Bulletproof Entrepreneur

By Alan Smith

Business Investing

What's Bulletproof Entrepreneur about?

A podcast for entrepreneurs – reverse engineering the formula for successful scale, sale and exit. 

Inspired conversations with world-class entrepreneurs and the specialists who support them.

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Bulletproof Entrepreneur episodes:

06.27.2024
Josh Keegan - Key Lessons in Building A Thriving, High Profit Business: The Secrets Your Accountant Didn't Tell You.
Send us a Text Message. This podcast is for entrepreneurs, reverse engineering the formula for successful scale, sale, and exit—inspired conversations with world-class entrepreneurs and the specialists who support them. I came up with that strapline when I launched the pod...
06.13.2024
Phil Bray - From Failure to Success; “I lost my business, my house and my car - and then used the lessons I learned to build a successful business”
Send us a Text Message. This podcast is for business owners and entrepreneurs - reverse engineering your way to success through inspiring conversations. And the conversation you're about to hear is truly inspiring. I'm conscious that many of the guests I've...
05.30.2024
S03E19 - Joanna Jensen, founder of Child’s Farm (£40m exit) on what it really takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Send us a Text Message. Joanna Jensen is the founder of Child's Farm, the hugely successful baby and child skincare company that was recently sold for £40m. This is one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve had since we launched the...
05.16.2024
S03E18 - Alexis Sikorsky - The True Story of Selling My Company to Private Equity for $100 Million
Send us a Text Message. Welcome back to the Bulletproof Entrepreneur podcast, where we delve into the minds of experienced entrepreneurs and uncover their secrets to success. I’m your host, Alan Smith, and I’m really excited to bring you my conversation...
05.02.2024
S03E17 - James McLaughlin - I sold my business for millions and then lost it all! Lessons for entrepreneurs planning a sale.
Send us a Text Message. If you’re a business owner who plans to sell your business one day, this episode is essential listening. Picture this: You've poured years of your life into a business, helping to build it from the ground...
04.18.2024
S03E16 - Peter Cowley - Public Success, Private Grief
Send us a Text Message. Peter Cowley is one of Europe’s best-known angel investors and active supporters of entrepreneurship. He studied computer science at Cambridge and founded his first company in 1984. Since then, he’s launched no less than 12 companies,...
03.21.2024
S03E15 - Jeremy Harbour - A serial entrepreneur reveals the secret to building incredible value in your business.
Send us a Text Message. I’m pleased to share a fascinating conversation I had recently with Jeremy Harbour, one of the most successful and experienced entrepreneurs around. Jeremy is a born entrepreneur who started selling jeans, watches, and even Cadbury...
03.07.2024
S03E14 - Russ Haworth - On The Business of Family
Send us a Text Message. Let me set the scene by telling you that one of my all-time favourite TV shows is "Succession”. It's a fascinating tale of a wealthy family wrapped up in the complexities of their business empire...
02.22.2024
S03E13 - How to increase the value of your business 12x and get ‘exit ready’ - Business Mentor of the Year, Christine Nicholson.
Send us a Text Message. Let me start by sharing some statistics with you, which I find rather shocking.90% of SMEs are unsellable50% close down for zero valueOnly one in 2,000 are sold for the full market value. It was today’s...
02.08.2024
S03E12 Alex Chisnall - What working with Sir Richard Branson taught me about entrepreneurship, resilience and taking big risks.
Send us a Text Message. Alex Chisnall is the creator and host of one of the UK’s leading podcasts called Screw It Just Do It and is now a highly successful entrepreneur in the content creation space. The name of his...
01.25.2024
S03E11 - Rand Fishkin, the founder who turned down a $250 million offer, reveals the painful truth about life as an entrepreneur.
Send us a Text Message. My guest today, Rand Fishkin, is the author of one of the best business books I’ve ever read, and trust me, I’ve read a lot of business books! It’s called Lost and Founder, and it charts...
01.11.2024
S03E10 - Ray Trapani from Bitconned (now streaming on Netflix) - an insider’s experience of investing in cryptocurrency.
Send us a Text Message. Hello, and welcome back to the Bulletproof Entrepreneur podcast, the first of 2024. We’ve got something special for you to kick off the New Year! ‘Bitconned” is currently one of the top shows streaming on Netflix around...
12.14.2023
S03E09 - Victor Haghani - Author of The Missing Billionaires, discusses how entrepreneurs can build and keep wealth.
Send us a Text Message. Most business owners that I know aren't entirely focused on making money or on the financial rewards, but nevertheless, creating economic security for you and your family is a vital part of why you started...
11.30.2023
S03E08 - Bruce Whitfield - The Secret Sauce of Successful Entrepreneurship - learned from 50,000 interviews with business leaders.
Send us a Text Message. I was in Cape Town a couple of months ago, speaking at a conference, and I was in the audience to witness one of the best keynote speeches I’ve ever seen, certainly the best keynote...
11.16.2023
S03E07 Dave Butler, CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors - From pro basketball to leading a $600 billion investment business; timeless money advice for entrepreneurs.
Send us a Text Message. In my ‘day job’, when I speak with entrepreneurs and ask them what their single biggest financial concern is once they sold their business and received a capital sum, the answer is often ‘I don't...
11.02.2023
S03E06 - The Water King - Allan Feldt sold a business making just £50k profit for £15 million and then went on to a £75 million exit. An inspiring entrepreneurial story.
Send us a Text Message. Since I began the podcast as a resource for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, I’ve aimed for a blend of real-life conversations with founders and owners as well as practical ideas and insights from the...
10.19.2023
S03E05 Richard Bearman - Managing Director, British Business Bank. Ideas, insights, and inspiration from the banker who loves to help entrepreneurs.
Send us a Text Message. Have you ever had an idea for a business but thought there were too many challenges and barriers to getting started? Whether it's access to funding or more importantly, access to good quality business advice...
10.12.2023
S03E04 Lee Robertson - pioneering financial services entrepreneur on scaling his business through the power of PR and selling to colleagues via a Management Buy Out
Send us a Text Message. Lee Robertson is a serial entrepreneur, having founded no less than 3 companies to date. One didn’t work out and is no longer around; one became a huge success, and he sold it to his...
10.05.2023
S03E03 Bootstrapping his business to £50m annual revenue - Gurinder Dhillon of Otto Car
Send us a Text Message. Gurinder is the founder and CEO of Otto Car, the company that provides cars and finance to most Uber drivers in London. Currently, over 5,000 vehicles on the road are provided through the services of Otto. In...
09.28.2023
S03E02 Back From the Brink - the incredible story of a husband-and-wife team that built an amazing business over 30 years. And then nearly lost it all
Send us a Text Message. This episode is a first. After 35 episodes of the Bulletproof Entrepreneur podcast, I thought it was time we explored the dynamics where a husband and wife set up in business and have to manage...
09.21.2023
S03E01 Roheel Ahmad - CEO of one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe shares his secret sauce of business success.
Send us a Text Message. Roheel Ahmad is the co-founder of Forsythe Barnes, a recruitment company, but not just any recruitment company. The business has been listed on the FT250 Fastest Growing Business list for three years running. In under...
07.13.2023
S02E16 The Best Bits from Season 2
Send us a Text Message. This is a special episode as it’s the last episode of Season 2 and so we’ve put together a compilation of the greatest hits covering some of the key ideas, insights, and themes that have...
06.29.2023
S02E15 Piers Linney shares his entrepreneurial journey from modest beginnings to Dragon's Den and the advice he got from Sir Richard Branson
Send us a Text Message. You probably know Piers Linney from the TV show Dragon’s Den, where he appeared for two seasons, giving advice and investing his own money in startup companies. Something of a reluctant celebrity, he left the...
06.15.2023
S02E14 Entrepreneur Bootcamp with Serial Founder, Bob Norton (with 2 free ebooks)
Send us a Text Message. Bob has enjoyed 100% launch success returning over $1 billion to his investors. He’s founded six companies, sold four and is still running two. He’s grown two startups to $100m and $156m in sales in...
06.01.2023
S02E13 Question Everything - the mantra used by Ian Humphris to fuel his marketing scale-up and £23 million exit.
Send us a Text Message. Ian is an entrepreneur who built and, after 7 years, sold a highly successful marketing agency for £23 million. In this episode, he shares the lessons learned on his journey so far. Ian had a postcard...
05.18.2023
S02E12 Ruth Sturkey - The Unexpected Lessons from Selling My Business. Insights from a former adviser.
Send us a Text Message. My conversation this time is a little different and rather intriguing. Ruth Sturkey spent her career advising entrepreneurs and executives about their big life transitions, such as selling their businesses and retiring. And then was faced...
05.11.2023
S02E11 Artificial Intelligence for your business - Special Episode with Aalok Shukla
Send us a Text Message. Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last year, you’ll be all too aware of something called artificial intelligence. AI’s not new, it’s been around for years, and you've probably been using applications like...
05.04.2023
S02E10 Jeremy Tobias Tarsh: Rebel Entrepreneur - From Magic Circle Lawyer to a £250m Exit.
Send us a Text Message. Today's guest is Jeremy Tobias Tarsh who is one of the original inspirations behind my launching this podcast. Jeremy is happy to share that he’s been a client of our firm for many years and it...
04.20.2023
S02E09 - Jodie Williams and Jenny Hughes of The Marketing Pod. The secret ingredients to building a world-class business.
Send us a Text Message. Jodie and Jenny are cofounders of a hugely successful agency called The Marketing Pod, and 11 years ago they decided to tread that well-known entrepreneurial path, took a big risk and walked away from a...
04.06.2023
S02E08 James Watt - Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog: Resilience and Vision - The incredible stories behind a billion dollar business.
Send us a Text Message. To celebrate the landmark 25th episode of the podcast, I was delighted to be able to speak with the Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog, James Watt. BrewDog is valued at over $1,500,000,000 and is one of...
03.23.2023
S02E07 Henry Dimbleby MBE - The fast food entrepreneur who sold Leon for £100m
Send us a Text Message. Henry is the co-founder of the fast-food restaurant chain Leon with the unforgettable strapline ‘If God did fast food..’ From humble beginnings, with one small shop in Carnaby Street in London to a national and international...
03.10.2023
S02E06 James Crotty - M&A Lawyer - The 8 Steps to a Successful Business Sale and Exit.
Send us a Text Message. One of the original ideas behind the podcast was to create a repository of essential insights, experiences, and information. A knowledge hub that you can dip in and out of whenever you needed to be...
02.23.2023
S02E05 - The Secret Accountant - How Do You Really Sell Your Business?
Send us a Text Message. I’ve been following an anonymous account on Twitter for some time, and I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the content and thoughts shared on some of my favourite topics such as entrepreneurship, mergers & acquisitions,...
02.09.2023
S02E04 - Denise Logan - The Seller’s Journey; Selling Your Business is a Transition Not a Transaction
Send us a Text Message. You've heard of a ‘horse whisperer’, perhaps a ‘dog whisperer’, but you’ve probably never heard of a ‘seller whisperer’ - but that’s exactly what Denise has become known as. With a background as a mental health...
01.26.2023
S02E00 - Season II Trailer Episode
Send us a Text Message. Alan Smith www.capital.co.uk www.bulletproofentrepreneur.net https://www.linkedin.com/in/alancapital Twitter @alanjlsmith This podcast is produced by GR Media Sponsored by Capital Asset Management
01.26.2023
S02E01 - Alan Smith Solo episode. Forks In the Road - My Entrepreneurial Journey
Send us a Text Message. As we kick off Season 2 of the podcast, I’m taking the opportunity to share a little of my own journey, both personal and professional. For most of us, our childhood experiences shape our thoughts...
01.26.2023
S02E03 - Robin Wigglesworth - Author, FT Journalist How Business Owners Should Invest Their Money.
Send us a Text Message. Robin is a journalist at the Financial Times and is the editor of the popular column Alphaville. He’s also the author of a fabulous new book called Trillions. As a business owner, one thing is...
01.26.2023
S02E02 - Brian Portnoy - How to Shape a Life of Money and Meaning
Send us a Text Message. I’ve described this podcast as being ‘inspired conversations at the intersection of money, business, family, and life’ and none better sum up that complex blend than the one I had recently with Brian Portnoy. Brian...
12.22.2022
Ep.16 - The Best Bits from Season 1
Send us a Text Message. This is a special episode as it’s the last episode of Season 1 and so we’ve put together a compilation of the greatest hits covering some of the key ideas, insights, and themes that have...
12.01.2022
Ep.15 - Louise Grubb - Business lessons from a 2-x exited female founder currently building her third business.
Send us a Text Message. Let me start by sharing a statistic that’s quite shocking- less than 2% of Venture Capital funding goes to all female founder teams. So those female founders who’ve managed to get started, and raise some...
11.17.2022
Ep.14 - Third Time Lucky - City legend, Dickie Burrows on selling his financial company at the third attempt.
Send us a Text Message. I attended a conference run by a friend of mine Andy Hart called Humans Under Management - it focuses on the behavioural side of wealth and is one of the best financial or business conferences...
11.03.2022
Ep.13 - Damian Milkins and Simon Hancock - The magic formula that helped secure a $65m exit for two London tech entrepreneurs
Send us a Text Message. This time I’m trying something different. First, I’m speaking with two co-founders, Damian Milkins and Simon Hancock who built a hugely successful tech business called Control Circle and led it to a $65m exit. I let...
10.20.2022
Ep.12 - Mark Telford - Small Giants: How to use your business to design your ideal life
Send us a Text Message. According to the Department of Business and Industry, there are 5.6 million businesses in the UK. But get this - out of the 5.6 million businesses, 4.2 million had no employees - they are sole traders. And...
10.06.2022
Ep.11 - Stefan Wissenbach - The most profound entrepreneurial story you will hear this year
Send us a Text Message. Every now and again you hear a story that stops you in your tracks because it deeply touches a part of you whilst at the same time is uplifting and inspiring. Stefan Wissenbach is a...
09.22.2022
Ep.10 - Be Careful What You Wish For - Neil Simpson of The Corner sold his business. And then bought it back!
Send us a Text Message. I think one of the reasons that this podcast is proving to be popular is that most of the stories follow that classic ‘Hero's Journey’’ narrative arc. Our hero, the Founder is dissatisfied with the...
09.08.2022
Ep.9 - Don Fraser - The Entrepreneur’s Wealth Manager - Insights and inspiration from 30 years of advising business owners.
Send us a Text Message. Don Fraser is something of a legend in the financial planning and wealth management sector – he’s been working with entrepreneurs for well over 30 years and he’s got a deep understanding of not only...
08.25.2022
Ep.8 - Media entrepreneur Richard Bridgwood on building and selling a multi-million-pound TV company (Peppa Pig included!)
Send us a Text Message. Richard Bridgwood was the founder of Contender which was a media and film distribution company which he and his team built from scratch over 12 years and sold to one of the biggest entertainment and...
08.11.2022
Ep.7 - Mike Ames - The dark side of business success and how to avoid it.
Send us a Text Message. Hi and welcome back to the Entrepreneur Transition podcast - the only podcast that explores the uniquely human journey involved in building a business, selling it and crucially, life on the other side. In 20...
07.28.2022
Ep.6 - Susan Bradley - The Sudden Money Institute
Send us a Text Message. This Inspired Conversation is in many ways why I launched the podcast in the first place - to explore the human side of the entrepreneurial journey, every bit as much as the financial side. Let...
07.14.2022
Ep.5 - Timo Armoo - Fanbytes: 8 figure exit at age 27
Send us a Text Message. From a council estate in Hackney, London to an ‘8-figure exit’ by age 27. The most inspirational founder conversation you will hear in a long time. I’ve met a lot of entrepreneurs over the years...

What's Bulletproof Entrepreneur about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Bulletproof Entrepreneur episodes:

Josh Keegan - Key Lessons in Building A Thriving, High Profit Business: The Secrets Your Accountant Didn't Tell You.

Phil Bray - From Failure to Success; “I lost my business, my house and my car - and then used the lessons I learned to build a successful business”

S03E19 - Joanna Jensen, founder of Child’s Farm (£40m exit) on what it really takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.

S03E18 - Alexis Sikorsky - The True Story of Selling My Company to Private Equity for $100 Million

S03E17 - James McLaughlin - I sold my business for millions and then lost it all! Lessons for entrepreneurs planning a sale.

S03E16 - Peter Cowley - Public Success, Private Grief

S03E15 - Jeremy Harbour - A serial entrepreneur reveals the secret to building incredible value in your business.

S03E14 - Russ Haworth - On The Business of Family

S03E13 - How to increase the value of your business 12x and get ‘exit ready’ - Business Mentor of the Year, Christine Nicholson.

S03E12 Alex Chisnall - What working with Sir Richard Branson taught me about entrepreneurship, resilience and taking big risks.

S03E11 - Rand Fishkin, the founder who turned down a $250 million offer, reveals the painful truth about life as an entrepreneur.

S03E10 - Ray Trapani from Bitconned (now streaming on Netflix) - an insider’s experience of investing in cryptocurrency.

S03E09 - Victor Haghani - Author of The Missing Billionaires, discusses how entrepreneurs can build and keep wealth.

S03E08 - Bruce Whitfield - The Secret Sauce of Successful Entrepreneurship - learned from 50,000 interviews with business leaders.

S03E07 Dave Butler, CEO of Dimensional Fund Advisors - From pro basketball to leading a $600 billion investment business; timeless money advice for entrepreneurs.

S03E06 - The Water King - Allan Feldt sold a business making just £50k profit for £15 million and then went on to a £75 million exit. An inspiring entrepreneurial story.

S03E05 Richard Bearman - Managing Director, British Business Bank. Ideas, insights, and inspiration from the banker who loves to help entrepreneurs.

S03E04 Lee Robertson - pioneering financial services entrepreneur on scaling his business through the power of PR and selling to colleagues via a Management Buy Out

S03E03 Bootstrapping his business to £50m annual revenue - Gurinder Dhillon of Otto Car

S03E02 Back From the Brink - the incredible story of a husband-and-wife team that built an amazing business over 30 years. And then nearly lost it all

S03E01 Roheel Ahmad - CEO of one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe shares his secret sauce of business success.

S02E16 The Best Bits from Season 2

S02E15 Piers Linney shares his entrepreneurial journey from modest beginnings to Dragon's Den and the advice he got from Sir Richard Branson

S02E14 Entrepreneur Bootcamp with Serial Founder, Bob Norton (with 2 free ebooks)

S02E13 Question Everything - the mantra used by Ian Humphris to fuel his marketing scale-up and £23 million exit.

S02E12 Ruth Sturkey - The Unexpected Lessons from Selling My Business. Insights from a former adviser.

S02E11 Artificial Intelligence for your business - Special Episode with Aalok Shukla

S02E10 Jeremy Tobias Tarsh: Rebel Entrepreneur - From Magic Circle Lawyer to a £250m Exit.

S02E09 - Jodie Williams and Jenny Hughes of The Marketing Pod. The secret ingredients to building a world-class business.

S02E08 James Watt - Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog: Resilience and Vision - The incredible stories behind a billion dollar business.

S02E07 Henry Dimbleby MBE - The fast food entrepreneur who sold Leon for £100m

S02E06 James Crotty - M&A Lawyer - The 8 Steps to a Successful Business Sale and Exit.

S02E05 - The Secret Accountant - How Do You Really Sell Your Business?

S02E04 - Denise Logan - The Seller’s Journey; Selling Your Business is a Transition Not a Transaction

S02E00 - Season II Trailer Episode

S02E01 - Alan Smith Solo episode. Forks In the Road - My Entrepreneurial Journey

S02E03 - Robin Wigglesworth - Author, FT Journalist How Business Owners Should Invest Their Money.

S02E02 - Brian Portnoy - How to Shape a Life of Money and Meaning

Ep.16 - The Best Bits from Season 1

Ep.15 - Louise Grubb - Business lessons from a 2-x exited female founder currently building her third business.

Ep.14 - Third Time Lucky - City legend, Dickie Burrows on selling his financial company at the third attempt.

Ep.13 - Damian Milkins and Simon Hancock - The magic formula that helped secure a $65m exit for two London tech entrepreneurs

Ep.12 - Mark Telford - Small Giants: How to use your business to design your ideal life

Ep.11 - Stefan Wissenbach - The most profound entrepreneurial story you will hear this year

Ep.10 - Be Careful What You Wish For - Neil Simpson of The Corner sold his business. And then bought it back!

Ep.9 - Don Fraser - The Entrepreneur’s Wealth Manager - Insights and inspiration from 30 years of advising business owners.

Ep.8 - Media entrepreneur Richard Bridgwood on building and selling a multi-million-pound TV company (Peppa Pig included!)

Ep.7 - Mike Ames - The dark side of business success and how to avoid it.

Ep.6 - Susan Bradley - The Sudden Money Institute

Ep.5 - Timo Armoo - Fanbytes: 8 figure exit at age 27

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