Made In Public

John Blackburn

Made in Public is the podcast for founders, builders, and dreamers who are tired of waiting until everything is "ready."Hosted by John Blackburn, Made in Public follows real entrepreneurs as they build their businesses in real time, messiness, uncertainty, and all. No polished success stories. No hindsight highlights. Just raw, honest conversations with people who are figuring it out as they go.From the back of a camper van to wherever the journey takes us, each episode dives into the mindset, the setbacks, and the bold moves behind businesses being built in public, before the ducks are ever in a row.If you've been waiting for permission to start, this is it. Subscribe and build with us.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    From a £21k Startup Failure to Building a Viral Chai Brand in Public with Priya Bowry

    What does it take to completely reinvent a food business when your original product plan falls through? In this episode of Made in Public, John Blackburn sits down with Priya Bowry, Founder of MAJI Drinks, to unpack a startup journey that is delightfully unconventional.  From starting a viral family supper club with her mum called "Vegetarian Brown Girls," to spending £21,000 on a failed canned drink prototype, Priya shares the honest lessons she has learned from taking risks, making mistakes, and ultimately pivoting to a breakout success with her overnight chai packets.  The conversation explores organic community building, the realities of being a solo founder, reclaiming cultural heritage, and why Priya is tearing down the traditional "highlight reel" of business with her raw, finance-baring series, Nothing Hidden.  Whether you're an aspiring food and beverage founder, a community builder, or simply interested in the unfiltered truth of scaling a business in public, there's plenty to take away from this one.  Timestamps 00:00 – Highlights from Priya's journey  01:00 – From recipes to supper clubs: The origins of Vegetarian Brown Girls  03:30 – Selling out a supper club in your own home  05:30 – What actually is traditional chai?  06:40 – Live taste test in the studio with the team  09:20 – The single-serve packet model explained  10:20 – Going viral on TikTok from the bath and accidentally launching a website  12:00 – How to build an offline community of 160+ people  14:40 – Launching "Nothing Hidden" and exposing real business finances  16:30 – Sponsor: Vertical Drop  18:10 – The cardinal sins of podcasting and embracing business mistakes  21:00 – Going viral with "Crisps But Better" at South Asian festivals  23:15 – Why doesn't good iced chai exist in a can?  24:45 – Losing £21,000 in recipe development  26:30 – Pivoting to powder: Building a "pharmacy lab" in the kitchen  28:10 – Reclaiming heritage and naming the brand MAJI  30:15 – Bridging the gap between the diaspora and coffee shop chai  31:45 – What's next: Seeking investment and launching a Central London pop-up  32:40 – Final thoughts  Connect with Priya Bowry LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priya-bowry-6439131ab/ MAJI Drinks: https://majidrinks.co.uk/ Connect with John Blackburn LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnblackburnvoc/ This episode is proudly sponsored by Vertical Drop Website: https://vertical-drop.com/

    From a £21k Startup Failure to Building a Viral Chai Brand in Public with Priya Bowry

  2. Jun 2

    Laura Thompson Building The Yard in Public: Community, Coworking, Movement & Founder-Led Marketing

    Laura Thompson, former Deloitte and EY strategic marketer with a dance and personal training background, shares how redundancy and her mother’s unexpected death pushed her to build in public. She now runs Connect Studio, helping founder-led businesses translate strategy into meaningful marketing, while developing The Yard, a “third space” in West Sussex for people to work, move, and belong unfiltered. Laura explains how perfectionism and corporate-style launches can delay progress, arguing instead for validating ideas early through conversations, small actions, and visible iteration. She describes recent steps—naming the concept, mood-boarding, contacting the council about buildings, using Claude for visual identity, and gathering proof of concept via networking. Next, she plans pilot sessions combining coworking in a coffee shop with a mid-morning PT workout, then repeating to build demand before seeking investors. 00:00 Laura’s Origin Story 00:51 Why Build in Public 01:47 What Is The Yard 03:32 Loss and Redundancy Catalyst 04:58 Perfectionism and Corporate Fear 07:33 Small Steps Over Big Launches 10:03 Validation and Stakeholder Buy In 11:38 Founder Accountability Systems 15:47 Live Updates and Early Momentum 16:23 Naming The Yard and Next Moves 18:10 Using AI to Shape the Brand 18:33 LLMs as Business Coaches 18:53 Crafting a Vivid Vision 21:04 Beating Fear and Self Talk 22:42 Start Small in Public 25:02 Past Projects and Pivots 26:16 Next Steps for The Yard 27:57 Build Demand Before Spending 29:28 Mission Over Money 30:49 Where to Find Laura 31:29 Final Push to Post

    Laura Thompson Building The Yard in Public: Community, Coworking, Movement & Founder-Led Marketing

  3. May 27

    Made in Public Ep.3: Build in Public, Warm Starts, Trust & Standing Out in an AI Content World

    In this episode of Made in Public, the John speaks with Ben and James about why founders should “build in public” to avoid a risky cold-start launch and instead create a warm start by building trust, awareness, and interest early—before rent, staff, or agency costs kick in. They explain building in public as increasing “surface area” for luck, shortening the learning curve by iterating in public, and even enabling pre-orders and investor interest. The conversation covers why consumers increasingly value tribe, connection, and status, and how brands can differentiate even in crowded categories, with examples including Sult, Midday Squares, and Perfect Ted’s employee-generated content. They discuss common barriers like fear, cringe, and worrying about credibility, plus strategies for standing out amid AI-generated content by adding friction and differentiation (e.g., in-person formats) and the potential shift toward live content. LinkedIn is framed as an underused marketing channel where text still cuts through, with advice to choose platforms you can consistently show up on and outsource repurposing when needed. 00:00 Cold Start Warning 00:44 Meet The Guests 01:05 What Building Public Means 01:54 Stagger Posts Learn Fast 03:24 Warm Start Marketing 04:26 Tribe Status Community 06:17 Brand Examples And Free 08:06 Why People Hold Back 10:22 Sponsor Break Podcast Agency 12:54 AI Slop Add Friction 15:14 Build Public Inspiration 17:15 Reality Show Branding 18:04 Employee Led Posting 18:29 Max Jones LinkedIn Bet 19:58 LinkedIn Becomes Entertainment 22:16 Pick Platforms and Repurpose 25:06 Live Content Future 28:51 Build In Public Live Ideas 30:26 Overwhelm and Getting Help 32:44 Final Takeaways and Thanks

    Made in Public Ep.3: Build in Public, Warm Starts, Trust & Standing Out in an AI Content World

  4. May 20

    Made in Public Ep.2: Jamie Vaughan on Building in Secret in Public, Launch Noise & AI-First Marketing

    This week John Blackburn interviews Jamie Vaughan, co-founder of Restless, an AI marketing company for a social world, days after launch. They unpack what “building in public” means, why Jamie chose “building in secret in public” due to co-founder notice periods, and how the teaser-style content created intrigue, inbound conversations, and even paying clients by launch day. Jamie explains Restless’ two-sided model: Antenna, a managed SaaS platform that ingests proprietary, public, and third-party data to create objective micro-personas and let teams test hooks and copy, alongside social agency services that apply those insights to ads and content. They discuss AI’s strengths (data analysis, pattern matching) versus weaknesses (taste, humor), the role of human creativity, how AI could change agency scaling, and why founders should post rather than “launch into silence,” including thoughts on humor and live formats as antidotes to generic AI content. 00:00 Teaser and Hook 00:27 Meet Jamie Vaughan 02:12 What Building in Public Means 03:06 Secret in Public Strategy 05:36 Launch Results and Noise 07:17 Guy Ritchie Launch Video 09:22 What Restless Actually Is 11:41 Antenna Platform Deep Dive 14:22 Managed SaaS Not Self Serve 15:55 Advice for Nervous Founders 18:50 The Alternative Is Silence 19:44 Inbound Demand Engine 20:34 Launch Without The Desert 21:06 Building Public Launches 22:17 Vertical Drop Sponsor 22:50 Consumer Launch Playbook 24:17 Rebranding The Vlog 24:49 AI Adoption For Teams 25:43 What AI Is Bad At 28:52 Scaling Agencies With AI 32:10 Humor Beats AI Slop 34:06 Live Content And Trust 36:11 What Happens Next

    Made in Public Ep.2: Jamie Vaughan on Building in Secret in Public, Launch Noise & AI-First Marketing

  5. May 13

    Made in Public Ep.1: Dan & Elise Rowntree on Launching Mood Haus Before the Ducks Are in a Row

    Episode one of Made in Public is recorded in a camper van with Dan and Elise Rowntree, founders of Mood Haus, a sauna, cold plunge, and community wellness concept launched publicly before they had a site or facilities. They explain why they posted that their “ducks are firmly not in a row,” how a Cameron Herold “vivid vision” document helped make the idea real, and how building in public overcame Elise’s fear of public failure after a corporate career. Since posting, they’ve received validation, site offers, investor and collaboration interest, and momentum that led to exploring a much larger 14,000 sq ft opportunity. They share how quitting alcohol and seeking mood alteration through contrast therapy shaped Mood Haus “sauna 2.0” vision focused on social wellness, experiences, and community. 00:00 Ducks Not In Row 00:18 Meet Mood Haus Founders 01:01 Why Post Before Ready 03:03 Elise Fear Of Failure 05:15 Vivid Vision Goes Live 06:12 Building In Public Mindset 10:55 Cornwall Chapter Closes 14:20 Market Timing And Competition 16:54 What A Vivid Vision Is 21:20 Post Results And New Sites 22:32 Big Cornwall Site Lead 23:43 Sponsor Vertical Drop 24:16 Unexpected Investor Interest 25:08 Stars Aligning Fast 25:54 Local Partners And Saunas 26:57 Why Build In Public 27:42 Community Over Perfection 29:22 Bigger Vision Bigger Site 30:56 What Mood Haus Is 31:38 Quitting Alcohol Origin Story 35:12 Sauna 2.0 Mood Focus 36:38 AI Sauna Prescription App 38:09 Market Proof And Benchmarks 39:50 Next Steps And Site Challenges 40:48 Content Creation And Branding 42:55 Full Circle And Momentum 44:06 Closing Thanks And Founders

    Made in Public Ep.1: Dan & Elise Rowntree on Launching Mood Haus Before the Ducks Are in a Row
  • 5 Episodes

About

Made in Public is the podcast for founders, builders, and dreamers who are tired of waiting until everything is "ready."Hosted by John Blackburn, Made in Public follows real entrepreneurs as they build their businesses in real time, messiness, uncertainty, and all. No polished success stories. No hindsight highlights. Just raw, honest conversations with people who are figuring it out as they go.From the back of a camper van to wherever the journey takes us, each episode dives into the mindset, the setbacks, and the bold moves behind businesses being built in public, before the ducks are ever in a row.If you've been waiting for permission to start, this is it. Subscribe and build with us.

Information

  • Creator
    John Blackburn
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Made In Public
  • Show Website
    Made In Public