Evolve to Succeed – Details, episodes & analysis

What happens when someone trained to analyse spreadsheets decides to follow their creative passion?

In this episode of The Evolve to Succeed Podcast, Warren Munson sits down with Joe Hayes, founder of Kindful Creative, to explore his journey from trainee accountant to running a growing video production agency built on the values of kindness, relationships, and human connection.

Joe shares how his early career in accountancy gave him a powerful understanding of business fundamentals, but ultimately left him feeling stuck in a routine that lacked passion. What started as a hobby with a camera quickly turned into something much bigger, eventually leading Joe to take the leap and launch his own creative agency.

Throughout the conversation, Joe opens up about the realities of starting a business, the importance of understanding your numbers, and why relationships and reputation often matter more than aggressive sales strategies.

You'll also hear about the challenges of growth, staying focused as a founder, and how building a business around personal values can shape company culture and client relationships.

If you're thinking about starting a business, changing careers, or building something that aligns with your passions, this episode is packed with honest insights and practical lessons.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who might find it valuable.

• Joe Hayes' journey from trainee accountant to creative entrepreneur

• The inspiration behind launching Kindful Creative

• Why relationships are at the heart of Joe's business philosophy

• The risks and mindset shifts involved in leaving a stable career

• Why understanding financials is crucial for founders

• Lessons learned from early business decisions and partnerships

• The importance of building a strong team culture

• How podcasting and content help businesses build authority

• Balancing entrepreneurship with family life

• Joe's personal definition of success

00:00 – Why did you become an accountant?
04:30 – What inspired the name Kindful?
08:00 – How do you build a values-driven team?
11:00 – When did creativity become a passion?
15:00 – What gave you the confidence to start a business?
21:00 – Why do founders need financial literacy?
27:30 – What does Kindful Creative actually do?
32:00 – How has leadership changed for you?
35:00 – Why should businesses create content and podcasts?
40:00 – Lifestyle business or growth company?
44:00 – What advice would you give your younger self?
47:30 – What does success mean to you?

On this episode of The Evolve to Succeed Podcast, Warren sits down with Niall Cluley, Managing Director and shareholder at Dragonfish, a culture and performance consultancy helping ambitious brands unlock alignment, growth and long-term impact.

Niall shares his journey from corporate leadership roles at global brands including Fitness First and Vodafone, to becoming Dragonfish's founding client before stepping into ownership. 

The conversation explores what culture really is beyond posters on the wall, why values alone are not enough, and how leaders can intentionally shape the "ecosystem" of behaviours, systems and experiences that drive performance.

You'll hear about the six signatures of high-performing organisations, how to maintain momentum after a culture "project", why impact matters more than engagement alone, and how AI and rapid change are reshaping the way organisations think about people and performance.

If you're leading a growing business, scaling a team, or preparing for succession or exit, this episode offers practical insight into making culture a true competitive advantage.

If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe, share, and leave a review to support the show.

What The Episode Covers

• Niall's journey from corporate leadership to culture consultancy
• What culture really means in practical business terms
• Founder fingerprints and scaling beyond founder energy
• Why values alone don't drive performance
• The importance of vision as a North Star
• Working backwards from the future to maintain alignment
• The six signatures of high-performing organisations
• Measuring culture in tangible, performance-linked ways
• The impact of AI and rapid change on organisational culture

Chapters / Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction
00:44 - What does Dragonfish do and why does culture matter?
03:00 – When did you realise performance and culture are inseparable?
06:00 – What does it really feel like to leave corporate and build your own consultancy?
10:20 – What does culture actually mean in practical terms?
14:30 – How much of culture is founder-driven versus intentional design?
18:00 – How do you keep vision and purpose alive in everyday business life?
24:00 – What are the six signatures of high-performing organisations?
31:00 – How do you measure culture without it becoming 'wishy-washy'?
41:00 – How will AI and rapid change reshape organisational culture?
46:30 – What leadership traits matter most when protecting culture?

Summary

On this episode of the Evolve to Succeed Podcast, Declan O'Toole shares his remarkable journey from marine biology to building a successful catering business, Forerunner Catering.

He discusses the challenges of transitioning from Meals on Wheels to providing school meals, the importance of cash flow management, and the lessons learned from navigating public sector contracts. 

Declan reflects on the decision to exit the business, the sale process, and life after exit, emphasising the need for resilience and the fulfillment found in the entrepreneurial journey.

This episode of the Evolve to Succeed Podcast covers…

Define "Enough" Early: Declan covers what "enough" was in his life. He applied the 4% rule to plan his exit and financial future.

Public Sector Contracts Can Be Goldmines: Declan talks about public sector contracts and how they can be stable and profitable when executed well.

Systems and Process Create True Business Ownership: A business that can run without the owner is a real business. Declan emphasises how important it was for his catering company to be people-independent and systems-led.

Cashflow is Everything: Declan emphasises that cashflow forecasting is a non-negotiable practice.

Exit Requires Strategy, Not Spontaneity: Declan discusses his exit from the business by tightening operations, ensuring clean books, and building scalability before stepping away.

Legacy Over Maximum Payout: Declan talks about choosing the right buyer, by assessing their values and ability to take care of his team and legacy.

Soundbites

"The bit that's really good about generating wealth is not having the wealth. It's the journey from not having it to getting there."

"You only own a business if it can run without you for three to six months."

"Cashflow, cashflow, cashflow. There's nothing else. That's priority one."

"Once you get public sector contracts, just don't f* up."

"You've got to have grit. Everyone I know who's made it has been through some deep, deep s*."

"I'm great at building systems. I'm absolutely crap at doing them."

"Success is waking up looking forward to the day and being happy with what you've achieved so far."

"I'd be a corporate muppet if I hadn't read Rich Dad Poor Dad."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Declan O'Toole

01:20 From Marine Biology to Catering Business

05:00 Transitioning from Meals on Wheels to School Meals

10:00 Challenges of Rapid Growth and Cash Flow Management

15:00 Navigating Public Sector Contracts

20:48 The Importance of Relationships in Business

27:47 Lessons Learned from the Public Sector

32:54 Deciding to Exit the Business

38:28 The Sale Process and Finding the Right Buyer

47:38 Life After Exit

Christie Garcia is a California-based leadership coach, speaker, facilitator and founder of the Mindful Choice Leadership Academy. Christie has worked with a number of prominent organisations, including AirBnb and Twitter, and one of her specialities is helping leaders manage their ego. She talks about the role ego plays in our approach to leadership, and what measures we can take to contain it and make sure we're utilising it in a way that makes us better and more empathetic leaders.

A panel discussion with Mark Cribb (founder of Urban Guild), Alex Skan (co-founder of Void Acoustics) and Martin Smith (co-founder of Talent Drive) on the challenges and opportunities facing their sectors, and business in general, in 2023.

Ismael Dainehine is the founder of GiveMatch, a match-funding platform, driven by energy of social media, on which people can double their donations, thereby making the same impact at half the cost. In 2022 it raised over £10-million of charitable donations and Ismael has great plans for its expansion into other countries. He also reveals how some signficant early experiences defined his path towards entrepreneurialism, and talks with great depth about finding his true values, his introversion and the effect it has on his perspectives, and what it means to do well by doing good.

Julie Noonan is an experienced executive coach and change management strategist, and founder and CEO of Julie Noonan Consulting. As well as change management, Julie gives valuable perspectives on her other areas of expertise, including the approaches to work and values from the different generations, reverse mentoring and the meaning of legacy.

Host Warren Munson counts down the ten most popular podcasts from 2022. This episode features Dave Chedgy, Richard North, Chris Croft, Bernie Shrosbree and Justin Hedges OBE.

Host Warren Munson counts down the ten most popular podcasts from 2022. This episode features Jo Colman, Ben Ashton, Ty Temel, Darren Mooney and Chloe Adams.

Doctor Martina Olbert is the founder and CEO of Meaning.Global, which advises many of the world's most influential brands and organisations on how to create more meaning and align their businesses with humanity for a better shared future. Martina is known as 'The Meaning Expert' and is recognised by Forbes as the "global authority on brand meaning."