The Entrepreneurs
A weekly deep dive into global business. Inspiring stories from startups to legacy brands in hospitality, design, fashion, and retail.
Latest Episodes
No booze, no lose: Meet the founders drinking to an alcohol-free future
As more alcohol-free drinks hit the shelves, we meet two founders who carved their own path in the booming market. Lucy Isles talks about Sablière, an alcohol-free sparkling cuvée from Edinburgh. And: we head to Merano to meet Maria-Elisabeth Laimer, co-founder of Italy’s first handcrafted alcohol-free beer, Freedl.
The case for sabbaticals: Why businesses benefit when workers take ‘Big Time Off’
Harvard Business School lecturer DJ DiDonna talks about the importance of sabbaticals and why intentionality in time away from work is a win-win for employees and bosses alike. He shares findings from his new book, ‘Big Time Off: The Transformative Power of Sabbaticals and How to Take One’.
Neurospace: How a Berlin space start-up landed contracts with Nasa and SpaceX
We meet the founder of Neurospace, the only privately funded German space start-up to have secured contracts with both Nasa and SpaceX. Plus: We visit Slatnar, a Slovenia-based ski-maker.
Skyfirst CEO Olivier Perdriel on geopolitical flight-path disruptions and the future of private aviation
Olivier Perdriel stops by Monocle’s Paris bureau to discuss his boutique aviation business, which started with a single aircraft and now operates a fleet of long-range and ultra-long-range jets. He discusses navigating geopolitical uncertainty and why relationships remain his company’s greatest competitive advantage.
The business of better running with the founders of One Track Club
Anthony and Laura Fletcher, the husband-and-wife co-founders of One Track Club, discuss how they turned a free running club into a fast-growing business and share lessons on what it takes to scale a personalised service.
CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti on building CoinShares
Jean-Marie Mognetti, the CEO and co-founder of CoinShares, talks about how he helped build one of Europe’s leading-digital asset managers.
How a boutique studio landed the Obama Presidential Center brief
As the Barack Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago, we meet a husband-and-wife team whose brand studio was appointed the prime design partner for the historic civil landmark. Tom Crabtree and Patricia Callaway discuss Manual’s work with the Obama Foundation and the inherent challenges to a presidential commission.
A visit to France’s biggest sauna, Sant Roch, and Publicisdrugstore
Monocle’s Fernando Augusto Pacheco meets Chloé Bouscatel, co-founder of Sant Roch, Paris’s newest and largest sauna. Plus: Fernando chats champagne and magazines with the CEO of Publicisdrugstore, a Parisian institution on the Champs-Élysées.
Design that changes how we see the world: Tombino and ÖÖD
Architect and designer Jason Lempieri speaks about Tombino, a project that turns manhole-cover designs from cities around the world into functional art. Plus: we head to Tallinn to meet Andreas Tiik, co-founder of ÖÖD.
Roland Horne on scaling WatchHouse cafés, from London and Abu Dhabi to New York
We meet Roland Horne, founder and CEO of WatchHouse, a coffee chain with almost 30 global locations and counting. Plus: former private-jet broker Alex Hunter discusses why he left aviation to pursue hospitality and the relocation of his celebrated Chelsea restaurant, The Sea, The Sea, to a bigger site.
