The Entrepreneurs
A weekly deep dive into global business. Inspiring stories from startups to legacy brands in hospitality, design, fashion, and retail.
Latest Episodes
Why ‘fake it till you make it’ is terrible for business
Entrepreneur and Childs Farm founder Joanna Jensen shares how a know-it-all attitude can stall growth and why confidence alone can’t save a struggling enterprise. She discusses lessons from her new book, ‘Making Business Child’s Play: How to Build a Winning Brand’, a practical guide to creating companies that last.
Nicolas Budzynski on scaling La Petite Maison and why consistency beats awards in luxury dining
Nicolas Budzynski, the CEO of globally acclaimed French Mediterranean restaurant La Petite Maison, shares his expansion plans and why he keeps his team focused on long-term vision. Plus: A dispatch from Aalto Founder School.
Elad Yifrach on L’Objet’s expansion into fragrances. And: why ghost hunting is big business in Japan
L’Objet founder Elad Yifrach talks about the value of materiality in design, smart collaborations and growing a luxury decor brand celebrated for its commitment to craftsmanship. Plus: we meet the boss of Kachimode, a Japanese firm that investigates whether real estate properties are haunted.
Eureka: Why winemakers and Nasa engineers rely on cork
António Amorim, the CEO of the world’s leading producer of cork, talks about the surprising versatility of the material and its many uses in industries from wine to aerospace and construction.
Soft power: N.Peal cashmere and Hello Kitty
N.Peal’s owner, Adam Holdsworth, discusses his measured approach to the company’s expansion strategy and collaborations. Plus: We meet Tomokuni Tsuji, the CEO of Sanrio, the Japanese entertainment business behind Hello Kitty.
Eureka: Fresh thinking starts in the Bavarian Alps
We visit Wandl in Ruhpolding, Bavaria, where a husband-and-wife team host corporate retreats in a historic alpine farmhouse. Teams leave behind dull hotel rooms to breathe fresh mountain air and find new focus for leadership.
How winemakers in the south of France are turning rosé into a year-round wine
Rejoice! Rosé season doesn’t have to end. We meet husband-and-wife duo Stephen and Jeany Cronk, the founders of award-winning rosé brand Maison Mirabeau, which is now sold in over 40 countries. They share how a risky move to Provence paid off and why rosé deserves a place on festive tables.
Eureka: How Gozen is growing a new material that’s taking over the runways
We meet Ece Gözen, co-founder of Gozen, the biotechnology company behind Lunaform, a biomaterial now catching the attention of major fashion houses such as Balenciaga and offering a new approach to sustainable design.
Is Italy’s tech ecosystem on the rise? Takeaways from The Bologna Gathering 2025
How Italy is positioning itself to become Europe’s next tech hub. Plus: author Mehran Gul on ‘The New Geography of Innovation: The Global Contest for Breakthrough Technologies’. And: Kagi founder Vladimir Prelovac on the search engine’s answer to combating internet AI slop.
Eureka: How Whitebox Cocktails turned a negroni into a global business selling millions of cans
We meet Pietro Collina, co-founder of Whitebox Cocktails, a company making full-strength, single-serve classics such as negronis, espresso martinis and cosmopolitans. Collina talks about creating canned cocktails and scaling the brand to international shelves.
