This week on ScaleUp Radio we hear from two founders whose journeys couldn’t be more different, yet both offer powerful lessons for business owners.

On one side, Tom Hill, founder of Collina MEP, who took a bold leap from corporate life to build a boutique mechanical and electrical consultancy rooted in trust and long-term client relationships.
On the other, Sarah Turner, founder of Little Beau Sheep, who turned redundancy and creativity into a flourishing craft-based brand that champions British wool and has captured the imagination of customers worldwide.

Their stories challenge us to ask: does scaling come from decisive strategic leaps, or from organic growth and resourceful problem-solving?

Meet the Guests

Tom Hill – The Calculated Risk-Taker

• Left a senior regional director role to start his own consultancy almost overnight.
• Built Collina MEP as a boutique alternative to big firms, where every client feels their project matters most.
• Learned the hard way about over-promising, describing his first two years as “lonely and tiring.”
• Broke free from the founder’s trap by hiring permanent staff, which he calls “the best decision I ever made.”
• Obsessed with culture, recruiting for personality and fit before skills to ensure a close-knit, approachable team.

Sarah Turner – The Creative Industry Ambassador

• Discovered felting after redundancy and turned a personal solution into Little Beau Sheep.
• First Etsy sale led to her post office staff becoming her first customer base.
• Defines her brand around provenance, proudly using 100% British wool to support farmers.
• Scaling turning point came when a BBC Countryfile feature left her swamped, leading to outsourcing fulfilment.
• Now a Freeman of the City of London, she has literally driven sheep across London Bridge to promote her industry.
• Her long-term ambition is to make a tangible impact on the price of British wool for UK farmers.

Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs

• Find Your Niche – Both founders thrived by creating a premium brand identity that avoided competing on price.
• Delegate to Grow – Tom built a team, Sarah outsourced fulfilment. Different routes, same outcome: freeing the founder.
• Culture is Everything – Tom proves people and personality drive service-based success.
• Champion a Cause – Sarah shows how aligning business with passion can build loyalty and influence an entire industry.

Leaps vs. Organic Growth – The Big Difference

Tom’s journey is a story of calculated risk, structure, and culture, creating a consultancy that competes with giants by feeling boutique and personal.
Sarah’s is one of creative discovery, resilience, and industry advocacy, proving that passion and purpose can turn a craft into a brand with real impact.

This echoes findings from the BizSmart ScaleUp Challenge Report:

• 43% of ScaleUp businesses doubled turnover within three years, but only by moving beyond founder dependency.
• 31.6% headcount growth among SmartBoard® members shows the importance of building teams and systems to support scale.

Final Thoughts

Scaling a business is not about choosing between a leap or organic growth. It is about knowing when to take decisive action, when to let go, and how to build something bigger than yourself.

Listen and Learn More

🎧 Listen to the full interviews on ScaleUp Radio:
https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/scaleupradio

📅 Book a call with Kevin Brent to discuss your scaling journey:
https://c.bizsmart.co.uk/widget/bookings/kb-30

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent sits down with Sarah Turner, the founder of Little Beau Sheep – a business that’s giving British wool a brand-new lease of life.

Sarah shares how she transitioned from corporate life into crafting sheep-inspired laundry and body care products, all enriched with lanolin and made from 100% British wool. What started as a creative hobby after becoming a mum quickly turned into a growing business with both consumer and trade success.

Now based in Ilkley in the old International Wool Secretariat building, Sarah and her small team are on a mission to not only scale their operations, but also raise awareness of wool’s incredible versatility and help bring greater value to UK sheep farmers.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode
How a handmade craft project turned into a thriving retail and wholesale brand
The challenges of scaling a purpose-driven, product-based business
Creative PR and marketing strategies that punch above their weight
The untapped potential of British wool in modern life
The balancing act between business growth and personal satisfaction

Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.

For now, continue listening for the full story from Sarah.

Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.

If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:

https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin

You can get in touch with Kevin & Granger here:

kevin@biz-smart.co.uk

grangerf@biz-smart.co.uk

Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!

Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.

More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/

Sarah can be found here:

https://www.littlebeausheep.com/

https://www.facebook.com/littlebeausheep/

https://www.instagram.com/littlebeausheep/

hello@littlebeausheep.com

Resources:

The Diary of a CEO podcast - https://stevenbartlett.com/doac/

Audible - https://www.audible.co.uk/

Xero - https://www.xero.com/uk/login/

HubSpot - https://www.hubspot.com/

This week on ScaleUp Radio we hear from two founders whose journeys couldn’t be more different — yet both offer powerful lessons for business owners.

On one side, Ric Wilson, founder of ERP Experts, who built a seven-figure consultancy by focusing on systems, structure, and culture. On the other, Milo Pinckney, founder of Roller, who is redefining deodorant as a design-led ritual while navigating patents, investors, and the grind of start-up life.

Their stories challenge us to ask: does scaling come from mastering internal systems, or from sheer resilience in the face of external battles?

Meet the Guests

Ric Wilson – The Pragmatic Problem-Solver

• Former research chemist turned entrepreneur after years in sales and marketing.
• Founded ERP Experts to help companies escape the chaos of disconnected systems.
• Believes systemisation is the foundation of scale — “don’t have a dog and bark yourself.”
• Learned the hard way about hiring, moving from gut feel to a structured recruitment process.
• Now focuses on building culture, retention, and acquiring businesses with proven growth models.

Milo Pinckney – The Resilient Brand-Builder

• Founder of Roller, a direct-to-consumer deodorant brand on a mission to transform a chore into a ritual.
• Spent four years in gruelling product development before launching.
• Faced the toughest fundraising climate in decades, learning that investor FOMO is key.
• Secured backing from Broody London, a creative incubator tied to world-leading agency Mother.
• Protects his innovation with patents — “expensive and painful,” but vital for long-term success.
• Admits the loneliness of being a solo founder and regrets not having a co-founder from day one.

Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs

• Systemisation Builds Scale – Ric shows that freeing the founder from day-to-day tasks unlocks growth.
• Resilience is Non-Negotiable – Milo proves that belief and persistence carry you through funding battles and setbacks.
• Culture Matters – Ric’s “sticky” culture reduces turnover and drives client loyalty.
• Strategic Partnerships are Game-Changers – Milo’s link with Broody London gave him both credibility and expertise.
• Learn from Mistakes – Both highlight how costly missteps (bad hires, wrong approaches to investors) become turning points.

Systems vs. Resilience – The Big Difference

• Ric’s journey is a masterclass in operational maturity: systemise, delegate, and focus on culture to escape founder dependency.
• Milo’s is a raw account of early-stage grit: battling for validation, funding, and market traction with authenticity at the core.

This contrast reflects wider research from the BizSmart ScaleUp Challenge Report:

• 49% of business owners say their business would “suffer a lot” if they stepped away for three months.
• Just 7% of SMEs have a truly scalable model with recurring revenue, low founder reliance, and capacity to handle five times the volume.

Final Thoughts

Whether it’s through resilient brand-building or robust systems, the truth is clear: scaling a business demands both determination and structure. The strongest founders blend the grit to keep going with the discipline to build businesses that can thrive without them.

Listen and Learn More

🎧 Listen to the full interviews on ScaleUp Radio:
🔗 https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/scaleupradio

📅 Book a call with Kevin Brent to discuss your scaling journey:
🔗 https://c.bizsmart.co.uk/widget/bookings/kb-30

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Milo Pinckney, the innovative founder behind Rollr, a startup that's redefining something as everyday as deodorant—transforming it into a premium, sustainable, and aspirational product.

Rollr is not just another personal care brand—it’s a design-first, refillable system that reduces waste while delivering an experience that feels more like applying perfume than deodorant. Think gemstone roller balls, refillable sachets, and patent-pending technology—all designed to create an emotional connection with a product we use 22,000 times in our lifetime.

In just 10 months since launch, Rollr has already expanded into six countries, raised £500k in seed funding, and built significant brand momentum—despite the challenges of launching a pre-revenue D2C product in a tough market.

The one key thing from this episode:

“You have to be authentic to your mission—and find investors who genuinely believe in it.”

Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.

For now, continue listening for the full story from Milo.

Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.

If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:

https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin

You can get in touch with Kevin & Granger here:

kevin@biz-smart.co.uk

grangerf@biz-smart.co.uk

Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!

Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.

More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/

Milo can be found here:

https://rollr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/rollrdeo/

milo@rollr.co.uk

This week on ScaleUp Radio we explore two very different but equally inspiring founder journeys. On one side, Gail Walker, founder of Diverse Minds Events, a purpose-driven entrepreneur building belonging for neurodiverse families. On the other, Sam Jukes, founder of CACTO Drinks, a determined innovator taking on the global drinks market with a product most people had never even heard of.

Their stories highlight a key question for every business owner: Is it passion or grit that truly scales a business?

Meet the Guests

Gail Walker – Purpose with a Mission

Gail founded Diverse Minds Events after struggling to find inclusive events for her autistic son. What began as a family venture with a converted double-decker bus is now a growing business providing sensory-friendly spaces at major UK events. Her mantra? “Breaking barriers, building belonging.”

• Tenacious, hands-on founder (she even gained an HGV licence to drive the bus herself).
• Turned setbacks, like a bus breakdown, into opportunities to diversify services.
• Now scaling through consultancy and advocacy to change industry standards.

Sam Jukes – Innovation Against the Odds

Sam launched CACTO Drinks from his kitchen after discovering the nutritional power of the prickly pear cactus. With no industry background, he bootstrapped his way into the crowded drinks market.

• Scrappy entrepreneur who sold door-to-door with a backpack of samples.
• Learned resilience through rejection and refined his product through real feedback.
• Backed by angel investors, now chasing global expansion with a bold growth vision.

Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs

• Cash Flow is King – Both Gail and Sam stress that managing cash flow is a constant battle.
• Resilience Builds Success – Each faced moments of near failure, but belief in their vision kept them going.
• The Power of People – Trusted mentors, family, and early team members were critical in both journeys.
• Learn by Doing – Neither had formal business training, but each learned through trial, error, and costly mistakes.

Passion vs. Grit – The Big Difference

• Gail’s story is rooted in purpose: solving a real problem for an underserved community and building a legacy.
• Sam’s is powered by grit: breaking into a resistant market with persistence and relentless energy.

This contrast reflects wider research from the BizSmart ScaleUp Challenge Report:

• Only 4% of UK SMEs ever scale beyond 10 employees.
• Founders who combine clarity of purpose with relentless execution are far more likely to break through.

Read the full ScaleUp Challenge Report here:
🔗 https://lp.bizsmart.co.uk/sacleupchallenge-page

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re driven by passion or fuelled by grit, both journeys remind us of a universal truth: scaling a business requires resilience, adaptability, and the willingness to learn fast.

Listen and Learn More

🎧 Listen to the full interviews on ScaleUp Radio:
🔗 https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/scaleupradio

📈 Explore BizSmart services and discover how we help SMEs scale:
🔗 https://www.bizsmart.co.uk/

📅 Book a call with Kevin Brent to discuss your scaling journey:
🔗 https://c.bizsmart.co.uk/widget/bookings/kb-30

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Sam Jukes, the founder of CACTO Drinks – the UK’s first cactus water brand using real prickly pear puree. What started as a spark of inspiration from a TV programme turned into a multi-year journey of innovation, market education, and bold ambition.

CACTO Drinks offers a sustainable, healthy alternative to coconut water and is on a mission to break into an industry dominated by big players – with an exotic but approachable drink that's already gaining nationwide traction.

This conversation is packed with insight and inspiration, structured in three parts:

1. The Business Journey – From bootstrapping and recipe development to navigating the competitive drinks industry and standing out with a completely new product.
2. Scaling Challenges – Including educating a sceptical market, raising SEIS investment in just 31 hours, and learning the ropes in a complex supply chain.
3. Quickfire Round – Where Sam shares thoughts on business, growth, and what he wishes he’d known earlier.

The one key thing from this episode?
👉 When you're disrupting an industry with something unfamiliar, education isn't optional – it's your biggest growth lever.

Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.

For now, continue listening for the full story from Sam.

Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.

If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:

https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin

You can get in touch with Kevin & Granger here:

kevin@biz-smart.co.uk

grangerf@biz-smart.co.uk

Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!

Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.

More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/

Sam can be found here:

https://cactodrinks.com/

Resources:

Willow Talk podcast - https://www.everand.com/podcast-show/731153089/Willow-Talk-Cricket-Podcast

Diary of a CEO podcast - https://stevenbartlett.com/doac/

ZoHo - https://www.zoho.com/

Google Tasks - https://tasks.google.com/tasks/