Explore every episode of the podcast Strive and Thrive
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strive & Thrive Episode 20 - The Hard Truth About Bullying in Your Business | 16 Oct 2025 | 00:53:57 | |
Bullying in business is a hard truth that often goes unspoken, yet its impact is profound. It can show up subtly through exclusion, manipulation, or intimidation, or overtly, in toxic leadership or cutthroat competition. Left unchecked, it erodes trust, stifles innovation, and drives talented people away. Join Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver and guest speaker Frances Holmes as they discuss the challenges with bullying in businesses. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 19 - Women in Business | 02 Oct 2025 | 00:55:23 | |
Women entrepreneurs often face significant challenges including securing funding due to biases in venture capital, navigating a male-dominated business network which can limit mentorship and opportunities, and balancing intense professional demands with persistent societal expectations for domestic responsibilities. Check out Debbie and her work! ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 10 - Turning Expertise into Opportunity | 28 May 2025 | 00:58:38 | |
Join Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver, and Alexander Preece as they discuss how founders and business leaders can turn their expertise into opportunity-driving personal brands. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 9 - Business and Impact: The Startup Experience | 09 May 2025 | 00:59:09 | |
Join Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam and Mike Oliver as they discuss with guest speaker Kimberley Abbott about her experience founding and running her impact-led business, Vested Impact, the challenges she's faced and what she's learned on the journey. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 8 - How Grown Up is Your SME? | 23 Apr 2025 | 00:58:18 | |
Founders and leaders in SMEs often grapple with a unique set of hurdles, from securing the right funding and building a robust team to navigating operational complexities and maintaining their core vision amidst rapid growth. Join Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver, and guest speaker Kate Mercer as they delve into the key challenges SME founders face when trying to scale their businesses and offer actionable insights and strategies to overcome them. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 7 - People and the Entrepreneurship Journey | 28 Mar 2025 | 00:55:26 | |
The entrepreneurship journey is a deeply personal and human experience, shaped by the interplay of individual drive and the supportive or challenging presence of others. The human element, with its inherent complexities and connections, is what ultimately defines the highs and lows of building a business. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 6 - Exiting a Business: Employee Ownership Trusts | 17 Mar 2025 | 00:54:12 | |
Many founders exiting a business grapple with preserving their legacy and ensuring the well-being of their employees. An Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) offers a compelling alternative to a traditional sale, addressing these concerns. EOTs are a form of indirect employee ownership where a trust holds the shares on the employees' behalf. This trust ensures the business's continued independence, maintain its culture, look out for employees' interests, and reward loyal employees. Join Mike Oliver, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, and guest speaker Chris Maslin as they explore the nuances of EOTs - who it is for, how it can benefit entrepreneurs, employees, and businesses, and how to build one effectively. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 5 - AI: Staying Ahead in a Changing World | 13 Feb 2025 | 01:01:40 | |
As entrepreneurs delve into the world of AI, they face a complex web of challenges such as understanding AI's true potential and limitations within their specific business context, navigating ethical considerations, and identifying the intersection between humans and AI. Entrepreneurs can no longer afford to ignore AI, or they risk falling behind.Join Mike Oliver (Founder of Easol), Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam (Founder of The FD Consultant), and guest speaker John Sandall (Founder of Coefficient) as they explore how entrepreneurs can understand and leverage AI to better strive and thrive in both the present and the future. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 4 - Navigating into an Unknown Future | 23 Jan 2025 | 00:55:33 | |
Businesses today face a complex and dynamic future. Rapid technological advancements, evolving consumer expectations, and increasing competition require businesses to be agile, adaptable, and forward thinking. Join Mike Oliver, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, and guest speaker Matthew Mullan as they explore how entrepreneurs can look to the future to shape the present, enabling businesses to better strive and thrive in both the present and the future. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 3 - The Power of Networking | 12 Dec 2024 | 00:53:44 | |
Building the right network is a game-changer for founders. Strong networks can open doors to new opportunities, help overcome challenges, and ultimately, increase a startup's chances of thriving in a competitive market. In this episode, Mike Oliver and Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam will talk to guest speaker Stefan Thomas, Founder of The Networking Retreat and the author of the book “Business Networking for Dummies” about his networking experiences and how founders can build the right network and ecosystem to support them and their business. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 2 - How to Successfully Exit a Business | 02 Dec 2024 | 00:54:17 | |
Exiting a business, often the ultimate goal for many entrepreneurs, is a complex journey fraught with challenges. From finding the right buyer to navigating complex legal and financial hurdles, entrepreneurs must carefully consider multiple factors to ensure a successful and profitable exit. For this episode of Strive & Thrive, we are pleased to welcome guest speaker Andy McNulty, Cofounder and CEO of Touch Stay, a mobile web application providing accommodation owners and managers the ability to create a digital guest welcome book. In this session, Mike and Romesh will talk to Andy about his entrepreneurial journey from conception to exit. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 1 - Finance: A Key to Success | 02 Dec 2024 | 00:47:50 | |
Finance is a very polarising topic amongst entrepreneurs. Some place it front and centre in their business, counting every penny and converting every action into currency. Others would prefer to avoid it altogether, deeming it a ‘headache’. Join us in this Strive & Thrive episode, where Jess, Mike and Romesh discuss this business-critical topic and their views on the benefits of enabling Finance to be a value-added function in their businesses. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 18 - The Value of Time in Your Business | 19 Sep 2025 | 00:54:41 | |
Businesses struggle to pinpoint the true value of time because it's often an abstract concept tied to opportunity cost and a complex web of interconnected processes. The challenge lies in identifying which activities are truly value-adding versus those that are simply consuming time without contributing to the bottom line. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 17: Good Processes, Good Business | 04 Sep 2025 | 00:54:49 | |
Good processes in business often face the challenge of balancing efficiency with adaptability. While structured processes can drive consistency, scalability, and quality, they can also become rigid and hinder innovation if not regularly updated. In a fast-changing market, businesses must continuously refine their operations to stay competitive without sacrificing reliability. Join Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver and guest speaker Claire Butcher as they discuss Good processes and Good business. Like this episode but want more? Watch it on YouTube! https://lnkd.in/erGWJMfF ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode16: Entrepreneurship v Regulation | 21 Aug 2025 | 00:58:09 | |
Innovating in safety-critical industries, such as aerospace, healthcare, or nuclear energy, presents significant challenges due to the high stakes involved. Any failure can result in severe harm to people, the environment, or national infrastructure, leading to an inherently risk-averse culture. Regulatory frameworks are often stringent and slow to adapt, making it difficult to implement new technologies quickly. Additionally, rigorous testing, certification, and validation requirements can significantly extend development timelines and increase costs, discouraging rapid innovation. Balancing safety, compliance, and technological progress remains a complex and ongoing challenge in these fields. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 15 - Why Middle Management Sucks | 07 Aug 2025 | 00:59:16 | |
Many have either had a bad experience with a middle manager, or had a bad experience being a middle manager - or both. Middle managers are often sandwiched between the pressure from senior leadership and the demands of the team. So, why does this happen and how can we address this? ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 14 - Redefining Entrepreneurship | 24 Jul 2025 | 01:00:55 | |
Finding alignment between the individual and the idea can be challenging because it requires honest self-reflection, clarity of purpose, and sometimes uncomfortable change. Individuals may struggle to distinguish their true values from external expectations, or they may find that an idea they admire conflicts with their personal needs or limitations. Fear of judgment, failure, or letting go of familiar paths can also make alignment feel risky. This process often demands patience, vulnerability, and the courage to say no to ideas that don’t fully resonate. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 13 - From Solopreneur to Entrepreneur: Lessons from Latin America | 10 Jul 2025 | 00:56:32 | |
Transitioning from a solopreneur to an entrepreneur comes with several challenges, the most significant being the shift from doing everything alone to building and managing a team. As a solopreneur, you're used to full control, but as an entrepreneur, delegation becomes essential requiring trust, leadership skills, and effective communication. Join Romesh, Mike and guest speaker Jose Trujillo as they discuss the transition from Solopreneur to Entrepreneur. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 12 - Key Learnings as a Founder | 26 Jun 2025 | 00:52:47 | |
Strive & Thrive co-host Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the founding of The FD Consultant! ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||
| Strive & Thrive Episode 11 - An Investor's Perspective | 05 Jun 2025 | 00:59:02 | |
Securing investment for startups and SMEs is highly individualised. Angel investment, venture capital, loans, and grants - there's no "one size fits all." The best fit depends on industry, business model, and founder vision, demanding a tailored approach for sustainable growth. Join Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver and guest speaker Sid Vasili as they discuss the investor's perspective on business. ------------ Strive & Thrive is a series of live discussions with the aim of enabling and empowering entrepreneurs in building businesses that achieve success – whether it be in people, planet, and profit – or all three. | |||