Futurist Bob Chernow joins the Professor Mat Hughes to explore what it truly takes to think beyond the immediate and anticipate the forces shaping tomorrow. Drawing on decades of trend forecasting and insights from his new book Reflections of a Futurist, Bob breaks down the habits that strengthen long‑term thinking, why shifting our time horizon is so challenging, and how to spot meaningful “weak signals” amid today’s information overload. A sharp, thoughtful conversation for anyone who wants to navigate the future with more clarity, curiosity, and confidence

Professor Mat Hughes speaks with Dami Hastrup, founder of MOONHUB, in a compelling conversation about turning a student idea into a tech success story. From launching a VR training start-up straight out of university to being featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 and securing major funding from Google, Dami shares the highs, challenges, and lessons of building a high-growth business. Listeners will gain insights into scaling a start-up, navigating the tech landscape, and the future of immersive learning. A must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators.

Professor Mat Hughes speaks with leading, serial tech entrepreneur Ed Johnson, recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Social Impact in 2022, and CEO and Co-Founder of uRoutine. We look at look at the journey to becoming a serial entrepreneur, from starting a venture to selling it and then starting another business straight away.

Professor Mat Hughes interviews Dorothy Francis MBE about her experience as a social enterprise pioneer and thought leader. Dorothy Francis MBE has dedicated 38 years to the cooperative and social enterprise sector, driven by a passion for transforming lives and communities through social business, being named Business Woman of the Year twice, honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion, an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Leicester, and an MBE.

Professor Mat Hughes speaks with Bob Chernow, the former vice chairman of the World Future Society created to ignite the exchange of ideas about the future to understand and respond to our changing world. A stockbroker for 49 years, Bob managed 750+ million USD in assets until his retirement in 2023, and was named seven times by Barron’s Magazine as one of the top 1,200 financial brokers. Bob successfully predicted events and trends that have had a major impact on business and society. Bob is an avid supporter of the valuable insights that can be gained from thinking like a futurist and works to help individuals and organizations become more visionary in their approach and try to anticipate what could happen in the future.

Professor Mat Hughes interviews Ryan Chute, the Wizard of Ads, about his journey from his family's furniture business to becoming his own entrepreneur as a leading strategic marketer and the Wizard of Ads. We talk about his formative experience in the family business, the pivotal moments in his journey, and what makes a good entrepreneur and a good manager.

Professor Mat Hughes talks with Ryan Chute, the Wizard of Ads, about the value of great marketing for small businesses. We talk about how messaging and strategy are far more important than the channel, the importance of being relational not transactional, and crafting an identity customers can empathize with.

In this Podcast, Professor Mat Hughes looks into the debate about managing entrepreneurship. It is a contradiction to try to manage entrepreneurship? No. Good entrepreneurship requires good management! Entrepreneurship needs to be managed effectively to get the most out of its efforts. Entrepreneurship and good management are both key components of execution intelligence. Many entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial initiatives fail. That is an inescapable reality. But most do so because of not bringing together the skills and capabilities they need to sufficiently advantage on opportunities.

In this podcast I look at how innovation is fundamental to how businesses create value—for our markets, consumers, stakeholders, and shareholders. Innovation is the lifeblood of business, and I take the view that "chance favours the prepared mind" so that innovation occurs strategically to drive profitable growth.

Despite the best intentions and even ideas, what entrepreneurs, innovators, and managers hope for when pursuing entrepreneurial or innovation strategies does not always materialize. At this point, we can start to understand entrepreneurship as entopic and its consequences for the firm. Too much entrepreneurship focused on innovation that is too explorative risks exhausting resources and rendering the firm into a state of disorder. This is entrepreneurial entropy, and it serves as a cautionary note about why it is so important to manage entrepreneurship.