The Unfounders

Happy New Year! Today's guest is the charming Sam Johnstone - Commercial Manager at Living Things Soda.

In this episode we discuss fractional working, what that means, the pro's and cons and way's of making it work.

His time working for a number of amazing challenger brands like Minor Figures, Hunter & Gather, Eleat, Saved and more.

Why he's now gone back to working full time for just one brand.

And SO much more

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Also, check out the ever growing Unfounders Song Selection playlist on Spotify.... it's WILD.

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from? Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from ⁠Uppbeat

This podcast was recorded on Jessamy’s last day as Country Manager at Karma Drinks - and it’s a beauty!

Jess is such a powerhouse in the FMCG world and she does it all with a smile.

We discuss her time at Popchips, working under our previous guest Ruth Fittock and what that whole experience was like.

Working her way up at Karma drinks across a 5 year career all the way to Country Manager.

Freelance consulting for brilliant brands like Everleaf and Arrowtown Drinks where she was involved in the latest gorgeous brand refresh.

The importance of mental health in the workplace and how to support founders as second in command.

Her catchphrase “If it’s not organised, then it’s not fun” 

And SO much more

Now going freelance, I have no doubt she’s going to continually add value and drive impact in the space. For now, enjoy the episode!

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from ⁠Uppbeat

How do you get people OBSESSED by beans? Well that's exactly what Bold Bean have done!

Today I am joined with Martha Jensen, the amazing Brand Manager at Bold Bean Co.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have probably seen and heard all about them, with many celebrity admirers like Jordan North, Ottolenghi, Nigella and Tim Spector.

We dig into how they've built such an amazing brand

What it's like to work remotely and stay connected

How they continually engage their customers online, and via subscription

Her time working at the amazing SmartWorks charity and Rude Health

And SO much more

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from ⁠Uppbeat

Today I am joined by OOH National Account Manager Tash, from DASH

(The fact it rhymes is not lost on her don't worry!)

DASH have developed a delicious range of sparkling waters, infused with wonky fruit and no sugar, sweeteners or calories.

In this conversation we dig into what it's like to take on the big players in the soft drink space head on.

Tash's time working at some other amazing brands including Blanco Nino, MOTH and the masters of data, Worldpanel by Kantar.

And even life working on a super yacht...

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from ⁠Uppbeat

Today I am joined by the delightful ⁠India Rawlin⁠ - Brand Manager at ⁠TrueStart Coffee⁠.

India's career path is fascinating - travelling the world to places like India, Mozambique, Argentina and New Zealand whilst working in a number of different businesses along the way.

The stories and lessons she's picked up along the way have so much value, and add to the impact she's now providing at TrueStart.

We dig into their first major OOH campaign that created a PR reach of well over 5 million - as well as a major uplift in rate of sale, and followers too.

This was such a fun conversation - fuelled by delicious coffee of course.

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from ⁠Uppbeat

Emily Smith is Head of Sales at Mooncup - pioneers of forward thinking, sustainable, plastic & chemical free period products.

She is a powerful voice in the community - fighting for positive change when it comes to period care and menstrual health inclusivity.

Emmy is a passionate yoga teacher, running classes alongside her sales role.

This conversation was fascinating - especially as a male knowing very little about the space, but now with a daughter, something I am aware I should be clued up on.

We dug into the balancing act (pun intended) of sales and yoga, why language is so important around how period products are communicated, what more businesses can do to look after their employees and so much more!

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

Holleigh and I connected over her involvement on Zach Taylor's new incredible hard kombucha brand Stiff Tea as I was obsessed with the bran as soon as I saw it.

We talked about the experience of bringing someone else's brand to life - and how she fell into the consultancy world (and accepting this title!)

We dug into all her various experience in managing bars, working at music festivals, the beer industry - and the amazing work she does as a trustee for Home Start Manchester.

This was such a fun conversation - super varied, but so much value of course!

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

What if boxed and canned wine could be premium?

Well that's exactly what LAYLO do - and boy do they do it well!

Today's guest is the wonderful Daisy Larkan, BDM at Laylo and the co-owner of First Draft Bar & Kitchen with her husband.

We dive into the stigma around boxed and canned wine, and why it's whats on the inside that counts!

From sustainability & freshness of boxed wine, to being a book editor to making the decision to open a venue with her husband - we dug into SO many fascinating topics that I loved!

As always, thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from?

Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat

Ready for a bonus episode?

Here is the live recording of a panel that took place at the first ever YF Ops Fest event held at Candy Kittens HQ last month.

I had the pleasure of chairing a stellar line to dive into the biggest supply chain problems and how to overcome them with:

Georgia Riches - Liquid Death

Daniel Hayward - Candy Kittens

Ann Holt - GRUBBY

This was SUCH a brilliant conversation - huge thanks to Phil Peters for asking me to get involved and to the AV team who expertly captured the audio for this.

As always, if you liked this episode let me ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from? Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Today I have the honour of speaking with two incredible women at Virgin Atlantic - Beverage Development Manager, Shiada Drysdale and Inflight Food & Beverage Development Manager Hari Ghotra.

Shiada has over 25 years working in Aviation (17 of those at Virgin) and now looks after 'anything that pours on board.' She is a huge champion for challenger brands, having helped onboard Trip, Perfect Ted, NICE Wine, Tom Savano and more.

Hari is an accomplished chef, has released multiple cookbooks and is the founder of the UK's biggest Indian digital food platform HariGhotra.co.uk. We discuss where her passion for cooking came from, her time as a Microbiologist at Birds Eye, working in 1 star Michelin Indian restaurant Tamarind collection and more.

This conversation covers:

• The importance of operational practicalities & relationships with suppliers
• Allergens on board
• Keeping the food & drink exciting & on-trend
• What it's like to work for Virgin
• When things didn't go well... (Covid and finding wine)
• Witnessing Richard Branson trying food that Hari got on board
• And SO much more

It was an absolute honour and a privilege for me to speak to Shiada and Hari.

Thanks for tuning in and let me know what you thought of this episode ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ or in the comments below!

Ps - Have you got a guest you'd love to hear from? Submit a guest request form on our website ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

(New Intro Jingle Credits to All Good Folks - Free Flowin' from Uppbeat)