The Entrepreneurs
A weekly deep dive into global business. Inspiring stories from startups to legacy brands in hospitality, design, fashion, and retail.
Latest Episodes
Natural growth
We meet an ex-London banker who’s launched shoe company Sons of London to test out the direct-to-consumer business model. In San Francisco, Azhar Hashem, an ex-marketing executive at Google is creating a restaurant focused on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine – we discuss the transition in the run-up to the opening of…
True design
How do you successfully reinvent a popular brand? Tony Conrad and Jeff Veen of Silicon Valley-based venture-capital firm True Ventures sit down with Daniel Giacopelli to discuss tips learned from growing, selling and then re-launching About.me. Plus: they explain why design is key and share tips for building a business…
Going the distance
Pippa Murray is a London-based marathoner who made delicious nut butter to fuel her runs. She tells us why she quit her day job to turn her passion into booming business Pip & Nut – and why it involved living in a shed for three months. Meanwhile in Tunisia, two…
Fresh delivery
Along with oxygen, water and shelter, healthy food is one of the bare necessities of life. So why is the modern food supply chain so broken – and how can we fix it? London start-up FarmDrop has a solution. Meanwhile, the owners of Earl of East London explain the nuts…
On the rise
From the maker of a wildfire-fighting drone to the inventor of a robotic roadie, we meet Beirut’s entrepreneurs to discover why they’re staying put and innovating in the face of the country’s business hurdles. Meanwhile, we ask about the future of photography and go in the search for the perfect…
Episode 237
Former fighter pilot Jonny Nicol reveals why he built Stratajet, billed as the world’s first fully automated, real-time, real-cost system for booking a private jet. We also meet a new player on the venture-capital scene: Andre de Haes from Backed VC explains why European founders may soon build a $100bn…
Episode 236
The world’s most famous recording studio has launched a programme to mentor the next generation of music-technology companies. We swing by London’s Abbey Road to hear the story of one promising start-up from the inaugural class. Conflicts in the workplace are an inevitable part of office life – Harvard’s Daniel…
Episode 235
In the age of the truly on-demand, one London start-up promises to pick up whatever you want and deliver it within an hour. The CEO of Quiqup explains the challenges and business model of the ‘last mile’. Meanwhile in California, one company hopes to erase the word ‘lost’ from the…
Episode 234
Cold-water surfing is not like other surfing: freezing water, freezing air and, until UK brand Finisterre came about in 2002, a severe lack of quality clothing and gear. We trek to the coast of Cornwall to meet the company’s founder and team. Filson’s creative director Alex Carleton shares his top…
Episode 233
British chocolate brand Prestat counted the Queen Mother, Roald Dahl and generations of sweet-toothed children as its fans but what happens when the company is rejuvenated for a new generation? Meanwhile, in Vienna we meet cosmetics entrepreneur Wolfgang Lederhaas, who explains why his products are inspired by 18th-century literature and…
