Advertise on podcast: James Reed: all about business

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 work 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 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 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 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 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 Flamingo-media.co.uk