Nicole Bremner

***TRIGGER WARNING*** This episode contains difficult content about child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that is likely to be particularly sensitive.  In 2019 nearly 30 million images and over 40 million videos relating to child sexual exploitation were released online... "The most surprising part is that it's not hidden, it's on everyday tools that you and I use, it's on Google and Facebook and Microsoft, they are hiding in plain sight." Today's podcast is about a particularly difficult and sensitive topic that no one really wants to talk about, or even really acknowledge exists. But, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) sadly does exist and my guest today plays a fundamental role in helping to improve content moderation and law enforcement to more effectively protect children online. Chris Wexler is one of the founders and CEO of Krunam, a technology company that builds tools to make it easier to mitigate and stop the inhumanity of child sexual abuse, while also freeing up polic

This special podcast was aired live from the Pyrenees with my guest Owen Saward, renewable energy developer. During our live interview he shares with me the tragic event that altered his life and lead him to embark on a solo cycle from his home in Bristol to the highest peak in Mallorca. Here Owen tells us why. "On 6th August 2019, Yann died at home in his bed. He was just 52. He was my best friend, the only person in the world who knew me. He was a lot of people's best friend. The kindness and love in this man was limitless. One of my first memories is of Yann rescuing me when I got stuck on top of the brick built Wendy house in the playground at Primary school. I was crying and his tall strong arms (even then!) lifted me down and gave me a hug. I remember being amazed that he did that in front of everyone and I felt so proud he was my big brother. One of my last memories of Yann is him putting his arms around me when he had no strength to lift them and saying 'I love you'. He was always

“The Real Estate tech space as a whole, from an investment and ownership perspective, has been really resilient…there are various areas that have really boomed.”My guest today is Ben Lerner, a real estate tech veteran with 20 years’ experience in the PropTech sector. Ben learned his trade in his (now 40-year-old) family business creating software for the real estate industry including property management solutions, high street agency solutions, and everything in-between.He sold the business in 2017 to one of the largest companies in the sector, MRI Software, and has since set up his own M&A practice, Lerner Associates, focusing on growth equity funding, sourcing, brokering and managing deals.The company provides tailored advisory services to buyers and sellers, investors and company owners, in the UK, US, Europe and Israel, in local and cross-border transactions.We talk about different advances in technology and how they have changed the property industry over the years, as well as the huge value of data

“There are a million different solutions out there but how do we get the right solutions into the right hands of the right people?” My guest today is Tauhira Ali, who is the executive director of industry innovation at NECA, which acts as the voice of the $171 billion electrical construction industry in the US.  Tauhira supports over 4,000 NECA member contractors to find innovative technologies to better the electrical construction industry, which brings power, light, and communication to buildings and communities across America. As a young child, Tauhira struggled with maths and science but that didn’t stop her from going on to achieve, not just one, but two engineering degrees, which have helped shape her career and fascination in robotics. “I loved machines, I was fascinated by how machines think – how you can, not just create something really complex and interesting mechanically, but elevate it to that next level through robotics, automation and artificial intelligence,” she explains. “Machines, robotics,

“Part of PR is working out what your USP is and what sets you apart from everyone else. The more you can niche that down the better. If you can’t describe what you do in one sentence then a journalist won’t be able to and they’re not going to remember you either.”My guests today launched their business during lockdown when they noticed a gap in the market for a DIY PR membership platform to empowering people to have the confidence to speak to the media.Lucy Sambrook, a PR and journalist who has worked at national publications like the Metro, and Toya Sambrook, a professional dancer turned events manager, launched PR for the People to demystifying PR and make it easy for everyone, from all walks of life, to be able to understand and afford. The lockdown has seen hundreds, if not thousands, of new small businesses launch all with an amazing story to tell. But start-ups often can’t afford high PR agency fees, or even very average independent freelance PR rates. So how do they get their business noticed? PR for t

“We are one of the few countries in the world where our property agents are not regulated…You can commit a crime under the Estate Agency Act in the morning, effectively be struck off, and then open a lettings office in the afternoon, so we have anomalies.”My guest today has one of the most impressive biographies I have ever read. With 45 years’ experience in the property industry Michael Stephen Day is a hugely influential figure in the sector. Having held partner and director roles at AC Frost, Prudential and Connells, in 2003 he founded Integra Property Services, providing a range of business consulting, mentoring and training to the property industry. He is also a director at teclet, an innovative and award-winning platform with CRM and sales products that enable letting agents to make money, save costs and improve service, and Coadjute, which uses blockchain technology to join up existing systems. We talk about how Michael helps agents and professionals in the property sphere with his no-nonsense approach

“Marriage counselling isn’t a waste of time, it’s not always about getting back together, it’s about seeing if you should part and doing it in a sensible way.”My guest today is family law expert Linda Lamb who has 25 years’ legal experience and is a resolution-trained collaborative lawyer and hybrid mediator. Linda is accredited by the Law Society and the Family Mediation Council to provide child inclusive mediation and has ‘Leading individual’ status with Chambers UK for expertise in family matters and mediation work with both adults and children.In 2017 she founded LSL Family Law and last year was named as one of the #ialso100 f:Entrepreneurs.Prior to entering law, Linda was a district nurse and community midwife – a role which has proved valuable to building her career in law. “In nursing you have that caring aspect and actually family law is very similar," Linda says. "I just don’t need to touch people, although people do give me a hug from time to time.”   We talk about the financial and emotio

“The types of projects we’re working on now, there would have been no technical way to solve those problems five years ago. I’m looking forward to what’s next…what’s the next solution, what’s the next technology?”I’m joined today by a guest in Dublin, Ohio. Christopher Slee is the founder, principal and CPO at AWH, a software engineering firm currently celebrating its 26th year. Whether it’s Internet of Things or blockchain, a phone app, or Artificial Intelligence, AWH offers the opportunity to create a changing array of digital products.Chris has over 30 years’ experience in the industry and has built over 4,500 applications. His latest venture, Include Health, leverages machine learning proprietary algorithms and web camera technology to support a seamless blend of musculoskeletal (MSK) services anywhere anytime. The state-of-the-art platform is powered by AI technologies and uses the most advanced body-tracking available to build customised MSK treatment plans and analyse physical recovery progress in MSK

“You’ve got to accept that maybe the idea you had or the thing you’re working on isn’t going to be necessary or won’t survive this period of time.” My guest today is Tersha Willis a Goldsmith College graduate with a background in private equity, financial services and fashion. She is known for her progressive views on merchandise and is the co-founder and CEO of terrible*, a product management and technology company, which enables creators to source and sell products to their fans. terrible* was founded in 2016 as the result of years spent on the road and in music, merchandise, apparel and entertainment and aims to build and grow financial relationships between fans and artists that last a lifetime. The company works with over 400 creators, artists and record labels globally. Tersha has been on this podcast before but today is back to talk about how terrible* changed direction in light of the pandemic, to help artists who were losing thousands in revenue due to cancelled gigs and recordings, but also other cr

“The recovery in London is quick…you have to be careful because it can smack you in the face – you can miss it because it happens so quickly.”My guest today is property veteran and Chief Executive at London Central Portfolio (LCP), Andrew Weir. Andrew gained his industry-wide reputation as a consummate professional in the property sector with over 30 years' experience, during a period of unprecedented growth and change within the Prime Central London residential market. He was involved from the early stages of setting up Foxtons to managing its growth and creating one of the best-known brands in the industry, taking it from private ownership to private equity and initial public offering. Andrew held the position of Managing Director from 2014, managing 300 people and a £76m+ revenue portfolio, subsequently becoming Chief Sales Officer. Subsequently, he has chosen to expand his experience into the Investment Advisory side of the industry at LCP. We discuss how the last few years has affected the capital’s

“Success is made up of tiny, small daily decisions, there are no big moments, there are just daily decisions that slowly, incrementally take you towards the destination.” My guest this week is brand consultant and speaker, Kubi Springer, who has over 24 years’ experience working with some of the world’s best-known brands, from Adidas and Nike to Aston Martin and Rolls Royce. Her brand journey began back in 1996 when she took an internship with MTV, which led her to work with celebrities such as P Diddy, Justin Timberlake and Maria Carey. Since then, she  has won numerous awards including BWB Best Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018.  Last year Kubi's book, I Am My Brand: How to build your brand without apology – a toolkit for personal brand success – was shortlisted in the Business Book Awards. We talk about what defines a brand and why it’s so important to learn and hone a craft before branching out on your own. “Every great personal brand has an art form, a skill that they’ve mastered ­– Oprah, presenter;

"If you don’t have a sustainability strategy that can stand the test of time, then you’re unlikely to succeed.”My guest this week is my good friend Josephine Bush – one of the most intelligent people I know. Josephine is a passionate advocate for the green and sustainable sector, deploying strategic, commercial and transactional skills to support clients in decarbonising, with an emphasis on the development of commercially effective Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies that robustly manage risk as well as opportunity.She worked at Ernst & Young Global for 15 years, during which time she led the delivery of a global renewables business plan and pioneered the build of EY’s renewables tax practice. She also sat on EY’s Power & Utilities Board, representing the tax practice for UK&I and renewables practice across EMIEA.Jo is focused on driving forward a low carbon economy for future generations by building a community of ESG specialists and interested parties to help businesses a

“Once you’ve been through the worst thing that could happen to you and you don’t die, it gives you an enormous amount of self-respect and confidence.” Today my guest is yet another fellow Australian, Bahar Etminan, who is founder and editor of Rescu, a digital magazine for women featuring curated content and advice on how to live a life more fabulous. The online collection of daily articles on style, substance and success, have been written and curated by experts in a variety of sectors from technology, personal finance and property to fashion, beauty and mindfulness. Bahar was a relatively early adopter of digital publishing technology in Australia and had to work incredibly hard to prove Rescu’s place alongside Australia’s once thriving print-dominated magazine market. Since then her business has had to continue to adapt to meet the ever-changing landscape as marketeers have shifted their advertising budgets from print to digital to social media and back again. Bahra talks about all the highs and lows of be

“In order to do well in business, you must get creative.” My guest today is creative expert and author of The Creator Mindset: 92 Tools to Unlock the Secrets to Innovation, Growth and Sustainability, Nir Bashan. Nir has worked among Hollywood and music stars like Woody Harrelson and Rod Stewart and, in doing so, discovered that these creative superstars aren’t all that different from you and I, they’ve just mastered a method of repeatable and predictable creativity. It’s a type of creativity that anyone can learn and can be used in business and careers everywhere. Nir has spent the last two decades working on a formula to codify creativity and has taught thousands of leaders and individuals around the globe – including household names such as Microsoft, NFL, EA Sports and jetBlue (to name a few) – how to harness the power of creativity to improve profitability, increase sales, boost customer service and ultimately create more meaning in their work. “We’re all born creative and the way we approach our job, our

“It’s extremely hard to be in this fame bubble, where you’re looked after, to then just be tossed out… A while after I had some counselling about it all, I just felt like a failure.”Today my guest is the incredibly creative Belinda Chapple, who rose to fame in the early noughties as a member of all-female Australian pop group, Bardot. In late 1999, at the age of 24, Chapple auditioned for the first Australian series of reality TV talent competition, Popstars, landing her dream job in a girl band. However, Belinda had been in entertainment since she was just 13, having spent her teenage years singing and dancing at the Johnny Young Talent School (Australian listeners may remember the related TV Show Young Talent Time, which was a launching pad for several Australian performers, such as Dannii Minogue.) and then as a touring singer and dancer for shows across Asia. Bardot exploded on to the Australian music scene and became one of the most iconic girl bands in Australian history but after just 2.5 years the ban

“In the 21st century, you can’t just rely on eating the best diet nutritionally, you have to think about what’s better for the world as well.” I have known my guest today for many years, having collaborated with him on a number of health, nutrition and body-building books in the noughties. James Collier is the co-founder and head of nutrition at Huel, a nutritionally complete powdered food brand that I happen to use every day. He is also the co-founder of the highly popular bodybuilding website MuscleTalk. Launched in June 2015, Huel was the brainchild of Julian Hearn, who partnered with James to design a formula for a healthy product that could become the future of food. Huel is now one of the most successful meal replacement companies in the world – not that James likes to call it meal replacement. “When you’re discussing what you’re having for dinner you don’t say: ‘shall we have pizza or replace it with fish and chips?’ Huel is a meal, it’s food in powdered or liquid form.”Made with ingredients like oats,

“If you don’t have a digital strategy yet, it’s time to start thinking about it because what we’re witnessing in the cryptocurrency market is the biggest wealth generation event of our lifetime.” For anyone struggling to get to grips with cryptocurrency and how it all works, this episode is for you! Nick Prouten is a veteran of the tech sector and COO of LODE, a blockchain-powered gold and silver money system that is reinventing money as we know it. An expert in driving project growth, Nick uses his unique leadership style and vision to cultivate seamless paths to create value and transcend goals. A firm believer that diversity is strength, he has worked in a wide array of industries, ranging from cybersecurity, gaming, real estate, entertainment and blockchain.So, what is blockchain? Nick explains: “Blockchain is a virtual handshake that uses consensus algorithm (a series of computers that reach the same agreement, rather than have an intermediary like two banks) to validate that value is being transferred f

“Imagine if the world around you disappeared and the paths to which you are so accustomed suddenly went away and you had to reinvent them…”Charles (Chuck) Wolfe is the founder of Seeing Better Cities and the author of the award-winning books Seeing the Better City and Urbanism Without Effort.In 2017 Chuck left 34 years’ experience as an environmental land-use lawyer behind and set up Seeing Better Cities to improve the conversation around how cities grow and evolve in the around the world. Chuck helps developers and municipalities with policy-related issues and community involvement strategies and leads explorations of urban spaces impacted by rapid change and growth. “Enough with the touristic experience or the classical fantasy that drives our understanding of a particular place, we need to do the work, we need to dig in,” he says. Much of Chuck's inspiration, he says, comes from his father, who founded the Modern Urban Design and Planning Programme at the University of Washington. Chuck's latest

“Over 83% of companies now anticipate having some kind of flex in their portfolio… How do we make our tenants want to come to the office when they could stay at home and work from home?”My guest today is Annie Rinker, who joins me all the way from Texas. Annie is director in the office of innovation at Hines, a family-owned real estate firm founded by Gerald Hines in the 1950s. Since then the company has grown to be in over 225 cities across the globe and manages over 400 million square feet of office space with an emphasis on consumer-focused innovation."Mr Hines believed it was his duty not to just build a building because you could make money doing so but because it bettered the ground it was on and the society that would walk by it every day," Annie explains.We also talk about: The changing face of our working environments and the hub and spoke model. An EQ versus IQ-based work place. Tenant engagement apps and how to create a seamless user experience.The shifting demographics of people in the w

“Young people today have such a tough time, on every level. If people have a roof over their head, everything shifts for them.” Lorraine Thomas is a risk-taking, changemaking, life-enhancing visionary. She took a leap from a successful career in business development for the legal sector to property development, where one of her key focuses is helping young disadvantaged adults get on the ladder. Over half of the investment property that Lorraine renovates through her company, View from My Window, has a social element attached to it and part of her business focuses on encouraging a new breed of landlord with a social conscious. “When my parents first came to this country, when they knocked on that door and there were those signs saying, 'No dogs, no Irish, no blacks', somebody took a chance on them and said ‘okay you can rent a room with me’. I want to be that person today. We are taking a chance on people who other landlords wouldn’t,” she explains.Lorraine has been nominated for dozens of awards an