Scale-up Confessions

In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, host Rob Liddiard explains how the Six Key Components of EOS (Vision; People; Data; Issues; Process; and Traction) impacted his life and business as the Cofounder CEO of Yapster (a software company with 100,000 paid users, serving companies such as Brewdog, Caffe Nero, Krispy Kreme, Next and Wagamama).

Rob spent 5 years (2015-2020) running Yapster without knowing about EOS and then nearly 3 years on EOS until the company was acquired in December 2022. Today Rob works as a Professional Implementer of EOS, helping other entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leadership teams get what they want from their businesses more quickly, with less frustration.

Interested listeners, please contact Rob on [email protected] (or to book some free time, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

Ashley Harris is an experienced Operations Leader used to working in fast-growing and high-pressure companies. He spent 5 years working at Tesla, where he rose to a management role for European Operations and Logistics. He's currently Director of Operations for Clearview, a pioneering company in the Machine Vision space, where he works with the Managing Director and Senior Leadership Team to help deliver strategic goals (serving as "Integrator", using the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS)).

In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Ash compares and contrasts the style of Elon Musk, one of the greatest entrepreneurial Visionaries of our time, with a good small business leader, running on EOS. We talk about aligning teams around a Vision; recruiting and managing People; use of Data; understanding Issues at their root; if, when and where Processes are necessary; and quarterly operating rhythms. We explore what it takes as an entrepreneurial leader to really 'put a dent in the universe'!

Interested viewers can reach Ash via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-w-harris/ - and Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

Do you know what a great early-stage customer looks like?  

Customer-side Visionaries like Dara Howley of the RAF Museum (speaking In this episode with Ashley Staines about her selection of Volunteero) might not be common, but they are evenly distributed across society.

If you're doing and saying the right things in any market, you will get opportunities to execute your Vision by serving them.  

Visionary customers are special people who care more about their cause than internal politics, and are accordingly willing to take calculated risks on new vendors in service of a greater good.  

In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Dara explains the key criteria for winning her backing:  

VISION: In Dara case with Volunteero, she was looking for a Volunteer Management software provider totally committed to superior design and usability on the front end, and comprehensive reporting on the back end  

FOCUS: Genuine obsession about improving the volunteer experience (vs generic HR platforms who can 'play at' volunteer management)  

SERVICE/PROCESS: Volunteero have a Proven Process for listening to client feedback and continuously releasing new features.   


Thanks to Dara and Ash for letting us observe 'the why and the what' underpinning their innovation partnership.  

If you have (or know of) a similar founder-customer relationship or story, we'd love to hear from you!   

Interested listeners can reach Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

First-time Founders on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hcdluu5ywrZ6qFhhI8EVH?si=840a4f564e6d4ea4  

First-time Founders on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SfnHZhV747su-Wnd-9Z0Q  

First-time Founders on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-time-founders/id1697488388

Eyal Malinger is a Partner at Resurge Growth Partners, helping growth businesses thrive in a market where capital is scarce. He takes a more active investment approach than traditional venture capital firms, backing businesses that may have fallen off the VC flight path but still deserve to be funded.

In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Eyal explains the structure of Venture Capital - how it is a great model for high-growth businesses, but by definition, all VC portfolios have a "middle bit" comprised of great companies which are unlikely to make a material impact on the fund's returns. According to Eyal, these businesses require an investor operating under a different paradigm to take them to the next level and a successful exit, which is where Resurge Growth Partners come in.

Interested listeners can reach Eyal (https://www.linkedin.com/in/malinger/) at [email protected] and Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

First-time Founders on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hcdluu5ywrZ6qFhhI8EVH?si=840a4f564e6d4ea4

First-time Founders on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SfnHZhV747su-Wnd-9Z0Q

First-time Founders on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-time-founders/id1697488388

Andrew Lynch is a well-known X (formerly Twitter) finance thought leader with experience in companies of all sizes and a wide range of industries industries. In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Andrew explains the building blocks of a finance function (as illustrated in a recent SecretCFO newsletter https://www.cfosecrets.io/p/first-foundation-finance); how a first-time founder should think about recruiting a finance leader; and his experience implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS).

For more detail, you can check out this twitter thread where Andrew first shared his Finance pyramid, including specific tactics and actionable steps to get your Finance function in good shape: https://x.com/andrewglynch/status/1589605703118987266?s=20

Interested listeners can reach Andrew via https://twitter.com/andrewglynch or his LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewglynch/) and Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

Andrew’s newsletter: https://www.netincome.co/

Kris Ingham is the Founder of https://liquidation.store/ , the excess stock e-retailer which saves good stock from landfill via flash sales, offering consumers up to 75% off big brands. In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Kris reflects on the failure of his first venture, Rejuvenation Water (which he managed to get stocked in 5 of the top 6 UK Grocers) and what he learned from the experience.

Interested listeners can reach Kris via his LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisingham/) or Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

Kris’s blog on his Rejuvenation Water experience: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/coming-terms-failure-kris-ingham-0dwye%3FtrackingId=TvqJR2pTRTyTv0gv%252FvmcIg%253D%253D/?trackingId=TvqJR2pTRTyTv0gv%2FvmcIg%3D%3D

First-time Founders on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hcdluu5ywrZ6qFhhI8EVH?si=840a4f564e6d4ea4

First-time Founders on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SfnHZhV747su-Wnd-9Z0Q

First-time Founders on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-time-founders/id1697488388

Rob Smith is Co-founder at Slick, the fastest growing online booking solution for Hair and Beauty. In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Rob shares learnings from his experience building complex business software for low-tech, highly-creative Hair & Beauty industry users. 

Interested listeners can reach Rob Smith via his LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robert-wp-smith) or Rob Liddiard (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob L, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

First-time Founders on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hcdluu5ywrZ6qFhhI8EVH?si=840a4f564e6d4ea4

First-time Founders on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SfnHZhV747su-Wnd-9Z0Q

First-time Founders on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-time-founders/id1697488388

Michael Tingsager is Co-Founder of Pulse Kitchen (The plant-rich meal solution for Food Service) and Host of Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show. With a lifetime of experience in the hospitality industry behind him, Michael is known for his passion for making a positive impact on people, communities, and the planet through service businesses.  In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Michael shares his insights on a wide range of topics, such as “The difference between B2B and B2C startups”,  "Business as a Force for Good", "Agile Hospitality", and "Why People Strategy Makes or Break a Business".

Interested viewers can reach Michael (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltingsager/) at [email protected] and Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard).

First-time Founders on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hcdluu5ywrZ6qFhhI8EVH?si=840a4f564e6d4ea4

First-time Founders on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SfnHZhV747su-Wnd-9Z0Q

First-time Founders on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-time-founders/id1697488388

Steve Sharp is Founder and Managing Director of Nuvo, a leading firm of Chartered Certified Accountants providing accountancy services for owner managed businesses. Nuvo was recently recognised as a UK Top 100 accounting practice, following a sustained period of organic and acquisition-driven growth. In this episode of the First-time Founders Podcast, Steve shares his experiences implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) within a professional services environment and offers advice to fellow entrepreneurs curious about ‘entrepreneurship through acquisition’ (in addition to accounting practices, Steve has acquired a wide range of businesses, from country clubs to facilities management companies).

Interested viewers can reach Steve ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-sharp-2391581a/ ) at [email protected] and Rob (https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertliddiard/) at [email protected] (or to book some free time with Rob, visit https://www.mission-group.co.uk/work-with-rob).

First-time Founders on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7hcdluu5ywrZ6qFhhI8EVH?si=840a4f564e6d4ea4

First-time Founders on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SfnHZhV747su-Wnd-9Z0Q

First-time Founders on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-time-founders/id1697488388