Startup Breakdown

Caroline Sumners, Milly Barker
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Scaling a business can feel like a rollercoaster - and Startup Breakdown is here to ride it with you. Hosted by Caroline, a marketing strategist and Milly, a strategy and operations expert, this podcast combines real-world business advice with the hilarious and messy reality of running a startup. With decades of practical experience, more than a few war wounds, and hundreds of millions of pounds raised between them, Milly and Caroline bring you the insights you need to grow your business - without losing your mind. Expect practical tips, candid stories, and plenty of laughs.

  1. 4d ago

    Startup Breakdown Episode 65: The Greatest Podcast Of All Time

    In this weeks breakdown element of Startup Breakdown we hear all about a very traumatic experience for Milly and her front door breaking. The feast and famine nature of business is at an all time high and we can talk all the ins and outs of business. We talk all things analogue marketing. Results tbd in a few weeks. In questions for Milly, I really want people to take more ownership. I feel like my team come and check everything with me before doing anything. How do I get them to do things on their own but also make sure they’re not doing it wrong? Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    52 min

  2. May 21

    Startup Breakdown Episode 64: If you build it they will come

    After 64 episodes you would think that we have our s**t together but it seems not. Milly is going full Tom and Barbara (IYKYK) and making her own own milk. Caroline fondly recounts a holiday in Tenerife. Milly wears the funniest glasses ever and goes full Christopher Biggens (again IYKYK) We also have a rant about single supplements on holidays. And we answered what do you see as the biggest challenges for marketing for any business right now? Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    58 min

  3. May 14

    Startup Breakdown Episode 63: T**s Out On Oxford Street

    In this episode of Startup Breakdown we talk crying at Stacey Solomon's SYLO and how every time we watch we end of spending money. We also talk bank holiday activities including sauna's, cold water lido swimming, cinema visits and generally the need to relax on a bank holiday. Milly answers a question about how to strategically transition roles or people without losing the company’s heart or impacting morale? For more on how to say goodbye to employees. https://www.payasyougocoo.com/post/goodbye-is-the-hardest-word-what-to-do-when-your-first-employees-are-hitting-a-ceiling Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    44 min

  4. May 7

    Startup Breakdown Episode 62: The Sewage Chronicles

    In this episode we talk Vinted, Milly on her quest to remove Ultra Processed Food from her diet, vibration therapy and veering dangerously close to unfounded science 😂 We also talk about ageism in marketing. We also talk about Claude Design and the pros and cons and how well it can create marketing deliverables for businesses. Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    1h 1m

  5. Apr 30

    Startup Breakdown Episode 61: Just Humans, Doing Our Best

    In this episode of Startup Breakdown we talk more travel woes for Milly, Ultra Processed People, reducing sugar from diet, too much fibre powder, comfort movies (which is yours) and the joy of the local library. In questions Milly discussed how having recently closed some funding, it this means we've now reached the point where someone needs to report to a board. The business is still in a bit of a chaotic phase. How do you translate our reality into something that feels more "strategic" as a narrative (and keeps them off my back)? Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    48 min

  6. Apr 23

    Startup Breakdown Episode 60: Profesh as Ever

    In this episode we discuss jewellery, Easter weekend celebrations. Milly has started her cross stitch and we also preview our new trailer! We also chatted about Tribela a new social media network that Caroline is currently trialling. More to come on that! We didn't answer a question as we had a very long discussion about SEO and how to get content found. Genuinely helpful content even if we do say so! Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at ⁠www.payasyougocoo.com⁠.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to ⁠carolinesumners.com⁠ to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions ⁠https://www.beheard.org.uk/⁠ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    1h 6m

  7. Apr 16

    Startup Breakdown Episode 59: I Disappoint Her With My Life Choices

    In this episode of Startup Breakdown we pack in a lot of different topics. We discuss hot chocolate as a healthy choice, the ongoing annoyance that is car dealerships, toilet paper envy, pottery show and tell, cinema, ours rings and Milly's travel fears In questions Milly answers "Every time we solve one operational bottleneck, two more appear. Is this just the nature of growth, or is there some kind of flaw in how I’m designing our systems?' Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    58 min

  8. Apr 9

    Startup Breakdown Episode 58: Solid Life Advice

    In this episode of Startup Breakdown we chat about our stunning on air chemistry 😂, Caroline's panic about her ongoing Graphic Design Masters, and in general the need to balance creativity with work. We also chatted about the role of a generalist and curiosity, and how important it is in business, because in actual questions we answered "If you could only hire one marketer tomorrow, what's the single skill you'd refuse to compromise on, and why?" Who are your hosts? Milly: I'm a serial COO with an MBA from Imperial College London. I'm the ultimate cheerleader for early-stage companies and I've got the knowledge you need to take your brilliant ideas from the drawing board to the board room. I help companies across all industries build simple strategic frameworks to help them grow by focussing on the most important tasks without breaking the bank. If you’re looking for help to fight the overwhelm, communicate with your team, or raise money for your business give me a shout and we can have a free, no-strings Discovery Call over at www.payasyougocoo.com.  Caroline: I’m  a marketing strategist and coach with a passion for making marketing simple, effective, and actually fun. I help entrepreneurs and small business owners cut through the noise, get crystal clear on their messaging, and create smarter strategies that actually move the needle. If you’re ready to build a marketing plan that feels good and gets results, you can work with me 1:1 through coaching or join the Smarter Marketing Club,  my community packed with training, support, and real-world marketing know-how. Head over to carolinesumners.com to find out more and book a free Discovery Call. This podcast is expertly edited by James Ede. You can check out his services at beheardproductions https://www.beheard.org.uk/ If you’re scaling your business or just surviving your latest breakdown, we’d love to hear from you, send us a message at startup.breakdown.podcast@gmail.com.

    1 hr
See All (67)

Ratings & Reviews

About

Scaling a business can feel like a rollercoaster - and Startup Breakdown is here to ride it with you. Hosted by Caroline, a marketing strategist and Milly, a strategy and operations expert, this podcast combines real-world business advice with the hilarious and messy reality of running a startup. With decades of practical experience, more than a few war wounds, and hundreds of millions of pounds raised between them, Milly and Caroline bring you the insights you need to grow your business - without losing your mind. Expect practical tips, candid stories, and plenty of laughs.

Information

  • Creator
    Caroline Sumners, Milly Barker
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Caroline Sumners, Milly Barker
  • Show Website
    Startup Breakdown