Welcome to the Small Business Snippets podcast! Each 20-minute episode features a household business name talking about their entrepreneurial journey, dishing out useful tidbits of advice for listeners along the way.
We’ve featured Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Spencer Matthews, Trinny Woodall and more.
Or, if you fancy getting to know more about the show, you can start with these.
Deborah Meaden: ‘The shortest pitch I’ve ever seen was 11 minutes. It was just wrong on all counts’
Deborah Meaden – businesswoman, author and Dragon – talks about her definition of success and what makes a disastrous investment pitch.
Find out more about this episode here
Spencer Matthews: ‘We needed 12 or 13 times more money than I thought’
Spencer Matthews – entrepreneur, TV personality and angel investor – discusses how his experiences with alcohol encouraged him to launch his low and no alcohol drinks business, CleanCo.
Find out more about this episode here
Trinny Woodall: ‘I was doing this fast – very weird thing. But my brain became clear’
Trinny Woodall, TV presenter, author and founder of makeup brand, Trinny London, discusses influencer marketing and augmented reality within the beauty industry.
Find out more about this episode here
Let us know what you think by commenting below or sharing your thoughts on Facebook at smallbusiness.co.uk and X @smallbusinessuk. You can also listen to the podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
All episodes of the Small Business Snippets podcast
Here are all of the episodes of the Small Business Snippets podcast. If you want to listen to them, the link to the episodes are in the headings.
Alternatively, you can jump straight to the episode you’re interested in using the menu below.
- Rugby player and founder of Baffle Haus café, George North
- Former Rugby Union player and founder of People’s Captain beer, Greg Bateman
- Scientist and The Gut Health Doctor, Megan Rossi, and commercial marketing expert, Jon Walsh – founders of Bio&Me
- Entrepreneur, author, investor and podcaster, Grace Beverley
- Entrepreneur and star of SAS: Who Dares Wins, Ollie Ollerton
- Business owner and former pro footballer, Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu
- Myleene Klass and Jamie Barber, founders of My Supper Hero
- Pub owner and winner of The Great British Bake Off, Candice Brown
- Entrepreneur and former athlete, Sally Gunnell
- Entrepreneur and The Apprentice winner, Sian Gabbidon
- Abel & Cole founder and chairman of Freddie’s Flowers, Keith Abel
- Entrepreneur and The Apprentice 2019 winner, Carina Lepore
- Dragon Tej Lalvani and entrepreneur Sam Jones
- Entrepreneur and former Dragon on Dragons’ Den Ireland, Lady Chanelle McCoy
- Businessman and The Apprentice winner, Mark Wright
- Entrepreneur and campaigner, Paul Lindley
- Managing director of Brompton Bikes, Will Butler-Adams
- Businessman and author, Gerald Ratner
- Pub owner and bartender on Channel 4’s First Dates, Merlin Griffiths
- Founder and chairman of Pimlico (formerly Pimlico Plumbers), Charlie Mullins
- Retail expert and former Dragon, Theo Paphitis
- Author and boardroom expert, John Tusa
- Businesswoman and former Dragon, Jenny Campbell
- Digital guru and investor, Sherry Coutu
- Entrepreneur and former Dragon, Rachel Elnaugh
- Entrepreneur and The Apprentice 2005 candidate, Tim Campbell
- Gousto CEO, Timo Boldt
- Entrepreneur and The Apprentice 2018 candidate, Jackie Fast
- Investor and former Dragon, Piers Linney
- Investment fund manager, Nicola Horlick
- Supermodel turned entrepreneur, Caprice
George North: ‘It’s all about the small adjustments’
George North is a professional rugby player and co-founder of Baffle Haus, based in Monmouthshire, Wales. He talks about sporting mentality and how it can have a positive effect on business success.
Greg Bateman: ‘If it’s us doing all the work, that’s not a partnership. That’s me paying for some marketing activation’
Greg Bateman, former Rugby Union player and founder of craft beer brand, People’s Captain. We’ll be discusses how to collaborate with other brands and how to have a successful trade show.
Megan Rossi and Jon Walsh: ‘Be charmingly persistent with buyers’
Dr. Megan Rossi (aka The Gut Health Doctor) and Jon Walsh, founders of Bio&Me granola and yoghurts, on how to win over buyers and create memorable social media content.
Grace Beverley: ‘The onus can’t be on women to fund other women’
Grace Beverley – entrepreneur, author, investor and podcaster – discusses productivity and taking part in sales events ethically.
Ollie Ollerton: ‘I locked myself in the house for 3 months to change who I was’
Ollie Ollerton, founder of BreakPoint and star of SAS: Who Dares Wins, talks goal setting as well as diversity and inclusion in business.
Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu: ‘We did two years of R&D before launching the brand’
Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, professional footballer and founder of The Turmeric Co, discusses the challenges of starting a raw liquid food business and taking it to international markets.
Myleene Klass and Jamie Barber: ‘We spar and feed off each other’s energy’
Myleene Klass and Jamie Barber, founders of My Supper Hero, talk about finding ethical suppliers, the challenges in setting up a subscription service and My Supper Hero tasting evenings.
Candice Brown: ‘ADHD enabled me to do Bake Off’
Candice Brown – business owner, chef, media personality and winner of The Great British Bake Off 2016 – talks about running a business with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and handling Making Tax Digital.
Sally Gunnell: ‘It’s about being the best version of yourself’
Sally Gunnell is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and former professional athlete. We discuss the move from sport into business and how older business owners can take care of their wellbeing.
Sian Gabbidon: ‘People think I’m just sat on a beach enjoying life’
Sian Gabbidon – entrepreneur, TV personality and winner of The Apprentice 2018 – discusses her favourite task on the show and social media’s depiction of entrepreneurs.
Keith Abel: ‘We went from losing money to making £4.5m a year in 18 months’
Keith Abel is the founder of Abel & Cole and chairman of Freddie’s Flowers. He talks about how he got the idea for Abel & Cole and what advice he has for entrepreneurs.
Carina Lepore: ‘I saw Lord Sugar’s car and it was a sign’
Carina Lepore is an entrepreneur and the winner of The Apprentice 2019. We discuss the law of attraction and starting a business in a field that you’re not familiar with.
Tej Lalvani: ‘Nearly everything is possible’
Dragon Tej Lalvani and entrepreneur Sam Jones discuss pitching in Dragons’ Den – from both sides.
Lady Chanelle McCoy: ‘Banks treat us like we’re illegal’
Lady Chanelle McCoy – entrepreneur and former Dragon on Dragons’ Den Ireland – she talks about her time on the show as well as the barriers to growth facing the CBD industry.
Mark Wright: ‘You say crazy stuff to be entertaining on The Apprentice’
Mark Wright talks about work-life balance and maintaining a strong online presence for your business post lockdown.
Paul Lindley: ‘I don’t think business is really about economics. It’s about psychology’
Paul Lindley is an author, campaigner and founder of Ella’s Kitchen. He talks about relearning the valuable business skills you had as a toddler and why you should consider becoming B Corporation certified.
Brompton MD, Will Butler-Adams: ‘Manufacturing has become entrepreneurial again’
Will Butler-Adams, managing director of Brompton Bikes, talks about taking over a business from its founder and the future of manufacturing.
Gerald Ratner: ‘I don’t think it’s right that there’s such a stigma attached to failure. It’s a British disease’
Gerald Ratner, author, motivational speaker and businessman, speaks about the decline of the high street and how he reinvented himself after one of the biggest setbacks of his career.
Merlin Griffiths: ‘We are creative, resilient, adaptable – this is hospitality!’
Merlin Griffiths is a pub owner, mixologist and bartender on Channel 4’s First Dates. We discuss pandemic difficulties in the hospitality industry and how you can cut your costs.
Charlie Mullins: ‘I don’t like banks – they’re crooks in suits’
Charlie Mullins, founder and chairman of Pimlico (formerly Pimlico Plumbers), talks about how to build a customer base in the early days and upcoming IR35 changes.
Theo Paphitis: ‘My school showed me the door at 16 because I was a lost cause’
Theo Paphitis is a businessman, retail expert, shopkeeper and former Dragon. We discuss retail during Covid-19 and surviving school and becoming an entrepreneur with dyslexia.
John Tusa: ‘Risk and opportunity are different sides of the same coin’
John Tusa is an author, journalist and one of the founding presenters of BBC’s Newsnight. He shares his experiences of the boardroom and how risk analysis and cumbersome objectives can overshadow your organisation’s core purpose.
Jenny Campbell: ‘Did I think I’d ever be invested in hand sanitiser? No!’
Jenny Campbell is a businesswoman, investor, speaker and former Dragon. We discuss tips for investment in the time of Covid-19, exit planning and whether your business should still be accepting cash.
Sherry Coutu: ‘I’m probably on LinkedIn for two hours a day’
Sherry Coutu, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and one of the leading names in the UK digital sector, shares her tips for investment pitches and time management as well as difficulties in the tech sector.
Rachel Elnaugh: ‘I’m moving out of that old capitalist business paradigm’
Rachel Elnaugh, businesswoman, author, speaker, mentor and one of the original Dragons, talks about her time running Red Letter Days and what it means to be an evolutionary entrepreneur.
Tim Campbell: ‘Only two of us knew what The Apprentice was!’
Tim Campbell, an entrepreneur and the first winner of The Apprentice back in 2005, shares his views on apprenticeships and the idea behind one of his more unusual business ventures.
Gousto CEO, Timo Boldt: ‘We use the two types of algorithm Netflix is using’
Timo Boldt is the founder and CEO of recipe box service, Gousto. In this episode they talk ethics, personal data and the importance of managing yourself before you manage others.
Jackie Fast: ‘I can say that I didn’t love being in The Apprentice house’
Jackie Fast is an entrepreneur, author, speaker and candidate on The Apprentice in 2018. We discuss building a business from home and how to get started with sponsorship.
Piers Linney: ‘I was one of the first to do real tech on Dragons’ Den’
Anna Jordan chats to Piers Linney, an entrepreneur, investor and former Dragon on Dragons’ Den. We discuss the most memorable pitches from the show as well as Piers’ first foray into entrepreneurship.
Nicola Horlick: ‘I’m likely to be lending a lot more money in a recession’
Anna Jordan meets Nicola Horlick, an investment fund manager and founder of business peer to peer (P2P) lending firm, Money&Co. She talks about the slowing economy and why you should never go into the restaurant business.
Caprice: ‘I knew I had to think of Plan B after modelling. Boom: lingerie’
In this episode, Anna Jordan chats to Caprice, a supermodel turned entrepreneur. She tells us more about the struggles of the model stereotype in starting her first business and protecting your brand when you enter a licence deal.
We’ve got podcast episodes from the first series looking at:
- How one business owner’s mental breakdown caused her to see trolls from her past
- How one entrepreneur hired a videographer to track their every move and build their business brand
- How funding a business led one entrepreneur to stress-related alopecia
- One entrepreneur’s first professional public speaking engagement
- Adapting to UK life and learning English before starting a business
- Securing seed funding
- Finding the perfect head of customer care
- Reaching a £1 million annual rate of return
- Boosting client numbers from 30 to 850
- Starting a brand new business from scratch
Read more
Why your small business needs its own podcast – Running a podcast can bring so many benefits to your small business. We’ll arm you with the inspiration and advice you need to get started
