The Bottom Line

BBC Radio 4
  • 4.7 (31)
  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED DAILY
The Bottom Line

The definitive business podcast from the BBC. Each week, the BBC's Evan Davis is joined by bosses, entrepreneurs and industry experts, to lift the lid on how their businesses work, and what it’s like to be in charge.  They discuss a big issue, a big challenge, or a big question facing their industry. From managing AI to managing millennials, from supermarkets to supercharging a new product. And our guests will share their stories of success and failure along the way.   Podcasts are published every Thursday. And as well as being a podcast, we are also available every Thursday afternoon and Tuesday evening on BBC Radio 4.  You can now also listen to The Bottom Line on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play The Bottom Line”. It works on most smart speakers. The Bottom Line has published a spin off series - Decisions That Made Me - where Evan asks entrepreneurs and business leaders about the most crucial moments in their lives and careers. You can watch these episodes here: https://t.ly/oJ8lW. Got a question or a comment? Get in touch with Evan and the team on email at bottomline@bbc.co.uk.

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    Decisions That Made Me: Jordan Brompton (Myenergi, Co-founder)

    When your background differs from the people working with and around you, it’s easy to feel judged by the assumptions people make about you from class to gender. Whatever your upbringing, it’s something we all deal with - our backgrounds are always with us, either to be embraced, accepted, or fled from. Jordan Brompton, entrepreneur and co-founder of the smart energy tech company Myenergi, shares her experience as a working class woman and her love of solar panels. Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

    15 min

  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    Decisions That Made Me: Julian Douglas (VCCP, Global CEO)

    When do you start that side hustle you've always talked about doing? What if it gets you fired from work? And even if you do leave, make your success and build your hustle into a successful business, can you ever decide to step away and go back to your career? Julian Douglas, global CEO of advertising agency VCCP, talks to Evan Davis about his decision to go in to advertising, being fired for his night life start up, and then walking away from the company he founded to go back to his former career. Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

    15 min

  3. 3 DAYS AGO

    Decisions That Made Me: Rob Law (Trunki Suitcases, Inventor)

    When your business is about making products, and the factory you use gets into trouble, that’s potentially a big problem. Do you try to find another one, or do you try to fix it? Rob Law, entrepreneur and inventor of the Trunki children’s suitcase, had exactly this dilemma, and tells Evan Davis about the risky decision it prompted. He also discusses the illness and personal loss that have shaped his career, and recalls his infamous appearance on Dragon’s Den almost 20 years ago. Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

    15 min

  4. DEC 12

    Decisions That Made Me: Tom Pellereau (Stylideas, Inventor)

    When inventor Tom Pellereau was on the verge of launching his latest invention for his fashion company, Stylideas, he couldn't have known what a key decision was about to face him. The Apprentice winner talks to Evan Davis about his business relationship with Alan Sugar, his passion for design and his experience of dyslexia that all led to a stand off over pricing that would make or break his company. Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

    17 min

  5. DEC 5

    Decisions That Made Me: Elmarie Marais (GoCrisis, Founder)

    What do you do when you’re unhappy at work? Maybe you’re burnt out from long hours? Or you see the way your employer does things and think to yourself “surely there’s a better way?” For many founders and CEO's, it's a familiar experience, and one that can spur them into the decision of starting their own business. Evan Davis talks to Elmarie Marais about her experience of crisis management, and how a crisis of her own led to the founding of her own company, GoCrisis. Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison

    14 min

  6. NOV 7

    Ideas: How To Turn Your Dreams Into Business Reality

    You've had a brilliant business idea. At least, you think you have. What do you do next? Evan Davis speaks to three successful entrepreneurs- including former contestants on The Apprentice and Dragons' Den. Where do the best ideas come from and how do you know when they are worth pursuing? What are the top tips for pitching and when is it time to let an idea go? Evan is joined by Rob Law, the inventor of the Trunki ride-on suitcase for kids, Pippa Murray, founder of the nut butter brand Pip & Nut and Tom Pellereau, who invented the curved nail file for his company Stylideas. Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison (Picture: Getty Images, Credit: Teerachai Jampanak)

    33 min

  7. OCT 31

    Marketing: How Effective Is Fear In Advertising?

    Why do advertising agencies use fear to get us to part with our money? Advertising agencies and marketing people use different techniques to push our buttons. Humour is one. But what about fear? Do they sometimes try to scare us into buying? Or is it a gentler art- playing on our insecurities about things like old age, poor health or thinning hair? Evan Davis speaks to Sir John Hegarty and Ian Gathard from the advertising industry and psychologist Juliane Beard, who studies how the brains of consumers work. Credits: Volkswagen "Eyes on the Road" advertising stunt Reebok trainers advertisement: "Lose the Beer Belly" Aviva home insurance advertisement Production team: Producers: Simon Tulett and Michaela Graichen Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Neil Churchill Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison (Picture: Piccadilly Circus in London, Light Trails at night. Credit: Jonathan Herbert, JH Images via Getty Images)

    34 min

  8. OCT 24

    Google: The Couple That Took On The Tech Giant

    When Shivaun and Adam Raff's shopping and price comparison website all but vanished from Google's search results just days after launching, the pair began a gruelling legal battle that would end with a landmark judgement and the tech giant receiving a then record fine. European regulators found the search engine guilty of abusing its market dominance by making its own shopping recommendations appear more prominently than rivals' in its search results. Google spent seven years appealing its €2.4bn fine, but eventually lost in September this year. In their first interview since that verdict the Raffs tell Evan Davis the story behind their website - Foundem - and what they learned about big tech, regulation, and themselves during their almost 20-year fight. Evan is joined by: Shivaun and Adam Raff, co-founders, Foundem; Anne Witt, professor of law, EDHEC business school. Credits: President Barack speaking to Kara Swisher, from the technology news website Recode, in February 2015; Joaquín Almunia speaking at a European Commission press conference in February 2014; Margarethe Vestager speaking at a European Commission press conference in June 2017. Production team: Producer: Simon Tulett Researcher: Drew Hyndman Editor: Matt Willis Sound: Jonny Baker and Neil Churchill Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison (Picture: The Google logo displayed on a mobile phone and computer monitor. Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images/BBC)

    38 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.7
out of 5
31 Ratings

About

The definitive business podcast from the BBC. Each week, the BBC's Evan Davis is joined by bosses, entrepreneurs and industry experts, to lift the lid on how their businesses work, and what it’s like to be in charge.  They discuss a big issue, a big challenge, or a big question facing their industry. From managing AI to managing millennials, from supermarkets to supercharging a new product. And our guests will share their stories of success and failure along the way.   Podcasts are published every Thursday. And as well as being a podcast, we are also available every Thursday afternoon and Tuesday evening on BBC Radio 4.  You can now also listen to The Bottom Line on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play The Bottom Line”. It works on most smart speakers. The Bottom Line has published a spin off series - Decisions That Made Me - where Evan asks entrepreneurs and business leaders about the most crucial moments in their lives and careers. You can watch these episodes here: https://t.ly/oJ8lW. Got a question or a comment? Get in touch with Evan and the team on email at bottomline@bbc.co.uk.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2007 - 2024
  • Episodes
    365
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2024
  • Show Website
    The Bottom Line

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