The Boardroom with Richard Farleigh

The Boardroom with Richard Farleigh

By Richard FarleighBusiness
Download on the App Store

The Boardroom with Richard Farleigh episodes

  • Farleigh's Five

    My last full episode was an edition of Farleigh’s Five, and it went down so well that I’ve now launched Farleigh’s Five as a separate podcast.

    The second episode of the new series is out now, with five fresh ideas covering business, money, life and whatever else catches my attention.

    Use the links below ( Or search for Farleigh’s Five on Spotify and Apple Podcasts).

    🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4gbehCzLLPg2hK8Sd0Gmym?si=nYKMkH-zTG-AhIbMpxUJqg&utm_source=copy-link

     Apple Podcasts ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/farleighs-five/id6817339201⁠

    2 min
  • Update on Farleigh's Five Podcast

    My last full episode was an edition of Farleigh’s Five, and it went down so well that I’ve now launched Farleigh’s Five as a separate podcast.

    The first episode of the new series is out now, with five fresh ideas covering business, money, life and whatever else catches my attention.

    Use the links below ( Or search for Farleigh’s Five on Spotify and Apple Podcasts).

    🎧 Spotify ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DR3u4oOWNHjQxn1029xmr?si=TpFc5QdbT7eayXnoWYMkpQ&utm_source=copy-link⁠

     Apple Podcasts ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/farleighs-five/id6817339201⁠


    1 min
  • Farleigh's 5 is Now a Podcast

    A quick follow-up to the previous episode of The Boardroom.

    My last episode was an edition of Farleigh’s Five, and it went down so well that I’ve now launched Farleigh’s Five as a separate podcast.

    The first episode of the new series is out now, with five fresh ideas covering business, money, life and whatever else catches my attention.

    Use the links below ( Or search for Farleigh’s Five on Spotify and Apple Podcasts).

    🎧 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DR3u4oOWNHjQxn1029xmr?si=TpFc5QdbT7eayXnoWYMkpQ&utm_source=copy-link

     Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/farleighs-five/id6817339201


    1 min
  • Farleigh's 5 : Bad Errors and 4 More Ideas

    Richard in conversation, discussing his ideas. Bad Errors, Easy Choices, Old Movies, Business Similarities, and Avoiding The Bin.

    If you enjoyed this, I’ve now made Farleigh’s Five a podcast of its own. The first episode is here, and the latest episode is available on the new show. Click the Spotify or Apple Podcasts links below to listen.


    Use the links below ( Or search for Farleigh’s Five on Spotify and Apple Podcasts).

    🎧 Spotify ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DR3u4oOWNHjQxn1029xmr?si=TpFc5QdbT7eayXnoWYMkpQ&utm_source=copy-link⁠

     Apple Podcasts ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/farleighs-five/id6817339201⁠


    15 min
  • Are Dragons' Den Valuations Making Any Sense? | My View on the Latest Episode

    What happens when I watch modern-day Dragons' Den and start questioning some of the valuations and investment decisions?

    In this episode of The Boardroom: Dragons' Den Watchalong, I’m joined by entrepreneur Jon O'Donnell as we revisit the Den and analyse a series of very different pitches.
    From a pre-revenue parenting app to an established baking business and an AI-powered cat flap, we discuss the questions I would be asking as an investor and why I think some of the valuations and decisions in the Den don't always add up.
    I share my thoughts on valuations, revenue multiples, profit, due diligence, patents and what entrepreneurs really need to prove before asking someone to invest. We also discuss whether the Dragons are sometimes too influenced by presentation, personality and their own areas of expertise.
    And, of course, I couldn't resist getting involved when we reached the final pitch…
    What should these businesses really be worth? Would I have invested? And what can entrepreneurs learn from watching the Dragons make their decisions?
    #theboardroom #dragonsden #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth
    I also write a free weekly newsletter about business, investing and entrepreneurship. You can read it here:
    https://richardfarleigh.substack.com.
    📲 Follow Richard Farleigh:
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richardfarleigh/
    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-farleigh-7a0a1616/
    TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfarleighhq
    🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, investing, strategy, and the real side of business.
    Chapters
    00:00 – Watching the latest Dragons' Den
    00:41 – My first thoughts on Cubby
    02:22 – Why I question the valuation
    04:05 – Should they leave their jobs?
    06:28 – Why I think it’s a massive commitment
    09:26 – The Dragons start making offers
    10:00 – Where are the numbers?
    11:36 – Have Dragons' Den pitches become too polished?
    13:06 – My reaction to Craft & Crumb
    15:16 – The numbers finally come out
    16:57 – Why I don’t understand the Dragons’ decisions
    19:09 – My take on the Portaloo business
    21:17 – What I learned about patents
    23:50 – Why I think this is the best pitch so far
    25:24 – The £100k offer for 20%
    27:05 – Why the entrepreneurs reject the deal
    28:16 – My reaction to OnlyCat
    30:00 – £750k in pre-orders changes everything
    31:42 – When the Dragons lose the plot
    33:45 – Why I would invest
    35:05 – I make an offer
    36:52 – The deal is done
    38:31 – My biggest takeaways from the episode
    39:45 – How I value a business
    41:00 – My final thoughts

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    42 min
  • How to Spot Million-Pound Business Ideas | Thea Green on Building a Global Beauty Business

    How do you build one of Britain's best-known beauty brands from scratch?

    In this episode of The Boardroom, I sit down with Thea Green, founder of Nails Inc, to explore the entrepreneurial journey behind one of the UK's biggest beauty success stories.
    Starting as a fashion journalist, Thea spotted a simple idea in New York that didn't exist in Britain. Rather than reinventing the wheel, she adapted an already successful concept, built a powerful consumer brand around it, and transformed the way millions of people think about nail care.
    Whether you're launching a startup, scaling a business, investing in founders or simply fascinated by great entrepreneurial stories, this episode is packed with practical insights.

    📲 Follow Richard Farleigh:

    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richardfarleigh/

    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-farleigh-7a0a1616/

    TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfarleighhq

    🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, investing, strategy, and the real side of business.#Entrepreneurship #Business #StartupFounder #beauty #NailsInc

    Chapters
    00:00 Introduction
    00:26 The Nails Inc origin story
    01:20 Spotting an opportunity from the US
    03:20 Leaving journalism to start a business
    05:05 Why journalists become great entrepreneurs
    06:10 How to predict the next big trend
    08:15 Why every business should obsess over the customer
    09:05 Why nail bars didn't exist in Britain
    10:30 Turning an idea into a business plan
    11:20 Testing ideas before spending money
    12:50 Raising the first investment
    15:00 Building the Nails Inc brand
    20:30 Scaling through retail
    27:00 Innovation in the beauty industry
    33:30 The future of beauty brands
    37:30 My failed beauty startup
    39:10 Why Thea decided to sell Nails Inc
    39:40 Final lessons for entrepreneurs

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    41 min
  • Is AI Creating a Bubble? | Alan Trefler on How AI Will Change Jobs

    Artificial intelligence is changing business faster than almost any technology we've seen before.

    But is AI creating another tech bubble?
    In this episode of The Boardroom, I'm joined by Alan Trefler, Founder and CEO of Pegasystems, the multi-billion-dollar software company he started more than 40 years ago.
    We discuss why Alan believes today's AI boom is creating unrealistic expectations, how enterprise software is evolving, and why businesses need to think differently about using AI if they want long-term success.
    We also talk about how AI will transform jobs, why programming is changing forever, the rise of "vibe coding", and what young people should be studying to prepare for the future.
    Along the way, Alan shares the story of building Pegasystems from three people with an idea into one of the world's leading enterprise software companies, including the lessons he learned from landing some of America's biggest banks as his very first customers.
    #theboardroom #dragonsden #entrepreneurship #ai #innovation
    I also write a free weekly newsletter about business, investing and entrepreneurship. You can read it here:
    https://richardfarleigh.substack.com.
    📲 Follow Richard Farleigh:
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richardfarleigh/
    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-farleigh-7a0a1616/
    TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfarleighhq
    🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, investing, strategy, and the real side of business.
    Chapters
    00:00 Is AI creating a bubble?
    00:24 Meet Alan Trefler, Founder & CEO of Pegasystems
    01:42 Chess, computer science and the start of a career
    02:44 The idea that became Pegasystems
    04:30 Solving enterprise workflows
    05:22 Bootstrapping the company
    06:38 Winning the first customers
    09:06 Landing two of America's biggest banks
    09:45 Building products with customer feedback
    11:58 Preventing customers from building it themselves
    13:31 Why today's software industry is confused
    14:50 What everyone is missing about AI
    20:24 The hidden cost of AI
    22:18 Who will win the AI race?
    24:23 Is AI becoming a bubble?
    24:45 How AI will transform jobs
    26:29 The rise of "vibe coding"
    28:15 Smaller teams, faster software
    30:22 Can established software companies survive AI?
    31:37 The US, China and the AI race
    32:19 Cybersecurity and AI risks
    35:30 What young people should study for the future
    39:00 The skills AI can't replace
    42:22 Final thoughts

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    38 min
  • The Truth About London's Wildest Trading Floors | Drugs, Insider Trading & Psychopaths

    What was life really like inside the City of London during the financial boom?

    In this episode of The Boardroom, I sit down with former stockbroker, journalist and bestselling author Geraint Anderson, better known as City Boy, to discuss one of the most controversial periods in modern finance.
    Geraint shares how he went from selling trinkets on beaches in Goa to earning huge bonuses in investment banking before exposing the culture of excess from the inside. We discuss the reality behind the headlines, from insider trading and lavish client entertainment to whether finance really attracts psychopaths.
    #theboardroom #dragonsden #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurship #cityboy #investmentbanking #finance
    I also write a free weekly newsletter about business, investing and entrepreneurship. You can read it here:
    https://richardfarleigh.substack.com.
    📲 Follow Richard Farleigh:
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richardfarleigh/
    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-farleigh-7a0a1616/
    TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfarleighhq
    🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, investing, strategy, and the real side of business.
    If you enjoyed this conversation, you can find Geraint's books here:
    How to Con Friends and Manipulate People, out on 2nd July
    Geraint's latest satirical book explores the psychology of manipulation, psychopathy and power through the voice of a fictional psychopath.
    Click Here: https://geni.us/YsMum
    Chapters
    00:00 The Truth About City Life
    01:35 From Goa to Investment Banking
    05:47 Traders vs Salespeople
    08:40 What Really Drives Success?
    10:32 The Birth of City Boy
    13:16 Footballers, Brokers & Party Culture
    15:03 Why Geraint Left Finance
    16:03 How to Win in Investment Banking
    18:23 "The Hand Deserved To Be Bitten"
    19:38 Are There Psychopaths in Finance?
    22:07 Richard Takes the Psychopath Test
    23:49 Can Psychopathy Be an Advantage?
    26:12 The Traits of High Performers
    27:46 Richard on Attachment & Success
    30:00 The Psychology of Business & Leadership
    37:08 Final Thoughts

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    38 min
  • Why Are All The Dragons Saying Yes? | Are They Investing in Businesses... or Stories?

    Are Dragons investing in great businesses, or simply backing great stories?

    In this episode of The Boardroom: Dragons' Den Watchalong, I sit down with comedian Andrew Maxwell to watch another episode of Dragons' Den and break down the pitches from the perspective of a former Dragon.
    From sustainable skincare and golf gadgets to fintech startups and food brands, we analyse what separates a compelling pitch from a genuinely investable business.
    Along the way, I explain how investors think about valuations, why fundraising can sometimes matter more than revenue, the hidden realities of Dragon partnerships, and the questions entrepreneurs should be asking before accepting investment.
    We also discuss how Dragons' Den has evolved over the years, whether the Dragons have become less ruthless, and why modern founders are often far more polished than those who entered the Den two decades ago.
    Would the original Dragons have made the same decisions? And are today's investors focusing enough on the numbers behind the story?
    A fascinating conversation about investing, entrepreneurship and the realities of building a successful business.
    #theboardroom #dragonsden #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth
    I also write a free weekly newsletter about business, investing and entrepreneurship. You can read it here:
    https://richardfarleigh.substack.com.
    📲 Follow Richard Farleigh:
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richardfarleigh/
    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-farleigh-7a0a1616/
    TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfarleighhq
    🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, investing, strategy, and the real side of business.
    Chapters
    00:00 Introduction: Are Dragons Investing in Businesses or Stories?
    00:18 Sustainable Skincare Enters The Den
    02:07 The Psychic Medium Twist
    03:41 How Dragons Actually Value Businesses
    06:28 When Multiple Dragons Want In
    08:49 Has Dragons' Den Gone Soft?
    11:45 Why Reggae Reggae Sauce Worked
    12:55 The Golf Ball Cleaner Pitch
    15:18 Can A Niche Product Become A Big Business?
    17:10 Do Husband & Wife Founders Have An Advantage?
    18:10 The Mortgage App That Caught The Dragons' Attention
    21:20 What Investors Really Want To See
    23:24 Why Raising Millions Matters
    24:15 The Truth About Multi-Dragon Deals
    25:38 Another Husband & Wife Team Enters The Den
    26:10 Flavour Bomb's Big Opportunity
    27:21 When The Numbers Start To Fall Apart
    30:00 The Challenge Of Scaling Food Businesses
    33:00 Final Verdicts & Key Lessons
    35:31 End

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    36 min
  • Taking on Uber | Tayfun Keskin & Efkan Altinok on Building a Community-Led Startup, Ride Nuff

    What happens when you spend years working inside an industry and realise the business model itself is the problem?

    In this episode I sit down with Tayfun Keskin and Efkan Altinok, the founders of Ride Nuff and former Uber drivers who decided to build a different kind of ride-hailing business.
    After more than a decade working in the industry, they saw drivers earning less, working longer hours and struggling to cover rising costs. Rather than accepting the status quo, they spent three years developing RideNuff, a subscription-based platform designed to give drivers more control over their earnings while offering customers a fairer alternative.
    We discuss how they identified the opportunity, raised their first funding from a community of supporters, navigated regulation, launched in London and began attracting attention from drivers and operators around the world.
    This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, disruption, platform economics, fundraising and what it takes to challenge an established market leader.
    #theboardroom #dragonsden #entrepreneurship #business #uber
    I also write a free weekly newsletter about business, investing and entrepreneurship. You can read it here:
    https://richardfarleigh.substack.com.
    📲 Follow Richard Farleigh:
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/richardfarleigh/
    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-farleigh-7a0a1616/
    TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@richardfarleighhq
    🔔 Subscribe for weekly conversations on entrepreneurship, investing, strategy, and the real side of business.
    Chapters
    00:00 "It's possible to drive all day and make a loss"
    00:43 What is RideNuff?
    01:15 Why we decided to create a fairer alternative
    03:02 How ride-hailing commissions impact drivers
    04:31 The financial pressures facing drivers today
    06:24 The original idea behind RideNuff
    07:53 Crowdfunding and raising our first capital
    09:10 Building the app and launching operations
    11:05 Early traction and customer growth
    11:52 Interest from around the world
    13:48 Challenging Uber's business model
    15:06 How RideNuff drivers increase their earnings
    17:01 Competition, barriers and scaling the business
    18:45 Algorithms, incentives and platform economics
    19:22 Expansion plans and fundraising
    21:30 Why belief matters in entrepreneurship
    22:31 Creating change through business
    24:17 The entrepreneurial journeys behind RideNuff
    28:19 Building a business that works for everyone
    30:05 Final thoughts

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    31 min

About The Boardroom with Richard Farleigh

From the publisher's feed

Hi, I’m Richard. Former BBC Dragon , Author , Media Commentator , Economist , Investor , 120 + Businesses , Chess Olympian , Speaker , PhD Hon, and Care System Survivor