James Reed: all about business

Stop chasing short-term metrics at the expense of trust, build deep institutional loyalty and scale a purpose-driven model into a multi-million-pound commercial engine.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Clara Govier, managing director of the Postcode Lottery, to explore how an organization can scale rapidly while keeping social purpose at its heart. Clara shares the candid reality of joining the business in 2010 when it was struggling to gain traction and losing tickets, and how building brand trust through real winner stories transformed it into a powerhouse raising twenty million pounds a month for charity.

The conversation dives deep into the mechanics of scaling from a twenty-person startup to a four-hundred-person operation, managing a unique dual-managing director leadership structure, and navigating strict regulatory constraints within the gambling and society lottery framework. Clara also discusses why the Postcode Lottery provides charities with unrestricted funding based on deep trust rather than rigid micro-management, why transparent leadership is essential, and how aligning commercial rigor with a clear social mission creates a resilient, high-growth enterprise.

Whether you want to scale a purpose-driven organisation, navigate complex regulatory landscapes, or build unconditional brand trust, this episode delivers essential leadership insights.

Timestamps (Audio)

02:19 How Postcode Lottery Works

05:27 Subscription and Prizes

08:06 Origins and Expansion

13:31 Stopping Ticket Churn

21:49 Unrestricted Giving

33:26 Marketing Growth Audiences

37:51 Free Prize Draw Rivals

39:21 Expansion To New Countries

40:34 Clara's Career Journey

43:55 Leadership Lessons Values

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Clara Govier on LinkedIn

Find out more about Postcode Lottery UK here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Stop treating social value as a box-ticking exercise, align community needs with your bottom line and turn operational friction into a superpower.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Sarah Stone, founder of the social value consultancy Samtaler. Together they explore how companies can integrate purpose and profitability without falling into the trap of superficial tokenism. Sarah shares the candid realities of scaling a micro-consultancy, the lessons learned from her background in Downing Street, and how helping renewable energy developers solve local community friction turned into an industry-standard blueprint for success.

The conversation dives deep into the mechanics of public sector procurement, the hidden costs of operational inflexibility, and why true social value must drive commercial performance rather than distract from it. Sarah also reflects on founding the Military Coworking Network out of personal necessity, the critical importance of cash flow management for founders, and why listening to your gut and focusing on real-world problems is the ultimate foundation for a resilient enterprise.

Whether you want to navigate regulated markets, build a purpose-led operating model, or scale an impactful business, this episode delivers essential leadership insights.

Timestamps

03:44 Name Meaning Samtaler

11:48 Sweet Spot Business Value

24:01 Mission to Improve Business

28:25 Scaling and Winning Support

31:31 Startup Help and Mentors

33:57 Advice for Impact Businesses

38:11 Future of Social Impact

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Sarah Stone on LinkedIn

Find out more about Samtaler and their services here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

For years, this Ros showed up to work as someone she wasn't, and it took her far longer than she'd like to admit to realise it was quietly costing her the thing she needed most.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London Business Alliance, the organisation representing over 500 businesses across London's West End.

Ros explains why, early in her career, she believed professionalism meant suppressing her personality entirely, dressing to fit in with an all-male board and refusing to discuss anything personal at work, and the moment she decided to deliberately drop that act. She breaks down why being more open with her team, rather than less, ended up making her more credible as a leader, not less.

The conversation also unpacks a second lesson from Ros' own career: her habit of saying yes to opportunities before she felt fully ready for them, including taking on her first CEO role in her early twenties with no real knowledge of the industry she was stepping into. She explains why she believes the businesses that succeed are the ones that get out and learn from their peers rather than trying to solve every problem alone.

Timestamps

01:41 What Is a BID

09:50 Scenes in the Square

17:53 London Safety Perception

29:53 How London Stays Ahead

36:21 Real Rates Reform Plan

45:46 Japan Resilience Lessons

57:29 Hiring For Culture Fit

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Ros Morgan on LinkedIn

Find out more about Heart of London Business Alliance and their work here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

The moment a business starts making real money is exactly when it's most at risk of losing what made it work in the first place.

In this special 100th episode of All About Business, James sits down with entrepreneur Cath Kidston MBE, who built a single shop into a globally recognised brand, watched its values slip once investors and private equity got involved, and has spent her second business, C.Atherley, making sure it never happens again.

Cath breaks down why she believes founders need to define their brand values early and write them down, long before growth, investment, or pressure to cut costs ever arrives. She explains how her first business began compromising on quality once money and new voices entered the business, and why a gut-instinct decision she couldn't justify on a spreadsheet turned out to be the right call all along.

The conversation also unpacks why building slowly and deliberately is better than scaling too early. Cath explains why she spent four to five years getting the foundations right in both of her businesses before pushing for growth, and why she believes it's nearly impossible to fix a business's culture or values once they've already slipped.

Timestamps (Audio)

01:46 C.Atherley Origins

08:55 Four Signature Scents

14:59 Building Smarter This Time

26:06 Naming Your Business

32:17 Brand Values No Compromise

38:52 Hiring Ops To Scale

43:09 Modern Marketing And Property

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Find out more about C. Atherley and their products here

Find out more about Joy of print and their products here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Every founder eventually hits a decision that determines whether their company survives them or dies with them. Almost all of them get it wrong.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford Organic Farmers, who turned three acres and a borrowed tractor into a £120 million business, and found a way to cash out on his terms without ever putting the company up for sale.

Guy breaks down why he sold shares to his own staff instead of chasing a trade sale or private equity deal, and the near-£2 million mistake Riverford made along the way. He also shares the moment he walked away from a major retail contract and why no single customer, however large, should ever be allowed to dictate your terms.

The conversation unpacks what changed once Guy made the shift to employee ownership. He also gets candid about leading as an intuitive, emotionally-driven founder, and how a genuine apology turned out to be one of the most underrated leadership tools he's used.

Timestamps

01:31 From Wheelbarrow to Veg Boxes

10:08 Leading Through Constant Change

17:56 Growth Drivers and Father’s Approval

20:15 Leadership Transformation and Coaching

25:27 Employee Ownership in Action

32:09 Why Employee Ownership

41:27 Greenwash and Trust

48:20 Supermarket Bullying Stories

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Guy Singh-Watson on LinkedIn

Find out more about Riverford Organic Farmers and their products here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

What if you could see what your Rolex was actually worth before a dealer made an offer?

In this episode, James is joined by Ross Crane to explain how that approach became a business, and what other founders can learn from it. Ross Crane co-founded Subdial to make buying and selling pre-owned luxury watches clearer and faster. Its market data helps customers understand watch prices in an industry where values can be difficult to pin down.

They discuss how to recognise when an idea has reached a dead end, how to respond when a market drops, and why selling quickly can matter more than holding out for a bigger margin.

Ross also shares a difficult decision from before Subdial: closing an earlier venture after six months and returning £220,000 of unused seed funding to investors.

Timestamps

01:40 From Consulting to Startups

07:23 Pivoting Into Watches

10:16 Data Driven Pricing Model

21:43 How Subdial Works

32:54 Watches as Investable Hobby

49:32 Consignment Pricing Tiers

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Ross Crane on LinkedIn

Find out more about Subdial and their products here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

Building and scaling a venture at the intersection of culture and technology requires deep industry insight, structural thinking, and relentless adaptability.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Rio Caraeff, Co-President of Musixmatch and former CEO of Vevo. Together they unpack a 30-year career spent shaping how music is distributed, monetized, and consumed globally. Rio shares candid stories from his early life, including how Dolly Parton taught him to read and how his father captured the legendary photo of Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire, before detailing his pioneering moves in digital downloads with Steve Jobs and launching Vevo.

The conversation delves into the core mechanics and future of the music economy. Rio explains why he views music as a "$10 business stuck in a $5 bag," breaks down the friction caused by fractured global copyrights, and demonstrates how Musixmatch uses AI tools like Sentinel and Music Lens to protect rights holders, while turning decades of lyric metadata into actionable market intelligence.

Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to move legacy industries forward, a creator navigating the rise of generative AI, or a leader seeking to master complex ecosystems, this episode provides a realistic, forward-looking guide to strategy and innovation.

Timestamps

04:36 Growing Up Around Rockstars

07:37 What Music Got Wrong

17:55 Musixmatch Explained

22:44 Administration and Getting Paid

25:24 AI as a Music Superpower

33:30 Creativity Versus AI

39:24 Lyrics as Durable Signal

48:09 Sync and Forecasting Uses

51:52 Optimism and Superpowers

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Rio Caraeff on LinkedIn

Find out more about Musixmatch and their services here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Navigating a competitive industry requires adaptability, sharp execution, and a clear focus on long-term value.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with David Powell, CEO of Andrews Property Group, to trace his rise from a 19-year-old negotiator to leading a major property services firm. David shares candid lessons on managing older teams at age 21, rebuilding after his employer collapsed post-2008 crash, and overcoming the "year-off penalty" after taking a 12-month sabbatical.

The conversation also explores broader economic and business realities. David breaks down why single-revenue models are giving way to multi-stream operations, how tax burdens directly suppress hiring and growth, and how emerging tech and AI can automate routine tasks to enhance human connection.

Whether you are looking to advance your career, navigate market downturns, or lead a purpose-driven business, this episode provides practical insights into resilience and leadership.

Timestamps

01:53 Falling Into Property

10:05 Crash and Starting Over

21:22 COVID Pivot to New Homes

28:24 New Models and Income Streams

34:40 Stamp Duty as a Market Brake

40:10 Taxes and Hiring Costs

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow David Powell on LinkedIn

Find out more about Andrews Property Group and their services here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Scaling a business demands a clear story, sales strategies, and a realistic approach to capital.

In the third episode of our Summer Shorts series, James sits down with Enterprise Nation founder and UK Small Business Commissioner Emma Jones one final time, to dissect what it truly takes to transition from a running startup to a high-growth company. Emma outlines how to build a distinct brand without a massive budget, leveraging free PR opportunities like #JournoRequest, and why standing out comes down to knowing your exact story.

The conversation dives into practical sales tactics such as turning your former employer into your very first client to using persistent, value-led updates to close major buyers. Finally, Emma demystifies the funding landscape. She breaks down the critical difference between debt and equity, explains why you should raise "opportunity funding" before you actually need it, and outlines exactly what investors expect in return.

Whether you are looking to secure angel investment or simply expand your reach, this episode provides an actionable roadmap for your next stage of growth.

This episode concludes our 3-part masterclass with Emma Jones. From spotting your initial business idea in episode one, to setting up your operational foundation in episode two, and scaling for growth in episode three, this series delivers a complete, practical toolkit for every stage of the entrepreneurial journey.

Timestamps

06:21 Standing Out and Social Mission

10:09 Getting First Customers

13:04 Sales Follow Up and CRM

19:12 When to Raise Funding

20:22 Funding Sources and Angels

24:47 Debt vs Equity Decisions

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Emma Jones on LinkedIn

Find out more about Enterprise Nation and the support they offer here

Find out more about the Small Business Commissioner here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

You can start a business for under £100, but building one that lasts requires navigating a minefield of practical, legal, and financial decisions.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Emma Jones to break down the mechanics of turning an idea into a fully operational company. Emma walks through the real-world choices every founder faces. From writing a lightweight five-page business plan to deciding whether to trade as a sole trader or a limited company.

Emma shares why cash flow, not profit, is the ultimate reality test for a startup, how to protect your brand name without spending thousands, and why bootstrapping for as long as possible gives you complete commercial clarity.

This short episode delivers a practical blueprint for managing your admin efficiently, choosing the right insurance, and ensuring your business stays cash-solvent from day one.

Timestamps (Audio)

05:13 Sole Trader vs Limited

07:50 Registering and Accountants

10:08 Outsource and Hire Smart

13:35 Protect Your IP

17:13 Bootstrapping on a Budget

19:02 Funding Options

20:45 Costs, Cash and Getting Paid

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Emma Jones on LinkedIn

Find out more about Enterprise Nation and the support they offer here

Find out more about the Small Business Commissioner here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

How do you start a business?

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Emma Jones, serial entrepreneur, founder of Enterprise Nation, and the UK’s Small Business Commissioner. This is part one of a three-part masterclass on starting a business from scratch. Emma delivers practical, step-by-step advice on how to spot market gaps, validate ideas through smart market research, and build a focused niche.

Emma shares insight on why testing a business as a side hustle gives you the space to refine your model, how to navigate early-stage co-founder decisions, and why sharing your idea early brings crucial feedback rather than stolen IP.

This short episode gives a clear, realistic blueprint for knowing if your business idea is worth pursuing, leveraging free resources to test demand, and cultivating the daily resilience needed to keep going.

Timestamps

02:48 Why Start a Business

09:03 Test and Hustle

11:03 Common Early Mistakes

16:54 Skills and Resilience

19:16 Co-Founders and Mentors

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Emma Jones on LinkedIn

Find out more about Enterprise Nation and the support they offer here

Find out more about the Small Business Commissioner here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

When do you hire, when do you raise, and when is expansion actually the right move?

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Forest co-founder Caroline Seton to pull back the curtain on how a London startup scaled to over two million rides a month. From using smart pricing to make customers do the heavy lifting in logistics, to navigating 33 separate sets of local regulations, Caroline breaks down the raw operational tactics and tough strategic trade-offs required to build, survive, and scale an asset-heavy business.

Caroline gives a clear blueprint for turning operational headaches into profit drivers as they explore protecting margins through relentless asset care, knowing exactly when to double down, or kill an idea that isn't working.

Timestamps

01:38 Why Forest Started

10:32 Expanding Across London

15:09 Maintenance at Scale

21:38 Proof It Was Working

31:33 ULEZ and Space Reallocation

38:26 Making London Cycle Capital

44:50 Founder Advice and Tailwinds

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Caroline Seton on LinkedIn

Find out more about Forest Bikes and their services HERE

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

If your industry is facing a talent shortage or failing to prepare the next generation of workers, the solution isn't to wait for traditional institutions to adapt, it's to build the training infrastructure yourself.

In this episode of All About Business, James sits down with Oscar-nominated film producer Lisa Bryer OBE, and Day One Trust CEO Charlie Kennard MBE. Together, they break down a practical masterclass in rapid business execution, industry-led talent pipelines, and building teams that deliver under high-stakes pressure.

Lisa shares how turning a 24-hour corporate bankruptcy into the birth of Cowboy Films, proved that operational agility outweighs legacy credentials. Charlie details how partnering directly with major global enterprises created a sustainable, job-ready workforce model that prioritizes work-ethic discipline, and real-world execution over academic theory.

This episode gives a clear blueprint for building talent pipelines in your own sector, turning unexpected crises into business momentum, and instilling non-negotiable professional behaviors across your workforce.

Timestamps

02:46 Lisa Builds Cowboy Films

06:17 Charlie Starts The Schools

17:47 Who The School Is For

25:14 Behaviours For Career Success

36:07 Industry Led Curriculum

38:59 Alumni Success Stories

56:26 Advice For Creatives

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Charlie Kennard MBE on LinkedIn

Find out more about London Screen Academy and their workhttps://www.lsa.ac.uk/

Find out more about Comby Films and their work

Find out more about Day One Trust and their work

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Are you exhausting resources trying to build every system from scratch? You could achieve faster, safer, scale by taking a proven playbook. And executing it better than anyone else.

In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with Jake Wilmot-Sitwell, co-founder and COO of Sandbox VR UK. Jake shares how he transitioned from venture capital to entrepreneurship, taking on £10M in capital to scale full-body, immersive VR experiences across the UK and Ireland.

Jake breaks down the core mechanics of their expansion strategy, explaining how a master franchise model eliminated the initial tech-development risk. He details their shift from capital-intensive flagship locations to lean, plug-and-play concession hubs, while sharing actionable frameworks for optimizing yield per square foot, leveraging media partnerships like Netflix, and scaling a frontline workforce.

Timestamps

01:56 Why VR and Entrepreneurship

09:57 Who Comes and Why It Works

22:40 High-End Tech Meets Hospitality

32:42 Hiring Young Teams

41:26 Fixes VAT Wages Rates

51:58 Future IP Partnerships

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Jake Wilmot-Sitwell on LinkedIn

Find out more about Sandbox VR and their experiences here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

When your business hits an existential wall, are you willing to rethink your entire financial structure to protect your vision, or will you compromise the mission just to survive?

Most founders believe scaling requires bowing to traditional venture capital and prioritizing short-term margins. COOK proved there is another way by surviving near-bankruptcy, funding its own expansion through an unexpected subsidiary, and scaling past £100 million while keeping absolute control over its mission.

In this episode of All About Business, James Perry, co-founder of COOK and co-founder of B Corp UK joins as guest, and he pulls back the curtain on the messy, high-stakes reality of building a national consumer brand from scratch without burning out or selling out.

They unpack the reality of operational risk, the hard lessons of founder resilience, and how building an inclusive hiring model through the RAW initiative turned a perceived workplace risk into one of their strongest operational assets.

James shares the gritty mechanics behind COOK’s early years: how a loss-making enterprise was kept afloat by a cash-generating bakery, why he turned away standard venture capital, and how leveraging national media attention led to finding the patient, long-term private capital that saved the business. He breaks down how the 2008 financial crash tested their model and why a relentless focus on product integrity built a moat that traditional competitors couldn't cross.

Timestamps

02:08 Cadbury Lessons

10:00 Family Bakery Origins

12:56 Founding Cook

28:48 B Corp Beginnings

37:10 Certifying and Building UK

41:05 RAW Talent Hiring Program

49:19 Systemic Capitalism Glitch

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow James Perry on LinkedIn

Find out more COOK and their products here

Find out more about B Lab UK and their work here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Most consumer goods brands ask you to buy more - SURI does the opposite. They designed a sustainable, electric toothbrush made from plant-based materials that is fully recyclable. As a result they scaled to over £50 million worth of sales in just four years.

In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with Mark Rushmore, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Sustainable Rituals, SURI. The fast-growing personal care brand that’s disrupting a defended, multi-billion-pound market by proving that daily wellness routines don't have to come at the cost of the planet.

Mark shares his journey from the corporate training ground of Procter & Gamble to navigating extreme burnout after his first agency exit. He explains the business mechanics behind SURI’s rapid scale, and why focusing on a "minimum lovable product" unlocked a viral wave of word-of-mouth growth.

James and Mark explore the strategies behind scaling a highly productive 50-person team, using AI as an operational accelerant rather than a replacement, and the practical frameworks for making tough business decisions. They examine how to establish a values-led culture, why investing in founder relationships with business psychologists is critical to preventing scale-up failure, and what the next generation of consumer brands must do to win.

This leaves us with a compelling question: when building a product for the long term, are you treating your business decisions like a temporary hat, a reversible haircut, or a permanent tattoo?

Timestamps

04:19 Burnout and Life Reset

16:36 Origin Story of SURI

25:08 Pricing Strategy and Lovable Product

31:42 Competing with Giants and Expert Team

37:51 Hiring Values Framework

46:13 Brand Expansion Vision

51:55 Decision Making Lessons

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Mark Rushmore on LinkedIn

Find out more SURI and their products here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Most charities are told to secure funding before they spend. Bloomsbury Football did the opposite — investing in fundraising before the money existed, and growing from four children to 7,000 a week as a result.

In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with Charlie Hyman, founder and CEO of Bloomsbury Football. His fast-growing social enterprise harnesses the universal power of grassroots football to tackle major societal challenges for young people, providing thousands of disadvantaged youth with vital role models, mental health support, and a true sense of belonging.

Charlie shares the 7 steps in starting, building and scaling a charity. He explains the business mechanics behind this scale: how diversifying income with brands like Mastercard and Adobe, and treating a charity like a high-growth private company unlocks true scale.

James and Charlie explore the strategy behind taking Bloomsbury national and how Charlie built a proprietary AI tool to scrape Charity Commission data for fundraising intelligence. They examine how to close high-value deals, attract top-tier corporate talent with pure purpose, and what commercial businesses can learn from high-ambition social enterprise models.

This leaves us with a compelling question: when building a company designed for impact, do your growth strategies reflect the actual size of the problem you are trying to solve?

Timestamps

03:05 Origin story volunteering

11:47 Income streams and bids

15:53 Charities vs businesses

21:23 Scaling leadership and coaches

32:12 Opportunistic Expansion Plans

38:12 AI Boosting Charity Impact

44:59 Fundraising Skills for Youth

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Charlie Hyman on LinkedIn

Find out more Bloomsbury Football here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Most people underestimated lab-grown diamonds. Conventional wisdom says that luxury is about heritage, exclusivity and the power of a brand. So why are consumers embracing them so quickly?

And what does that tell us about the future of luxury businesses and the shift in consumer values?

In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with Nathalie Morrison, founder and CEO of Astrea London. Her high-end jewellery brand focuses on ethical luxury, using the top 1% tier of lab-grown diamonds and 100% recycled gold to offer flawless purity that gives consumers more carats and less weight on their conscience.

Within just one year of launching, Astrea hit $1 million in sales, prompting Nathalie to leverage her banking network to raise £4 million at a £14 million valuation. The company has since attracted celebrity backing from Sarah Jessica Parker, who became both an investor and creative director after meeting Nathalie in New York.

Together, James and Nathalie explore the rapid shifts in consumer behaviour and the strategy required to position a disruptive brand at the highest end of a competitive market. They discuss the unique marketing channel she created by opening luxury boutiques inside world-renowned hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental, and the realities of challenging a century-old industry monopoly.

They also examine the changing values of the next generation of consumers, why diamonds are built for emotional enjoyment rather than financial investment, and the power of cold outreach—even when it leads to one of the world's most influential style icons becoming a business partner.

Timestamps

02:07 Nathalie Finance Background

06:45 How Lab Diamonds Are Made

14:43 Diamond Pricing Myths

22:27 Celebrity Investor Partner

29:10 Supply Chain And Quality

36:25 Scaling Challenges And Hiring

Links:

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Nathalie Morrison on LinkedIn

Find out more Astrea London and their products here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Financial crises can hit any business- especially in today's economy. Selling might feel like the only option. But is it?

What should founders do when things look bleak? How do you rebuild momentum, and give your business the best possible chance of surviving and thriving? When one pair of siblings were running The End nightclub, they found themselves £1.5 million in debt and facing enormous pressure to sell.

Instead, they chose a different path, and turned the business around.

In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with Zoë Paskin, co-founder and managing director of Studio Paskin. They are the independent powerhouse behind legendary London destinations like The Palomar, The Barbary, and the Michelin-starred Evelyn's Table, celebrated for maintaining flawless standards in a brutal industry.

Zoë shares the remarkable story of turning around a legendary 90s nightclub facing massive debt, stepping into leadership when no one expected her to, and the reality of selling a business at its peak.

James and Zoë explore how to scale when the broader market is struggling, how to strip down operational expenses to rescue a business, and why the best career advice may be to simply : go wherever the biggest problems are.

Links:

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow Zoë Paskin on LinkedIn

Find out more Studio Paskin and their work here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk

Scaling a business seems like the obvious goal. But what if growth without the right strategy leads to losing control?

In this episode of All About Business, James speaks with David Palmer, founder of Life of Fish, the modern London fishmonger that started as a lockdown pop-up outside a Peckham cafe, and has now grown into a multi-site retail and wholesale business built on sustainability, craft, and genuine customer service.

Together James and David explore the harder lessons of growth: why expanding too fast almost broke the business, how to know when to consolidate rather than chase new opportunities, and what it means to build something that runs on profit rather than debt.

David shares what he learned starting work at Billingsgate Market at the age of 14 with no qualifications and no plan. Climbing into bins at 2am and learning to fillet fish under pressure, allowed David to slowly piecing together a skillset he didn't realise he was building. The lesson he took from those years is simple: nothing you learn is wasted, and starting from the bottom teaches you things no shortcut ever could.

They also discuss what it really takes to build a product business in a traditional industry that nobody had modernised.

Timestamps

2:11 Leaving school at 11

12:56 The entrepreneurial pivot question

15:14 The breakthrough moment

17:26 The gap in the market

19:33 COVID lockdown launch

21:15 70 people queue

38:55 Lesson on over expansion

39:57 Turning down free rent

43:39 Hiring philosophy

Links

Follow James Reed on LinkedIn

Follow David Palmer on LinkedIn

Find out more Life of Fish and their products here

Submit your application to Reed’s Entrepreneurs Fund for a chance to a £20,000 grant HERE

All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more HERE

This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit http://flamingo-media.co.uk