Lauren Ashcroft, the founder of UltimateYou, joins Mad Influence to talk about how she launched a globally successful business in the middle of the pandemic, to help people realise their ambitions. We talk about her journey from being made redundant to creating a set of products that have been reviewed by Women’s Health as having ‘life-changing powers.’ We also discuss her U-turn from a planned career in law, how she dealt with the knockbacks of unemployment, and what she’s truly learnt from her first year in business. We chat about her successful Kickstarter campaign and which unexpected channel turned it viral. Lauren also tells me about the genuine highs and lows of being a founder, why she thinks living abroad is fundamental to personal development, and the differences between a growth and fixed mindset.

Where to find us:

Guest: linkedin.com/in/lauren-ashcroft/ @ultimateyouplanner on Instagram and TikTok

You can buy your own UltimateYou planner at uyplanner.com

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

Books we talked about:

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

Key Topics:

Goal setting and direction

Fixed mindset vs growth mindset

The biggest mistakes made starting a business

The power of reading

Unemployment and surviving redundancy

Overcoming self-doubt

Morning routine

Being true to yourself

Overcoming your ego

Kickstarter campaigns

Getting funding to start a business

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade

Katie Martell, speaker, writer, documentary maker, and marketing expert, joins Mad Influence to talk about what happens when social movements and brands collide. We talk about how Katie carved out her career by being brutally honest, and as ready to critique the marketing industry as to champion it. We talk about the difference between genuine allyship versus co-opting a movement for a brand’s own gain. We discuss which brands miss the point, and which ones do it well. We also talk about the power of consumer activism, why you should never reduce an important movement to a hashtag, and deliberate some real world examples of both barriers and opportunities for change.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

Woke-washing

Consumer activism

Brands and purpose

LGBTQ+

Black Lives Matter

Feminism

Workers rights and facial recognition software

Allyship

Employee branding

Diversity and inclusion

Where to find us

Guest: linkedin.com/in/katiemartell/ @KatieMartell on Twitter and katie-martell.com

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade

Claire Eades, CEO and founder of Marmalade Film and Media, joins Mad Influence to talk about what it was like setting up an agency aimed at getting brands to care about purpose a decade before it became top of everyone’s agenda. We chat about some of her most memorable campaigns, like the one which reduced teen pregnancy by 25%, and had everyone in the UK talking about it, including the prime minister. We also discuss how you know when the right time to set up your business is, and being proud of the price you charge. We talk about creating an ad with the intention of getting it banned, and debate if charities or profit-driven businesses are able to take more risks like this. We also discuss how Claire’s varied projects have taken her as far as Brazil, Kenya, and The Amazon rainforest and what she learned from the social impact entrepreneurs in those places.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

Where to find us

Guests: www.linkedin.com/in/claireeades/ on LinkedIn or marmaladefilmandmedia.com

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade in February 2021

Lee Wilcox and Adam Barrie, founders of Electric House and On The Tools, join Mad Influence to talk about what it’s really like running a successful business with your best friend, and how they streamed the Mars landing live on TikTok to 100,000 people. We delve into their journey from being broke to employing 100 people and how their attitudes to supporting mental wellbeing and inclusion have evolved over time. We talk about silly topics like their favourite failed business ventures, and serious ones like why people in construction are 3 times more likely to commit suicide. We discuss if it's ever OK to use humour to tackle problems like these, how trolls can actually be quite helpful, and why your employees make the best influencers.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

Where to find us

Guests: Search Lee Wilcox and Adam Barrie on LinkedIn or @electrichouseuk, @theelectricceo and @adam_barrie on Twitter

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade

Marta Decarli, founder of Marta Decarli Yoga, and marketing executive at Kuula, joins Mad Influence to talk about why it’s OK to change your life plan, and how she felt adapting hers after her dreams of becoming an Olympic skier fell through after a decade of training. We also talk about what led her to leave her successful corporate job during the pandemic and set up a yoga business instead, and why marketing and pricing often feels like taboo. We also discuss why Marta will never be the stereotypical yoga teacher, disappointing a few people, and learning to be completely OK with that. We investigate why people gravitate towards you when you are failing and how it’s important to normalise the fact that we all have good days and bad days. We also talk about the pain of having to say goodbye to a loved one over WhatsApp- (this is a covid story with a happy ending though, we promise!) and the importance of connection in getting us through times like this.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

Where to find us

Guest: www.martadecarliyoga.com and @martadecarliyoga on Instagram

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade and contains one use of explicit language.

Amy Rollings, founder of Let’s Connect, and Head of Partnerships & Mentoring at Good Nugget, joins Mad Influence to talk about the community she set up to support people going through redundancy. She created it after being made redundant herself five months ago, after a very successful career working for brands like Burberry, Kurt Geiger and Michael Kors. We have a very honest conversation about the genuine emotions people facing uncertainty in the job market are feeling right now. We also discuss the pros and cons of networking and how doing it well can be the ultimate marketing tool for yourself. We chat about staying positive, dealing with ghosting or rejection when applying for jobs, and the social responsibility that companies must uphold when they are handling recruitment processes. We also talk about young people trying to get on the career ladder for the first time, and the mentoring programme that Amy is involved in to help them get into the creative industries.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

-Coping with redundancy

-The lessons you learn from living abroad

-Grieving your job loss in the pandemic

-Dealing with the emotions around redundancy, furlough and unemployment

-Ghosting and rejections in recruitment

-Staying positive through situations out of your control

-How companies and recruiters can handle the recruitment process positively

-Obstacles young people face getting into the job market

-Mentoring young people into the creative industry

Where to find us

Guest: linkedin.com/in/amy-rollings/ and __letsconnect on Instagram

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade

Jay Richards, co-founder and CEO of Imagen, joins Mad Influence to talk about his research agency which pays thousands of its Gen Z community to help brands and agencies shape culture. We chat about how he started out by setting up his first business selling t-shirts aged 14, after an injury put an end to his pro football career. In the brutally honest spirit of Imagen, we also talk about everything from why brands are often too quick to believe their own hype, how it’s not a natural human instinct to accept feedback, and why Gen Z reports often fill Jay with fear. We also talk about how Jay felt when he put his own brand through his research process (spoiler: it was equal parts stressful and rewardingl!) and some of his proudest projects working with brands like Gymshark, Ebay and Pepsico.

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

Where to find us

Guest: linkedin.com/in/jaykrichards/, imageninsights.com, Imagen This podcast at anchor.fm/jay-richards5

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade

Today’s guest has interviewed everyone from Sir David Attenborough to Ben Fogle, but today we get to turn the mic on Vikki Stephenson, Senior Creative at the BBC. Vikki joins Mad Influence to talk about her career of over 20 years promoting content with purpose. We chat about everything from the time she landed her “dream job,” only to find out that it clashed with her values, to coming up with the idea to add old-school hip hop to Planet Earth trailers, which then went viral. We talk about her involvement in the ‘1 in 5’ programmes that are created, filmed and produced by people with disabilities. We also discuss jumping between serious topics like Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 to writing scripts for CBeebies, and why both are just as important for children. 

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

- Finding a job with value

- Getting into the BBC

- Representation of disabilities in TV

- David Attenborough

- Natural History, Planet Earth and Perfect Planet

- How to interview people

- Children’s TV

- Are your last ideas the best ideas?

- Advice for young people starting their careers in TV or marketing

Where to find us

Guest: linkedin.com/in/vikki-stephenson-creative/

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade

Jean Kilbourne, a pioneering activist, speaker and writer, joins Mad Influence to discuss her research for over half a century into how advertising represents women. We talk about what it was like starting her career as a young female in the 1960s and how things have changed since then. We discuss why her critically acclaimed Killing Us Softly documentary shocked the world when it was first released in 1979, and why people thought advertising's influence was trivial at the time. We chat about Jean meeting with UK parliament and the stereotyping regulation that came into place afterwards. We also discuss social media and its role in the recent storming of the US Capitol, why Jean has never been advocating for censorship of advertising, and which people have inspired her most in her career. 

If you like this episode, please subscribe, rate and review us, as this will really help the podcast to grow.

Key topics

- Representation of women in advertising

- Photoshopping and the pursuit of perfection

- How advertisers can use their power to make positive change vs 'fauxvertising'

- Social media and the storming of the US Capitol

- Conscious capitalism

- The 3% movement

- Stereotyping in advertising

- Media literacy

- Feminism 

- Advice for young people starting their careers in marketing

Where to find us

Guest: www.jeankilbourne.com and @jeankilbourne on Twitter and Facebook.

Host: @madinfluencepod on Twitter and linkedin.com/in/helensaul/

This episode was recorded remotely with music by Joseph McDade