Ian is an entrepreneur who built and, after 7 years, sold a highly successful marketing agency for £23 million.  In this episode, he shares the lessons learned on his journey so far. Ian had a postcard on the wall beside his desk at his first job with 2 words on it - “Question Everything” - and he’s lived his life by that mantra ever since. A deep thinking entrepreneur who has always challenged conventional thinking,  and so I let the tape run as he was sharing so much wisdom.  You’re going...

My conversation this time is a little different and rather intriguing.  Ruth Sturkey spent her career advising entrepreneurs and executives about their big life transitions, such as selling their businesses and retiring. And then was faced with planning her own business sale and retirement -  or at least the next chapter of her life. By her admission, and despite having advised clients for years, she admits she felt somewhat unprepared and is now happy to share her experiences so that...

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last year, you’ll be all too aware of something called artificial intelligence.  AI’s not new, it’s been around for years, and you've probably been using applications like Alexa and Siri to tell you what the weather’s like, turn on your music, or even order a pizza.  But all of a sudden, the speed of innovation seems to have changed, and it's become a lot more serious and relevant to business owners. I first heard of an application called Chat...

Today's guest is Jeremy Tobias Tarsh who is one of the original inspirations behind my launching this podcast.  Jeremy is happy to share that he’s been a client of our firm for many years and it was during one of our many deep-dive conversations about the complex challenges faced by him and other entrepreneurs that I thought I should launch something. I told him that I would have loved to have recorded the long chats we had so others could benefit from his unique experiences.  Well, now...

Jodie and Jenny are cofounders of a hugely successful agency called The Marketing Pod, and 11 years ago they decided to tread that well-known entrepreneurial path, took a big risk and walked away from a comfortable corporate life to start their business. Why? Because, as is often the case, they were frustrated that what they were looking for didn't exist, and they knew there was a demand. They also wanted to create something that was more in line with their own lifestyles and that reflected...

To celebrate the landmark 25th episode of the podcast, I was delighted to be able to speak with the Co-Founder and CEO of BrewDog, James Watt. BrewDog is valued at over $1,500,000,000 and is one of the UK’s leading Unicorn companies... However, it’s been far from a smooth ride. Having decided that a career as a lawyer ‘in a cheap suit doing glorified admin’ wasn't for him, he spent several years working on a North Atlantic fishing boat and that’s where a lot of his business resilience came...

Henry is the co-founder of the fast-food restaurant chain Leon with the unforgettable strapline ‘If God did fast food..’ From humble beginnings, with one small shop in Carnaby Street in London to a national and international brand which eventually sold for a reported £100 million Henry is undoubtedly a bulletproof entrepreneur. During our conversation, he explained: How they came up with the memorable name Leon and the vital importance of getting your business name right from the...

One of the original ideas behind the podcast was to create a repository of essential insights, experiences, and information. A knowledge hub that you can dip in and out of whenever you needed to be reminded of key issues throughout your business journey. One thing is certain and that is that you’ll need to work with a lawyer at some point, and judging from conversations I’ve had with previous guests, understanding the role of a corporate lawyer, and finding a good one is a vital part of the...

I’ve been following an anonymous account on Twitter for some time, and I’ve really enjoyed a lot of the content and thoughts shared on some of my favourite topics such as  entrepreneurship, mergers & acquisitions, and intelligent investing. The Twitter handle is an anonymous one - The Secret Accountant, but I can now officially reveal the identity of this mysterious business expert as being none other than Mr Craig Richardson. There’s a good reason for the nom de plume which he explains...

You've heard of a ‘horse whisperer’, perhaps a ‘dog whisperer’, but you’ve probably never heard of a ‘seller whisperer’ - but that’s exactly what Denise has become known as. With a background as a mental health professional turned lawyer who went on to build her own legal practice, she then sold her business. Rather unsuccessfully, in her own words. During this time, she learned a lot of lessons and has now carved out a role  as a specialist adviser, coach, consultant, speaker, and writer...

Robin is a journalist at the Financial Times and is the editor of the popular column Alphaville. He’s also the author of a fabulous new book called Trillions. As a business owner, one thing is certain - you’re going to leave your business one day. Whether that’s through a sale of the company or through retirement and you’re going to need to know how to best invest your capital to provide for your family’s long-term future. This conversation with Robin will provide you with clear directions as...

Alan Smith www.capital.co.uk www.bulletproofentrepreneur.net  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alancapital Twitter @alanjlsmith  This podcast is produced by GR Media Sponsored by Capital Asset Management

As we kick off Season 2 of the podcast, I’m taking the opportunity to share a little of my own journey, both personal and professional. For most of us, our childhood experiences shape our thoughts and actions as we get older and I’m no exception. A happy childhood in Scotland was interrupted by some personal and family challenges that have been influential on me and the decisions I’ve taken.  A very average student who dropped out of college attracted to the bright lights and big city of...

I’ve described this podcast as being ‘inspired conversations at the intersection of money, business, family, and life’ and none better sum up that complex blend than the one I had recently with Brian Portnoy. Brian is a coach, consultant, entrepreneur, and author of one of the best books I’ve ever read on all things financial and our behaviour around money. - The Geometry of Wealth. A recent study confirmed that 73% of people say money is the most stressful factor in life - more stressful...

This is a special episode as it’s the last episode of Season 1 and so we’ve put together a compilation of the greatest hits covering some of the key ideas, insights, and themes that have emerged from the 15 conversations I’ve had so far. In this episode, you’ll find the best comments, quotes and thoughts from the world-class entrepreneurs and experts I’ve spoken with over the last 6 months. The subtitle of the podcast is "Inspired Conversations" and obviously, I'm biased, but as I’ve...

Let me start by sharing a statistic that’s quite shocking- less than 2% of Venture Capital funding goes to all female founder teams. So those female founders who’ve managed to get started, and raise some capital are rare in the extreme. Those who’ve done it multiple times and had successful exits are even rarer - so Louise really is something special.  A born entrepreneur who started working in her father’s store as a schoolgirl and then after college started her own business using a car...

I attended a conference run by a friend of mine Andy Hart called Humans Under Management - it focuses on the behavioural side of wealth and is one of the best financial or business conferences out there.  I did a little fireside chat thing on stage but while I was at the event, I had quite a few people who came up to me and told me that they enjoyed the podcast and I even had one guy explain that it had helped him with a client who was currently going through a £10m exit. We all enjoy...

This time I’m trying something different. First, I’m speaking with two co-founders, Damian Milkins and Simon Hancock who built a hugely successful tech business called Control Circle and led it to a $65m exit. I let this one run longer than the usual 60 minutes because the guys were in full flow and there was no way I was going to cut this short -  there were just too many interesting stories and valuable words of wisdom. What you’ll hear is Damian and Simon explaining the vital importance...

According to the Department of Business and Industry, there are 5.6 million businesses in the UK. But get this - out of the 5.6 million businesses, 4.2 million had no employees - they are sole traders. And 99.2% of all businesses have less than 49 employees. Only 4% of businesses ever hit £1m turnover.  And yet, SMEs account for three-fifths of all employment and around half of the turnover in the UK private sector.  Last year total employment in SMEs was 16.3 million (61% of the total),...

Every now and again you hear a story that stops you in your tracks because it deeply touches a part of you whilst at the same time is uplifting and inspiring. Stefan Wissenbach is a serial entrepreneur and has built and sold 4 financial services businesses before launching his current company which is a technology business focused on helping entrepreneurs to create more engaged teams.    He has also coached numerous business owners and helped them to define what success means to them and then...

I think one of the reasons that this podcast is proving to be popular is that most of the stories follow that classic ‘Hero's Journey’’ narrative arc.  Our hero, the Founder is dissatisfied with the status quo of their current situation, sets off on a bold journey of discovery - starts a company, and faces insurmountable problems, huge challenges and fierce obstacles. Eventually against all the odds, finds success and lives happily ever after! If you watch almost any Hollywood film or Pixar...

Don Fraser is something of a legend in the financial planning and wealth management sector – he’s been working with entrepreneurs for well over 30 years and he’s got a deep understanding of not only the financial issues but perhaps more importantly the personal and human ones. During our conversation, Don explains the vital importance of timing when you’re planning your exit, and the need to be clear on the big question - How Much is Enough? He explains the actual process that a business...

Richard Bridgwood was the founder of Contender which was a media and film distribution company which he and his team built from scratch over 12 years and sold to one of the biggest entertainment and media companies in the world, Entertainment One. If you’ve got kids, you’ll be familiar with one of his companies’ creations, Peppa Pig which nowadays is a global sensation worth hundreds of millions if not a billion dollars. There’s a lot of money in children’s entertainment! So, part of...

Hi and welcome back to the Entrepreneur Transition podcast - the only podcast that explores the uniquely human journey involved in building a business, selling it and crucially, life on the other side. In 20 years of working with and advising entrepreneurs, I’ve come to realise that it’s a transition more than it is a transaction and there are so many issues and challenges that a business owner will have to navigate to maximise their success from a financial but more importantly from a human...

This Inspired Conversation is in many ways why I launched the podcast in the first place - to explore the human side of the entrepreneurial journey, every bit as much as the financial side. Let me share a quick true story to  give you some context: Did you hear about the entrepreneur who sold his business and made a fortune and was miserable?  Markus Persson is a Swedish tech entrepreneur and inventor of the wildly popular game Minecraft.  Starting on a laptop in his bedroom, he went on to...