In The Business

Why is it so hard to find an angel investor and what are you doing that makes it harder?

In this reddit asks Q&A, Phil McSweeney (angel investor with 40+ investments, mentor/coach to startups, author) answers the questions founders actually ask when they’re trying to raise: where to find angels, when to pitch, how to spot a bad investor, how to think about equity, and what a pitch deck is really for.

This isn’t theory. It’s what happens after you’ve seen hundreds/thousands of pitches and you’re tired of founders wasting everyone’s time.

In this episode:

• Why angels are hard to find (and why they don’t advertise themselves)

• Should you tailor your pitch for US investors or focus locally first?

• The “best pitch deck format” myth and how to stand out without being boring.

• When you should approach investors (hint: traction beats vibes)

• How to vet an angel investor (equity grabs + control issues)

• What to do after a failed pitch (feedback, accelerators, and persistence)

• Can you raise with just an idea? (the brutal reality unless you’ve got a track record)

• How to tell if investors are interested on a call.

• What a pitch deck actually is: a movie trailer, not the full story.

• Rule-of-thumb equity: how to avoid a messy cap table and stay in control.

In this episode, we sit down with Andrew Keith Walker a founder known for seeing the “direction of travel” early. Unpacking what separates real trend-spotters from people who just chase hype.

We cover:

• How tech disruption really works (and why the winners often come back with a new value proposition, think Rolex, vinyl, print).  

• AI: why it matters, and how it will actually show up (embedded into everyday systems to reduce overload and stress, not just as a shiny standalone tool). 

• The honest truth about VC: once you take investment, you don’t fully control the steering wheel anymore which can change decisions fast.  

• A real “they told me it would never work” story. Including how a product that record labels wouldn’t buy ended up being bought by Apple.  

• Andrew’s newest company: “self-help psychology” positioned like brushing your teeth for your mind: affordable, practical tools, delivered one per week so you can build habits instead of binge information.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s coming next after phones, why some industries get stuck in the “disruption trap,” or how to build something useful without pretending to be a guru, this one’s for you.

What happens when you’re 17, smashing school, and still decide to walk away because the business is growing faster than the timetable?

In this episode, we sit down with Finley Hyett, a 17-year-old entrepreneur who dropped out in Year 12 to go all-in on his Cardiff-based digital marketing agency. We unpack the part most people skip: how you earn trust when you’re young, how you build real self-belief (not cringe quotes), and how to stay consistent without burning out. 

Fin breaks down:

• Why school felt like it was slowing him down (and what it did give him)

• The real strategy behind being “young” in business: low expectations → overdeliver → trust

• How confidence is built through expertise + reps, not “manifesting”

• Falling in love with the process (and why “routine” is the wrong word)

• His “graduating from friends” idea — and how to avoid loneliness while levelling up

• Why his motivation shifted from money to building an entrepreneurship movement in Wales

Find more founder conversations: https://linktr.ee/Inthebusinessofficial

Follow Finley: https://www.youtube.com/@finley_hyett/videos

In this episode, we sit down with Gavin Bell to unpack how he went from solo social media freelancer to building Yatter a paid ads agency he deliberately designed to sell and successfully exiting in just a few years. Gavin breaks down the difference between a lifestyle business and a sellable business, and why most founders say they want an exit but structure their company so nobody would actually buy it.

We get into how he used systems, recurring revenue and team structure to make the agency an asset that could run without him, what really happens during an earn-out, and the uncomfortable emotions that come with selling the “thing” you’ve built your identity around. Gavin also talks about the mental side of entrepreneurship the swings between highs and lows and why the real skill is learning to operate from the middle.

If you’re building an agency or service business and you think you might want to sell one day, this conversation will force you to question whether you’re building something you can ever truly step away from.

In this episode, Andrew Hulbert breaks down the real, uncomfortable truth behind his journey. How the working-class upbringing shaped him, the sacrifices that nearly cost him everything, and the relentless mindset required to scale a company faster than anyone around him.He exposes the myths around “work–life balance,” explains why most founders fail before they even start, and shows exactly how he won some of the most iconic clients in the world through culture, values and pure obsession.

We spoke about:

• Early Life & Working-Class DriveHow growing up on a council estate built the work ethic, resilience and values that shaped everything later.

• Starting From a Bedroom With Zero FundingThe first day, the first client, and how early networking opened the door to Bulgari, Yahoo and Twitter.

• Winning London Zoo & Beating 120,000 CompetitorsThe contract that doubled the company overnight — and the mindset that helped him outwork the entire industry.

• Culture, Diversity & Building an Elite TeamWhy his people strategy became the company’s biggest advantage and the secret behind their explosive growth.

• The Reality of Hypergrowth & SacrificeThe brutal personal cost, the long hours, and why the “work on the business, not in it” advice doesn’t work early on.

• Preparing for Exit & His Advice to Young FoundersHow he stepped back, secured the £100M+ outcome, and the one line he’d give to his 20-year-old self.

Unsecured vs secured business loans. What’s the real difference, what do lenders actually care about.

In this episode, finance broker Kat Edwards breaks down how business lending works in plain English: What a “good” vs “bad” rate looks like right now, why your personal credit score matters even for a business loan, and the biggest mistake founders make when they’re desperate for funding. 

What you’ll learn:

• Secured vs unsecured: risk, costs, and borrowing limits.

• Can you get a loan with no revenue (and what route actually works).

• Which industries lenders love vs avoid (and why).

• Realistic interest rates + how credit changes the offer.

• Other finance options beyond “just a loan”.

• The #1 mistake that kills approvals.

Giles Denning joins us to break down how he went from nightlife and hospitality to building PerformX Live a 6,000-person fitness business event reshaping the industry.

We dive into why he quit alcohol, how he rebuilt his networkfrom scratch, the real mechanics of getting speakers and partners, why most people build events wrong, and why “mental fitness” is so important for modern men. If you’re building a brand, a community, or a network this episode is foryou.

In this episode, were joined by Ellis Bennett, owner/director of EA Accountancy, who works with agency owners, young entrepreneurs and startups (around 400 clients) and breaks down the most common questions he hears from people building income on the side.

We cover:

• When you actually need to file Self Assessment (and the £1,000 trading allowance that catches people out)

• What you can claim as expenses (the “wholly & exclusively” rule) + what proof HMRC will accept

• VAT: the £90,000 rolling 12-month threshold, whether you need to raise prices, and how VAT really works in practice

• Sole trader vs limited company: liability, how you’re taxed, and why “just DIY it” can go wrong fast

• Making Tax Digital from April 2026 (what it changes + why software matters)

• How to stay up to date without falling for budget “clickbait”

In this episode, we sit down with emotional intelligence coach Nick Atzeni to dismantle the lies you tell yourself about how self-aware you are.

If you think you can run a business, lead people, or even hold a relationship together without understanding your own emotions, this conversation will expose the gaps you’ve been ignoring.Nick breaks down:• Why you don’t actually listen and how to fix it.• How your interpretation, not events, creates your emotional reactions.• The 5 levels of listening (and why most people never pass level 2).• Why constant noise, scrolling, and stimulation are destroying your clarity.• How neuro-pathways trap you in bad habits and how to break them.• How emotional intelligence directly impacts leadership, decisions, and relationships.• The routines and practices that keep your mind sharp, not chaoticThis isn’t theory, it’s practical emotional discipline.If you want clearer thinking, better decision-making, and the ability to stay calm under pressure, this episode is your wake-up call.

A 17-year-old entrepreneur (Finley Hyett) takes on the biggest questions young founders ask: where to start, how to be taken seriously, and what to build first to stack skills fast. We break down confidence, handling pushback, standing out, networking intelligently, and the real trade-off between service businesses and “faceless” models like dropshipping. Plus how to think about AI/“machine learning” as an opportunity without getting lost in hype.