Lex Deak is a serial entrepreneur, Dragon's Den winner and founder of a venture capital firm. With his latest tech startup, Basket, he raised millions in funding to revolutionize the online shopping experience. In this episode of The Founders Lounge, we talk about: - The one thing that fuels Lex’s drive and business success - Building and selling his first company - Building a social network and appearance on Dragon’s Den - The mistake of partnering with a dishonest investor - Building a venture capital firm - The value of private membership clubs - Testing 15-20 business ideas that didn’t work - How Basket is revolutionizing ecommerce - Chrome plugin that's sold for $4bn - Raising funding from the founders of BrewDog, Groupon, ClearScore, Miniclip - Building and maintaining relationships - Key lessons learned through years of entrepreneurship Links: - Lex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexdeak/ - Basket: https://www.trybasket.com/ 🌟 WORK FOR AN INSPIRING UK STARTUP: The best way to learn about business is by working for a successful company with an ambitious founder. This episode is brought to you by Judge.me - the #1 e-commerce product reviews solution, founded by PJ Cellis (Episode 54). If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable, and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me --- 📣 Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ 🚀 Follow me for business ideas & insights: https://twitter.com/MaticJ 🦄 Join my UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com 💰 Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip 📺 Watch on YouYube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFoundersLounge

Sam G. Winsbury is the founder of Kurogo, the UK’s leading personal branding agency. He works closely with some of the best founders in the UK to build massive audiences with millions of views. In this episode of The Founders Lounge, we talk about: - What helped Sam start a successful business straight out of uni - The biggest lesson from working with 7, 8 and 9-figure founders - Building your network in a new city - Why the sudden personal brand phenomenon (and why you should care) - What you can do today to start building your personal brand - How to not feel awkward about posting online - How busy founders produce a week's worth of content in 1 hour - Building an empire of companies off the back of a personal brand - Two most powerful principles that Sam lives by Links: - Sam’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-g-winsbury/  - Sam’s agency - Kurogo: https://www.kurogo.co.uk/ 🌟 WORK FOR AN INSPIRING UK STARTUP: The best way to learn about business is by working for a successful company with an ambitious founder. This episode is brought to you by Judge.me - the #1 e-commerce product reviews solution, founded by PJ Cellis (Episode 54). If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable, and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me. --- 📣 Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ 🚀 Follow me for business ideas & insights: https://twitter.com/MaticJ 🦄 Join my UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com 💰 Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip 🎥 Watch on YouYube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFoundersLounge

Matthew Stafford is an angel investor with several successful exits. He is a co-founder of 9others, a monthly problem-solving dinner event for entrepreneurs, which has been attended by thousands of founders. He’s also a co-author of the book Find Your 9 Others - The Questions To Ask Yourself As You Start Up And Scale Up. In this episode of The Founders Lounge, we talk about: - Matthew’s recent 3 startup exits - The 10 questions you need to ask yourself as a founder - The importance of your “why” behind starting a startup - How to gain visibility as a founder - The importance of trusting your gut - How to improve your intuition - What does it take to succeed - How to train yourself to be more disciplined - The ‘65% rule’ - What you learn in school is not a good parallel for life - The importance of surrounding yourself with ambitious people Links: - Matthew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mstafford - Matthew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staffordvc - “Find Your 9others” book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1788604466 - Matthew’s investment portfolio: https://www.stafford.vc - 9others events: https://9others.com 🌟 WORK FOR AN INSPIRING UK STARTUP: The best way to learn about business is by working for a successful company with an ambitious founder. This episode is brought to you by Judge.me - the #1 e-commerce product reviews solution, founded by PJ Cellis (Episode 54). If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable, and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me --- 📣 Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ 🚀 Follow me for business ideas & insights: https://twitter.com/MaticJ 🦄 Join my UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com 💰 Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip 🎥 Watch on YouYube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFoundersLounge

James Church is the co-founder and COO of Robot Mascot, the UKs leading pitch agency. He's a #1 Amazon best selling author with his book, “Investable Entrepreneur”, where he shares his unique methodology for creating a pitch that convinces investors. James has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, on numerous industry blogs and podcasts, run mentoring sessions at Tech Hub, Google Campus and Runway East, and deliver mastermind sessions for The Chartered Institute of Marketing, University College London and the University of East Anglia.  Show notes: - From a branding agency to the UK's leading pitch agency and startup consultancy - Three key traits of an Investable Entrepreneur - Why only 1% of startups manage to raise funding - How anyone can become more resourceful - The craziest fundraising strategy that James has ever witnessed - What happens when you give £900k to an unprepared 18-year-old - Strategies to build trust with investors - Building a personal brand while building a business - Best London networking tips - One person that changed James’ life - Where are the biggest business opportunities today Links: - Get the Investable Entrepreneur book for free: https://pitchready.co.uk/ - Follow James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescchurch/ - James’ business, Robot Mascot: https://www.robotmascot.co.uk/ - Silicon Roundabout: https://www.meetup.com/SiliconRoundabout/ - Daniel Priestley: https://danielpriestley.com/ 🌟 WORK FOR AN INSPIRING UK STARTUP: The best way to learn about business is by working for a successful company with an ambitious founder. This episode is brought to you by Judge.me - the #1 e-commerce product reviews solution, founded by PJ Cellis (Episode 54). If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable, and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me. --- 📣 Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ 🚀 Follow me for business ideas & insights: https://twitter.com/MaticJ 🦄 Join my UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com 💰 Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip 🎥 VIDEO version of the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFoundersLounge

Alexej Pikovsky, CEO and founder of Alphawell Brands, discusses his journey from investment banking to building a 7-figure agency. Topics covered include investment banking, award-winning pivots, scaling an agency, buying businesses, tech business vs agency vs e-commerce, selling candles on Amazon, networking, building a personal brand, performance habits, and a life-changing book.

From jazz musician to 8-figure business owner, Olly Richards shares secrets to 50% profit margins and the power of personal brand. Learn about team building, problem-solving, and optimizing personal finances. Discover the impact of mentors, mindset, and the $100 Startup book.

End of year special episode is a mix of the best moments from our podcast in 2022. I thank all of you for taking the time and watching, and I hope you are getting massive value out of it. In this episode, we talk about warrior mentality, relationships, building businesses to be sold, and scaling an e-commerce store from 0 to 1. Brought to you by Judge.me - the ultimate e-commerce product reviews solution. If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable, and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me. --- ➤ Please leave a comment if you liked the episode ❤ ➤ Follow for business ideas & stories: https://twitter.com/MaticJ ➤ Matic’s UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com ➤ Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip — VIDEO (Youtube): http://foundrs.vi — Marketing and postproduction: Matevž Semprimožnik (https://www.linkedin.com/in/matevz-semprimoznik/)

Paul Blair is a military veteran turned entrepreneur. Over 20 years of experience in leadership and high-pressure situations in the military served as a great and unique background to start a business. As an entrepreneur, he has launched, grown, and sold businesses in the property, financial services, and pet product sectors. Today he’s still involved in several businesses, but his main focus is on ArcX, a SportTech and Digital Health startup that's developing a game-changing smart ring for sports enthusiasts. In this episode, we talk about: - Lessons learned from 20 years in the military - Military vs entrepreneurship - The most difficult moments in Afghanistan - Starting a pet product brand - Paul’s funny experience with Dragon’s Den - The challenges of building a hardware startup - Hardware startup financing - How to effectively handle being involved in multiple businesses - The #1 course that most impacted Paul’s career - Paul’s strategies for constantly improving himself Brought to you by Judge.me - the ultimate e-commerce product reviews solution. If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me. --- ➤ Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ ➤ Follow for business ideas & stories: https://twitter.com/MaticJ ➤ Matic’s UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com ➤ Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip --- RESOURCES - ArcX: https://arcx.fit/ - Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-blair-dso-6446a315/ VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFoundersLounge --- Marketing and postproduction: Tom Zorman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-zorman/)

Ryan McDaid is the co-founder of Fonez, an Irish electronics store which he took from 0 to €10M in revenue. He recently took a back seat and decided to instead focus on his property business and life coaching.    Brought to you by Judge.me - the ultimate e-commerce product reviews solution. If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable, and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me.   --- ➤ Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ ➤ Follow for business ideas & stories: https://twitter.com/MaticJ ➤ Matic’s UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com ➤ Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip   ---   In this episode, we talk about: - Ryan’s first (illegal!) business - When is it ok to break the rules - How Ryan discovered the opportunity that led him to found a €10M brand - Opening physical shops - How to compete with large corporations - How to build a strong brand - Working in the business vs working on the business - Startup Home and how Ryan and I met - Why Ryan is now focusing on his property business - Personal growth through business - Does money matter in life?   VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheFoundersLounge    --- Marketing and postproduction: Tom Zorman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-zorman/)

Joseph (Jos) Battle is a UK-based serial entrepreneur who experienced the highest heights and the lowest lows of the entrepreneurial journey. His entrepreneurial skills and mindset were obvious already in his childhood when he started making money with various “lemonade stand” types of businesses. He thrives on seeking new opportunities and bringing them to life. Throughout his several business ventures, he went from 0 to having hundreds of employees within weeks. He started a marketing agency that was at its peak making £4M in profit. One of his businesses was worth £100M before it, unfortunately, all came crashing down… He shares all these stories, lessons and much more in the episode.   In this episode, we talk about: - Jos’ first businesses - How Jos identifies business opportunities - How to make things happen early on in a business - The most complained about TV advert in the UK - Why Jos didn't have to pay for speeding - Growing from 0 to 200 employees in 6 weeks - Leveraging the early Facebook Ads opportunity - Growing a marketing agency to £4M profit - From a £100M business to bankruptcy - Hiring a CEO for your business - What Jos is doing differently in his current business - How Jos identified the latest trend which he’s now pursuing - Challenges and opportunities of the “eco” industry RESOURCES Joseph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-battle-71283068/ Ecovibe: https://ecovibewholesale.co.uk/ OLIO app: https://olioex.com/   Brought to you by Judge.me - the ultimate e-commerce product reviews solution. If you’re looking for a job in an inspiring, profitable and fast-growing UK-based startup, check out https://careers.judge.me.   --- ➤ Please subscribe & share if you liked the episode ❤ ➤ Follow for business ideas & stories: https://twitter.com/MaticJ ➤ Matic’s UK product founders community: http://joinpmf.com ➤ Looking for funding? Get a VC intro: http://vc.foundrs.vip --- VIDEO: https://youtu.be/6ADUZ80zt5c --- Marketing and postproduction: Tom Zorman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-zorman/)