Rob Ferrone didn’t pitch software or spin hype. He fixed real problems inside one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, and built a £30M consultancy because of it.

This episode unpacks how Rob helped build a business clients couldn’t live without, and why truly knowing the problem beats any go-to-market plan.

Inside this episode:

• How deep client empathy became Rob’s 80/20 advantage

• What “follow the money” really means in enterprise sales

• Why growth can become the biggest risk

• How to protect and expand blue-chip accounts

• The mindset that turns chaos into clarity

🎧 Episode 01 of Eighty Twenty: The podcast that gets under the skin of business.

Documentary mentioned: “The Detectives, Taking Down an OCG"

In this episode of Founder Therapy, Rich shares early results from the first pilot of his 12-week Transformer program, a bold plan to build and launch startups in just three months.

Doug presses on the model: can it scale, or is it too early to tell?

Inside:
How a lightweight team of three helped launch a retail product in under four weeks
What the founder gained by plugging into a ready-made venture build
The role of AI in accelerating product development
How the go-to-market strategy is evolving around niche ecommerce
Where the full Transformer rollout stands, and why funding is the final hurdle

Follow along as we build in public, test in public, and try to raise in public.
Connect with us on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard
Or learn more:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/

In this episode of Founder Therapy, Doug shares the early results of a new AI-powered outreach tool that’s helping connect creative talent in South Africa with agencies in the UK.

Rich digs into the model: is this the future of outbound? Or just another shiny tool?

Inside:

• How AI is helping generate high-quality leads without the spam

• The structure behind Doug’s niche outreach strategy

• Why segmentation matters more than automation

• The early traction and what it means for hiring globally

• Whether this could be productized and scaled

Follow along as we build in public, test in public, and rethink how hiring gets done.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard

Or learn more:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/

In this episode of Founder Therapy, Rich kicks off the first real-world test of his 12-week Transformer program — a rapid build process for turning startup ideas into live products.

Doug asks the tough questions:
How much time will this take?
What’s the commercial model?
And can Rich really balance this with the demands of the service business?

Inside:
• The first founder begins the 12-week sprint
• What “generative commerce” could actually look like
• Why AI-driven search might change how we buy
• The plan to move from MVP to market
• And what Rich is not telling Doug just yet

We're building this one in public — come along for the ride.

Follow us on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard

Or learn more:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/

In this episode of Founder Therapy, Rich is trying to run two models at once — a revenue-generating service business and a low-margin venture program betting on future upside.

Doug digs into the balancing act: Can you really drive short-term profit and build long-term equity at the same time? How do you split your brand, your resources, and your own attention without one side suffering?

Inside:

• The split between client work and venture building

• Why the Transformer program will now run in cohorts

• The new Echo brand for AI-focused product services

• Questions around resourcing, positioning, and founder time

• The risks of being stretched across too many priorities

A behind-the-scenes look at the business design decisions startups usually hide.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard

Or learn more:
⁠https://mohara.co/⁠
⁠https://kalium.co.uk/⁠

In this episode of Founder Therapy, Rich has a bold idea, a 12-week startup accelerator to launch companies from scratch and just 76 days to get funding in place.

Doug challenges the plan: is it possible to get the capital, the founders, and the internal team aligned in time? Is “pay-to-play” a distraction? And can angel investors really be convinced to commit upfront?

Inside:

• The case for a 12-week idea-to-launch founder program

• Why stipends, not sweat equity, attract top talent

• The fundraising strategy taking shape behind the scenes

• Tension between speed, scope, and internal bandwidth

• A rare glimpse into the real-time building of a new venture model

Follow along as we build in public, argue in public, and hopefully raise in public.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard
Or learn more:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/

Is this the fastest way to build a startup?

In this week’s Founder Therapy, Rich reveals a bold new venture model built for the AI era — faster than a studio, more hands-on than an accelerator.

Doug and Rich unpack what it really takes to turn an idea into a funded company in just 12 weeks, and why capital access might make or break the whole plan.

We get into:

• What the new Transformer program actually does (jargon-free)

• Why Rich is betting on pay-and-play plus stipends

• The messy reality of raising money before results

• How AI tools are changing speed, cost and validation

• Why traction signals matter more than slide decks

It’s a raw look at launching something new — and what it takes to fund the next wave of founders.

Remember to like and subscribe to our channel!
Check us out on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard
And learn more at:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/

Rich can’t close a door.

That’s the running joke in this episode of Founder Therapy, but the stakes are real: verbal commits, stalled sign-offs, a pipeline packed with interest and no follow-through.

This week, Doug and Rich go deep on the friction between market interest and actual buyer commitment especially in a post-AI world where product value is harder to define, urgency is harder to create, and everyone is second-guessing where to spend.

We cover:

• Why so many deals are stalling before kickoff

• What startups and SMEs are expecting from modern service firms

• How MOHARA is repositioning to serve innovation teams better

• The hidden influence of AI on early-stage sales

• Whether it’s time to rethink the first call

It’s honest, chaotic, and packed with real-time pivots.

This is the therapy session where we try to figure out how to close the damn door.

Remember to like and subscribe to our channel. Want to get to know us a little better?

Check us out on LinkedIn:

/ doughaines

/ samsrichard

You can also find out more about MOHARA and Kalium at our company websites:⁠

https://mohara.co/

⁠⁠https://kalium.co.uk/⁠

What happens when you collapse the speed of venture building?

In this week’s Founder Therapy, Doug grills Rich on his new initiative: the Transformer Program. It’s a category somewhere between an incubator, accelerator, dev shop and studio. The goal? Take a founder from idea to live product in 12 weeks using AI tools, micro-signals of intent and stage-gated capital.

Rich breaks down the thinking behind the model, the failures that shaped it, and why the next six months are all about testing. From startup cohorts to stealth AI-infused eCommerce, the conversation covers positioning, equity and how to find the most underpriced founders.

We get into:

• What makes a startup “transformer-worthy”

• Why incubators and accelerators miss the mark for early ideas

• A smarter approach to capital and equity at pre-seed

• How to spot founders who move faster than the market

This is the kickoff of something new. Rich says it’s a new category. Doug says it’s a lot of jargon. Either way, it's on.

Remember to like and subscribe to our channel. Want to get to know us a little better? Check us out on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard

You can also find out more about MOHARA and Kalium at our company websites:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/

Most entrepreneurs are running their businesses on autopilot.

In this week’s Founder Therapy, Doug and Rich explore the quiet assumptions that sneak into operations, decision-making, and positioning. Drawing from WW2 bomber crew tactics and real conversations inside their own companies, they examine what happens when founders stop challenging the things they take for granted.

From how planes were protected in wartime, to how parents choose schools, to who gets priority in a sales pitch, they reflect on the small mental shortcuts that quietly shape big outcomes.

We get into:

• How most founders are flying on autopilot without realising it

• What WW2 bombing runs teach us about iterating under pressure

• Why Rich never questioned whether they should sell to enterprise clients

• How Doug uncovered a smarter way to evaluate schools

• What makes a business model innovative, and when it stops working

It’s a raw look at the danger of default thinking and how to start seeing your own blind spots.

Remember to like and subscribe to our channel! Want to get to know us a little better? Check us out on LinkedIn:
/ doughaines
/ samsrichard

You can also find out more about MOHARA and Kalium at our company websites:
https://mohara.co/
https://kalium.co.uk/