Sound Advice: Entrepreneurs Unfiltered

Cricket legend Stuart Broad tells us how he transitioned from the world of professional sports to the realm of business. Alongside his former teammate Harry Gurney, Stuart has successfully ventured into the hospitality industry, to become co-owner of The Cat & Wickets pub company.  

From finding the right mentor to fostering a positive mentality, Stuart’s tips are rooted in his cricketing experience and in his hands-on approach to entrepreneurship.  

Discover how the resilience and teamwork that defined his on-pitch career have translated into his business endeavours and learn practical strategies for thriving in the hospitality sector. 

Whether you’re a sports enthusiast, an aspiring entrepreneur, or someone looking to make a career shift, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. 

Join us as we delve into the inspiring journey of cricket superstar Isa Guha, who is on a mission to create a more inclusive environment for women and girls in cricket. After dominating the sports field, Isa has made a profound impact in the non-profit sector with her charity, Take Her Lead. 

In this episode, Isa shares invaluable business advice and leadership lessons, highlighting how the skills she developed on the cricket pitch have fuelled her success in non-profits. She emphasises the importance of resilience, noting that setbacks are inevitable, but how you respond to them is what truly matters. 

Isa also champions kind leadership, creating a positive and supportive culture that leads to greater success and fulfilment. This episode underscores the need to stay true to your purpose and values, even when the journey gets tough. 

From wielding equations in a lab to crafting mouthwatering curry kits in her kitchen, Shelly Nuruzzaman’s career path took a very unexpected turn in her 40’s. 

Armed with a PhD, but in need of a change and a new purpose, Shelly traded her lab coat for an apron and began using her scientific background to fuel her culinary creativity.  

With the mission of bootstrapping her business, she rolled up her sleeves and started testing recipes herself, building her business and website from scratch. She has since achieved a multi-6-figure turnover and sold over 750,000 kits within the first 5 years of her journey.  

Uncover how BANG! Curry has found its way into kitchens across the globe, gaining millions of likes and views on social media platforms, with a best-seller spot on Amazon and a nationwide listing with Waitrose. 

Imogen Partridge shares her journey from interior architecture to pursuing her passion of illustration and how her love of places and storytelling fuels her artistic work.  

But more than just sharing her artistic journey, she also delves into the power of kindness in business and how being kind can benefit your personal life, your customers, and your bottom line. 

She explores how adding thoughtful gestures to orders can engage customers, how being kind to others can inspire a ripple effect of kindness, and why giving back to charity is a win-win for everyone.  

Join us as we explore the ways in which incorporating simple acts of kindness can positively impact your business and life. 

When clubbing and partying were on hold during the pandemic, a lot of us found ourselves hosting good old-fashioned game and quiz nights. 

Well, Nicola Robinson and Tolu Abisogun took this opportunity to create their cheeky and fun drinking games brand, Berserk Games, which soon became a thriving disruptive player in the industry.  

We're going to delve into their remarkable journey and uncover how their resilience and creativity propelled them to create an incredible impact in the UK and US. 

Stay tuned as we explore how they overcame challenges, embraced their unique backgrounds, and triumphed as founders of a successful company, proving that with determination and passion, even in the hardest of times, anything is possible. 

Join us on this episode of Sound Advice, as we discover how the dynamic power couple, Jim and Dannii Mee, captured their love for travel and transformed their passions into a thriving international events business, driving Rat Race Adventure Sports to new heights. 

Learn from their resilience in adapting through the challenges of the pandemic, pivoting from obstacle races to offering exhilarating expeditions in once in a lifetime destinations.  

From the Namib Desert to the Panamanian jungle, discover their story of passion, perseverance, and the unbreakable foundation of their marriage, which fuels their adventure sports empire. 

Becoming homeless and jobless at 15 wasn't enough to stop Simon Squibb from dreaming big. Instead, this was the catalyst to his extraordinary entrepreneurial journey. Today, he is a multi-millionaire, founder of 19 companies, and investor of 78 more. 

With a personal mission to help others achieve similar dreams, Simon created HelpBnk. Alongside his social media channels, this investment platform aims to give 10 million people the funds, advice, and motivation to kickstart their own ventures.  

So, whether you're a startup founder or curious about how to take your business to the next level, this episode is jammed-packed with priceless advice on securing investment, crafting a winning pitch, and even learning how to decode the investor's perspective. 

This is an episode you don't want to miss, filled with Simon’s infectious inspiration and proven strategies that will propel your business towards success. 

If you wanted more advice on how to overcome your fears of finance, then you're in the right place, as Julie Wong is back with more tips and tricks in this 2-part episode special.

Get ready to explore how finance and marketing are intertwined, giving you valuable insights into how you can adjust your strategies to get the best out of both.

Discover how AI technologies are making it easier than ever before to start a business and learn how to maximise your resources when bootstrapping.

We are also trying something a little different in this episode, as we put Julie on the spot to answer some questions from our listeners on all their business worries and woes.

Does the idea of looking at your finances leave you with sweaty palms and an overwhelming feeling of dread? Then look no further, this 2-part episode special is for you! 

In the chaotic early days of starting a business, it can be easy to overlook the numbers. You place all your focus on marketing, branding and manufacturing, and before you know it, you have lost track of your finances.  

You might not even know what “good” looks like when it comes to cashflow or profit margin—or where to begin when it comes to managing your money. 

Well, Julie Wong is here to give you a masterclass in how to create a more profitable and resilient business. She is a business mentor who specialises in helping entrepreneurs use their numbers to build effective growth strategies so their small businesses soar.  

Join us on the Sound Advice Podcast as we eliminate your fear of finance and help you to confidently manage and maximise your profits. 

In a world where magic and adventure come to life, Harry Potter fans have cast a spell of their own, creating a wave of business opportunities and immense growth. 
Phil Pinder and Ben Fry found a way to capture this enthusiasm for all things wizardry and created their first business, The Potions Cauldron—a place where fans can immerse themselves in the universe and enjoy an enchanting brew or 2! 
In June 2023, with a vision to scale, they took their business to Dragon’s Den and after being offered quite possibly the largest sum to date of £200,000, they simply refused to part with a third of their company and had no choice but to turn down Peter Jones himself.  

But since then, they’ve been busier than ever, opening wizarding golf franchises and shops across the UK. Their mystical drinks are now stocked in Hamleys, HMV, and Center Parcs, and they've landed a deal that will help them to produce a million bottles per year.  

So, the real question is, how did they do it? And how did they fund their expansion and confidently find their footing without the backing and mentorship of a Dragon?  In this episode of Sound Advice, Phil tells us how they took this idea and turned it into a magical destination business.