Founder Friday

Canopy Community
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

Founder Friday Leveraging entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility. That's the mission behind Canopy Community and the Founder Friday podcast. We believe talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn't. Too many people never start a business because they never see someone like themselves become a founder. They assume entrepreneurship belongs to people with different backgrounds, different education, different connections or different resources. We're here to change that. In each episode, host Stewart Noakes sits down with founders from around the world to uncover the stories that rarely make the headlines. Together they explore the uncertainty, resilience, failures, breakthroughs and defining moments that shape entrepreneurial journeys. These aren't polished success stories. They're honest conversations about building something from nothing. Our hope is simple. One story at a time, we want every listener to discover someone they can relate to and think: "If they can do it, maybe I can too." Because there isn't one route into entrepreneurship. - Founders come from cities and villages.- From universities and factories.- From boardrooms and bedrooms.- From privilege and from adversity. Some are parents. Some are students. Some are immigrants. Some start at 18, others at 68. Every journey is different, yet has similarities regardless of the origin. Every story matters. Every conversation helps widen the picture of what a founder looks like. Whether you're exploring your first idea, validating an MVP, finding customers, raising investment or simply wondering whether entrepreneurship could be part of your future, Founder Friday offers practical insights and authentic stories from people who are actively building. Produced by Canopy Community, one of Europe's leading startup communities, Founder Friday is part of a bigger mission: To leverage entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility by making founders more visible, more relatable and more accessible to the next generation. Because changing one life doesn't always start with funding. Sometimes it starts with a story. And perhaps the next story you hear will be the one that changes yours. 🎙️ Follow Founder Friday for new episodes as they drop. 🌱 Learn more about Canopy Community: https://www.canopy.community/ 👋 Connect with Stewart Noakes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnoakes/ #FounderFriday #FirstTimeFounder #StartupFounder #Entrepreneurship #StartupCommunity #SocialMobility #Innovation #MVP #StartupJourney #FollowYourDreams #IfNotNowThenWhen #Tribe

Episodes

  1. 20h ago

    What If The Safest Place To Speak Up Is A Game Table

    Send us Fan Mail We meet Charlene and Vicky, the co-founders of Role Resolve Therapy, and hear how tabletop roleplay becomes a practical way to build confidence and communication for children. We also talk honestly about neurodiversity, co-founder dynamics, community support at Derby, and the mindset that keeps founders going when it gets hard. • discovering tabletop roleplay as a creative therapeutic approach during counselling and psychotherapy training • turning game mechanics into structured support for social anxiety, confidence, and group communication • moving from testimonials to impact reporting using teacher and pupil questionnaires • linking the work to neurodivergent needs, school support, and EHCP-related goals • balancing entrepreneurship with parenting and using purpose to protect time • building a strong co-founder relationship through repair, honesty, and clear communication • learning to pitch through Derby enterprise support and feedback that raises the bar • using Canopy to connect, refine branding, and scale delivery through a wider team • launching Inspire as a community app for female founders with free and paid tiers • advice for first-time founders: follow passion and build a cheerleading network Raise Angel Investment with ScribeSystematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREESeedlegalsThe go to platform for startup legals in UK and USABusiness banking with RevolutEasy business banking including Crypto treasury Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Canopy Community The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit… https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

    What If The Safest Place To Speak Up Is A Game Table

  2. Jul 24

    Building A 400,000-Strong Tech Careers Community

    Send us Fan Mail We talk with Roxanne and Joanna, co-founders of Tech Talk and Reslink, about building a careers community to 400,000 people and why a video CV link can create the human connection that job seekers are missing. We also dig into co-founder trust, what we have learned from entrepreneurship, and the habits that keep execution going when motivation drops.  • building Tech Talk as a tech careers community and scaling an audience organically  • creating Reslink as a video resume and video CV platform to reach hiring managers directly  • why traditional applications and the CV alone feel less effective now  • how our co-founder relationship works through trust and complementary skill sets  • entrepreneurship influences from family, corporate life, and environment  • honest reflections on female founder barriers as internal versus external factors  • what we gain from Canopy through pitch feedback, mentors, and founder network  • lessons from founding multiple businesses, including listening, empathy, and compromise  • choosing systems and processes over relying on motivation  Raise Angel Investment with ScribeSystematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK SeedlegalsThe go to platform for startup legals in UK and USABusiness banking with RevolutEasy business banking including Crypto treasury Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Canopy Community The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit… https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

    Building A 400,000-Strong Tech Careers Community

  3. Jul 17

    What If Your Wellbeing Was Your Best KPI

    Send us Fan Mail We talk with Julia, founder of Wave Six, about turning a decade-long health journey into a holistic health tracking app that helps people spot patterns across daily life. We also unpack pitching practice, supportive founder communities, and why protecting wellbeing is the only sustainable way to build.  • building Wave Six to track sleep, nutrition, movement, relaxation, relationships and self  • using correlation to find personal patterns and outcomes over time  • living through MS and uncertainty, then choosing proactive responsibility  • making sustainable changes like removing gluten and dairy gradually  • moving from a restrictive diary to a need for smarter health tech  • naming Wave Six as a ripple effect plus six tracking categories  • learning fast through speed-date pitching and direct audience feedback  • shifting from landscape architecture to entrepreneurship later in life  • using Set Squared and Canopy for courses, mentoring and community support  • founder advice on direction before speed, boundaries, recovery and avoiding burnout  Raise Angel Investment with ScribeSystematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK SeedlegalsThe go to platform for startup legals in UK and USABusiness banking with RevolutEasy business banking including Crypto treasury Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Canopy Community The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit… https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

    What If Your Wellbeing Was Your Best KPI

  4. Jul 10

    From Cornwall To Clean Waves With Kate Richards of RadWax

    Send us Fan Mail We meet Cornwall surfer and founder Kate Richards, who builds Radical Wax to cut petrol-based pollution from surfing without sacrificing grip. We walk through her path from early prototypes to community-led growth, and the mindset shift that turns failure into testing.  • spotting the environmental impact of paraffin surf wax and wanting a cleaner option  • developing a formula that surfers trust through repeated prototyping and tough feedback  • building credibility by testing with Surfing England athletes and coaches  • learning why e-commerce alone rarely works and why events and word of mouth matter  • choosing a master’s in entrepreneurship for mentorship, pitching skills, and faster learning  • using the Canopy community for practice, honest critique, and confidence  • planning UK growth and Australia distribution over the next 12 months  • founder advice focused on action, experimentation, and reframing failure as learning  Raise Angel Investment with ScribeSystematise and automate your fundraising with Angel investors in the UK Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREESeedlegalsThe go to platform for startup legals in UK and USADisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Canopy Community The place for founders, start ups and entrepreneurs. For more episodes, or to access coaching, events, advice, networks, education and more, visit… https://linktr.ee/CanopyCommunity

    From Cornwall To Clean Waves With Kate Richards of RadWax
  • 4 Episodes

About

Founder Friday Leveraging entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility. That's the mission behind Canopy Community and the Founder Friday podcast. We believe talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn't. Too many people never start a business because they never see someone like themselves become a founder. They assume entrepreneurship belongs to people with different backgrounds, different education, different connections or different resources. We're here to change that. In each episode, host Stewart Noakes sits down with founders from around the world to uncover the stories that rarely make the headlines. Together they explore the uncertainty, resilience, failures, breakthroughs and defining moments that shape entrepreneurial journeys. These aren't polished success stories. They're honest conversations about building something from nothing. Our hope is simple. One story at a time, we want every listener to discover someone they can relate to and think: "If they can do it, maybe I can too." Because there isn't one route into entrepreneurship. - Founders come from cities and villages.- From universities and factories.- From boardrooms and bedrooms.- From privilege and from adversity. Some are parents. Some are students. Some are immigrants. Some start at 18, others at 68. Every journey is different, yet has similarities regardless of the origin. Every story matters. Every conversation helps widen the picture of what a founder looks like. Whether you're exploring your first idea, validating an MVP, finding customers, raising investment or simply wondering whether entrepreneurship could be part of your future, Founder Friday offers practical insights and authentic stories from people who are actively building. Produced by Canopy Community, one of Europe's leading startup communities, Founder Friday is part of a bigger mission: To leverage entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility by making founders more visible, more relatable and more accessible to the next generation. Because changing one life doesn't always start with funding. Sometimes it starts with a story. And perhaps the next story you hear will be the one that changes yours. 🎙️ Follow Founder Friday for new episodes as they drop. 🌱 Learn more about Canopy Community: https://www.canopy.community/ 👋 Connect with Stewart Noakes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnoakes/ #FounderFriday #FirstTimeFounder #StartupFounder #Entrepreneurship #StartupCommunity #SocialMobility #Innovation #MVP #StartupJourney #FollowYourDreams #IfNotNowThenWhen #Tribe

Information

  • Creator
    Canopy Community
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Founder Friday
  • Show Website
    Founder Friday