Screw It Just DO It with Alex Chisnall
by Alex Chisnall
Screw It Just DO It is the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business builders who are ready to stop waiting and start building.Hosted by Alex Chisnall, the show features honest conversations with people who’ve faced uncertainty, taken risks and built businesses that matter — from kitchen-table side projects to global brands and billion-pound companies.Real stories. Real decisions. Real progress.New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.
Episodes
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She Spent 2 Years Winning the Deal. Then Walked Away in 3 Months | Yulia Rorstrom
Yulia Rorstrom spent two years securing one of Duck & Dry's biggest opportunities: a partnership with Primark, a 3,000 sq ft salon in Birmingham and national media attention. Three months after opening, she knew it wasn't working. So she walked away. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit...
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Everyone Told Him Not to Do It. He Did It Anyway | Simon Leslie
Everyone told him not to do it. He did it anyway. After 28 years building Ink, Simon Leslie found himself at a crossroads. Having steered the business through COVID, he realised something had changed. The passion that had driven him for nearly three decades was no longer there. He didn't have a...
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From Dragons' Den to Olympic Gold: How Chris Rea Built Y1
What does it take to turn a university side hustle into a multi-million-pound sports brand used by Olympic champions? Chris Rea started out selling onesies from his student bedroom. Fourteen years later, he and his co-founder Tom have built Y1 into an international hockey brand, with athletes...
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His Idea Was 30 Years Too Early | Charles Black
Charles Black had an idea as a teenager that seemed almost impossible. He wanted to put cameras in space and broadcast live views of Earth for everyone to see. The problem? It was around 1990. There was no consumer internet, no streaming technology, broadcasting required government licences, and...
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He Was Three Feet From Gold. Then Everything Changed | Jonny Plein
Jonny Plein left a comfortable corporate career in his mid-twenties and went from earning around £50,000 to £60,000 a year to paying himself £500 a month to build his first startup. That business, Pouch, went on Dragon's Den, received offers from all five Dragons and was eventually acquired. But...
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She Sold Everything and Started Again | Sabrina Stocker
Sabrina Stocker realised she wasn't afraid of hard work. She was simply working hard at the wrong thing. After losing her tennis-events business during lockdown, Sabrina found herself running a new PR company from her local coffee shop. Then she realised: if she could work from there, she could...
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She Lost a Fortune. Then Started Again | Kim Antoniou
Kim Antoniou has built businesses, lost a fortune, started again and spent years developing technology that didn't exist when she first had the idea. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Kim shares the story behind Auris Tech and Fonetti, the reading platform using voice technology to help...
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He Got the Last Thing He Wanted. It Changed His Life | Jay Morton
Jay Morton wanted Air Troop when he joined the SAS. Instead, he was sent to Mountain Troop. It was the last posting he wanted and, at the time, he was gutted. Looking back, that unwanted decision became one of the defining moments of his life. Mountain Troop introduced Jay to climbing…
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The Brothers Who Built EasyA From Nothing to 1.3 Million Users
They had the careers most people dream about. Then they moved back in with their parents. Dom and Phil Kwok had followed the conventional path through top universities and prestigious careers in law and finance. Then they walked away. They moved back home, built the first version of EasyA from...
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She Hated the Cold. Then She Built a Business Around It | Laura Fullerton
Laura Fullerton hated being cold. Then she discovered thousands of people converting chest freezers into DIY ice baths because the product they wanted simply didn't exist. That was her Screw It Just DO It moment. Despite never having built hardware or software before, Laura decided: “I've got to...
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50 Years in Music, Global E-Commerce & Building a £60M+ Retail Empire
What does more than 50 years in business teach you about knowing when to grow, when to pivot and when to walk away? In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, I sit down with Brad Aspess MBE, founder of Rarewaves, whose career has taken him from the music industry to high-street retail and…
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Thinking About It Isn’t Doing It | Staz Stazicker
Thinking about doing something isn't doing it. Planning it isn't doing it. Talking about it isn't doing it. Eventually, you have to do the thing.In this Thursday Founder Classic episode of Screw It Just DO It, Antony “Staz” Stazicker, former Special Forces operator and co-founder of ThruDark,...
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From a £2.30 Sale to a Billion-Dollar Business
From a £2.30 first insurance policy to building a billion-dollar business. Sten Saar started his first business at just 17 in Estonia. By 21, he had a team of 22 and a business generating around $1 million in revenue. Alongside the success came painful failures. After putting money into projects...
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He Survived an IED. Then Had to Start Again | Steve McCulley
When your old life disappears overnight, what do you build next? In this Thursday Founder Classic episode of Screw It Just DO It, former Royal Marines officer Steve McCulley shares the powerful story of surviving a targeted IED blast in Afghanistan and rebuilding his entire life from scratch.…
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He Built an £80M Business After Walking Away From His First Idea | Ed Klinger
How do you know when to abandon the thing that's working to bet everything on something much bigger?In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Ed Klinger shares the extraordinary, unfiltered story of how he built Flock from a university drone project to an £80 million acquisition by Admiral.After…
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Why George Kruis Walked Away From Rugby at 32
Would you walk away from the peak of your career while you were still winning?In this Thursday Founder Classic episode of Screw It Just DO It, former England and British & Irish Lions rugby star George Kruis shares why he made the "ballsy call" to retire at age 32 to go all-in on his wellness...
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She Started GoHenry at 47. Then Came 70 Rejections
What happens when you decide to jump off a cliff and start a business at 47 as a single mother of two?In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Louise Hill, Co-founder of GoHenry, shares the incredible story of turning a simple parenting headache—her kids spending all her money on iTunes—into a...
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He Failed His Dream at 17. Then Built a Business From £60K | Stephen Howarth
What does it take to walk away from a 21 year Royal Marines career and bet everything on a business you know almost nothing about? Stephen Howarth, co founder of Jöttnar, shares the story of failing his dream at 17, deliberately toughening himself up at sea, and eventually earning his place in…
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He Started With 25 Dumbbells. Now He's Sold to 100,000 Customers
Kareem Raslan went from working in banking to building a global e-commerce business serving over 100,000 customers across 30 countries. In this episode, Kareem shares how he and his co-founder started by selling just 25 pairs of adjustable dumbbells from his parents’ garage during COVID, scaled...
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They Gave Up Everything to Build the World's Fastest Bike | The Athertons
They were already at the top of their sport. Then they removed the safety net. The Athertons had spent decades becoming one of mountain biking's most successful families. But rather than simply continuing with the security of a global bike sponsor, they took an enormous risk: build their own....
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They Told Me My Football Career Was Over
At 17 years old, Thomas Robson-Kanu was told his football career might be over.Instead of accepting it, he researched natural nutrition with his father, created a raw turmeric formula, and went on to play in the Premier League and represent Wales at Euro 2016.When customers started reporting...
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It Was A Brand Before It Was A Business | Founder Classic
Before Deliciously Ella became one of the UK's best-known wellness brands, it was simply a community. In this Founder Classic, Matthew Mills, CEO and co-founder of Deliciously Ella alongside Ella Mills, explains why building trust came before building products—and how putting the community first...
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Why Most Founders Pivot Before They Succeed
Everyone is talking about AI. But this conversation isn't really about AI. It's about something far more valuable. How founders spot opportunities. How they recover from failure. Why they pivot. And why the best entrepreneurs don't fall in love with their solution—they fall in love with solving a...
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Rock Bottom Became the Best Day of My Life | Founder Classic
Dom McGregor helped build Social Chain into one of the UK's most talked-about businesses. Behind the success, he was struggling. In this Founder Classic, Dom opens up about addiction, hitting rock bottom, rebuilding his life and why the hardest day he ever experienced ultimately became the most...
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"Why Don't We Just Do It?" The Conversation That Changed Everything
Charlotte Lee and Olivia Bishop didn't set out to build a swimwear brand—they were simply frustrated customers. After struggling to find stylish, high-quality swimwear without paying expensive shipping and import duties, one simple question changed everything: "Why don't we just do it?" In this...
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Why I Walked Away From a £1m-a-Year Career | Founder Classic
Most people would never walk away from a secure, high-paying career.Piers Linney did exactly that.In this Founder Classic, Piers shares why he left investment banking to become an entrepreneur, how Richard Branson influenced one of the biggest decisions of his life, and why backing yourself is...
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The Conversation That Changed How I See Life
Pete has spent decades helping elite athletes, entrepreneurs and business leaders perform at their best.But this conversation isn't about performance. It's about grief.It's about identity.It's about what happens when life forces you to stop.After losing his wife Hannah, Pete realised he'd spent...
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The Day Dan Murray-Serter Walked Away From Success | Founder Classic
From the outside, Dan Murray-Serter had everything: awards, recognition, and a fast-growing startup. He was being invited to Buckingham Palace every couple of months. His company had just been nominated for Best Mobile Company in Europe. Behind the scenes, he knew he was building the wrong life.…
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Everyone Wrote Me Off... Here's What Changed Everything | Adam Stott
Adam Stott left school with one GCSE. He was told, repeatedly, that he was never going to achieve anything. His dad lost everything when Adam was ten, and they moved from a six-bedroom house and private school to living behind a transport café, with his mum getting up at 4:30am every day to keep…
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Founder Playbook: What Investors Really Look For | Luke Smith, Molten Ventures
Most founders never get told what investors are actually looking for. In the first episode of the Screw It Just DO It Founder Playbook, Luke Smith from Molten Ventures answers the question founders actually want answered. What separates someone with a great idea from someone who builds something...
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I Thought My Time Had Gone... Then We Built One of the UK’s Fastest-Growing Brands
Gyve Safavi spent years building brands inside some of the world’s biggest companies before convincing himself he had missed his opportunity to become an entrepreneur. Then everything changed. This episode is not simply about building a toothbrush company. It is about leaving corporate…
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Simon Squibb: Turn Your WANT Into a NEED | Founder Classics
Most people never start because they want something. Simon Squibb says that is the problem. Wanting is not enough. You have to need it. In this Founder Classic episode of Screw It Just DO It, Simon explains the single mindset shift that has driven every successful business he has built, invested...
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My Wife Gave Me One Year... We Built a Unicorn
Steven Mendel built ManyPets from an idea into one of Europe's leading pet insurance businesses. But this episode isn't about insurance. It's about finally backing yourself. After years building successful businesses inside large organisations, one conversation with his wife changed everything.…
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The Moment Jim Cregan Decided to Start Jimmy’s Iced Coffee
Jim Cregan was a labourer. He was hosting festival stages dressed as a mermaid. He had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. Then he went to Australia, walked into a petrol station hungover, and found a ready-to-drink iced coffee. That was the moment. In this Founder Classic episode of...
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Everyone Said No. She Built A Brand That Sold 20 Years Later.
Alla Ouvarova didn't have experience in food. She didn't have investors lining up. She didn't even have an existing category to enter. Alongside co-founder Anna, she launched Two Chicks and created the liquid egg white category in the UK from scratch. In this episode of Screw It Just DO It, Alla...
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Comfort Is Slowly Killing You
Tommy Kelly spent years in the Royal Marines operating in some of the harshest environments on earth. But one lesson carried into business: Do hard things. This became a conversation around discomfort, resilience, burnout and learning to keep moving when life gets difficult. In this Bite-Sized...
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He Risked Everything At 47 To Build Yo! Sushi | Simon Woodroffe OBE
Simon Woodroffe left school at 16. He got arrested at 19. He built stages for rock bands, sold TV rights, and spent decades figuring out how the world worked. Then at 47, with no restaurant experience, he put his entire life savings on the line and opened Yo! Sushi. It changed everything. In this...
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Before The Billion-Euro Exit: Julian Hearn on Building Huel
This episode was recorded when Huel was four years old and doing £14 million in revenue. You are listening to it knowing what it eventually became. Julian Hearn started Huel with a simple goal: find 1,000 people willing to pay £45 a month for a nutritionally complete food. Half a million pounds a...
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The Idea I Couldn't Ignore
Joe Woodward had what most people would call a dream job. Chief Marketing Officer for the Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai. Ten years building things in sport, music and entertainment. Then the pandemic hit, the rug came out from under him, and he moved home. He sat down to update his CV. He…
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The Moment We Bet Everything on One Idea
Raj Thiruchelvarajah was running a health and fitness business when his co-founder sent him a document that changed everything. It was an idea about wearable blood flow restriction technology. Within months, Raj had shut down his original company and gone all-in on Hydro. In this Bite-Sized…
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I'd Regret Not Giving It A Go
For 20 years Dominic Day knew exactly who he was. Professional rugby player. Wales international. Saracens. Bath. Then it stopped. No changing room. No match day. No structure. Just questions. Who am I now? Dad? Founder? Ex-player? In this conversation Dom talks about what it actually feels like...
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The One Thing You Need Before You Start a Business
Daniel Priestley started every one of his businesses on a credit card. No investor deck. No grant. No seed round. A mentor he shadowed, a sales muscle he built from scratch, and a clear-eyed read of where the economy was heading. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, I ask Daniel the...
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She Turned Food Waste Into A Skincare Brand That’s Helping Eczema Sufferers
Danielle Close didn’t just launch another skincare brand. After working with Charlotte Tilbury and seeing how little the beauty industry was doing around sustainability, she launched My Skin Feels — creating skincare from fermented food waste. What happened next surprised everyone. Customers...
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Time Is Borrowed | Leroy Kincaide
Leroy Kincaide has lived about five lives already. Undertaker at 17. Professional wrestler. WWE SmackDown. Writer. Director. But this episode isn't really about any of those things. It's about what happens when you see mortality up close at a young age — and how that one experience changes the…
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Why AI Is Forcing Founders To Rethink Everything
Roei Samuel built his first company at 21. Real Sport was a content creation toolkit for the sports industry — working with the Premier League, NBA and NFL — before being acquired by Gfinity in 2018. Then came the identity crisis. The "who am I now?" moment that every founder dreads. What…
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I Sat On My Talent For Years… Then This Happened
Eugene Amo-Dadzie has been fast his whole life. He knew it. His teachers knew it. His parents knew it. He just never actually tried. From the age of nine, Eugene was the fastest kid in the school. He grew up watching Usain Bolt and dreamed of the track. But running was always just a hobby —...
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Most Founders Are Getting AI Completely Wrong
Carly Meyers was a professional West End dancer. An injury ended her career with no plan B. That same no-plan-B mentality drove her from Apple business specialist to digital course builder to one of the most practical voices on AI implementation for founders in the UK. In this episode of Screw It...
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Most Founders Are Losing Money Without Realising It
If you're buying or selling internationally, there's a good chance you're losing money - without realising it. In this episode, Lawrence Bennett (UK Country Manager of WorldFirst) breaks down the hidden costs most founders overlook when scaling globally. We cover: - Why "convenience" is costing…
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Most Founders Are the Biggest Risk to Their Own Business
Kirk Miller spent five years as a plumber who hated every day of it. He was in shape. He had the body. He looked like he had it together. Internally, he was miserable. In 2010, he won the Men's Health cover model competition and used that moment as the proof he needed to jump. He quit with five...
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They Were Already Doing This… She Built The Business
Thousands of people were already building their own version. No brand. No product. No one selling to them. She saw it… and decided to build anyway. In this Bite-Sized episode of Screw It Just DO It, Laura Fullerton talks about the Screw It Just DO It moment that led her to build a hardware and...
About this show
Screw It Just DO It is the podcast for entrepreneurs, founders and business builders who are ready to stop waiting and start building.Hosted by Alex Chisnall, the show features honest conversations with people who’ve faced uncertainty, taken risks and built businesses that matter — from kitchen-table side projects to global brands and billion-pound companies.Real stories. Real decisions. Real progress.New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.
Hosted by
Alex Chisnall
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