Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter & Chris Donnelly

If you’re an entrepreneur in the FMCG industry, this episode of Secret Leaders is one you don’t want to miss. Today we talk to the founders of Grenade, one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, featured in the Sunday Times Fast Track Top 100 companies four out of five consecutive years. Launched in 2009 as a hobby company, “we were only ever planning on launching one product, but then it did so well that customers and retailers were asking us for more”, and getting down to just £27 in the bank at one point, Grenade was sold in 2018 for £72 million. So how did this husband and wife team start and grow such a successful company, developing it into a global lifestyle brand? Alan says, “one of the things that I think has been a real strength at Grenade is that people have enjoyed working with us, whether it's a supplier or customer, or the team, treat people how you'd like to be treated yourself.”It’s honest insights like these that make Alan and Juliet Barratt so listenable. They’re funny, inspiring and willing to help the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed, as long as the entrepreneur is hungry for success. “You choose your own luck. We think luck is where opportunity meets preparedness.”We chat about: Why and how Alan and Juliet set up in business together Where the name Grenade came from The cost of setting up in business  Why disruption doesn’t need to be expensive Why the perfect work/life balance doesn’t exist --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

If you want to know what it takes to start and run a technology company, then you need to listen to two of our most pioneering guests discuss their experiences live, as they started visionary companies in every single sense of the word. In this special episode we talk live to Jess Butcher, co-founder of Blippar - the augmented reality giant, and Dhiraj Mukherjee, co-founder of Shazam - the app that lets you discover the media playing all around you. Jess was one of our first guests in Season One, and Dhiraj was interviewed for Season Two. We thought we’d bring them back on to the podcast for a catch up, only this time we’d interview them in a live setting. We know, first hand, how hard it is to be an entrepreneur and get a business off the ground. Which is kind of the main reason we started this podcast, to help entrepreneurs, like us. Because the more we sat down with successful founders and picked their brains, the more we discovered that getting from zero to anywhere wasn’t always the glossy and incredible experience that it’s made out to be. In these in-depth live events you’ll get more of an understanding about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the challenges and the constant grind that is required to get any venture started, as well as learn best practice tips from the experts who’ve been there before. We hope you enjoy listening to this live episode as much as we did making it. We chat with Jess about: How the Blippar vision has evolved over time Finding the balance between motherhood and running a tech company The advantages of being a woman in tech The highs and lows of co-founding Blippar We chat with Dhiraj about: How four people got together to create Shazam How they got around any law infringements to get the music Getting early adoption through smart marketing Making the decision to leave Shazam Links: https://www.secretleaders.com/jess-butcher https://www.secretleaders.com/dhiraj-mukherjee --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Julian Hearn, founder of Huel, shares his journey from a failed venture to building a £40 million business. He discusses the thinking behind Huel's branding, challenges in finding a food manufacturer, and why he hired a CEO. Additionally, he talks about the potential of Huel to solve world hunger and how the company has been financed.

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes when one well-known start up buys another well-known start up? Well, wonder no more. You’ve heard us talk to both Nick Jenkins (founder of Moonpig) and Graham Hobson (founder of Photobox) in Series One. But we thought it would be fun to bring them together and have a Q&A with them, side by side. So that’s just what we did. Because you normally only hear the side of the story from the founder who sold their company. You rarely, if ever, hear the story from the founder who bought the company being sold. In this case the wildly successful personalised e-card company, Moonpig.com, that sold for £120m to photo printing giants, Photobox in 2011, which then itself went onto sell for a reported £400m+.You’re in for a treat today - you get to hear from both sides - the good, the bad and the ugly of what happens during a M&A. That and you get a bucket load of advice from two Angel investors who between them have sunk a lot of money into the next generation of start ups. So grab a cuppa and sit down to hear not one, but two entrepreneurial powerhouses talk about how they started and how they became millionaires. Listen out, there are tips aplenty. We chat about: The 4 crap ideas that came before Moonpig What happened when Nick and Graham first met  Selling your business to your main rival Top tips on securing an exit  The dribble and shake theory Negotiating the deal, going through M&A The importance of culture integration What it’s like to actually buy a company The pros and cons of being a Dragon The art of Angel investing Links: Nick Jenkins - Moonpig Graham Hobson - Photobox --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Welcome back to series 4 - what a season have we got lined up for you!Kicking us off is Cal Henderson, co-founder and CTO of one of this decade’s most famous tech companies - the team communications platform the majority of companies couldn’t be without, Slack.But Cal hasn’t always been CTO of Slack, he cut his teeth as co-founder and VP Eng for Glitch, a web-based massively multiplayer game, before that, he was the Director of Engineering for Flickr at Ludicorp (where he first met Slack fellow co-founder Stewart Butterfield) and then Yahoo.As you will shortly hear, Cal is considered to be one of Britain's finest exports. Although it's probably fair to say that he divides people much less than Marmite. Now residing in San Francisco where Slack is headquartered, Cal grew up in the humble county of Bedfordshire, England.After completing a computer science degree from Birmingham City University, he moved to the US in 2003, but not before landing a job after hacking into the email system of the company he wanted to work for and telling his future bosses that he could help them fix the problems they were having.This is a guy who it would appear got lucky, several times over. But in truth, all of Cal’s success has been down to hard work and his first love - computers.“From the first time I got a computer, I was like, this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. This is what I want to do for work.”We chat about: How he met Stewart Butterfield How he got a job through hacking the company he wanted to work for Why investors Accel and Andreessen Horowitz didn’t mind them failing How on Slack launch day they had 8,000 companies sign up to use Slack The advice he’d give to his 15 year old self Links:www.Glitchthegame.com--SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Today’s guest is Payal Kadakia, founder and executive chairman of ClassPass. Payal started ClassPass in 2011 a business that was born out of her love for dance, which she has been doing since the age of 3.Prior to founding ClassPass, Payal worked as a consultant at Bain & Company and in Warner Music Group’s Digital Strategy and Business Development Group. However in 2010 Payal realised that her two lives (working at Warner and running her dance class side hustle) weren’t gelling and she wasn’t being authentic to either. It was the push she needed to dedicate herself to ClassPass full time.Fast forward to today and ClassPass is a monthly fitness membership program worth over $500m. It lets you take classes at different studios and gyms in your local area. It's one membership and with that you get credits that you can use to go to a spin class, a yoga class or a dance class for example, anytime and anywhere.We chat with Payal about: How learning to dance at a young age gave her a way of life and a way to think about the challenges that lay ahead. Why there were crickets when they initially launched ClassPass. How she brought her team in and the importance of passionate generalists (in the beginning). How to hand over the CEO reins and move into a new role in the company. If she could run any business, what it would be. Links:https://classpass.com/Resources: Venture Deals Zoc Doc Favourite book: The Alchemist --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Investment funds for female entrepreneurs are not exactly commonplace in the world of finance. But today’s guest, SheEO founder and Canadian entrepreneurial powerhouse, Vicki Saunders, has been on a one woman crusade to change that.Her mammoth task has involved championing the term ‘radical generosity’, which means allowing people (men and women) to share capital in order to help like-minded women turn their light bulb moment into a successful company.Since launching SheEO in Canada in 2015, Vicki has successfully built up a network spanning numerous countries and sectors, with ambitious plans to raise $1bn of funding for one million women, by 2026, she is well on her way.How? Find out as we chat about: Her favourite quote - everything's broken, what a great time to be alive. How the SheEO fund works. How they’ve achieved a 100% payback rate. What path took her to founding SheEO. Why her favourite book is Winners Take All. What it’s like for someone to get investment through SheEO. How people can get involved if they want to help. Why meditation helps her cut through all the noise. Why she lives by the motto - energy input equals impact you’re having. Links: Winners Take All SheEO Think Like A SheEO --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Sherry Coutu CBE is a serial entrepreneur, former CEO, angel investor and non-executive director based in Cambridge, UK but originally from Canada. She is best known for investing in Lovefilm, Zoopla and for sitting on the advisory board of LinkedIn.A self-confessed techie, Sherry has now turned her hand to philanthropy, having learned first hand that the number one problem for scaling businesses is finding great talent with the necessary skill sets, to enable startup businesses to grow.Sherry’s resume is as lengthy as they come. She founded Interactive Investor International (III) in 1994 which she ran until 2000 when it floated on the London Stock Exchange. She then swapped entrepreneurship for angel investing, because it afforded her a better work/life balance.For 15 years she was a serial angel investor working with hundreds of entrepreneurs. But now she focuses her efforts on charitable endeavours via Founders4Schools.Join us today as we talk to Sherry about: The inspiration behind Founders4Schools Why she decided to start the Scale Up Institute The number one thing holding businesses back from scaling up What appeals to her as an angel investor Her top tips to entrepreneurs What she’d wished she’d known growing up The best advice she’s ever received Links: https://www.founders4schools.org.uk/ http://www.scaleupinstitute.org.uk/ --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Serial tech entrepreneur William Reeve realised early on that he wasn’t quite techy enough to be a techy, and so focused on the business side of tech businesses. And without this early enlightenment, we might not have seen the likes of Zoopla, Dunelm, Secret Escapes, Lovefilm or Graze, to name but a few of the businesses that have benefitted from William’s involvement.At the tender age of 23, having recently graduated from Oxford University with a degree in engineering and having just started his own company, William was told by a family member that he was ‘too young’ to start his own business. Four years later that business sold and netted William £10m.Listen today as we find out what it took to bring Lovefilm to market and how it beat Amazon. Join us as we chat to William about: Other than marriage, what William’s best investment to date was How, aged 27, he sold his first business and made almost £10m in the process Why he chose to go down the DVD subscription route How Lovefilm handled the slow business start by buying out the competition What it’s like negotiating with a behemoth like Amazon How to measure user churn Links:https://www.wreeve.com/--SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Martha Lane Fox is a digital entrepreneur who is not only passionate about the world of tech, but Chancellor of the Open University, a philanthropist and a public servant to boot. Martha can be thanked for making our everyday lives easier, as well as the lives of children, and even prisoners.Martha’s resume is as lengthy as they come, and whilst she is notably the youngest female member the House of Lords has ever had, you will probably know her best as the founder of lastminute.com.However she doesn’t want that to be her sole legacy. She credits lastminute.com for affording her the opportunity to pursue her other work interests: being on the board of M&S, Twitter, Chanel and Channel 4, as well as her charitable work including setting up Reprieve - a charity helping those suffering from torture and human rights abuses.Martha is a keen advocate of just being human, for not letting your work define you, and so it is no surprise that she is the co-founder of prime evening entertainment venue, Lucky Voice. Just don’t make her listen to another rendition of Don’t Stop Believing, and don’t ask her to sing anything by Celine Dion.We chat about: Brent Toberman changing her life forever. The accident that could have been the end of her, but how she drew on her resilience, both mentally and physically, and how it has given her the opportunity to pursue other business avenues. Why no one had come up with the concept of Lucky Voice before, and why it wasn’t called Rubber Chicken. What she learned through working on the board at M&S. The subliminal role San Francisco plays in tech start-ups. Supporting young women in tech and why their voices need to be heard. Links:Doteveryone--SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes