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Brand to Scale is a podcast where we talk to business leaders and industry influencers about how they built their brands. Each episode dives into real stories about starting up, growing through challenges, and what success looks like behind the scenes. It's an honest look at the people and ideas driving business forward.
00:00:04:04 - 00:00:13:14
Unknown
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:00:13:15 - 00:00:35:20
Unknown
Welcome to Van to Scale, where I explore the real stories behind visionary leaders who turn ambition into action. I'm Jess, your host, and co-founder of alchemy. Today's guest has a truly unique journey from launching one of Wales's most successful independent breweries to now helping build the next generation of Welsh tech startups through the Alacrity Foundation. Hannah Williams, welcome to the show.
00:00:35:23 - 00:00:54:01
Unknown
So happy here Steph. Really excited to be here. Thank you. I really appreciate the time. You are a very busy lady. Can you give me a little bit of an overview of your journey so far, including the tiny travel startup, and you're on your work with alacrity at the moment. Oh, gosh. Yeah. Hello. I have long as you got along.
00:00:54:01 - 00:01:16:02
Unknown
Journey. Perfect. When do you want to start from? Why don't we go back to the beginning then? So that's, that startup must have come from some sort of a seed of idea at some point. But were you always a bit entrepreneurial? What were you like at school? If you're anything like me. You're probably a bit crap at school and didn't know what.
00:01:16:05 - 00:01:37:19
Unknown
I wasn't the best school. I'll be really honest, I wasn't. I, I enjoyed schools, I like to see my friends. That's why I really liked school. I was okay. Sort of middle of the road. Had to try. Couldn't coast it like some, my friends did, and they. I loved it. I love the environment. I love being around people.
00:01:37:19 - 00:02:06:14
Unknown
But when everyone's reading top of the pops magazine, I was reading Richard Branson's autobiography because I was obsessed with business and how they worked. I think I got that from my mum and dad because my dad started a business the year I was born and I'm on a five, so the house was a chaotic with my mum and dad working in the business, and he sold it when I was 18 and I think he sold in the I remember it quite well, so I think he sold it in the September and there was a best Christmas ever.
00:02:06:16 - 00:02:27:12
Unknown
And then he got really bored. And for another business the year later, which is doing really well now, and it was just sold as that. That's what we grew up in. There wasn't this work life balance where everyone had to clock off at different times. It was everything blends in, like everything just blends in and, that doesn't bother me.
00:02:27:12 - 00:02:48:11
Unknown
And it is still that just doesn't bother me now. I mean, I gave birth to my youngest daughter, Effy on the Monday, came home on the evening. He was like, I love you. Congratulations and pay me a load of invoices, on the other hand, and my mum was like, she doesn't have a deposit shop. And yet I was like, it's okay, I can check on my boob and and sort it all at the same time.
00:02:48:16 - 00:03:08:22
Unknown
And it just doesn't. That didn't faze me and it still doesn't. Even just try and balance the two. And you could ask my kids and they're probably like, oh, mama always works. But it doesn't feel like work when you love it so much. And that that saying I feel is so true. I love what I do, and if I did, it's on your what I do alacrity.
00:03:09:00 - 00:03:27:23
Unknown
I on numerous boards. I've got the shield thing with assets. So yeah, I've always been around that entrepreneurial thing I didn't even think of. I didn't even know what that was back then. I remember asking my dad when I was in school, like, you've got to write down what your parents occupation was like. The director was like, do you know what that is?
00:03:27:23 - 00:03:49:22
Unknown
But I'm writing it down anyway. So go back to school. Loved it, but not not the best I did GCSE, so I've got middle of the road like sort of what A and P and then a couple of businesses. Then I did A-levels and I took three and my maths teacher said I wasn't going to do very well at it.
00:03:49:22 - 00:04:08:03
Unknown
So to drop it after a level, I did okay. I got a b, I think it was so. So can I pick it back up? And he was like, no, but he wasn't very nice. So I thought, oh fuck you. And then I then took a year out between, A-level and school and worked for a year.
00:04:08:05 - 00:04:34:21
Unknown
And then I always you know, like, I, I'm going to get into this like maths teacher mode. So I wanted to, to kind of see. So I thought, I'll show you when really I've never seen the teacher again. It was absolutely stupid mindset that actually it paved a bit of a way. I left the year I took, I worked in a construction company and in the estimating department, and I really then a lot of business a go back in like the summer holidays and half term.
00:04:34:21 - 00:04:57:06
Unknown
So I always worked on my mum, dad's, business. Anyway, in the accounts department, that's when my mum was just back in the old days. We had to file all the invoices. Paper existed, so. Yeah. I suppose that's where it all came from. I went into work for my dad's second business. He bought after he sold the first one.
00:04:57:07 - 00:05:23:04
Unknown
Whilst I was in uni. So I was doing my accountancy degree, and I was working then part time in, an accountancy firm for a couple of days. But I was also doing a few days at Whitehead Pond in a big bowl to celebrate their 30th birthday, and I met my now ex has been. So this goes a little bit East End of style and we'll go with it.
00:05:23:06 - 00:05:44:12
Unknown
And yeah, that was I guess that's that. The rest is history. We used to homebrew that he learned from his granddad and used to home brew in our bath, and it's drove me nuts. Then he started homebrewing in my dad's garage. And that's really where the his standards tiny rebel started. And then Brad's brother started homebrewing with them and that was it.
00:05:44:14 - 00:06:08:02
Unknown
Wow. So like a proper family business start up really at that point? Yeah, it was and it was my dad's was he was the one it was really encouraging. Check on. You've got you've got something here. So they would brew beer. It wasn't anywhere else. They couldn't get this American style beer here. Everything was very bland and plain and just the usual bitter, really.
00:06:08:02 - 00:06:30:16
Unknown
Although whereas James was Scousers favorite beat, I think it still is a Browns beer. And they wanted to do something a little bit different. And that's where we started. The idea stemmed from they did a lot of research, so they follow the normal business style of how to store business. So they tested the market, sends out a load of beers with a questionnaire.
00:06:30:18 - 00:06:54:05
Unknown
People would send them back to us to loads of feedback and ask what we do back and forth. And without knowing that was you market tested. You just just see what's going on really. And at that time we just had Maggie the, our first child. So again, with on a boob and, you know, forecasts and business plans and, yeah, there's a load of learnings along the way.
00:06:54:05 - 00:07:16:00
Unknown
And it was it was a hell of a journey. And we didn't sort of manifest what we got it to that we absolutely loved the ride of it. It was just started chaos. That was just a life. We loved it. Yeah. So from from the back then a proper up family business started. What what was your, you know, were you involved from the very beginning?
00:07:16:00 - 00:07:38:08
Unknown
Was it supposed to be on the accountancy side because you were doing that degree? Did you have a vision for where it could go, or was it just sort of day by day, see what happens? I bet both. Really. So I was working, so we all worked full time. So this was a side hustle initially, and the boys worked in my dad's firm, in the estimating Topman chemical, electrical.
00:07:38:10 - 00:07:58:18
Unknown
So they were supposed to be doing that. And I'm pretty sure they've done a lot of tiny rebel stuff at the same time. I also had a full time job, and we just had at a time, I think it will. We signed the lease for Mae's Glass on Maggie's first birthday, so Gaz left his job first. And it was sort of a gradual process.
00:07:58:20 - 00:08:17:10
Unknown
I'd done all the forecast and planning, and we tried to get bank funding before because it was a South social media. We were like, that's going to be our marketing. We don't need a marketing budget. And the bank said, that's never going to work. We're not going to loaning money. No business will ever succeed without going through having a like a robust marketing funnel and up.
00:08:17:11 - 00:08:35:08
Unknown
No, no, we really think this is going to take off and we do something brilliant with it at the time. When we set up our Twitter account, we had our first hundred followers. Honestly, it was like Christmas. We were bouncing around the house. I've never been so excited, which is ridiculous. Now when you look at all the subsequent achievements.
00:08:35:08 - 00:08:54:04
Unknown
But it was those little wins at the time that felt monumental. And yeah, we just that was how it started. My dad loaned us the money, the 50 grand to start the business, and we went from there. Castles first. Brad would then brew in the evenings. Weekends do sales I did on the invoice. It was just that.
00:08:54:04 - 00:09:13:08
Unknown
And after about six months, we were able to pay dad back completely. We'd over exceeded our forecast. Brad had already left and it was just we're actually onto something. So yeah, it was so you don't think you don't stop to think you're on this hamster wheel. It's like go, go, go was next. And it was it was just fun.
00:09:13:08 - 00:09:39:19
Unknown
Us we just I was at and you were doing that all with a baby at home and the young child. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And then up. So that was on Maggie's first birthday. We signed the lease and then, when we were pregnant and the three year second baby. So I went into the business. You know, I think after about a year, maybe nine months, I kind of the remember being massive, Theo.
00:09:39:21 - 00:09:57:22
Unknown
And, like, lay the hand label in bottles and just shot very unlabeled in bottles, like ten days overdue. Amazing. So, yeah, that's, that's a hell of a of journey and doing that with yeah. In young kid and Pregnant again as well. But I suppose you do, don't you? I did the same. You just do it. You just find a way to make it all.
00:09:57:22 - 00:10:10:17
Unknown
You just do. Yeah. It just all fits in. And, I wouldn't change of it. Looked at. Yeah. What was the point where you all knew that this was really successful?
00:10:10:18 - 00:10:38:15
Unknown
So, no, I don't know if it was still there now. I think when we got the Cardiff bar was a great achievement. It was probably a year too early. Was not had the opportunity came up. So we had to jump that opportunity. And that was brilliant. I was at a chaos that like amazing chaos and genuinely you just all chip it like my dad was there screwing up shouts to the wall and, just watching everything just to get this thing open.
00:10:38:15 - 00:11:08:14
Unknown
And really, that helped and drive the revenue to build the brewery side, use it as a cash cow instance. So, yeah, the balance of the two revenue streams worked really well. You went from that full time job then, into this business full time. Did that sort of scratch your entrepreneurial itch that you had growing up? Did you know that that's that was what was happening or was it did it feel have no idea.
00:11:08:17 - 00:11:31:07
Unknown
I don't think I did. I had no idea. Not a clue. Not until recently. January since maybe, maybe when we did the Lloyds, launch. So Lloyds Bank came to us. Not actually. Maybe it was before that. So maybe when we were building the brewery, it was like, oh, actually, this is this is real. And Covid, Covid was a difficult time.
00:11:31:07 - 00:11:52:15
Unknown
So, you know, you're very responsible. I felt very particularly responsible for everyone's salaries. So when we had like 165 people on payroll, you know, asleep sometimes, like, I've got to get cash flow for all of these people. You're you are responsible to make sure all of these people, you know, get paid. And that's that was first and foremost, always a pain in the ass for me.
00:11:52:15 - 00:12:17:06
Unknown
And, something you just lose ever lose because you can't you got to keep all of that momentum going all the time to make sure you've got the revenue coming in to, to take to take the so I looked after mainly finance and CSR and then to take that pressure away from the guys to go and drive the the production, which was guys back sales, marketing, which was Brad's bag.
00:12:17:06 - 00:12:34:03
Unknown
And then we bought and then more of a senior leadership team level to as we as we saw as expand. But it was really was my dad that gave us the the confidence to just go and do it. We were going to buy a second hand van and a second hand van, and he was like, don't go and get a brand new one.
00:12:34:05 - 00:12:53:11
Unknown
You'll feel better. You'll feel more, proud of driving around in a new van, then breaking down every five minutes when you're delivering loads and stuff. And I winced at the price and I was like, oh God. But you know, it all worked out because we had low salaries that the idea was brought back into the business to gain momentum, to keep it growing.
00:12:53:11 - 00:13:14:23
Unknown
And and it just worked well at that time. Yeah. What we as a business was growing then and we were hiring, you know, 165 people is a lot of livelihoods to to be looking after. Well, one of the challenges, I suppose pivotal learning moments did you experience while that was that was growing at the rate that it was?
00:13:15:01 - 00:13:46:15
Unknown
Loads. We went from it started from spreadsheets to implementing systems, processes, procedures. And we had like really people to look after, you know, like wellbeing, that sort of stuff. Production issues will grow in a scale and move by, buildings acquiring paths. And it was just constant. We were looking at international expansion, you know, and then it was keeping relationships with suppliers, good customers and keeping this like hamster wheel going all the time.
00:13:46:17 - 00:14:13:21
Unknown
Jen, are you just don't you do sort of think about it too much. You didn't stop and think until you you look back a reflect. And it was quite a monumental journey, an exciting journey. We've learned loads and there's been there was been like any business owner, there's a load of highs in a lot of lows. And I think people, at the moment really.
00:14:13:23 - 00:14:36:02
Unknown
Make entrepreneurship like Fluffy and Instagram amazing. They're often some beautiful things and it all looks fun and happy and easy and it really isn't. There's a lot of hard graft that goes in behind that. I mean, the hours of craft hours morning, evening. And it's not just being sat at your laptop doing the thinking time. You're in the shadows.
00:14:36:02 - 00:14:51:07
Unknown
And what have I got to do today? And if you've got a family as well as how do you balance your time to give them time as well as look after you as a baby, which is your business and yeah, yeah it is. And I do mean last left me. I think I've got that more now alacrity than I've ever had.
00:14:51:09 - 00:15:13:09
Unknown
The more of a drive and a passion to create an impact for something that's really good. Do you find, because I that that work life balance, Tim, bothers me because I just feel like you can't. There is no balance you're really good at, you know, you can put your energy and focus into one thing at a time or 2 or 3 things if you're lucky.
00:15:13:09 - 00:15:34:09
Unknown
But you can't be really great unbalanced to everything all of the time. Do you think that you, were able to have some sort of work life balance during that time? Or when you look back now, were you like, I was always working continuously, and do you regret that at all? I think I think there's peaks and troughs of it.
00:15:34:11 - 00:15:55:12
Unknown
No, I don't I actually don't regret any part of it. Not at all. And I don't because I've what whatever's gone bad or difficult or wrong is a learning. So I see that as an opportunity. So I actually don't see any I would don't regret a single thing. Nothing because of me all or that whole journey, both me and anyone else to where they are at this point.
00:15:55:12 - 00:16:16:15
Unknown
And and if you keep momentum going and, and you push yourself a little bit harder every day to do those one things or sometimes the things you don't want to do, it creates more opportunities. And, and sometimes people don't see it and then suddenly they'll look back and they'll actually look what's happened in the last year. So I've done that with my team today.
00:16:16:15 - 00:16:44:04
Unknown
I just look back and gone look at all these opportunities that have come to us that, you know, we've had doors open to us. Because of the hard graft. I was. Yeah. And I don't regret any of it. And it was is there a work life balance? I like I love holidays, I love a holiday. So I do take, a monumental amount of holidays, but that's my time then with the kids where I can just switch off.
00:16:44:04 - 00:17:02:01
Unknown
I do take my laptop. I won't lie, I do like to check my emails, so I like to keep them all down. I am always contactable, but I don't see that as work. I just see that as being how everyone has access to you. I'll do like what's needed and then a lot of strategic thinking, which is you can't really do in a a room.
00:17:02:03 - 00:17:27:20
Unknown
You do that when you're outside of the office. And I do that a lot with marketing team, we go always away from the office and it really does give you that blue sky thing. Then. It is not. Yeah. And that and for me, that's the balance. So that is the balance that is being able to come in at 10:00 into the office in the morning and or do the school run in the morning, or stay late or just go to the afternoon and go for sauna.
00:17:27:20 - 00:17:44:07
Unknown
And like that is this is the balance. I'm not I know when I say my contract here, my Tim ended in like a 9 to 5 is straight back. And I was like, that's not going to work for me. That is, you've got to trust I can do everything I need to do and you can't put a time on it.
00:17:44:09 - 00:17:59:07
Unknown
So if I go to work 80 hours one week, that's not a problem for them. You know, if I've got to balance that with a 30 or 20 hour week the next week, then that's how this is going to work. And he fully had full trust in me to go. Yep. Okay. Go and do execute the strategy of what we're going to put in place.
00:17:59:07 - 00:18:29:01
Unknown
And I think that is where the balance lies. I love that I would love to revisit that sort of negotiation element a little bit a bit later, because I think that's an interesting one. I think especially working mums often feel a bit worried about, negotiating too hard on things like that. When an opportunity comes. I want to, ask around the, you know, being a mother, being a really ambitious woman in business, you had an entrepreneurial family.
00:18:29:01 - 00:18:48:10
Unknown
So I'm assuming you had quite a lot of support from that end around, like, working through pregnancy and, and with young kids. Did you have any external noise that, you know, sort of fed into some mum guilt at any point? Because I definitely did have that from external sources. We should be spending time at home. We should be doing this.
00:18:48:12 - 00:19:05:08
Unknown
And it it did. I did struggle with that. So I'm just curious if that was an experience for you or if you could block it out. Maybe you about it. Oh, okay. But I still got my mum. Yes. To all of the above. And sometimes I do feel very guilty, but I've managed to balance that out.
00:19:05:08 - 00:19:29:10
Unknown
So for example, I'm taking my daughter, my youngest, to Lapland this this weekend in Saturday to Wednesday, and it was the only weeks we left it so late. Only week. Go. And I had a board meeting on the Tuesday and I really did emanate about I can't I don't change my board meeting because I've got an incredible chair of trustees.
00:19:29:12 - 00:19:51:20
Unknown
And then one of our trustees, suddenly passed away, Alan. And he was 57. An incredible, I mean, an amazing entrepreneur. I so the two years I knew him, he was just phenomenal. I wish I wish he was around a lot longer. And, I just thought, I'll sod it. I'm going to message that board and just say I'm going to change it to the week before.
00:19:51:22 - 00:20:07:13
Unknown
It doesn't matter how much pressure put on myself to get that board pack out. That's not a problem. I can do that. And while I sat with him, it's actually yesterday and said, I really appreciate moving the board meeting up. You know, it meant a lot to me that I can take after that band. And they were like, nope.
00:20:07:16 - 00:20:35:11
Unknown
Is genuinely the work life balance you need to is nothing more important than those things. And at times we were so busy and all encompassing and you can actually do both replying to emails and it's just you find tweaks and actually I'm more effective and more productive now. I'm a mum. So where I used to work school hours back, a tiny rebel days, I could do more in those six hours and some of the team would do in ten hours.
00:20:35:13 - 00:20:57:18
Unknown
I didn't do any of the chit chat. None of the rubbish. I'm like, I was in. Next thing I knew exactly what I meant to do. It was zero procrastination. And actually that when when you get into that mode, you're just in it. So you know what? When you know when I've still got a to do list and then you just check stuff off and I feel it's a challenge, I, I weirdly love it, I love that, yeah.
00:20:57:18 - 00:21:19:06
Unknown
You learn I have to be more efficient, don't you? Yeah. Yeah. And I don't see anybody like, I actually watch employees emails more so when they're a mum because you, they just have a different type of work in. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. When you were going through that, that growth period was tiny rebel rebel and you have the young kids.
00:21:19:06 - 00:21:45:07
Unknown
What did you learn about yourself, and your skills and what you can, you can cope with during that time? Oh, I think I lit more, I let love even do more. As in, I break in the morning and give myself, like, five tasks to do before I leave the house. I'm weirdly still doing that. What's I learned about myself as really good question.
00:21:45:09 - 00:22:10:11
Unknown
You build resilience as you do things, so the more you take on, the more you can take on. And I think everything is sent to, sent to you that is sent trying to build up your tolerance. So and that's what I try and teach the children and asking you to make your bed in the morning, keep you bedroom's tidy, asking you to do a little bit more every day because after the year then when you've done all those little bits is compounded to a significant amount.
00:22:10:11 - 00:22:26:17
Unknown
If I asked, you should do nothing. You'll never learn and you'll never know how to do the hard stuff. Yeah. So you can do all the easy stuff and they're super, super easy. All the hard stuff is just a lot easier than what it would have been. But if you can't even do this, if you can't look at doing the hard stuff, yeah, you can't even worry about that one.
00:22:26:17 - 00:22:49:14
Unknown
And every day. Yeah. And it you just get to a mode as, as you maybe suddenly fall to, I don't know, just I don't really give a shit about what other people think and what they do. And I really gave a shed a few years ago and now I'm that's completely gone. I, I know what I'm about and, you know, you go back to that negotiation bit.
00:22:49:16 - 00:23:17:22
Unknown
That was my husband and go and actually what do you want, what do you want from this. Not like bend yourself to, to appease people. And I seem to I am I interview with my Rolling Stones t shirt on on my converse am I now I'd like. I am the polar opposite to my shame and I think, Middle-Aged White Man with we will always wear a suit, always wears a tie I, I love, I literally love him and my favorite people on the planet.
00:23:18:00 - 00:23:40:03
Unknown
But we can be polar opposite people. But, it was him. Just go. And actually, you are completely different to the person that we thought would go and run this foundation and just go off and do. And you just can shape and you can if you build trust in yourself and you can build, the other people will start to trust you.
00:23:40:05 - 00:24:03:12
Unknown
I love that. I, I think we do sometimes wait until we're ready rolled and then do the thing that will make us ready. I think we. Yeah, we sometimes wait, wait too long. And and trusting yourself is a really good, really good message there. What? What was that? Transition like from, time travel then into alacrity?
00:24:03:12 - 00:24:30:02
Unknown
How did that happen? What was the the change that happened in your mind or in your life that that led to that? It was just time to go. It was just time to expand on something different. And I done my role for a long time. I'd taken it to a level where I think I'd taken it to a level where I was done with that, I needed a change.
00:24:30:04 - 00:24:50:20
Unknown
The opportunity came with Simon, who's my now chairman, asked me to be a trustee. Alacrity. And I went and met. Well, who was the chief, exactly? And he said he was leaving. I was like, I might go for the role. And he's like, no, they want an academic. And they've earmarked this guy. And I was like, we might root, you know, like a fit on it.
00:24:50:20 - 00:25:11:02
Unknown
So that's fine. I love a challenge. So you've given me a challenge. How would you watch me? RAF went the, interview, and, I walked in and I said to my trainers, my Asos t shirts, and because that was it, that was me. And if they wanted me, that they had me from the beginning. They didn't have to go.
00:25:11:02 - 00:25:28:19
Unknown
I'm going to wear a suit now. I'm going to try and we're trainers, boots on the line. I was like, this is what I'm about. So you either like it or you don't. And if you don't, that's not a problem at all. I never went into an interview wanting the role. It was if this sits, this is be great.
00:25:28:19 - 00:26:02:01
Unknown
If it doesn't fit like I interview them as much as they interviewed me. Really. And it was Alan Arkin then. And who said, if you want change stuff this wild card, chuck her in. And, it was very difficult leaving. It was it was like you even leaving a baby. So it had huge, a huge amount of pressure on me, which I didn't even forsee, like physical and made me, I don't say ill because I'm never really ill, but it it really affected me more so than I could ever thought.
00:26:02:01 - 00:26:22:00
Unknown
And that's where I really saw. Like, your brain is so attached to everything in your body, so even, like, immensely. I'm going. Yeah, absolutely. Fine. Crack on. Like onto the next thing. Your body's going, whoa, hang on. This is a big old change. Like, slow down. And I'm reading mind over matter weight like, really quite headstrong and stuff like that.
00:26:22:02 - 00:26:39:12
Unknown
I'll just focus in on my head, just go and do it. You know, I never like giving birth. Like the. If I do it all day, every day. Brilliant. And, you know, I'd get up in the morning and I was like, you're absolutely nuts when I go and run a marathon on my end. And then you train it, but you, you know, it's it's genuinely mind over matter.
00:26:39:14 - 00:27:08:05
Unknown
I always thought I could, I could, I could nail that. But in that instance, even I couldn't quite get my body to go, oh you're fine. Yeah. And then I suppose I just threw myself into alacrity, which was completely different. Completely different. And it took I want to say, a couple of months. So blend your way and work out like, what is this new thing?
00:27:08:05 - 00:27:26:23
Unknown
I've been a tiny rebel for 12 years. It's all I've ever known. And also felt like I was even a baby. You yourself shareholder. You're not. You haven't got any influence over decision making and stuff. So you trust in the team to go, yeah, look after my baby and go and go and make it amazing. But what?
00:27:26:23 - 00:27:45:11
Unknown
Jess, what I haven't learned in the last few years since being here is unreal. I it was in hindsight, even though it was really dark, leaving it was the best decision I've ever made. I'm so happy I'm here and I'm with. And I learned so much. And the amazing people that been part of my life since is just.
00:27:45:15 - 00:28:08:06
Unknown
I honestly pinch myself how lucky I am. I loved, how you described that. And what I'm hearing really is that you felt really, really uncomfortable and you leaned into it anyway. And is that something that when you feel a little bit uncomfortable, you feel a little bit panicky? You're like, oh, oh, there's a challenge of that. I'm going to go.
00:28:08:08 - 00:28:28:19
Unknown
Why is my team all the time, actually. And when the when girls in particular, you know, don't feel uncomfortable because that's what builds you resilience. That's what that's how you grow. That's how you gain experience. So I checked on a plane to Canada, to our Canadian office on a roll not so long ago. And she was so nervous.
00:28:28:19 - 00:28:53:09
Unknown
She was so nervous that she was like, I just went and did it. And she then she realized like how amazing she was and what she could do and what she could. She tested resolve. Yeah, yeah. That that's such a powerful message in there. I think sometimes you're well, you're either a type person. I think that leans away from that or really leans into it and knows that they're going to learn a shit ton, by stretching themselves, making themselves a little bit uncomfortable.
00:28:53:15 - 00:29:24:07
Unknown
So what what was different about it, in terms of the leadership role, the people and what you actually needed to be in that role compared to where you were before. So where it was before, it was so, assaulting East similarly shit team that there was, undue finance, but just doing sales marketing. Mo was on commercial and guys was doing production.
00:29:24:09 - 00:29:59:20
Unknown
She had like the four pillars of the business. When I came here as the chief executive than it is a different stakeholder management. So I had I'll have the board to report to the chairman trustees to ensure that I put together a strategy that they're all aligned with the core values of what alacrity is and wants to go forward, as well as, in keeping the team motivated, engaged, you know, doing the right things, what they wanted to be doing, promoting the brand of alacrity because before that hadn't really moved out the four walls that we were in.
00:29:59:22 - 00:30:28:00
Unknown
And it was just a different premise back then to what it is now. I wanted to build it around brands because I could see the opportunity for that. I can see that with anything. Anything can be a brand that does need to be B2C. You can do that in the same realm of what we do. So we try and do that through events, engaging with different stakeholders in that way and social media, you know, it isn't all fun and easy.
00:30:28:01 - 00:30:45:23
Unknown
We want to make entrepreneurship fun because you got the flexibility. But also if you've got that flexibility, you've got hard work on the other side. You've got no one telling you to. You've got to be in line to fly. You've got to know, you've got to go and do it till tech. It doesn't stop and is is just a different premise.
00:30:45:23 - 00:31:07:01
Unknown
And we want to showcase that. Entrepreneurship can be fun is bloody hard. Work is huge risk taking. But if you grab it and run with it, you've got the support around you and those support mechanisms. Golden like my network is. I've just got such a good network of people that I can call on a time that they're amazing.
00:31:07:02 - 00:31:26:11
Unknown
But that happened way back in Tiny Rebel. You know, my mum told me when I was that I hate ringing people on the phone. I hated it when I was like, don't worry about it. They can't even see you, so who cares? And that would ring true with me. So I'm on the emailing. Alan Barrett, who I was grenades at the time this before he sold it an email.
00:31:26:11 - 00:31:46:18
Unknown
And Alan, go and just have a call with you. And he messaged me like, weirdly, just had my sister cancel, so. Yeah. So, for now, when I was, Yes, yes, I do. And we sit on for four hours just chatting about how we built grenade trials and tribulations, highs, lows and everything. I thought, bloody hell, this is amazing.
00:31:46:20 - 00:32:09:11
Unknown
And weirdly, we still stay in touch now, and I, we have calls all the time. Just. I don't bounce around these ideas around or brain dumping or just having a rant. Often you need to not and want to. Yeah all the exactly that. So it's never easy. And I did the same thing. There was still Dole who was the CFO of Gymshark, and it was just reaching out to people.
00:32:09:12 - 00:32:28:19
Unknown
What's the worst that can happen? They're going to say no, but you the least tried and then you go on to the next person. So then they sort of came unofficial mentors. I don't even know if they knew what impact they had on my time. That was at Tiny Rebel and then since then subsequently are just in the same thing and just reached out to people.
00:32:28:19 - 00:32:57:13
Unknown
I've got. And then as you do that naturally and that work grows and you don't even see it happening or feel it, it just does. So, in March I went to India and I took it across India with 56 female entrepreneurs from Chennai to Goa, which was absolutely insane, crazy. But amazing like you. Just in those situations you learn so much about yourself.
00:32:57:15 - 00:33:27:19
Unknown
I get, you know, it's an amazing network for me. So yeah, yeah, it's not like I'm going off in all different tangents. No, no. You good? How? Because this is a really interesting point. The network, the network conversation, because I think that especially small business owners, new founders don't realize the power of that network if they build it and, you know, really, it just means making friends and having conversations like that.
00:33:27:20 - 00:33:50:15
Unknown
Yeah. But I think network just implies something. I don't know, really. Corporate and stuff for some reason, but it is just reaching out, making connections with the people and learning from each other, and I agree, is so important to do that, not only because you, gain different perspectives from how people have built their businesses or what they've done with their lives and the decisions they've made.
00:33:50:17 - 00:34:28:09
Unknown
But you've got resources. Then if you build genuine connections, you've got, like you said, people that you can reach out to to ask advice from or give advice to, or I've got an idea over here, can you help with that? It's so valuable. For, maybe younger business owners or people who are just starting out, how would what advice would you give on how to start building that network, especially for the people who are just not going to go, I'm just going to wing Gymshark or grenade, like, you know, see if they want to call like, well, one of the small first apps someone could make as to start building that network.
00:34:28:11 - 00:34:51:17
Unknown
To be obvious, Jess, I hate like going to those networking events. And I was like, oh, you're so good on it. I also, I, I'm really bad at making small talk. So I go, I don't even know how to broach either. I'm, I'm still really useless with it. And I see people who will walk up to someone and just have having the conversation that you do that, I can't, I just don't get it.
00:34:51:17 - 00:35:09:09
Unknown
It just doesn't click with me. I like people, introduce me someone and then it sort of builds from there, or some sort of accidental half. Now I went to, events in London, a sat next to the lady, this lady who started talking to me, and she's just sat in at the brand and I was like, oh, that's cool as hell.
00:35:09:11 - 00:35:32:07
Unknown
And now we've stayed in touch and it's just it's just little serendipitous things like that, I think sometimes happen. Yeah. So young, so young startups. It is really difficult. I didn't find much out there for that. I didn't find many opportunities to meet up. So, we set up a group called she Who. So she who?
00:35:32:08 - 00:35:52:12
Unknown
We've done it with a few partners, like collaborative working. And she who is about it actually is called She Who Got It Done. Like, we can't call that an hour mark since was just called. Why? Why not? I'm sure it's not like, oh, could you imagine the back lounge? Oh, God. There's too many, people that wouldn't like that.
00:35:52:14 - 00:36:15:12
Unknown
Anyway, so do you get shit then? Oh, no. She. Who? She who, is about just women who can help younger females in the sector. Prestigious about women. So it's about like, how do we showcase people in C-suite positions? Because when I was younger, I had no one to look up to. And it's like no female that I could find in the C-suite session.
00:36:15:12 - 00:36:36:03
Unknown
Everyone was male. Everyone. Every board meeting I went into was just a full of men. So how do we showcase? And it was more so. So how do I showcase my daughters to go? Actually, you can go and do this. Yeah. You can't like my. And my middle daughter wants to have ten kids and be a solicitor. And I'm like, you go, babe, go.
00:36:36:03 - 00:37:14:04
Unknown
Right. Yeah. I bet you'll stop up to three kids, but yeah. No. But check out their anatomy and I'll do this. I was like, oh, I'm I no, you can't do. Okay. We'll see. So it's about mentoring and giving back. So the people who've already scaled and maybe sold their business, just having a minute to go, actually, like, I'll showcase you and I'll give you an hour of my time to give back and explain how I helped and is encouraging the younger generation, even if they're even if they don't want to start their own business, but they want to move from a supervisor position, say, to a managerial position or C-suite position, what
00:37:14:04 - 00:37:36:09
Unknown
does that journey look like? How do they do that? They're not going to do that all the time unless they given the opportunity and skills to do that. So it really started with International Women's Day, and it was getting all of these groups together to say, well, don't do our own thing event. Let's just do one event, let's get everyone there and really make something from this.
00:37:36:09 - 00:38:01:03
Unknown
And the branding sort of took it further. And I want to also thank the the guys that enable females because there's a lot of guys aren't I say women as well. There's some women absolute bitches, but it's not you know, there's the dome house and they are they stop people on that laser. I want to that she who is about encouraging and thanking all those people that do give back and help.
00:38:01:03 - 00:38:20:10
Unknown
So the guys that enable the guys that want to see women succeed, the guys that do turn the nose up, a female says they're pregnant and they're going to go off on maternity leave. You know, and they welcome the most. Come back and go, actually, yeah, you are. You can do this, but you can. Don't worry if she's got to go pick up the kid from school.
00:38:20:11 - 00:38:42:19
Unknown
We know you'll look on later or you'll love on another time. Or you know you've done more than what you need to to do. Yeah it is. It's all around that and showing the younger generations that there is huge opportunity. Whether you're based in Bryn Mawr or Cardiff or like anywhere we can, we can we can build something around this.
00:38:42:19 - 00:39:05:03
Unknown
I think this has got legs to do something amazing. I love that, and I think you're right, there are opportunities everywhere and there are more than you think. But you do have to go out and search them. And when they do rear their head, you've kind of got to chase it then and hunt it down, or you think it is one rather than just sort of like, you know, wait around and wait for a monkey male to come through the door.
00:39:05:05 - 00:39:28:02
Unknown
I mean, same as you. I, I've had loads of experiences where I've perhaps not had the best experience with women in leadership in terms of how they. Yeah, it's, it's a tricky one. And I've had lots of really wonderful men in leadership positions that really supported and helped, you know, excited for my career and being great mentors.
00:39:28:07 - 00:39:55:06
Unknown
How do you feel about women only networking events of interest? Ooh. And partial. I hung up, really got a view about it because we did our Internationals Day event, loads of females came a few men. And then we realized in hindsight, we should have changed the word. And so it does incorporate or encouragement come, from the market and that's fine.
00:39:55:06 - 00:40:20:05
Unknown
Some men do. And then you've also got it's also a consensus. Some are good. I again like it doesn't really bother me. Yeah. It's just women who do those networking events. Unusually, the women with all the guys on the golf course, for example, is sometimes going to be a split. Again. That doesn't bother me.
00:40:20:06 - 00:40:44:08
Unknown
Yes. I mean, I don't play golf, but if there was people that I need to go meet on the golf course, I would drive the buggy and possibly act. You know, I have involved in of the way. Yeah. So the same I'm really fazes me. I'm, I'm more about is the right people in the right place, in the right room for the right reasons, you know, when they shouldn't be around the table, just take a box to go.
00:40:44:08 - 00:41:05:18
Unknown
Oh, we've got a female on our board. If it's not the right person, that can be mental. This is a bit of guides. Is a room full of God, you know. So we should encourage diversity then not be beholden to it. Yeah, absolutely. I thought you ran for, you know, your journey with Tiny Rebel. You clearly. Well, suited to the volume.
00:41:05:18 - 00:41:32:08
Unknown
And now you know what it takes to to to build and grow a business. And you've been through those challenges. Tell us a bit more about what the actually does and why you're super passionate about supporting most businesses. So I'm really, really crap that the elevator pitch laws is much better than me. So we bring in graduates and set them up and demand led tech businesses.
00:41:32:10 - 00:41:55:11
Unknown
What that means is it's real guys and big corporations like the NHS, BT, Mitel. Tell them, ask them what are their problems, what's killing them, what solutions do they need. And we will build a solution around that problem with a business, with the graduates. The reason why I'm so particularly passionate about it is because I love Newport, where we're based.
00:41:55:11 - 00:42:22:14
Unknown
I. I wasn't born here, I was born in Cardiff, but we moved here when I was about 3 or 4. My children go to school here. I've set up a business here and it's like the underdog. I see such opportunity for Newport. We're working a lot now. We've set up the Newport Newport Economic Forum, which is like a group of about 12 businesses in Newport to enable work with the council.
00:42:22:14 - 00:42:41:10
Unknown
So how do we how do we get this, this, this area to flourish? We've got 70% of the businesses in Newport are independents. That's amazing. You know, we want to encourage more of that because that is what Newport was back when I know it's not worrying will be going forward because that changes. But how do we encourage more of that?
00:42:41:10 - 00:43:08:13
Unknown
We've got amazing assets in the owners Microsoft to come in here, Clay and really corporations, they're the big anchors. How do we get more spinoffs from them through the ecosystem? For the small SMEs I love I live in Asante and the UK's built on them. So how do we encourage more of that? So yeah, so that's what I actually does.
00:43:08:13 - 00:43:32:23
Unknown
We set a tech businesses with graduates. We just sat in that something will I focus called corpus. So that will look at AI solutions and AI ventures through and ask for SMEs because the big corporations have got CTOs already in that it's the SMEs that can be left behind for them. Got the resource. And quite frankly, I'm a bloody clue sometimes.
00:43:33:01 - 00:43:57:00
Unknown
I'm still like constantly learning about the changes in AI constant. It is radical. Yeah. London and every single day coming in there's actually a lot of it isn't really AI is. It's large language models are just basically tuning out what it's learning itself through. But it's as fascinating and it's amazing. I don't think I'll take all the jobs of people are talking around.
00:43:57:02 - 00:44:22:12
Unknown
I think it's going to make people more efficient. I mean, I do a load of like writing emails on ChatGPT or gender for boards, or I just took a load of notes and it'll be like, summarize. Yeah, that's so, so yeah, all of that time. Yeah. But it hasn't replaced anyone or anything. It's just made me more efficient and we can move a lot quicker, which means like a lot more events to, oh, people can do more of the quality work that you enjoy, isn't it?
00:44:22:12 - 00:44:49:15
Unknown
Well, you know that meetings and note takers and, you know, agendas and all that rubbish. Yeah, I'm with you on that. It's, became so much time I couldn't imagine going back to to before I. But people still have a wobble about it tonight and I, I agree I it won't replace jobs but it will replace the people who don't adopt AI but the jobs that that's the way I feel about it and it is here.
00:44:49:16 - 00:45:08:03
Unknown
It's not going away. So fun way to work with it. You're going to have to. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And and just learn from it and also adapt to self a little bit because we're in a very new world of work. And I don't know what that looks like for my children particularly, but, but the, the world's quite small as well.
00:45:08:03 - 00:45:41:05
Unknown
You know, we've got, we're fortunately we're linked to a lot of there's another five black cities around the world. So they do something similar. Not the same, the same as what we do. So we've got a lot of open access to different markets. I want to start utilizing that now to encourage more international trade to grow grow their market share, what we've got with our businesses that we spin out and generate more, more GDP for Nepal.
00:45:41:07 - 00:46:05:21
Unknown
Nice. Do you find the Welsh businesses are, less willing to shout about achievements? Be a bit loud about what they're doing to, you know, encourage investment and things like that. Or is it just, is it the same? What do you think? Yeah. No, I think they are. I think they're more humble. They just they get up and do and they forget around.
00:46:05:21 - 00:46:25:18
Unknown
They forget about the noise they need to make and shadows by, well, they're actually doing some of that stuff is just incredible. You and we need to do more of that and be a bit more boastful. Because then people take notice. Now, when I say people in international markets and international investors take note of that, I think it's getting there.
00:46:25:18 - 00:46:51:13
Unknown
I do think it's changing. And when you do speak to investors, Wales is a great place to invest because the costs are lower and, you know, it takes an hour, 42 minutes from Newport to get to London. That's super easy. That's quicker than getting from Woodside, London together. So you'll be in London for a meeting in the morning and you can be back by the evening, you know, and so we don't want to London centric ourselves.
00:46:51:13 - 00:47:14:06
Unknown
How do we attract more this way. Yeah. And we look at Newport where we're at. We're an hour from the beach in the Gower Way, 20 minutes from Cardiff, 20 minutes from Bristol. Like it's a perfect location. Yeah. Such a great place to to be situated. And it's it is improving. I just like to see things go quicker.
00:47:14:08 - 00:47:42:06
Unknown
Yeah, well, it sounds like you're. You're after my own heart. Like nothing moves as fast as I would like it to. I'm like, hurry up, hurry up. And you mentioned about, graduates of graduates building businesses, which is, you know, is great. How do you identify the ones that you know are going to be entrepreneurial or have that business acumen, or is it something that you can teach, do you think or do you think you have to have some sort of personality trait to to pull it off?
00:47:42:06 - 00:48:02:12
Unknown
Oh, interesting. I, I always see well over skill. So that's, that's my saying. That's my back. If you've got the will to learn and do something, we can teach you all the skills to do that. If you, got the wealth and there's and there's no hope, I can't force things and run out of money. It's right. The.
00:48:02:13 - 00:48:27:13
Unknown
We had 150 applicants for this cohort, and we accepted 12. It's quite a rigorous application process and interview process for that very reason is not easy being an entrepreneur. And I had a couple fall out in the first month, I think it was because they were like, this is just too hard. Just two. It is is it is intense.
00:48:27:15 - 00:48:49:11
Unknown
But that's what again, build your resilience. That's what makes you the speed you up to understand how how what you need to do to build a business. It's not this isn't a lifestyle. Business will build something to scale, to sell. You know, if you want a lifestyle business there, the smaller businesses are a little bit more relaxed and you don't really need to worry about your cash flow.
00:48:49:12 - 00:49:07:08
Unknown
You minimum overheads and you know where you want to take much money from it and it can fit around you, your life. And that's there completely acceptable as well. There's those businesses that you've got to do a bit of graft on the other side as well. Yeah, yeah. So what does up? It's had rigorous process. What does that look like.
00:49:07:08 - 00:49:36:17
Unknown
Is it practical. Is it personality based like well what are you testing for all of the above. So that's sending the CV the usual route. Yeah. And the interviews also then do a presentation and a business plan based on a situation we've given them and or, or a proposition they've got to build around that. Then we used to do, a 12 week bootcamp.
00:49:36:17 - 00:49:58:23
Unknown
Now that's condensed into two weeks. So a lot of that they've got you online in advance starts with a bang at speed of what we need them to do. This team get together. There's like, personality trait questionnaires. There's a whole host of things to make sure that we get the right people for the right. For the right.
00:49:59:00 - 00:50:19:13
Unknown
Role, I guess is very similar to what you do in a business. You bring in someone into you, so you bring it into your house. So who do you, they're working alongside you to go. You can actually build a scale. This. And this is investable. Yeah. Fantastic. I, I if something was around like that when I was in school, I would have just lapped it up.
00:50:19:16 - 00:50:38:00
Unknown
I know it's cool as hell in there. It's really great for men. I was like, everyone should know about this. Yeah. Because, yeah, when I was in school, it was just like, what job are you going to go into? Like, what are you going to do? And I was a bit like you. And there I was, you know, I'm all right, but now nothing's really sitting well.
00:50:38:00 - 00:50:55:15
Unknown
And then eventually I had 11 months in a job and was like, no, screw this. I'm going to go and try and do something for myself, because I had been told what to do. And I think there's loads of people like that in schools, and they got avenues now more than they did before, which is just just wonderful, really, really incredible.
00:50:55:17 - 00:51:17:17
Unknown
I want to touch a little bit on sort of leadership and culture as well, because also you, you've, you've run a business, you've built a team and you're working with a very different team now. So what's your leadership style and how much importance do you place on on building a good culture? Oh, massive. I feel like culture is everything.
00:51:17:19 - 00:51:42:14
Unknown
And what's my leadership style? I wouldn't if possible the team would say and means has to do go do that. Yeah find out work. So I'm red and blue is my personality type. Which is quite rare. I might because I'm already making decisions before this, before the questions been asked most of the time. And I'm blue because I'm, I've got I like the detail from my accounts back.
00:51:42:14 - 00:52:04:19
Unknown
Right. That is quite rare to have both of those things. Yeah. Threes and really rare. And I like to get things I think the other thing like perfectly right, which is mostly right to move on to the next thing at I must find leadership style. I'm quite hands off. So everyone, I have a job to do and I very much trust and go, go and do so.
00:52:04:19 - 00:52:34:09
Unknown
When I started here, one of the first things I got raided was holiday days notI had to book a holiday days as long as they communicate the s and caps, as long as they did their job. Bassett they take as many as they want. Yeah. Wow. So a child in Sweden, it worked really, really well. What we found is productivity is increased and holidays is actually people taking less, which is just, and they found that in Sweden as well.
00:52:34:11 - 00:52:54:03
Unknown
And, it looks me again, I go back to my vices, I live, I don't even like cars. None of that do not. I don't care about clothes, I love chocolate, I just love it. I love see different cultures trying different food, take my kids away, experience in different things. That is my. I've spent every single penny on that.
00:52:54:03 - 00:53:19:21
Unknown
That is why I do. So that created a really relaxed culture. But everyone knew what they needed to do. So when it's when they when there's a lot going on, everyone's happy to come early, stay late, work weekends, that's not a problem. Because then on the other side, they've got the huge amount of flexibility. I fall down a lot in especially is the last, I want to say two months where I haven't.
00:53:19:23 - 00:53:44:04
Unknown
I've been out at probably every single night events and I'm really cracked that saying no. So always try to pigeonhole shoehorn things in. So the, 24 hour bike ride on Saturday for a charity to the Sunday at an hour kip. Then on Sunday night, I was at a dinner at the Celtic manager for the summit. Came home about midnight, and then I was at the summit all day Monday.
00:53:44:06 - 00:54:01:05
Unknown
Monday night the phone rings. ITV are like I need to free tomorrow night, Tuesday to come and do a panel, which was my only free night this week. I said yes, of course I run or you jump from those that you. That's to be fair, you don't know so that you just wasn't childcare. My husband's like, yeah, fine.
00:54:01:07 - 00:54:27:18
Unknown
And so yeah, I'm that I'm just. But I don't want to miss those opportunities are what we talked about earlier. Yeah. Because I can see the momentum. So all the things I don't know how this guy in to task. I'm actually how how he got my number or how he found me. The all of the things we must be doing right to get to that level as alacrity now has like people come to us, you know, we have mentors come into us.
00:54:27:20 - 00:54:49:21
Unknown
We don't. Our recruitment is all inbound. It's not as outbound as it was. So that really is a lot of lot is pressure trying to go out and find graduates. They come to us now and we can spend the time growing what we need to to do. And it's all, yeah, it all works in in a cycle. So my leadership style is quite relaxed.
00:54:49:23 - 00:55:11:02
Unknown
I don't, I don't really like tell people off, but we have sometimes and uncomfortable conversations which I'm more than happy to have. Especially with the wider stakeholder group. That doesn't bother me there because again, like, I'm also this can happen and, I need to be better at giving feedback and spending more one on one time with the team.
00:55:11:02 - 00:55:29:02
Unknown
Definitely. Oh, and I also, I'm really coming in learn. Hi. How should we kind of move that coming. Like, right. We do this this, this, this. But I need to do the more I call it the fluffy stuff, the more personable stuff. Personable stuff. Yeah, I completely advise new thoughts. Well, it's the small talk thing. And then you say, yes, I do.
00:55:29:02 - 00:55:52:20
Unknown
We need to. Or can we just get to work? Because time is precious and we all we need to do. But then sometimes you, forget the you're you're working with people and other different personality types and it can come across quite, rude, I suppose, from, from my perspective, like me doing it. Yeah. Has been if you're not, if you're not doing those more personable sort of interactions.
00:55:52:20 - 00:56:08:23
Unknown
So I took that, I often write emails as well. And I've got to go back and go, hi, how are you? Not just write what I want to do. Yeah. Like the flow that I saw. I, my issue at the moment is replying to you because you know what the email inbox is like, isn't it? And it's just like.
00:56:09:03 - 00:56:25:10
Unknown
And then my replies are like three words or like a really short sentence just to answer the thing, and it's done. And then because I want to get through them and then I go back and realize I didn't like it sounds really blunt and rude, and I didn't mean to get through the emails. I'm just trying to get through it.
00:56:25:12 - 00:56:48:17
Unknown
Yeah. So totally resonate with that. Yeah. The thing you said, which was, interesting. What was the difficulty in saying no to things and always being available and always, jumping on opportunities and like, totally resonate with that because you don't want to say no to an ITV interview because that can lead to something else. You know how that domino effect works?
00:56:48:18 - 00:57:08:20
Unknown
But is that sustainable, do you think? I mean, I think it is for your personality type hundred percent. Yeah. Do you think that that is a good way to be, or do you think there's some tweaks you probably need to make on that? From, say, good way to being, I'm quite selective now, I guess I don't say yes.
00:57:08:20 - 00:57:31:06
Unknown
Everything. So I'm selective. Is it a good way to be? It suits me. It's probably not right for everyone. Again, like I'm Harvey as well. I thrive on being busy all the time. It's. When I'm bored, I get ill. I will then totally chill them around holiday. And the focus a little bit more on me.
00:57:31:06 - 00:57:49:11
Unknown
But at the moment, now I'm like, onto the next level to the next things I can see momentum. I don't want to lose that momentum. And I'm really excited for everything we've got coming next year. So it, I guess each to their own, but it works for me. The chaos. I love the chaos. Love the chaos.
00:57:49:11 - 00:58:14:10
Unknown
Yeah. That's great. Yeah. I so you've you've helped build a business and you're supporting others. Do the same. Now what do you think founders or entrepreneurs often underestimate starting point or learn later that, you know, or I wish I'd known it was going to be this hard or whatever that might be. Yeah, I think it is hard.
00:58:14:10 - 00:58:35:13
Unknown
And you've you've got to manage your expectations accordingly to that. I've again I've grown up in it's this all I've ever known. So I don't, I don't know any other life apart from constantly working, which is what my mentor and actually the unsung hero I used it absolutely adored my dad because I was like, oh, he's like, he's the one that built the business, did everything.
00:58:35:13 - 00:58:57:03
Unknown
Actually, in hindsight, if I've got older, it was my mum who would work the full days, come home when my dad would chill there in the evenings. It was my mum that still ironing at midnight for all our clothes and do the school runs next day, picking up that from up labs. But I'd be off on Saturday, rugby on Sunday and my mum would do like all of the running round.
00:58:57:05 - 00:59:13:15
Unknown
Then cook a do a full roast dinner on a Sunday and she was really the, the, the unsung hero is my dad would always be like he wouldn't be. It wouldn't be able to do what he did in that moment from the she was like the person in the background. And I really see that in relationships as well.
00:59:13:15 - 00:59:32:20
Unknown
It's really difficult if you haven't got a spotted partner to to drive and do everything you need to do. My husband is good, like so supportive, but I can ream at the drop for hand. Go. Can you pick up all the kids and we've got a slide between us. So it is like, wow, especially when we take them all on holiday.
00:59:32:20 - 01:00:00:08
Unknown
You know, people think we're absolutely nuts, but it just works for us. It really does. And we've got that balance just right. Yeah. So yeah, I mean it's never easy that, you just you just go with it. You just make it work. I mean, that does. That does sound like chaos. Five kids. You know, chief, what you're doing is in is, is a lot for me.
01:00:00:13 - 01:00:20:00
Unknown
I feel like you would be bored if you acquire. Yeah, I, I don't watch telly much, so, but I might get. I was thinking about this, so I speak to my trustees, and one of the guy who's an executive at Kindra, which is, a big organization. He'd been there for a long time, and he's just retired.
01:00:20:00 - 01:00:38:22
Unknown
Springs coach it and he was talking about this work life balance. And, when we talked about lap plans and I thought, actually, I might get a hobby in January and try and stick to something I know how interest in. So I don't know what I'm going to do. Yeah, because I do like reading. By June reading, I was like, again, that's my holiday activities.
01:00:39:01 - 01:01:01:00
Unknown
And I love a good book. A cat, not a novel. I'm more about like management books. And my thing is never split the difference. I absolutely love it's a brilliant book. Yeah, that's a great book. And it's it's, I love those books because I have to go back and reread them. And every time I do, I'm in a different situation in life or a different scenario is happened.
01:01:01:00 - 01:01:17:22
Unknown
I always get something different out of it. So I yeah, I've got a stock you always go back to like time time again. Do I wish I'd read it and take a no pause and just, you know, like when you and you, me and you just like you just read textbooks and writes absolute important things. I wish I'd started doing that.
01:01:18:00 - 01:01:41:14
Unknown
I actually found a guy is called the Productivity Game. So he reads the book and makes it into a short, like three minute video. Ooh. And it's so, so good. So if you haven't to read this guy, the productivity game, this book game, I am so getting on that because yeah, I do feel like if I had more time to read, I would be better because those books.
01:01:41:14 - 01:02:10:14
Unknown
Yeah. You always get so much out of them. Yeah. I mean, that's really important. And I've spent a bit of time doing that. Yeah, absolutely. I think the, one of the things that I really value in, in people and I definitely look for when I'm hiring is that curiosity trait. And it sort of leads into what you were saying about, well over scale, earlier, if you are a curious person, you'll go out and find out a way to do something.
01:02:10:14 - 01:02:29:12
Unknown
We'll find out how it works or a way to do it better. So I'm looking for that trait in people because I feel I feel like that's more powerful and more valuable to me, you know, than having that specific skill at that time. And I can always tell by the, oh, what books are you reading right now or so?
01:02:29:15 - 01:02:50:23
Unknown
What book would you recommend? You know what? You can get the out people and I love I love that archway and someone on that book note then, what would you recommend, a founder or an entrepreneur read if they they've never touched a business book before. What they start with oats. Start with legacy with a bread book.
01:02:51:01 - 01:03:16:09
Unknown
So Felder recommended that to me as one of his favorite books. And that's when he, Mastiff Hewitt, set it. We are for now, which is his new the. Is that the little bit like in the fluff beyond. But then they invest in businesses once they don't have ag judgments in them. So he vacuum and about to me and is about the All Blacks and how they went from looking at really rubbish rugby team and making them to be the best in the world.
01:03:16:09 - 01:03:31:19
Unknown
And it was the little things like in the morning made all the team make their beds and they had to clean up after themselves. And Sandy was like, it's called sweep the sheds, like clean up your, shit, like sort your own stuff. Right. And it was the tiny little things like that and that spread to the people to do it for you, do it yourself.
01:03:31:19 - 01:03:54:18
Unknown
And that that increases your tolerance to go and enable you to do bigger and better things. And yeah, it is any red book shoe dog is another one of my favorites. That was about, Phil Knight wrote that if I like brilliant, brilliant book, and then never split, the difference is definitely one of my favorites. I love it, I've got a lister actually on there, my audible so I can I start listening to them.
01:03:54:18 - 01:04:17:14
Unknown
But I also listen to dive CEO. Yeah, there's some brilliant, just some absolutely brilliant episodes on there. We learn a lot that's gone more from a CEO things more of they hone in on this back fund. Yeah. So, focus. And then I also listen to and I need a laugh. My therapist goes to me, oh, I haven't tried that one.
01:04:17:14 - 01:04:37:16
Unknown
I'll talk about, it took me about 3 or 4 to get into them, and now I'm. I'm obsessed. What is it called? And my therapist, my sax, goes to me with, Thank you. Ali. And for, Vogue Williams. And I was a massive fan of of either of them. And so I start I listen to my friend recommended it and.
01:04:37:16 - 01:05:04:13
Unknown
Oh, God, I is not laughed so much at times. It is hilarious. Good laugh. Well, I will definitely, definitely be downloading that and plant. Yes, books are, definitely valuable in in the businesses that we're in 100%. What what's next for you then? Because I are you, are you doing any more side hustles on keep off?
01:05:04:15 - 01:05:27:14
Unknown
Because I feel like you're not going to sit still. Someone is going to be changing at some point. So what are your plans going forward? Loads of plans. I'm 40 next year, so I want to do. I did a lot this year. I think the India trip and the 24 hour bike ride was really as an end to that 24 hour bike ride in last minute and God, it was just hard work.
01:05:27:16 - 01:05:53:04
Unknown
Not so much like physically, just mentally at like 4:00 in the morning when you're exhausted. Yeah, that was tough. But I want to do something again like that next year. I sit on a few boards I love and watching them the businesses changes. Scale is just brilliant. And on those boards, as amazing and non exacts I really learn from sites, I absorb it, I love it, I want to be like a sponge.
01:05:53:06 - 01:06:15:17
Unknown
What's next? I haven't wrote my list for next year. Yeah, I'm I'm normally at the beginning of the year write a big like manifestation list, of what I want to do and what I want to achieve. I want to start another business with just an IP over the line for which would be 510. Again, a side hustle.
01:06:15:19 - 01:06:42:08
Unknown
What would I want to do next? I don't know, loads travel a little bit. Just enjoy the year, I think. And I don't know, come back to me what I've read my last, I think with my first time ever is ascending like to work. I love working on a Sunday night. I sit on my laptop and on the sofa and like, clear my emails because no one ever emails you back and week on the week and really sets me up for a great week.
01:06:42:12 - 01:07:12:14
Unknown
Yeah, so we go to that next Sunday, I love that. Yeah, I'm I'm 40 next year as well. And it's one of those like milestones where you kind of have to go actually I've I've achieved quite a lot go you know it's where I am I am content. Great. Yeah. Because I think it's I think my late 30s are really where I felt like most me and most comfortable thing where you said earlier around, like, I just give less of a shit about what other people think.
01:07:12:14 - 01:07:33:17
Unknown
And that's been really freeing. So much less energy lost on that crap, you know? And I feel like 40s will bring more of that. So. Yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it as well. But I'm the things you. I need to pull my soul 2026 plan together, But I have written a letter to myself.
01:07:33:17 - 01:07:57:09
Unknown
I don't know if you do this. Oh, my God, I do that all the time and give me what is true. I'll tell you an example of why this is true. I'm super. I don't know, I'm super passionate about it. Like so when I was pregnant with Theo, I so I had a one year old Maggie, and I was pregnant with clear when I was bam, seven months pregnant with that doing my final exams, my XP charted one.
01:07:57:11 - 01:08:14:18
Unknown
And so not only were we trying to scale the business, but I was a massive I'd got in the morning at 5:00, revise, get Maggie up and take her to a notary. She I wasn't with the business sevens. I was within the business and going to work. Pick her up from nursery, come home her bad, revise them in the night.
01:08:14:18 - 01:08:39:12
Unknown
And that was my cycle constantly. And then it was my last examiners and audit exam. And I wasn't the best audit that there's other people in the past were much, much better than me. Anyway, I listened to Susan Cotton on the radio on radio one and she was like, she writes to the universe. She wrote this letter to the universe, and you write exactly what you want, and you sign it off and you put it away somewhere in, like, a cupboard or something.
01:08:39:14 - 01:08:57:02
Unknown
I thought, oh, Christ, I'm going to try and do this because I've got to somehow pass my exams. If I don't pass it, the reset is why I'm supposed to be given birth. Shit, I go, I don't try and do everything that I like. Wasn't that too far? So, I wrote a letter to my to the universe.
01:08:57:02 - 01:09:20:12
Unknown
Say my like a Reeves passes exam. And as the whole group took that exam, I was like one of three that passed it. And there was no way in the world, no way in the world. I was nowhere near better than the people in my class. But in the morning I got up at five to revise before my exam at nine, and I weirdly read this one paragraph on this page.
01:09:20:14 - 01:09:45:22
Unknown
And it was actually that that was the section I thought, oh, I have a quick I don't know why. I have a quick read of that. The whole exam was on that one paragraph. The whole lot. So somehow the universe aligned and I passed that exam and it was it was like it wasn't supposed to happen. So I that is why I think it and I know it works.
01:09:45:22 - 01:10:05:02
Unknown
So I've done that numerous times since. And every single time such word is happened really. I honestly firm believer firmly that if you want something, you've got to like, put it out there to get it back to you. I've done, I've done more of a longer term one. So it's like the end of next year. What does life look like?
01:10:05:02 - 01:10:22:18
Unknown
What have I done? What's, what I've achieved and I've, I've put it. It's on my pinboard. I put it in an envelope on the dress. It's me. And I pinned it to the bin board and it says, do not open until the end of the year. So, like, my whole life is in the of what about what 2026 needs to be?
01:10:22:20 - 01:10:42:21
Unknown
But yeah, I definitely do. You are you quite spiritual then, or do you think it's you put it down and you've mentally committed to it so you work harder. Like how do you view it? I don't know, I think I think there's something different. I'm, I'm am I spiritual I think I look horoscopes I'm Taurus seen probably tailbone shine shop.
01:10:42:21 - 01:11:15:17
Unknown
People say that my first week me I think you gravitate to people as well at different times in your life. And relationships change and move and, you know, it's like a snake shedding skin. So you go on to your next phase. And if you embrace that phase and you grow out to to be what, what you desire and is who you surround yourself with is really important, you know, if they say, surround yourself with 12 smokers, you'll be the eight.
01:11:15:17 - 01:11:38:07
Unknown
And, if you surround yourself with really positive people who are driven, then it does take you to a different realm. And I think so what I did was I got, I'm part of a CEO group called ultra, so I chair that group because it is difficult being a chief executive. You can't speak to your friends because some of them don't get it right, can't speak to your colleagues.
01:11:38:07 - 01:11:56:19
Unknown
So it's like a peer group. And then our very first meeting a year ago, I bought everyone a card and an envelope, and they had to write in what they wanted to achieve for the following year. And then we're going to open them, our meeting next week, see if this actually happens. I love that. So I'm a member of the Bristol version of this.
01:11:56:19 - 01:12:12:19
Unknown
Oh, amazing. So I brought that up in the last meeting around the sort of like writing it down, opened and then, yeah, Jordan said. Oh yeah, another group's done that. So that was you guys group? Yeah, that was nothing. I yeah, I laughed and it was 3 a.m. really good. Yeah. I'll ask for a visit to that group.
01:12:12:19 - 01:12:31:12
Unknown
Definitely. I've been oh yes please do. But you're right, it is important. I think those, those peer groups are really, really important. When you can sit there, when you've got a problem that family and friends just won't get it. But you've got that space to sort of, you know, express that and, and get good advice there as well as really important.
01:12:31:12 - 01:12:53:02
Unknown
Yeah. It's like networking on a deeper level. Yeah. And you know, so you can really be open and free to, to talk around. Absolutely. All the good, the bad, the ugly, the indifferent in those safe spaces. I, I love it, I absolutely love it, and I, I love every single person or group. And Jesus that it's a 24 hour bike ride.
01:12:53:02 - 01:13:14:08
Unknown
The the Mavericks. So we've got two groups, a two bikes. We went to London last month and so you really create really deep bonds with people in, you know, similar positions to you. And it's yeah, it's got is something else. It's really valuable in there. And it goes back to that sort of network conversation we were having before.
01:13:14:08 - 01:13:36:12
Unknown
And it is they do become friends. They do become friends. And you have people, Celine on and WhatsApp late at night with a problem like you do have that that resource then. Yeah. Yeah, 100%. Oh, I could talk to you for hours. You busy so I won't. But just to bring it back to the the alchemy theme, then.
01:13:36:12 - 01:13:47:11
Unknown
So if you want a personal alchemy formula for success in your life, what would be the one ingredient that you couldn't live without? Why?
01:13:47:13 - 01:13:50:20
Unknown
Oh, one ingredient.
01:13:50:22 - 01:14:01:14
Unknown
Oh. Only one. Well, lots of people have done three, 4 or 5. There's no rules here. You crack on. Do what you want to do. And,
01:14:01:16 - 01:14:22:02
Unknown
I, I don't know, I think, you know, when you mention things, change it. Like when you read a book, things changing with time and different, I think, is that so? You'd asked me five years ago the answer would be different to what it is now. I think, each time, I always talk about resilience, but even know what resilience mean?
01:14:22:02 - 01:14:47:19
Unknown
All I know is I got you. Look at your tolerance for stuff in me. It's hundreds for bullshit, and it reduces as you get older. Is that more experience? I, you know, it's how you take constructive feedback is really important. Wine always helps. If it's tiny, it's talking to people. Oh, my. When my husband says all the time, which I actually Addington acts the.
01:14:47:19 - 01:15:07:19
Unknown
Let's listen, when my husband says, oh all the time is to is when maths. So listen more than you speak that which is totally the opposite of this conversation, that, is a when are you supposed to speak learns if. Yeah, when you do that, it really does change your. Thank you so much for listening to this episode.
01:15:07:21 - 01:15:34:11
Unknown
On scaling out for another, I am dropping a remembrance. People's names of faces. I'm so bad that I need. I'm so bad. Yes, I'm really bad. I went to a meeting the other day. This guy was like, hi as oh, nice to meet you. He's like, I've met you so many times before for I know, right. And I'd mortifying I know how does how if anyone's listening that knows how to, you know, teach that skill, please let me know because it's getting embarrassing now it really is.
01:15:34:13 - 01:15:52:00
Unknown
I've been in this situation before as well. It is. I mean, if you like the voice products, applause normally for an event will go over to the this is the name and where they're from. And like brilliance. And I need that in real life like the Devil Wears Prada thing where she wanders round and Hathaways town of who everyone is and.
01:15:52:02 - 01:16:12:20
Unknown
Oh, yeah, love that. That would be amazing. Oh, Ellie can learn. So I listen to a podcast on it. Steve bought that one, actually. And it's supposed to be a cognitive skill you can learn, but I'm still trying to work out the techniques to do it. I'm useless. And I sit there and I'll stare at sons face and go like de de de de de for his name's Dave.
01:16:12:22 - 01:16:36:09
Unknown
Ulster woke up later. We go 20 minutes and go, what's his name again there? I'm not part of that. But weirdly, when I remember who they are, I will remember the details from the conversations that I've had with them previously. It's just, oh, I didn't remember the face I didn't recognize. But once he's in, I'm like, oh God, yeah, we talked about this over dinner at that point, so I just need everyone to a nametags all of the time.
01:16:36:11 - 01:16:53:19
Unknown
Oh yeah a and three like important facts about them would be great. Yeah. Your name where you from? Where I met you last would be how these. Oh, yeah. If you could, please. Yeah. I'll be brilliant. One. That's, Brilliant. The whole I'm not so bad. I mean, I could I could do better. Definitely could do better.
01:16:53:20 - 01:17:12:06
Unknown
Well, you know, if we didn't have something to learn, life would be boring, wouldn't that? So, yeah. Maybe that should be on the money 26 list. Yeah. People's names. That is. That is going to go on my list of how I do that better. If I crack it, I'll let you know. Oh, yes. Keys do this. I mean, what I do I think on WhatsApp as well.
01:17:12:10 - 01:17:19:05
Unknown
So WhatsApp me that. Thank you so much for listening to this episode one scale. Look out for another episode dropping very, very soon.