Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall

Timo Mullen is the co-founder of Foam Life, a sustainable flip flop brand built after he and his co-founder lost their six-figure jobs during the pandemic. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Timo shares the moment they stopped waiting for certainty and chose action instead. From designing their first product in a week to securing pre-orders, raising investment, and expanding into international markets, this conversation breaks down what really happens when founders remove the safety net. Timo also explains why regret became a bigger risk than failure, how accountability drives momentum, and why word of mouth matters more than paid marketing when you are building something real. Key Takeaways 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Sahar Hashemi OBE, co-founder of Coffee Republic and the force behind Buy Women Built. Sahar shares the moment that changed everything. Trapped in a legal career that did not fit, she was forced to confront how short life really is. Instead of waiting for clarity, confidence, or permission, she acted. We talk about why most founders overthink instead of starting, why customer experience always wins, and why small, doable steps matter more than perfect plans. Sahar also explains why female entrepreneurship in the UK still lags behind other developed countries and what Buy Women Built is doing to change that. This conversation is for anyone sitting on an idea, feeling restless, or waiting for the right moment. Key Takeaways 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

In this bite-sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, I speak with Cemal Ezel OBE, CEO and founder of Change Please. Cemal shares the defining moment that reshaped his life and career. On a long bus journey in Vietnam, a stranger asked him a question that forced deep reflection. Sitting in a rocking chair at ninety, what legacy would he leave behind. That question led Cemal to build Change Please, a social enterprise using coffee to tackle homelessness. Today, Change Please trains homeless people as baristas, pays a living wage, provides housing support, and reinvests all profits into reducing homelessness. The business is stocked nationwide in Sainsbury’s and is expanding internationally while maintaining strong environmental standards across its supply chain. This episode explores purpose-led entrepreneurship, building the right team, choosing mentors carefully, and why founders must take time to recognise progress. Key Takeaways 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Matt Richards MBE is a two time Olympic champion who understands pressure at the highest level. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Matt shares how self belief was built early, tested at the 2024 Olympics, and later applied to building a business while still competing at an elite level. We talk about dealing with doubt, staying consistent when outcomes are uncertain, and why feedback and focus matter when you are building something new. Key Takeaways How Matt rebuilt belief under Olympic pressure Why consistency beats confidence during uncertain moments What elite sport teaches you about execution and focus How feedback shaped Matt’s move into business 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Simon Alexander Ong is a speaker, coach, and author of Energize. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Simon explains why energy sits at the centre of fulfilment, performance, and progress. We talk about acting before the timing feels perfect, building relationships without expectation, and learning to filter feedback properly. Simon shares the moment he realised that waiting creates regret and why fulfilment starts with decisions made in the present. Key Takeaways Why waiting for the right moment often leads to regret How energy is shaped by people, environments, and internal stories Why relationships grow stronger without expectations attached How to filter feedback into signal and ignore the noise This episode is for founders and leaders who feel drained, distracted, or stuck waiting for clarity. 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at the NEC Birmingham.

This Festival of Entrepreneurs panel brings together founders who experienced The Apprentice from the inside and lived with the consequences after the cameras stopped rolling. Tre Lowe, Sabrina Stocker, and Daniel Elahi share why they chose visibility, what the show really gave them, and where it genuinely helped or hindered their businesses. We talk about personal brand, resilience, teamwork under pressure, and the difference between short-term attention and long-term value. This episode, hosted by James Burtt, founder of Phonic Content, is not about reality TV. It is about making deliberate decisions when exposure, risk, and reputation are on the line. Key Takeaways Why visibility accelerates opportunity when values are clear How resilience is built under pressure, not comfort When personal brand helps and when it becomes noise Why certainty and teamwork matter more than tactics 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Adam Kamani has scaled businesses by focusing on the one area founders struggle with most. People. In this Bite-sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Adam explains why hiring decisions shape everything that follows, how strong teams compensate for leadership gaps, and why personality matters more than skill when a business starts to grow. What You’ll Learn This episode is for founders and leaders who want to scale without losing trust, accountability, or momentum. 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 If you’re serious about growing your business, join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs on 3-4 November at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

Henry Firth and Ian Theasby are the founders of BOSH!, one of the UK’s most influential plant-based food brands. What started as frustration with corporate life became a deliberate decision to build an audience before building products. What You’ll Learn This is a practical conversation about focus, restraint, and building something meaningful without rushing scale. 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 If you’re serious about growing your business, join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, 3–4 November 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 Subscribe now and be part of the movement.

Growing on TikTok becomes easier when you understand how the platform thinks. Timothy Armoo explains the system with complete clarity. Most founders post on TikTok without understanding how the platform decides who sees what. In this Bite sized Screw It Just DO It episode, Timothy Armoo strips away the guesswork. He explains why niche dominance matters, how to warm the algorithm, and why video level performance beats follower count every time. His approach is built from running campaigns for global brands and seeing what actually drives reach. These insights apply to any founder trying to grow an audience, test messaging or build trust online. His view of TikTok as a behaviour engine rather than a social network gives you a clearer way to work with the platform instead of fighting it. Guest Note: Timothy Armoo is the co founder of Fanbytes, one of Europe’s largest Gen Z marketing agencies. Key Takeaways 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

Sandra Byrne never set out to be an entrepreneur. She left school at fifteen, had no qualifications, and started in retail to get by. What followed was a twenty-one-year journey that led her to build the biggest Lush store in the world on Liverpool’s high street.What You’ll Learn Why acting like an owner matters even when the business is not yours How community and experience replaced marketing budgets What it takes to scale without losing culture How to stay entrepreneurial inside a large organisation This episode is a practical lesson in leadership, ownership, and building something meaningful without waiting for permission. 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 If you’re serious about growing your business, join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, 3–4 November 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 Subscribe now and be part of the movement.

This episode features Richard Harpin MBE, founder of HomeServe and one of the UK’s most experienced scale up operators. Recorded before his recent MBE award, this conversation shows exactly why his contribution to British business has been recognised. Richard shares how he grew a simple plumbing insurance idea into a global business valued at over £4 billion. He breaks down his nine step framework for building and scaling companies, from copying and pivoting early, to securing the right investor, replacing yourself as founder, and choosing steady evolution over dramatic change. We also cover international expansion, backing yourself when capital is tight, and why mentorship has played a defining role throughout his career. Today Richard is focused on helping the next generation of founders through Growth Partner and Business Leader, with a clear ambition to support a significant share of the UK’s mid sized businesses. Key takeaways Follow a clear framework and focus on execution not ideas Secure the right mentor early and listen to them Evolve constantly to avoid becoming irrelevant Expand internationally with local leadership in place Strip your business back to its core value and commit fully 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

Scaling a startup into a national or international brand is rarely clean, predictable, or glamorous. Recorded live at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, this panel brings together founders who have scaled in very different industries but faced the same uncomfortable decisions along the way. From compliance and capital to branding, product reality, and investor relationships, this conversation focuses on what actually holds when growth accelerates. Guests: Mark Rushmore, Co-founder of SURI Laura Fullerton, Founder of monk Claire Warner, Co-founder of Aecorn Melissa Snover, Founder of Remedy Health & Nourished Jeannette Linfoot, Host of Brave Bold Brilliant (moderator) In this episode, you’ll learn: Why compliance and financial clarity cannot be delayed When rebuilding is the real growth decision How to think about scale before demand explodes What raising capital really looks like in tougher markets If you are building something you want to last, this episode will help you see scale more clearly. 🎧 Don’t miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 If you’re serious about growing your business, join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, 3–4 November 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. 👉 Subscribe now and be part of the movement. 00:00 Welcome to the Festival of Entrepreneurs 00:12 What It Really Takes to Scale a Startup 01:25 Meet the Founders 04:17 Early Scaling Lessons 05:48 Strategic Bets vs Rushing to Scale 07:04 Building Compliance Before Growth 08:18 Choosing a Market That Can Scale 10:25 Lessons From Before This Business 13:20 When Customers Reject the Product 16:40 Branding Before the Product Exists 18:14 Understanding the Numbers 20:57 The Reality of Raising Capital 21:55 The Screw It Just DO It Moment 24:35 Handling Rejection as a Founder 27:51 Choosing the Right Investors 29:58 Scaling With the Right Partners 32:17 Building a Brand in a New Category 34:43 Final Thoughts From the Panel

Piers Linney MBE has spent years operating at the sharp end of business, investment, and technology. In this episode, recorded before his recent MBE award, Piers lays out a clear view of where AI is taking founders and why waiting is the biggest risk. He explains how AI already outperforms humans in speed, cost, and consistency across many cognitive tasks. The advantage now comes from knowing where humans still matter and where machines should take over. Founders who treat AI as a daily operating layer will move faster, build leaner teams, and make better decisions. Those who delay will struggle to catch up. This conversation is practical, grounded, and focused on action. It reflects why Piers was recognised with an MBE for services to business and entrepreneurship. Key Takeaways: • AI increases capacity without extra cost • Personalised content and voice agents boost revenue • AI uncovers insights hidden in everyday conversations • Founders who act early gain a long term advantage 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

What happens when you stop chasing money and start building around who you are. This episode breaks down mindset, performance, and discipline for founders who feel stuck and want control back. Leaving the Special Forces should have been a clean transition. It was not. Simon Jeffries walked away from military life into a corporate role that felt wrong, chased online business ideas that failed, and ended up broke and back at his parents’ home. That low point forced a reset. Simon stopped chasing money and built around what he understood best. Mindset, performance, and discipline under pressure. In this conversation, we break down how founders train mindset as a skill, why small consistent changes beat radical overhauls, and how leadership fundamentals still matter in an AI driven world. This episode is for founders who feel overwhelmed, reactive, or stuck in their own heads and want a practical way forward. Guest: Simon Jeffries is a former Special Forces operator and co founder of The Natural Edge, where he works with founders and leaders on mindset and performance under pressure. Key takeaways Discipline is a trained skill and beats raw talent over time Mindset works when treated like physical training with structure Small consistent changes create lasting performance shifts Leadership basics matter more than tools or technology 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

James Haskell shares the realities of leaving a structured career for entrepreneurship and the discipline needed to build something on your own terms. Stepping out of professional sport and into business forces you to confront how you work, who you trust and what you want your life to look like. In this bite sized episode, I speak with James Haskell as he breaks down the shift from a highly structured rugby environment to the chaos that often defines the corporate world. He talks about the importance of boundaries, the trap of pointless meetings and the need to value your time as much as you value your effort. His honesty cuts through the noise that surrounds entrepreneurship and highlights a simple truth. You either take responsibility for your next chapter or someone else writes it for you. Guest note: James Haskell is a former England rugby international and entrepreneur. Key Takeaways: 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

Every year, I take one episode to step back and reflect. This is the countdown of the 10 Screw It Just DO It episodes you listened to most in 2025. This episode is a reflection on what really resonated with you in 2025. From founders starting in kitchens to building global brands, these conversations cut through the noise. We revisit lessons on resilience, timing, discipline, leadership, brand, AI, and long term thinking. Each guest earned their place by sharing honest stories about risk, doubt, growth, and momentum. This countdown is not about hype. It is about substance. If you want real insight into what it takes to build something meaningful, this episode brings together the voices that defined the year. It also marks a personal moment of reflection on a challenging year and a clear focus on what comes next. Guest note: This episode features highlights from ten previous guests including Pippa Murray, Aaron Gelbard, Julian Hearn, Richard Harpin, Piers Linney, Nell Daly, Richard Reed, Boris Diakonov, Juliet Barratt, and Al Barratt. Key Takeaways 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

Rebranding a company is rarely neat, and James Clark makes that clear in this conversation. He talks through the pressure of changing a long established name, the internal tension that came with it and the need to build something that reflects future ambition rather than past comfort. His breakdown of stakeholder alignment, intellectual coherence and disciplined decision making gives founders a practical view of how to manage identity change at scale. It is a calm and honest look at the work behind a brand that now represents a fast growing venture capital firm with global reach. Guest note: James Clark is the Marketing Director at Molten Ventures, known for leading one of the most complex rebrands in European venture capital. Key Takeaways A rebrand must reflect where the organisation is going, not where it has been. Stakeholder alignment matters more than visual design. Intellectual coherence gives a brand long term strength. Risk is part of the process but it must be managed with structure and clarity. 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

Recorded live at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, this panel brings together founders who are actively implementing AI in real businesses. We cover what AI first actually means in practice, how to start small without breaking existing operations, and why governance and visibility matter more than speed alone. The conversation moves beyond theory into workflows, automation, data, compliance, and personal brand growth. We also explore where AI is already creating new revenue models and how founders can future proof visibility as AI search replaces traditional discovery. This is a grounded discussion for operators who want clarity, not noise, and results that show up on the balance sheet. Guest panel: Piers Linney, James Smith, Dominic Kos, Sabrina Stocker. Hosted by Rob Hanna. Key takeaways Start AI adoption with clear workflows and measurable ROI Governance and visibility create confidence and safe scale AI works best when paired with human judgement Founders must adapt content and branding for AI search 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship

In this Bite-Sized episode, I revisit my conversation with George Kruis, former England international rugby player and co-founder of fourfive. George explains how he and Dom began building their wellness brand while recovering from operations, sitting on physio beds and asking themselves how to take control of their recovery. This clip focuses on the early execution stage. He talks openly about setting up the company, learning how to operate outside the structure of professional sport, and why delegation, speed, and clarity are essential when you move into business. His honesty about the transition and the steep learning curve will resonate with anyone starting something new. Guest: George Kruis, co-founder of fourfive and former England rugby player. Key Takeaways: The first version of any business requires fast learning and deliberate action. Delegation is a skill founders must develop early. Your network is an asset only if you use it intentionally. Co-founders need different strengths to build momentum. 🎧 New episodes of Screw It Just DO It drop every Tuesday & Thursday, so make sure you follow wherever you listen. You’ll hear real conversations with founders who’ve taken a risk, built something from scratch, and figured it out along the way. FOE returns to NEC Birmingham on November 3-4, 2026. Stay connected at www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk and follow @festivalofentrepreneurs for news, updates, and future events. Real entrepreneurs. Real stories. Real strategies. 👉 Follow the show. Keep showing up. Screw It Just DO It! #ScrewItJustDoIt #FestivalOfEntrepreneurs #StartupLife #Entrepreneurship