Founded & Grounded

"You can't buy culture".
In this episode, Founded & Grounded visit the Lost & Grounded brewery and their co-founder Alex Troncoso, as we return to the world of craft beer.
With new breweries and their tap rooms popping up on virtually every street corner, it's impossible to ignore the rise in popularity of craft beer. Equally apparent has been the hit taken by the hospitality industry during the Covid pandemic. So how to position yourself in a crowded market - and futureproof the company also?
Alex takes a holistic view, and how having 4 simple values intrinsic to every aspect of the operation, being among a minority of UK brewers to pay the living wage, and sticking to their principles, has helped Lost & Grounded successfully navigate its first 6 years.
He also raises two fundamental questions for all businesses and their founders; why should you exist in a crowded market, and how big do you want to be?
Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with analysis from Ollie Collard and listener feedback courtesy of Samantha Miles.

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:
National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:
NPSA.gov.uk/innovation
Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:
hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

Besides climate change, the issue of microplastics is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing society.
Passionate to put his engineering talent to use, but unable to find a business that matched the scale of his ambitions, Adam Root founded Matter - a company built on the principle of capturing, harvesting and recycling microplastics.

In conversation with Founded & Grounded, Adam talks passionately about the origins of Matter, and also how he didn't seek to be an entrepreneur - but how entrepreneurship found him. He also discusses how developing and nurturing employees can be a golden opportunity rather than a headache, and ultimately why founders need to "back themselves".
Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with analysis from start-up advisor Ollie Collard and feedback from our Founded & Grounded community courtesy of Samantha Miles.

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:
National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:
NPSA.gov.uk/innovation
Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:
hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

After becoming a Mum, Dominique Woolf wanted to take life in a whole new direction and literally bring some spice to the proceedings. So, using her sales background and Thai heritage, and winning over the local farmers' market in North London, The Woolf's Kitchen got cooking.
In our first episode of 2022, Dominique talks through the reality of running a business and being a parent (spoiler alert: there are no easy answers), how Covid provided an unexpected opportunity to improve her product branding, and why networking for solo 'foodpreneurs' generated emotional wellbeing as much as business connections. Ultimately, it's a story about entrepreneurship as a personal statement besides bringing the world a little culinary joy.
Plus... what did our listeners say when it came to their meat vs vegan preferences (all stimulated by a question from our previous episode's featured business, Oowee Burger)?
Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard & Samantha Miles.

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:
National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:
NPSA.gov.uk/innovation
Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:
hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

How does it feel to be suicidal?
One man who knows is Nick Hussey, founder of Frahm - the business behind high-quality, long-lasting jackets for the real world. Nick stared into the abyss after the collapse of his first company but, with the help of his wife and an old school friend, came back to start and succeed with a new enterprise.
True to the ethos of Founded & Grounded, and alongside the business lessons learned, Nick openly shares his own experiences to discuss mental health among entrepreneurs. In an extended episode laden with powerful advice, he talks about running a business on process rather than fear and passion, how a support network can assist this, and the importance of simplifying everything. Because nothing matters more than your health.
Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard and reflections from Samantha Miles.
(episode contains strong language)

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:
National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:
NPSA.gov.uk/innovation
Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:
hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now

There are lots of reasons why people become entrepreneurs. Nav Sawhney had three, instilled within him from a young age, and these inspired him to develop a product that would enhance everyday life for the consumers of tomorrow.
As our latest guest entrepreneur, Nav explains to Founded & Grounded how the plight of refugees, the central role of women in life, and the intrigue of engineering were the genesis of The Washing Machine Project: producing an off-grid manual washing machine that would alleviate hand-washing. In a unique and inspiring tale of entrepreneurship, there are learnings for all founders as Nav talks through the challenge of resilience, the sacrifices made by families and partners, and to not fear failure, but instead treat it as a learning.
Presented by Andrew Parsonage, with expert analysis from Ollie Collard and feedback from our Founded & Grounded community courtesy of Samantha Miles.

Text us your feedback and feature on the show

Support the show

Proudly sponsored by our wonderful partners:
National Protective Security Authority - NSPA: The Secure Innovation campaign helps you take steps to protect your business from hostile threats. Don’t leave it too late. Use the link to download the quick-start guide now:
NPSA.gov.uk/innovation
Hexa Finance: Hexa provides business finance to help you grow from start-up to success. To access your free consultation, simply go to:
hexafinance.co.uk/contact

Have questions about our podcast or an episode? Ask our hosts, chat now