Business Growth Blog
Hello! This is where I share my experiences of setting up, running and scaling businesses.
Read more to learn about the highs and lows, the good and bad times, the great times, and the downright difficult times. I share how I hunted out opportunities, secured investment, sold businesses and formed strategic partnerships.
This blog is all about business growth. I write on my favourite topics such as marketing (a big part of business growth), digital transformation, and helping clients to put together a proper strategy for growth. I also do regular interviews live on LinkedIn with experts and founders, then share it to The Growth Podcast, and here on the blog too.
Lockdown lows to global growth opportunities
How we turned around Cook Folk's fortunes in just three sessions THE CHALLENGE Louisa runs a company called Cook Folk. She is a food writer, author and cookery teacher. Before lockdown she had a lovely thriving business but everything fell to pieces during lockdown as she wasn’t able to continue...
#51 – Your company finances – why understanding your numbers is super important with Reza Hooda
Knowing your finances, understanding what they mean, being clear on how to read your management accounts, and how to use that information to shape your decisions - these are essential, but challenging skills that founders need to master. I met Reza Hooda when we were both panellists on a webinar...
#50 How innovative new start-up tripAbrood is disrupting the travel industry, with Alexa-Maria Rathbone Barker
TripAbrood is the world's first AI-powered family travel booking experience, matching families to their ideal holiday accommodation in a matter of minutes. This brand new travel company caught my eye because it tackles an issue I am all too familiar with! As a family of six, finding suitable...
#49 – Simple five-step business strategy process, with angel investor Phil Fraser
In this week’s episode of Starting to Scale with Emmie Faust, I’ve invited my friend (and Angel Investor) Phil Fraser to share his simple business strategy setting approach that results in a useful, insightful, and flexible plan to base your business decisions around. When we met 17 years ago,...
#48 LinkedIn – brand awareness, gaining trust and finding new customers with Jamie Capaldi
I love LinkedIn. I love how you can connect with new people that you’d struggle to get in front of in real-life. And I love having the opportunity for meaningful conversations that build relationships. I love how you never know where an interaction might take you. So what starts as a friendly chat...
#47 Creating a stand-out brand in a crowded market, with Nancy and Eileen from Cucumber Clothing
Sometimes being turned down for investment is a blessing in disguise. Cucumber Clothing is an amazing new brand, carving out their space in a crowded market. Recently founders Nancy Zeffman and Eileen Willett made it through to the TV show recording stage of Dragon’s Den. But despite their...
The quickest route to getting your fundraising money in
When you’re in fundraising mode, the exciting bit is getting the money in. This can take a long time, as you can imagine, and is likely to depend on a number of factors: Who is doing the fundraising? How much experience do they have? How quickly and easily can you deal with the paperwork? Do you...
Securing funding for your business during Coronavirus
With Kickstarter reporting a 35% drop in listed campaigns in April 2020, against the same month last year, it’s clear the crowdfunding industry (like many others) has been significantly impacted by the current situation. But will reduction in the number of live campaigns lead to fewer start-ups...
#46 Successfully matching your team to the stage of your start-up, with Andrew Waters
In the beginning, it was just you and your idea, and maybe a co-founder. This isolation doesn’t just expose you to loneliness, it also makes you vulnerable to your own personal blind spots. It’s crucial to add the right people to your team at the right stage (in return for the right incentive) -...
#45 Securing investment during the global pandemic with Selin Yigitbasi-Ducker, founder of Goodsted
Raising investment during the pandemic When Selin Yigitbasi-Ducker began looking for investment back in November 2019, she had no idea that a global pandemic would tip the odds heavily against her. And yet, despite challenging economic conditions, she raised 150% of the investment she needed to...
Finding new opportunities for your business
Forget pivoting. It’s quicker and easier to make use of those opportunities for growth you’ve been thinking about, but haven’t yet tapped into. Maybe you’ve got a spark of an idea already. Something you think might work, but you’re not 100% sure. You know you could increase revenue by doing more...
What do you do when you sell your business?!
As a founder, I’ve had to make some tough decisions. Luckily for me, I had a great business partner, Ed who was a massive support during those challenging times. But one of the toughest decisions I ever made was when I briefly returned to employment. And founders don't always think about what is...
Launching a disruptive beauty brand and securing funding
Back in 2016 Zaffrin O'Sullivan, the founder of Five Dot Botanics was feeling frustrated. A lack of investment meant a market opportunity was passing her by. The timing seemed right to scale her minimal ingredients skincare business, but she didn’t have the means to distribute her product on a...
#44 Equity vs rewards-based crowdfunding for start-ups, with Hannah Forbes
Equity crowdfunding vs rewards-based crowdfunding for businesses Hannah Forbes is a crowdfunding expert and founder of The Funding Crowd. She helps businesses raise investment through alternative methods. In this episode of The Growth Podcast with Emmie Faust, we discuss the two most popular...
#43 How to secure funding for a disruptive beauty brand with Zaffrin O’Sullivan
Zaffrin O'Sullivan is the founder of Five Dot Botanics, a minimal ingredients skincare brand launched in July 2019. After initially being turned down for an investment opportunity, she successfully secured funding on the second attempt - pitching while heavily pregnant with her third child. I...