Send us a Text Message.Ann O'Neill walks us through her brilliant career and how it's lead her to build a UK leading female health product focused on the menopause, Adora Health. Ann's diverse career started in sales & marketing over in radio. Having previously worked on the UK's biggest ever radio broadcast deals including Live8 with Bob Geldof, and worked with market leading broadcasters such as Viacom, MTV, and Global Media (then Capital Radio) to name a few. After taking a career break to raise her children, Ann experience first hand how women desperately needed (and continue to need) more support in the workplace when dealing with menopausal symptoms, through perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. She took the matter into her own hands, and made the leap into entrepeneurialism. Ann has founded a start-up that is an expert-led, AI health and wellbeing platform for menopause, provided by employers in the workplace, and is leading the way in this area of the FemTech sector.You'll hear more on: How it's possible to get into the AI healthtech sector when not having a healthcare, tech or AI background 😉 Fund raising challenges as a female entrepreneur; Ann joins the '2% club', the 2% of female entrepreneurs who successfully secure VC investment Developing a public and private sector productThe importance of marketing in a tech-startup Advice for foundersFollow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this episode, Josh Garnham of Packfleet recounts his journey of building a B-Corp tackling sustainable delivery services from the ground up with his fellow co-founders.Packfleet was founded in 2021 by a trio of former Monzo employees that include the neobank's former VP of Design Hugo Cornejo, VP of marketing and communications Tristan Thomas and engineering manager Josh Garnham. From dropping out of the renowned Cambridge university to launching his net-positive logistics firm, Joshua reccounts how his skills and product development approach have been influenced by roles at tech giants Monzo and Apple. Together with co-founders, motivated by delivery frustrations, they aim to improve service for all stakeholders, prioritising ethics and sustainability. Targeting expansion beyond London's M25, Packfleet's commitment to B-Corp principles reflects its focus on ethical practices and corporate culture. Joshua stresses the value of small beginnings, collaboration, and shared values in entrepreneurial ventures, underlining Packfleet's dedication to innovative, sustainable logistics and a positive workplace culture. Some Key Takeaway's: Entrepreneurial Journey and Team Building: Listeners will learn about Josh Garnham's transition from academia to the tech industry, his experiences at Monzo and Apple, and the dynamics of co-founding Packfleet with a strong team ethos.Tech-Driven Logistics Innovation: The episode delves into how Packfleet leverages technology to revolutionise the logistics and delivery industry, emphasising their unique approach to improving delivery success rates and customer satisfaction.Sustainability in Business Operations: Insight into Packfleet's commitment to being a B Corp, focusing on sustainable practices, ethical employment, and their vision for environmentally conscious logistics.Company Culture and Employee Well-being: The discussion highlights the importance of cultivating a positive, empathetic work environment, illustrating how Packfleet prioritizes its team's welfare and fosters a culture of inclusivity and collaboration to the highest levels.Strategic Growth and Industry Impact: An exploration of Packfleet's business model, growth strategy within and beyond the M25, and their broader vision to influence the e-commerce and logistics sectors positively.The Start-Up Podcast Diaries Season 9 is proudly partnered with UK Cyber Week 2024.  Taking place on 17th-18th April 2024 at Olympia London,  join 3000+ cyber tech professionals, to explore the latest developments and equip attendees with the knowledge to protect their businesses.Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this episode we have Ben Leonard, a three-time founder/ co-founder and entrepreneur with a journey packed full of success. Ben built up his sports equipment business, Beast Gear to be a 7 figure business and exited the ‘holy grail’ exit of 3 years. He then co-founded Ecom brokers, in the midst of going solo as an e-commerce consultant (Ben Leonard Pro), and writing his book 'Quit Stalling and Build Your Brand, You Don’t Need an MBA to Crush It in Ecommerce', which offers insights and guidance for aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs.Beast Gear offer a total fitness solution for all of your gyms needs including providing equipment and design.Ben shares top tier advice on business strategy, how he pushed his multi-million pound mindset, importance of quality in e-commerce, and building your brand and follower network, and more.Ben also expands on his talk delivered recently when supporting the renowned Steven Bartlett, host and founder of Diary of a CEO podcast.This episode is for anyone looking for insights into:📈 Rapid business growth🔐 Founding businesses in e-commerce😍 Exiting a business at the right time🔄 B2B to B2C shifts🙌 Developing company brand through your supportersFollow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this episode, we're joined by key members of the eComplete team - Anna Graham, Managing Director and Les Yates, Strategy Director. They bring a wealth of experience to the conversation, honed by their individual paths in e-commerce and startup environments. eComplete is a talent led and data-driven eCommerce growth partner and capital investor. They scale eCommerce businesses through the power of data, talent and global infrastructure. Leveraging their in-house data platform they identify and implement rapid growth strategies, providing partners with access to scale and talent which is typically afforded to eCommerce giants. Their in house private equity arm, eComplete Capital, also provides investment in high growth potential eCommerce brands.In this session, you'll learn about the dramatic impact eComplete can make on a business's growth journey, their distinct approach to private equity investments, and the importance of building the right team from the start. They extensively discuss their unique offerings such as data and insights, global infrastructure, and specialized talent provision. Tune in for their insights on managing challenges, understanding customers, and keeping a healthy company culture.  In this episode, you’ll walk away with key insights into: ·      The importance of data and insights in business growth and profitability.·      The significance of having a skilled and specialized in-house team for successful business operations.·      The necessity of understanding your target audience for a sustainable growth strategy.·      How a business can save significantly by optimizing their supply chain.·      The value of maintaining a positive company culture and hiring the right people as the business scales.Not to be missed by anyone thinking about scaling a business in the e-commerce industry.Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this short mini-clip we welcome new London co-host, Livvie Holt to The Start-Up Diaries.We feature a short 2023 'wrapped' of the podcast this year, shouting out a handful of our most listened to episodes and most importantly thanking all of our listeners, and guests, for supporting the podcast in it's third year.This year we tripled our listenership - and it's all thanks to our dedicated listeners - so a tremendous thank you from everyone here at The Start-Up Diaries.The Start-Up Diaries is powered by Burns Sheehan, a leading tech recruitment specialist who provide market leading reports and insights to the tech community. Visit our website to find The Start-Up Diaries Hub, and more information on Burns Sheehan. We will take a one week break of episodes this week and you can expect to find your usual Tuesday morning commute filled with our latest episode from the 2nd January 2024.Wishing you all a happy and healthy festive period,Chris and Liv @ The Start-Up DiariesFollow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this insightful episode of Startup Diaries, we welcome Daniel Yubi, CEO and (co)-founder of Payable - a successful fintech platform that helps businesses manage their financial transactions more efficiently.Daniel offers a deep dive into his journey, from his diverse career path that led him from being a lawyer in Mexico, to building a huge Youtube following, to becoming a tech entrepreneur in London, to starting his own co-founded business - Payable. Before Daniel founded Payable, he spent 10+ years building platform products for leading fintech brands such as Klarna, Revolut, and Mollie at Checkout.com. Throughout the conversation, Daniel and host Chris McGowan, Managing Director of  the North @ Burns Sheehan discuss:- The challenges of starting a business- Landing $6 million in funding- The importance of cultivating the right team- How vital it is to be passionate about your work- Building a successful YouTube Channel - Advice to entrepeneurs...Daniel shares intriguing stories and practical advice, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, fintech or those just eager to learn from someone else's hugely successful journey.Psst.. Listen until the end to find out his 3 top tips for budding entrepreneurs or those looking to scale their business.Powered by Burns Sheehan, the Tech Recruitment Specialists across London and Manchester.Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this episode we have George Lineker, the Co-Founder of YourBusinessNumber a service that provides users with a second virtual UK mobile number, enabling them to use both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business on the same phone.George is widely known as the son of the famous Gary Lineker OBE , the English sports broadcaster and former professional footballer. But in this episode, we delve into how George has carved his own way as a start-up entrepreneur, and his most recent co-foundership at YourBusinessNumber.In this episode, we explore: Challenges and Opportunities in Market AwarenessLearnings from Past Failed Business VenturesWhy he Chose to Create his Own BusinessesThe Importance of the Right PartnershipOutsourcing Marketing and Why it can be the Right Choice Early On or Throughout your JourneyFuture Plans and ExpansionFollow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupdiariespodcast/Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan. Subscribe and leave a review!

In this session, we get the low down from Darren Westall, CEO and Co-Founder of Paiger. Paiger helps recruiters build personal brands, identify new business opportunities, attract candidates, and have better conversations.Paiger was born when co-founders Darren and Rohit Kapoor noticed a shift in the way people prospected, communicated & built their businesses.Much like the beginnings of any start-up, the business started at home - or more accurately, in Darren's shed! Fast forward to today and Paiger supports businesses in multiple countries, and has won multiple awards.In this episode, we cover:The Importance of Technical Skills in Tech Start-UpBusiness Development: Darrens ability to build and adapt the Pager platform himself, responding quickly to customer feedback, was a key factor in the success of his business.Personal Branding and Utilising LinkedIn for Business Growth: Darren shares how building a strong online presence helped him connect with his target audience and grow his business without relying on traditional sales methods.The Role of Sales and Product in Business Strategy: Darren's experience shows that understanding the differences between being sales-led and product-led in business; These dynamics are crucial for business expansion and adapting to new markets.Challenges of Fundraising and Bootstrapping: Darren shares insights from his experience with bootstrapping Pager and later going through Series A funding.Leadership and Team Management: Darren discusses his journey from a developer to a CTO, and managing a large team at a young age and what helped him develop along the way.Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupdiariespodcast/Follow our page on Linkedin: https://shorturl.at/qSW56Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan. Subscribe and leave a review!

In this session we have Active Profile, an integrated Marketing and PR agency like no other, who also run the well known 'Tech Climbers' initiative, of which Burns Sheehan partner with.In this episode we  delve into Tech Climbers, the exciting initiative, which supports scaling tech businesses in the Liverpool, Yorkshire regions swell as launching more recently in Manchester. Tech climbers showcase scalable, innovative, product-led technology businesses. As the flagship for tech in the north, tech climbers provide a platform through events and their publicised Tech Climbers list, they’re are on mission to shine a light on the trailblazing businesses within the tech community and raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities within the local regions.In this episode, we have Anna Heyes - CEO, of Active profile and Frankie Hutton, who is the client operations and growth manager at Active Profile as well as Project Lead for Tech Climbers. With both of them being PR and marketing experts, we wanted to pick their brains on the advice they give their clients particularly in the start-up space. We think it’s a brilliant episode, we hope you enjoy it!In this episode, we explore:Can you give us an intro to yourselves and the story behind Active Profile and what inspired you to launch Tech Climbers?Why did you choose the Manchester tech scene this year & why are initiatives like these so important?For future applications - what makes an ideal business for the list and why should someone apply?Let’s dive into the list, who’s made it onto this years’?Are there any brands that you are particularly excited about this year, any real ones to watch?Moving to Active Profile - While prepping for this episode you mentioned brand and demand and the importance of balancing the two in start-ups. Can you tell the listeners what you meant by that?You’re all about supporting the Northern Tech start-up scene, for those listening what are the key mistakes you see businesses making with their marketing and PR?What has been the biggest challenge in your career to date?What one piece of advice would you give to someone looking to launch their own start-up?Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan. Subscribe and leave a review!

Host Chris McGowan reflects on the key takeaways from  just some of our incredible guests across season 1 & 2 , including Michael Brennan, Jessica Jackson, Mo Aldalou, Lydia Jones, Heather & Tom Staff, Chloe Barrett, Dom Raban, Anna Sutton, Andy Still & Ashley Lockwood.This episode will cover key areas within the Start-Up journey including culture, funding & investment, mental health, some of our guests biggest challenges & advice for future founders.Thank you all for your support, comments, shares and reviews over the past year. We couldn't do it without you!Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan.