In this special 20th episode, Greg and Andrew have an inspirational chat with Laura Tenison MBE, founder of JoJo Maman Bébé.

Like many born entrepreneurs, Laura's entrepreneurial tendencies were there for all to see from her tender years when she would make a few pennies selling cold drinks and cakes behind her house. 45 years later, JoJo Maman Bébé, the company she founded, was making £70m in annual revenue and employing 1,000 people, on the way to becoming one of Britain's best loved brands.

In 2022, Laura sold JoJo to retail giant Next, in partnership with a private equity firm. And she now runs Wonderful Escapes which offers a venue for extraordinary group or family holidays, yoga retreats and mindful business bonding at Wern-y-Cwm Farm, Abergavenny.

A joy to listen to and share a room with, Laura is Welsh business royalty, a generational talent, and an inspiration to us all.

We talk about;

• Being one of the few people who came out of the student experience with more money than when she started!
• The power of being unapologetically yourself
• The early ventures that bred the confidence for the big success
• How breaking 20 bones in her body led to the idea that became JoJo
• The importance of not believing the hype
• What it takes to create and run a company that cumulatively generated sales of almost £1bn...
• ...and what led to her finally deciding to sell it
• JoJo's groundbreaking inclusivity, and being one of the first B Corp's
• Always treating your people with respect, and the loyalty you get in return
• Why we all need to spend more time in human contact (and have more sex!)
• How "doing well whilst doing good" has always been Laura's mantra

Laura:

https://www.wonderfulescapes.co.uk/

Us:

www.linkedin.com/in/greg-vartoukian

www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwainstein

www.boxlist.com

https://www.andrewwainstein.com/

In this shorter form episode, Andrew has a one on one chat with the brilliant Irene Graham OBE.

Irene was identified as a leader from a young age, with her "can do" mindset and collaborative approach being the cornerstones of a senior career with Standard Chartered, where she harnessed her entrepreneurial spirit to create and lead a range of global projects and businesses, eventually resulting in her being an architect of the UK "open banking" revolution. Irene now sits on the Board of Creative UK, and as founder and CEO of the ScaleUp Institute, has supported for the last 10 years the UK's growing businesses and start-up economy.

She is also a Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde University and holds a variety of other non executive director and advisory roles across the creative, business and finance communities, and was awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to business and the economy.

It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome Irene, a truly impressive and inspiring guest.

We talk about:

• Growing up surrounded by strong female role models
• Being asked to take leadership roles from a age
• The traits of leaders - born or bred?
• Bringing her entrepreneurial flair to developing new businesses within banking
• Meetings challenges with the question "how can we solve", rather than "can we solve"
• The value of building inclusive, collaborative relationships
• Innovation and intrapreneurship
• Our choices and attitudes in the face of AI
• Her creation of ScaleUp Institute and its broad mission in supporting the crucial thousands of growing UK businesses
• The importance of following your instincts and being true to yourself
• Her innate drive and openness to make a difference in everything she has done

Irene:

https://www.scaleupinstitute.org.uk/

Us:

www.linkedin.com/in/greg-vartoukian

www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwainstein

www.boxlist.com

https://www.andrewwainstein.com/

In this episode, we chat with the dynamic and creative Hanne Kristiansen. 

From riding horses at 4 years old, to fixing the farm roof soon after, and wilfully not reading out loud until she was older than 10, Hanne has always done things her own way and proudly so. Her journey took her from being the daughter of hippy parents in provincial Denmark to eventually taking significant corporate roles in the UK including the Head of Innovation at Kellogg's. She then started her own consultancy and has worked with academics over many years to develop an innovative framework for creativity that she now shares with the world. Hanne is incredibly talented, a true force of nature, and an example to us all.

We talk about;

• Life growing up on a farm in provincial Denmark
• How being left to discover her own way shaped her life
• The power of genuinely not caring what people think
• How at 16 when asked what she believed in, she replied 'myself'
• Why we needn't be in such a rush to find our 'purpose'
• The importance of 'making the dots' before you can 'connect the dots'
• The fictional best before date stamped on her shoulder that she couldn't quite make out
• The sudden and tragic loss of her mum and how this drove her into action
• How she created the 'Creative ID' and the different creative archetypes that make it up
• How business and creativity mix like oil and water
• The importance of not asking 'Am I creative?' but 'How am I creative?'
• How all of us have creativity within us - and if you don't think so, have you ever lied?

Hanne:

https://www.yourcreativeid.com/

https://www.wearecreativecreatures.com/

Us:

www.linkedin.com/in/greg-vartoukian

www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwainstein

www.boxlist.com

https://www.andrewwainstein.com/