In this episode we have Ben Leonard, a three-time founder/ co-founder and entrepreneur with a journey packed full of success. Ben built up his sports equipment business, Beast Gear to be a 7 figure business and exited the ‘holy grail’ exit of 3 years. He then co-founded Ecom brokers, in the midst of going solo as an e-commerce consultant (Ben Leonard Pro), and writing his book 'Quit Stalling and Build Your Brand, You Don’t Need an MBA to Crush It in Ecommerce', which offers insights and guidance for aspiring e-commerce entrepreneurs.Beast Gear offer a total fitness solution for all of your gyms needs including providing equipment and design.Ben shares top tier advice on business strategy, how he pushed his multi-million pound mindset, importance of quality in e-commerce, and building your brand and follower network, and more.Ben also expands on his talk delivered recently when supporting the renowned Steven Bartlett, host and founder of Diary of a CEO podcast.This episode is for anyone looking for insights into:📈 Rapid business growth🔐 Founding businesses in e-commerce😍 Exiting a business at the right time🔄 B2B to B2C shifts🙌 Developing company brand through your supportersFollow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this episode, we're joined by key members of the eComplete team - Anna Graham, Managing Director and Les Yates, Strategy Director. They bring a wealth of experience to the conversation, honed by their individual paths in e-commerce and startup environments. eComplete is a talent led and data-driven eCommerce growth partner and capital investor. They scale eCommerce businesses through the power of data, talent and global infrastructure. Leveraging their in-house data platform they identify and implement rapid growth strategies, providing partners with access to scale and talent which is typically afforded to eCommerce giants. Their in house private equity arm, eComplete Capital, also provides investment in high growth potential eCommerce brands.In this session, you'll learn about the dramatic impact eComplete can make on a business's growth journey, their distinct approach to private equity investments, and the importance of building the right team from the start. They extensively discuss their unique offerings such as data and insights, global infrastructure, and specialized talent provision. Tune in for their insights on managing challenges, understanding customers, and keeping a healthy company culture.  In this episode, you’ll walk away with key insights into: ·      The importance of data and insights in business growth and profitability.·      The significance of having a skilled and specialized in-house team for successful business operations.·      The necessity of understanding your target audience for a sustainable growth strategy.·      How a business can save significantly by optimizing their supply chain.·      The value of maintaining a positive company culture and hiring the right people as the business scales.Not to be missed by anyone thinking about scaling a business in the e-commerce industry.Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this short mini-clip we welcome new London co-host, Livvie Holt to The Start-Up Diaries.We feature a short 2023 'wrapped' of the podcast this year, shouting out a handful of our most listened to episodes and most importantly thanking all of our listeners, and guests, for supporting the podcast in it's third year.This year we tripled our listenership - and it's all thanks to our dedicated listeners - so a tremendous thank you from everyone here at The Start-Up Diaries.The Start-Up Diaries is powered by Burns Sheehan, a leading tech recruitment specialist who provide market leading reports and insights to the tech community. Visit our website to find The Start-Up Diaries Hub, and more information on Burns Sheehan. We will take a one week break of episodes this week and you can expect to find your usual Tuesday morning commute filled with our latest episode from the 2nd January 2024.Wishing you all a happy and healthy festive period,Chris and Liv @ The Start-Up DiariesFollow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Recruitment Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this insightful episode of Startup Diaries, we welcome Daniel Yubi, CEO and (co)-founder of Payable - a successful fintech platform that helps businesses manage their financial transactions more efficiently.Daniel offers a deep dive into his journey, from his diverse career path that led him from being a lawyer in Mexico, to building a huge Youtube following, to becoming a tech entrepreneur in London, to starting his own co-founded business - Payable. Before Daniel founded Payable, he spent 10+ years building platform products for leading fintech brands such as Klarna, Revolut, and Mollie at Checkout.com. Throughout the conversation, Daniel and host Chris McGowan, Managing Director of  the North @ Burns Sheehan discuss:- The challenges of starting a business- Landing $6 million in funding- The importance of cultivating the right team- How vital it is to be passionate about your work- Building a successful YouTube Channel - Advice to entrepeneurs...Daniel shares intriguing stories and practical advice, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, fintech or those just eager to learn from someone else's hugely successful journey.Psst.. Listen until the end to find out his 3 top tips for budding entrepreneurs or those looking to scale their business.Powered by Burns Sheehan, the Tech Recruitment Specialists across London and Manchester.Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn, Instagram, or find more free content from the Tech Specialists powering The Start-Up Diaries - Burns Sheehan.

In this session, we get the low down from Darren Westall, CEO and Co-Founder of Paiger. Paiger helps recruiters build personal brands, identify new business opportunities, attract candidates, and have better conversations.Paiger was born when co-founders Darren and Rohit Kapoor noticed a shift in the way people prospected, communicated & built their businesses.Much like the beginnings of any start-up, the business started at home - or more accurately, in Darren's shed! Fast forward to today and Paiger supports businesses in multiple countries, and has won multiple awards.In this episode, we cover:The Importance of Technical Skills in Tech Start-UpBusiness Development: Darrens ability to build and adapt the Pager platform himself, responding quickly to customer feedback, was a key factor in the success of his business.Personal Branding and Utilising LinkedIn for Business Growth: Darren shares how building a strong online presence helped him connect with his target audience and grow his business without relying on traditional sales methods.The Role of Sales and Product in Business Strategy: Darren's experience shows that understanding the differences between being sales-led and product-led in business; These dynamics are crucial for business expansion and adapting to new markets.Challenges of Fundraising and Bootstrapping: Darren shares insights from his experience with bootstrapping Pager and later going through Series A funding.Leadership and Team Management: Darren discusses his journey from a developer to a CTO, and managing a large team at a young age and what helped him develop along the way.Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupdiariespodcast/Follow our page on Linkedin: https://shorturl.at/qSW56Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan. Subscribe and leave a review!

In this session we have Active Profile, an integrated Marketing and PR agency like no other, who also run the well known 'Tech Climbers' initiative, of which Burns Sheehan partner with.In this episode we  delve into Tech Climbers, the exciting initiative, which supports scaling tech businesses in the Liverpool, Yorkshire regions swell as launching more recently in Manchester. Tech climbers showcase scalable, innovative, product-led technology businesses. As the flagship for tech in the north, tech climbers provide a platform through events and their publicised Tech Climbers list, they’re are on mission to shine a light on the trailblazing businesses within the tech community and raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities within the local regions.In this episode, we have Anna Heyes - CEO, of Active profile and Frankie Hutton, who is the client operations and growth manager at Active Profile as well as Project Lead for Tech Climbers. With both of them being PR and marketing experts, we wanted to pick their brains on the advice they give their clients particularly in the start-up space. We think it’s a brilliant episode, we hope you enjoy it!In this episode, we explore:Can you give us an intro to yourselves and the story behind Active Profile and what inspired you to launch Tech Climbers?Why did you choose the Manchester tech scene this year & why are initiatives like these so important?For future applications - what makes an ideal business for the list and why should someone apply?Let’s dive into the list, who’s made it onto this years’?Are there any brands that you are particularly excited about this year, any real ones to watch?Moving to Active Profile - While prepping for this episode you mentioned brand and demand and the importance of balancing the two in start-ups. Can you tell the listeners what you meant by that?You’re all about supporting the Northern Tech start-up scene, for those listening what are the key mistakes you see businesses making with their marketing and PR?What has been the biggest challenge in your career to date?What one piece of advice would you give to someone looking to launch their own start-up?Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan. Subscribe and leave a review!

Host Chris McGowan reflects on the key takeaways from  just some of our incredible guests across season 1 & 2 , including Michael Brennan, Jessica Jackson, Mo Aldalou, Lydia Jones, Heather & Tom Staff, Chloe Barrett, Dom Raban, Anna Sutton, Andy Still & Ashley Lockwood.This episode will cover key areas within the Start-Up journey including culture, funding & investment, mental health, some of our guests biggest challenges & advice for future founders.Thank you all for your support, comments, shares and reviews over the past year. We couldn't do it without you!Follow The Start-Up Diaries Podcast on LinkedIn or learn more about Burns Sheehan.