Founder Friday

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We talk with Gianluca, CEO and co-founder of Metasonixx, about building acoustic privacy products that reduce noise while keeping light, transparency and airflow. We get into the real timeline of a university spin-out, the personal resilience required to survive cash flow lows, and why storytelling and theatre skills can make a technical founder stand out. 

• what “acoustic privacy” means in offices, homes and hospitality 
• turning university IP into a deep tech hardware product line 
• the practical timeline from 2018 research to 2024 sales 
• early hospital trials during lockdown and what clinicians cared about first 
• learning the language of startups as a technical founder 
• why entrepreneurship is learned by doing not just studying 
• theatre, breathing and storytelling as founder communication tools 
• pivoting from hospitals to offices and listening to customer reality 
• cash flow pressure and the need to grow as a founder first 
• advice for first-time founders on filtering unhelpful opinions

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We talk with Zilla Watson and Katie, the co-founders of Phase Space, about building a virtual reality tool that helps anxious teenagers feel calmer in minutes and why schools became the real place for impact. We share the messy, practical decisions behind evidence, funding, founder fit, and choosing a growth path that matches both ambition and real life. 
• meeting through a competitive BBC VR commission and building trust through delivery 
• founding Phase Space during Covid and shifting from “projects” to a real product 
• using an Innovate UK research grant to build an evidence base and test safely 
• learning that grant cash flow and paid-in-arrears timelines change fundraising needs 
• finding product-market fit in schools through systematic pilots and clear use cases 
• rolling out across Sutton secondary schools with NHS and university partners 
• dividing founder strengths while protecting sustainability and avoiding burnout 
• redefining success beyond headline VC rounds and “investability” narratives 
• using AI tools to speed up customer research and positioning work 
• choosing between revenue-led growth and investment-led hypergrowth 
• handling conflicting advice by asking better questions and filtering by timing 

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

Business banking with Revolut
Easy business banking including Crypto treasury

Seedlegals
The go to platform for startup legals in UK and USA

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

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Canopy Community

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We sit down with Steve and Andy from Bristol to hear how a pocket money conversation turned into Toggle, a home device and app designed to help families put phones down and reconnect. We dig into their Manchester University backed pilot, what they have learned from running businesses for decades, and the mindset shifts that make early-stage products actually work. 

• the origin story from “learn to earn” to a family wellbeing product 
• why screen time is a whole-family issue not a child issue 
• how Toggle aims to build better habits through presence and rewards 
• the 50-home pilot and what scientific backing could unlock 
• lessons from the print trade about cash flow resilience and adapting fast 
• how incubators and expert networks fill skills gaps in marketing and digital product 
• practical founder advice on staying open-minded taking feedback and not fearing failure 

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
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Business banking with Revolut
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Seedlegals
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We meet Charlene and Vicky, the co-founders of Role Resolve Therapy, and hear how tabletop roleplay becomes a practical way to build confidence and communication for children. We also talk honestly about neurodiversity, co-founder dynamics, community support at Derby, and the mindset that keeps founders going when it gets hard.
• discovering tabletop roleplay as a creative therapeutic approach during counselling and psychotherapy training
• turning game mechanics into structured support for social anxiety, confidence, and group communication
• moving from testimonials to impact reporting using teacher and pupil questionnaires
• linking the work to neurodivergent needs, school support, and EHCP-related goals
• balancing entrepreneurship with parenting and using purpose to protect time
• building a strong co-founder relationship through repair, honesty, and clear communication
• learning to pitch through Derby enterprise support and feedback that raises the bar
• using Canopy to connect, refine branding, and scale delivery through a wider team
• launching Inspire as a community app for female founders with free and paid tiers
• advice for first-time founders: follow passion and build a cheerleading network

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Seedlegals
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Business banking with Revolut
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

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We talk with Roxanne and Joanna, co-founders of Tech Talk and Reslink, about building a careers community to 400,000 people and why a video CV link can create the human connection that job seekers are missing. We also dig into co-founder trust, what we have learned from entrepreneurship, and the habits that keep execution going when motivation drops. 
• building Tech Talk as a tech careers community and scaling an audience organically 
• creating Reslink as a video resume and video CV platform to reach hiring managers directly 
• why traditional applications and the CV alone feel less effective now 
• how our co-founder relationship works through trust and complementary skill sets 
• entrepreneurship influences from family, corporate life, and environment 
• honest reflections on female founder barriers as internal versus external factors 
• what we gain from Canopy through pitch feedback, mentors, and founder network 
• lessons from founding multiple businesses, including listening, empathy, and compromise 
• choosing systems and processes over relying on motivation 

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

Seedlegals
The go to platform for startup legals in UK and USA

Business banking with Revolut
Easy business banking including Crypto treasury

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

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We talk with Julia, founder of Wave Six, about turning a decade-long health journey into a holistic health tracking app that helps people spot patterns across daily life. We also unpack pitching practice, supportive founder communities, and why protecting wellbeing is the only sustainable way to build. 
• building Wave Six to track sleep, nutrition, movement, relaxation, relationships and self 
• using correlation to find personal patterns and outcomes over time 
• living through MS and uncertainty, then choosing proactive responsibility 
• making sustainable changes like removing gluten and dairy gradually 
• moving from a restrictive diary to a need for smarter health tech 
• naming Wave Six as a ripple effect plus six tracking categories 
• learning fast through speed-date pitching and direct audience feedback 
• shifting from landscape architecture to entrepreneurship later in life 
• using Set Squared and Canopy for courses, mentoring and community support 
• founder advice on direction before speed, boundaries, recovery and avoiding burnout 

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

Seedlegals
The go to platform for startup legals in UK and USA

Business banking with Revolut
Easy business banking including Crypto treasury

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

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We meet Cornwall surfer and founder Kate Richards, who builds Radical Wax to cut petrol-based pollution from surfing without sacrificing grip. We walk through her path from early prototypes to community-led growth, and the mindset shift that turns failure into testing. 
• spotting the environmental impact of paraffin surf wax and wanting a cleaner option 
• developing a formula that surfers trust through repeated prototyping and tough feedback 
• building credibility by testing with Surfing England athletes and coaches 
• learning why e-commerce alone rarely works and why events and word of mouth matter 
• choosing a master’s in entrepreneurship for mentorship, pitching skills, and faster learning 
• using the Canopy community for practice, honest critique, and confidence 
• planning UK growth and Australia distribution over the next 12 months 
• founder advice focused on action, experimentation, and reframing failure as learning 

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

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Seedlegals
The go to platform for startup legals in UK and USA

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit…

https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

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Sahil, founder of DeepReel, shares his journey from investment banker to AI entrepreneur and explains how his platform creates complete videos from just ideas or text.

• DeepReel has evolved from an AI avatar company to a comprehensive video creation platform
• The system handles everything from scriptwriting and finding visuals to editing, transitions, music, and captions automatically
• Currently has 300,000 total signups with 15,000-20,000 monthly active users
• Operates 10 automated social media channels to showcase capabilities and attract new users
• Sahil left a 12-year investment banking career to pursue his passion for AI and technology
• Returned to university for a master's in data science to gain hands-on technical knowledge
• Believes in "making your own luck" through persistent hard work
• Recently had his entire remote team live and work together for a month to accelerate progress
• Recommends founders go "all in" rather than taking a part-time approach to startups
• Sees in-person collaboration as essential for early-stage companies, claiming "work from home is completely dead"

Support DeepReel on Product Hunt and try creating your own AI-powered videos today!

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

City Ventures
the startup ecosystem from City St Georges University of London

Business banking with Revolut
Easy business banking including Crypto treasury

Seedlegals
The go to platform for startup legals in UK and USA

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit…

https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

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Rob Kramer shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur who has built businesses across Ireland, Portugal, and Brazil, driven by his "fear of regret" and desire to live life on his own terms.

• Austrian by birth but citizen of the world, having lived in Ireland, Portugal and Brazil
• Started his first wholesale distribution company while still in college
• Currently runs "the world's sexiest bakery" according to Yahoo News
• Survived a near-fatal accident at 19 that gave him a new perspective on life
• Works successfully with his girlfriend as a business partner, challenging conventional wisdom
• Finds inspiration from unusual sources including Grand Theft Auto and Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Values complementary skills and shared mission over personal affinity in co-founder relationships
• Advocates for "owning the chaos" and starting imperfectly rather than waiting for perfect conditions

Just start now and perfect it later - there's no such thing as perfect, so if you fight for perfection, you're lost.

#TRIBE
The friends of Canopy membership group

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

Business banking with Revolut
Easy business banking including Crypto treasury

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit…

https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

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Rob Cousins shares his journey from corporate banking to co-founding Scribe, a data-driven platform helping founders connect with investors and enabling financial institutions to structure private company data. His transition illuminates the realities of startup life and the critical importance of finding the right technical co-founder.

• Moving from a 7-year career at Barclays to founding a startup after identifying automation opportunities in financial data processing
• Finding a technical co-founder through Antler's accelerator program after six months of unsuccessful networking
• Building a complementary co-founder relationship based on different skills rather than friendship
• Balancing startup agility with professional client service as a key differentiator
• Managing founder stress through creative outlets like playing trumpet in jazz bands
• Maintaining mental resilience through the entrepreneurial journey's ups and downs
• Taking the first step is crucial - "just start, test things, put yourself out there"
• Recognising that building a company isn't for everyone despite startup culture romanticising it

The platform has now worked with nearly 600 companies and helped unlock millions in capital for businesses that might otherwise struggle to find investment.

#TRIBE
The friends of Canopy membership group

Raise Angel Investment with Scribe
Systematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Canopy Community

The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit…

https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity