Engaging People Pod

Whilst buying Nike ID trainers in 2009, business students & best friends Daniel Price & his co-founder Jonny Sitton had the idea to set up a business personalising baby clothes as there are 800,000 babies born each year & around 15 gifts per baby! Hear the story of how they went from selling one order a day in a brook cupboard sized office to being in Selfridges, Harrods & having Royalty wear their clothes.  This is a brilliant story where their perception became their reality & how the best PR can come purely from thinking outside the box.  Daniel recommends 'Delivering Happiness' from Tony Hsieh, 'When I stop talking, you'll know i'm dead' by Jerry Weintrub as well as perennial favourite 'Shoe Dog' by Phil Knight. My recommendation this week is podcast - 'Grief is my superpower' by Mark Lemon. You can find the site www.my1styears.com and all the social handles below. Twitter - @my1styears facebook.com/my1styears/ Instagram - @my1styears Linkedin - my1styears  As always please do leave us

Max Rofagha has a tough job on his hands. Having sold his first business Max was looking into what to do with his finances & how to make informed decisions about his money. He found that he couldn't trust the banks, nor the online robo's and he didn't find a financial adviser to connect with & so he had a problem...... Max's entrepreneurial spirit took over & there and then he decided he wanted to build something where people could go to educate themselves about their money & put people in control. In the UK there is a big gap around advice & Finimize was set up to make finance simple. An idea that is close to my heart.  Hear all about what they're building, Max's background & what the future holds for Finimize. You can find the site www.finimize.com and the social handles below. Twitter - @finimize Instagram - @finimize As always please do leave us an iTunes review and a rating. You can give us feedback via email hello@engagefs.co.uk and you can see more about our business Engage Fina

Dylan Bourguignon is an extremely interesting guy. He has two engineering degrees, an MBA from Harvard and worked in private equity prior to founding So-Sure Insurance.   After gaining an interest in how businesses worked & deep diving into the insurance industry, Dylan found an outdated industry, not focused on the consumer and saw only opportunities for disruption.  Here we tell the story of wearesosure.com, from it's conception to it's current pursuit of restoring consumer trust for insurance globally.   You can find the site www.wearesosure.com and the social handles below. Twitter - @DB_entrepreneur @wearesosure Instagram - @wearesosure As always please do leave us an iTunes review and a rating. You can give us feedback via email hello@engagefs.co.uk and you can see more about our business Engage Financial Services here www.engagefs.co.uk

Hannah Feldman had an extremely distinguished professional career prior to Co-Founding Kidadl. She worked for three of the biggest companies in three different sectors (advertising, law & banking) before working for ex Dragon James Kahn. It's fair to say she could have easily continued down the corporate route.  However, she always knew she had the entrepreneurial spirit and it took an introduction via her cousin to her co-founder Sophie Orman to light the spark and Kidadl was born. Here we tell the story of there initial meeting, sharing a vision, raising capital, building apps, marketing and building Kidadl to what it is today.  You can find the site www.kidadl.com and the social handles for both Hannah & Kidadl are as follows. Twitter - @hannahkidadl @kidadlofficial Instagram - @hannahkidadl @kidadl Hannah cites Dreaming & Doing by Nicki Raby as a podcast to listen to and as a book - 'never eat alone' which is about the power of networking.  As always please do leave us an iTunes review and a r

Romanie Thomas is the Founder of Juggle Jobs - www.juggle.jobs which is a digital recruitment platform which is transforming the way people & business look for & find flexible working solutions.  She started in the recruitment world 10 years ago and founded Juggle Jobs in 2017 after a year figuring out how to develop her vision. She has raised venture capital twice and is coming to the third round of funding. The business is generating revenue and she is well on the road to creating something special.  Here some of the challenges she faced along the way and what her vision of the future looks like.  Romanie cites 'Slaying The Dragon' by Michael Johnson as a favourite book.  You can find her on twitter @romaniethomas and on Linkedin under her name. As always please do leave us an iTunes review and a rating. You can give us feedback via email hello@engagefs.co.uk and you can see more about our business Engage Financial Services here www.engagefs.co.uk  

Affectionately known as Souts, David is a young TV & Film producer and director. His most recent work includes the Netflix doc 'Sunderland Till I Die' and 'Bros, When the screaming stops'. He has also worked on 'I am Bolt', 'This is US', Mo Farah 'No easy mile' and the Class of 92 in recent years.  Souts started in TV at age 28 and at the bottom rung of the ladder. However you'll hear about how he quickly realised that this world was for him and how he dedicated himself to moving up the ladder to make up for lost time.  He talks about working with 1 Direction and how their fans nearly took his life!!  You can find him on Twitter @dwdsoutar and on Instagram @dwdsoutar.  David is part of a hugely successful team at Fulwell 73 (www.fulwell73.com)  

In this re-posted episode, which first aired in Jan 2019, Sam talks to serial entrepreneur James Bott on his successes, failures and lessons learned in business. This is a brilliant conversation with someone who's been willing to take a number of risks to become successful.  James is the current co-founder of The ASO Co. A company that started just over two years ago and was recently acquired by Jellyfish - the global digital marketing agency. Listen in to hear how he created a new market around app's & built his business around it. You can find James on twitter @jamesismobile and on Linkedin under his name. As always for more information on any guests please check out www.engagefs.co.uk and or contact us hello@engagefs.co.uk Our twitter handles are @engage_fs & @samsloma1 and on Instagram @engagefinancial  

Dave Martin signed for West Ham United in the summer of 2019 on a free transfer. He signed as 3rd choice goalkeeper having spent two seasons at Millwall. Dave talks us through the ups and downs of being a footballer, from signing for Liverpool at 19 to being without a club on a free transfer 9 years later to signing for his boyhood club after an up and down two years.  It's a brillant story of working hard, determination and belief in yourself.  You can find Dave on twitter @davemartin_gk. As always please do leave us an iTunes review and a rating. You can give us feedback via email hello@engagefs.co.uk and you can see our business here www.engagefs.co.uk    

Andy Hart is a serial entrepreneur and is currently running 5 businesses in the same sector. His story is one of lots of personal growth and development to get him where he is today.  He shares a number of interesting business tips and explains how a failure early on can be a very good thing.  Andy recommends 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield. He cites his mentors as Warren Buffet, Charlie Mungar, Alan Yau & Seth Godin. You can find Andy on twitter @mavenadviser - instagram @mavenadviser - linkedin - Andy Hart. His website is www.mavenadviser.com His podcast is The Maven Money Podcast. As always you can find us at www.engagefs.co.uk or @engage_FS on twitter and @engagefinancial on Instagram. Please do drop us a line with thoughts or feedback - hello@engagefs.co.uk and please leave an iTunes review!

In this short podcast, Sam brings down the curtain on season 1 of the Engaging People Podcast. He thanks the brilliant James Ede for his help in editing the podcasts, he recommends you listen to the brilliant How I Built This podcast and that you read Raising Girls by Steve Biddulph. Thank you so much to everyone for their messages, emails and interest in the show. We'll be back next week with another great interview! As always you can find us on iTunes, Spotify and at www.engagefs.co.uk

Zack Cleary's story is a really interesting one. His company was approached by a startup around 20 months ago to create the tech behind their vision.  They subsequently bought his company and this startup has recently been valued at over $500m (see link) https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/15/ro-a-direct-to-consumer-online-pharmacy-reaches-500m-valuation/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_cs=5v1lSQytw9y0u2t2V7YArA This is one of the hottest start ups on the planet right now and the growth trajectory has been unprecedented. I met up with Zack in their new office in NYC for a chat on what he does, what they hope to achieve and all thing Ro! Check out Get Roman www.getroman.com and the top company Ro www.ro.co You can find Zack on Linkedin - Zack Cleary. As always you can find us at www.engagefs.co.uk or @engage_FS on twitter and @engagefinancial on Instagram. Please do drop us a line with thoughts or feedback - hello@engagefs.co.uk and please leave an iTunes review!

In 2001 whilst living in Spain, Andrew Mangan was working out what to do with his life. Whilst working on this new found internet, he decided to start writing about Arsenal and posting his thoughts every day. 18 years later at Arseblog is one of the biggest Arsenal blogs in the world. Andrew now has two different blogs covering all things Arsenal. This is general thoughts, news, Arsenal Women, Youth, transfers etc. He has two weekly podcasts and has written 2 books. For someone who admits they're not business savvy, the evolution of this site has been a huge success. Listen in to hear Andrew's story. You can find him on all the social channels @Arseblog and arseblog.com. As always you can find us at www.engagefs.co.uk or @engage_FS on twitter and @engagefinancial on Instagram. Please do drop us a line with thoughts or feedback - hello@engagefs.co.uk and please leave an iTunes review!

Woody is one half of the duo Woody & Kleiny who have amassed an amazing 4.9m Instagram followers, 2m YouTube subscribers & 3m Facebook followers. Throughout the journey to get where they are today, Woody & Kleiny have suffered numerous setbacks in their lives. However they have always shown resilience and a desire to achieve above everything else.They never thought about going solo, they had each others back and their friendship is first and foremost to this day. Woody gives lots of great insights into the W&K strategy, how to utilise social media & how they get paid for the work they do. He talks in detail about the differing elements of YouTube, Instagram & Facebook.  You can find Woody & Kleiny in the following places Instagram @woodyandkleiny YouTube - Woody & Kleiny Facebook - Woody & Kleiny As always you can find us at www.engagefs.co.uk or contact Hello@engagefs.co.uk Our instagram is @engageFinancial and our twitter is @engage_fs  We'd love to hear from you, any fee

Mark Cowan is the Co-CEO of Entourage Global. In this episode he tells the story of how the business started and how far it's come in the past 5 years. Mark & his co-founder Paul came together from different backgrounds and were able to grind out deals almost from day one. They leveraged connections & their network but don't underestimate some of their marketing techniques that have helped them build. Entourage have a member of staff at every event & booking they take whilst other agencies often didn't see the need. They made ex professional footballers feel special again and give them much needed marketing opportunities.      Mark shares his vision for the future and gives an interesting view of what success means.  You can find Entourage on their website www.entourage-global.com  Twitter @entourage_sport Insta @entourage_sports Mark can be emailed mc@entourage-global.com    

On today's podcast I run through some of the value I hope to provide the families I work with. In financial planning, it often feels that a lot of the value we provide is intangible. It's the phone calls when someone is under some stress, it's the big picture plans when people are getting caught in the small stuff and it's the trust where the the real value lies. So on today's pod I try to uncover some of the hidden intangibles from our business.  Next week we'll be back on the interview trail!

Yusef Bouattoura has a brilliant story to tell. Growing up in Tottenham he fell into the wrong crowd and by 15 he was in Feltham young offenders prison. A judge let him out with orders to give something back to his community and he took those instructions & then some. Listen in to how Yusef has used the 'give and ye shall receive mantra' to amazing effect, how his crazy work ethic & determination have shaped a business that receives over 300 inbound enquiries a day! Yusef slept on floors, he worked 20 hour days and he his passion, drive and determination are really inspirational.  You can find Yusef on Instagram @ProPT & his website is       www.pro-pt.co.uk and on Facebook at Pro.PT    

Josef Jackson is an amazing guy. He is an ex-professional footballer who is just about to start an internship at Morgan Stanley.  Above that though, he has been through some extremely difficult times and has shown courage & determination that is a true testament of his character. At 14 he lost his 12 years old sister to a brain hemorrhage and if that wasn't enough, Josef was told at age 21 that he had Leukemia.  Josef tells his story and there is lot to learn about how difficult situations can fuel a desire to make the most of every second available to you. If you'd like to get in touch with Josef you can find him on the below channels.  Lin: Josef Jackson Twit @josef_jackson3 Insta @joejackson93 E josef.jackson@gmail.com    Joe's book recommendation was by Martin Robert Hall and the book is called How Leaders Make it Happen.

This week we speak to the former professional Rugby player Dave Lewis who has literally just swapped playing for Harlequins for financial planning. Dave studied whilst playing and recently completed his Diploma in regulated financial planning.  By the time this episode comes out, Dave will have started his new role with St James Place. He talks openly about his Rugby career, why he's making the change at around 30 and the support he's received from his family & friends.  He sites 'You are Awesome' by Matthew Syed and Ant Middleton's 'First man in' as books to read. You can find Dave on Insta & twitter @daveylewis89 We wish him every success in his new role & look forward to seeing him flourish.   

Spread a Smile is an amazing charity. They provide entertainment for seriously ill children in Hospital.  Today on the Engaging People Podcast we speak to their CEO Lucy Jackson about how she came into the job, what she does on a day to day basis and what the charities plans are for the future. Listen in to hear about how the charity was formed, how much they managed to raise at their recent Gala dinner and how difficult it is to bring your own children into charity work.  If you'd like more information on this amazing charity visit www.spreadasmile.org or follow them on Instagram or Twitter @spreadasmileUK 

Lionel Morgan was a truly unbelievable young footballer. He had the most ability i've ever seen on a football pitch and the speed, strength, & technique to back it up. He made his championship debut for Wimbledon at age 17 and had Tottenham chasing his signature soon after. On his England under 16 debut he was likened to a young Ryan Giggs & John Barnes. If you remember playing championship manager from 1998 onwards you'll possibly remember he was always one to buy. Unfortunately a series of unlucky injuries and some mismanagement from the club saw him unable to fulfill the potential everyone knew was there. I spoke to Lionel about his career, what happened,how he dealt with injuries, if he has any regrets and what he thinks about the legions of people who still tell him what a good player he was when he was young. You can find Lionel on twitter @lionel_morgan