Most AI projects don’t work, and here’s why | Tim Daines

From Kitchen Recipe to 500 Stores: Building a Food Brand from Scratch | Karen Prado

In this episode of Startup and Scaleup People, Mario sits down with Karen Prado, founder of ChimiLove, the award-winning South American sauce brand now stocked in more than 500 stores across the UK and Canada.Karen shares how a homemade chimichurri recipe became a fast-growing FMCG business, the realities of scaling a food brand, and the lessons learned from building a premium product in a highly competitive retail market.We discuss:• Building ChimiLove from a kitchen startup to 500+ stores• Winning prestigious Great Taste Awards• Raising investment to fuel growth• Social media, e-commerce, and founder-led branding• The biggest mistakes and lessons from five years of entrepreneurshipAnd more!Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Chimichurri and Its Origins 02:18 The Journey of Building a Brand 04:50 Challenges of Scaling a Business 07:22 Navigating the Food Industry and Awards 09:59 Market Expansion and Strategy 12:38 Consumer Preferences and Health Trends 15:04 Product Range and Flavor Innovations 17:43 Cultural Significance of Chimichurri 20:32 Distribution Channels and Partnerships 23:01 FMCG Industry Insights and Challenges 25:26 Marketing Strategies and Social Media 28:13 Lessons Learned and Future Vision#StartupAndScaleupPeople #FMCG #Retail #FoodBusiness #Entrepreneurship #ScalingUp #ChimiLove #ConsumerBrands

Founder Psychology: Is Your Nervous System Overloaded? | Sasha Cayward

What does it really take to build resilience as a startup founder in high-pressure environments? In Episode 32, we explore mental fitness, emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and founder performance with Sasha Cayward — ex-VC, former elite tennis player, founder coach, and Head of Community at Hubble. Hosted by Mario Rivas, this conversation dives deep into nervous system regulation, startup stress, burnout, founder psychology, performance under pressure, emotional resilience, and the hidden cost of the modern wellness industry. Sasha shares lessons from elite sports, venture capital, and coaching startup founders across London and San Francisco. Startup Scaleup People: Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we bring you insights on growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation. New episodes every Sunday at 4PM UK time. Chapters: 00:00 Intro to Sasha Cayward 03:00 Elite Sports, Coaching & Mental Resilience 07:00 Founder Burnout & Nervous System Overload 11:00 Anxiety, Stress & Startup Performance15:00 Mental Fitness vs Mental Health 20:00 Neuroscience, Emotional Intelligence & Leadership 26:00 The Wellness Industry & Founder Obsession 34:00 Why Great Founders “Always Find a Way” 40:00 Knowing When to Quit as a Founder

From House Move to 140M Meals Rescued | Olio's Unlikely Story | Tessa Clarke

In this episode of Startup & Scaleup People, Mario sits down with Tessa Clarke, Founder & CEO of Olio, the climate-tech platform fighting food waste through hyperlocal sharing. Olio has grown into a global community with nearly 10 million users, redistributed more than 140 million meals, and built a network of over 100,000 volunteers helping businesses and local communities reduce waste. Tessa shares the full journey behind building Olio, from the original idea sparked during a house move, to scaling a marketplace business across multiple countries, managing complex logistics operations, fundraising over $50M, building remote-first culture, and using AI to dramatically increase operational efficiency. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to Olio and Its Mission 02:47 The Role of Food Waste Heroes 06:04 Challenges of Scaling a Volunteer Community 08:55 The Journey of Founding Olio 11:49 Operational Complexity and Logistics 15:10 Leveraging AI for Efficiency 17:58 Fundraising and Growth Strategies 21:04 Building a Strong Company Culture 23:54 The Importance of Community Impact 27:01 Lessons Learned and Future Outlook

From Bartender to Inventor: The Self-Cooling Can That Could Disrupt Coca-Cola | James Weiss

What happens after a founder exits a company… and realizes the next big opportunity is even bigger? In this episode, Mario sits down with James Weiss, former bartender turned entrepreneur, inventor, and startup founder, to unpack the journey from building a 7-figure cocktail business to inventing the world’s first self-cooling can. From living in his in-laws’ spare bedroom while bootstrapping a startup to pitching Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, and global beverage giants… this conversation dives deep into entrepreneurship, resilience, IP protection, innovation, and the brutal realities of scaling companies. Sometimes your biggest business failure becomes the foundation for your most important invention. About James Weiss: James Weiss is a Welsh entrepreneur, inventor, and founder of Delta Innovations. After building and exiting a successful cocktail delivery business, he shifted into product innovation and created a patented self-cooling beverage can designed to chill drinks in under 90 seconds.His work has attracted attention from some of the world’s biggest beverage brands, including Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, and major global can manufacturers. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to the Journey 02:12 From Bartender to Entrepreneur 06:52 Scaling the Cocktail Business 11:41 Navigating Investment Challenges 14:34 The Decision to Exit 18:11 Lessons Learned and New Ventures 22:22 Innovating in Beverage Packaging 37:34 Future of the Product and Market Potential

How He Built £900K Pipeline With a £20K ABM Bet | Bilal

£900K Pipeline From a £20K Bet: Bilal's SaaS GTM Masterclass Most SaaS founders think go-to-market is broken — but the real problem is chasing shiny objects instead of mastering fundamentals. In this episode, Mario Rivas sits down with Bilal, a GTM strategist and operator whose scaleup leadership at UserPilot redefined what modern outreach, ABM, and demand generation look like for B2B SaaS growth. Bilal reveals how a single £20K LinkedIn ABM campaign generated over £900K in qualified pipeline, how his team scaled organic traffic to 300K+ monthly visitors, and why the future of SaaS go-to-market runs on code, not tools. From ICP definition to waterfall email enrichment, from manual outreach experiments to AI-powered context operating systems, this episode is a business transformation masterclass for anyone serious about scaling revenue. Hosted by Mario Rivas About Startup Scaleup People:Real stories from startup, scaleup & enterprise leaders. From boardrooms to founder garages, we bring you insights on growth, leadership, funding, exits, governance, AI, fintech, SaaS, and business transformation. Chapters 00:00 Welcome & Bilal's GTM Background 02:05 Is SaaS Go-To-Market Really Broken? 05:15 How a £20K ABM Campaign Generated £900K in Pipeline 11:19 Building Outbound From Scratch: 25K in Wins & 36 Deals 16:42 The Layered Channel Strategy That Became the Secret Sauce 27:07 Activation Rates, Product-Market Fit vs. Novelty 31:39 Scaling Content: 770 Blogs, 14 Languages, 34K Extra Visitors 34:59 The Tools Stack to Start With (Claude Code, APIs & MCPs) 💬 Key Highlights ▸ A £20K LinkedIn ABM pilot targeting 1,417 accounts generated over £900K in qualified pipeline, and is still UserPilot's second best-performing campaign two years later ▸ Stop chasing shiny objects: Bilal's core philosophy is test manually, prove it works, then scale ruthlessly, not the other way around ▸ ICP definition beats tool selection every time, knowing exactly who you're selling to, where they live online, and what pain they're feeling is the only foundation that scales ▸ Waterfall email enrichment, API-driven prospecting, and a self-updating ICP system are replacing Apollo-style manual workflows for lean GTM teams ▸ The next competitive moat is a "context OS", an internal AI brain connected to your CRM, docs, and data that generates outreach, landing pages, and sales assets on demand #startupleadership #businessgrowth #scaleups #enterprise #boardleadership #venturecapital #startup #founderstories #innovation #businesspodcast #careergrowth #operationalexcellence #leadershipdevelopment #startupstrategy #funding #exitstrategies #teambuilding #corporategovernance #techfounders #startupscaleuppeople #startupfunding #vc #podcast #shorts #leadership #fintech #entrepreneurship #investing #governance #peoplestories #experience #leadershipskills #leadershiplessons #businessleadership #businessstrategy #businessideas #businesssuccessstories #businesssuccess #biotech #saas #failure #fail #entrepreneur #howtoinvest #hiring #digitaltransformation #expansion #businessexpansion #energy #technology #techstartup #techfounders #successmindset #motivation #mindset #perseverance #resilience #Emprendimiento #Empreendedorismo #Entrepreneuriat #Unternehmertum #Imprenditorialità #Ondernemerschap #उद्यमिता #ريادة_الأعمال #Girişimcilik #Kewirausahaan #Pagnenegosyo #创业 #起業家精神 #기업가정신 #gtm #accountbasedmarketing #demandgeneration #b2bsales #saasmarketing #revops #outboundsales #linkedinads #contentmarketing #aitool