Impact Curious – Details, episodes & analysis

Employee ownership sounds great in theory, but how does it really work? Emily and Ed dig into the big questions: what does it mean for decision-making, why do some companies champion it while others stay quiet and is it the right answer for succession planning?

Impact Curious launches week commencing 22nd September 2025

Arabella Lewis-Smith, founder of Salad Creative, shares her first-hand experience of transitioning her 24-year-old agency into an employee-owned trust. She talks candidly about the drivers behind the decision, the challenges of bringing the team along and why it’s made the last four years of leadership her most rewarding yet.

Find out more about Salad: https://saladcreative.com/

Connect with Bella: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arabellalewissmith

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-consultancy for purpose-led business: https://www.theimpactapothecary.com/

Change facilitator and founder of People Equals Purpose, Kat Thackray, shares what really makes or breaks innovation inside teams. From the need for psychological safety to the challenges of clashing knowledge systems and organisational silos, Kat explains how leaders can create the right conditions for ideas to flourish, and offers practical tips for spotting a good idea and helping it survive the “innovation brick wall.”

Connect with Emily and  Ed on LinkedIn.

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-comsultancy for purpose-led business. 

Why do so many innovation and change projects stall or fail inside organisations? Emily and Ed reflect on their own experiences of trying to drive new ideas forward and uncover the common pitfalls that stop creativity from turning into action.

How do you stop great ideas from slipping through the cracks?

Elliot Morrow, founder of Bon Creative, argues that businesses need to break free from their social media addiction. He explains why “going viral” is a fallacy, why Bon Creative has never gained a client through social media, and how building human relationships can be a far more powerful growth strategy.

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-comsultancy for purpose-led business. 

Is social media an essential business tool or just an exhausting distraction? Emily and Ed wrestle with the contradictions, from the blur between personal and professional use, to whether constant posting really builds loyalty, or just feeds the algorithm.

Connect with Emily and Ed on LinkedIn.

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-comsultancy for purpose-led business.

What does it mean to build a business where purpose isn’t an afterthought but the foundation?

Emily and Ed explore the promises and pitfalls of purpose-led models, and how lived experience can make impact feel real rather than rhetorical.

Connect with Emily and  Ed on LinkedIn.

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-comsultancy for purpose-led business. 

Why have we organised business this way? And are there alternatives?

In part two, Emily and Ed talk to Patrick Andrews, a former corporate lawyer turned business advisor. 

Twenty-five years ago, Patrick realised there was nowhere in his organisation to ask the hard questions: why are we pursuing mindless growth? Why are we displacing family businesses? Why have we concentrated power in the hands of so few?

That question has kept him searching ever since. And he's found some fascinating answers.

If you're building something and wondering whether the conventional model is actually the only model, this is for you.

Connect with Emily and Ed on LinkedIn, and find out more about Patrick and his business Yoak here.

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-consultancy for purpose-led business. 

Why are we still organising business the way we do?

In part one of our two-part series on the role of business, Emily and Ed explore why shareholder primacy has become so dominant, how it's shaped the entrepreneurial journey, and whether there might be a better way.

They dig into the uncomfortable truth: that the conventional path to success - ie. growth at all costs, burnout, exit - leaves most founders wondering if it was actually worth it.

If you're building a business and questioning the path you've been told to follow, this is the place to start.

Connect with Emily and  Ed on LinkedIn.

Brought to you by The Impact Apothecary, the anti-consultancy for purpose-led business.