The Business Distillery

EP15: BOSS IT - How to take control of your life & business w/Carl Reader

Carl Readeris a serial entrepreneur, speaker and business commentator, and the chairman of business advisory firm d&t. During his long and varied career, he has bought and sold, founded and co-founded and invested in and sought investment for businesses. He has helped countless business owners either start or grow their business through his columns, keynote talks and advice. Recognized as one of City AM's Top 100 Entrepreneurs in 2016 he is Chair of the Practitioners Panel at ACCA, a former board director of the British Franchise Association and an Ambassador for the Association of Independent Professionals and Self-Employed.

EP14: High Performance & Mind Hacking w/ Michael Jacobsen

Michael is a Serial Entrepreneur in Entertainment, Education and Property. He is considered one of the world’s leading High-Performance coaches for Entrepreneurs, Business Owners and Corporate Executives. He also acts as an Advisor and Board Member to companies, governments and academic institutions.

EP 13: Inclusive Business Support w/Joel Blake OBE

Joel is a multi-award-winning businessman and speaker. Passionate about accelerating inclusive business support, he is the Founder of award-winning fintech data analytics firm www.gfaexchange.com [http://www.gfaexchange.com/] Joel also consults with professional services firms and public sector bodies on developing inclusive business support models and ecosystems. He has advised business policy advisers at No 10 Downing Street and has also lectured at several globally recognised business schools. Outside of his own business, he is President of the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce, Board Director of two organisations, and a Fellow of the National Centre for Entrepreneurs. He was awarded an OBE for Services to Business and Enterprise in 2016.

EP12: Future Proofing You w/Jay Samit

International bestselling author Jay Samit, is a dynamic entrepreneur and intrepreneur who is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on disruption and innovation. Described by Wired magazine as “having the coolest job in the industry,” he raises hundreds of millions of dollars for startups, advises Fortune 500 firms, transforms entire industries, revamps government institutions, and for three decades continues to be at the forefront of global trends. The former Independent Vice Chairman of Deloitte Consulting, Samit helped grow pre-IPO companies such as LinkedIn, been a Nasdaq company CEO, held senior management roles at EMI, Sony and Universal Studios, pioneered breakthrough advancements in mobile, ecommerce, digital distribution, and spatial reality that are used by billions of consumers every day. Called the “guru for the entire industry” by Variety, his list of partners and associates reads like a who’s who list of innovators, including: Bill Gates, President Bill Clinton, Pope John Paul II, Steven Spielberg, Steve Jobs, Reid Hoffman, David Geffen, Sir Richard Branson, and Paul Allen. Samit’s previous book, Disrupt You! Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation (MacMillan 2015), is currently published in twelve languages. He has also written for such publications as Fortune, Harvard Business Review, and The Wall Street Journal. A sought-after conference speaker and consultant, Samit provides disruptive solutions for such corporate clients as Adobe, American Express, AT&T, Best Buy, Coca Cola, Disney, Ford, Google, GE, IBM, Intel, McDonalds, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, and Visa and dozens more.

EP11: PR, Marketing and Creating a Buzz w/ Andrew Bloch

What does it take to stand out from the crowd? How do startups and small businesses get the visibility they need in just crowded and noisy markets? These are just some of things we cover during my conversation with Andrew Bloch Andrew is the founder of Andrew Bloch & Associates, [https://andrewbloch.co.uk] a boutique consultancy specialising mainly in the communications and marketing industry. His portfolio includes non-executive director, board advisory, consultancy and project roles for a range of high growth businesses and agencies. Andrew co-founded Frank, one of the UK’s most respected PR agencies. Frank has represented some of the nation’s best-known brands and is one of the industry’s most decorated agencies, responsible for some its most famous campaigns. Last year, he stepped down from his day-to-day role as managing partner to become a non-executive director. Andrew has acted as official spokesperson and PR advisor to Lord Sugar for over 20 years and has handled the PR for all The Apprentice winners and their companies since the show started in 2005. Andrew sits on the Business Launch Group panel for The Prince’s Trust, is a founding mentor of the School of Communications Arts, a Generation Z mentor at the School of Marketing, a council member of Superbrands and a group advisor to Big Community Records. Andrew is listed in the ‘PR Week Power Book' – 'The Definitive Guide To The Most Influential People in PR’ and is ranked as the most influential PR person on Twitter. In 2021, Andrew was named as one of the Top Ten most Influential PR people in the world by Buzz Sumo. He is named in the Evening Standard Progress 1000 list of London’s Most Influential People.  Andrew Bloch & Associates has been recognised as ‘Most Adaptive Business of 2020’ by Intuit Quickbooks