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It was meant to be a side project. Six months. No real risk. Two years later, he had quit his job, spent his life savings, and there was no way back. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip, to unpack how nine generations of farming, a dad in brand design, and one disgusting pink mocktail led to him creating the category of premium non-alcoholic spirits.We talk about how the business almost never existed, why naming is a horrible process, what standing at a Selfridges shelf for three weeks teaches you about customers, and the moment Ben realised he absolutely loves numbers.If you are building something and wondering whether to go all in or keep it as a side project, this one is for you. Key Takeaways-  When a side project quietly becomes your main risk Why most founders don’t notice the point of no return The difference between planning and commitment Why finishing something changes everything 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days.👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit🎧 Don't miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts.🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3-4 at NEC Birmingham. Two days of real conversations, practical insight, and founder-led growth.👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Gurthro Steenkamp won a Rugby World Cup. He coached at the highest level in European rugby. He had every reason to stay in that world. Then his daughter asked him why she could never see him like the other children saw their dads. That broke him. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Coach G explains how he walked away from a full-time coaching role at La Rochelle at 44 and went all in on his own business, why he stopped chasing a vision and started chasing an identity, and what it actually means to be fulfilled versus just successful. We talk about the scrum of entrepreneurship, what rugby taught him that nothing else could, why authenticity is the only real growth strategy, and why vision without action just remains a dream. Key Takeaways The moment success stops feeling meaningful Why identity matters more than external achievement The cost of staying in the wrong role too long Why action creates clarity, not the other way around 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

She had no experience. No funding. And every reason to stay where she was. Instead, she chose a path where failure was almost guaranteed. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Bonita Norris shares the exact morning she chose to explore Everest, what it actually felt like in the dead zone at altitude, and why the summit was nothing like she imagined. Key Takeaways: The decision that came before any proof or support Why clarity matters more than confidence What extreme pressure does to your thinking Why the outcome rarely feels how you expect This is not an adventure story. It is a lesson in choosing difficulty on purpose. 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don't miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 If you're serious about growing your business, join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, 3-4 November 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 Subscribe now and be part of the movement.

He was hiding £24,000 of debt from everyone... until one question exposed everything. Sammie Ellard-King had been hiding £24,000 of debt from everyone around him. His friends. His girlfriend. His family. Then someone asked him how much he needed to retire. He didn’t have an answer. And worse, he realised how far behind he really was. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Sammie, founder of Up the Gains and the new app Gains, to unpack how a personal debt crisis became a financial education brand with millions of views, and why the gap in UK financial literacy is still dangerously wide.We cover the moment he decided to stop hiding and start learning, why the online Lambo lifestyle influencers are genuinely dangerous for young people, the six things you need to understand to be ahead of 95% of this country, and what financial freedom actually means when you strip away the noise This is not motivational content. It is a real conversation about money, mindset, and the decision to build something that matters Key Takeaways The question that forced him to face £24,000 of hidden debt Why most people delay learning about money until it’s too late The simple rule that stopped his impulse spending How he turned personal debt into a business and audience 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days.👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3-4 at NEC Birmingham👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

They hit December with no money left. No salary. No backup plan. Just one decision to make: quit... or remove the option to quit completely. Simon Gardiner built Carrington West from a garage during the worst recession in decades. But the real turning point wasn’t the start. It was the moment there was no way out. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Simon shares the moment he and his co-founder James sat in a pub at Christmas with no funds, no revenue, and a stark choice: fold the business or grind it out from scratch. They chose to grind. That decision built what is now a £100 million revenue business and the UK’s recognised best employer. We talk about why Simon wants it to take 10 years, why early struggle is not something to hide from, and why building a facade of success before you have earned it is one of the most dangerous things a founder can do. Key Takeaways • Why there is no substitute for the resilience built in the early years • What happened when they reframed the entire business at Christmas with no money left • Why Simon never wants to sell and what European founders understand that UK founders often miss • The danger of flooding your environment with luxury before you have earned it 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

She sold her business. And in the process, gave away something she should never have signed over. Calypso Rose built multiple businesses from scratch with just £2,000. One became the number one product in Selfridges. Another she scaled and sold. But the biggest lesson didn’t come from building. It came from the deal she wishes she could undo. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Calypso Rose, serial entrepreneur and founder of Offscript, to talk about what three businesses built without investment have taught her, why she champions lifestyle businesses over scale-up culture, and the mistake she made at the exit table that every founder needs to hear. We talk about designing a business around your life, knowing when to walk away, and why most founders stay three years too long. Key Takeaways • Why she signed over her Instagram in a deal and immediately tried to buy it back • How she built The Institute to give her freedom, cash positivity, and flexibility from day one • The moment the boxes hit the ceiling and she knew it was time to move • Why starting with a minimal viable product will always beat building before you launch 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Lain Ward was doing a medical trial for extra cash when an MRI scan found a stage three brain tumour in his head. He was 31. His prognosis was one to five years. His first reaction? Bollocks. His second? A plan. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Iain explains how a brain cancer diagnosis became the clearest direction he had ever been given, why he calls himself the luckiest unlucky man in the world, and how he turned a prognosis into a pursuit of two Guinness World Records and a mission to raise millions for cancer charities. We talk about the difference between a diagnosis and a prognosis, why cancer gave him a road he did not have before, and what it looks like to build a following of over over nine million people one video at a time, without ever knowing how much time you have left. Key Takeaways • Why finding cancer accidentally in a medical trial MRI was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him • How he went from solutions mode to world record pursuit within a week of his prognosis • Why cancer was the best thing that happened to his life • What it looks like when every single daily action is connected to one goal 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Jason thought he had already failed at 22.He was 22 years old when he found out he was going to be a father. He was living in a flat, going out every weekend, talking about the business he was going to start one day. Then everything changed. He moved 26 miles away to a town where he knew nobody, walked away from his social life, and started an electrical engineering company in a garden shed. No fanfare. No safety net. Just a decision to stop waiting. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Jason and Alex talk about what financial freedom actually means, why most entrepreneurs are chasing the wrong goal, and how Jason grew a YouTube channel to half a million subscribers with zero ad spend and generated 12 million dollars through a single funnel in under a year. Key Takeaways • Why chasing financial freedom is often the wrong goal • How one week of reading YouTube analytics changed everything • The product ecosystem thinking that generated 12 million dollars in 10 months • Why most content creators fail from day one • How to know when enough is enough 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Darren O'Reilly spent his early years on the professional rugby pitch, representing giants like Leinster and Harlequins and playing in an underage World Cup for Ireland. In that world, his nutrition was meticulously managed by club staff; every meal was tailored for recovery and performance.Then he made the transition to corporate life, and the system broke.Without a team of nutritionists, Darren found himself skipping breakfast and relying on "nutritionally disastrous" meal deals, leading to an unintentional 20kg weight loss. He realized he wasn't alone; the corporate office was a breeding ground for poor nutritional habits that affected focus and energy.In this episode of ScrewItJustDoIt, Darren explains why he teamed up with senior nutrition lecturer Dr. Brian Carson to launch Wholesup, how they spent two and a half years bootstrapping the business before seeking investment, and the massive logistical hurdles they faced navigating Brexit shipping between the UK and Ireland.We also unpack the science behind functional superfoods like organic cherries and beetroot, the decision to invest in home-compostable packaging that costs two-thirds more than plastic and why being "all in" is the only way to survive the manufacturer "plug-pulling" of the startup world.This is not just about a protein shake. It is about redefining the ritual of functional food for the modern lifestyle.Key Takeaways • How to transition the discipline of a professional athlete into the startup world • The reality of bootstrapping a physical product for over two years • Navigating the "silent pandemic" of poor nutrition in the corporate environment • Why sustainability and B Corp values must be built into the brand from day one🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up.As a Screw It, Just Do It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It, Just Do It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.ukConnect with Darren: Email: [email protected] Website: wholesup.com Socials: @wholesupTimestamps:00:00 Global Obesity Pandemic 00:40 WorldFirst Partner Ad 01:25 Business Origin Story 02:40 Professional Rugby Career 03:55 Flexitarian Market Trends 05:15 Scientific Formulation Process 06:40 International Expansion Strategy 07:35 New Product Development 08:35 Choosing Expert Co-founder 09:45 Manufacturing Resilience Journey 11:10 Future Company Vision 11:45 Official Podcast Outro----------------------------Connect with me:👉🏼 https://www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk👉🏼 Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/screw-it-just-do-it-with-alex-chisnall/id1236788872👉🏼 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6zGHXSlJZSzaYEvDAIVYmT👉🏼 Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-chisnall/👉🏼 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alexchisnall_/👉🏼 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/alex.chisnall/👉🏼 X - https://twitter.com/alexchisnall👉🏼 Threads - https://www.threads.net/@alexchisnall_👉🏼 TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@alex_chisnall?lang=en👉🏼 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@alexchisnall/

In this episode of Screw It Just Do It, I sit down with Nishant Sharma, founder of Rutland Square Spirits and the mind behind Rutland Square Gin. Nishant didn’t arrive in Scotland with investors or a master plan. He arrived with £500 in his pocket and the determination to build a life from scratch. He had a roof over his head and food on the table, but no real direction. What followed was years of hustling, questioning what success actually means, and learning that sometimes achieving the things you dream about still leaves you asking one powerful question — what’s next? In this conversation, Nishant opens up about the relentless pressure of entrepreneurship, the moment he pushed himself so hard it resulted in a heart attack, and the mindset shift that forced him to rethink everything. We talk about believing in yourself before anyone else will, why founders sometimes need to be shameless in pursuing opportunity, what investors are really betting on when they back a startup, and the deeper philosophy behind ambition, money, and purpose. This is a raw conversation about risk, resilience, and the reality of building something meaningful from almost nothing. ⸻ Key Takeaways Belief comes first. If you don’t believe in yourself, no investor or partner will either. Investors bet on people. Numbers, charts, and projections matter — but ultimately investors back the founder. Relentless hustle has a cost. Entrepreneurship demands everything, and ignoring your health can push you to dangerous limits. Success doesn’t end the journey. Even when you achieve the things you once dreamed of, the bigger question often becomes: what’s next? Nishant Sharma didn't plan to build a spirits empire. He was on a lucrative corporate path, working as a high-paid contractor for global giants like HSBC and BlackRock. He was "living the dream" with a big SUV and a comfortable salary, but he felt like a misfit without a true purpose. Then, the death of his grandmother in 2017 changed everything. During his trip home to India, he discovered his family’s "inception story": his great-grandfather had run an illegal spirit-blending "side hustle" with a Scottish officer decades earlier. That was the spark. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Nishant shares how Rutland Square Spirits was born "from the fire of a cremation," how he arrived in Scotland as a student with only £500, and how he survived failing three times before his brand took flight. We talk about the "brutal reality" of startup stress—including the heart attack that nearly killed him—the power of "shameless" tenacity, why he cold-emailed 1,000 people in a single weekend to save his business, and how he eventually landed a major celebrity investor. This is not a story about chasing a quick payout. It’s about building a legacy, refusing to have an "exit plan," and the sheer grit required to turn a family story into a global brand. Key Takeaways The "Shameless" Founder: Why you must keep "paddling" even when you're drowning. The Heart Attack Warning: The physical and mental cost of the "hustle". Story-Led Branding: Why modern consumers are choosing meaning over "Big Alcohol". Tenacity vs. Desperation: How sending 1,000 emails can change your business trajectory. The India Opportunity: Why the world's youngest population is the next frontier for craft spirits. 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Most founders focus on raising capital. Dom focused on timing, expertise and people. In this Bite Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Dominic McGregor, co founder of Social Chain and founder of Fearless Adventure. Dom started Social Chain at just 20 years old and helped scale it into one of the most influential social media agencies in the world before exiting through a $200 million IPO. But the journey was not built on hype or overnight success. Dom explains the moments that mattered. The decisions that changed the trajectory of the company. And the lessons founders miss when they focus too much on capital instead of capability. We also discuss sobriety, personal discipline and why scaling a company is ultimately about people and timing rather than ideas alone. If you are building something and wondering what it really takes to scale, this conversation offers a rare look behind the scenes of a founder who did it before turning thirty. Key Takeaways Timing matters more than ideas: Many founders obsess over originality. Dom argues timing is often the real difference between success and failure. Expertise beats capital: Raising money is not the hardest part of scaling. Building the right team with real experience is. People determine scale: The fastest growing companies are rarely built by one person. They are built by strong teams aligned behind the same mission. 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

They didn’t grow up in the drinks industry. They didn’t have investors lined up. They had £12,000, two corporate jobs, and a spicy margarita made on a balcony during lockdown. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Alice Parmiter and Wynter Karo, co-founders of Pimentae, to unpack how they turned a tequila knowledge gap into one of the UK’s fastest-growing tequila cocktail brands. From discovering real tequila culture in Mexico to spotting a gap in UK supermarkets, they bootstrapped their first 1,400 bottles, hand-delivered influencer hampers, and then put £20,000 down to run a festival bar with no safety net. That decision funded their business. Since then, they’ve raised £2 million, scaled into grocery, travel and festival spaces, navigated a product recall, and built a brand rooted in community and authenticity. This is not a “glam startup” story. It’s about blind optimism, operational mistakes, difficult fundraising conversations, and staying aligned as co-founders. Key Takeaways • Why blind optimism is often required at the start • How bootstrapping builds stronger commercial discipline • The risks of taking the wrong investor too early • Why festivals became their most powerful customer acquisition tool • How authenticity protects your brand as you scale🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Claire Warner helped build Belvedere Vodka for 15 years. She created 13 expressions. She climbed the ranks inside LVMH. She understood how premium alcohol brands scale. Then she made a call most people would avoid. She decided the world did not need another vodka. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Claire explains why she left a secure leadership position to build Æcorn Drinks, how a forgotten 16th century acorn wine recipe became the foundation of a modern aperitif, and why launching three complex products at once was a risk worth taking. We also unpack what it means to build your own identity as the sister brand to Seedlip, how Covid disrupted their first real summer, and why innovation in this space has to be flavour-led, not alcohol-led. This is not about sobriety. It is about redefining the ritual. Key Takeaways • Why experience in a category can become a reason to leave it • The strategic risk of launching multiple SKUs at once • How to build brand distinction when linked to a market pioneer • Why aperitif culture matters more than alcohol percentage 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Rory MacFadyen never planned to run an apparel brand. He was on a solid corporate trajectory in sport. Middle East sponsorship deals. Major events. A comfortable path. Then he saw the scale of waste in sportswear. At the same time, his best friend Pete discovered how to turn unlimited plastic waste into performance fabric. That was the spark. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Rory shares how Reflo was born, why they spent two and a half years developing sustainable performance fabrics before launching, and how they went from being doubted to landing partnerships with the Australian Open and the WM Phoenix Open. We talk about rejection, tall poppy syndrome in the UK, raising growth capital, bringing Harry Kane in as an investor, and why entrepreneurship is far harder than people think. This is not a fast-fashion story. It’s about long-term thinking, graft, resilience, and trying to flip an industry on its head. Key Takeaways • Why there is never a perfect time to launch • How to build credibility before you look big • Why founders must sell, not just manage • The truth about hustle culture and burnout • How to build a brand rooted in mission, not marketing 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

When Dr Leah Totton applied for The Apprentice, she was a full-time NHS doctor with no business experience and a clear career path ahead in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She didn’t expect to win. But winning meant walking away from certainty and stepping into the unknown with Lord Alan Sugar as her business partner. In this episode, I sit down with Leah to unpack what really happened after the cameras stopped rolling. The cash flow stress. The competitor who copied her business model before she even opened. The shock of realising that even after national TV exposure, nobody was queuing outside the clinic. This is the reality of building a service-based business. Leah shares the mindset shift from doctor to entrepreneur, the discipline of sector expertise, and why quality control matters more than rapid scale. We also dive into her seven-year journey to launch a skincare line that she refused to rush, despite pressure to “just put something out”. If you are thinking of starting a clinic, a product brand, or any service-led business, this conversation is a masterclass in resilience and execution. Key Takeaways Getting customers is harder than launching: Opening the doors is easy. Building trust takes years. Especially in health and aesthetics. Sector expertise protects your business: If you cannot deliver the core service yourself, scaling becomes fragile. Thick skin is not optional: Business is not personal. The sooner you understand that, the faster you grow. Quality compounds: Short-term speed can damage long-term trust. Leah chose slower growth with stronger foundations. 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk