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PODCAST

Business and a Brew

Danielle Thompson

Welcome to Business and a Brew – the podcast where real conversations about business happen over a good drink. Hosted by Danielle and Simon, this show brings together two friends with years of shared experiences, lessons learned, and plenty of stories to tell.We’re here to explore the highs, lows, and in-betweens of business, from awkward challenges to unexpected victories. No topic is off the table – if it’s part of the entrepreneurial journey, we’re talking about it. Whether you’re looking for

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

20:56

Wouldn't It Be Nice to See a Corporation Admit They...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/11/17

In this week’s episode, Simon and I dive into a topic that comes up again and again… corporate denial. You know the one, the moment a huge organisation gets caught red-handed, denies everything with a perfectly polished statement, and quietly carries on making millions. Yep! We unpack some of the biggest examples from recent years and explore why it happens, how companies manage to bounce back so quickly, and why society seems to give them more grace than they sometimes deserve. We also talk ...

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24:41

AI, Will It Devalue Their Skills Or Put Them Out Of...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/11/10

Grab your mug and settle in, because this week we’re tackling one of the biggest questions shaking up the creative world... can artificial intelligence really be creative? We chat about the good, the bad, and the slightly terrifying side of it all, from how AI can supercharge efficiency to the uncomfortable question of whether it could ever replace genuine human creativity. Spoiler! We’re not convinced it can. There’s also a serious side to this brew-fuelled chat, the ethical and legal mess t...

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25:24

Charles Ponzi, A dapper Five Foot Two Inch Fraudster

Business and a Brew ·

2025/11/03

Fraud. Scams. Dodgy deals that sound too good to be true (and usually are). In this week’s episode of Business and a Brew, we dive headfirst into the wonderfully weird and slightly worrying world of fraud. From fake magazine ads to a suspicious pig purchase (yes, you read that right), we’ve seen and shared some stories that prove scammers will try anything. We get into the mechanics of how these scams work, from the “just one more person and you’ll be rich” world of MLMs, to pyramid schemes t...

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28:01

The Myth of Niching

Business and a Brew ·

2025/10/27

Grab your cuppa, because this week we’re diving headfirst into one of the most divisive business conversations out there, niching. Yep, that old chestnut. On one side, we’ve got the anti-niche camp waving their “don’t box me in!” banners. They argue that telling every small business owner they must pick a niche is like telling a toddler they can only play with one toy forever. It’s restrictive, it’s stressful, and it can totally squash your creativity. On the other side, the pro-niche brigade...

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22:02

Hackers Exploited A Known Vulnerability - The EquaFax...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/10/20

Ever wondered what happens when one of the world’s biggest credit reporting agencies accidentally leaves the front door wide open... for 76 days? In this week’s episode, we dive into the absolute chaos that was the Equifax data breach of 2017. We chat through how it went from bad to worse, the PR disaster, the “less than £5 per victim” compensation that wouldn’t even buy a pint, and the eye-watering £500,000 UK fine (which, let’s face it, is about as painful to Equifax as a paper cut). This e...

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28:21

You Can't Just Drop It In, And It Miraculously Works!

Business and a Brew ·

2025/10/13

Change. Some people love it. Most people… not so much. In this week’s episode of Business and a Brew, we dive into the messy, magical world of change management - or, as we like to call it, “convincing people to stop clinging to spreadsheets from 2004.” We chat about why change feels so uncomfortable, the resistance that crops up when businesses try to move from familiar (but painfully outdated) systems into something new, and how to actually make transitions smoother without everyone breakin...

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17:29

Is it all about the science, or can any business...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/10/06

Is it all about the science, or can any business benefit? Let’s talk R&D When you hear Research & Development, you probably picture lab coats, test tubes, and big pharma breakthroughs. But guess what? R&D isn’t just for the science geeks... it could be hiding in plain sight in your business. We’re diving into the surprisingly wide world of R&D and how it’s not just about creating the next COVID vaccine or sending a robot to Mars. It’s also about improving processes, building b...

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18:52

Kellogs & the culty wellness retreat

Business and a Brew ·

2025/09/29

Cornflakes: the innocent breakfast staple… or the crunchy legacy of a bizarre 19th-century wellness cult? We’re diving spoon-first into the truly wild origins of Kellogg’s, because this isn’t just a story about cereal. It’s a story about celibacy, enemas, and accidental entrepreneurship. Yes, really. It all started in 1894 with Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a wellness-obsessed doctor running a sanitarium that promised to cleanse both body and soul. Picture it: strict diets, no caffeine, no meat, a...

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13:52

We Work, How "Wrongness" was overshadowed by the...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/09/22

At first glance, it looked like the future of work. Open-plan spaces, kombucha on tap, and a promise to “elevate the world’s consciousness.” Founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, WeWork wasn’t just offering office space, it was selling a movement. By 2019, it had exploded into over 100 cities across 29 countries, racking up a jaw-dropping $47 billion valuation. But underneath the glossy branding and community buzzwords, things were spiralling. Fast. We dig into how WeWork’s ent...

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23:54

Boeing - They're not actually that safe, as...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/09/15

For decades, Boeing was seen as the gold standard in commercial aviation. The 737, launched back in 1968, became the world’s best-selling jet, trusted by airlines and passengers across the globe. But the story took a dark turn with the arrival of the 737 Max, a model that would come to symbolise how corporate pressure, poor design choices, and regulatory gaps can turn deadly. We’re diving into the tragic failures that led to the 2018 and 2019 crashes, both caused by the MCAS system, an automa...

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21:05

Uber: It solved the whole problem that you had with...

Business and a Brew ·

2025/09/08

Remember when getting a cab meant waiting in the rain, fumbling for cash, and hoping the driver knew your route? Uber came along in 2009 and flipped the script, offering sleek, on-demand rides with a few taps on your phone. What started as a luxury app has become a global giant, now holding over 75% of the US rideshare market and contributing a massive £5 billion to the UK economy by 2024. But innovation always comes with consequences. As Uber rose, traditional taxi services declined, with Lo...

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28:15

Is ChatGPT drinking all the water?

Business and a Brew ·

2025/09/01

We’ve heard the headlines... AI is coming for your job, your art, and now… your water supply? We’re unpacking the growing concern around the environmental cost of AI tools like ChatGPT and the infrastructure that powers them. These systems aren’t floating in the cloud on fairy dust... they require massive data centres, relentless processing power, and yes, a hell of a lot of water to keep them cool. With growing pressure on natural resources and climate consciousness at an all-time high, we’r...

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23:35

ADE 651 the bullshit detector!

Business and a Brew ·

2025/08/25

It looked like a real solution. It was sold like a miracle. And it ended up costing lives. We’re talking about the ADE 651, a so-called bomb and substance detector that turned out to be nothing more than a glorified golf ball finder. Marketed as a cutting-edge device capable of detecting explosives, drugs, and weapons from hundreds of metres away, it was nothing short of a complete scam. This device made its way into the hands of militaries and police forces across various countries. Governme...

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18:56

How Tropicana Threw $35 Billion Out of the Window

Business and a Brew ·

2025/08/18

Rebrands are supposed to be fresh, exciting, and a little bit fancy. But sometimes, they’re just a really expensive way to upset literally everyone. First up, the orange juice disaster of 2009. Tropicana decided to ditch the classic orange-with-a-straw design and go full minimalist. The result? A 20% sales drop, a $35 million packaging fail, and $30 billion in lost revenue before they sheepishly slapped the old design back on the shelf. Cheers to that. Then there’s Gap, who in 2010 thought th...

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18:05

Lord King Scamming Virgins

Business and a Brew ·

2025/08/11

The Britsh Airways vs Virgin Atlantic showdown in the 90s wasn’t just business, it was pure soap opera in the skies. Forget friendly competition, British Airways went full villain mode with a plot straight out of a corporate spy thriller. We’re talking BA staff pretending to be Virgin employees, digging through Virgin’s systems, planting fake news stories, and handing out cheeky upgrades. It was all part of a full-on campaign to crush Virgin Atlantic before it really took off. But Richard Bra...

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25:35

Babies Breathing Asbestos

Business and a Brew ·

2025/08/04

Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder used to be a household staple, white, fluffy, and trusted since 1894. But behind the sweet-smelling clouds was a problem that definitely didn’t belong near babies (or anyone, really): asbestos. Despite evidence dating back to the 1950s showing traces of asbestos in their talc products, the brand kept things squeaky clean on the outside and carried on marketing it as totally safe. Fast forward to thousands of lawsuits, billions in payouts, and a full-blown P...

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15:56

Ford, the Car Brand You Can Trust?

Business and a Brew ·

2025/07/28

The Ford Pinto was meant to be the Beetle’s cooler, cheaper cousin, quick to market, easy on the wallet, and built in just two years. What could possibly go wrong? Well… quite a bit, actually. This little car had one big problem. If you got rear-ended, the fuel tank could turn your commute into a bonfire. Between 1970 and 1976, it was linked to dozens of deaths and injuries, with some estimates suggesting up to 900 fatalities. And Ford? They did the maths and figured paying off lawsuits was c...

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14:02

The Fall of an Empire

Business and a Brew ·

2025/07/21

Toys R Us went from every kid’s dream destination to a cautionary tale of how not to run a retail empire. Founded in 1948 by Charles Lazarus, it started as a baby store before becoming the go-to big box toy retailer. For decades, it dominated the US toy market and felt completely untouchable. Then the internet showed up. By 2000, instead of building their own e-commerce game, they struck a deal with Amazon to be the exclusive toy supplier. Sounds clever, but Amazon let in other sellers anyway...

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30:38

Is Organic What You Think It Is?

Business and a Brew ·

2025/07/14

Organic labels might look all wholesome and earthy on the shelf, but behind the scenes, it’s a chaotic cocktail of red tape, sky-high fees, and some seriously eyebrow-raising rules. This one’s about two friends running a cracking little tea and coffee business. They’re sourcing responsibly, passing independent tests, and doing everything by the book... except getting that fancy Soil Association stamp. Despite ticking all the organic boxes, they faced a £20,000 fine simply for using the word o...

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14:25

McCafe, Karma That Burns

Business and a Brew ·

2025/07/07

Stella Liebeck’s coffee burn case has been the butt of jokes for decades, but the real story? It’s anything but a punchline. Back in 1992, 79-year-old Stella spilled a cup of McDonald’s coffee in her lap. Sounds minor, right? Except the coffee was served at a ridiculous 180 to 190°F and caused third-degree burns that left her needing skin grafts and two years of treatment. She asked McDonald’s for $20,000 to cover her medical bills. They said no. Turns out, they knew their coffee was dangerou...

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49 results

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