Founded & Grounded

“If you do what you don't love, that's stress. If you do what you love, that's passion.”

Author, Podcaster, Motivational Speaker...and for good reason.

Jeff Dewing has a story to tell.

He's seen it all in the world of Facilities Management - good and bad. Restless, and far from content with maintaining the status quo, Jeff founded Cloudfm to disrupt the industry for the better. 

Over 10 years later, he's CEO of an award-winning company that's blazing a trail for the next decade. But, as with all entrepreneurial journeys, there have been a few twists and turns along the way.

In conversation with Founded & Grounded, Jeff talks about finding fulfilment in life, and why the impact of Covid on Cloudfm was transformative for his leadership style - and how showing 'vulnerability' enabled his people to be the best versions of themselves. 

Overall, there's powerful advice here for life and business in general - including the importance of simply asking yourself the question 'Why?'   

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with analysis and input from Ollie Collard & Samantha Miles.

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National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

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They started out in 2018 with no business qualifications, marketing experience, or entrepreneurial background - simply a shared passion and a big idea. 4 years on, they're the pioneering start-up taking drinks bottles to a new and truly sustainable level.

Through their company S'wheat, Jake Elliott-Hook and Amee Ritchie have created the world's first reusable bottle made from plant-based materials. Now courted by environmentally-conscious consumers and tech giants alike, S'wheat's growth is built on foundations as organic as their products. And in an era of corporate 'greenwashing', they're backing the talk with action, redefining the relationship between business and nature.

Speaking with Founded & Grounded, the couple talk about going viral for the first time, the brushes with disaster, and being wary of sharing their business idea with those closest to them. It's an inspiring story - and a reminder that anyone with the right energy and attitude can be a successful entrepreneur.

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with analysis from business start-up specialist Ollie Collard, and Founded & Grounded Community Lead, Samantha Miles. 

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Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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What are Venture Capitalists? How do they operate? And what can founders learn from them in the pursuit of backing for their big idea?

In this episode, we enter the real dragons' den and put a human face to this influential but little-understood world - in this case, Rob Moffat from Balderton.

In a revealing conversation with Ollie, Rob gives us the perspective from the other side of the desk, what founders should be considering when they approach VCs, and the attributes that he and his colleagues look for when deciding who and what to invest in. Rob also gives us his insight on the areas where he anticipates future growth, and has an assuring piece of wisdom for founders wherever they are on their business journey.

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard.

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Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

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"You can't buy culture".

In this episode, Founded & Grounded visit the Lost & Grounded brewery and their co-founder Alex Troncoso, as we return to the world of craft beer.

With new breweries and their tap rooms popping up on virtually every street corner, it's impossible to ignore the rise in popularity of craft beer.  Equally apparent has been the hit taken by the hospitality industry during the Covid pandemic. So how to position yourself in a crowded market - and futureproof the company also?

Alex takes a holistic view, and how having 4 simple values intrinsic to every aspect of the operation, being among a minority of UK brewers to pay the living wage, and sticking to their principles, has helped Lost & Grounded successfully navigate its first 6 years.

He also raises two fundamental questions for all businesses and their founders; why should you exist in a crowded market, and how big do you want to be?

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with analysis from Ollie Collard and listener feedback courtesy of Samantha Miles.

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Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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The world of insurance is a grey area for many people in more ways than one, so allow Sam White to inject some colour to the proceedings...

Setting up in business following a chain of life-changing events, Sam now presides over two successful insurance companies in the UK and Australia who are explicitly putting the consumer at the heart of their proposition.

But, as is so often the case, the entrepreneurial journey has been far from straightforward.

In a thought-provoking and inspirational episode, Sam discusses why she 'fired' herself as CEO of Freedom Services, the dilemma of protecting people versus saving the business, and the chronic lack of investment in female founders despite being a safer financial bet. And she has some powerful views on the future of the insurance industry, and how businesses need to return to being run by people - for people.

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis and input from Ollie Collard and Samantha Miles. 

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Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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Besides climate change, the issue of microplastics is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing society.

Passionate to put his engineering talent to use, but unable to find a business that matched the scale of his ambitions, Adam Root founded Matter - a company built on the principle of capturing, harvesting and recycling microplastics.

In conversation with Founded & Grounded, Adam talks passionately about the origins of Matter, and also how he didn't seek to be an entrepreneur - but how entrepreneurship found him. He also discusses how developing and nurturing employees can be a golden opportunity rather than a headache, and ultimately why founders need to "back themselves".

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with analysis from start-up advisor Ollie Collard and feedback from our Founded & Grounded community courtesy of Samantha Miles.      

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Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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"Information is abundant... wisdom less so."

It's no secret that access to knowledge and mentorship is fundamental to success in many aspects of life, not least business. But, on a Diverse Founders Programme, it became apparent to Dayo Akinrinade that these all-important connections were held within privileged circles - so she decided to set up Wisdom.

Wisdom has harnessed the social audio phenomenon to connect knowledge seekers to mentors, for the benefit of people from all backgrounds. For this latest episode of Founded & Grounded, Dayo talks about tackling institutionalised prejudice, the challenge of ensuring trust and safety on a still-evolving social platform, and her vision of Wisdom one day rivalling Google as the go-to place for knowledge.

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard and listener feedback from Samantha Miles.

 

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Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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Meet Steve Neil... 'Brand Protector' and director of The Trademark Helpline.

Steve's mission is to ensure that business owners look after their intellectual property and the brands they've started from scratch. But he had to balance that with the challenges of becoming a business owner himself - a tale worthy of a reality TV series.

It's '2-for-1' in this latest edition as Steve not only shares his expertise and wisdom in the sometimes overlooked area of trademark/brand protection - including the mistakes most commonly made by businesses - but also describes taking on a going concern and the changes required when he realised that the buck stopped with him.

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard and reaction from our listener community courtesy of Samantha Miles.   

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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There are lots of reasons why people become entrepreneurs. Nav Sawhney had three, instilled within him from a young age, and these inspired him to develop a product that would enhance everyday life for the consumers of tomorrow.

As our latest guest entrepreneur, Nav explains to Founded & Grounded how the plight of refugees, the central role of women in life, and the intrigue of engineering were the genesis of The Washing Machine Project: producing an off-grid manual washing machine that would alleviate hand-washing. In a unique and inspiring tale of entrepreneurship, there are learnings for all founders as Nav talks through the challenge of resilience, the sacrifices made by families and partners, and to not fear failure,  but instead treat it as a learning.

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard and feedback from our Founded & Grounded community courtesy of Samantha Miles.    

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

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After becoming a Mum, Dominique Woolf wanted to take life in a whole new direction and literally bring some spice to the proceedings. So, using her sales background and Thai heritage, and winning over the local farmers' market in North London, The Woolf's Kitchen got cooking.

In our first episode of 2022, Dominique talks through the reality of running a business and being a parent (spoiler alert: there are no easy answers), how Covid provided an unexpected opportunity to improve her product branding, and why networking for solo 'foodpreneurs' generated emotional wellbeing as much as business connections. Ultimately, it's a story about entrepreneurship as a personal statement besides bringing the world a little culinary joy.

Plus... what did our listeners say when it came to their meat vs vegan preferences (all stimulated by a question from our previous episode's featured business, Oowee Burger)?

Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard & Samantha Miles.

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:

National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:

NPSA.gov.uk/innovation

Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:

hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.