The Naked Founder

Ahead of the launch of season two of The Naked Founder podcast, BusinessCloud has produced two special bonus episodes featuring highlights from the first season.

Each episode brings together 12 compelling stories and valuable lessons from the entrepreneurs who appeared on the podcast.

Their insights cover everything from securing a celebrity investor, the importance of being paranoid in business, dealing with the menopause and knowing your lift pitch.

The 12 founders featured in the second bonus episode are:

Mark Stuart, Stuart Energy

Tom Dunlop, Summize

Simon Swan, uthful

Sean Brown, Versori

Clare Roberts, Kids Planet

Jennie Johnson, Vets at Home

Adam Ward, Airtime Rewards

Ruth Percival, Contollo

Suzanne Waring, The Helping Hands Group

Craig Smith, Mazuma Mobile and ICT Reverse

Dez Derry, exited founder

Daniel Burton, Wondrwall

The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast produced by Dan Brown at Renowned.

Ahead of the launch of season two of the Naked Founder podcast, we’ve produced two short bonus episodes featuring highlights from season one.

Each episode contains 12 founder stories from the entrepreneurs we interviewed.

The advice touches on a range of issues, including raising investment, mental health, seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the impact of AI.

The 12 founder stories featured in the first bonus episode are:

Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast produced by Dan Brown at Renowned.

When Daniel Burton’s nine-year-old daughter Ella asked for a £300 hairdryer, his response was simple: ‘Build your own.’

Burton is the guest on the season one finale of The Naked Founder podcast, where he explains why it’s vital that children understand the value of money.

That conversation with his daughter ultimately led to the launch of IONI, an independent British technology business created to design and manufacture high-end consumer electronics that are affordable and accessible to all.

In this episode of The Naked Founder, Burton also talks about:

Chapters

00:00 – Intro & Meet Daniel Burton

Dez Derry’s story is one of resilience, ambition and the power of dreaming big.

Born into a traditional Indian family in Walsall in 1982, Derry suffered years of physical abuse before he and his two younger brothers were adopted together by a loving white family.

Derry went on to become a successful entrepreneur, launching the digital marketing consultancy that evolved into customer acquisition specialist Blume and grew to £30m turnover.

But selling the business and being retired at 40 brought an unexpected challenge.

Despite dismissing warnings that he would lose his sense of purpose and identity after exiting, Derry admits that was exactly what happened.

What changed was drawing on his own experiences in the care system and becoming an ambassador for Adoption Matters and Foster Care Matters.

In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, he also talks about:

·      Why, regardless of where you come from, you should never be afraid to dream;

·      Giving a car to Afghan refugee, Adnan Miakhel, to help him pursue his cricketing ambitions;

·      How his white adoptive parents showed him what true love was;

·      How selling nail varnish changed the direction of his career;

·      Retiring at 40 and losing his identify; and

·      Why he’s determined to use his experiences of the care system to help others.

The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle – The Home of Money for Women – and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.

Chapters:

As group managing director of Mazuma Mobile and data erasure specialist ICT Reverse, Craig Smith oversees businesses with combined turnover of more than £50m – but it wasn’t always like that.

At the start of his career, he took a 70 per cent pay cut to become an office junior because he believed it would broaden his business horizons.

After spending more than 30 years in the industry, Smith has earned the nickname ‘Mr Mobile’ – but he insists his work has only just begun.

Every day, up to 1,000 mobile phones – including broken ones – arrive at Mazuma Mobile’s Morecambe offices, with an average payment of £250 per phone.

In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, he also talks about:

The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned

Suzanne Waring is arguably Britain’s most straight-talking boss.

She’s the managing director of The Helping Hands Group in Lancashire and says honesty and trust are her absolute non-negotiables.

It’s the reason why she’ll never employ ex-prisoners or agency staff.

“I don’t want anyone who has dropped out the back of a prison van working for me,” she said. “Let someone else give them a second chance.”

She tells The Naked Founder podcast that recruitment is hard because people don’t want to work. “They all want the handfuls of cash but they don’t want the graft,” said Waring.

The mum of twin boys was working for the police when she decided in 1999 to launch her own cleaning business.

Twenty-seven years later, The Helping Hands Group has four divisions, employs 40 people and has a turnover of more than £1m.

In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, she also talks about:

The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.

Chapters:

After a successful corporate career, Ruth Percival became a founder in her 50s and has grown Contollo Group into a £37m business in just two years.

Ruth Percival had seen the highs and lows of corporate life before becoming a first-time founder in her 50s – and she’s been making up for lost time ever since.

Just two years after launching built environment consultancy Contollo Group, she’s made five acquisitions and grown the business to £37m turnover and 230 staff – with ambitious plans to double in size.

In the latest episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Percival reveals why she’s finally found her dream job.

“It’s my favourite (job) so far,” she said of being a founder. “I’ve absolutely loved this role. I feel like I’m thriving in it. I’m a deeply curious person and I’m stretched all the time but in a good way. It’s forced me to stretch myself.”

In this episode of The Naked Founder, Percival also talks about:

The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.

Chapters:

Adam Ward is the CEO of Airtime Rewards and told The Naked Founder podcast about the two events that changed the course of his life.

In March 2023, the collapse of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) left him fearing the worst.

All of Airtime Rewards' money was tied up with SVB, leaving Ward facing an anxious wait before HSBC stepped in and guaranteed all deposits.

The other life-changing moment came when his son, Max, was diagnosed with the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome.

The experience prompted Ward to launch the Max Ward Foundation to support other families affected by Angelman syndrome.

In this episode of The Naked Founder, Ward also talks about:

The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.

Chapters

00:00 - Introducing Adam Ward, CEO of Airtime Rewards

Three-time founder Jennie Johnson has experienced the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur.

She sold her first business, Kids Allowed, after growing it to eight sites and 500 colleagues.

However, she closed her second business, parenting app My First Five Years, after realising she couldn't achieve the traction needed to make it sustainable.

Now she's back with her third business, Vets at Home, the trading name of The Pet Euthanasia People, which allows people to give their pets a peaceful goodbye at home.

In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Johnson also talks about:

The mistake of sacrificing your health for business success

Chapters

Clare Roberts OBE is one of the UK's most successful female founders.

The CEO of Kids Planet Day Nurseries is part of the rare 'Superscaler' community of UK women who have founded businesses generating more than £50m in annual revenue.

She founded the business with her dad, John, in 2008 after struggling to find flexible childcare for her daughter and deciding there had to be a better way.

Today, Kids Planet has grown to more than 300 nurseries and is now the UK's second-largest nursery provider, caring for more than 40,000 children.

Despite her success, Roberts says she likes people to think she's 'normal' and approachable.

In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Roberts also discusses:

Scaling a £200m-turnover business