Thriving Minds with Alberto Zandi

This week Alberto sat down with Adam Byatt, the Celebrity and Michelin starred chef, restaurateur, founder of Trinity, and one of the most respected figures in British hospitality, to unpack what it really takes to build a restaurant that lasts and succeeds for 20 years.

Adam shares how he grew up in a working class family in Essex, found food as a way into a bigger world, trained at Claridge’s (London’s most famous 5 star hotel) from the age of 15, cooked at The Square during one of London’s most exciting food eras, and eventually opened his own restaurants. But his story is not a straight line. Before Trinity became one of UK’s most respected restaurants, Adam experienced huge early success, then painful failure, financial pressure, loneliness, and the responsibility of having to rebuild with a young family depending on him.

In this conversation, Adam explains why hard work is more uncomfortable than most people realise, why failure can become one of the most important ingredients in long term success, why restaurants only last when they become part of a community, and why the best leaders eventually have to drop their ego, empower younger people, and build something bigger than themselves.

You will learn

• How Adam went from a working class childhood in Essex to becoming one of the UK’s most respected chefs.
• Why his early restaurant failure became essential to his long term success.
• What it really takes to build a restaurant that lasts & succeeds for 20 years.
• Why hard work is more uncomfortable than most people are willing to accept.
• How to build a successful business around people, community, standards, and consistency.
• Why Adam believes the journey matters more than the exit.

Follow Adam:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4tQodst5JD0nHzD5VX0OAA

https://www.instagram.com/adambyatt

https://www.tiktok.com/@chefadambyatt

https://www.facebook.com/AdamByattChef

https://trinityrestaurant.co.uk/

#mindset #thrivingminds #AlbertoZandi #AdamByatt #MichelinChef #TrinityRestaurant #Claridges #ChefLife #RestaurantBusiness #HospitalityIndustry #LondonChef #Entrepreneurship #FineDining #CulinaryJourney

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This week Alberto sat down with Professor Jane Ogden, Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Surrey and one of the leading voices on eating behaviour, food psychology, body image, dieting, and the relationship between the mind and body.

In this conversation, Professor Ogden explains why our relationship with food is never just about food. She explores how childhood, family scripts, emotional hunger, body image, dieting culture, social media, stress, and the people around us can shape the way we eat and how we feel about ourselves. She also explains why food can become a problem when it starts taking up too much space in your mind, and why trying too hard to be healthy can sometimes become unhealthy.

You will learn

• Why food can become emotionally loaded and take up too much space in your mind

• How to tell when your relationship with food may be becoming unhealthy

• Why emotional hunger and physical hunger can be difficult to separate

• How childhood, parents, reward, punishment, and family habits shape your eating behaviour

• Why dieting, cheat meals, food rules, and cutting out food groups can create guilt, shame, and obsession

• How to build a healthier, kinder, and more sustainable relationship with food with 6 tools

Follow Professor Ogden:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-ogden-3328504b/

Get Professor's Ogden Book, How to Eat Well at Every Age: https://amzn.to/4fixJSP

#podcast #entrepreneur #mindset #motivation #leadership #success #selfimprovement #personaldevelopment #business #growthmindset #productivity #highperformance #communication #lifeadvice #inspiration

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This week Alberto sat down with Richard Harpin, the founder of HomeServe, investor, and author of How To Make A Billion In Nine Steps, to unpack the practical framework behind building a business that sold for $5.6 billion.

Richard’s story challenges one of the biggest myths about entrepreneurship: that you need a completely unique idea to build something great. He explains why copying and improving can be more powerful than inventing, why founders should stay small until they prove the model, why focus matters more than endless new ideas, and why hiring your replacement can be one of the most important decisions a founder ever makes.

He also shares the nine steps he believes helped build a billion dollar business, from copying and improving existing ideas, to testing before scaling, finding the right investor, hiring better people, expanding internationally, staying focused, and developing the character needed to survive the journey.

You will learn

• The 9 steps Richard created to help founders build a billion dollar business

• Why you do not need a completely unique idea to build something great

• How copying, improving, testing, and learning can create a stronger business model

• Why founders should stay small until they have proved the model works

• Why hiring your replacement can help your business scale faster

• How focus, discipline, resilience, and self belief helped Richard build and sell HomeServe for $5.6 billion

• What a billion dollar exit actually feels like, and what success and money do not solve

Follow Sir Richard Harpin:

https://www.instagram.com/richard_harpin/

https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rharpin

https://www.facebook.com/harpinr/

https://twitter.com/richard_harpin

Buy Sir Richard's Book - How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps:

https://amzn.to/3R2cFpu

#thrivingminds #RichardHarpin #Entrepreneurship #BusinessPodcast #StartupAdvice #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #FounderMindset #Success #PersonalGrowth #Investing #ScalingUp #Motivation #HomeServe #EntrepreneurLife

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This week Alberto sat down with Dr Chloe Paidoussis Mitchell, the world renowned Chartered Counselling Psychologist, grief and trauma specialist, and best selling author of The Loss Prescription, to unpack what grief really is, what it does to the brain and body, and why so many people feel like they are grieving in the wrong way when they are not.

In this conversation, Dr Chloe explains why grief is not just emotional pain but a full mind, body, and identity experience, why sudden loss can dysregulate the nervous system, why denial can be a normal early response, and why people do not move through grief in neat stages. She also explores bereavement, relationship loss, trauma, family grief, delayed grief, and the difference between suppressing pain and actually healing through it.

You will learn

• What grief actually is, beyond the clichés people are usually told

• Why grief affects the brain, body, nervous system, and identity, not just emotions

• Why there is no single right way to grieve, and why people in the same family can grieve very differently

• What denial, numbness, anger, guilt, and delayed grief can really mean

• What helps in the first days after a loss, and what makes grief harder in the long term

• Techniques to heal healthy in the long term

• How to support someone who is grieving without trying to fix or rush them

Follow Dr. Chloe:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-chloe-paidoussis-mitchell-cpsychol-dcpsych-afbpss-69809b30/

https://www.instagram.com/dr.chloe.paidoussis.mitchell/

Buy Dr. Chloe's book:

https://amzn.to/4dlgy1j

#grief #mentalhealth #healing #selfawareness #trauma #emotionalhealth #personalgrowth #psychology #copingwithloss #healingjourney

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This week Alberto sat down with Viviane Paxinos, former Warner Bros Vice President, former AllBright CEO, and one of the most accomplished growth and transformation executives in media and digital, to unpack a career built on ambition, reinvention, resilience, and the courage to keep moving when things do not go to plan.

Viviane shares how she grew up in a Greek immigrant family in Canada, moved to London on her own, built a remarkable career across Viacom and MTV, BBC Worldwide, A+E Networks, Warner Bros Discovery, UNiDAYS, and AllBright, and then faced one of the hardest leadership chapters of her life under public scrutiny.

In this conversation, she speaks openly about ambition, burnout, public failure, identity, leadership shame, female leadership, fundraising, resilience, and what it really takes to rebuild yourself personally and professionally when a business goes through a painful transformation.

You will learn

• How to build a career across media, tech, and leadership without having everything planned from the start

• What Viviene learned from leading global businesses through growth, transformation, and public failure

• Why women often internalize business struggles more personally, and how to stop doing it

• How to adapt to new industries quickly, even when you are not the obvious expert in the room

• Why success, identity, and self worth should never be tied tightly to your title

• The habits and mindset shifts that helped Viviane recover from stress, burnout, and intense professional pressure

Follow Viviane:

https://www.instagram.com/viv_paxinos/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/viviane-paxinos-378a513/

#podcast #entrepreneurship #leadership #personalgrowth #business #mindset #resilience #womeninbusiness #careeradvice #startup #wellness #storytelling #thrivingminds

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This week Alberto sat down with Richard Mullender, the renowned former hostage negotiator and communication expert, to unpack what communication really is, why most people do it badly, and how better listening can transform negotiation, trust, persuasion, leadership, and relationships.

Richard spent decades in policing, with the final part of his career leading Scotland Yard's hostage and crisis negotiation, where the stakes were often life and death. In this conversation, he explains why negotiation is not really about talking more or sounding clever, but about understanding what the other person values, what they are feeling, what they are motivated by, and why they believe they are right.

He challenges some of the most common myths people still believe, including the idea that body language can reliably reveal truth, that asking more questions automatically makes you a better listener, and that great negotiation starts when the formal negotiation begins. According to Richard, trust starts much earlier, and the people who influence best are often the people who understand best.

You will learn

• Why most people think they are listening, but are actually just waiting to talk
• Why body language can mislead you, and what to focus on instead
• How trust is built before a negotiation even begins
• The six things Richard says you should listen for in every important conversation
• Why everyone believes they are right, and how understanding that changes everything
• How to negotiate better at work, at home, and in high pressure situations

Follow Richard & The Listening Institute:

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-mullender-1b427910/⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-listening-institute/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/listeninginstitute/⁠

⁠https://listeninginstitute.com/richard-mullender/⁠

Get Richard's books: ⁠Amazon⁠

#podcast #negotiation #listening #communication #mindset #selfimprovement #thrivingmindspodcast

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This week Alberto sat down with Oliver Cookson, the renowned founder of Myprotein, the world’s #1 supplement brand, serial entrepreneur, author, and one of the UK’s most compelling self-made business builders, to unpack how he went from humble beginnings in Manchester to building one of the most recognised names in sports nutrition.

Oliver’s story breaks almost every rule people think success requires. He did not go to university, did not raise outside funding, and did not build Myprotein with a polished business plan or a big support network. He started with a £500 overdraft, built the first products himself, packed orders around a full-time job, and slowly turned a kitchen operation into a global business.

In this conversation, Oliver explains how curiosity first led him to question what was really inside protein powder, why he believed he could build and sell a better version online, and how obsessive execution, discipline, and self-belief became the foundation of everything that followed.

He also shares the reality of scaling without investors, the importance of hiring people who cover your weaknesses, the emotional toughness required to keep going, and why entrepreneurship is often far lonelier than people realise.

You will learn

• How Oliver built Myprotein from a £500 overdraft, with no degree, no investors, and no safety net
• Why execution matters more than credentials, and how to start before you feel ready
• How to scale a consumer business through lean cash flow, referrals, and smart direct-to-consumer marketing
• What great hiring really looks like, and why your senior team should cover your weaknesses
• Why entrepreneurship is mentally hard, emotionally lonely, and still worth it if the mission is real
• What money does and does not solve, after building and selling major businesses

Follow Oliver:

IG: ⁠mrolivercookson⁠

X: ⁠olivercookson⁠

Buy Oliver's book:

⁠Bootstrap Your Life: How to Turn £500 into £350 Million⁠

#entrepreneurship #businessstory #startupjourney #founderstory #mindset #selfgrowth #successmindset #motivation #myprotein #businesstips #hustle #resilience #podcastclips #growthmindset #startupadvice #myprotein

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This week Alberto sat down with Georgie Coleridge Cole, the renowned founder and CEO of SheerLuxe, one of the UK’s most influential digital media brands, to unpack the real story behind building a business that shaped modern online publishing and recently reached a major acquisition milestone.

Georgie started SheerLuxe in 2007, after spotting a clear gap in the market, a trusted destination that could help people discover the best places to shop online at a time when ecommerce was still in its early stages.

What began as a simple but sharp idea evolved into a powerful modern media brand built on great content, trusted voices, first party audience, and commercial discipline.

In this conversation, Georgie shares the full journey, from her early ambition and fascination with working women, to writing the business plan with her husband, raising a relatively small amount of capital, building the first version of the platform, and learning how to not only survive but thrive through nearly two decades of change in digital media.

She explains why great businesses are built through constant adaptation, why curiosity is one of the most underrated entrepreneurial traits, and why content, people, and audience became the three pillars behind SheerLuxe success.

You will learn:

• How Georgie turned a simple market insight into one of the UK’s most recognised lifestyle media brands

• Why content, people, and audience became the core pillars of SheerLuxe’s growth

• How to build an audience, why trust is the most valuable asset in media and how to build it

• What great hiring and team building really looks like inside a fast moving founder led company

• What it feels like to sell a business for millions and millions

• Why commercial savvy is one of the most important life skills, whether you are an entrepreneur or not and how to craft it

Follow Georgie

https://www.instagram.com/gcoleridgecole/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgiecoleridgecole/

Follow SheerLuxe

http://www.youtube.com/@sheerluxe

https://www.instagram.com/sheerluxe/

https://www.tiktok.com/@sheerluxe

https://uk.pinterest.com/sheerluxe/

#podcast #entrepreneurship #startupstory #businessjourney #founderstory #ecommerce #contentstrategy #mindset #workethic #leadership #thrivingminds

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This week Alberto sat down with Dr Tim Spector, a world leading gut health expert, medical doctor, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, bestselling author, and co founder of #ZOE.

In this conversation, Dr Spector explains why the gut microbiome is one of the most important control systems in the human body, shaping metabolism, immunity, mood, cravings, inflammation, and even the way the brain functions.

He breaks down complex science in a way anyone can understand, and challenges some of the biggest assumptions people still have about food, calories, supplements, protein, fasting, and weight loss.

This episode is one of the clearest and most practical conversations you can watch if you want to understand what to eat, what to avoid, and how to build a healthier body and mind through better everyday decisions.

You will learn

• Why calories do not tell the full story, and why two people can eat the same food and have completely different responses

• What the gut microbiome actually is, and how it affects your brain, immune system, weight, mood, and energy

• How to identify the foods that are quietly driving inflammation, hunger, and overeating

• Why ultra processed foods are designed to make you eat more, and how to spot the worst offenders

• What a healthy day of eating should really look like, from plants and fermented foods to protein and meal timing

• The truths about keto, fasting, creatine, alcohol, supplements, and Ozempic

Follow Dr. Spector:

https://www.instagram.com/tim.spector/

https://twitter.com/timspector

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timspector/

Dr. Spector Books:

https://amzn.to/4m1KJND

Follow ZOE:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ZOE-health

https://www.instagram.com/zoe/

https://www.facebook.com/joinzoe1/

https://www.tiktok.com/@join_zoe

https://zoe.com/zoeverse

#GutHealth #Microbiome #Nutrition #HealthyEating #Wellness #TimSpector #Podcast #HealthScience #FoodMatters #ZOE #thrivingminds

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This week Alberto sat down with Thom Elliot, co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, one of the UK’s most recognisable and successful pizza brands.

Thom shares the real story behind building Pizza Pilgrims from a single van into a national business with over 800 employees, and what it actually costs to scale in hospitality. From long hours and financial pressure to the emotional toll of leadership, this conversation goes far beyond the highlight reel.

They explore the early days of the business, the realities of growth, why hospitality is often romanticised from the outside, and how pressure, responsibility, and risk change as a company scales. Thom opens up about burnout, identity, and the challenge of staying grounded while building something that demands everything.

You will learn

• What it really takes to build and scale a restaurant business

• The personal cost of entrepreneurship in hospitality

• How leadership pressure changes as a business grows

• Why success does not remove stress or uncertainty

• How to build something meaningful without losing perspective

Follow Thom & Pizza Pilgrims

https://www.instagram.com/pizzapilgrims/

https://www.youtube.com/@UC_LiCe5657Ynu5G7lIzHGjg

https://www.tiktok.com/@pizzapilgrims

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thom-elliot-9115ab2b/

#podcast #entrepreneurship #pizzapilgrims #startupstory #hospitality #founderstories #businessjourney #streetfood #smallbusiness #motivation #thrivingminds

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