Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall

Alex Chisnall
  • 4.9 (23)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Screw It Just DO It is the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business builders who are ready to stop waiting and start building. Hosted by Alex Chisnall, the show features honest conversations with people who’ve faced uncertainty, taken risks and built businesses that matter — from kitchen-table side projects to global brands and billion-pound companies. Real stories. Real decisions. Real progress. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

  1. He Risked Everything At 47 To Build Yo! Sushi | Simon Woodroffe OBE

    1d ago

    He Risked Everything At 47 To Build Yo! Sushi | Simon Woodroffe OBE

    Simon Woodroffe left school at 16. He got arrested at 19. He built stages for rock bands, sold TV rights, and spent decades figuring out how the world worked. Then at 47, with no restaurant experience, he put his entire life savings on the line and opened Yo! Sushi. It changed everything. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Simon and Alex talk about what it actually means to risk it all, why he believes it is never too late to start, how he negotiated a 1% royalty that made him more than everything else combined, and what 50 years of doing things differently has actually taught him. We also get into his new autobiography, Yo, Man!, Dragons’ Den, Yotel, and why the unconventional path is often the only one worth taking. Key Takeaways • Why starting later in life can be an advantage, not a limitation • How Simon built a £1 million opening using £200k and a lot of pulled favours • The 1% royalty he negotiated that outlasted everything else • Why megalomaniac control at the start is the right strategy 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    1 hr
  2. Before The Billion-Euro Exit: Julian Hearn on Building Huel

    6d ago

    Before The Billion-Euro Exit: Julian Hearn on Building Huel

    This episode was recorded when Huel was four years old and doing £14 million in revenue. You are listening to it knowing what it eventually became. Julian Hearn started Huel with a simple goal: find 1,000 people willing to pay £45 a month for a nutritionally complete food. Half a million pounds a year. A lifestyle business he could run three days a week. When they hit £750,000 in year one, he knew that plan was gone. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Julian talks about the early Huel story: the initial product order of £5,000 of stock, the PR that arrived in the first month without asking for it, the customers who started defending the brand online before Julian even had a team, and why he never wrote a proper business plan for any of it. He also talks about hiring, culture, direct-to-consumer, and why the biggest risk in any product business is manufacturing — not the market. Key Takeaways - Why Huel started as a lifestyle business and when Julian realised it was not going to be one - The 1,000 fans model and why it is the right way to start anything - Why execution beats business plans, and what Julian did instead - How building direct-to-consumer gave Huel a weapon that retail-first competitors never had 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don't miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3-4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    11 min
  3. The Idea I Couldn't Ignore

    Jun 16

    The Idea I Couldn't Ignore

    Joe Woodward had what most people would call a dream job. Chief Marketing Officer for the Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai. Ten years building things in sport, music and entertainment. Then the pandemic hit, the rug came out from under him, and he moved home. He sat down to update his CV. He immediately got frustrated. That frustration became Vizzy — a platform built to replace the 500-year-old document Leonardo da Vinci invented, and give people a genuinely human way to show who they are. Not bullet points and PDFs. Not job titles and logos. Who they actually are. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Joe tells the full story. The flip chart moment with his sister Jess and her husband Chris. The investor conversation with Robert Dodds, Simon Fuller's business partner, that ended with four words: 'That's the idea. I'll back it tomorrow.' The cold start launch. The Instagram DM from a stranger who said Vizzy had just landed them their dream job. And the lesson from Burberry, Louis Vuitton, EY and Tiffany that the future of hiring is not about getting more applicants — it's about getting fewer, better ones. Key Takeaways - Why the flip chart moment changed everything — and what that looked like in practice - How Joe went from zero to Burberry and Louis Vuitton without a hiring background - Why the best founders are still personally obsessed with hiring at £2 billion - What Vizzy taught Joe about the difference between instinct and overthinking 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3-4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    48 min
  4. The Moment We Bet Everything on One Idea

    Jun 11

    The Moment We Bet Everything on One Idea

    Raj Thiruchelvarajah was running a health and fitness business when his co-founder sent him a document that changed everything. It was an idea about wearable blood flow restriction technology. Within months, Raj had shut down his original company and gone all-in on Hydro. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Raj explains the exact moment he knew they had to pivot — the internal disagreements, the decisive call he had to make as CEO, and why April 2022 was the turning point that blew the business up. From Leeds Rhinos to Newcastle United, Leicester Tigers and the Washington Commanders, Hydro is now embedded across 80+ elite sports teams globally. This is the story of how focus — not funding — made that possible. Key Takeaways • Why trying to serve every customer nearly killed the business • How one decisive pivot to pro sports transformed growth • The screw it just do it moment that started it all • Why experience matters more than age in founding a startup 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don't miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk Two days of real conversations, practical insight, and founder-led growth. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    14 min
  5. I'd Regret Not Giving It A Go

    Jun 9

    I'd Regret Not Giving It A Go

    For 20 years Dominic Day knew exactly who he was. Professional rugby player. Wales international. Saracens. Bath. Then it stopped. No changing room. No match day. No structure. Just questions. Who am I now? Dad? Founder? Ex-player? In this conversation Dom talks about what it actually feels like when 20 years of identity ends overnight, what the transition from elite sport into business is really like, and why the best opportunities in his life — playing in Japan, moving to Bath, starting FourFive with George Kruis — have always been on the other side of fear. Key Takeaways: - Why Dom was wildly unprepared for retirement despite every club having a support system - The identity question he is still working through years after leaving rugby - The 30-year regret test he uses for every major decision - What it actually felt like when three orders came through on a website they'd only just switched on - Why balancing fatherhood and building FourFive is the hardest thing he has ever had to do 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Listen to the full episode of Screw It Just DO It 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3-4 at NEC Birmingham 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    55 min
  6. The One Thing You Need Before You Start a Business

    Jun 4

    The One Thing You Need Before You Start a Business

    Daniel Priestley started every one of his businesses on a credit card. No investor deck. No grant. No seed round. A mentor he shadowed, a sales muscle he built from scratch, and a clear-eyed read of where the economy was heading. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, I ask Daniel the one question that cuts to the heart of every founder journey: what was the single thing you needed to go from where you were to where you are now? His answer is not what most people expect. And the framework he uses to explain why enterprise has become the only factor of production that matters in the digital age is one of the clearest things I have heard on this show. If you are stuck waiting for the right moment, the right funding, or the right connection, this is the episode that reframes all of it. Key Takeaways - Why working for a founder beats any formal business education - How a credit card became the launchpad for a multi-million pound business - Why sales is not optional, it is the foundation - What the shift from the industrial age to the digital age actually means for founders right now 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don't miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🔥 If you're serious about growing your business, join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, 3-4 November 2026 at the NEC Birmingham. Two days of real conversations, practical insight, and founder-led growth. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    12 min
  7. She Turned Food Waste Into A Skincare Brand That’s Helping Eczema Sufferers

    Jun 2

    She Turned Food Waste Into A Skincare Brand That’s Helping Eczema Sufferers

    Danielle Close didn’t just launch another skincare brand. After working with Charlotte Tilbury and seeing how little the beauty industry was doing around sustainability, she launched My Skin Feels — creating skincare from fermented food waste. What happened next surprised everyone. Customers started reporting major improvements in eczema, sensitive skin and skin conditions completely by accident. In this episode Danielle shares: Turning down a £250K investmentBuilding a startup completely aloneBurnout and founder mental healthThe hidden stress of scaling a businessDragon’s Den behind-the-scenesBuilding skincare from food wasteHow intuition shaped major business decisionsOne of the most honest founder conversations we've had on SIJDI.#Entrepreneurship #Startup #Skincare #FounderStory #MentalHealth #BusinessGrowth

    47 min
  8. Time Is Borrowed | Leroy Kincaide

    May 28

    Time Is Borrowed | Leroy Kincaide

    Leroy Kincaide has lived about five lives already. Undertaker at 17. Professional wrestler. WWE SmackDown. Writer. Director. But this episode isn't really about any of those things. It's about what happens when you see mortality up close at a young age — and how that one experience changes the way you view every decision you'll ever make. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Leroy talks about working as an undertaker at 17 and the perspective it gave him on time, instinct, and purpose. He shares the moment he walked into WWE — unannounced — and just knocked the door. And he explains why he ignored years of doubt to make his debut feature film for £27,000, which went on to be picked up by Samuel Goldwyn and land on Hulu. This is a conversation about listening to the voice that tells you where you're supposed to go. And the cost of ignoring it. Key Takeaways • Why working as an undertaker at 17 changed Leroy's relationship with time forever • The inner calling that wouldn't go away — from wrestler to filmmaker • The screw it just do it moment at WWE SmackDown • Why he did the pitch of his life on the same day he lost his grandmother • The difference between being happy and being content 🎧 This episode is powered by WorldFirst, specialists in international business payments. If your business pays overseas suppliers or receives payments from abroad, those transaction fees can quickly add up. As a Screw It Just DO It listener, you can get 50 international transactions completely fee free for 60 days. 👉 Create a free account and claim the offer at worldfirst.com/screwit 🎧 Don't miss a moment of entrepreneurial insight. Subscribe to Screw It Just DO It wherever you get your podcasts. 🎟️ Join us at the Festival of Entrepreneurs, November 3–4 at NEC Birmingham. Two days of real conversations, practical insight, and founder-led growth. 👉 www.festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk

    16 min
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4.9
out of 5
23 Ratings

About

Screw It Just DO It is the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business builders who are ready to stop waiting and start building. Hosted by Alex Chisnall, the show features honest conversations with people who’ve faced uncertainty, taken risks and built businesses that matter — from kitchen-table side projects to global brands and billion-pound companies. Real stories. Real decisions. Real progress. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

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