Founded & Grounded

Entrepreneurship is a lot like dancing; both require resilience, adaptability, and the courage to step outside your comfort zone.
Find out how one startup, SOS Dance Global, is combining these elements to reach the top of the industry. This is a story of empowerment, resilience, and defying the odds.
Bonnie Parsons, shares her remarkable journey from professional dancer to pioneering entrepreneur, and how she's empowering a generation of women through the universal language of dance.
Key Takeaways
- How to confront challenges head-on. Hear the harsh truths behind the obstacles facing female founders and the keys to success in balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood.
- Empowerment as strategy. For Bonnie, she's clear on her mission to positively impact lives globally, providing strength and confidence to women.
- Scaling up requires a transformative mindset, implementing systems, and spreading culture and processes for business growth
- Persistence pays off. Building a startup is a long game where patience, strategic planning, and understanding your worth are essential ingredients for success.

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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

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"You don't need anyone else to believe in you... other than you."

This episode's guest entrepreneur is Suz: Mum, former accountant, bodybuilder - and founder of The Proper Oats Company.

Suz shares her experience of starting a business amid a global pandemic, in her words "launching an on-the go product when the world wasn't going anywhere!" There's the importance of finance, networking and social media - even having an exit strategy despite being a young business. But it's as much about personal conviction, and what Suz does to maintain self belief whilst following the lonely path of a sole founder.

It's a very real-world tale that sums up the ethos of Founded & Grounded, with great advice for others in the early stages of their business journey.
Presented by Ollie Collard and Andrew Parsonage.

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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

Meet Kaushal Shah, the impact entrepreneur behind envoPap, who is on a mission to help save the planet while making a profit. He turns agricultural waste into sustainable paper and packaging, and in this conversation, he shares his secrets to success in business and beyond.
Key takeaways

Sustainable Innovation: Learn how Kaushal has built out an end-to-end sustainable business model focused on both community development and economic growth

Smart scaling: We peel back the layers to unpick how Kaushal achieves economic growth whilst successfully diversifying the business
- Grounded Mindset: How does Kaushal deal with cultural differences and large supply chain issues? By staying grounded through self-care practices like meditation
Finally, hear why falling in love with the problem, not just the solution, is vital to entrepreneurial success
Have questions about this episode? Ask our hosts, chat now via our website

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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

Experiencing the collapse of a startup can be devastating, yet for Vasily Alekseenko, it was the catalyst for change.
After witnessing the dark side of fundraising, Vasily took matters into his own hands. Rare Founders was born with a simple mission to connect founders and investors.
This is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of networking, pitching, investment, and the magic that happens when founders come together to uplift one another.
We discuss the importance of diversity in the investment landscape, the significance of community, and the future of early-stage funding.
Key Takeaways
- How to be more resourceful and do more with less. Focus on creative solutions and confidence in your vision
- How to overcome your insecurities and pitch with confidence
- Fun as a foundation. How to inject fun into your startup and gamify life as a founder
Have questions about this episode? Ask our hosts, chat now via our website

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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

For our season 2 finale, we speak with Chris Goodfellow; CEO of content marketing agency, Inkwell.

When he left an old employer, Chris did something unconventional - he bought one of their brands and rebooted it to become a successful annual challenge - The Pitch - helping startups raise millions of pounds.

In conversation with Ollie, Chris talks throughout about the importance of founders putting themselves in the shoes of their audience, why a simple conversation with someone different each week can aid business growth, and how even introverts can become effective salespeople.

The message is loud and clear... “Speak to as many customers as possible!"
Presented by Ollie Collard and Andrew Parsonage.

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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