Coffee & Oysters: The London Business Babe Podcast

In this podcast episode, London female founder and growth marketer Dalila Margiotta shares how she and her co-founders built the House of Marketing (HOM) community.

She joins host and Notion consultant Frances Odera Matthews to talk about swapping small-town Italy for London and turning a supper club for lonely marketers into a community-powered accelerator for bold marketers, creators and world builders. If you’re wondering how to start a personal brand, how to build a community people actually want to join, or how to grow a business as a London entrepreneur, this one’s for you.

Dalila unpacks why personal branding in 2026 is really world-building, why B2B content is going full B2C, and why clients buy into the founder, not the product. She gets honest about picking co-founders who are intrinsically motivated, closing the idea-to-execution gap and launching “ugly”, plus the lifestyle side: her Notion, Canva and Descript stack, the Substacks and podcasts she swears by, working in energy sprints over guru routines, and her London guide, from Osteria Angelina in Hackney to jazz at Ronnie Scott’s.

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Substack mailing list for guest recommendations in the Coffee & Oysters Guide, Spotify Playlist & Interactive Map: https://coffeeandoysters.substack.com

Dalila on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalila-margiotta/

The Unfold on Substack: https://dalilam22.substack.com/

Dalila on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsdalilamargiotta/

Dalila on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yObc_zvFBk

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0:00 Intro

5:56 Why She Chose London After Brexit

8:37 From Supper Club to House of Marketing

14:43 Choosing Co-Founders Who Actually Want It

17:42 Closing the Idea-to-Execution Gap

24:38 Personal Branding Is Now World-Building

37:45 Her Tool Stack: Notion, Canva & Descript

44:39 Dalila's London Guide

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🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

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Building a purpose-led London talent agency that doesn’t compromise on values requires hard work. Phie McKenzie, a female founder in the creator economy, reflects on year four of betting on impact-driven creators and building her talent agency Creative Ally.

She joins host and Notion consultant Frances Odera Matthews to unpack her journey into entrepreneurship after a career working with emerging talent at Notion Magazine and Studio71. She covers making her first full-time hires, the imposter syndrome that kept a finished business unlaunched for six months, and how “no-call-Mondays” stop her four-person team burning out.

As a Welsh founder who was told to lose her accent to work in London media, staying true to identity is a big part of her strategy. This includes her Welsh creative collective Clwb Creative Cymru and saying no to big brand deals from industries such as gambling, vape and fossil fuels.

She also covers trends in the creator economy such as the rise of the “essayist”, anti-influencer backlash and what it says about the cost of living crisis, and AI tools.

For the London guide, stay tuned for the best London coworking spaces and east London food spots you’ll want to immediately save!

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Substack mailing list for guest recommendations in the Coffee & Oysters Guide, Spotify Playlist & Interactive Map: https://coffeeandoysters.substack.com

Phie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phie-mckenzie/

Phie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phiemckenzie/

Creative Ally: https://creativeally.online/

Move Over Mother Theresa podcast: https://www.momt.world

Clwb Creative Cymru: https://www.instagram.com/clwb_creative_cymru/

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0:00 Intro

1:58 From Magazine Editor to 100K Followers

7:20 Building a Purpose-Led Talent Agency

12:22 Imposter Syndrome, First Hires and Creator Signals

24:26 The Anti-Influencer Era and Saying No to Brand Deals

29:26 Welsh Identity and Creative Ownership

36:01 The Founder Tech Stack and Personal Policies

52:28 London Coworking Spaces and Food Spots

💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

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What’s it actually like running a business with your partner? And can you be Black, queer, African and fully yourself in business? What boundaries do you have to put in place to build an intentional life?

Eniola Abioye and Obsidian Adebayo — the founders behind UX Out Loud and The Influence Index — join host and Notion consultant Frances Odera Matthews with business tips on running a business with your partner, pivoting a service business, and building visibly as queer African founders.

Eniola spent over a decade in user research, nearly four years of it at Meta, before going full-time on the coaching business she’d been building on the side. Obsidian came from investment banking via Gal-dem and PinkNews. Now they run the two companies as life and business partners.

They get honest about what it actually takes: separate workspaces and Slack, weekly business meetings plus a separate family admin meeting, a shared finances Google Sheet, and hard rules about not talking shop at 10pm. Eniola breaks down why she moved UX Out Loud from one-to-one coaching to B2B research strategy, and Obsidian explains why she pivoted The Influence Index from a data platform to a media company. Plus their new idea: a talent-exchange village for Black women where members trade expertise instead of money.

Plus the tech stack that runs both businesses (Lovable, Vercel, Kit, Slack, Calendly), their hype songs from Doechii to Ayra Starr, blazers-in-five-minutes styling, okra water, and their London spots from Shoreditch House to Hackney Wick.

Substack mailing list for guest recommendations in the Coffee & Oysters Guide, Spotify Playlist & Interactive Map: https://coffeeandoysters.substack.com/

Eniola on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eniolaabioye/

Obsidian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/obsidian-a-111b5858

00:00 Intro

02:22 Two Businesses: UX Out Loud & The Influence Index

10:45 Business Or Love First? 14:16 How To Run A Business With Your Partner

22:08 Why They Both Pivoted

29:38 A Talent Exchange For Black Women Founders

45:45 Relationships vs Systems: What Moves The Needle

1:08:07 London Spots, Wins & Dream Collabs

💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

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Can ancient mythology really sell a climate tech startup? What does running a UK business from an Italian village look like? And how do you grow slower without losing clients?

Emma Pegg, fractional product marketer and founder of Cantadora, the product storytelling studio for nature and the climate, joins host and Notion consultant Frances Odera Matthews with business tips on brand storytelling for founders, working remotely from Italy, and building a studio in climate and nature tech.

Cantadora means keeper of stories, and Emma takes that literally, adamant that we can learn from mythology. Fore example, she retells how one of the earliest myths of Ishtar descending into heaven actually contains metaphors for AI. Then goes on to describe how she applies these principles in her client work.

She recently swapped the hustle of the fast London hustle for slow Italian living. She unpacks how her new Italian neighbours saying she works too much, while her London culture says she isn’t working enough. This new perspective has put her on a crossroads: does she stay as a one-woman band or expand to a team? Equally, how does she grown her own storytelling practice for her slow living food blog Pasta Nipotina.

Emma on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmapeggmarketing/

Substack mailing list for guest recommendations in the Coffee & Oysters Guide, Spotify Playlist & Interactive Map: https://coffeeandoysters.substack.com/

00:00 Intro

03:46 From Laid Off to Freelancing

09:25 Why She Bet On Climate & Nature Tech

12:56 The 4,000 Year Old Myth Behind Her Client Work

18:27 Accountants, Dividends & The Boring Bits

30:19 London vs Italy: Scaling The Feminine Way

36:42 6am Starts, Cycle Syncing & Beauty Heroes

43:40 AI Tools, Notion & Her London Spots

💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

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In this throwback episode of Coffee & Oysters, we're revisiting the guides of the best places to eat, work and relax in London shared by six brilliant London Business Babes who've graced the show.

Whether you're after your next date-night restaurant at a Michelin-starred Nigerian restaurant, a quiet corner to work from, or a networking group that actually feels like home, consider this your little black book for living life like a true London Business Babe.

00:00 Introduction

01:31 Lizzie Damilola Blackburn's guide to London - Nigerian fine dining, Milton Keynes gems & more

09:24 Caroline Marshall's guide to London - North London eats, member clubs & theatre

18:35 Jade Buffong's guide to London - Michelin-starred cravings, coworking spots & networking groups

25:00 Ettie Bailey-King's guide to London - Hackney Wick bakeries, cafés & an inclusive gym

33:24 Candace Salters' guide to London - Chelsea restaurants, hidden coworking spots & jazz nights

41:10 Vesta Afo's guide to London - East London eats, hotel lobby coworking & bucket-list experiences

50:28 Final Recap

💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

🎓 The Big Notion Energy Academy

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

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How do you build a 200-woman collective from a single dinner table? Are AI and the arts actually in conflict? And what does a cancer diagnosis at 26 teach you about saying no?

London founder Miriam Fearon, co-founder of Muses in the City, joins host and Notion consultant Frances Odera Matthews with business tips on AI transformation, protecting your energy in a demanding city job, and building a community that went from nine women around a dinner table to over 200.

Miriam breaks down what an aggressive cancer diagnosis at 26 taught her about boundaries, why "no is a full and complete sentence," and how a childhood doll called Sahara set her up for a career spanning search, big tech, and philanthropy.

She shares why AI transformation is a behaviour problem rather than a tech one, what UN research revealed about why women hesitate to adopt AI, and how Muses in the City is quietly unlocking the doors of London's arts and heritage spaces for women who've been shut out of them. Plus what she learned about representation when every leaflet she was handed showed someone who looked nothing like her.

Plus why she'd BRICK her phone, East Asian SPF picks from Beauty of Joseon to Supergoop, and how to get opera for £20 at the ENO.

Steal Miriam’s “stack” of recommendations (along with all guests) in the Coffee & Oysters Guide.

Miriam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miriamfearon

00:00 Intro

03:16 How her Childhood Doll and the IB made her a Multi-Hyphenate

06:52 What Cancer At 26 Taught Her About Boundaries

13:11 Why Representation In A Diagnosis Matters

18:00 Muses In The City: 9 Women To 200

26:51 Why Women Aren't Adopting AI

36:32 Hype Songs, Saying No & Personal Policies

43:18 Style, SPF, BRICK & London Spots

💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

🎓 The Big Notion Energy Academy

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

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How do you start an agency four months postpartum? Can AI actually find your business?

London founder Gala Jackson-Coombs, the woman behind Glint Marketing, joins host and Notion consultant Frances Odera Matthews with business tips on AI search visibility, building a B2B service business around a baby’s nap schedule, and why betting on herself felt safer than staying in an agency.

Gala spent 13 years managing £1m+ budgets for Coca-Cola, Toyota and Accor before launching Glint at four months postpartum. She breaks down her Glint Visibility Architecture: Retrievability (can AI even find you), Extractability (can it actually use your content), Authority (does it have any reason to trust you). She explains why most professional service businesses are invisible to AI search without realising it. She talks first clients, tapping your existing network before you touch cold outreach, the mindset shift from people-pleaser to her own cheerleader, and replacing her full-time salary while keeping Fridays free for her daughter.

Who this is for: consultants, agency owners and expert-led service founders who want clients arriving already convinced and any mum building a business around childcare.

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00:00 Intro

02:42 From Philosophy Degree to 13 Years in Agencies

06:21 Why Leaving With a Baby Felt Less Risky

10:02 Her First Client and the Money-Making Activities Rule

14:51 The Glint Visibility Architecture Explained

21:07 Scary Investments, Communities and Coaching

26:10 Replacing the Salary and Doubling Client Leads

43:59 Tools, Style, Berenjak and Hyde Park

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Steal Gala’s “stack” of recommendations (along with all guests) in the Coffee & Oysters Guide: https://rebrand.ly/coguide

London Marketing Event: https://events.glintmarketing.co.uk/

Gala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/galajc/

Glint Marketing: https://www.glintmarketing.co.uk

Glint Marketing on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glint.marketing/

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💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

How do you build a six-figure business with under 5K Instagram followers? How do you grow a personal brand when you’re the face of your business? And how do you run it all sustainably while living with a chronic illness?

London content strategist Jess Bruno, the woman behind Ne’Twerking and some of your favourite personal brands joins Coffee & Oysters with business tips on building a small but loyal community, turning followers into paying clients, and why you don’t need to go viral to grow.

Jess breaks down how she went from leaving her corporate marketing job at 27 with 30p to her name to hitting six figures in 2024 on a three-posts-a-week content strategy she’s barely changed since. She shares her “Instagram is a CRM” mindset, why women in business with chronic illness should charge more, and her honest, slightly spicy take on AI in content (including the client who ran her work through Claude and asked for a refund).

Plus hear more about her low/high-touch beauty routines, her trusty solo-founder tech stack (Dubsado, Kartra, Slack, Canva, Tide) and her favourite North London coworking spaces.

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00:00 Intro

02:03 The Membership & Why Personal Branding Beats Niching

06:48 From Singing Degree to Accidental Marketer

10:20 The £25 Session That Started a Business

15:39 Building a Business Around Chronic Illness

19:02 Six Figures With Under 5K Followers

27:49 The Honest Truth About AI & Content

39:26 Hype Songs, Tools, Style & London Spots---

Steal Jess’s “stack” of recommendations (along with all guests) in the Coffee & Oysters Guide.

Jess on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatjessbruno/

Ne’Twerking on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/netwerking_/

Jess on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thatjessbruno/

Jess’s website: https://www.jessicabruno.co.uk

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💬 Become a guest

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

Can sea moss really clear your skin? How do you turn a home remedy into a real wellness brand?

London founders Oyinka Yusuff and Jessica Richards, the duo behind Moss & Glow sea moss gel, join Coffee & Oysters with business tips on building a health and wellness brand from scratch, growing through word of mouth, and scaling a side hustle as a two-woman team.

Oyinka and Jessica break down how a casual sea moss recommendation at a hair show became a business, after it cleared the scalp psoriasis Oyinka had battled since she was 18. They get honest about scaling from Jessica's kitchen to Etsy to their own website, splitting roles between the visible founder and the behind-the-scenes one, filtering out unsolicited advice, and why giving yourself grace (and actual rest) is a genuine business strategy.

Plus they share their founder survival guide including go-to hype songs, aloe vera and sea moss face masks, tech stack essentials and their favourite place to get dumplings and cowork in London.

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Steal Oyinka & Jessica’s “stack” of recommendations (along with all guests) in the Coffee & Oysters Guide.

Moss & Glow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/mossandglow

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00:00 Intro

04:06 The Sea Moss Recommendation That Started It All

12:40 From Kitchen to Etsy to Their Own Website

16:30 Giving Yourself Grace, Rest & Splitting Co-founder Roles

21:48 Why Word of Mouth Beats Paid Ads (& TikTok Shop Next)

26:04 The Future of Sea Moss 34:01 Style, Stripped-Back Beauty & Free Founder Tools

45:25 London Spots, Coworking & Dream Collabs

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💬 Become a guest

📓 2026 Journal Template

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

🎓 The Big Notion Energy Academy

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod

Why would you leave BlackRock as an investor to become a startup founder? What does it actually take to find co-founders at an accelerator? And which AI tools should every early-stage founder have permanently open on their desktop?

London founder Sofia Hamilton, COO and co-founder of Souk — the world's first AI partner development manager — joins Coffee & Oysters with business tips on leaving a prestigious finance career to build, fundraising as a female founder, and turning B2B partnerships into a real growth channel. Sofia breaks down how she went from marketing to BlackRock active equities to building a VC-backed AI startup through the Antler accelerator. She shares advice on when to hire (spend the money sooner than you think), what investors actually care about at early stage, why product-led growth is her current obsession, and how being an ex-investor changes the way you pitch

Plus explore why Uniqlo is her secret weapon for emergency meeting outfits, why Claude and Lovable have become non-negotiable in her tech stack, and her favourite Somali restaurant in Finsbury Park. Additionally, learn about Dealer's Daughters - the niche London poker nights for women in finance and startups.

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Steal Sofia’s “stack” of recommendations (along with all guests) in the Coffee & Oysters Guide.

Sofia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-hamilton-sambrano/

Souk Website: www.joinsouk.com

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00:00 Intro

03:03 What Souk Is & The B2B Partnerships

04:19 Leaving BlackRock & the Antler Story)

11:37 Hiring, Spending Money & VC-Backed Pace

13:43 Investor vs Founder - What Changes When You Switch Sides 22:25 Finding Customers Through Referrals & Partnerships

29:29 Top Tip for New Founders

43:25 Claude, Lovable & The Founder Tech Stack

55:31 London Gems: Best Somali Food & Hotel Lobbies for Coworking

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💬 Become a guest

📓 2026 Journal Template

🪄 Partnerships & Questions: [email protected]

💌 Never miss an episode: Sign up to Substack

🎓 The Big Notion Energy Academy

📺 YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CoffeeandOysters

📸 Instagram: @coffeeandoysterspod

📱TikTok: @coffeeandoysterspod