The Everyday Founder

James Farnfield
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  • ريادة الأعمال
  • يتم التحديث أسبوعيًا

Welcome to the everyday founder podcast with James Farnfield 👋🏽 James chats with everyday founders and ask them questions across a range of serious and lighthearted topics. It’s time that we celebrate those everyday founders doing incredible things. Celebrating their successes, learning from their journey and supporting their future. Enjoy 🚀 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. ٢ أكتوبر

    The Future of Real-World Asset Tokenization Explained Simply | Florian Ehrbar

    Florian Ehrbar, founder of OnchainLabs, went from calling time on a failing consulting gig… to convincing the investor to back a new team and a new idea: connecting real-world assets (skis, classic cars, gold - even trees) to the blockchain with actual utility. We get into radical candour, building “Wallet 2” that feels like email (not MetaMask), no-code tokenization, raising private capital, and leading a half-inherited team while staying focused when you could do everything. In this episode you’ll learn: - Why telling the hard truth can start your next company - Funded-from-day-one: hidden pressures and how to navigate them - Real user value in tokenization (CRM, warranties/insurance, provenance) - UX trade-offs: self-custody vs ease, and designing guardrails - The vision: a white-label, no-code RWA platform you can drag-and-drop deploy Chapters 00:00 Intro — honesty when everything’s on fire 01:10 The investor asks “what now?” → forming the new team 02:36 Florian’s path: consulting → dating app → investments → founder 05:10 Quitting a safe career with a young family 06:19 Side-hustle vs jump: why he didn’t moonlight (and regrets it) 07:45 Funded from day one: blessings and pressure 09:06 The moment of candour that killed a project and birthed Onchain Labs 11:05 What Onchain Labs does (physical → digital, real utility) 12:54 Tokenizing luxury skis: CRM, insurance, activation incentives 15:04 Blockchain basics (wallets, ownership, self-custody) 17:22 UX reality: too easy vs too risky — finding the line 19:35 Classic cars & provenance: why digitised records matter 21:30 Leading a “half-inherited” team: empower vs decide 23:40 Focus when you can do everything: pick the beachhead 25:05 Building “Wallet 2” — make blockchain feel like email 27:10 Towards a no-code, white-label RWA platform 29:00 Commercial model: SaaS + transactions + implementation 31:05 Who it’s for: gold tokenization, consumer apps, and beyond 33:12 Ambition: the AWS/Shopify of tokenization (for non-financial assets) 35:00 Fundraising, unusual backers & validation moments 37:05 Founder life: work ethic, optimism, taking bigger risks sooner 39:00 Skill vs luck — and where to follow Florian If this helped, hit like, subscribe, and drop a comment with the next founder you want on the show. #Startups #Web3 #Tokenization #RWA #FounderJourney #Leadership #EverydayFounderPodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  2. ٢٥ سبتمبر

    From RAF Pilot to Deep Tech Founder: Building the Trust Layer for Autonomy at SAIF | Kyle Thomas

    Former RAF pilot turned deep-tech founder, Kyle Thomas is building SAIF Autonomy—the “application firewall” for autonomous systems. We get into embodied AI vs deterministic autonomy, what it takes to certify and deploy robots in the real world, the UK vs US VC mindset, nearly running out of cash (with £22 left in the bank), and why veterans often thrive in startups. What's in the episode: - Embodied AI in the physical world (and why “trust layers” matter) - Defense to startup: decision-making under uncertainty - Real use cases: drones, logistics, shipping, aviation, space - Public perception & regulation: earning societal trust - Raising $1.2M from Silicon Valley as a UK deep-tech startup - Culture design: borrowing the best of military leadership - Practical founder advice: start sooner, ignore the naysayers Chapters: 0:00 Cold open — embodied AI, safety & “wrappers” 1:12 Intro — Kyle’s RAF background & SAIF’s mission 2:23 Military → startup: decision-making & stress tolerance 4:09 UK vs US mindset on speed, growth & work ethic 6:30 Meeting co-founder Matt; origins in RAF programs 7:22 Rapid Capabilities Office & TRL (3→7 fast) 8:42 From scripted autonomy to embodied, goal-based systems 10:03 Real-world examples (drones, Waymo, sidewalk bots) 11:01 Autonomy vs AI — clear definitions 12:53 Deterministic vs embodied AI (and their failure modes) 13:53 Today’s drone deliveries (hospitals, corridors, BVLOS) 14:10 Scaling without city-wide infrastructure 15:52 Proving it on land, sea, air… and space 18:19 Public perception, safety cases & building trust 19:13 Logistics, shipping & aviation use cases 20:06 “Application firewall” for autonomy (trust layer) 22:19 Fundraise story — $1.2M pre-revenue from Silicon Valley 24:03 Why UK/EU VC often feels like PE (risk appetite) 25:59 US lead, diligence, patents & why it clicked 27:12 UK engineering talent vs US scaling capital 29:05 CEO self-awareness: when to level up or step aside 30:39 Targeting specialist US funds next 33:17 Sponsor break — Opus community 33:49 Near-death runway tale: £22 in the bank 36:50 Money lands at 8:22pm on New Year’s Eve 43:17 Split-second RAF story — refuelling saves lives 47:49 Why veterans can excel in startups 49:17 Culture & leadership: high trust, high standards 52:04 Practical rituals (socials, flexibility, outcomes) 55:11 Advice to younger self: start sooner, be bold 58:07 Founder communities: Opus, ICE, Founders Pledge 1:00:12 Be in the room — why London matters 1:01:12 Trust over impressions (in-person beats ads) 1:02:30 Luck vs talent (and timing) 1:03:55 Where to find Kyle (LinkedIn, site, IG) 1:04:45 Blog & updates coming soon 1:05:08 Outro About Kyle / SAIF Autonomy Kyle Thomas, Co-founder & CEO, SAIF Autonomy Mission: a safety & assurance “trust layer” so autonomous systems can operate safely at the edge (air, land, sea, space) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  3. ١١ سبتمبر

    How This Exited Founder Raised $1.5M from 66 Angels to Launch Insurtech Loxa | Jamie Hamer

    What does it take to raise $1.5M from 66 angels across 400 meetings? Jamie Hamer, CEO of Loxa and founder of React News (acquired by Green Street), shares the unfiltered reality. From walking away from a £150k salary to making 30 cold calls a day, Jamie is building one of the most ambitious insurtechs in the UK—backed not by VCs, but by a cap table stacked with mission-aligned angels. In this episode of The Everyday Founder, we dive into: - Why angels is better than funds (and how to manage 66 of them) - The litmus test for picking advisors (time and money or nothing) - The playbook for user research that doubles as early sales - Why founder-led sales is still king in early-stage B2B - How to build a team around “total ownership” - What it’s really like to rebrand midstream - And how to “increase the surface area of your luck” If you’re raising, hiring, or selling at the early stage, Jamie’s insights are a masterclass in founder grit and strategic execution. 👉 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts in the comments. Chapters 00:00 – Why advisors must have skin in the game 01:20 – Jamie’s journey: from P&G to React News 03:30 – Leaving a £150k salary to start up 06:00 – The power of user research (The Mom Test in action) 08:15 – Building and exiting React News 10:20 – Why angels beat VC funding 13:00 – How Jamie raised $1.5M from 66 angels 15:25 – Managing a cap table of 66 investors 18:00 – Co-founders, vesting, and avoiding dead equity 21:00 – Hiring playbook: KPIs, probation, and personality tests 24:00 – Total ownership as a cultural value 27:00 – Founder-led sales: why cold calling still works 31:00 – The pain (and lessons) of a rebrand 34:00 – Building Loxa: tackling insurtech complexity 38:00 – Transparency, trust, and fixing insurance for good 42:00 – Increasing the surface area of your luck 46:00 – Reflections on skill vs luck in entrepreneurship 49:00 – Jamie’s advice to early-stage founders 53:00 – Where to follow Jamie and Loxa Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  4. ٢٨ أغسطس

    From GoDaddy & WeWork to CEO of Epignosis: Scaling Learning for 22M People Globally | Nikhil Arora

    Nikhil Arora has built a career at the intersection of leadership, global growth, and purposeful impact. Today, he’s the CEO of Epignosis, the company behind TalentLMS, serving 22M+ learners across 160 countries. But his story stretches far beyond EdTech. From helping build Kazakhstan’s first stock exchange, to leading international growth at GoDaddy, scaling Intuit in India, and launching WeWork in Asia, Nikhil has lived and worked across 9 countries and 4 continents—all while keeping up a daily running habit. In this episode, we cover: - What it takes to step in as CEO after two founders step aside. - How to balance mission and growth in a global SaaS company. - Why listening tours with customers and employees shape better strategy than any playbook. - Building culture across remote, hybrid, and global teams. - Vulnerability, failure, and why leaders must lead with authenticity. - The balance between being a missionary (purpose-driven) and mercenary (growth-focused) leader. If you’re a founder, CEO, or aspiring leader, this conversation is packed with insights on scaling businesses, managing up, and staying grounded while running at speed. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Declaring strategy vs listening first 01:00 – Introducing Nikhil Arora, CEO of Epignosis 02:00 – Building Kazakhstan’s first stock exchange 04:00 – What Epignosis does today 06:00 – Taking over from the founders 08:00 – Balancing preservation and change as CEO 10:00 – Product, customers, and culture as priorities 12:00 – Leading a 250-person global team 15:00 – Fireside chats, townhalls, and communication clarity 18:00 – Vulnerability, failure, and celebrating mistakes 22:00 – Creating a safe culture for feedback 25:00 – Clarity, guiding principles, and decision-making 27:00 – Staying focused and prioritising as a leader 30:00 – Red, yellow, green framework for CEO focus 33:00 – Managing energy, family, and fitness 36:00 – Mission vs mercenary: purpose and growth 40:00 – Managing up as an installed CEO 45:00 – The #1 mistake founders often make 48:00 – Why no one is truly self-made 50:00 – Keeping your network and mentors alive 53:00 – The importance of mentors (older and younger) 56:00 – Skill vs luck in business 59:00 – Where to find Nikhil online Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ١ من الساعات

  5. ٢١ أغسطس

    Scaling from Idea to 120+ People at Legal Tech AI startup - Juro | Richard Mabey

    Richard Mabey left a comfortable career as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields to launch Juro, the all-in-one contract platform now trusted by Deliveroo, Cazoo, and hundreds of fast-scaling businesses. Since then, Juro has raised $38M+, grown to a team of 120+, and positioned itself at the forefront of AI-enabled legal tech. In this episode of The Everyday Founder, Richard shares: - Why he walked away from a secure legal career to pursue entrepreneurship - How Juro landed its first enterprise clients like Deliveroo through co-creation - The long road to product-market fit (and what retention really means) - Lessons in scaling sales, hiring the right early team, and keeping culture intact - Betting early on AI copilots and agents—and how that decision is reshaping the legal industry - His honest take on self-doubt, work-life balance, and what really makes founders succeed If you’re a founder, lawyer, or builder curious about the realities of growing a SaaS company in a competitive market—this conversation with Richard is packed with hard-won lessons. Chapters: 00:00 – Why sales isn’t demand (and the role of marketing) 00:49 – Introducing Richard Mabey, CEO & Co-Founder of Juro 01:26 – Leaving law for entrepreneurship: riches-to-rags story 02:44 – The pain point that sparked Juro 04:00 – The inefficiencies of corporate law 05:15 – Taking the plunge despite pressure & self-doubt 07:24 – Early days: learning to code & finding a co-founder 10:10 – Raising seed funding & first customers (Deliveroo) 12:27 – Co-creating with early adopters 16:10 – Slow growth to product-market fit (4+ years) 18:30 – Defining product-market fit (retention & renewal) 21:09 – Building repeatable sales: from scrappy to scalable 23:36 – Why marketing came before hiring sales 25:22 – Content as Juro’s growth engine 26:06 – Founder self-doubt & keeping balance with family life 29:16 – Work-life balance & startup intensity 31:21 – Starting Juro while becoming a parent 33:07 – Early hires, talent density & culture fit 37:12 – Scaling the team from 30 to 100+ 39:05 – Rethinking hiring in the AI era 40:51 – Why fewer people, but higher talent density, wins 41:22 – Picking the right VCs & long-term partners 45:28 – Radical transparency with the board & team 47:43 – Building trust with customers (handwritten notes & support) 50:20 – Using community to strengthen customer relationships 51:27 – Betting big on AI copilots & agents 55:09 – How AI is reshaping legal jobs 59:32 – Competing with incumbents & new AI-native challengers 1:02:12 – What’s Juro’s moat? 1:04:24 – The next 5 years for Juro 1:06:13 – Fundraising is just “stopping for petrol” 1:06:40 – Luck vs skill in entrepreneurship 1:08:41 – Final reflections & where to follow Richard Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  6. ١٤ أغسطس

    What Happens When Your Startup Fails - And Your Name Is on the Door | Cecily Motley

    In this episode, I sit down with Cecily Motley — founder of Harriet and previously the CEO of Motley, a direct-to-consumer jewellery brand that raised millions before collapsing in the wake of Apple’s privacy update. We talk about the emotional toll of shutting down a business with your name on the door, the lessons she brought into building a venture-scale B2B company, and how she's leading a startup while raising two young children. This is a conversation about resilience, reinvention, and what happens after your startup fails. ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro: Cecily’s story in 20 seconds 01:15 - Why her first startup, Motley, shut down 04:33 - The hidden costs of DTC and the iOS14 death blow 08:10 - The emotional experience of failure as a founder 12:00 - Starting Harriet: a complete pivot to B2B HR tech 15:45 - What Harriet does and why it matters 18:20 - Lessons from DTC applied to B2B SaaS 21:30 - Fundraising post-failure: the mindset shift 25:00 - What makes a defensible company in 2025 28:00 - Building while parenting: realities vs LinkedIn myths 32:40 - Maternity & paternity leave: how founders should lead 36:15 - Advice for founders dealing with failure 39:00 - The importance of self-identity beyond the startup 42:00 - Final reflections and Cecily’s founder advice #Startups #Founders #B2B #DTC #Harriet #Leadership #TheEverydayFounder #Entrepreneurship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  7. ٧ أغسطس

    Why This Founder Left a $160M Startup to Fix Supply Chains with AI | Cedrik Hoffmann

    Why This Founder Left a $160M Startup to Fix Supply Chains with AI Cedrik Hoffmann is the co-founder & CEO of Ameeba, a startup bringing AI-powered intelligence to supply chain operations. Before that, he scaled and exited Valoreo — a $160M VC-backed roll-up of consumer brands across Latin America. In this conversation, Cedrik shares the raw truth of leaving high-paid jobs, building in overlooked industries, and how personal loss and failure shaped his founder mindset. From hustling trade shows in Taiwan with no product, to raising millions and leading hundreds — this is a story of grit, reinvention, and staying obsessed with the problem. — Chapters 00:00 – The only career where failure is rewarded 01:00 – Cedrik’s early life and unlikely path to Goldman Sachs 03:00 – Realizing banking wasn’t the dream 04:40 – The turning point: advice from his wife 06:00 – Going all in: no business, no plan, just hustle 08:00 – Meeting Jack and taking over a Taiwanese factory 11:00 – How a cold call from old friends led to Valoreo 13:00 – Raising $160M and scaling across Latin America 15:30 – Why fundraising isn’t the milestone 17:00 – The truth about exit returns and dilution 18:50 – The origin of Ameeba and building the tool he wished he had 21:00 – AI in supply chains: hype vs real problems 23:30 – How Cedrik found the right co-founder 26:00 – Choosing co-founders like life partners 29:00 – Why co-developing with customers worked 32:00 – What most B2B founders get wrong about product 34:00 – The zombie tech stack inside global supply chains 36:00 – How geopolitics is reshaping where goods are made 38:00 – Nearshoring, cost misconceptions, and supply chain as a brand story 42:00 – Competing with Shein and surviving retail disruption 44:00 – Why founders need to understand their supply chain 48:00 – Balancing fatherhood and founder life 52:00 – Cedrik’s biggest failure — and what he learned 54:00 – Luck vs talent vs grit 56:00 – Where to find Cedrik online — Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations with the founders behind real businesses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    ٥٧ من الدقائق

  8. ٣١ يوليو

    From £0 to £9M Booked in Two Years – The Cold Call Comeback | Greg Freeman

    From £0 to £9M Booked in Two Years – The Cold Call Comeback | Greg Freeman, Data Literacy Academy On this episode of The Everyday Founder, I sat down with Greg Freeman, founder of Data Literacy Academy. From selling nightclub tickets in uni to building a 7-figure enterprise training platform, Greg’s story is packed with real, tactical advice for founders on the front line. We break down the early days, how he signed Bentley and SSE as clients before hiring a full team, why cold calling still works, and what building an enterprise business really looks like behind the scenes. 👇 Chapters & Timestamps 👇 00:00 – Why Cold Calling Still Works 00:52 – Meet Greg Freeman, Founder of Data Literacy Academy 01:17 – Why Greg Became an Entrepreneur 04:20 – Backpacking in Peru & the Y Combinator Spark 05:54 – What Data Literacy Academy Actually Does 07:13 – Selling to Startups vs Selling to Enterprise 08:41 – Winning Bentley, SSE, and Aston Uni as First Clients 11:00 – The 0 to £1M Journey in 9 Months 13:25 – The Enterprise Go-To-Market Strategy 17:21 – How Greg Became a Data Expert Without a Data Degree 19:14 – Picking Up the Damn Phone (How Greg Closed Big Deals) 23:40 – Step-by-Step: Greg’s Cold Call Sequence 26:50 – Cold Calling Isn’t Dead. You’re Just Scared. 30:05 – Founder Loneliness, Solo vs Co-Founder Debate 34:03 – Why Your Co-Founder Might Be the Most Expensive Round 36:00 – Hiring Early: What Greg Got Right 38:38 – The “Bleeds Green” Test for Early Hires 41:01 – How They Built a High-Performance Team Culture 44:07 – Radical Candour and No Dicks Allowed 46:34 – Founder Strengths: Strategy > People Management 49:11 – Culture That Actually Drives Growth 52:18 – The Fast-Track: James’ Journey from £18k to Head of Role 55:06 – Values Over Ping-Pong Tables 58:26 – What’s Next for Data Literacy Academy 1:00:26 – Exit Strategy vs Lifestyle Business 1:03:06 – Luck vs Talent: What Actually Builds a Business 1:03:48 – Where to Find Greg Freeman Online 🔗 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfreemandla 🎓 Learn more about Data Literacy Academy: https://dataliteracyacademy.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Welcome to the everyday founder podcast with James Farnfield 👋🏽 James chats with everyday founders and ask them questions across a range of serious and lighthearted topics. It’s time that we celebrate those everyday founders doing incredible things. Celebrating their successes, learning from their journey and supporting their future. Enjoy 🚀 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

المعلومات

  • صناع العمل
    James Farnfield
  • سنوات النشاط
    ٢٠٢٤ - ٢٠٢٥
  • الحلقات
    ٢٩
  • التقييم
    فاضح
  • حقوق النشر
    © James Farnfield
  • موقع البرنامج على الويب
    The Everyday Founder