We are excited to welcome Geoff Bird as our guest on Strive & Thrive Episode 24: The Best Leaders have Social Intelligence. Professor Geoff Bird is a cognitive neuroscientist, holding professorships at the University of Oxford, University College London, and a visiting post at Radboud University, The Netherlands. Author of around 240 papers, his work explores the neuroscience of individual and group performance, decision-making, social interaction, mental health, and neurodi

Strive & Thrive is excited to invite you to close out the year with our very first Advent Calendar - 24 Days of Insights. Each day, you will discover a curated quote of wisdom, a foundational insight, or a strategic takeaway for SME business leaders from one of our most impactful past episodes. This is a perfect opportunity for a quick, daily dose of inspiration and practical advice as you prepare for the new year. Advent Calendar Link What is Strive & Thrive? Strive & Thrive

We are excited to announce a Strive & Thrive Special episode this week (28th Nov, 12pm) where co hosts Romesh & Mike unpack the Budget, and discuss what it really means for SME businesses.  What does the Budget mean for my business? | Strive & Thrive #23 Romesh is the Founder of The FD Consultant , a group of fractional Finance Directors who support growing organisations. Mike Oliver   is the Founder of Easol and focuses on innovative solutions. They both share a passion for

We were really pleased to have Raj Thiruchelvarajah  as our guest on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Riding the Scale Up Rollercoaster | Strive & Thrive #22 Raj Thiruchelvarajah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hytro , a leading human performance business which produces Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) wearables. After 15 years in banking and consulting, Raj left the corporate world to build something more purposeful -  bringing a proven but complex scientific concept out of l

We are really pleased to have Maggie Sarfo as our guest on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #21: AI Alone won’t Grow Your Sales Maggie is an award winning consultant driving revenue growth for SME’s, entrepreneur, writer and speaker. Join us, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam ( The FD Consultant ), Mike Oliver (Easol) , and Maggie Sarfo at 12pm on Thursday as we discuss the intersection of Revenue Growth, AI, People and Processes. What is Strive & Thrive? Strive &

Can you believe it? Strive & Thrive  is celebrating its one-year anniversary and over 20 episodes! Time flies when you're having fun (and learning a ton!). We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our audience, phenomenal guest speakers, and the friends and colleagues who've supported us every step of the way. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. We've evolved, we've polished things up, and we've gotten better, but the mission remains the same: to help entrepreneurs

We are really pleased to have Frances Holmes as our guest on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #20: The Hard Truth About Bullying in Your Business Frances is the founder and CEO of Speak Out Revolution , a mission-driven venture using data to shake up how workplaces tackle inclusion. She has built a career in STEM while carving out space as a female entrepreneur driving change. By day, she’s an Account CTO at Microsoft; by night (and every other spare mo

We are delighted to welcome  Debbie Gilbert to Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #19 : Women in Business Debbie is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, and marketing expert with over 25 years of experience supporting SMEs. She is the founder of Viva Business Support (Business Education programmes), Businesswomen UnLtd  (Events services), and the Best Business Women Awards , which celebrates exceptional female entrepreneurs across the UK. Passionate ab

The Strive & Thrive  podcast for Founders recently set up a new Linked In page. Come on over and join us! Strive & Thrive is a series of discussions aimed to inspire and provide insights to Entrepreneurs, Business owners and the Leadership teams of growing SME businesses. Romesh of The FD Consultant co hosts Strive & Thrive with Mike Oliver of Easol, and we bring on board various guest speakers with great experience and expertise. Easol , The FD Consultant , Mike Oliver , Rom

We are delighted to welcome  David King to Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #18: The Value of Time in your Business Dave is the CEO of Lbox communications , a B2B provider of print and marketing solutions. Passionate about growing a business with a positive impact, David spends his time trying to provide added value solutions for clients and staff - giving people more time to focus on meaningful and enjoyable tasks for them, whatever they may be. I’ve ha

Earlier this summer, the Strive & Thrive  podcast achieved our milestone 10 episodes! Easol , The FD Consultant , Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam , Mike Oliver , and the rest of the Strive & Thrive  team sincerely thank everyone who has tuned in to Strive & Thrive. And of course a huge thanks to all our amazing guest speakers for coming on the journey with us and sharing their invaluable insights! In celebration of this milestone, here are some highlights from all 10 Strive & Thrive

We are delighted to welcome  Claire Butcher to Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #17: Good Processes, Good Business Whether it's leading through chaos, managing difficult people, or scaling a team without losing momentum, Claire is in the trenches with her businesses, helping them to figure it out quickly and achieve excellent results. Join us, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver , and Claire Butcher at 12pm on Thursday as we discuss how businesses can

We are delighted to welcome Callum Condé MRAeS   on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #16: Entrepreneurship v Regulation Callum is passionate about the future of uncrewed aviation and autonomy. From running his own drone company to overseeing flight operations for a major defence organisation, he’s built a career at the forefront of innovation. Today, Callum is poacher turned gamekeeper and now runs a team at a national regulator.   Regulatory frameworks

We are delighted to welcome Lisa Robyn Wood  on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Strive & Thrive #15: Why Middle Management Sucks Lisa is the founder of GRIP Coaching, and is a coach and trainer focused on empowering businesses to enhance their managers' capabilities for improved growth, performance, and culture. Drawing on her extensive experience leading teams in fast-paced environments within the Energy and FMCG sectors, Lisa has been helping business owners and lead

We are delighted to welcome Dave Jarman  on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Dave is an Associate Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Bristol 's multi-award-winning Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Dave also leads the Discover and Launch programmes for the ARC Accelerator , a programme supporting the sustainable commercialisation of academic research. ​Join us, Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam, Mike Oliver , and Dave Jarman  at 12pm on Th

We are really pleased to welcome Jose Trujillo on Thursday’s episode of Strive & Thrive! Jose is the founder and CEO of International Learning, an organisation that empowers Latin American students to access global education opportunities. With over 10 years of experience in international education and student mobility, he specialises in designing growth strategies, scholarship pathways, and advisory programs that connect academic goals with long-term life plans.​ ​Join us,

Romesh is delighted to be the guest on the next episode of Strive & Thrive! He set up The FD Consultant  in 2020 and am celebrating the 5th anniversary of the business by reflecting on my key learnings as a business founder. Building The FD Consultant has been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done. It’s challenged me in all the right ways, and reminded me that it’s never too late to keep growing and developing. The FD Consultant offers high-level fractional Finance Dire

We were thrilled to host Sid Vasili on today’s episode of Strive & Thrive! An entrepreneur for almost 50 years, Sid founded and led successful companies like HMSL Group and Invapay Payment Solutions , delivering cutting-edge solutions for Working Capital Optimisation, Finance, and Global Shared Services. Sid is now an investor who mentors and guides founders and their teams. He is also a recognised thought leader and speaker.. This episode aired on 5th June, but you can cat

We were excited to have Alexander Preece on our 10th episode of Strive & Thrive! Alex Preece  is the founder of Be Known , a strategic personal brand advisory helping founders, athletes, and experts turn clarity into commercial leverage. With nearly two decades of experience across agency, brand, and talent, Alex has worked with everyone from elite athletes to startup CEOs - crafting positioning that earns trust and opens doors. This episode aired on 23rd May, but you can cat

We were excited to welcome  Kimberley Abbott  as a guest speaker for Strive & Thrive Episode 9: The Startup Experience Kimberley Abbott is CEO and founder of  Vested Impact , which was founded with the mission to 'redefine millionaire to be a person who impact millions of lives'.  Vested Impact is an award-winning data platform that automatically assesses and quantifies the positive and negative effects of companies' products, services and activities on people and the planet

Romesh loved catching up with Mike Oliver , his Strive & Thrive podcast co host recently! They’ve both really enjoyed hosting their series of discussions aimed at helping Entrepreneurs, Founders and Business Leaders navigate the changing world around us. The podcast invites experts in all areas of business to share their stories and experiences. Both Mike and I have loved learning from these fascinating discussions. Topics covered so far include AI, Networking, the Entrepren

The Strive & Thrive series is excited to present Kate Mercer  of Leaders Lab , as the speaker for Episode 8: How Grown Up is your SME? ​Kate is a coach, facilitator and trainer with over 30 years experience, and is focused on helping her clients improve communication, build real teamwork and streamline working practices. Kate is also the author of A Buzz in the Building: How to build and lead a brilliant organisation . Her book outlines the straightforward principles she has

The Strive & Thrive series is excited to present co-host Mike Oliver  of Easol , as the speaker for Episode 7: People and the Entrepreneurship Journey. ​For Mike, entrepreneurship is about more than just business; it's about people and their potential. His diverse background, which includes working with organisations like UN, NHS, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, startups, scaleups, and MNCs, has given him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing entre

The Strive & Thrive series is pleased to welcome Chris Maslin , CEO at GoEo , as the guest speaker for Episode 6: Exiting a Business - Employee Ownership Trusts. ​Chris trained as an accountant/tax adviser, then started his own practice in 2009. He built this business up over the next decade. In 2021 he sold a controlling stake to an Employee Ownership Trust, empowering the staff to take collective control of the company going forwards. Chris now helps companies with 5-50 emp