2d ago

The Dusty Knuckle's Max Tobias on baking bread and changing lives

Welcome to Small Business Sessions, brought to you by Enterprise Nation as part of Powering Local Businesses, our collaboration with EDF Small Business and Square. In this series, we're speaking to founders and entrepreneurs about the real stories behind starting, growing and rebuilding small businesses. Expect honest conversations, practical lessons and first-hand insight from people who have built businesses with purpose. In this episode, we're joined by Max Tobias, co-founder of The Dusty Knuckle, one of London's best-known bakery businesses. Max shares how his experience working with young people in the youth justice system led to the idea for a bakery that could create real opportunities for people facing barriers to employment. He talks about starting small, growing from a shipping container and building a business whose product has to stand on its own while the social impact sits at the heart of the company. Topics discussed in the episode: How Max's background in youth intervention and youth justice shaped the idea for his businessUsing a local restaurant's pizza oven early in the morning to test the product and build demandHow The Dusty Knuckle's youth employment programme supports young people coming from custody, care, insecure housing and other difficult circumstancesTraining the wider team to support young people without making the programme feel separate from the businessWhat it's like running a bakery business in 2026, including rising costs, early starts and the pressure on hospitalityWhy Max wants the business to become a London community asset people genuinely care about----- Powering Local Businesses We're helping small businesses thrive on the high street – through expert support, smart energy advice and practical tools to grow sustainably. Get free support now

Jul 8

Nik Southern on rule-breaking floristry and running a high-street business

Welcome to Small Business Sessions, brought to you by Enterprise Nation as part of Powering Local Businesses, our collaboration with EDF Small Business and Square. In this series, we're speaking to founders and entrepreneurs about the real stories behind starting, growing and rebuilding small businesses. Expect honest conversations, practical lessons and first-hand insight from people who have built businesses with purpose. In this episode, we're joined by Nik Southern, founder of Grace & Thorn, the floristry business known for its wild, natural and rule-breaking approach to flowers and plants. Nik shares how she moved from recruitment into floristry, built the business from her living room and grew it into one of London's best-known independent florists. Topics discussed in the episode: Why Nik left recruitment after 13 years and retrained as a florist in her mid-30sStarting Grace & Thorn from her living room and selling flowers through friends, pubs and word of mouth Moving from a small basement studio to a Hackney Road shop as the business started to growThe challenges of running a high-street shop, from service charges to safety and rising pressureWhy Nik closed the shop and moved to a more manageable studio modelHow Grace & Thorn built strong roots in Hackney's creative small business communityThe burnout, guilt and pressure that can come with running a creative business for nearly 15 years----- Powering Local Businesses We're helping small businesses thrive on the high street – through expert support, smart energy advice and practical tools to grow sustainably. Get free support now

Jul 1

Rob Wilson on turning surplus bread into sustainable beer

Welcome to Small Business Sessions, brought to you by Enterprise Nation as part of Powering Local Businesses, our collaboration with EDF Small Business and Square. This series explores the practical steps small businesses can take to grow and thrive – from improving energy efficiency and embracing sustainability to creating a lasting impact in their local communities. In this episode, we're joined by Rob Wilson, co-founder of Toast Brewing, a brewery that makes craft beer using surplus bread. Rob shares how Toast Brewing began as a project to raise awareness of food waste, why the team turned surplus bread into beer, and how the business has grown into a mission-led brand stocked by major retailers. Topics discussed in the episode: Why food waste is one of the biggest environmental issues the planet is facingHow getting hold of surplus bread is, as Rob puts it, "depressingly easy"Why Toast donates 1% of revenue or 100% of profits to environmental charitiesAttracting investors including National Geographic and Heineken InternationalBecoming a B Corp and why the process helped Toast improve its internal cultureExpanding internationally through licensing, collaboration and local brewing partnershipsWhy Rob believes purpose-led businesses still need to focus hard on product quality----- Powering Local Businesses We're helping small businesses thrive on the high street – through expert support, smart energy advice and practical tools to grow sustainably. Get free support now

Jun 24

Renée Elliott on Planet Organic, values-led retail and rescuing a business

Welcome to Small Business Sessions, brought to you by Enterprise Nation as part of Powering Local Businesses, our collaboration with EDF Small Business and Square. This series explores the practical steps small businesses can take to grow and thrive – from improving energy efficiency and embracing sustainability to creating a lasting impact in their local communities. In this first episode of the series, we're joined by Renée Elliott, founder of Planet Organic, the UK's first fully certified organic supermarket. Renée shares how she launched Planet Organic in 1995, why values were at the heart of the business from day one and what happened when she returned years later to rescue it from administration. Topics discussed in the episode: Why Renée started the business to do something meaningful, not simply to make moneyThe slow start after opening in November 1995, and why Renée feared the business might not surviveWhat happened when Renée was pushed out of the business and had to reinvent herself as a mentorWhy she returned in 2023 to help rescue Planet Organic from administrationRebuilding the business by reconnecting it with its original values, product standards and communityWhy community events, in-store expertise and team training matter in modern high street retailHow Planet Organic has approached sustainability through core values and evolving, aspirational standards----- Powering Local Businesses We're helping small businesses thrive on the high street – through expert support, smart energy advice and practical tools to grow sustainably. Get free support now

12/17/2025

Susan Allen, Here We Flo: Getting stocked in major retailers and securing big name investors | Small Business Sessions

The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast, is back for a ninth exciting series of inspiring entrepreneurial stories and expert business tips! The podcast is powered by the business.connected online training programme and our partner Vodafone Business. Joining freelance journalist Dan Martin for the 10th and final episode in the series is Susan Allen, co-founder of sustainable period care products business Here We Flo. Susan Allen and her co-founder Tara Chandra started Here we Flo after being disappointed at the lack of organic and sustainable personal care products in the market. The business is now stocked in major retailers and has several big name advisers and investors on board. Topics discussed in the episode include: Running a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.How Here We Flo got stocked in Sainsbury's, Boots, Whole Foods and more big retailers.Susan's brilliant advice for making a success of being stocked in big retailers.Securing advisers and investors from Graze, Charlotte Tilbury, Unilever, M&S, L'Oreal, and more.Becoming a B Corp.---- This episode is brought to you in partnership with Vodafone Business, the Nation’s Network*, as part of the business.connected campaign which helps small businesses embrace digital change and grow online. Access free training in a range of digital business areas, from online marketing to AI and smarter working at www.enterprisenation.com/businessconnected Listen to and watch previous podcast episodes at www.enterprisenation.com/podcast *The Nation's Network: Vodafone - nation's most valuable brand, verified by Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable UK Brands Report 2024, and supporting the nation since 1984 through to 2025's major summer events. See full verification of the substantiation: www.vodafone.co.uk/TNN

12/10/2025

Millie Flemington-Clare, Human Beauty: Winning a £50,000 grant and building an inclusive makeup brand | Small Business Sessions

The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast, is back for a ninth exciting series of inspiring entrepreneurial stories and expert business tips! The podcast is powered by the business.connected online training programme and our partner Vodafone Business. Joining freelance journalist Dan Martin for the ninth episode is Millie Flemington-Clare, founder of accessible and inclusive makeup brand Human Beauty. Millie was born with a rare genetic condition called Cystinosis, which affects only 3,000 people worldwide. Her frustration with the lack of accessible products in the beauty industry inspired her to start her own brand. Human Beauty sells product designed for disabled and neurodivergent people, featuring anti-roll packaging, sensory-friendly formulas, and QR codes with audio descriptions. Millie has won several awards and secured funding from a range of sources, including a £50,000 grant from Innovate UK and investment on BBC TV's Dragons' Den. Beyond Human Beauty, Millie works as a design and accessibility consultant, helping brands and institutions build inclusion into their foundations. Topics discussed in the episode: Turning ideas into physical products.How Millie is shaking up the makeup industry. How Millie won a £50,000 funding and her tips for successful grant applications.The impact of appearing on Dragons' Den.What more needs to be done to support disabled entrepreneurs.Why Millie's community is so vital to the business and how she engages them. ---- This episode is brought to you in partnership with Vodafone Business, the Nation’s Network*, as part of the business.connected campaign which helps small businesses embrace digital change and grow online. Access free training in a range of digital business areas, from online marketing to AI and smarter working at www.enterprisenation.com/businessconnected Listen to and watch previous podcast episodes at www.enterprisenation.com/podcast *The Nation's Network: Vodafone - nation's most valuable brand, verified by Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable UK Brands Report 2024, and supporting the nation since 1984 through to 2025's major summer events. See full verification of the substantiation: www.vodafone.co.uk/TNN

12/03/2025

Dominic Mills, Yuup: Building a thriving marketplace of experiences run by small businesses | Small Business Sessions

The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast, is back for a ninth exciting series of inspiring entrepreneurial stories and expert business tips! The podcast is powered by the business.connected online training programme and our partner Vodafone Business. Joining freelance journalist Dan Martin for the eighth episode is Dominic Mills, co-founder of local experiences marketplace Yuup. Dominic was inspired to start Yuup after struggling to find the gift of a local experience for his wife. He could only find the usual experience offerings from national providers, and nothing that reflected Bristol, the city where he lives. Yuup is now a thriving marketplace of experiences offered by hundreds of small businesses in Bristol, Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff, Durham, Northampton, Nottingham. Yuup has also branched out into its running its own events such as a spectacular drone show this Christmas. Topics discussed in the episode include: Dominic's experience of growing and selling a marketing agency before he started Yuup and lessons he learnt. His start-up challenges and how he overcame them.Launching a platform for physical experiences during a global pandemic. How he convince the first businesses to join Yuup.How Yuup crowdfunded almost £1m.Building a team. How Yuup decides which cities to expand to. How Yuup measures its mission for delivering a positive social impact. Branching out into running Yuup's own events such as drone shows and immersive experiences.---- This episode is brought to you in partnership with Vodafone Business, the Nation’s Network*, as part of the business.connected campaign which helps small businesses embrace digital change and grow online. Access free training in a range of digital business areas, from online marketing to AI and smarter working at www.enterprisenation.com/businessconnected Listen to and watch previous podcast episodes at www.enterprisenation.com/podcast *The Nation's Network: Vodafone - nation's most valuable brand, verified by Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable UK Brands Report 2024, and supporting the nation since 1984 through to 2025's major summer events. See full verification of the substantiation: www.vodafone.co.uk/TNN

11/28/2025

Sam Matanle on challenger branding and turning setbacks into storytelling | Founder Fails

Welcome to the Small Business Sessions: Founder Fails podcast, brought to you by Enterprise Nation, in collaboration with Hiscox. In this series, we're sitting down with bold business voices to talk candidly about their biggest fails, unexpected lessons and the power of getting back up. Expect honest conversations, tales of resilience and real talk from founders who turned mistakes into movement. In episode six, we're joined by Sam Matanle, the co-founder of Batch LDN, a clothing company with a focus on sustainability. In this episode, Sam reflects on turning a 2024 break-in into a bold, humorous campaign. He also shares how crisis storytelling, transparency and resilience have shaped his approach to leadership, building a brand and navigating failure. Topics discussed in the episode: The simple problem that sparked Batch LDN's made-to-order approachTackling smart-casual dressing and the waste that traditional fashion models createThe emotional impact of failure and why accepting "it might fail" builds clarityKnowing when to push through a setback and when a pivot is genuinely neededImpostor syndrome as a sign of growth (not inadequacy)----- Whether you're a sole trader, scaling a start-up or running a growing enterprise, Hiscox business insurance could protect you if the worst happens. Their policies are built around your business to protect you from the real risks you face every day. Head to https://www.hiscox.co.uk/business-insurance to learn more.

The Small Business Sessions

The Dusty Knuckle's Max Tobias on baking bread and changing lives

Nik Southern on rule-breaking floristry and running a high-street business

Rob Wilson on turning surplus bread into sustainable beer

Renée Elliott on Planet Organic, values-led retail and rescuing a business

Susan Allen, Here We Flo: Getting stocked in major retailers and securing big name investors | Small Business Sessions

Millie Flemington-Clare, Human Beauty: Winning a £50,000 grant and building an inclusive makeup brand | Small Business Sessions

Dominic Mills, Yuup: Building a thriving marketplace of experiences run by small businesses | Small Business Sessions

Sam Matanle on challenger branding and turning setbacks into storytelling | Founder Fails

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The Small Business Sessions

Episodes

The Dusty Knuckle's Max Tobias on baking bread and changing lives

Nik Southern on rule-breaking floristry and running a high-street business

Rob Wilson on turning surplus bread into sustainable beer

Renée Elliott on Planet Organic, values-led retail and rescuing a business

Susan Allen, Here We Flo: Getting stocked in major retailers and securing big name investors | Small Business Sessions

Millie Flemington-Clare, Human Beauty: Winning a £50,000 grant and building an inclusive makeup brand | Small Business Sessions

Dominic Mills, Yuup: Building a thriving marketplace of experiences run by small businesses | Small Business Sessions

Sam Matanle on challenger branding and turning setbacks into storytelling | Founder Fails

About

Information

You Might Also Like