In this episode we have George Lineker, the Co-Founder of YourBusinessNumber a service that provides users with a second virtual UK mobile number, enabling them to use both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business on the same phone. George is widely known as the son of the famous Gary Lineker OBE , the English sports broadcaster and former professional footballer. But in this episode, we delve into how George has carved his own way as a start-up entrepreneur, and his most recent co-foundership at...

In this episode we have Mat Ilic, the Co-Founder and CEO at Greenworkx - a new climate EdTech startup tackling the green skills emergency, and are building the net-zero workforce. Their mission is simple, to get 10 million people into green jobs in 10 years, through building an app to be the talent portal for green jobs with green job discovery, opportunity-matching, and social community. Did you know, that to deliver net-zero, over 30 million more  green workers are needed globally by 2030?...

In this session, we get the low down from Darren Westall, CEO and Co-Founder of Paiger. Paiger helps recruiters build personal brands, identify new business opportunities, attract candidates, and have better conversations. Paiger was born when co-founders Darren and Rohit Kapoor noticed a shift in the way people prospected, communicated & built their businesses. Much like the beginnings of any start-up, the business started at home - or more accurately, in Darren's shed! Fast forward to...

In this session, we feature Harry Hubble, Founder of Pally. Pally connects social messaging, planning, and relationship management to help you build stronger relationships, supercharged by AI.  In this episode, we introduce a remarkable guest, a 25-year-old London-based founder with a unique journey. He skipped the traditional academic route, diving into the professional world at just 14 and establishing their first company at 15 years old. What's truly exceptional is their mastery of the...

Tomorrow’s Journey is an award-winning platform that helps fleet operators launch pay per use mobility businesses in rapid time. In this episode, Co-Founder and CEO Chris Kirby talks through his jump from the corporate world to founding a start-up and shares his views on the glamorisation of tech entrepreneurship and how it actually compares to his experience as a technical founder.  Chris shares how he initially built the business in a way that doesn’t rely on VC funding, but why now they...

In this episode we have Zally, a Manchester-based deep tech company on a mission to confirm you are you, continuously. They offer e-commerce stores a simple and secure way to authenticate visitors, resulting in happy customers, higher conversions and increased revenue. Overall, they’re on a mission to abolish passwords. In this episode, CEO of Zally, Patrick Smith, talks to us about the mission of building the password free society, finding the right place for you in the journey of growing...

In this session we have Active Profile, an integrated Marketing and PR agency like no other, who also run the well known 'Tech Climbers' initiative, of which Burns Sheehan partner with. In this episode we  delve into Tech Climbers, the exciting initiative, which supports scaling tech businesses in the Liverpool, Yorkshire regions swell as launching more recently in Manchester. Tech climbers showcase scalable, innovative, product-led technology businesses. As the flagship for tech in the...

Red Flag alert are the UK's leading provider of business data intelligence and analytics to predict growth, global compliance risk and insolvency, based in Manchester.  In this episode, Richard West talks to us about working his way up in Red Flag alert from sales operations to Managing Director and share holder, how he helped build a start-up from a PLC to a powerhouse with the mission of becoming the UK leader in business data analytics.  Richard gives insights from being the youngest...

Slinger is a job platform offering fun and fair hospitality shifts to side-hustlers, students and hospitality professionals around the UK.  In this episode, Founder & CEO Theo Lee Houston talks us through how he has built  business entirely self utilising his network, already acquiring over 5000 workers and 600 businesses as users of the app. Theo shares his thoughts on the power of the ‘network effect’ and how using this concept he plans to build the app as a recruitment tool.  Theo...

MyoMaster is a sports tech company created by athletes and is the only recovery brand in the world in which every single product created is rigorously tested by their community of elite athletes and physiotherapists. In this episode, Co-Founder & CEO Lottie Whyte talk us through the story behind MyoMaster, how she envisions the industry to evolve and how MyoMaster will stay ahead of the competition.  Lottie discusses how she has personally scaled herself a leader and first-time Founder,...

Piper is the manager enablement platform that is committed to empowering anyone to be a great manager. Piper combines state of the art technology with expert led coaching to create the next generation of managers. In this episode, Founder Sathya Smith shares her story from spending 11 years rising through the ranks at Google, and what is was like to leave that journey, to ‘reluctantly’ becoming a founder when faced with other opportunities such as the VC world… Sathya then dives into why she...

Sharesy is a venue hire platform for local communities where venues can finally take control of their earning potential, hiring out their spaces with a hassle-free solution.  In this episode, Founder & CEO Felix Atkin, who talks us through his journey from working in the corporate world for the likes of PlayStation and BT to why he founded his own business during the first COVID lockdown. Felix discusses his experience with Angel investors and shares his advice for those looking to...

Bubble is the UK's #1 trusted family support platform and childcare app connecting parents with babysitters and nannies their friends already know, use and trust.  In this episode, we have Sarah Hesz, Chief Commercial Officer of Bubble discussing the story behind Bubble and her background in parent tech, and the challenges around building a product in such a high trust area.  Aș a parent herself, Sarah talks through how as a parent herself she balanced the responsibilities of being a founder...

ufurnish is search and comparison website for home furniture and furnishings that brings 110+ furniture retailers and all of their products into one place. In this episode, we have Co-Founder & CEO Deirdre Mc Gettrick, who talks us through what made her take the plunge and leave a six-figure salary in banking to start her own business.  She talks us through the interesting dynamic of co-founding a business with her then boyfriend now husband, and how they’ve raised over £5 million from...

Numan provides healthcare for men to treat common health conditions through personalised plans. They offer integrated care - including diagnostics, medication & supplements, 1-1 clinical care, and digital programs - in one digital platform, to help patients take control of their health. In this episode, CTO Jamie Smith Webb discusses how Numan transitioned from an e-commerce business, into a service, diving into the technical challenges behind it. Jamie talks through the challenges around...

AppLearn is a leading digital adoption platform vendor that helps enterprises improve the data quality and productivity of their key internal systems. In this episode, Andrew Avanessian, CEO of AppLearn, talks through the incredible business they’ve built, from how they chose their core values, to being voted the 5th best tech business to work for and rank in the "Best Companies" list, and what they did to achieve this.  Andrew then dives into how they have broken down silos within the...

Flash Pack is an award-winning adventure travel company that brings together solo travellers in their 30s and 40s.  In the episode, Morgan Sadr-Hashemi, Chief Product and Technology Officer, discusses how he built the tech team at Flash Pack from scratch, talking us through his starting point and what he had to consider. He then dives into the challenges that he’s faced whilst building a product that is so unique within the industry.  Morgan gives his thoughts on where he thinks the CTPO role...

Infer gives analysts machine-learning powers like never before. It gives users the ability to find insights, make predictions, and identify patterns through its easy-to-use but powerful SQL commands.  In the episode, Co-Founders Ryan Garland and Erik Mathiesen-Dreyfus talk through their unique path to founding Infer, going from boss and employee to co-founders, and how they’ve been able to shift the dynamic between them.  They then dive into their recent funding journey and the challenges...

ECO Surv is the leading software provider for the Energy Efficiency, Retrofit and Renewables Industry. In the episode, Founding Director, Nathaniel Butters, discusses why now, 10 years downline the line, the business has started to look for investment, as he dives into the vision for the business and their potential in the market.  Nathaniel also talks us through what it was like to replatform the product - covering the challenges and solutions and what ultimately caused them to decide to...

TUBR is a predictive analytics platform helping business leaders turn data into action, fast. It gives businesses the power to make informed actions and predictions from complete and incomplete data sets.  In the episode, Founder & CEO, Dash Tabor dives into how TUBR tackles common problems that businesses face with raw data, and gives her advice on where to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed with your data and where to start when it come to building a data strategy.  Dash then gives a...

In this episode we have Chieu Cao, Founder and CEO of Mintago, and former Co-Founder of Perkbox. Mintago is a financial wellbeing platform, helping businesses adapt and support their employees in changing economic conditions.  In the episode, Chieu discusses his route into entrepreneurship and his motivations behind both starting and exiting Perkbox. He then dives into the concept of financial wellbeing and why this is more important now than ever, and how he hopes Mintago can be a help as a...

Whether you’re a pet owner or not, you’ve more than likely heard of Pets At Home. Far from a start-up, this well-established retail company was founded back in 1991 and specialises in pet care products and services. So you might be wondering why their former Chief Data Officer is on The 'Start-Up' Diaries podcast... Joining the business in 2018, with huge ambition for how they could use their data to better serve their customers, Robert Kent joined as CDO.  His aim was to cultivate a...

In this episode, we hear from Eric Fulwiler, Co-Founder & CEO of Rival, a growth consultancy that builds challenger brands, strategies, and capabilities to change categories.  Eric has helped build some of the biggest brands in the world, from billion-dollar start-ups to Fortune 50 enterprises. Before co-founding Rival in 2021 he was the Chief Marketing & Commercial Officer of 11:FS, a challenger fintech consultancy for nearly three years.  He was also one of the first 15 employees...

trumpet is the tool for B2B Sales Teams that want to stand out from the crowd. trumpet held you wow prospects with personalised Pods (microsites) to get your foot in the door, then convert them with a collaborative digital workspace. All with one trumpet link. In this episode, Co-Founder and CEO of trumpet Rory Sadler discusses the story behind trumpet and their B2C approach to B2B sales…  Building the product alongside former Founders of Design My Night, Nick Telson & Andrew Webster,...

Plytime Learning is a totally new concept in tutoring that makes learning more engaging and effective for children, more affordable and accessible for parents and more efficient for tutors. What began as a maths board game for their own children, is now an online learning platform aiming to make tutoring accessible for everyone.  In this episode, Co-Founders and husband and wife Ian and Lisa McCartney talk us through the journey behind Plytime and how they unexpectedly became founders of a...