The Naked Founder

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The Naked Founder Podcast

  1. 4 days ago

    From foster care to founder: Why Dez Derry never stopped dreaming

    Dez Derry’s story is one of resilience, ambition and the power of dreaming big.   Born into a traditional Indian family in Walsall in 1982, Derry suffered years of physical abuse before he and his two younger brothers were adopted together by a loving white family.   Derry went on to become a successful entrepreneur, launching the digital marketing consultancy that evolved into customer acquisition specialist Blume and grew to £30m turnover.   But selling the business and being retired at 40 brought an unexpected challenge.   Despite dismissing warnings that he would lose his sense of purpose and identity after exiting, Derry admits that was exactly what happened.   What changed was drawing on his own experiences in the care system and becoming an ambassador for Adoption Matters and Foster Care Matters.   In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, he also talks about:   ·      Why, regardless of where you come from, you should never be afraid to dream;   ·      Giving a car to Afghan refugee, Adnan Miakhel, to help him pursue his cricketing ambitions;   ·      How his white adoptive parents showed him what true love was;   ·      How selling nail varnish changed the direction of his career;   ·      Retiring at 40 and losing his identify; and   ·      Why he’s determined to use his experiences of the care system to help others.   The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle – The Home of Money for Women – and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters: 00:00 – Intro & Welcome 01:08 – The Question We Always Ask 02:06 – Vision Boards & Dreaming Big 02:33 – A Difficult Childhood 03:49 – Adopted 05:16 – Trauma, Resilience & Work Ethic 06:11 – Breaking In: Selling Nail Varnish 08:10 – Building MMA Digital 09:38 – Bootstrapping With No Money 10:10 – Scaling Blume to £30M 10:47 – Why He Sold Blume 11:42 – Life After the Exit 12:30 – Finding a New Purpose 15:20 – His Message on Fostering & Adoption 17:13 – Adnan's Story & Field of Dreams 19:41 – Angel Investing Since Blume 21:12 – What He Looks For in Founders 21:52 – Launching Escapism (Music Venture) 23:12 – Contact With Biological Parents 24:06 – Losing Dad & Family Reflections 26:33 – Final Advice to Founders

  2. 24 Aug

    ‘Mr Mobile’: How Craig Smith turned old phones into millions

    As group managing director of Mazuma Mobile and data erasure specialist ICT Reverse, Craig Smith oversees businesses with combined turnover of more than £50m – but it wasn’t always like that. At the start of his career, he took a 70 per cent pay cut to become an office junior because he believed it would broaden his business horizons. After spending more than 30 years in the industry, Smith has earned the nickname ‘Mr Mobile’ – but he insists his work has only just begun. Every day, up to 1,000 mobile phones – including broken ones – arrive at Mazuma Mobile’s Morecambe offices, with an average payment of £250 per phone. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, he also talks about: Being a schoolboy wheeler-dealer Why his dad will always be his hero Spotting the opportunity in second-hand phones Securing former Director General of the CBI Lord Digby Jones as an adviser for FREE Why splitting with your co-founder can be amicable How Mazuma became stadium sponsor of Morecambe FC’s ground The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned

  3. 17 Aug

    Suzanne Waring: Is this Britain’s most straight-talking founder?

    Suzanne Waring is arguably Britain’s most straight-talking boss. She’s the managing director of The Helping Hands Group in Lancashire and says honesty and trust are her absolute non-negotiables. It’s the reason why she’ll never employ ex-prisoners or agency staff. “I don’t want anyone who has dropped out the back of a prison van working for me,” she said. “Let someone else give them a second chance.” She tells The Naked Founder podcast that recruitment is hard because people don’t want to work. “They all want the handfuls of cash but they don’t want the graft,” said Waring. The mum of twin boys was working for the police when she decided in 1999 to launch her own cleaning business. Twenty-seven years later, The Helping Hands Group has four divisions, employs 40 people and has a turnover of more than £1m. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, she also talks about: How a member of staff tried to take her business Why she’s not interested in succession planning How she rolled up her sleeves during Covid to get cleaning Being OCD when it comes to her own house being tidy Why AI will never replace a personal service The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters: 00:00 – 27 Years, a Mop & a Peugeot 106: Meet Suzanne Waring 01:01 – What She Wishes She'd Known: Not Everyone is Like You 01:45 – The OCD That Started a Business 02:33 – Gave Birth and Changed Her Mind About Work on the Table 03:52 – Down the School Gates: "I'm Starting a Cleaning Business." 04:23 – What Makes Helping Hands Different: Teams, Not Solo Cleaners 05:24 – Why Trust Is the Real Product 06:14 – The Four Arms of the Business Today 07:17 – Hoarders, Clearances & What You Find in People's Houses 08:16 – The Retired NHS Nurse Who Knocked on Her Door and Changed Everything 09:26 – Full Home Care: Clients She's Had for 25 Years, Now in Their 90s 10:47 – Her Non-Negotiables: DBS Checks, Rigorous Training, My Way or the Highway 12:16 – The Staff Member Who Tried to Steal Her Clients While She Was Away 13:38 – COVID: She Furloughed Everyone, Then Picked Up the Mop Herself 14:47 – Why She Couldn't Let Someone Else Step In When She Didn't 15:21 – Grandma Lena, Fred & Where Her Work Ethic Actually Comes From 17:31 – Her Golden Rules: Honesty, Trust & Not Taking Prisoners 18:34 – Why She'll Never Use Agency Staff 19:03 – What Recruitment Really Looks Like 20:07 – Has She Used AI?  21:39 – Turned 60, Not Thinking About Selling, Not Done Yet 22:37 – Her Dad Retired at 77 and Said It Was the Worst Thing He Ever Did 23:48 – Letter to a Founder

  4. 10 Aug

    Ruth Percival: ‘I became a first-time founder in my 50s – and never looked back’

    After a successful corporate career, Ruth Percival became a founder in her 50s and has grown Contollo Group into a £37m business in just two years. Ruth Percival had seen the highs and lows of corporate life before becoming a first-time founder in her 50s – and she’s been making up for lost time ever since. Just two years after launching built environment consultancy Contollo Group, she’s made five acquisitions and grown the business to £37m turnover and 230 staff – with ambitious plans to double in size. In the latest episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Percival reveals why she’s finally found her dream job. “It’s my favourite (job) so far,” she said of being a founder. “I’ve absolutely loved this role. I feel like I’m thriving in it. I’m a deeply curious person and I’m stretched all the time but in a good way. It’s forced me to stretch myself.” In this episode of The Naked Founder, Percival also talks about: Tackling misogyny in the male-dominated world of corporate finance The importance of choosing the right investor Why she regrets not raising more money at the start Being married to legendary dealmaker Jonathan Boyers The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters: 00:00 – First-Time Founder at 51 00:58 – What She Wishes She'd Known 02:03 – Why Women Say What They've Done, Men Say What They're Capable Of 03:24 – Built £38M in Two Years and Apologising for Going Too Slow 04:04 – Made Redundant at Fishawack 04:17 – The Silver Lining 06:09 – Why She Chose Northedge 06:39 – The No D*ckheads Rule 07:33 – "It's My Favourite Job So Far" 08:14 – How Stress Shows Up 09:53 – Studying Genetics, Breaking the Electron Microscope & Being Told It Wasn't for Her 10:25 – Going Wild at University After a Strict Upbringing 11:22 – Her Dad Was an Accountant. So She Became One. Then She Hated It. 13:15 – The Epiphany Outside Smithfield Market 15:33 – Into Corporate Finance 16:02 – "Dial It Down": The Advice a Senior Partner Gave Her That Still Bothers Her 21:30 – Working Twice as Hard Just to Compete With an Average Male Counterpart 22:07 – Why She Named It Contollo 23:28 – Jonathan Boyers : Mr. Corporate Finance, Four-Time Deal Maker of the Year - and Her Husband 25:00 – Two Years, No Income & an Investment Club That Never Happened Before Contollo Did 27:37 – Meeting Every Single Member of Staff Who Joins the Business 28:01 – Buy and Build Means They Didn't Choose to Join Contollo 29:48 – The Icebreaker She Uses Every Quarter 31:38 – The Memory That Sticks 32:08 – Talking About the Menopause 32:38 – Finding the Right Investor Is the Difference Between Loving the Job and Misery 33:55 – 160 Targets, AI-Powered Deal Origination & 12 New Businesses Met This Month Alone 36:42 – The Plan 37:54 – No Regrets 38:34 – Letter to Her Younger Self

  5. 3 Aug

    How A Bank Collapse Nearly Wiped Us Out

    Adam Ward is the CEO of Airtime Rewards and told The Naked Founder podcast about the two events that changed the course of his life. In March 2023, the collapse of California-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) left him fearing the worst. All of Airtime Rewards' money was tied up with SVB, leaving Ward facing an anxious wait before HSBC stepped in and guaranteed all deposits. The other life-changing moment came when his son, Max, was diagnosed with the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome. The experience prompted Ward to launch the Max Ward Foundation to support other families affected by Angelman syndrome. In this episode of The Naked Founder, Ward also talks about: Swapping a law degree for a career in tech Why founders need to prioritise their fitness Growing Airtime Rewards into a £40m-turnover business The importance of finding the right co-founder Why he's not thinking about an exit The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters 00:00 - Introducing Adam Ward, CEO of Airtime Rewards 00:53 - The psychological weight nobody warns you about 01:30 - The 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse 04:23 - A weekend of crisis talks and government lobbying 05:58 - Monday: back to work, staff none the wiser 07:36 - Dropping accountancy for a law degree 08:43 - Learning to code 09:58 - Building a mobile ringtone business at university 12:06 - Choosing the business over finishing his law degree 12:47 - Selling Wapfly Technologies to 2ergo 13:47 - Founding Karrot, now Airtime Rewards, in 2014 16:26 - Airtime Rewards today: scale and team 17:24 - Why Manchester and London, and the Wire accelerator 18:16 - Choosing co-founder Josh 20:21 - Bootstrapping instead of chasing fundraises 22:40 - Turning down acquisition offers 23:54 - Son Max's diagnosis with Angelman syndrome 28:10 - Setting up the Max Ward Foundation 29:45 - Where business and parenting a child with additional needs overlap 30:23 - Expanding to Germany, then refocusing on the UK 31:50 - Losing 25kg and putting health first 34:09 - Is there an exit strategy for Airtime Rewards? 34:44 - A letter to a founder on day one

  6. 27 Jul

    Jennie Johnson: Why founders are afraid of the F-word (failure)

    Three-time founder Jennie Johnson has experienced the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur. She sold her first business, Kids Allowed, after growing it to eight sites and 500 colleagues. However, she closed her second business, parenting app My First Five Years, after realising she couldn't achieve the traction needed to make it sustainable. Now she's back with her third business, Vets at Home, the trading name of The Pet Euthanasia People, which allows people to give their pets a peaceful goodbye at home. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Johnson also talks about: The mistake of sacrificing your health for business success Why business success is a 'wiggly path' rather than a straight line The juggling challenge facing female founders Why every bruise in business is also a lesson The importance of founders owning failure The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned. Chapters 00:00 - Introducing serial entrepreneur Jennie Johnson MBE 00:33 - What she wishes she'd known about founding a business 02:03 - Riding the highs and lows without losing balance 03:18 - Why Kids Allowed succeeded and My First Five Years didn't 07:57 - Culture and colleagues: the pivotal parts of success 10:14 - Purpose, motherhood, and juggling multiple roles 12:02 - Selling Kids Allowed right before Covid — and the health toll 16:10 - Closing My First Five Years: what she'd do differently 18:40 - The idea behind Vets at Home 19:38 - Finding co-founder Mike 21:22 - The need for at-home end-of-life pet care 24:05 - How the new business is performing 25:39 - Choosing the right co-founder each time round 27:00 - Feeling different the third time as a founder 28:17 - Failure, driving tests, and the journey to success 29:11 - Building a tribe of fellow female founders 31:09 - Closing question: a letter to a founder starting out

  7. 20 Jul

    Clare Roberts: Meet the Superscaler and unofficial 'mum' to 40,000 children

    Clare Roberts OBE is one of the UK's most successful female founders. The CEO of Kids Planet Day Nurseries is part of the rare 'Superscaler' community of UK women who have founded businesses generating more than £50m in annual revenue. She founded the business with her dad, John, in 2008 after struggling to find flexible childcare for her daughter and deciding there had to be a better way. Today, Kids Planet has grown to more than 300 nurseries and is now the UK's second-largest nursery provider, caring for more than 40,000 children. Despite her success, Roberts says she likes people to think she's 'normal' and approachable. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Roberts also discusses: Scaling a £200m-turnover business How she mistook early menopause for early-onset dementia Why she hates women-only awards Politics and why it needs to be done differently The rules of working with your sister Raising investment Why fitness is a non-negotiable in business The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters 00:00:00 - Why are there so few female founders? 00:02:11 - Introducing Clare Roberts OBE and Kids Planet 00:03:10 - What she wishes she'd known at the start 00:04:17 - Mum of three, "mum" to 40,000 kids 00:06:31 - Founding Kids Planet in 2008 with her dad 00:08:41 - Problem-solving and breaking the ice with 9,000 staff 00:11:09 - Scaling from 2 nurseries to 300+ 00:13:34 - Running a family business with her sister and dad 00:16:37 - Taking investment 00:20:14 - The hardest part of being a founder 00:22:15 - Menopause, brain fog, and talking about it openly 00:25:39 - Why so few female "super scalers" 00:27:35 - Fixing how schools teach kids to think 00:30:34 - AI, the future of work, and politics 00:32:03 - How Kids Planet identifies acquisitions 00:33:16 - On women-only awards and events 00:35:48 - How her daughters and staff would describe her 00:37:15 - Charity trekking, fitness, and the half marathon 00:39:50 - A letter to her younger self

  8. 13 Jul

    Sean Brown: People don't see the sacrifices founders make

    Sean Brown is the founder of tech startup Versori, which was acquired earlier this year by US tech giant Avalara. The deal was remarkable because Brown and Daniel Jones had only founded the next-generation integration platform specialist four years earlier. However, success has not come without significant sacrifices. Brown recalls leaving his wife and newborn child to attend the Y Combinator programme in San Francisco for three months. In this episode of The Naked Founder podcast, Brown discusses: Working alongside Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett in his early days How a skydive saved him from being skint in Australia Launching his own cryptocurrency, SeanCoin – but only for people called Sean Understanding the importance of having the right team Why he still gets a buzz from building things How a Post-it note bearing the words 'profit' and 'purpose' drives his decision-making The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.   Chapters: 00:00 – The Story That Just Got Acquired by US Tech Giant Avalara: 00:24 – What Nobody Told Him: It's Not About You, It's About the Team 01:52 – Why He Doesn't Call Himself Resilient - He Just Likes to Build 02:33 – Happy Place: Maldives at 2am, Laptop Out, Waves in the Background 03:51 – Broke in Australia, Sniffing Bakeries & Raffling a Skydive He Didn't Own 06:41 – Growing Up Above Rough Pubs: Why His Relationship With Risk Is Completely Inverted 07:52 – Psychometric Test Says: Unemployable. He Agrees. 09:08 – Social Scuba, $6,000 & Learning to Code From YouTube at 20 10:56 – Working With Steven Bartlett Before Anyone Knew Who He Was 13:44 – Sean Coin: Why He Launched His Own Cryptocurrency  15:45 – 24 Staff, Millions in Revenue - and How He Learned to Be a Terrible Boss 17:28 – Leadership Flaws 19:10 – The Problem That Built The Story 20:26 – Building a Connector Engine Instead of Pre-Built Connectors 23:45 – 50% of Pipeline Comes From Conferences - Here's Exactly How He Works a Room 25:53 – We Don't Fish, We Hunt 27:08 – 100% Close Rate From Qualified Meetings: Why Cold Calls Are a Waste of Time 28:01 – Four Weeks Post-ACL Surgery, Flew to San Francisco, Knee Blown Up 29:07 – 310% Growth, Y Combinator & the Who's Who of Startup Validation 30:18 – Three Months in San Francisco, Newborn at Home, House Already Sold to Fund It 31:11 – 260 Investor Calls in Three Weeks: Refining the Pitch 1% at a Time 32:04 – Raising - Term Sheet Signed in Austin on a Wednesday 33:16 – Why the Avalara Acquisition Felt Like a Match Made in Heaven 35:41 – Family First, Then Keep Building: Why He Said Yes to the Deal 37:50 – Five Identical Sweatshirts, One Post-It Note: The Mind That Doesn't Waste a Thought 38:48 – No More Existential Dread: What It Feels Like to Found Inside a Huge Company 39:30 – Profit and Purpose: The Two Words on His Post-It Note That Drive Everything 41:04 – Why Profit Comes First - and What That Means for the Letter He'd Write to His Sons

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The Naked Founder Podcast

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  • Creator
    BusinessCloud
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
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    The Naked Founder
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