People Doing Things

Say hello to Kate Hamilton. She co-runs Sonder & Tell - a brand strategy and story agency fighting for words to be considered as early as possible in the brand building process. Working with the likes of Rude Health, Mindful Chef, Bumble and AirBnb, they help brands find their voice and tell their story. Their newsletter, The Word, floods copywriters' inboxes all across London and the world. They believe that when it comes to brand building, the words often take a back seat. An afterthought from brands and agencies who jump straight to visuals and leave tone of voice to the last few pages of the brand book. But brands are like people and words are how we communicate. Think about it - we all have those friends who orchestrate a dinner party with great tales and stories. Those friends who speak so eloquently that we can't help but stop and listen. So why should brands be any different? In this episode we go deep into the power of words, the unexpected things they can do for your business and how we can all up our copywriting skills (myself included).

Say hello to Robyn Nicholl. She is the co-founder of Step - The app for finding, saving and sharing your favourite places. Launched in 2021, this new app allows you to share all your top recommendations with friends and family while also connecting you with travel tips from knowledgeable millennials and experience focused GenZers - or as they call them on the platform "Culture Curators". The insight. Well, we all know the scenario. You've booked a city break to Amsterdam. You've left the research to the last minute. In a frantic scramble you ask your friends for their recommendations. They eagerly come to your rescue offering up a miscobled list of food spots, wine bars, clubs, art galleries and that one spot that does the best cinnamon swirls in town. They start to fill up your inbox and whatsapp messages - ranging from Google forms, excel spreadsheets and Apple notes. Trying to find signal through the noise, you then have to start plotting them on Google Maps and orient yourself for your upcoming trip. The recommendations undoubtedly make your trip 100x better but the digital chaos between you and that cinammony goodness, leave a bittersweet taste in your mouth. That's where Step comes in. Looking to become the peer-peer aggregating platform for today's modern culture vultures. They combine Instagram like features with Google Map like functionality - enabling you to save and share all your best experiences in one place. But...as we all know, growing an app is hard. Really hard. Why? Because it involves changing behaviours and spending a lot of money to do so. You're not just buying a new product, you're trying to change the way people travel and experience the world. In this episode we talk about harnessing the power of micro-communities, tapping into the renewed appetite for travel and finding out how Robyn has navigated her recent fundraising efforts.

From growing up on a farm in Devon to running a chain of upmarket kebab restaurants, Sam & Elliot Day are two brothers on a mission to rebrand the frozen meal aisle with their latest venture, FieldGoods. Born in 2021, they deliver a range of frozen meals to your door or local farm shop store. Slow cooked beef chilli, cauliflower butter masala, sustainable fish pie - their menu is a winner for those looking for good quality, taste-filled convenience. Take them out of the freezer, 7 mins in the microwave and off you go. But this high margin business isn't just nice food and plain sailing. It's fast becoming a highly competitive space. From Cook who pioneered the space 23 years ago, to Charlie Bighams who changed the ready meal game, the category is hotting up with brands like Potage, By Ruby & AllPlants trying to capture market share with their DTC offering. The big question is - in this burgeoning market, do FieldGoods have the secret recipe for success? In this episode we talk about their foodie origins, their fundraising efforts and the trends driving this new market.

Introducing Dan and Harvey. They run ᵒSmall World, an on-demand marketing agency tailored for start-ups and scale-ups. Their focus: to use the power of challenger brand thinking to build, grow and scale new businesses. The story began, when Dan (a strategist) and Harvey (client services) were furloughed from advertising agency Dark Horses, at the beginning the Covid pandemic. After a week-long spell trying their hands in magic and trying to write a cook book, they quickly decided to return to what they were good at. Marketing. As a result, Not Furlong was born. A collective of 60+ creatives and marketing experts using their skills to help struggling businesses navigate stormy waters. Over the course of a year they worked with over 40 businesses proving that remote working and agile thinking could be the silver lining that startups were looking for. Not Furlong soon became the accidental MVP for ᵒSmall World, launching summer 2021, using their learnings to create a new type of agency focused on scalable teams, perfectly matched talent and efficient sprints (giving the bigger agencies something to think about in the process). Kudos. In this episode we talk about the changing cultural attitudes that need to be reflected in advertising, the power of being frighteningly flexible and the challenger brand thinking that frames all they do. Enjoy.

Say hello to Danny Giacopelli, Editorial Director of Courier, a magazine telling stories of modern business, inspiring people to work better and live smarter. Launched by Jeff Taylor as a free paper in 2013, it has since grown to a readership of over 100,000 people worldwide. Danny himself joined a few years later from Monocle, ready to bring his editorial skills and cultural insights to the table. Since then they have launched their own website, established their own podcast, written guides, published books and even created their Courier Fresh Fund offering cash grants for black business owners in the UK and US who have great ideas to start or grow a business. One of the things that's remarkable about Courier is that they have bucked and embraced the trend of digital. In a world where print readership was on the decline, they've managed to grow, support and report on a new generation of brands that have emerged over the last 10 years; so much so that they were acquired by Mail Chimp last year for an undisclosed sum. Mail Chimp was then acquired by Intuit for $12bn. Not bad, when a plethora of magazines have been closing down or losing out to new forms of media. For me this podcast is personal. I've been an avid reader of Courier magazine often using their quotes and insights in strategy decks, or following the latest brands they choose to spotlight in their podcast and weekly newsletter. I was also lucky enough to work on their Courier Fresh Fund when I was at Otherway. But most importantly they share a similar raison d'etre - celebrating and inspiring the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. In this special mentor edition we delve deep into Danny's 10 predictions for 2022, zooming into the untapped potential of 'unsexy business'. Future founders; if you're listening, we will be serving up some very enticing 'food for thought'. Without further adieu, I introduce to you Danny Giacopelli.

Welcome Ivo. He co-runs Sapling Spirits, a Climate Positive British Spirits company selling vodka and gin to some of the world's best restaurants, retailers and countryside connoisseurs. Each bottle plants a tree; on a mission to plant 1 million by 2027, using their clean, creamy, and smooth cocktails to persuade people into toasting for the planet. You can even track your own tree using their neat tree-tracker. So far so good. To date.,they've planted over 50,000 trees, with 75,000 on the horizon for this year. But it's not only the soil who are happy customers. Sapling Spirits can now be found in foodie favourites such as Fat Duck, Spring, The Pig, Tyme as well as retailers such as Daylseford, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, John Lewis and Ocado. They even host a yearly festival where they invite all their trade partners to the distillery in the Cotswolds for a weekend of music, cocktail classes and tree planting. In our world of greenwashing and marketing ploys, multinational beverage companies and corporate giants, it's nice to see a small brand making such a big impact. Sustainability is rooted in everything they do and they have the numbers to prove it. They're also encouraging consumers and retailers alike to stock more ethically made products. However, is climate positivity enough of a calling card to sustain long term growth? Will tomorrow's boozers really switch up their Smiroff's for a Sapling? Is this a passion project or the future of spirits? In this episode we talk about Ivo's vision for the future of the spirits industry, turning a passion project into a thriving business and how they are making sustainability more accessible for both consumers and trade partners. Enjoy.

Say hello to Sam. He runs Guardian Angel, a UK-based death tech start-up helping people plan for and manage death. For Sam it all started with the tragic loss of his mother to a road accident. She was still young and like most of us just hadn't got round to sorting out a plan. Grief was tough but the admin was overwhelming. Drawing on his own personal experience, Sam's on a mission to rattle the bones of the glum death industry and add a bit of life to the experience. Since starting the business they've helped over 150,000 people get ship-shape for death. This hard work is clearly getting noticed. Growing over 400% during Covid, they've recently raised a £1.1mn early seed round led by impact investor Fair By Design along with participation from institutional investors Ascension Ventures, GC Angels and Accelerated Digital Ventures. The money will go towards building out their death planning tools, refining the brand and spreading the word. They are now about to start their Series A investment round to help grow even more. Listen in to find out more about the rise of death tech, tackling taboos and the exciting journey that Guardian Angel are on.

Say hello to Duncan Keith. He co-runs Days, a truly alcohol-free brewing company. Launched back in October 2020, this Scottish 0.0% beer startup is riding the wave of moderation. Starting as mainly a direct-to-consumer brand they're now in over 500 physical locations, having sold over 1/4 million bottles to date. Having recently raised £1mn to help fuel their growth with investors such as Mindful Chef's Giles Humphries, Propercorn's Ryan Kohn and Camden Town's former MD Adam Keary, they are preparing themselves for hoppy greatness. However, the world of alcohol-free is fighting over way more than just Dry January and Sober October. Indeed, the NoLo category is worth $4bn globally and is expected to continue growing by 30-40% over the next five years. This opportunity in the drinks market has excited a lot of people from innovators like Lucky Saint, Big Drop and Infinite Sessions through to big players like Heineken, Becks, Brewdog and even Guinness all launching their own alcohol free versions and putting big advertising budgets into supporting them. So the question is - how will this thirsty start-up cope amongst all the competition, big and small, and what sets them apart in the choppy waters of the alcohol free beer market? In this episode, we explore the human insights driving the moderation movement, what Days are doing that the big boys can't and what they plan to do with their new £1mn war chest? Cheers.

Introducing Lottie Unwin. She runs The Copy Club, a micro community for marketeers and founders looking to grow their network, share their knowledge and up their skills. They run monthly social events, run their own courses and have a super engaged slack channel. They also do mentor matching for marketeers starting out and run their own recruitment service. To date they have done 150+ events in person and online, have 10+ courses and have over 700 members. Not bad. Micro communities are massively on their rise in both their relevance and importance. You only have to look at Glossier, Bumble Biz and Wall Street Bets to recognise their potential impact. However, sometimes these platforms find it hard to monetise without backing and support. In this episode we talk about how she turned a passion project into a fast growing business, the need for more micro-communities and the power of octopus business models.

Introducing Max Whicher. He runs Spin Brands, a social media agency dedicated to delivering scale through social. Spin Brands work with 100's of brands including the likes of LVMH, Tango, Funky Pigeon, Google and LoveHoney - ranging from strategy and creative to organic, ambassador and paid. What they're doing is clearly working. The agency recently announced a client freeze. After 250 new enquiries, the 40 people strong agency announced that they were pausing new clients until 2022. Mic drop. Beyond the agency, Max is also an angel investor, having invested in businesses such as Heights, Buttermilk Skincare, Cool Cold Brew, among others. This episode is a chance to get to grips with where social is going as well as get tips and insights on what you can do to make an impact in a crowded social market. Not one to be missed.