Juicero had Wi-Fi. Venture capital. Sleek design. And absolutely no reason to exist.

We unpack how Juicero raised around $120 million to build a $399 juicer that only worked with proprietary juice pouches and stopped functioning if your internet went down. A machine so over-engineered it managed to forget the most important part: usefulness.

Then came the moment that ended it all. A 2017 investigation by Bloomberg revealed you could squeeze the juice packs by hand and get the same result. No Wi-Fi. No machine. No nonsense.

We talk about why this wasn’t just a product failure, but a validation failure. How clever tech, investor excitement, and buzz can overpower basic common sense. And why expensive innovation without real-world practicality is a fast track to embarrassment.

Along the way, we nod to other infamous flops like the Amazon Fire Phone, Segway, and Crystal Pepsi, all brilliant ideas on paper that forgot to ask one simple question: does anyone actually need this?

A cautionary tale about hype, hardware, and what happens when innovation solves a problem that doesn’t exist.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

FYRE Festival promised champagne, supermodels, and luxury villas. What people got was cheese sandwiches, wet tents, and a masterclass in what happens when marketing runs miles ahead of reality.

We break down how a glossy influencer campaign featuring names like Kendall Jenner helped sell tickets ranging from eye-watering to outright unhinged, while the basics like food, water, toilets, and infrastructure were… entirely optional. Millions were raised. Instagram went wild. Logistics never turned up.

We talk about how hype became the product, why the marketing technically worked, and how the actual event collapsed under the weight of its own promises. From the Bahamas chaos to the legal fallout that landed Billy McFarland in prison, this is a cautionary tale about ambition without execution.

It’s a conversation about influencer culture, blind trust, and why a beautiful feed doesn’t mean a viable plan.

Because selling the dream is easy. Delivering it is the hard part.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Changing a formula sounds simple on paper. It rarely is in real life.

We dig into why tweaking a product can be one of the fastest ways to upset your most loyal customers, using craft ale as the perfect example. The stuff brewed to be drunk fresh isn’t the same as beer designed to travel, sit, and finish fermenting somewhere else. When you scale up, things change. Taste changes. Process changes. And sometimes the very thing people fell in love with quietly disappears.

We talk about how growth forces these decisions, why early fans often feel betrayed, and how pretending nothing’s changed usually makes things worse. There’s a big difference between evolving a product and accidentally sanding off its personality.

This is really a conversation about honesty. About knowing what your brand stands for. And about why transparency matters when success starts pulling you away from your roots.

Great chat for anyone growing a product, a business, or a brand and wondering how much change is too much before it stops feeling like you.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Crocs were once the punchline. The shoe you mocked… right up until everyone started wearing them anyway.

We talk about how Crocs went from cultural joke to business comeback story of the decade. After selling hundreds of millions of pairs and then watching their stock fall off a cliff, the brand looked finished. Ugly, unfashionable, and very much not cool.

Then something interesting happened.

Under new leadership, Crocs stopped apologising and leaned all the way in. They embraced the ugly. Used humour instead of hiding. And suddenly collaborations with Post Malone, Balenciaga, and even KFC made Crocs culturally unavoidable.

We unpack how that shift took Crocs from a market value of around $1 billion to more than $6.5 billion, with stock prices soaring and relevance fully restored. Not because they changed the product, but because they changed the story.

Do we personally love them? Absolutely not.
Do we respect the strategy? Begrudgingly… yes.

A lesson in brand confidence, cultural timing, and why sometimes the smartest move is to stop trying to be liked.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Formula One and premature babies don’t sound like they belong in the same sentence. And yet here we are...

We talk about how the high-speed, high-pressure world of F1 pit stops ended up transforming the care of critically ill babies at Great Ormond Street Hospital. When Dr Martin Elliot and Dr Alan Goodman looked at how F1 teams manage flawless handovers at 200mph, they saw something healthcare desperately needed. Clarity. Rehearsal. Roles that are nailed, not assumed.

By borrowing the discipline of motorsport and applying it to medicine, teams reduced technical errors by 42 percent and shortened handover time by 13 percent. Not through more effort, but through better process.

We unpack why marginal gains matter, why structure doesn’t kill humanity, and how small changes in how we communicate can quite literally save lives. What started as an unlikely crossover became a global model for safer care and a powerful reminder that brilliance often lives in unexpected places.

Proof that sometimes the smartest ideas come from looking completely outside your lane.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Mad Cow. Variant CJD. Government reassurance served with a side of crossed fingers.

This chat pulls apart one of the biggest food and trust scandals the UK has ever quietly moved on from. We’re talking about how contaminated feed made its way into the food chain, how “there’s nothing to worry about” turned into “ah… actually,” and why economic protection kept winning over public safety for far too long.

We also wander into the horse meat scandal, modern food security fears, and why transparency always seems to arrive several years too late.

It’s uncomfortable. It’s necessary. And it explains exactly why so many people stopped automatically believing the official line.

Brew optional. Scepticism encouraged.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Imposter syndrome has a funny way of turning capable people into silent overthinkers.

In this part 2 conversation, we sit down with Dawn Baxter and get honest about what imposter syndrome actually does in real life. Not just the wobbly confidence moments, but the chronic self doubt, the anxiety, the burnout, and the perfectionism that quietly chips away at brilliant people and entire workplaces.

We talk about how it shows up as procrastination, fear of failure, and playing small to avoid being seen. How it impacts productivity, engagement, and retention. And why workplaces often end up rewarding the loudest voices instead of the most thoughtful, innovative, and conscientious ones.

We also explore how positive psychology and supportive leadership can change the game. How recognising imposter syndrome early protects performance, confidence, and wellbeing. And why some of the highest performing people are often the least likely to shout about it.

This one’s for anyone who’s ever thought “they’re going to find me out” while quietly doing exceptional work.

And yes, we wrap things up with a conversation about resilience, because getting your confidence back isn’t about becoming louder. It’s about becoming steadier.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Ever had that quiet voice in your head whispering, “I don’t actually belong here”… even when all the evidence says otherwise?

In this episode, we sit down together with our producer and guest, Dawni Baxter from Beyond the Dawn Digital, to crack open a proper conversation about impostor syndrome. The kind that shows up when you’re doing well, leading teams, making big decisions and still wondering when someone’s going to tap you on the shoulder and say you’ve been found out.

We talk through what impostor syndrome actually is, why it tends to hit high performers the hardest, and the five common ways it shows up. From the perfectionist who never feels it’s enough, to the soloist who feels they have to carry everything alone. Chances are, you’ll hear yourself in more than one.

We also share personal experiences, including moments from leadership and education where almost everyone in the room admitted they felt the same self doubt. It’s far more common than people realise, especially at senior levels, and it’s not a lack of ability. It’s awareness without context.

This episode is honest, reassuring, and grounded in real conversations. It’s about recognising those thoughts for what they are, understanding where they come from, and reminding yourself that feeling like an impostor doesn’t mean you are one.

Grab a brew. You’re very much in good company.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Grab your brew, because this one is a masterclass in how not to treat your customers.

We’re talking about Dave Carroll, a Canadian singer songwriter who watched his guitar get manhandled by United Airlines baggage handlers back in 2008. He did what any reasonable person would do. He complained. He filled in the forms. He followed the process. And United did what United did best at the time… absolutely nothing.

Thanks to a tidy little 24 hour reporting rule, his claim was denied. Case closed. Or so they thought.

Instead of shouting into the void, Dave picked up another guitar and wrote a song. Then he made a music video. “United Breaks Guitars” landed online in 2009 and went properly viral, racking up over 23 million views and becoming a global case study in reputation damage.

The fallout was brutal. All because one customer wasn’t listened to.

We unpack why this story still matters, how quickly bad customer experiences can spiral when content meets the internet, and why ignoring a complaint can cost far more than fixing the problem ever would.

It’s funny, painful, and wildly instructive.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

This week we’re unpacking one of the most bonkers moments in modern banking history, the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. And yes… it involves social media, panic, and a truly eye-watering amount of money vanishing at speed.

This episode is all about speed. The speed of information, the speed of fear, and the speed at which confidence can evaporate when Twitter gets involved. We chat about misinformation, mass psychology, and why banks are far more fragile than most of us like to believe.

It’s part cautionary tale, part social media reality check, and part “how on earth did we get here?”

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.