Episode 12: From Trauma to triumph: Sam White's founder journey

Simon Swan: How I got Michael Vaughan to join my startup

Simon Swan is on track to create a one-man £1m+ startup, with a little help from former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan. Two-time founder Swan is the latest guest on The Naked Founder podcast and his second business, Uthful, is already profitable after less than six months. Uthful is a health supplement business and it’s a far cry from Swan’s previous enterprise, Manchester-based talent marketplace Hiring Hub. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Simon discusses: How he persuaded cricket legend Michael Vaughan to become an investor Growing a £1m business with just one member of staff Changing the face of the health supplement market How the idea for Uthful came to him on a bike ride The importance of being authentic Inspiring his children Why he wants Uthful to be different from Hiring Hub The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast. It is sponsored by Financielle, the home of money for women, and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters: 00:00 – 14-Year Overnight Success, Then Going Again at 45: Meet Simon Swan 01:06 – What He Wished He'd Known First Time Round 02:28 – Calm on Top, Furiously Paddling Underneath 03:16 – Cricket, Michael Vaughan & How Uthful Got Its First Investor 04:22 – 24 Vitamins, One Drink: The Problem He Was Solving for Himself 05:34 – Meeting Michael Vaughan 06:22 – No Website, No Product — Just a Name and a Napkin Pitch 07:05 – What Hiring Hub Actually Was (and Why He Hated Being Called a Recruiter) 07:51 – Designing the Logo on His Honeymoon 09:06 – Two People, One Office, One Phone — Fake It Til You Make It 10:27 – The Lessons He Carried Out of Hiring Hub and Into Everything Since 11:03 – Founder vs CEO: The Moment Hiring Hub Stopped Being His 12:38 – Burn the Boats: Why He Had to Remove the Safety Net Completely 14:05 – Gary Neville, Reinvention & Not Wanting One Thing to Define You Forever 14:50 – Loving the Building Phase: Why Year 11 Felt Nothing Like Year One 15:54 – The Apple Moment: Why Packaging and Brand Image Matter From Day One 16:50 – Solo Founder, One Dog, No Office: Is This the Future of Startups? 17:51 – Six Months Riding His Bike Across Spain, Waiting for the Idea to Come 18:12 – Lying in Bed on GoDaddy: The Night Uthful Became Real 20:01 – The Pub in the Peak District He Nearly Bought Instead 21:02 – What Humans Will Still Value in a World Run by AI 22:20 – Idea to First Sample in Eight Weeks: The Speed of Starting Now 23:00 – His Advice to Anyone With an Idea: Just Test It First 24:08 – Transparent Founder Content: Why He Posts the Bad Days Too 24:53 – The Day Meta Stopped Working and 3,000 Boxes Came Back Wrong 26:38 – Kids Watching Dad Build From Scratch: The Best Lesson He Can Give Them 28:56 – Could Uthful Be a £100M Business?  30:06 – Has Founding a Business Made Him Unemployable? Probably, Yeah 31:04 – The Hardest Part of Being a Solo Founder: Loneliness, and How He Beats It 32:46 – Letter to His Younger Self 33:29 – Never Too High, Never Too Low: The Emotional Steadiness That Defines Him 33:50 – Happy Place: 140km on a Bike Through the Spanish Countryside

Tom Dunlop: Why founders should always be paranoid

Tom Dunlop turned his back on an Olympic dream to launch LegalTech Summize and said a degree of paranoia is healthy in business. Earlier this year, Summize raised £40m in a Series B investment round and has just acquired the key assets and staff from Seattle consultancy InnoLaw Group. After swapping a successful badminton career for a legal one, he became an in-house lawyer at AppSense, where he met high-profile entrepreneur Charles Sharland. While working as a lawyer, Dunlop recognised how technology could speed up legal processes, so he launched Summize, and Sharland became an early investor. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Tom discusses: * Why paranoia can be good in business * How he turned his back on an Olympic dream * How he struggled when he lost at badminton * Why he can never forget his children's names * The lessons he took from elite sport into high-performance business * Raising $50m * The difference in mindset between the UK and the US The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast. It is sponsored by Financielle, the home of money for women, and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.     Chapters 00:00 – Thinking Long-Term From Day One 02:45 – The Year or Two He Could Have Shaved Off Just by Planning Five Years Ahead 04:13 – Three Kids, Three Tattoos 04:29 – Europe's Number One Badminton Player  05:51 – Untouchable: The 15-Match Winning Run That Made Him "The Killer" 06:59 – Turning Down the Olympics for Law School: The Decision That Changed Everything 07:44 – Going From Invincible Junior to Getting Exposed by the Far East 09:13 – From Superstitious Socks to 1% Marginal Gains: What Sport Taught Him About Business 10:24 – ABCD: Codifying Culture So Every Employee Knows the Mission 11:55 – The Lesson in Being a Founder People Listen To 13:22 – Healthy Paranoia: Why You Should Never Feel Comfortable 13:55 – Office Tour 14:58 – The Elevator Pitch Booth (and the Original Pitch Line) 16:04 – One Team, One Board: Keeping Three Offices in Sync 17:00 – £1,000 a Month for the Best 1% Idea  17:37 – Meet the Nameless, Eyeless Office Giraffe 18:35 – The Gong, the Clocks & the Mural: Building Culture Through Physical Symbols 19:36 – Highlighting Contracts by Hand: How Summize Was Actually Born 21:45 – From Point Tool to Full Platform: What Summize Does Today 22:59 – Why San Diego Over LA or San Francisco: Choosing Offices on Culture, Not Just Cash 24:25 – 250 Pitches, Four Funding Rounds: What Investors Actually Back at Pre-Seed 27:06 – Hurt Money: Quitting His Job, Moving House & Having a Baby in the Same Month 29:08 – The Polish Badminton Players Who Had No Plan B — and Why That Stuck With Him 31:24 – Burn-and-Raise vs. Build It Right: The Philosophy Between Series A and B 33:52 – UK vs. US Founders: The Ceiling of Ambition Difference 35:42 – "Could You 10x?" — Why US and UK Investors Ask Completely Different Questions 37:00 – From Silicon Valley Podcasts to Trusting His Own Gut 39:24 – Letter to a Young Founder: Build Your Network, Raise Your Ceiling00:00 – Thinking Long-Term From Day One 02:45 – The Year or Two He Could Have Shaved Off Just by Planning Five Years Ahead 04:13 – Three Kids, Three Tattoos 04:29 – Europe's Number One Badminton Player  05:51 – Untouchable: The 15-Match Winning Run That Made Him "The Killer" 06:59 – Turning Down the Olympics for Law School: The Decision That Changed Everything 07:44 – Going From Invincible Junior to Getting Exposed by the Far East 09:13 – From Superstitious Socks to 1% Marginal Gains: What Sport Taught Him About Business 10:24 – ABCD: Codifying Culture So Every Employee Knows the Mission 11:55 – The Lesson in Being a Founder People Listen To 13:22 – Healthy Paranoia: Why You Should Never Feel Comfortable 13:55 – Office Tour 14:58 – The Elevator Pitch Booth (and the Original Pitch Line) 16:04 – One Team, One Board: Keeping Three Offices in Sync 17:00 – £1,000 a Month for the Best 1% Idea  17:37 – Meet the Nameless, Eyeless Office Giraffe 18:35 – The Gong, the Clocks & the Mural: Building Culture Through Physical Symbols 19:36 – Highlighting Contracts by Hand: How Summize Was Actually Born 21:45 – From Point Tool to Full Platform: What Summize Does Today 22:59 – Why San Diego Over LA or San Francisco: Choosing Offices on Culture, Not Just Cash 24:25 – 250 Pitches, Four Funding Rounds: What Investors Actually Back at Pre-Seed 27:06 – Hurt Money: Quitting His Job, Moving House & Having a Baby in the Same Month 29:08 – The Polish Badminton Players Who Had No Plan B — and Why That Stuck With Him 31:24 – Burn-and-Raise vs. Build It Right: The Philosophy Between Series A and B 33:52 – UK vs. US Founders: The Ceiling of Ambition Difference 35:42 – "Could You 10x?" — Why US and UK Investors Ask Completely Different Questions 37:00 – From Silicon Valley Podcasts to Trusting His Own Gut 39:24 – Letter to a Young Founder: Build Your Network, Raise Your Ceiling

Mark Stuart: Building a multi-million pound business with Dad

Mark Stuart is on a mission to make Stuart Energy Europe’s leading power generation business. He founded Stuart Energy in 2017 alongside his father Fred and brother Lee, and the company has been named in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for three consecutive years. But following in the footsteps of a successful parent comes with its own pressures. “You see great footballers that have sons that go into football and you’re never as good as your father,” he said. “There’s a bit of stigma attached to that.” In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Mark discusses Launching Stuart Energy with his dad Fred and brother Lee and working alongside his sister Jane Why the company puts ‘family first, work second’ The importance of bootstrapping a business Growing up with a ‘work or want’ mentality Stuart Energy’s unusual three-stage recruitment process The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast. It is sponsored by Financielle, the home of money for women, and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.

Episode 12: From Trauma to triumph: Sam White's founder journey

From being raised by an alcoholic mother to fighting off a sex pest and coming out as gay at the age of 30, Sam White has faced more challenges than most. She is the award-winning CEO of female-focused motor insurance business Stella Insurance, which has offices in Manchester and Australia, and is the latest guest on The Naked Founder Podcast. No-nonsense White brings a new meaning to the phrase 'straight talking' and has appeared on BBC Morning Live, Wake Up To Money and Sky News. In this episode of The Naked Founder, White also discusses: • Living with an alcoholic mother • Launching her first business at the age of 24, only for it to go into administration • Dealing with crippling panic attacks • Kneeing a sex pest in the ‘balls’ • Turning Stella Insurance into a multi-million-pound business • Her dream of creating a fund for female founders This episode of The Naked Founder is a product of BusinessCloud. It is sponsored by Financielle, the home of money for women, and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters: 00:00 – What Nobody Told Her at 24 01:48 – Raised by No One: The Dysfunctional Childhood That Made Her Strong 03:28 – Why the Best Entrepreneurs Usually Have the Hardest Upbringings 04:22 – From Sister's Conservatory to Beverly Hills: The Rise and Fall of Action 365 06:27 – The Exit Plan Question She Used to Think Was Stupid 06:54 – Four or Five Panic Attacks a Day 09:49 – Coming Out at 30 11:44 – When She First Realised She Was Attracted to Women - and Why She Wasn't Shocked 13:33 – The CEO Who Asked "What Lights You Up?" - and Accidentally Started Stella 15:31 – How Big Is Stella Now?  16:52 – The Speaking Coach, the Keynotes & Getting Out of Her Own Way 19:10 – LinkedIn, Media Appearances & Why She Built Her Profile on Purpose 20:53 – "Your Friends Will Never Tell You the Truth" 23:31 – Size 24 to Six Stone Lighter: The Weight Loss Nobody Made Her Do 24:03 – Her Mum, Alcohol & the Nervous Relationship She Had With Drinking for Years 26:52 – Two Kids and a Clearer Head: Why She Finally Quit for Good in 2022 27:05 – The Investor Who Booked a Joining Hotel Room and Got Kneed in the Balls 29:26 – Misogyny in Business: Still There, Just Harder to Call Out 30:00 – The Hardest Part of Being a Founder: Feeling Like the Only Adult in the Room 31:32 – Exit in Two to Three Years, a Fund for Female Founders & a Bit More Balance 35:17 – Letter to Her Younger Self: Start With the End in Mind

Derry Green: I had no idea Dragons' Den would do this

Derry Green knew his Dragons' Den appearance would transform the fortunes of his business, The Secret Garden Glamping, but even he underestimated its power. Green had become a social media sensation when he built a glamping pod for his kids in his back garden during Covid and turned it into a business. The success of The Secret Garden Glamping saved Green from financial ruin, but even he had no idea what would happen when he walked into TV's most famous Den in 2023. In this episode of The Naked Founder, Green also discusses: • The REAL reason he went on Dragons' Den • How appearing in the Den changed his life • Why The Secret Garden Glamping saved him from financial wipeout • How wanting to spend more time with his kids resulted in a multi-million-pound business • Overcoming his fear of public speaking • What he'd say on his deathbed This episode of The Naked Founder is a product of BusinessCloud. It is sponsored by Financielle, the home of money for women, and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned. Chapters: 00:00 – Welcome to The Secret Garden: Glamping on Location 01:04 – What He Wishes He'd Known Before Starting 01:59 – Building Dens in the Woods as a Kid 02:50 – When He Started Treating It Like a Business, He Stopped Enjoying It 04:23 – Before the Glamping: The Haulage Company 04:50 – Christmas Day, Sky News, Half a Million Gone: The Citilink Collapse 07:37 – Building the Den That Started Everything 08:44 – Lad Bible, 10 Million Views & 150 Airbnb Bookings Overnight 09:59 – Why He Went on Dragon's Den 10:49 – "I Want to Make Less Money" - The Pitch That Won Over Four Dragons 12:01 – One Site, Half a Million Turnover: The State of Play Before the Den 12:34 – What Deborah Meaden Actually Brought to the Business 13:25 – Five Sites, 47 Staff, Nearly £2M Turnover - and Six More in the Pipeline 14:26 – Why He Doesn't Think of It as a Glamping Business 14:48 – Competing With Everyone Making Content, Not Other Glamping Sites 16:09 – Never Spent a Penny on Advertising: UGC Methodology 18:10 – The Site Tour: Treehouse, Tiki Bar & Why Units Cost What They Do 19:50 – Inside the Retreat: Hot Tubs, Outdoor TVs & What Guests Actually Share 22:21 – Boot Fair Décor, Three-Quid Props & When to Actually Spend Money 23:45 – The Guest Who Couldn't Get In - and Became His Partner 24:59 – The Hardest Part: Letting Go of Control 26:17 – How AI Fits In (and Where It Doesn't) 27:15 – Why Mums on School Hours Make the Perfect Workforce 28:14 – Public Speaking Terrifies Him - So He Keeps Doing It 29:10 – Letter to His Younger Self: Chase Passion, Not Money 30:25 – The Netflix Series 31:18 – 47 Guests on Site, Haven't Seen One: Why He'll Never Overcrowd It 31:50 – Wrap-Up