E357 | If You're A Founder, You Can't Ignore This Shift In 2026
Scale To Win with Dominic Monkhouse
Let the Machine Do the Repetitive Work
Mark describes embedding tech and automation early to scale operations and keep headcount lean and efficient.
From global finance to eco-cleaning, regenerative farming, and rethinking entire systems — Mark Jankovich doesn’t do incremental change.
He believes we’re living through a full-scale reset — and entrepreneurs have a responsibility to lead it.
In this episode, Mark shares why climate change isn’t a mass participation problem, why consumers shouldn’t be asked to make hard choices at all, and why some products — from bleach to diesel engines — should simply disappear.
You’ll hear how Delphis Eco was born from a moment of clarity on a family holiday, what he’s learned from two decades of being ahead of the curve, and why broken systems like farming, education, and climate must be fixed together — not in isolation.
This is a provocative, systems-level conversation about leadership, responsibility, and designing a future where doing the right thing is the default.
What you’ll learn:
🌍 Why climate change messaging fails — and why it’s not a problem for the masses to solve
⚙️ How removing bad choices entirely is more effective than asking people to “do better”
🧴 Why bleach, virgin plastic, and outdated products should stop being sold
🚗 The myths around EVs, infrastructure, and resistance to change
🏢 How to build a sustainable business by letting systems and machines do the work
🌱 Why soil health, education, and climate are deeply interconnected
📈 What it’s really like to build a business 20 years ahead of the trend
Who should listen:
• Founders and CEOs building businesses with sustainability at their core
• Leaders frustrated by slow progress on climate and systemic change
• Entrepreneurs interested in policy, regulation, and government advisory
• Anyone curious about regenerative agriculture, food systems, and land use
• Builders who believe the next wave of innovation will be structural, not cosmetic
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:00 Mark’s worldview on cataclysmic change and entrepreneurial optimism
05:02 Systems change starts with cutting off harmful choices
10:03 Lessons from Dubai and the supermarket’s slow death
15:20 The origin story of Delphis Eco and quitting finance
17:37 Surviving 20 brutal years to finally see traction
19:07 Shifting from B2B to retail and staying lean
23:42 Letting tech run the business and outsourcing smartly
25:46 Hiring for attitude and losing good people as you grow
30:42 Rewilding unprofitable farmland for soil and social good
34:07 How farming, education and nature can solve each other
39:12 Book and podcast recs that shaped Mark’s thinking
40:52 The power of paradigm shifts and the coming wave
Book & media recommendations:
• Harmony — HRH The Prince of Wales: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0007413639
• Green Swans — John Elkington: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1785786431
• The Ministry for the Future — Kim Stanley Robinson: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0356508841
• Future Noughts (podcast) — John Richardson: https://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/future_noughts/
About the Guest:
Mark Jankovich is the founder and CEO of Delphis Eco, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of eco-friendly cleaning products.
A former City finance executive, Mark now builds systems that challenge the hidden environmental damage of everyday industries.
He also works with the UK Treasury and leads projects in regenerative agriculture — connecting corporates, small farms, education reform and nature recovery.
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