Shows
The Growth Diary60 Years Inside Construction and rewrote the rulebook - with Richard SaxonRichard Saxon CBE spent nearly 40 years at BDP, one of the world's leading interdisciplinary design practices, eventually becoming its chairman. Then he spent the next two decades trying to drag an entire industry into the digital age, whether it wanted to come or not.He was the UK Government's BIM Ambassador for Growth, helped mandate building information modelling across public sector construction, persuaded the EU to follow the UK's lead, chaired the Joint Contracts Tribunal, and has written multiple books that have shaped how the built environment thinks about information, data and the future of construction. He...
2026-06-2515 minThe Growth DiaryMade Redundant With Two Kids at Home — So He Built a Thriving Estate Agency From ScratchIt was 2010. The worst recession since the Second World War. Tom Williams had just been made redundant, had two young children at home and had just spent six figures on a house extension. He had no backing, no investment and no safety net.So he built an office in his back garden, leaflet dropped 8,000 homes, and started Find A Home Online before most people had even heard of the online agency model. Four years before Purple Bricks existed.Sixteen years later he is still going strong, still doing it his own...
2026-06-1021 minThe Growth DiaryThe Hospitality Industry Is in a Perfect Storm — And Most Venues Still Don't Know ItBarry Clark has spent nearly 40 years in hospitality. He has walked into distressed properties, turned them around, rebuilt sales cultures from scratch, and watched the industry stumble through crisis after crisis. He has seen what kills a venue from the inside and he is not shy about saying it out loud.Today he runs Events Plus, an outsourced corporate sales service connecting hotels, conference centres and sports stadiums with the agency buyers and corporate bookers they simply cannot access on their own. He also runs a consultancy helping venues build the sales culture they should...
2026-06-0946 minThe Growth DiaryHe Saw How the Property Industry Really Works — Then Built Something at the Complete Opposite EndLucas James spent years on the inside of the off-plan property sector. He saw how advice was shaped, not by what was best for the investor, but by what could be packaged, financed and sold at volume. He saw incentive structures quietly guiding recommendations. And he saw portfolios that looked fine on paper but were structurally stalling their owners year after year.So he walked away and built something different.Lucas now helps investors design portfolios that function as capital engines, not just collections of properties, where every asset has a...
2026-06-0820 minThe Growth DiaryHe Taught AI at University, Then Built a Property Empire From ScratchNasser Abouzakhar spent years in academia teaching AI and cybersecurity, writing research papers, supervising students and publishing books. It was intellectually rewarding. It just wasn't enough.So he started buying properties on the side. Then more. Then moved his entire family from Watford to Manchester to be closer to the business. He went on to win AI Champion of the Year and appeared on TV show; Homes Under the Hammer. Then completed a government-funded AI project with Salford University to help property developers convert commercial buildings into residential units using generative...
2026-06-0418 minThe Growth DiaryShe Took Her Redundancy Cheque, Ran and Built One of the UK's Most Loved Travel BusinessesWhen Wendy Haines was handed her redundancy after 20 years in a job, she didn't hesitate; She took the cheque, ran, and built something entirely her own.What followed was over a decade of grinding, networking, working behind a pub bar just to meet locals, and slowly building a client base that now books holidays two and three years in advance. Today Wendy runs an award-winning independent travel agency, holds the title of top agent for Riviera Travel across the UK and Ireland, and has created one of the most talked about...
2026-06-0417 minThe Growth DiaryHe Picked Up a Toolbox and Built One of London's Most Impressive Property BusinessesRavi Jheeta didn't finish his law degree. He picked up a toolbox instead.Twenty years later, starting from nothing and coming from humble beginnings, he has built Kaya Landmarks into a full turnkey London property development business, controlling everything from land acquisition through to construction, delivery and now development finance through his own lending arm. It is one of the rarer models in the industry, and it was built entirely from the ground up.In this episode, Ravi shares:Why he walked away from law and went all in on...
2026-06-0216 minThe Growth Diary30 Years Selling Vending Machines — Then He Quit and Started Again From ScratchJason Boull spent three decades in a family business. He was first in the office, last out, working evenings, weekends, constantly. When he finally found a gap in the diary to book a family holiday, the travel agent never called him back. He never rebooked. He never went.That one missed phone call stayed with him. Years later, when he finally walked away from the family business, it became the seed of everything that followed.Today Jason runs Boullies Travel, a bespoke concierge travel service specialising in...
2026-05-2839 minThe Growth DiaryDon't Be Fooled By the Numbers — What You Can't See Will Hurt You - with Lee Driscoll at RougemontLee Driscoll didn't take the conventional route. He studied surveying, spent a decade trading futures in London and corporate bonds in Milan, then came back to the UK in his thirties with a very deliberate plan, and eventually co-founded a practice that punches well above its weight.Rougemont Property Consultants is an intentionally lean, director-led firm advising some of the biggest names in commercial property, Royal London Asset Management, Derwent London, and high-profile private estates, without the red tape, the hierarchy, or the armies of inexperienced juniors that come with the big firms....
2026-05-1726 minThe Growth DiaryShe Went on a Gap Year, Got on a Sailing Yacht, and Never Came Back - Lucy JacksonLucy Jackson went on a gap year after graduating from Imperial College with a first class degree. She got on a racing yacht. That was 2009. What followed was 100,000 miles at sea, a life built entirely on the water, and eventually the world's leading racing yacht charter company.LV Yachting matches private yacht owners with individuals and teams who want to race at the world's most prestigious regattas, from Cowes Week and Antigua Sailing Week and the Caribbean circuit, without the logistical headache. It's a niche nobody else has properly cracked, and Lucy built it by...
2026-05-1315 minThe Growth DiaryThe Dirty Secret Nobody in Property Will Say Out Loud — Until Now - with Patsy Irwin-BrownEvery buyer thinks their estate agent is on their side. They're not.Patsy Irwin-Brown spent 15 years on the inside of London's property industry, overseeing thousands of transactions, and watched buyers get left out in the cold time and time again. The agent is contracted by the seller. The solicitors are overwhelmed. Nobody is in your corner. And nobody was willing to say it out loud until Patsy decided to do something about it.In 2022 she founded MyPIPS, a buyer representation service that works exclusively for the person buying the property, handling everything from offer negotiation...
2026-05-0515 minThe Growth DiaryThe Woman the Ultra-Wealthy Call When No One Else Can Be TrustedSonia Felfli spotted the same problem everywhere she looked: people were being treated like a booking number.That frustration became the foundation for Savoir Vivre Lifestyle, a boutique luxury villa rental, private events, and lifestyle management company operating across Mykonos and Ibiza. Her clientele are ultra-high-net-worth individuals who expect total discretion, bespoke service, and someone who genuinely cares. Sonia built the business to deliver exactly that.In this episode, Sonia shares:Why being treated as a number in luxury hospitality inspired her to build something completely differentHow she earns the trust of...
2026-04-2329 minThe Growth DiaryHow Jack Dawson Turned a Trowel Into the UK's Biggest Bricklaying EventJack Dawson didn't come from a boardroom. He came from a building site.Starting work alongside his dad at age four, competing as a natural bodybuilder, and eventually landing in a teaching role at the same FE college where he trained, Jack's path has always been shaped by craft, discipline, and a deep love for the trade. Then in 2022, an idea sparked that would change the construction industry's relationship with competition, community, and pride.SuperTrowel is now the UK's largest bricklaying competition, drawing hundreds of spectators, dozens of exhibitors, and competitors...
2026-04-1618 minThe Growth DiaryHow Matt Hughes Helps Hotel Owners Make Better DecisionsHow Matt Hughes Helps Hotel Owners Make Better DecisionsIn this episode, Keith is joined by Matt Hughes, CEO and Founder of Accommodate Consulting. After more than 20 years at Marriott International, most recently as Vice President of Owner Strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Matt stepped away from one of the world's biggest hospitality brands to build something entirely his own.They get into the real reasons major hotel decisions go wrong, why owners don't need more data, they need better decisions, and how Matt's registered framework, The C...
2026-04-1522 minThe Growth DiaryPeople Over Property: How Charley Hall Is Rebuilding What a Letting Agent Should BeCharley Hall didn't set out to run a property agency. She set out to fix one.After years in corporate customer service, working with clients like Shell and Co-op, and then experiencing first-hand what poor agency management actually costs a landlord, she and her husband decided to build something better. Mocha Property Management launched in Liverpool three years ago with a simple but non-negotiable standard: treat landlords like partners, not portfolios.In this episode, Charley shares:The Section 21 disaster that became the catalyst for starting MochaWhy proactive communication is the foundation of everything they...
2026-04-1320 minThe Growth DiaryHow Hospitality Tech Is Broken And How We're Fixing It - With Luke IrelandLuke Ireland is the co-founder and CEO of Creventa, the event management platform quietly powering some of the biggest names in UK hospitality, including every major hotel chain running events in the country, over a dozen Premier League football clubs, and cricket venues. In this episode, Luke breaks down how he and co-founder Andrew built Creventa from a scrappy pandemic QR code project into an end-to-end platform saving venues approximately six hours of admin per event. We talk about why hospitality software has such a bad reputation, how Creventa is winning deals through emotional demos...
2026-04-0914 minThe Growth DiaryUltra Luxury: Gregory Patrick's DreamMaker Blueprint for Serving the World's Most Exclusive ClientsGregory Patrick didn't build a travel company. He built a dream factory.For nearly four decades, Gregory has been crafting once-in-a-lifetime experiences for the world's most accomplished people, from private castle buyouts in Scotland to 48-seat private airliners flying groups to destinations most people can't even find on a map.It started with a newspaper article about a struggling Texas rancher and a bold idea: flip the model, send wealthy Americans to play royalty in Great Britain. What followed was a career spanning 80-plus countries, a client list that doesn't do...
2026-03-2813 minThe Growth DiaryBuilt in Crisis: How Raja Naveed Turned Lockdown Into a Multi-Million Pound Construction FirmDuring lockdown, Raja Naveed resigned from a stable nine-year career in financial services and launched a construction business from his kitchen table.With no revenue for nine months, a newborn on the way, and the Green Homes Grant scheme collapsing mid-delivery, EEH Solutions was built under extreme pressure. What followed was rapid growth, regulatory chaos, scaling mistakes, hospitalisation with COVID, and hard lessons about systems, leadership, and trust.In this episode, Raja shares how he:• Secured £3.5m in orders within weeks of launching• Survived sudden gover...
2026-02-1325 minThe Growth DiaryThe Psychology Behind Home Staging, And Why It Works - with Natasha CollierNatasha Collier started Dressing Rooms Home Staging straight out of university, originally as a practical move alongside property investing. What began as a “makes sense” idea turned into a business she genuinely loves, and a service that’s quietly changing how properties sell across the North of the UK.In this conversation, Natasha breaks down what home staging really does beyond cushions and artwork. We talk about the psychology of first impressions, why furnished rooms often feel bigger than empty ones, and how staging creates demand that can drive price and speed, especially for awkward layout...
2026-01-2226 minThe Growth DiaryBuilding A Service Accommodation Business Without Losing Control with David LeightonService accommodation looks simple from the outside. List a property, get bookings, collect profit.But behind the scenes it is a 24 hour, high pressure, and can be a noisy business where one missed message can trigger bad reviews, lost ranking, and a constant feeling that you are on call.In this episode, David Leighton, founder of Honest Apartments, breaks down what it actually takes to run a successful SA operation, and why most people burn out. We talk about the systems that prevent disaster, the channel manager mistake that causes double...
2026-01-0218 minThe Growth DiaryTurning Ocean Plastic Into Homes with Johnny MateparaeConstruction is one of the hardest industries to change, especially after Grenfell. But Johnny Mateparae is building a completely new way to create walls that are fire safe, fast to install, and made from recycled plastic and textile waste.After a moment on his boat in Liverpool’s Albert Dock, where ocean plastic destroyed his holiday and jammed his prop, Johnny decided he couldn’t ignore the problem anymore. That frustration became StrucLock, a modular wall system that clicks together like LEGO, with ducts built in for plumbing and electrics, and a simple “build as you go...
2025-12-3129 minThe Growth DiaryThe Truth About Real Estate Agencies with Georgina HenfreyMost people think estate agency is glamour, fast commissions, and a quick sale.Georgina Henfrey says that’s fantasy, and the real job is pressure, process, psychology, and dealing with 50 moving parts at once.In this episode of The Growth Diary, Georgina, co-founder of Kestrel Estates, breaks down why she walked away from the corporate estate agency machine, and what she built instead. A people-first model where clients aren’t treated like numbers, and teams aren’t burned out chasing targets created by someone who’s never been on the front line.
2025-12-3143 minThe Growth DiaryThe Housing System Is Failing And No One Is Talking About It - with Marko HozjanIn this episode of The Growth Diary, Keith Atkinson is joined by Marko Hozjan, co-founder and CEO of Lynxcraft, a construction technology company using AI to fundamentally change how homes are designed, planned, and built.Marko shares how Lynxcraft was born from a simple but radical idea: modern homes should be treated like products, not one-off prototypes. Drawing parallels with industries like automotive and manufacturing, he explains why construction has struggled to modernise, and how a lack of standardisation has held back quality, speed, and scalability for decades.The conversation dives...
2025-12-3116 minThe Growth DiaryWhy Architecture Is A Beautiful Career, But A Brutal Business - with Amadeo BassiIn this episode of The Growth Diary, Keith Atkinson sits down with Amadeo Bassi, founder of ABDS, an architecture-led practice operating across design, coordination, planning, tendering, and development management.Amadeo shares his journey from studying architecture to building an independent, multidisciplinary practice. He speaks candidly about the realities of coordinating complex projects, managing competing priorities between design, engineering, and cost, and the less-visible work that goes into running a sustainable business.The conversation explores how ABDS brings alignment across multiple disciplines, why coordination and negotiation sit at the heart of successful delivery, and the challenges...
2025-12-3113 min
DevReady PodcastGlobal Startup Success: Tahreem Shah on Scalable Tech and Ethical AI | Ep 247 | DevReady PodcastIn this episode of the DevReady Podcast, host Anthony Sapountzis sits down with Tahreem Shah, an accomplished entrepreneur, Regional Business Advisor at Odoo, and Co-Founder of Scailr. With a career spanning architecture, tech sales, and social entrepreneurship, Tahreem brings a unique perspective on building impactful ventures across borders. From her early days working in Norway to her current base in Dubai, she has dedicated herself to empowering marginalised communities and creating technology solutions that bridge the gap between business and innovation. This candid conversation explores her inspiring journey, the realities of scaling startups in emerging markets, and her latest...
2025-07-3034 min