Business and a Brew

Danielle Thompson
  • 0.0 (0)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Business and a Brew – the podcast where real conversations about business happen over a good drink. Hosted by Danielle and Simon, this show brings together two friends with years of shared experiences, lessons learned, and plenty of stories to tell. We’re here to explore the highs, lows, and in-betweens of business, from awkward challenges to unexpected victories. No topic is off the table – if it’s part of the entrepreneurial journey, we’re talking about it. Whether you’re looking for relatable advice, fresh perspectives, or just a laugh, you’ll find it here. Think of us as your business buddies, chatting over coffee (or something stronger), keeping it real and keeping you entertained. So, grab your brew of choice, tune in, and let’s get talking. Cheers!

  1. 1D AGO

    Can You Rename a Problem Away? The Meta rebrand story

    Facebook changed its name. The internet didn’t change its mind. We unpack the 2021 rebrand from Meta, when the company tried to pivot from social network giant to metaverse pioneer. New name. New vision. Very shiny presentation. But public trust? Still wobbly. With 68 percent of users telling YouGov in 2022 that Facebook felt more harmful than beneficial, we ask the obvious question. Can you rebrand your way out of a reputation problem? We talk about the eye-watering $230 billion market value drop in a single day, the partial recovery through cost cutting and AI investment, and why a new logo doesn’t automatically equal a new narrative. Sometimes it just highlights what hasn’t changed. We also contrast it with rebrands that actually worked. The kind built on trust, clarity, and a real shift in behaviour rather than a shift in vocabulary. Because changing your name is easy. Changing how people feel about you? That’s the hard part.  About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    16 min

  2. APR 13

    Why Nintendo Won by Losing First

    From playing cards in 1889 to plumbers saving princesses on global cinema screens, Nintendo might be the greatest reinvention story in business. We talk about how Nintendo tried taxis, instant rice, plastic toys and a few glorious flops before landing on video games. The Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Wii and Nintendo Switch didn’t happen by accident. They happened because every failure, from the Virtual Boy to the Wii U, taught them something. We unpack why playful experimentation beats playing it safe, how human-centric design built one of the richest IP libraries in history, and why the The Super Mario Bros. Movie pulling in $1.36 billion is no coincidence. A masterclass in failing forward, staying curious, and never being afraid to press reset. About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    17 min

  3. APR 6

    Who's Killing The Planet?!

    Feeling guilty about your phone upgrade? Your takeaway coffee cup? That parcel that arrived in a box big enough to house a Labrador? We get into consumer guilt. The kind that makes you side-eye your wardrobe while corporations quietly churn out another billion units of “limited edition” whatever. We talk about how everyday choices, from phones to fast fashion, plug us into enormous global infrastructure machines built on planned obsolescence. You pay the price at the checkout. The planet pays the rest. And somehow you’re the one left feeling like the villain for needing a new charger. This isn’t about pretending individual choices don’t matter. It’s about asking why the conversation so often stops there. Why the spotlight sits comfortably on reusable straws while corporate production models carry on largely untouched. Maybe the story isn’t “you consume too much.” Maybe the story is “we produce too much, too cheaply, too quickly.” A slightly uncomfortable chat about who really holds responsibility, and why guilt might be pointing in the wrong direction. Brew in hand. Receipts ready! About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    20 min

  4. MAR 30

    The Fake Cancer Cure.

    This one explores what happens when hope, fear, and business blur into something dangerous. With a brew in hand, we unpack the story of Laetrile, also known as amygdalin or vitamin B17, a compound once promoted as a natural cancer cure. We talk through why early studies created optimism, why results never held up, and how Laetrile was later shown to release cyanide in the body. We look at how misinformation spread, from celebrity endorsements to clinics operating along the US Mexico border, and why desperation makes people vulnerable to certainty that isn’t real. This is a conversation about more than medicine. It’s about markets built on fear, the cost of unproven treatments, and the very real human consequences, including the story of Paloma Shamirani. Sobering, uncomfortable, and a reminder of why evidence, accountability, and qualified medical advice matter when the stakes are life and death. About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    18 min

  5. MAR 23

    Everything is Mined or Grown - prepare to have your mind blown.

    We talk about mining, not the obvious kind with hard hats and diggers, but the kind hiding in plain sight. Phones, electric cars, toothpaste, tech, it all starts in the ground. And over a lifetime, each of us gets through millions of pounds of minerals without ever really noticing. We dig into the less comfortable side too. Environmental damage, social impact, and what happens when extraction goes wrong, including examples like Rio Tinto and why certain disasters changed the conversation forever. We keep it moving by looking at what could actually improve things, from urban mining and recycling what we already have, to ethical sourcing and smarter systems that don’t pretend demand can exist without consequence. It’s quick, eye opening, slightly uncomfortable in places, and guaranteed to make you look at everyday objects very differently next time you pick them up. About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    23 min

  6. MAR 16

    The Hidden Politics of Fishing

    We’re turning our attention to the UK fishing industry and asking some uncomfortable but necessary questions about who the system really works for. We talk through the pressure small scale fishers are under, from shrinking quotas and rising costs to competing with vast industrial fleets that operate on a completely different scale. We rewind to the days when cod was apparently “endless” and how that belief aged about as well as warm milk. Modern fishing practices proved otherwise, and we get into the slightly bonkers reality of discarding unwanted catches, where perfectly good fish are thrown back because the rules say so. Make it make sense. We also touch on the impact of public awareness campaigns like Fish Fight, how they shifted public conversation, and whether post Brexit policy reform could actually create space for fairer, more sustainable practices. This chat zooms out to look at solutions too. We explore how better technology could improve transparency, why sustainability isn’t just an environmental issue but an economic one, and how consumer awareness and buying choices can make a real difference to local fishing communities. It’s a conversation about food, fairness, and the long term cost of short term thinking. Thought provoking, grounded, and perfect listening for anyone who’s ever wondered where their dinner really comes from. About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    29 min

  7. MAR 9

    Bayer Buys a Beehive Full of Lawsuits - part two

    The story doesn’t end when a name disappears. We pick up where part one left off and follow the money, the lawsuits, and the legacy that refused to stay buried. This time, we’re unpacking the $63 billion acquisition that was meant to draw a line under a scandal, and why it didn’t quite work out that way. We talk through how Bayer absorbed Monsanto in 2018, retiring the Monsanto name and rebranding the operation as Bayer Crop Science. On paper, it looked like a fresh start. In reality, the controversies came with it. We dig into the ongoing fallout around patented seeds and glyphosate based herbicides, including Roundup, and why links to cancer claims have kept Bayer tied up in courtrooms and headlines worldwide. We explore how hard it is to change public trust once it’s been broken, and whether a rebrand can ever undo the impact of decades of corporate behaviour. This conversation zooms out to the bigger picture. What does this mean for global agriculture? Who carries responsibility when practices affect food systems, health, and livelihoods on a massive scale? And can companies this big truly pivot towards something more sustainable, or is the system itself the problem? Part two is about consequences, accountability, and the uncomfortable reality that some legacies don’t disappear just because the logo changes. And yes, it opens the door to what might come next, including whether sustainable agriculture is a genuine possibility or just another glossy promise. About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    14 min

  8. MAR 2

    Bayer - Seeds, Patents, Power and Profit! part one

    We’re opening up a two-part conversation around one of the most controversial business stories of the modern era. This first part focuses on how innovation, when paired with unchecked power, can quietly reshape entire industries and lives. We dig into how genetically engineered crops were introduced in the 1990s and why farmers were forced into buying new seeds year after year. We talk about patent enforcement, lawsuits, and a business model that created dependency rather than choice. Rising costs, mounting debt, and devastating human consequences became part of the landscape, changing how the world viewed corporate responsibility in agriculture. We explore how public perception shifted, from celebrating scientific progress to questioning the ethics behind it. This isn’t just about seeds or chemicals. It’s about power, profit, and who carries the weight when the system is designed to protect the top. This is part one of two. The groundwork. The context. The story before the consequences fully unfold. About Simon and Danielle: Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.  Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003. Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009. Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.  Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

    20 min
See All (71)

About

Welcome to Business and a Brew – the podcast where real conversations about business happen over a good drink. Hosted by Danielle and Simon, this show brings together two friends with years of shared experiences, lessons learned, and plenty of stories to tell. We’re here to explore the highs, lows, and in-betweens of business, from awkward challenges to unexpected victories. No topic is off the table – if it’s part of the entrepreneurial journey, we’re talking about it. Whether you’re looking for relatable advice, fresh perspectives, or just a laugh, you’ll find it here. Think of us as your business buddies, chatting over coffee (or something stronger), keeping it real and keeping you entertained. So, grab your brew of choice, tune in, and let’s get talking. Cheers!

Information

  • Creator
    Danielle Thompson
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Business and a Brew
  • Show Website
    Business and a Brew