Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall

"Managing the team and managing the workload is a huge challenge that I'm battling with all the time but the team are absolutely amazing. I couldn't ask for a better, hardworking team. They really love what we're doing, which I believe is quite hard to find". On today's show I welcome Charlotte Sweet, Founder of Sewn Right. Charlotte left a job in luxury fashion to set up her own business in early 2015. She was inspired by her grandmother, a lifelong seamstress. Driven by a love of fashion and a lack of innovation in her industry, Charlotte set out to change the way the world view sewing. She was working three different jobs when setting out on her entrepreneurial journey and she spotted a gap in the market. Alterations were either being done by high-end Saville Row tailors or being done by local dry cleaners but, no-one was offering a modern alterations service. Sewn Right was born and she's now the owner of a thriving business. Let's StartUp.

"When my grandparents passed away who I spent a lot of time with I'd been thinking why I didn't record their life stores which is something I had in mind but never did, and realised how quickly their stories faded. And I've had that regret for a long time and been thinking since then about solutions... and why this problem exists if a lot of people want to capture the stories of their loved ones. Rutger Bruining's grandfather was a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II but died before Rutger had a chance to record his memories. The experience left him wondering “why we don’t capture the stories of the people we care about the most”. Before I dive inot my interview with Rutger, I'd like to mark last week which saw us finish up our 'live' #screwitjustdoit events. Twenty plus events throughout the UK in 2018 and a massive thank you if you lived in the UK and were able to attend. Given this podcast is now listened to in 96 countries we're only scratching the surface with our events in the UK. I'd love to take these to your country in the near future. With Virgin Atlantic now sponsoring us, who knows what's possible :) 2019 events for the first quarter of the year are already up on the StartUpU Facebook page Before the year is out I'd love to know who you would like to both hear on the podcast, and see at one of our 'live' events. Drop me a message @alexchisnall on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or @alexanderchisnall on Instagram - I'd love to hear from you! Rutger Bruning, a former management consultant, realized he could help people capture the stories of those we love most by using online platforms such as Freelancer.com, which makes it easy and economical to find writers willing to take on such commissions. “Millions of people are trying to write their own memoirs and most of them don’t finish the job,” Rutger said. “We’re offering a service: Stories of life, of love or loss, whether it’s small or big — if they’re real and well-written and the voice of the customer comes through, you create something really unique and beautiful.” I caught up with Rutger and started by asking him more about how he came up with the idea for his business. Let's StartUp!

"I have so many different passions: fitness, fashion and food - the three "F's" - plus music of course. So it was a natural progression once I came off the x-factor...to get into fashion and release my own clothing line. And as soon as the W8 Gym came along... it's funny how timing works out, as when Nick approached me I was actually thinking of venturing into fitness. So as soon as I saw the product I just jumped on it..quite literally. This is what I was looking for. This was amazing. You may know Fleur East from 'I'm a celebrity get me out of here', from the X-Factor, her Top 3 album, her number one single 'Sax' ...but what you may not know... is that she is a female entrepreneur and business woman with her own clothing brand and now a fitness startup too. Fleur is related to Nick Meaney..who's related to Clive Payne..who first came up with the idea that became W8 Gym. Having first met me at Jim Cregan's 'Jimmys Iced Coffee' HQ for the first Virgin StartUp meetup outside London in July 2016, they are now two and a half years into their journey. Clive developed the prototype, Nick travelled to China to source suppliers and many iterations later, Fleur designed the final product and filmed all the exercises that W8 Gym allows you to do. I caught up with them to find out how they're getting on. Let's StartUp!

"He and my my mum used to wear a necklace with five little charms. Each charm was a stone that represented each of us. I was a pearl and my brothers had their own stones. They used to wear it around their neck and we used to carry our own as well in a little gold chain so for me jewellry is about this special meaning, occasion, something that you carry with you, like. talisman." Adriana creates jewellery, she's originally from Brazil, but trained in Italy - and now lives in London. She comes from an entrepreneurial background, her father and four brothers are all entrepreneurs. This is very much a story taking inspiration from travel, from everything around her. Adrian has tested everything to get to wear she is now launching her Urban Jewellry collection. We talk about getting testing everything when starting out, and getting out from behind your laptops and meeting people if you haven't got the support of close family and friends like Adriana has. Let's StartUp!

"The great thing is a good mentor will always get you to answer your own questions. They'll ask you the right questions, you'll just have to go away and work on it and come back with an answer. They'll either give you a tick or a cross. That's the scret of a great mentor. They don't tell you what to do, you have to learn for yourself what you should be doing with the information and advice that they give you." On today's show I welcome candle chandler Rachel Vosper. Now, not many visitors to Barbados end up buying a local candle factory. But after a chance encounter on a beach in 1994, Rachel Vosper did just that. As she built the business up making candles fo Bill Clinton, Pavarotti and Bollinger, Rachel's new-found interest developed into a passion. In 2011 she opened her first store in Belgravia, London, selling candles to a mix of retail, corporate and private clients.  Fast forward to 2018 and Rachel has an amazing opportunity with pop-ups in the Hamptons, LA, Dubai and Hong Kong on the horizon and having developed a scent for Virgin Atlantic.  Let's StartUp!

"I was doing a paperbound and I thought it was a mug's game. So I cut the local newsagent out of the equation. No-one was delivering papers on a Sunday so my dad said "you go and get my paper I don't want to get out of bed, i'll give you 50p". My neighbour said the same and I eventually built a paper round that made four times as much on Sunday than I had made on the whole weeks work. That was my first introduction to business and finding a niche, monetising it in a very small way - and hard work." Piers Linney is an entrepreneur and investor who has experience across a whole range of different sectors focusing on technology, telecommunications as well as health, fitness and well-being. He's also the non-executive director of the British Business Bank and he's also a trustee for Nesta, the £450 million innovation fund. He's also been recognised in the Top 100 most influential black Britons, Entrepreneur of the year and sat on the cabinet office SMe panel and the board of TechUK. Piers is now using his experience to help businesses #scaleup and grow. I co-hosted a 'live' roundtable SME forum with Virgin Atlantic at the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with a host of local businesses who were all looking to scale-up. We were there to provide advice around growing and scaling a business. I thought getting this advice from Piers would be invaluable to you. We also put together the competition of competitions.. Win TWO return tickets with Virgin Atlantic Delta Air Lines from Manchester Airport PLUS a one-to-one mentoring session with Piers Linney?   All you need to do is:   Get a ticket to my next #screwitjustdoit event on November 27th in #manchester here https://bit.ly/2ylBVfb   Ask Piers a question on social using the hashtag #AskPiers based around 'Scaling Your StartUp' here on LinkedIn https://bit.ly/2SQUMr3   Alternatively you can find him on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook   Piers will pick the best question in Manchester on November 27th.   And remember - you don't have to take him with you  This competition would suit a startup/scaleup/sme that is thinking strongly about growing their business overseas and could do with both the free flights and the mentoring from someone who's scaled a business north of £40m   And with only 100 people allowed to this exclusive event you stand a pretty good chance of winning!   So, grab a ticket here https://bit.ly/2ylBVfb     Let's StartUp!

"The realisation happened when I lost twenty million dollars. It took me losing everything in my life and starting over and asking a different question. The question is what is true? Looking at what I had done over twenty years and saying that was very hedonistic, that was very me, that was all about consumption. And then losing it all, I think the universe was saying ok, here's the opportunity." Damion Lupo has shown time and again that the human spirit is only limited by the scale of one’s imagination. From overcoming bankruptcy and debt, to building Total Control Financial, an innovative Fintech startup, Damion has seen it all and done it all. However, he maintains that without having a strong “Why” success in business can be meaningless if it is not channeled towards serving a higher purpose. Damion’s entrepreneurial journey started when he was barely 11 years old. Like many other entrepreneurs, he started a business trying to solve his problem. The venture proved to be quite successful, and pretty soon he was hooked on entrepreneurship. After leaving college, he launched a string of businesses and other small enterprises, but his big break didn’t come until around the turn of the millennium. Damion eventually built a real estate portfolio of over 150 homes and was living the jet-setting millionaire lifestyle. But the party didn’t last forever. As a result of the financial crisis in 2008, Damion found himself losing close to twenty million dollars in a few months. Damion decided to go on an introspective quest. He examined his life and his past decisions and realised that despite being successful in material terms, he was unsuccessful regarding his emotional and spiritual well-being. It was this realisation that made him decide to make a lasting change concerning his perspective to life. Today, Damion has translated the wisdom he’s learned over the years into lessons that can be easily applied in any situation. He’s the author of over five books including the Reinvented Life, which details his experiences in entrepreneurship. He’s also a noted speaker & teacher and the founder of a unique form of martial arts called Yokido, which blends the teachings of Yoga & Aikido. This is one of my most favourite conversations since I started this podcast. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Damion has got one hell of a story and dispenses some of the most sound advice I have heard yet. Let's StartUp!

"We're not getting any younger. So you may as well get cracking. That's my main advice: get cracking, get selling, get making and get spending." On today's show I chat to Anglo-Italian entrepreneur and Pasta Evangelists founder Alessandro Savelli.  Pasta Evangelists are trying to do for fresh pasta delivery what fever tree did for tonic. They deliver artisinal restaurant-quality pasta to your front door whilst you work and they'll even deliver it through your letterbox. They're backed by some of the biggest names in British food including Great British Bakoff star Prue Leith CBE, Sunday Times food critic Giles Coren and Masterchef critic William Sitwell.  They're now one of the fastest-growing food startups in the UK, two years into their journey. They recently appeared on Dragon's Den and whilst they didnlt walk away with the investment they were looking for, it was a great marketing experience for them. Their appearance led to a spike in website visitors, doubling their orders. I chat to Alessandro and find out how they're doing. Let's StartUp!

"I find working, doing a startup, and trying to manage a family life and keep all the balls in the air extremely difficult - and I mess up all the time. My children are incredibly patient and understanding. I'm always the mother who's not at the football match at the school, or that I get the date wrong for the cake sale. Then I get really guilty. But the good thing about working for yourself like when they have the nativity play or concerts then you do have the time to take that time out of your day and do those things. That's the advantage, even if you're working til midnight later." Inspired by chinese medicine the Hayo'u Method offers effective methods to combat stress. Over the years as a practitioner Katie has become convinced that stress was the underlying cause of all the ailments she was diagnosing and treating herself. A car accident put to Katie's hopes of becoming an opera singer. So she embraced Yang Sheng which is an approach to self-care to overcome complications around fertility, weight, stress, depression, fatigue which inevitably followed such a traumatic incident. So to help others embrace the healing powers she developed Hayo'u which is a game-changing brand that's focused around one minute rituals which is based around beauty tools and products which she has designed and launched. She spends her time around Somerset, London and Asia. I could really relate to Katie and really enjoyed speaking to Katie. Let's StartUp!

"The initial feedback we got from people was that it was worth us exploring. So we got started, and I guess at each stage there were sufficiently encouraging signs that it was worth carrying on. So we quit our jobs, put in our savings and went out to try and raise money to enable us to start marketing and to start building a team. And it went from there." How do you fit a Christmas tree through a letterbox? It might sound like a bad cracker joke, or the premise for a festive TV film. But it’s the real life problem of Aron Gelbard, founder of Bloom & Wild, a startup that arranges flowers in boxes to be delivered through the standard UK letterbox. Since launching in 2013, Bloom & Wild has mastered letterbox flowers. They have tried a letterbox orchid plant, which turned out to be less popular. In 2016 they trialled letterbox wreaths that came in two semi-circles and they sold a few hundred, then they hit on Christmas trees which have proven hugely popular. “We’re always coming up with new ideas with what we can fit through letterboxes. Aron credits Bloom & Wild’s success to this stream of new ideas.  Bloom & Wild has just been named the second fastest growing business in the UK, after Deliveroo, by Deloitte. The company has attracted more than £7m in funding and expanded into Germany, France and Ireland over the last year. And when your father and both grandfathers were entrepreneurs there was really only going to be one path for Aron to take. Let's StartUp!