The Upgrade Zone Podcast by Daniel Chrzastek

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Most businesses run on systems held together with good intentions, faith and a bunch of spreadsheets someone built in 2019. The Upgrade Zone sits down with UK founders and gets into the technology decisions behind their businesses. Not the polished version. The real one. Every conversation rests on three pillars: the person behind the business, how the business actually works and the tech that supports it. If you're a founder, owner or operator of a business, you might have had this conversation many times off the record. Well, now it's on the record. Hosted by Daniel Chrzastek.

Episodes

  1. Sep 22 ·  Video

    From 20 Years In Corporate To Her Own Consulting Firm

    Leaving corporate to build your own business is not the easy option, and Adeolu Adewumi-Zer has done exactly that. She spent two decades in corporate, ending as CEO of Allianz Nigeria, then turned down private equity to start her own consulting firm. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek talks to Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, founder and CEO of ZER Consulting Africa, about the weekend she decided to back herself, how her first clients came from a year of meeting people with no agenda at all, the tools that let one person mimic a whole support team, and why she now treats saying no as a strategic skill. If you are in corporate and wondering whether to jump, or already out and wondering whether it gets easier, this one is for you. WHAT WE COVER - The single question she asked of every career decision for twenty years - The email she nearly deleted that changed her trajectory - What founders who skip corporate never learn: boards, politics, process, P and L - Turning down a seven to ten year private equity commitment to start her own firm - The first clients, and the one thing they had in common - The best time to build a network is when you do not need it - Why "I'm just checking in" is the worst message you can send - Why making yourself irreplaceable is the fastest way to get stuck - No is a complete sentence, and why strategy is what you say no to - Visibility does not pay the bills LINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR "Strategy is all about what you say no to. So if I consider myself a strategy expert, then I should be an expert in saying no." "The best time to build your network is when you don't need it." "The worst thing to do is to make yourself irreplaceable. Your manager will fight tooth and nail not to let you go." "You get to a point in your career where you say, sorry, visibility doesn't pay the bills." "Building a business is tough. Being in corporate is tough. Choose your hard." CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:20 Meet Adeolu Adewumi-Zer 00:00:42 Who ZER Consulting Africa works with 00:03:33 Third culture kids, and being a global Nigerian 00:05:22 The question that drove every career decision 00:07:10 The sabbatical, and the call that brought her back 00:08:47 The email she nearly ignored 00:10:26 What founders miss when they skip corporate 00:12:34 Germans plan, Americans jump 00:16:33 East Africa Deal of the Year 00:17:31 Starting ZER Consulting Africa 00:18:21 The weekend she turned down private equity 00:19:39 I have actually walked in your shoes 00:20:43 Building African excellence for the global stage 00:21:40 Garbage in, garbage out 00:22:36 Afro Optimism Unleashed 00:24:00 Does a book actually pay back? 00:29:05 The first clients, and what connected them 00:30:09 We are not for everybody 00:31:18 How quickly the clients came 00:34:54 Build your network when you don't need it 00:36:36 I'm just checking in, and why it fails 00:39:53 Why entrepreneurs collaborate and corporates compete 00:44:25 No one is irreplaceable 00:45:56 Social media, and realising we are all the same 00:48:13 The tech: what a solo consultant actually needs 00:49:32 Calendly, AI drafting, and mimicking a team 00:50:51 Hire people better than you 00:53:55 The email habit that loses trust 00:56:57 No is a complete sentence 00:59:19 The Cinderella questions 01:00:12 Visibility doesn't pay the bills 01:02:17 Why women negotiate better for others 01:04:22 Making it safe to challenge you 01:05:13 Unshakable Leadership, and the next book 01:07:36 Choose your hard ABOUT ADEOLU ADEWUMI-ZER Adeolu Adewumi-Zer is the founder and CEO of ZER Consulting Africa, a purpose-driven strategy and management consultancy working with companies across Africa from around one million dollars in annual revenue upwards. Born in Nigeria and raised in the United States from the age of three, she began her career as an actuary in Chicago before moving to Munich, then Turkey, then Nairobi, where she drove mergers and acquisitions across East Africa. She returned to Nigeria in 2020 as CEO of Allianz Nigeria and founded ZER Consulting Africa at the end of 2023. She is the author of Afro Optimism Unleashed and a contributing author to Unshakable Leadership. Website: http://www.zerconsulting.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adeoluadewumi/ Connect with The Upgrade Zone Podcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake #LeavingCorporate #FounderMindset #BusinessPodcast #ConsultingBusiness #TheUpgradeZone

    From 20 Years In Corporate To Her Own Consulting Firm

  2. Sep 16 ·  Video

    Why Brilliant People Talk Themselves Out Of Their Life's Work

    Impostor syndrome is an illusion of your own making, and it is the reason brilliant people talk themselves out of their life's work. Emma O'Brien is a rapid transformational therapist and coach, and she takes imposter syndrome apart with two questions in about ninety seconds. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek talks to Emma O'Brien about why founders and leaders systematically undersell themselves, the Clifton Strengths assessment that pulled her out of a career corner, the patterns set in childhood that still decide what you will and will not do, and the tech behind a coaching business that runs on one live webinar, one platform and a lot of automation. If you have ever known exactly what you should be doing and not done it, this one is for you. WHAT WE COVER - Why leaving corporate strips away a permission structure you never knew you relied on - The reframe that stops your work feeling like a verdict on you - A career corner, a new manager, and the strengths assessment that changed direction - The curse of the strong, and why the people who cope are the ones who break - The utter terror of not getting paid, and what it does to your thinking - Imposter syndrome in two questions, worked through live on the episode - Where procrastination actually starts, and the two teachers who set it - How long real change takes, and what happens in the first two sessions - Rejection as data: delay, not reject - Cherry picking, comparison, and getting into your own lane - The webinar stack: Zoom, landing page, email capture, automated sequence, calendar add - Organic before paid, and why one platform beats four - Video sales letters, OpusClip, and where AI sits in the workflow LINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR "The secret behind imposter syndrome is that it's an illusion of our own making." "You've only ever got your own life. And if you spend it looking out the window at others, your own is going to pass you by." "He called it the curse of the strong. It wasn't about weakness. It was about trying to be too strong." "There's the utter terror that if you don't work, you don't get paid." CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:27 Meet Emma O'Brien 00:01:05 Why founders undersell themselves after corporate 00:04:19 It is not you, it is a gift you have to share 00:05:36 From a career corner to Clifton Strengths 00:12:26 Which environment do you actually thrive in 00:15:26 How leadership trickles down 00:17:28 Depression, anxiety, and nobody knowing 00:19:15 Crying on the commute, and the curse of the strong 00:22:15 The utter terror of not getting paid 00:24:52 How you tell whether somebody is coachable 00:28:09 Seven months to press record 00:33:02 Why brilliant people talk themselves out of their life's work 00:34:08 Imposter syndrome is an illusion of your own making 00:37:01 The client who stopped procrastinating 00:38:18 Mr Cross, Mrs Hill, and where the patterns start 00:40:27 Who you know or what you know 00:40:55 How long the change actually takes 00:44:41 Manifestation, and why affirmations cancel out 00:49:40 Rejection is data, not a verdict 00:52:13 Cherry picking, comparison and the highlight reel 00:55:34 Getting into your own lane 00:58:01 How to work with Emma 00:58:56 The tech behind the business 00:59:56 How the webinar actually runs 01:02:47 Organic first, paid second 01:04:03 Why one platform beats four 01:06:40 A VA, an SOP or an AI assistant 01:08:57 Video, sales letters and OpusClip 01:13:10 Where AI sits in the workflow 01:17:28 Feedback, testimonials and social proof 01:20:14 Close ABOUT EMMA O'BRIEN Emma O'Brien is a rapid transformational therapist and coach who works with founders, leaders and solopreneurs who know they systematically undersell themselves. After a career in HR and reward management left her stuck in what she calls a career corner, a new manager suggested a Clifton Strengths assessment, and that reframe took her into organisational design and HR leadership on major change programmes, then out of corporate altogether. She now combines strengths work with rapid transformational therapy and hypnotherapy, and starts every client relationship with a clarity call. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/em-obrien/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theemmaobrien Connect with The Upgrade Zone Podcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake #ImposterSyndrome #ImpostorSyndrome #FounderMindset #BusinessPodcast #CliftonStrengths #TheUpgradeZone

    Why Brilliant People Talk Themselves Out Of Their Life's Work

  3. Sep 8 ·  Video

    Are we digital tenants? Tech aspect nobody talks about!

    Are we digital tenants? Tech aspect nobody talks about! Software ownership and digital sovereignty are the tech nobody talks about. Are we digital tenants? After forty years in software development, Fatima is blunt: if you do not own your code, you rent your business, and free software is the way out. She started at seventeen. She is sixty now. Multinationals, software houses, her own company. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek asks her how AI actually got here, why language models make things up, and what it costs a business to stay a digital tenant instead of a digital owner. Subscribe for more conversations with business owners about the tools and decisions behind their businesses. If you run your business on tech somebody else controls, and almost all of us do, this one is for you. Software ownership and digital sovereignty are about to matter far more than they did. WHAT WE COVER - How computing got here: switches, punched cards, assembly, and AI as the newest layer - Why AI failed for decades, and the researcher who worked out the algorithms were starving - How large language models came out of email autocomplete - Why models hallucinate, explained through a scholar who never left the library - The cloud is just someone else's computer - Digital sovereignty: whose data, whose machines, whose AI? - Free as in freedom, not free as in beer - Permission to use software is not the same as the right to use it - The CAD file test: if a third party owns your drawings, you cannot build next year's car - Why almost no business runs Linux, and what that tells you - Built it on no-code? What to do before it breaks - Why the first version is supposed to be bad - Calculating the return on a software change - Computing power is becoming cheaper than labour LINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR "They give you a permission to use it, not the right. You only have rights when you have the code." "They have read the whole internet. Have they lived? No. So they tend to hallucinate." "I started when I was 17. I'm 60 now. I'm an insider." CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Cold open 00:00:21 Meet Fatima: forty years in software 00:01:33 Where the technology is actually going 00:02:06 Computing as layers, from switches to languages 00:03:42 Why early AI failed 00:05:03 The web, and a change of scale 00:06:39 Fei-Fei Li: the algorithms weren't broken, they were starving 00:08:29 From email autocomplete to large language models 00:11:53 Hallucinations, and the scholar who never left the library 00:14:04 Spatial models, self-driving and the next frontier 00:15:20 Drones, jamming and fibre-optic control 00:16:41 The efficiency race, and running AI on your own machine 00:19:34 The cloud is just someone else's computer 00:20:58 Digital sovereignty and AI sovereignty 00:22:31 The £63bn digital skills gap 00:23:46 Free as in freedom, not free as in beer 00:26:04 The executable trap 00:27:49 Permission to use is not a right 00:29:11 Owning the code when you outsource the build 00:30:36 The CAD file test: who owns your drawings? 00:31:48 Why almost nobody runs Linux 00:33:28 "I started at 17, I'm 60 now, I'm an insider" 00:34:42 Owner or tenant across three parallel worlds 00:36:31 How Microsoft got rich printing licences 00:36:58 The tools Fatima's team actually uses 00:37:42 Three levels of privacy, and who has the key 00:39:51 Diagnosis before prescription 00:40:36 When you don't need custom software at all 00:42:57 Code older than the developers maintaining it 00:44:55 Community question: built it on no-code, now what? 00:48:04 Why the first version is supposed to be bad 00:52:06 Rebuilding it properly, and owning it this time 00:54:34 Fifteen seconds, times a hundred thousand people 00:55:58 Computing power is becoming cheaper than labour 00:57:12 Where to find Fatima ABOUT FATIMA Fatima is a software developer and entrepreneur with more than forty years in the industry. She started at seventeen and has worked across multinationals, software companies and small businesses, as well as running her own. Her career spans PCs, IBM i systems, the web, mobile, a decade in blockchain and the last five years in AI. She works with startups and medium-sized companies across the UK and Europe, and she is a long-standing advocate of free software, not because it is cheap, but because it comes with the code. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatima-maldonado-me/ Connect with The Upgrade Zone Podcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake #SoftwareOwnership #DigitalSovereignty #OpenSource #AIExplained #TheUpgradeZone

    Are we digital tenants? Tech aspect nobody talks about!

  4. Sep 1 ·  Video

    How do people feel about your brand? - Business of Design

    Here's the truth about your brand: it was never really up to you. It's the gut feeling someone gets the moment they meet your business, not the words you use to describe it. Rakesh Makwana is a brand designer and art director with more than two decades in the industry, helping founders and business owners build visual identities that actually connect with the people they're trying to reach. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek talks to him about what a brand really is, how his discovery process works, where AI fits into a design studio, and why he never tries to convince a client to hire him. Subscribe for more conversations with UK business owners about the tools and decisions behind their businesses. If you're building a brand, running a service business, or trying to work out why some companies just feel more trustworthy than others, this one is for you. WHAT WE COVER Growing up in a family of makers, and discovering design at sevenBeing diagnosed with dyslexia, and reframing it as a creative advantageWhy a brand is not your logo: Marty Neumeier's "gut feeling" definitionThe kickoff call, and why it's an assessment for both sidesTurning down clients when the budget or the fit isn't rightWhat actually happens in a brand discovery sessionPresenting two "stylescapes" before any design work beginsWhy two design concepts beat fiveWhy Rakesh stopped designing logos on their ownUsing AI for copywriting and pressure-testing ideas, without letting it flatter himThe tech stack and freelance network behind a one-person design studioHandling rejection, knowing your value, and never justifying your price LINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR "It's not what you say about your brand to be true. It's the gut feeling of the person who perceives you." "I was very ashamed and embarrassed about being dyslexic because I saw it as a weakness. But for many years now, I see it as a superpower." "It's not AI taking over your jobs. It's people that are not using it." CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:25 Welcoming Rakesh back to the show 00:01:04 Meet Rakesh Makwana, brand designer and art director 00:02:12 Growing up in a family of makers 00:02:57 Dyslexia, and finding his language in design 00:04:06 Studying graphic design at college and university 00:07:34 From hand-drawn design to the first iMac 00:08:08 Chasing trends before finding design thinking 00:09:31 Why business owners underestimate their own visual identity 00:11:12 Marty Neumeier and the real definition of a brand 00:12:08 Consistency, recall and emotional connection 00:13:10 Colour psychology and what it signals 00:13:41 The discovery process before any design begins 00:15:07 Benchmarking competitors to understand the landscape 00:15:29 How much clients actually know about what they want 00:18:07 Handling friction and misaligned expectations 00:19:17 Building user personas and a brand's DNA 00:19:43 Stylescapes: presenting two directions before designing 00:21:15 Rakesh's end-to-end business process 00:23:27 Qualifying budget before writing a proposal 00:25:16 Taking 50% upfront before discovery begins 00:26:15 Inside the discovery workshop 00:29:06 Why two design concepts beat five 00:30:05 How long a rebrand typically takes 00:31:13 Why Rakesh stopped designing "just logos" 00:33:41 Being a dyslexic, colourblind graphic designer 00:34:52 Using AI for copywriting and articulating ideas 00:38:07 Full AI versus human-first design 00:40:26 Prompting AI to challenge you, not praise you 00:42:45 Why real client feedback beats AI validation 00:45:21 The core tech stack: Adobe Creative Cloud 00:47:03 Google Drive as the central hub for files 00:49:10 Running solo and bringing in freelance support 00:52:27 Community question: dealing with rejection 00:54:55 The value of expertise, and never justifying your price 00:56:05 Community question: measuring rebrand success 01:00:03 Visual identity vs verbal identity 01:01:12 Where to find Rakesh 01:01:43 Final thought: perception is the real brand Connect with RakeshInstagram: @rak.i.am Connect with The Upgrade Zone Podcast site: theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show:buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake #BrandDesign #BrandIdentity #SmallBusinessUK #GraphicDesign #TheUpgradeZone

    How do people feel about your brand? - Business of Design

  5. Aug 24 ·  Video

    The Truth About Building A Successful Joinery Business

    The truth about building a successful joinery business is that most of it isn't joinery. Alex Meadows runs AM Joinery, a bespoke joinery business in Warwickshire, and he is blunt about what it really takes. Alex started his joinery apprenticeship in 2008. Seventeen years on he prices, designs and delivers bespoke joinery on his own terms. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek asks him how a joinery business actually makes money: pricing, deposits, 3D modelling, outsourcing, and the new website that brought in an enquiry inside the first week. Subscribe for more conversations with UK business owners about the tools and decisions behind their businesses. If you run a trade business, a service business, or anything where you sell your own skill and time, this one is for you. WHAT WE COVER - Starting a joinery apprenticeship in 2008, straight out of school - The December 2010 health scare that changed everything - The questions Alex asks to spot a difficult client before he quotes - Taking 50% upfront or the full material cost, whichever is higher - Scope creep, and the work clients never see - SketchUp and CAD: modelling a job before you cut a single board - FreeAgent, NatWest and the Excel sheet that turns an enquiry into a quote - When outsourcing admin to a virtual assistant starts to make sense - A £36,000 quote against rivals at £11,000 and £12,000, and what the drawings revealed - Quoting for hours, then hearing nothing back - Organic SEO, Google reviews and a lead in week one with zero ad spend LINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR "People want Prada but only want to pay Primark." "It's £20 for the hammer and £9,980 for the experience." "You do all this work, send the price off, and you don't hear back. Not even a sorry." CHAPTERS 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:33 Meet Alex Meadows and AM Joinery 00:01:00 Where the idea of running a business began 00:03:49 Starting the joinery apprenticeship in 2008 00:05:10 December 2010: the health scare that changed everything 00:08:36 Cycling, purpose and the Geneva to Milan ride 00:11:49 Spotting a difficult client before you quote 00:15:57 Budget, materials and what a job actually costs 00:20:03 Prada money, Primark budget 00:22:55 Deposits: 50% or materials cost, whichever is higher 00:27:15 Scope creep and absorbing the small extras 00:28:15 Reviews, quality and reputation 00:31:49 Testing the work before the client ever sees it 00:33:54 AI, rendering and helping clients picture the finished job 00:39:30 SketchUp, CAD and modelling before you cut 00:45:07 Learning the craft on someone else's payroll 00:47:26 Registering AM Joinery on 23 September 00:49:52 "Why are you so expensive?" and the £20 hammer 00:51:24 The tech stack: FreeAgent, NatWest and Excel costing 00:55:38 When outsourcing to a VA starts to make sense 01:01:08 Where the time actually goes 01:02:01 A £36,000 quote against £11,000 and £12,000 01:05:01 Quoting, then silence 01:07:05 Getting paid, and building trust through terms 01:08:57 Dealing with rejection and a 50/50 win rate 01:12:12 Where clients actually come from 01:13:22 Why the previous website wasn't paying back 01:14:37 No paid ads, everything organic 01:16:17 Page one of Google, and showing up in AI search ABOUT ALEX MEADOWS Alex Meadows is the founder of AM Joinery, a bespoke joinery business based in Warwickshire. He began his joinery apprenticeship in 2008 after a careers adviser suggested he would be better off running his own business than working for someone else, then built experience across several employers before registering AM Joinery on 23 September. His approach centres on craftsmanship, clear communication and work built to last rather than work priced to win. Website: https://amjoinery.uk/ Instagram: @amjoinery.ltd Connect with The Upgrade Zone Podcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake #JoineryBusiness #TradeBusiness #SmallBusinessUK #BespokeJoinery #TheUpgradeZone

    The Truth About Building A Successful Joinery Business

  6. Aug 17 ·  Video

    From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand

    From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand | Henry Carpenter At 14, Henry Carpenter survived a serious tractor accident on his family farm. What followed was years of recovery, fundraising, charity work, travel and eventually a move into podcasting, presenting and building his own media company. In this episode of **The Upgrade Zone**, Daniel Chrzastek speaks with Henry about resilience, failure, personal branding, starting a business with simple systems and knowing when technology needs to evolve with you. In this episode• The farm accident that changed Henry's life at 14 • Recovery, mental health and rebuilding confidence • Raising money through endurance challenges • Volunteering with Reach to Africa in Kenya • Building the Down the Farm podcast and Down the Farm Media • Starting lean with Excel before investing in more complex systems • Canva, WavePad, CRM and podcast distribution tools • Lessons from the family agricultural parts business • Personal branding, content creation and authenticity • Sales, pricing, customer trust and learning through failure Key Takeaways:**Start with what you have.** A spreadsheet can be enough in the early stages if the process behind it is clear. **Failure creates useful information.** Henry's setbacks in health, media and career direction have repeatedly pushed him towards new opportunities. **Your personal brand is part of the business.** People often buy into the person before they buy the service. **Know your numbers.** Pricing, margins, overheads and cash flow matter even when the business is still small. **Technology should remove friction.** The right tool is the one that saves time or improves control, not simply the newest or most complicated option. Episode chapters00:00:17 Meet Henry Carpenter 00:00:52 Growing up on a Herefordshire farm 00:03:37 The tractor accident that changed everything 00:07:25 The air ambulance and emergency response 00:14:05 Mental health, recovery and rebuilding 00:15:38 Fundraising challenges and the start of Henry's media journey 00:19:16 Kenya and Reach to Africa 00:21:40 Technology and administration inside the charity 00:25:22 Building Down the Farm podcast and Down the Farm Media 00:30:12 Why failure can be a powerful teacher 00:31:21 Henry's media tech stack 00:33:01 CRM and systems in the family agricultural business 00:40:15 Starting a new business with Excel 00:44:49 Podcast distribution, costs and monetisation 00:48:21 Personal branding and authentic content 00:52:43 Choosing the right tech stack as you grow 00:56:34 Travel, perspective and personal growth 01:04:04 Sales advice for new business owners 01:10:00 Adaptability, confidence and saying yes to opportunities About The Upgrade ZoneThe Upgrade Zone is a business and technology podcast hosted by Daniel Chrzastek, exploring the people behind businesses, how those businesses actually work and the technology supporting them. We speak with founders, business owners, operators and technology leaders about business growth, AI, automation, software, systems, operational efficiency and the real-world return on investment from technology. Connect with Henry:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/henrycarpenter2/ Connect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show:https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake

    From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand

  7. Aug 10 ·  Video

    Property Sourcing

    Property SourcingFrom PureGym to Property Deal Sourcing: Building a Business with CRM, AI and Networking | Sam Meese How do you go from a stable career into property, build a new business from scratch and figure out which systems you actually need along the way? In this episode of **The Upgrade Zone**, Daniel Chrzastek sits down with **Sam Meese**, a property deal sourcer from Kidderminster, to talk about his journey from martial arts and personal training to management at PureGym and eventually into full-time property entrepreneurship. They explore mindset, networking, deal sourcing, business systems, CRM, AI and the practical reality of building a business when you are still doing almost everything yourself. ## In this episode- How martial arts shaped Sam's approach to discipline and self-development - Moving from personal training into management at PureGym - Realising he was climbing the wrong career ladder - How Sam first became interested in property investing - Moving from a rent-to-rent model into property deal sourcing - Using networking to build relationships with investors and find opportunities - Why cash flow determines what gets prioritised in the business - The four principles Sam uses to guide his decisions - Why a CRM became essential as the business started growing - Using AI and property data tools to reduce research time - How Sam uses ChatGPT for content, analysis and recalling previous work - Why technology should support relationships rather than replace them ## Episode chapters00:00:16 Meet Sam Meese 00:02:42 Identity, self-development and always looking for the next level 00:05:05 How martial arts shaped Sam's mindset 00:07:08 Becoming a personal trainer 00:10:57 Turning martial arts into a career 00:13:45 Moving into management at PureGym 00:16:00 Coaching, leadership and climbing the career ladder 00:17:18 Discovering investing and property 00:20:03 Finding Samuel Leeds and entering the property world 00:23:00 The importance of environment and surrounding yourself with the right people 00:24:30 Using networking to create opportunities 00:25:55 Sam's original goal when entering property 00:26:30 Why the business changed from rent-to-rent to deal sourcing 00:27:30 Betting on himself and planning the move into full-time business 00:29:30 Building investor relationships before leaving employment 00:32:00 Why busyness is not business 00:32:40 Sam's four business principles 00:33:30 Prioritising cash flow and revenue-generating work 00:35:00 Work ethic, failure and taking action 00:38:00 Risk, resilience and learning from mistakes 00:41:20 The technology behind the business 00:43:09 Why Sam needed a CRM 00:45:40 Choosing Less Annoying CRM 00:47:25 Building property and investor pipelines 00:50:50 Connecting CRM, Google Calendar and contacts 00:53:00 Knowing when you have outgrown your software 00:55:00 Using data and ChatGPT to solve practical problems 00:56:00 Why CRM is the central hub of the business 01:01:00 How to choose the right software 01:01:00 Revisiting old deals using data and AI 01:02:00 Improving the tech stack as the business grows 01:03:12 Final thoughts 01:04:20 Why businesses need to keep adapting their technology 01:04:58 Using Property Market Intel 01:05:45 AI-powered property deal sourcing 01:07:05 How Sam uses ChatGPT ## Connect with Sam MeeseInstagram: [SAMs INSTAGRAM] ## Connect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast ## Support the show:buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake

    Property Sourcing

  8. Aug 3 ·  Video

    AI CRM Founder - SaaS, Scaling & ROI

    What does it take to build an AI-powered software business where the technology actually delivers a return?In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek sits down with Dori Shabat, Co-Founder and CEO of CallMarker, to unpack the journey behind an AI-powered sales platform built long before ChatGPT made AI mainstream. They explore how CallMarker grew from a real problem inside Dori's previous advertising business, how the first customers came onboard before the MVP was finished, and what Dori has learned about product development, sales, team building, scaling and AI along the way. In this episode• Why solving a real problem matters more than building a perfect product • Selling an MVP before it is finished and using customers to shape development • How AI can identify hidden revenue opportunities across sales and customer interactions • Building a founding team around complementary strengths • Scaling a bootstrapped SaaS business without losing service quality • Why Dori believes revenue is one of the most important measures of whether business software actually works • In-house development, beta testing and learning from failure • Where automation should replace repetitive work and where AI should enhance people instead • Why the future of sales may be less about replacing salespeople and more about making each person significantly more effective About Dori ShabatDori Shabat is the Co-Founder and CEO of CallMarker, an AI-powered platform built to help sales teams operate more effectively. His journey into the business started with an advertising agency serving close to 1,000 customers. After seeing businesses struggle to follow up with leads consistently, Dori and his team began looking at how technology could manage more of the process and help salespeople focus their time where it matters most. The businessCallMarker was built around a simple problem: generating leads is only useful if businesses can actually turn those opportunities into conversations and revenue. The platform brings together CRM functionality, communications and AI to help sales teams manage leads, prioritise activity and identify opportunities that might otherwise be missed. Dori also shares the realities behind building the company, from bootstrapping and finding the right co-founder to hiring teams, expanding from Israel into the UK and learning which systems and processes need to change as a company grows. The tech behind the businessAI has been part of CallMarker's approach from the beginning. The system uses data from sales and customer interactions to understand what is happening across the customer journey, prioritise activity and identify opportunities for additional revenue. One example discussed is Decode Revenue, which looks for opportunities hidden inside existing sales, marketing and customer service processes and can recommend or automate the next action. But the conversation goes beyond automation. For repetitive tasks, AI may be able to handle much of the work itself. For more complex interactions such as selling, Dori sees the future as people enhanced by AI, with technology giving salespeople better context, information and guidance before and during customer conversations. Key takeawaysSell before you overbuild. Dori sold the first version of the product using a presentation before the MVP was complete. Paying customers provided much stronger validation than building against assumptions. Build around complementary strengths. Dori focused on marketing, sales and revenue while his co-founder focused on technology and product. Their responsibilities were deliberately different. Scale the process, not just the product. Growth required documented processes, clear metrics and eventually handing responsibility to people who could outperform the founders in specific roles. Measure technology by business outcomes. Rather than focusing only on software features or time saved, the conversation repeatedly comes back to revenue and whether the technology produces a meaningful commercial result. AI does not have to mean removing people. Some repetitive processes can be automated completely. More complex work can become significantly more effective when skilled people have better information and AI support. You will not predict everything. Products break, customers behave differently than expected and assumptions turn out to be wrong. The advantage comes from learning quickly and improving each time. Episode chapters00:16 Meet Dori Shabat and CallMarker 01:50 The problem that led to CallMarker 07:36 Building and selling the first MVP 11:03 Finding hidden revenue with AI 15:03 Choosing the right co-founder 21:19 Building a team and scaling beyond the founders 26:55 Expanding from Israel into the UK 31:49 The metric that matters when building a new product 34:28 Designing a product for scale 39:20 Growing as a founder alongside the business 44:01 Productivity, focus and protecting your time 47:50 Rapid growth vs sustainable growth 48:34 Why Dori prefers in-house development 50:18 Innovation, beta testing and accepting bugs 52:45 Pricing software around value and ROI 56:11 Automation vs AI-enhanced people 59:46 How AI could change businesses and sales teams 61:36 Measuring the impact on revenue 65:29 Entrepreneurship, failure and refusing to give up Connect with CallMarkerCallMarker: [LINK] About The Upgrade ZoneThe Upgrade Zone is a business and technology podcast hosted by Daniel Chrzastek, exploring the people behind businesses, how those businesses actually work, and the technology supporting them. We talk to founders, business owners, operators and technology leaders about business growth, AI, automation, software, systems, operational efficiency and the real-world return on investment from technology. Connect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show:https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake

    AI CRM Founder - SaaS, Scaling & ROI

  9. Aug 3 ·  Video

    From Pastor to a Live Virtual Events expert

    Building a Scalable Media Business Through Strategy, Livestreaming and Resilience | Darlington, GMT MediaHow do you build a media company when technology keeps changing, clients keep saying no and the opportunity arrives before your business is ready to scale? In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek speaks with Darlington, Founder of GMT Media, about his journey from Zimbabwe to South Africa, discovering audiovisual production and building a corporate media and livestreaming business in Cape Town. They discuss entrepreneurship, hybrid events, business strategy, team building, rejection, mentorship and the technology behind professional live production. In this episode• How Darlington discovered videography and founded GMT Media • Building a one-stop audiovisual service through specialist partners • How livestreaming created new opportunities during the pandemic • Turning corporate, church and family communication into recurring services • Training more than 200 young people and building a flexible production team • Why strategy and problem-solving can matter more than technical skill alone • Using selected free projects to build trust, testimonials and a stronger portfolio • The technology behind professional hybrid events and multistreaming • Why media businesses must keep learning as technology changes • Whether visibility matters more than highly polished content The conversation covers:• Multistreaming to several platforms at the same time • Combining physical and virtual audiences • Managing internet reliability and network latency • Synchronising audio and video from different sources • Working with SDI, HDMI and professional audio connections • Adding graphics, presentations, adverts and other media to a live production • Using OBS as an accessible starting point • Moving to tools such as vMix for more advanced productions • Using presentation software such as ProPresenter • Following developments in AI-powered camera tracking and production automation Connect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show:https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake

    From Pastor to a Live Virtual Events expert

  10. Aug 3 ·  Video

    Technology and data, which helps saving agriculture in the UK

    What happens when traditional wildlife management meets modern data and technology?In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek speaks with Pablo, a farm vet and Co-Founder of Sylva, about building a more professional, measurable and sustainable approach to deer and wild boar management. They explore the effect unmanaged wildlife populations can have on farms, woodland, biodiversity, animal health and road safety, as well as the technology Sylva is developing to help landowners understand what is happening on their land and make better-informed decisions. In this episode• Why deer populations have grown rapidly across parts of the UK • The financial and environmental impact of wildlife overpopulation • How deer can affect crops, woodland regeneration and biodiversity • Turning field observations into useful data for landowners • Creating deer management plans based on evidence rather than assumptions • Building an app for data collection, safety and wildlife tracking • Using technology to improve venison traceability from field to fork • Developing a family-run business across the UK and Spain • Why simple software and customer feedback matter when creating a new product • The role of delegation and complementary skills when building a business About PabloPablo is a farm vet who moved from Spain to the UK around ten years ago. Having grown up around farming, hunting and countryside activities, he began exploring how these traditional practices could be approached more professionally. Together with his brothers, he founded Sylva, a business focused on data-driven deer and wild boar management in the UK and Spain. The businessSylva helps landowners, farmers, land agents and other organisations understand and manage wildlife populations on their land. The process begins by looking at how the land is being used. This could include crop production, livestock farming, woodland management, conservation, rewilding or another commercial activity. Sylva then assesses the wildlife population, measures its impact and creates a management plan based on the needs of that particular area. The goal is not to remove wildlife completely. It is to maintain a healthy balance between the animals, the land, farming activity and the wider environment. The team is also exploring ways to make responsibly sourced venison more widely available through online venison boxes. The tech behind the businessSylva is developing its own software to make wildlife data easier to collect, understand and use. The mobile app is designed to let deer managers record routes, observations, activity, photographs and post-mortem findings while working in the field. It can also help teams see where other members are operating, creating an additional layer of safety for people working alone or across large areas of land. Landowners and managers will be able to monitor activity through an online dashboard and see what work has been completed on their property. Over time, a larger and anonymised dataset could help identify population trends, seasonal changes, movement patterns and possible connections between wildlife and animal disease. The same technology could also provide greater traceability for venison, showing where an animal came from and how it moved through the process from field to fork. Key takeaways Return on investment is not always purely financial. Wildlife management can protect crops and farming income, but it can also support biodiversity, animal welfare, woodland regeneration, road safety and disease prevention. You cannot manage what you do not measure. Before deciding what action to take, landowners need to understand the size of the problem, where it is happening and what effect it is having. Data can translate wildlife damage into business terms. By estimating the number of animals, how much they consume and the market value of a crop, Sylva can help a farmer understand the potential financial cost of doing nothing. Good technology has to work in the real environment. An app used outdoors, in poor weather and during physical activity must be quick and simple. A complicated system will result in missing or unreliable data. Start with a useful product and improve it with users. The Sylva team is beginning with a more focused version of the platform and plans to develop it using feedback from the people working with it in the field. Build around different strengths. Pablo and his brothers contribute different skills across veterinary knowledge, fieldwork, software development, data processing, reporting and client relationships. Responsible wildlife management is about balance. The objective is not to eliminate deer or wild boar. It is to maintain a population that the land, local environment and surrounding activity can support. Episode chapters00:16 Meet Pablo and the story behind Sylva 01:00 From farm vet to business founder 03:40 Why deer population data matters 05:25 Understanding deer overpopulation in the UK 08:10 Wildlife disease, farming and economic risk 09:54 Assessing how land is being used 12:15 Sylva’s data-driven approach 15:00 Wild boar management in Spain 17:19 The client assessment process 20:00 Measuring crop damage and financial loss 22:25 Environmental impact assessments 24:15 Creating a deer management plan 25:12 Wildlife management and regenerative farming 27:00 Maintaining healthy wildlife populations 31:48 Introducing the Sylva app 33:09 Building the business as a family team 34:13 Developing the first version of the software 35:01 Making field data collection simple 37:16 Using location tracking to improve safety 39:35 Venison traceability from field to fork 40:45 Creating an online venison-box service 41:31 The realities of building a new business 42:18 Delegation and working around different strengths 43:46 Using customer feedback to shape the product 45:27 From handwritten records to digital data 47:14 Where to find and contact Sylva Connect with Pablo and SylvaWebsite: [LINK] Instagram: [LINK] About The Upgrade ZoneThe Upgrade Zone is a business and technology podcast hosted by Daniel Chrzastek, exploring the people behind businesses, how those businesses actually work and the technology supporting them. We talk to founders, business owners, operators and technology leaders about business growth, AI, automation, software, systems, operational efficiency and the real-world return on investment from technology. Connect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast Support the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake

    Technology and data, which helps saving agriculture in the UK

  11. Jul 31 ·  Video

    The Upgrade Zone Podcast Trailer - what is the show about?

    Ever looked at the systems running your business and thought, “It works... but I’m not sure it should work the way it does?” That’s where The Upgrade Zone comes in. Hosted by Daniel Chrzastek, the show brings together founders, business owners and operators to talk honestly about how their businesses actually work, what they’ve learned along the way, and the technology supporting everything behind the scenes. Each conversation explores three things: The person Who they are, what drives them and the story behind what they’ve built. The business Where it came from, how it works today and what happens behind the scenes. The tech The systems, software, AI, automation and tools helping the business run, grow and become more efficient. We’ll look beyond the latest tech trends and focus on what really matters: where technology makes a difference, where it creates unnecessary complexity and whether the investment is actually worth it. Expect real conversations about business growth, AI, automation, tech stacks, operational efficiency and the real-world return on investment from technology. This is The Upgrade Zone. Welcome to the show. Follow the podcast to join the next conversation. Connect Instagram: [LINK] LinkedIn: [LINK] YouTube: [LINK]

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Most businesses run on systems held together with good intentions, faith and a bunch of spreadsheets someone built in 2019. The Upgrade Zone sits down with UK founders and gets into the technology decisions behind their businesses. Not the polished version. The real one. Every conversation rests on three pillars: the person behind the business, how the business actually works and the tech that supports it. If you're a founder, owner or operator of a business, you might have had this conversation many times off the record. Well, now it's on the record. Hosted by Daniel Chrzastek.

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