About This Storm

The banking crash of 2007/8 was the most severe global financial crisis since the Great Depression, but what was it like to be on the inside of it? Mike Lever was there. Sitting around war tables, trying to rebuild a bank - Northern Rock - that was on its knees. At the same time, Mike and his wife were living with repeated rounds of failed IVF, and whilst taking a shower one Saturd

Lee Fitzpatrick started his first company aged 17, but by 23 his award winning business was insolvent, and he was on the hook for £100k. That kicked off an amazing entrepreneurial journey that has seen Lee start and run a property company, protein bar brand, gym, digital agency and now a hugely successful regenerative strategy and marketing company. This conversation is deep, thou

Abandoning ideas of journalism and uni, Barry Fearn started work at 16 in the .com Boom. He was lucky enough to be given opportunities in almost every business department before a move into Digital Marketing and Media proved to be his calling. Barry has run Media and Marketing agencies up and down the UK ever since, and has been the Managing Director of internationally award winnin

Donnie Maclean is pathologically tenacious, he will literally never give up. Whether that's in an endurance race, hitting 7kms on a space hopper, or the dogged pursuit to make his food business - Eat Balanced - successful. Donnie's business journey has been a true rollercoaster, from winning his first contract and securing an exceptional manufacturing partner, to losing his house a

Justine Mitchell has been a successful lawyer, property developer and spa founder, she co-owned Dundee United Football Club, and is now an in-demand business consultant. But her successful career and family life became headline news when her husband was killed in a motorbike accident, three days before her dad died of Cancer. Justine is incredibly honest and open in this powerful c

Thor Holt is a Performance Coach, Non Exec Director and Podcast Host. When I ask him to define success he replies “Having a laugh. Because life is too short not to have a laugh with your clients.”Humour is one of the bedrocks in life for Thor, who has also been known to tread the boards of a comedy club or two.Wow, does this conversation cover a lot of topics - plant medicine,

Richard Simpson has been at Tayburn - the renowned powerhouse of a brand and design agency - for over 15 years. In that time he’s ascended from Head of Business Development to co-owner and Managing Director, in a journey of major ups and downs.Our conversation is pretty awesome, we cover wild challenges, huge wins and the time he came exceptionally close to quitting. The ways he

Let’s be honest, covid, lockdowns, 2020 was not a brilliant year and the first six months were no different for Kaye Moors, Managing Director of Drum. After months of home schooling the summer holidays couldn’t have come soon enough, but two days in Kaye had a massive brain hemorrhage, which would eventually lead to a second, months in hospital and years of rehab. How do you re

Welcome to Season 2 of About This Storm! I am delighted to welcome another amazing selection of guests, everyone a business owner, leader, or founder, each with their own challenging story. Everyone is once again, incredibly honest, sharing their lived wisdom and bags of positivity - despite everything they've been through. Enjoy!

David didn’t found the first agency he started running, and in his own words, he inherited quite the mess. But if failure breeds success he’s the proof. He’s just completed a successful M&A and grown his agency - After Digital - to run with a recurring revenue rate of 70%. We had such a load of fun recording this conversation because David is as funny as he is eloquent ab