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

The Strive & Thrive series is pleased to welcome John Sandall , CEO at Coefficient , as the guest speaker for Episode 5: AI - Staying Ahead in a Changing World. ​ ​John is the founder of Coefficient, a data consultancy specialising in machine learning, data science, software engineering. In 2017 he created SixFifty to predict the UK General Election using open data and advanced modelling techniques. John is a Fellow of Newspeak House and co-organiser of PyData Bristol. ​Join

The Strive & Thrive series is pleased to welcome Matthew Mullan, Head of Futures and Foresight at BJSS , as the guest speaker for Episode 4: Navigating into an Unknown Future. ​ ​Matthew is a Futures Thinking Leader with over 25 years of experience across areas as diverse as military, corporate, research and consulting. Matthew specialises in futures intelligence, design-led innovation, and complex problem-wrangling. ​Join us next Thursday (23rd January) at 12 noon, where reg

The Strive & Thrive series is pleased to welcome Stefan Thomas , Founder of The Networking Retreat, as the guest speaker for Episode 3: The Power of Networking. ​ ​As a founder, author, trainer, and speaker, Stefan wears many hats. He speaks at conferences for blur chip organisations such as Google , BT , The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants , and many others. He has also authored three Amazon  bestselling books, including ‘Business Networking for Dummies’.​​ ​Jo

Romesh of The FD Consultant and Mike Oliver of Easol hosted the next Strive & Thrive live event with Andy McNulty of Touch Stay . We discussed how to successfully exit a business. After a highly successful career in luxury fashion, holding C-level positions at brands like  Gucci ,  Alexander McQueen , and  Victoria Beckham , Andy co-founded Touchstay, a digital guest book solution for holiday accommodation. Ten years later, Andy and his team had grown Touch Stay into a 7-fi

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. Mike Oliver of Easol hosted and facilitated a discussion with Romesh on “Finance – A Key to Success”. Mike and Romesh have known each other for a number of years and share a passion for supporting growing businesses. Romesh commented: I must admit, it was quite a new experience to lead the discussion on a live