Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall

Claire Warner helped build Belvedere Vodka for 15 years.

She created 13 expressions. She climbed the ranks inside LVMH. She understood how premium alcohol brands scale.

Then she made a call most people would avoid.

She decided the world did not need another vodka.

In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Claire explains why she left a secure leadership position to build Æcorn Drinks, how a forgotten 16th century acorn wine recipe became the foundation of a modern aperitif, and why launching three complex products at once was a risk worth taking.

We also unpack what it means to build your own identity as the sister brand to Seedlip, how Covid disrupted their first real summer, and why innovation in this space has to be flavour-led, not alcohol-led.

This is not about sobriety. It is about redefining the ritual.

Key Takeaways

• Why experience in a category can become a reason to leave it

• The strategic risk of launching multiple SKUs at once

• How to build brand distinction when linked to a market pioneer

• Why aperitif culture matters more than alcohol percentage

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👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Rory MacFadyen never planned to run an apparel brand.

He was on a solid corporate trajectory in sport. Middle East sponsorship deals. Major events. A comfortable path.

Then he saw the scale of waste in sportswear.

At the same time, his best friend Pete discovered how to turn unlimited plastic waste into performance fabric.

That was the spark.

In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Rory shares how Reflo was born, why they spent two and a half years developing sustainable performance fabrics before launching, and how they went from being doubted to landing partnerships with the Australian Open and the WM Phoenix Open.

We talk about rejection, tall poppy syndrome in the UK, raising growth capital, bringing Harry Kane in as an investor, and why entrepreneurship is far harder than people think.

This is not a fast-fashion story.

It’s about long-term thinking, graft, resilience, and trying to flip an industry on its head.

Key Takeaways

• Why there is never a perfect time to launch

• How to build credibility before you look big

• Why founders must sell, not just manage

• The truth about hustle culture and burnout

• How to build a brand rooted in mission, not marketing

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

When Dr Leah Totton applied for The Apprentice, she was a full-time NHS doctor with no business experience and a clear career path ahead in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

She didn’t expect to win.

But winning meant walking away from certainty and stepping into the unknown with Lord Alan Sugar as her business partner.

In this episode, I sit down with Leah to unpack what really happened after the cameras stopped rolling. The cash flow stress. The competitor who copied her business model before she even opened. The shock of realising that even after national TV exposure, nobody was queuing outside the clinic.

This is the reality of building a service-based business.

Leah shares the mindset shift from doctor to entrepreneur, the discipline of sector expertise, and why quality control matters more than rapid scale. We also dive into her seven-year journey to launch a skincare line that she refused to rush, despite pressure to “just put something out”.

If you are thinking of starting a clinic, a product brand, or any service-led business, this conversation is a masterclass in resilience and execution.

Key Takeaways

Getting customers is harder than launching: Opening the doors is easy. Building trust takes years. Especially in health and aesthetics.

Sector expertise protects your business: If you cannot deliver the core service yourself, scaling becomes fragile.

Thick skin is not optional: Business is not personal. The sooner you understand that, the faster you grow.

Quality compounds: Short-term speed can damage long-term trust. Leah chose slower growth with stronger foundations.

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

When I sat down with Robert Hanna, I did not hear a story about failure. I heard a story about comfort.

He was a director at a legal recruitment firm. Well paid. Progressing. Respected. By most standards, successful.

But approaching his 30th birthday, he realised something uncomfortable. He was building someone else’s legacy, not his own.

That realisation led to a decision. Start his own legal recruitment agency. Then take a bigger risk. Launch The Legally Speaking Podcast, not as a hobby, but as a long-term personal branding strategy.

Today, that podcast is a global legal careers platform. It attracts high-quality clients, builds community in the legal industry, and has secured sponsorship from a $5bn legal tech unicorn.

In this episode, we break down how personal branding, niche community building, strategic partnerships and content repurposing can transform a professional services business.

If you are a founder thinking about building authority, launching a podcast, or turning content into commercial leverage, this conversation is practical and direct.

Key Takeaways

Comfort can quietly limit ambition. Ownership changes everything.

Personal branding is not vanity. It is commercial leverage.

Niche communities outperform broad audiences in professional services.

Evergreen content becomes an asset when treated strategically.

Strategic partnerships accelerate growth faster than going alone.

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Jay Morton spent 14 years in the British military, including 10 Jay Morton spent 14 years in the British military, including 10 years in the SAS Special Air Service.

Then one quiet moment in the Alps changed everything.

In this Thursday Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Jay shares the exact moment he realised there was more to life than chasing promotion inside the Special Forces.

Standing on a mountain ridge, eating a sandwich, he made a decision that would take him from elite military operator to two-time Mount Everest summitier and high performance expedition leader.

We talk about:

Leaving a high-status career without a rigid plan

Why Everest became the next proving ground

The difference between physical toughness and mental resilience

Why growth only happens when you deliberately make life hard

Jay reflects on summiting Everest twice, guiding clients through extreme pressure, and why he refuses to reach the end of life with regret.

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Dr. Raphael Sofoluke, founder and CEO of the UK Black Business Show.

Raphael didn’t start with funding.

He didn’t start with a team.

He didn’t even start full-time.

He had an idea, six months, and a belief that representation mattered.

From a 500-person event at the QE2 Centre to a week-long series attracting 16,000 attendees, Raphael shares the real story behind building one of the UK’s most impactful business platforms.

We talk about speed over perfection, juggling a full-time job while building something bigger, why being audacious matters, and how the new partnership with Stephen Bartlett and Flight Story aims to drive £100 billion in economic impact over the next decade.

This conversation is about execution, ambition, and refusing to think small.

Key Takeaways

• Speed beats perfection. First to market with strong execution wins.
• Learn and earn before you leap. Industry experience compounds.
• Longevity matters more than hype. Execute with excellence consistently.
• Impact is the real metric. Revenue follows vision and representation.

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Timo Mullen is the co-founder of Foam Life, a sustainable flip flop brand built after he and his co-founder lost their six-figure jobs during the pandemic.

In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Timo shares the moment they stopped waiting for certainty and chose action instead. From designing their first product in a week to securing pre-orders, raising investment, and expanding into international markets, this conversation breaks down what really happens when founders remove the safety net.

Timo also explains why regret became a bigger risk than failure, how accountability drives momentum, and why word of mouth matters more than paid marketing when you are building something real.

Key Takeaways

• Regret is heavier than failure when you do not act
• Removing the safety net forces clarity
• Momentum comes from action, not planning
• Sustainability works when it is built in from day one

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Sahar Hashemi OBE, co-founder of Coffee Republic and the force behind Buy Women Built.

Sahar shares the moment that changed everything. Trapped in a legal career that did not fit, she was forced to confront how short life really is. Instead of waiting for clarity, confidence, or permission, she acted.

We talk about why most founders overthink instead of starting, why customer experience always wins, and why small, doable steps matter more than perfect plans. Sahar also explains why female entrepreneurship in the UK still lags behind other developed countries and what Buy Women Built is doing to change that.

This conversation is for anyone sitting on an idea, feeling restless, or waiting for the right moment.

Key Takeaways

• Why waiting is often riskier than taking action
• How starting small creates momentum and clarity
• Why customer obsession builds resilient businesses
• How visibility and role models change belief and behaviour

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

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🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham

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In this bite-sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, I speak with Cemal Ezel OBE, CEO and founder of Change Please.

Cemal shares the defining moment that reshaped his life and career. On a long bus journey in Vietnam, a stranger asked him a question that forced deep reflection. Sitting in a rocking chair at ninety, what legacy would he leave behind. That question led Cemal to build Change Please, a social enterprise using coffee to tackle homelessness.

Today, Change Please trains homeless people as baristas, pays a living wage, provides housing support, and reinvests all profits into reducing homelessness. The business is stocked nationwide in Sainsbury’s and is expanding internationally while maintaining strong environmental standards across its supply chain.

This episode explores purpose-led entrepreneurship, building the right team, choosing mentors carefully, and why founders must take time to recognise progress.

Key Takeaways

• Why reflecting on legacy clarifies decision making
• How small actions can scale meaningful impact
• The importance of surrounding yourself with experienced mentors
• Why founders must pause to acknowledge progress

🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts.

🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at the NEC Birmingham.

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Matt Richards MBE is a two time Olympic champion who understands pressure at the highest level. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Matt shares how self belief was built early, tested at the 2024 Olympics, and later applied to building a business while still competing at an elite level.

We talk about dealing with doubt, staying consistent when outcomes are uncertain, and why feedback and focus matter when you are building something new.

Key Takeaways

How Matt rebuilt belief under Olympic pressure

Why consistency beats confidence during uncertain moments

What elite sport teaches you about execution and focus

How feedback shaped Matt’s move into business

🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments.

If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.

As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days.

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🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts.

🔥 Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at the NEC Birmingham.

👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk