One of the main challenges you’ll face as you scale your business is attracting and retaining the best people.  And that’s the subject for episode two of our Scale Up Playbook. Wax/On's Mark Runacus and Harry Neale are joined by founders and leaders who generously share their own fascinating experiences of the people side of growing a business. We discuss your leadership role and your skills; how to make your strategy understandable and accessible by everyone in the company; support networks and mentors; making those big important senior hires; team-building and team-work; diversity and i ..read more

Udhi Silva, co-founder of pork snacks brand Snaffling Pig joins Harry and Mark to explain how they transformed the humble pork scratching from a pub food accompanying a pint and a game of darts, to an artisan snack targeted at 30-something women.   He talks about bringing to life their tongue-in-cheek ethos of escaping the rind of life with the most pun-packed brand personality; their successful Dragon’s Den experience; the power of crowd-funding; their brand innovations including sell-out advent calendars and barbeques;  and a favourite TV ad that broke the internet with over 300 m ..read more

Our latest Wax Lyrical guest, Will McDowell Founder and CEO of Tastily, talks us through the meal subscription space; one that is still in its infancy in the UK. He explains that Tastily is for food lovers who are short on time. He also takes us on his bumpy journey from initial idea to production, and shares his direct to consumer marketing tips: what's worked well, and what hasn't worked quite so well.  If you're interested in exciting (and tasty - we've tried them!) new food products, you must give this a listen.  +++++ Talk to us podcast@wearewaxon.com +++++ Leave us your review ..read more

Mike calls himself "the start-up guy" having learned the ropes in the early days at Innocent, and then founding and successfully exiting from his own confectionary brand Peppersmith. He realised the importance of the direct to consumer channel but found little useful guidance out there, so he decided to write it himself. He joins Wax/On's Harry and Mark to talk about his own start-up and scale-up experiences, and what he's learned interviewing other Founders to gather the insights for his book on direct to consumer best practice. Mike explains how Innocent's "superbrain" was the key to its su ..read more

Jason Gibb had a successful career as a TV producer: he brought Scrapheap Challenge to our screens,, exported it as Junk Yard Wars to the US and lived in Hollywood. But he tired of what he describes as his shallow existence in LA, and decided to do something more "wholesome" so he moved to Italy, bought an olive grove, and managed to sell his first harvest to Selfridges. He sold the business - Nudo Italia - and was inspired to create Bread and Jam, a festival for food and drink entrepreneurs.  Jason talks about his life in Hollywood, then encouraging his customers - including Barbra Stre ..read more

"We knew that Coca Cola and Pepsi wouldn't do it. And we could. This is what we stand for," says Orla Weir, Global Direct To Consumer and Brand Manager of Ugly Drinks on their unique brand. In this fascinating interview she explains  "We want to rebel against the fact that people are being given the sugary and sweetened products, but told they're all about something else… The ugly logo itself has this 'U' that’s kind of shaped like a tongue. And for us that was always a bit like sticking your tongue out at the big dogs."  Join us as Orla talks more about maintaining her brand's dist ..read more

Gymbox broke the mould for fitness when they launched in 2003 from a converted car park in the centre of London. Since then they've gained a reputation as an experience brand that does cool and edgy ads that get noticed. In our first off-Zoom and recorded-out-in-the-real-world podcast, Wax/On's Mark Runacus meet's Gymbox's Brand and Marketing Director Rory McEntee to learn how they take creative risks ("ask for forgiveness not permission" Rory tells his team), how he keeps his experience brand fresh using a combination of in-house resources, freelancers, and agencies, and how he sees the fitn ..read more

"We only had three weeks of cash. And then we came out victorious. And we were the second biggest selling lager on Amazon only behind a 24 pack of Fosters. We pivoted the business. We went hard into DTC, and a few months later, we were in 1500 grocery stores," explains Lucky Saint MD Emma Heal of the brand's hectic experience of Lockdown. Along with Founder Luke Boase, the duo talk about how they produce an authentic pilsner without alcohol; how COVID has driven an increase in the so-called moderation trend towards no and low alcohol brands; before surprising us with a £10 off code so all Wax ..read more

Is crowdfunding right for your business? Find out by listening in to this episode as we're joined by Scott Simpkin from equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Scott explains that the Seedrs mission is to really democratise investment, with people literally buying into companies from as little as £10. He goes on to say that it's a great opportunity to both raise money and create a highly engaged community of investors, customers, and powerful advocates. We also talk about how COVID has led to a rise in entrepreneurism in the UK. Scott also explains how and when you should consider crowdfunding ..read more

FLOWERBX Co Founder and CEO Whitney Bromberg Hawkings discovered that 60% of flowers that go into a shop are wasted. That prompted her to create her negative working capital model - meaning flowers are specifically cut to order which she says has less environmental impact, and gives her customers better quality flowers for better value. Whitney tells Harry and Mark why she left "the best job in fashion" as Senior VP of Communications for Tom Ford, to set up her own business. She shares the challenges she faced and her successes, and teaches us all about beautiful flowers. +++++ Talk to us pod ..read more