and very exciting health coaching business in 2019.

Slisha Kankariya and Anubh Shah the Couplepreneur from New York running With Clarity and they are totally disrupting the engagement ring business and growing at a truly phenomenal rate.

And we meet Jillian Lavender and Michael Miller from the London Meditation Centre and New York Meditation Center. Jillian and Michael share how it felt back in 2008 when they set up together and why it is so personally fulfilling, the positive effect that vedic meditation is bringing to so many people and how they are stronger together.

Please do subscribe, enjoy listening and learning and as ever, keep the feedback coming. 

With huge thanks
Tricia

Episode 5 is the story of Cama, a 119 year old business that is going through huge change and growth and almost feels like a start up as a chance meeting at a networking event has opened up a whole new and very exiting sector. Having had some enormous challenges in recent years, Michelle and Michaele share such honesty about meeting through work, the luck they have had and how they’ve seized opportunities. They tell us about the sleepless nights they’ve had and how this forced them to be more imaginative and not just keep doing what they had been doing. 

This Couplepreneur share how much going on gut has helped them and how they already know they want to start another business together at some point in the future. Michelle and Michaele tell us that knowing  they work with someone that absolutely supports them 100% and has their back is great. The future is looking very bright for Cama and we gain such great insight in to how this Couplepreneur are one to watch and can teach us lots about resilience, mental strength and innovation. 

Episode 4 tells the journey of Karol Ostaszewski and Laura Clacey who are building Sxollie, a craft apple cider brand where they want to change mindsets to make cider sexy. Whilst they are now planning a fundraise, back in the early days they questioned their decision many times when one huge challenge really started to impact their ability to move the business forward. But they tell us how backing themselves enabled them to push through and continue. Leaving corporate jobs and very long days hasn’t meant that the working days have been shorter but they are definitely bolder, bigger and much more fun. Never able to really get away and have a complete holiday so far, they do however talk abut how they achieve the balance in being able to work together particularly through intense periods. Laura and Karol also share with us how they took stress to a whole other level when they moved continents, incorporated the business, got married, fell pregnant and bought a house in the same year, all within a few weeks. 

This is a very exciting time for this driven Couplepreneur who have a novel and interesting story of how they started the business together with the mind mapping exercise that played a big part in this. Recently selected by Sainsbury’s as on of their Top 100 Future Brands, Laura and Karol are ready, willing and able to scale. This is a Couplepreneur to watch indeed. 

Episode 3 is the really inspirational story of Julie Chen and Chris Forbes who met on the dating site e-harmony where building a global brand together was initially the furthest thing from their minds. But as Julie discussed the idea with Chris that she'd been researching around creating a sustainable bamboo tissue business, an early trip to China in their relationship really opened their eyes to see just what was possible and The Cheeky Panda was incorporated upon their return. That was in January 2016. 

Julie and Chris tell us about not having reached their full potential before creating The Cheeky Panda despite running their own successful lifestyle brands. Less than 4 years old, it is hard to imagine given what’s happening today that the brand awareness for eco products then was low and this made them nervous. As did just how much money it consumed to run the business and had they known this when starting out they would have definitely thought twice about it. Chris shares how they couldn’t pay themselves for 18 months and how stretched he felt when Leo, their baby boy was born with Julie being out of the business – but not for long as Julie shares more about the balance and how they make it work with their very complementary skillsets. This Couplepreneur demonstrate just how strong they are together, how the Yin and the Yang is working in harmony and how it’s less lonely building a company with a partner than carrying it on your own shoulders. They are creating a truly global sustainable bamboo tissue brand and are already exporting to over 22 markets. With much, much more to come. 

This is an incredible story of a wonderful couple who have achieved such greatness in so little time. A Couplepreneur and business to watch indeed.
https://www.thecheekypanda.co.uk/

I’m Tricia Bacon and I’m the founder of Couplepreneurs, a growing global community of couples in love and in business. This is a growing economic segment and one that I believe is somewhat undiscovered, unknown and undervalued. As I set up my consulting business in 2015 helping companies to scale, I started to attract couple owned businesses through no intention and as I began to research the market more it became very clear that there are many thousands of Couplepreneurs in the UK, millions globally and this is definitely a thing. It’s happening in all sectors and across all ages. There are ridiculous myths that exist around being a Couplepreneur not least that they aren’t a viable investment opportunity.

Couples can be stronger together, they have each other’s backs and complementary skillsets that enable the business to thrive. And Couplepreneur businesses are being set up in a myriad of ways whether through a strategic plan, falling upon an idea, at a particular life stage and also, at times, as a result of trauma. Many themes are emerging. And as we live the 100 year life we are witnessing more couples exploring ways of working together. The time now feels right to shed light on these incredible people and what and how they do this. We also need to bust open the myths and find out what it’s really like to be a Couplepreneur.  

Each couple we meet will share their insights into just how they juggle work, life, love and everything in between. These are real, raw and inspiring stories of their journeys together.  

Episode 2 is the first time anyone has ever heard both Lara and Charlie Morgan tell the story together of building Pacific Direct that Lara set up when she was 23 with Charlie joining 3 years later.  This is their incredible journey in building the business, taking it globally and their exit 17 years later for £20m. They tell us about their sweaty knickers moments including how, early on, they were thrown in to turmoil when their supplier from China chose not to supply them anymore and they had to set up their own manufacturing plant. They share how running an exit process is brutal and hard and just what gumption is really required to do this. 

This is a hugely compelling story of building a global brand together that wasn’t planned, where a priceless group of people delivered time and time again and just how important developing a great culture is together with having fun. With the ferocious growth came stress and anxiety that Lara shares with us in a way you may not have heard before and she also shares more about her mental health particularly post the sale and in more recent years. Lara and Charlie tell us ‘if you believe you can you will’ and this Couplepreneur share how they did just that and their continued journey in now focusing on health and wellness products that save time and improve life. You hear the absolute faith and trust they have in one another.

I’m Tricia Bacon and I’m the founder of Couplepreneurs, a growing global community of couples in love and in business. This is a growing economic segment and one that I believe is somewhat undiscovered, unknown and undervalued. As I set up my consulting business in 2015 helping companies to scale, I started to attract couple owned businesses through no intention and as I began to research the market more it became very clear that there are many thousands of Couplepreneurs in the UK, millions globally and this is definitely a thing. It’s happening in all sectors and across all ages. There are ridiculous myths that exist around being a Couplepreneur not least that they aren’t a viable investment opportunity.

Couples can be stronger together, they have each other’s backs and complementary skillsets that enable the business to thrive. And Couplepreneur businesses are being set up in a myriad of ways whether through a strategic plan, falling upon an idea, at a particular life stage and also, at times, as a result of trauma. Many themes are emerging. And as we live the 100 year life we are witnessing more couples exploring ways of working together. The time now feels right to shed light on these incredible people and what and how they do this. We also need to bust open the myths and find out what it’s really like to be a Couplepreneur.  

Each couple we meet will share their insights into just how they juggle work, life, love and everything in between. These are real, raw and inspiring stories of their journeys together.