Founded & Grounded

Ollie Tiramuragan Collard & Dr Becky Sage
  • 5.0 (35)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated fortnightly

Tired of startup hype? So are we. Ranked in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally and a top 5 startup podcast in Europe, Founded & Grounded gives unseen founders the mic, where real stories rise above the noise. Our unique 3-part format blends founder interviews, co-host analysis, and actionable takeaways you can use right now. We go beyond the highlight reel to explore the human, unvarnished side of building a business, from emotional well-being strategies to exploring the paradoxes of entrepreneurship. If you’re an early-stage founder, welcome home. You’ve found your people. Apply to feature 👇 foundedandgrounded.com YouTube 👇 https://www.youtube.com/@FoundedandGroundedPod Spotify 👇 https://open.spotify.com/show/26LBRTAS1epLbLGMWkzasd?si=fb01a80d59e94913 Apple 👇 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/founded-grounded/id1486339606

  1. 10 Aug

    Founders Unplugged: The No Bullsh*t Adviser: Kicked Out of School at 15. Advising Banks by 20. Now 1,000+ Founders Ask Him for the Truth

    Meet Greg, the adviser who built a career on saying what 1,000+ founders didn't want to hear. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. The opener to this episode tells you two things about Greg McCallum: he's funnier than most business advisers, and he's more honest about the cost of the founder life than almost anyone we've had on the show. 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Ask strangers, not friends. The most common founder mistake is failing to ask prospective customers whether the idea is good. Do it early and you're not just validating, you're building a pipeline, learning the language that sells, and writing your first sales playbook for free. 2. Sales is listening, not pitching. Professional sales hires get a three- to six-month ramp before anyone expects a deal, so give yourself the same grace. Never ask for the sale. Understand the need, demonstrate the solution, and let them ask you. 3. Honesty is the strategy. With customers, with investors, and hardest of all with yourself. Audit the skills you actually lack before you buy the domain or design the logo. Self-awareness is cheaper than failure. Greg got kicked out of school at 15. By 16, he was running a restaurant floor. By 18, he'd quietly consulted for almost every bar and restaurant in Oxford. By his mid-twenties, banks were asking him into the boardroom. Then he deliberately took a soul-destroying telemarketing job for a year, because nobody would take his sales advice seriously until he'd done the hard yards himself. That decision led to sales leadership at Booksy (now unicorn status), C-suite roles across startups, and a mentoring practice that has helped over 1,000 founders worldwide, under a name he's turned into a brand: The No B******t Adviser. In this episode, Greg gets honest about the mistake almost every founder makes, why working in sales won't teach you founder sales, the AI industry's dirty data secret his new startup Peer is built to solve, and the part nobody talks about: the anxiety, the dark years, and the alliances entrepreneurship never lets you make. Because when it all goes wrong, the question that matters is who you actually call. Please note: this episode contains strong language throughout. Greg is called the No B******t Adviser for a reason. WHAT WE COVER - Kicked out of school, child of immigrant entrepreneurs, and managing hospitality floors at 16 - Accidentally becoming Oxford's teenage restaurant consultant - A year of telemarketing to earn the right to give sales advice - Booksy, C-suite roles, and 1,000+ founders mentored - The one bad Trustpilot review that's secretly a five-star review - Why psychometric tests are (mostly) b******t, and skills audits beat personality labels - Founders Unplugged: the podcast born from client calls that ran three hours over - Peer and the dirty secret of AI: the data ceiling nobody talks about - "Stop preaching work-life balance": Greg's unfiltered take - Anxiety, depression, CBT, and becoming your own therapist - The real sacrifice: friendship, founder loneliness, and why your support network is a survival mechanism - The SaaS bubble, the bootstrapping comeback, and his one piece of advice: two words 💬 Greg's story got us thinking: when it all goes wrong, who is the one person you'd call? Tell us in the comments. Greg also offers a free one-hour, no-strings advisory session to founders and executives. Details on his site below. Guest: Greg McCallum The No B******t Adviser: https://www.gregrcmccallum.com/the-no-bs-session Founders Unplugged: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/founders-unplugged/id1688034102 Peer - https://peerlab.ai/peer Hosted by Ollie Tiramuragan Collard and Dr Becky Sage. 🎧 New episodes every fortnight. Search "Founded and Grounded" on your favourite player. 👍 If you got value, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps the show grow. #FoundedAndGrounded #StartupPodcast #Entrepreneurship #Sales #FounderAdvice Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  2. 27 Jul

    Sunny & Luna: From Modelling on 800 Calories a Day to Building a Pasta Brand That Celebrates Food.

    The ex-model who turned an exploding kitchen of cauliflower into the pasta brand. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. "My husband was just like, 'What's happening?' The kitchen was just an explosion of cauliflower." That's how Sunny & Luna started, and this episode opens with it. Giulia Berretti spent her teens modelling in New York on as little as 800 calories a day, inside an industry that treated food as the enemy. The daughter of a winemaker and a restaurateur, taught to make pasta by her nonna, she walked away. When COVID hit, she rebuilt her relationship with food into a business: vegetable-packed fresh pasta, born in her own kitchen. She sold her first batches to neighbours on Nextdoor, pitched at the Bread & Jam festival with four gnocchi in a plastic bag, and Whole Foods and Planet Organic loved it. She then spent six months knocking on the doors of Italian manufacturers who kept asking "who are you?" until one said yes. When we recorded this conversation, Giulia was days from her first national listing and closing a £500K angel round. Today, Sunny & Luna is on the shelves of Sainsbury's, Ocado, Whole Foods and Planet Organic. Proof that everything she talks about in this episode worked. 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Never compromise on your non-negotiables. When the Ukraine war sent costs spiralling, Giulia held her quality line and raised prices instead of cutting corners, and customers rewarded her for it. Know what you won't trade, and price accordingly. 2. Passion plus authenticity beats playbooks. She built a standout brand in a category nobody had disrupted (fresh pasta) by staying close to what she genuinely knows and loves. Innovation came from her story, not from copying someone else's. 3. Persistence needs patience. "When the train is coming, you don't have to jump straight away." Ups and downs are the job. The founders who make it are the ones who keep going without rushing decisions that compromise the long-term vision. WHAT WE COVER - Modelling in New York at 18: the money, the pressure, and restricting to 800 calories a day - Nonna's kitchen: the pasta-making childhood that became the business - Testing demand on Nextdoor, and pitching retailers with a plastic bag of gnocchi - Six months driving around Italy to find a manufacturer, and selling them the dream - Why she'd never compromise on quality, even when costs exploded - Two days of maternity leave, pitching Ocado ten days after giving birth, and the lesson in slowing down - "A company fails when the founder is tired": mental health, therapy, and switching off - Funding: bootstrapped on modelling savings, then a £500K round from angels who back her - The future of food: real ingredients over fake meat, and Sunny & Luna as a lifestyle brand - Why the business is named after her cats 💬 Giulia has a question for you. See the pinned comment and tell us your favourite. Guest: Giulia Berretti Sunny & Luna: https://sunnyandluna.co.uk | Instagram: @sunnyandlunaeats Hosted by Ollie Tiramuragan Collard and Dr. Becky Sage. 🎧 New episodes every fortnight. Search "Founded and Grounded" on your favourite player. 👍 If you got value, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps the show grow. #FoundedAndGrounded #StartupPodcast #Entrepreneurship #FoodStartup #FemaleFounder Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  3. 6 Jul

    hybr: Rejected by Her University. Rejected by Every Landlord. Now Hannah Wants 60% of the Student Housing Market.

    Nobody would give Hannah a room. So Hannah decided to control who gets one.Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. "I cold called all of the landlords I'd ever met at Bristol and got horribly rejected by most. Definitely cried a lot in the first few weeks." That's how Hannah Chappatte started hybr and this episode opens with it. Rejected by the University of Bristol on her predicted grades, she proved them wrong, got in, got a first, then skipped the consulting grad schemes to fix the thing every student complains about: finding a house. Fast forward, hybr has raised a £3.24M seed round and is building the one-stop rental platform for the UK's 3 million students, first-time renters drowning in jargon, deprioritised by agents, and at risk of exploitation. This is a masterclass in validation, resilience and focus from a founder who did it with no network, no funding and no playbook, and who'll tell you straight: if you can avoid raising money, avoid it. 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS 1. Rejection is the R&D. Every landlord "no" became a rewritten pitch and a rebuttal, until the yeses came. Persistence isn't gritting your teeth; it's a feedback loop. Validate by selling, not by building in silence. 2. Focus is a system, not a feeling. Two company objectives per quarter, one North Star metric. If a project doesn't ladder into them, it doesn't get worked on, however shiny. 3. Build sustainably from day one. Validate on the smallest possible scale with minimal tech investment, prove the problem and market are big enough, and design for profitability early; it de-risks everything that comes after. And it applies to you too: Hannah calls out the sleep-under-the-desk myth. Sprints are real; burnout kills businesses.  WHAT WE COVER - Cold-calling landlords, crying through rejections, and rewriting the pitch every time - The consulting grad-scheme escape and throwing herself in 100% after graduation - Going from co-founder to sole founder after three months , and why her next business will have one - Both sides of the marketplace: what students and landlords actually need - Raising a £3.24M seed in a market where 2% of funding goes to women - The worst advice ever: the VC who'd only invest if she pivoted to food - The power of being underestimated - The event where 100 people RSVP'd and one turned up - Radical Candor, building a team of 15, and rejecting hustle culture - Gen Z, mental hygiene, remote-vs-office, and her vision: no empty rooms in the UK  💬 Hannah has a question for you , see the pinned comment and tell us your answer. Guest: Hannah Chappatte LinkedIn: Hannah Chappatte | HYBR: https://hybr.co.uk Socials: @hybr.uk on TikTok, Instagram and X Hosted by Ollie Tiramuragan Collard and Dr. Becky Sage.  🎧 New episodes every fortnight. Search "Founded and Grounded" on your favourite player. 👍 If you got value, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts , it genuinely helps the show grow. #FoundedAndGrounded #StartupPodcast #Entrepreneurship #PropTech #FemaleFounder Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  4. 22 Jun

    Splutter: Held Hostage in Beirut. Later Dave Risked His Pension to Buy the Business He Worked For.

    Surviving crisis - from a Beirut hostage ordeal to losing every client overnight. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.  Dave Mason has survived two crises most people never face: being held hostage in Beirut and every client cancelling in a single afternoon. Now he helps companies survive theirs.  ⚠️ Note: this episode contains a first-hand account of violence and trauma (a hostage situation and PTSD).  Listener discretion advised. In 2006, Dave Mason was reporting on displaced families in Beirut when his car was surrounded by a mob. Dave and his colleague held on in the back of that car, fighting for their lives, punched, robbed, and threatened- before, of all groups, Hezbollah ended up getting them to safety, and he was taken to meet the Prime Minister of Lebanon.  This is not the only crisis Dave has survived. From a media-obsessed teenager -  fired up by a single teacher's offhand comment - Dave built a 30-year career spanning local radio (he founded the much-loved Orchard FM), GMTV breakfast TV and NATO media training. Then he backed himself, financing a management buyout against his own pension to buy the agency he worked for. Three months later, COVID hit and every single client cancelled in one afternoon. This is how he rebuilt in 48 hours, turned crisis into a four-day-week business, and spun out Splutter -  a real-time social media crisis simulator now used in one of the world's largest financial-sector crisis exercises (1,000+ participants, Hong Kong).  Along the way: honest financial advice for freelancers, why local media still matters, what AI really means for PR, and why your health is worth more than the money. If you're a founder weighing up a risky bet, a management buyout, or how to survive when the market disappears overnight, this one's for you.  KEY TAKEAWAYS  1. Resilience is adaptability. Dave didn't survive COVID by waiting it out,  he rebuilt in 48 hours and pivoted his media training into a digital-first product. When the market vanishes, the move is to reshape what you offer, fast.  2. Use AI to amplify people, not replace them. 3. Your health is the real wealth. Dave's line "if you've got your health, you are a millionaire" rings so true. Money is the trade-off freelancers make; protecting your wellbeing is what makes the success sustainable.  WHAT WE COVER - Beirut, 2006: 45 minutes that became a near-death experience - and the PTSD treatment that followed - The teacher's comment that lit the fire, and breaking into media with cold letters as a 15-year-old (75 rejection letters kept to this day) - Founding Orchard FM - why local radio mattered, and what we lost when the corporates took over - The freelance reality: "no show, no dough", saving for sickness, and the holiday that costs double - Financing a management buyout against your pension - and what the regulators put him through - The COVID afternoon every client vanished - and the 48-hour pivot that saved the business - Building Splutter: simulating thousands of hostile avatars to stress-test real organisations - What AI really means for PR, focus vs adaptability, and why careers only make sense looking backwards  💬 Over to you: what's the toughest crisis you've had to navigate in your business? Tell us in the comments.  Guest: Dave Mason LinkedIn: Dave Mason | X: @DaveMasonTV Splutter: https://splutter.training Mentor Media Training: https://mentormediatraining.co.uk Hosted by Ollie Tiramuragan Collard and Dr. Becky Sage.  🎧 New episodes every fortnight. Search "Founded and Grounded" on your favourite player. 👍 If you got value, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts; it genuinely helps the show grow. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  5. 8 Jun

    Bristol Office Hub: Buying an Office in Lockdown: The Rugby Mates Who Doubled Down on Property

    They bought an office in lockdown when nobody else was buying. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary. Two mates met on a rugby pitch, became accountant and client, then bought an office building in the middle of lockdown, when no one else was buying. In this episode, Ollie speaks to Rhys Jones (The Online Accountant) and Olly Ladbrooke (Moose Studios), business partners behind the Bristol Office Hub, about going from corporate life to running multiple businesses side by side. They get honest about the mindset shift from employee to serial entrepreneur, the brutal moment a down-valuation left them scraping to fund a leaking roof, why complementary skills beat codified roles, and how community and referrals (not contrived networking) quietly built everything. Plus, we explore AI in accountancy and marketing, and why "just show up and take action" still wins. Whether you're a solo founder feeling the isolation or weighing up a big risk, this one's for you. LISTENER TAKEAWAYS 1. Resilience isn't a trait; it's a position. Their first building ran "like a dream", which is exactly what gave them the confidence and cushion to survive a brutal down-valuation on the second. 2. Cash buys you calm. Build six to twelve months of runway in the first two years, keep it lean, and you stop pouring energy into chasing bills instead of growing. 3. Action beats overthinking. No scaremongering about AI, these business partners just show up, make the call, and move forward. 90% of success is being there and taking the next step. GUESTS Rhys Jones, accountant and co-founder of The Online Accountant and The Property Accountant. Left corporate life to go solo, took on Olly as client number one, now runs a six-person practice. Olly Ladbrooke, chartered surveyor (ex-BNP Paribas) and founder of Moose Studios, a marketing agency with offices in Bristol and London. Together they own and run the Bristol Office Hub. Bristol Office Hub — bristolofficehub.co.uk (195–197 Whiteladies Road, Bristol) Moose Studios - moosestudios.co.uk The Online Accountant - theonlineaccountant.com Have questions about this episode? Ask our hosts, chat now via our website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  6. 12 May

    The Grounding (live) - Agentic AI vs SaaS: Claude Cowork, and the real founder use case

    Is software dead, or just being rebuilt? Ollie spent two weeks obsessing over Claude Cowork and turned 100 episodes of Founded & Grounded into a content engine. Becky spoke alongside the legendary Steve Blank. We break down agentic AI, SaaS valuations, customer development, pricing as conversation, and why human connection is the moat that AI cannot copy. This will leave you wanting to experiment right now. Key takeaways - Agentic AI is not a tool you add. It's the sand between your existing software stack, doing the connective work while you sleep, so you stop running the business by hand. - Pricing is a conversation, not a number. Steve Blank's lesson is simple. Ask the customer the question, listen to the answer, then build the proposal. Skip that step, and you're guessing with someone else's money. - AI raises the floor on output. It does nothing for trust. The founders who win the next cycle are the ones in rooms without laptops, building relationships that agents cannot fake.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  7. 9 Mar

    The Grounding (live) with SWIG Finance: Navigating uncertainty

    How do founders navigate a business landscape shaped by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity? In this live conversation, we speak with Matt Wilde from SWIG Finance about the funding gaps many businesses still face and what it really takes to grow in an unstable global environment. From working capital and supply chains to the role of trusted advisors and stronger ecosystem support, Matt shares what founders need to get right when the pressure is on. Key takeaways: Businesses that want to thrive in uncertain times need strong foundations, especially around working capital and effective supply chain management. Social impact lenders like SWIG Finance play an important role in supporting a wide range of businesses with tailored financial solutions that help them grow and sustain operations. AI can free up time for more valuable human-centred work, but businesses need to balance efficiency with sound judgement and human values.  We also explore the role of SWIG Finance as a social enterprise lender, supporting businesses with finance options that help founders start, sustain and scale. The conversation looks at the importance of good advisors, access to capital and stronger ecosystem connectivity, and how these factors shape a founder’s ability to build a resilient business. Alongside this, we discuss the growing influence of AI on the way businesses operate. While technology can create efficiencies, Matt makes the case for keeping human judgment at the centre of decision-making. The episode closes with real examples, reflections on smarter financial decisions and a broader look at what founders need to succeed in a VUCA world. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

  8. 24/03/2025

    Jordan Schwarzenberger: The creator economy is a lie, here’s the model that works

    7 billion views and counting: the growth secrets of Sidemen's creative mastermind, Jordan Schwarzenberger.  Managing one of the world’s biggest creator collectives is no small feat. We dive deep with the man behind Arcade Media and the Sidemen’s explosive rise, blending sharp self-awareness, cultural intuition, and a bold approach to building in public.  The creator economy is dead. Jordan reveals why relying on brand deals is outdated and how the Sidemen have built entire business models through strategic partnerships and leveraging their audience. This is a masterclass in staying relevant, building with intention, and growing without losing who you are. Key takeaways 🔥 Know yourself to grow yourself. Jordan believes brutal self-awareness and personal branding are essential. When you understand who you truly are and fully embrace it, you unlock clarity, confidence, and business momentum.  📹 Don’t just create. Document. It’s not just about creating content. Jordan shows how documenting your journey with purpose builds trust, drives growth, and keeps your brand aligned with your goals. 🤝 You can’t win alone.  Strategic partnerships are the key ingredient to scale. Find operators who complement your strengths and share your vision. Have questions about this episode? Ask our hosts, chat now via our website https://foundedandgrounded.com/episodes/lqtT800N1V6 Hit play and discover how to build something that actually lasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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About

Tired of startup hype? So are we. Ranked in the top 2.5% of podcasts globally and a top 5 startup podcast in Europe, Founded & Grounded gives unseen founders the mic, where real stories rise above the noise. Our unique 3-part format blends founder interviews, co-host analysis, and actionable takeaways you can use right now. We go beyond the highlight reel to explore the human, unvarnished side of building a business, from emotional well-being strategies to exploring the paradoxes of entrepreneurship. If you’re an early-stage founder, welcome home. You’ve found your people. Apply to feature 👇 foundedandgrounded.com YouTube 👇 https://www.youtube.com/@FoundedandGroundedPod Spotify 👇 https://open.spotify.com/show/26LBRTAS1epLbLGMWkzasd?si=fb01a80d59e94913 Apple 👇 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/founded-grounded/id1486339606

Information

  • Creator
    Ollie Tiramuragan Collard & Dr Becky Sage
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    97
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Founded & Grounded
  • Show Website
    Founded & Grounded