The Scale Up Playbook

One of the main challenges you’ll face as you scale your business is attracting and retaining the best people.  And that’s the subject for episode two of our Scale Up Playbook. Wax/On's Mark Runacus and Harry Neale are joined by founders and leaders who generously share their own fascinating experiences of the people side of growing a business. We discuss your leadership role and your skills; how to make your strategy understandable and accessible by everyone in the company; support networks and mentors; making those big important senior hires; team-building and team-work; diversity and inclusion; and the vital ingredients of the very best scale-up culture.  Thanks to our podcast guests from Eve Sleep, Virgin Media O2, Bread and Jam, Double Dutch, Fitbakes, RealWork, Lucky Saint, Waken, YuLife, and Horseplay Ventures. +++++   Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com   

Ask any Founder and they’ll tell you that raising money to grow your business is hard work. There are urban myths about it being easier to pitch for a million than for five thousand.  So whether you’re scaling up or even starting up, which funding approach should you take? And why?  In this episode we find out by speaking to the people who've done it: Snaffling Pig’s Udhi Silva; Will McDowell from Tastily; Direct To Consumer Expert Mike Stevens; Scott Simpkin from Seedrs; Chris Smith from Playfair Capital; and Nick Telson from Horseplay Ventures.  Mark and Harry and their guests guide you along the entire scale-up funding journey, from pre-seed, through crowd-funding and angels, to series A and B and venture capital.  +++++   Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com   

Udhi Silva, co-founder of pork snacks brand Snaffling Pig joins Harry and Mark to explain how they transformed the humble pork scratching from a pub food accompanying a pint and a game of darts, to an artisan snack targeted at 30-something women.   He talks about bringing to life their tongue-in-cheek ethos of escaping the rind of life with the most pun-packed brand personality; their successful Dragon’s Den experience; the power of crowd-funding; their brand innovations including sell-out advent calendars and barbeques;  and a favourite TV ad that broke the internet with over 300 million views!   +++  This is our final podcast of 2021.  THANK YOU for listening and THANK YOU to all our guests. We'll be back in 2021 with our fourth season which we're calling The Scale-Up Playbook - sharing what we've learned from the many successful Founders we've met in the past 50+ episodes.   +++++   Meanwhile talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com   

Our latest Wax Lyrical guest, Will McDowell Founder and CEO of Tastily, talks us through the meal subscription space; one that is still in its infancy in the UK. He explains that Tastily is for food lovers who are short on time. He also takes us on his bumpy journey from initial idea to production, and shares his direct to consumer marketing tips: what's worked well, and what hasn't worked quite so well.  If you're interested in exciting (and tasty - we've tried them!) new food products, you must give this a listen.  +++++ Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com   

Mike calls himself "the start-up guy" having learned the ropes in the early days at Innocent, and then founding and successfully exiting from his own confectionary brand Peppersmith. He realised the importance of the direct to consumer channel but found little useful guidance out there, so he decided to write it himself. He joins Wax/On's Harry and Mark to talk about his own start-up and scale-up experiences, and what he's learned interviewing other Founders to gather the insights for his book on direct to consumer best practice. Mike explains how Innocent's "superbrain" was the key to its success; his post COVID positive outlook for direct to consumer brands; and how he hopes his book truly inspires the next generation of Founders. One of the reasons he loves D2C is because "it's the best way to test the market without a retail buyer telling you your product's not right for their store."   If you're interested in D2C, you must give this a listen.   +++++ Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com   

Jason Gibb had a successful career as a TV producer: he brought Scrapheap Challenge to our screens,, exported it as Junk Yard Wars to the US and lived in Hollywood. But he tired of what he describes as his shallow existence in LA, and decided to do something more "wholesome" so he moved to Italy, bought an olive grove, and managed to sell his first harvest to Selfridges. He sold the business - Nudo Italia - and was inspired to create Bread and Jam, a festival for food and drink entrepreneurs.  Jason talks about his life in Hollywood, then encouraging his customers - including Barbra Streisand - to adopt olive trees, but most of all what he's learned from the many successful Founders he's worked with as part of Bread and Jam.  https://www.breadandjamfest.com/festival2021  +++++ Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com   

"We knew that Coca Cola and Pepsi wouldn't do it. And we could. This is what we stand for," says Orla Weir, Global Direct To Consumer and Brand Manager of Ugly Drinks on their unique brand. In this fascinating interview she explains  "We want to rebel against the fact that people are being given the sugary and sweetened products, but told they're all about something else… The ugly logo itself has this 'U' that’s kind of shaped like a tongue. And for us that was always a bit like sticking your tongue out at the big dogs."  Join us as Orla talks more about maintaining her brand's distinctiveness, launching in the US, the ups and downs of crowd-sourcing new flavours, and what she would love to do if she had the luxury of a big marketing budget."    +++++ Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com 

Gymbox broke the mould for fitness when they launched in 2003 from a converted car park in the centre of London. Since then they've gained a reputation as an experience brand that does cool and edgy ads that get noticed. In our first off-Zoom and recorded-out-in-the-real-world podcast, Wax/On's Mark Runacus meet's Gymbox's Brand and Marketing Director Rory McEntee to learn how they take creative risks ("ask for forgiveness not permission" Rory tells his team), how he keeps his experience brand fresh using a combination of in-house resources, freelancers, and agencies, and how he sees the fitness industry evolving post COVID.   +++++ Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com 

"We only had three weeks of cash. And then we came out victorious. And we were the second biggest selling lager on Amazon only behind a 24 pack of Fosters. We pivoted the business. We went hard into DTC, and a few months later, we were in 1500 grocery stores," explains Lucky Saint MD Emma Heal of the brand's hectic experience of Lockdown. Along with Founder Luke Boase, the duo talk about how they produce an authentic pilsner without alcohol; how COVID has driven an increase in the so-called moderation trend towards no and low alcohol brands; before surprising us with a £10 off code so all Wax Lyrical listeners can try the beer for themselves. Enjoy! 

Is crowdfunding right for your business? Find out by listening in to this episode as we're joined by Scott Simpkin from equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Scott explains that the Seedrs mission is to really democratise investment, with people literally buying into companies from as little as £10. He goes on to say that it's a great opportunity to both raise money and create a highly engaged community of investors, customers, and powerful advocates. We also talk about how COVID has led to a rise in entrepreneurism in the UK. Scott also explains how and when you should consider crowdfunding, great investments he missed out on, and new investments coming up next on Seedrs. +++++ Talk to us [email protected] +++++ Leave us your review on iTunes. And please subscribe. +++++ www.wearewaxon.com +++++ KEEP WELL AND STAY SAFE