The Founder's Room

Ryan Taylor interviews Scott Hilton of Box Property Management in Bristol about property management versus high street letting agents, criticising high fees like renewal charges and high staff turnover, and arguing landlords are shifting toward independent agencies for better service and clearer flat-rate pricing.They discuss pressures on landlords from tax and compliance, including Section 24 mortgage interest restrictions, and how costs often pass to tenants. Scott outlines key changes expected with the Renters’ Rights Bill from 1 May 2026, including removal of Section 21 and fixed-term tenancies, and why student HMOs and international students may be most disrupted, while purpose-built student accommodation is exempt. The conversation covers buy-to-let opportunities amid landlord exits, corporate landlord risks, supported living via intermediaries, using AI in operations, and reflections on balancing business growth with stress and family life.00:00 Introduction02:39 Why Not High Street Agents05:29 Landlords Feeling the Squeeze06:27 Section 24 Explained10:03 Market Shifts and Opportunities14:27 Is Buy to Let Dead17:36 Avoid Leasing to Councils21:43 Renters Rights Bill Overview23:32 Student Lets Under New Rules27:11 What the Bill Gets Right29:46 Landlords Forced to Adapt30:25 Registers and Ombudsman Plans33:05 Landlords vs Tenant Bias35:31 Anti Enterprise and Tax Burden38:41 VAT and Pubs Economics41:54 AI in Property Management44:01 Prompt Built SaaS and AI Agents46:44 Quickfire and Business Goals51:56 Ancient Egypt Rabbit Hole54:18 Lifestyle Business Reflection

Ryan Taylor is joined by Sue Wesby who explains her family-run vehicle wrapping/signage company (about £700k turnover) and why they’ve stayed boutique, while diversifying into property and hands-on mentoring. She outlines her property journey - three flips, two held as Airbnbs, and plans to buy and hold in the Northeast - plus her deal metrics (recovering most capital, location, and value-add).Sue shares an American-style selling approach using staging and open days to sell quickly, critiques estate agents, and touches on awards for credibility. They discuss property education pitfalls, cashflow stress, trades, valuers, and the host’s preference for supported/social housing as a hands-off model.00:00 Intro00:26 Building Business Community01:02 Inside the Signage Business02:55 Staying Boutique on Purpose03:57 Multiple Income Streams04:47 Property Portfolio Breakdown06:25 Deal Metrics That Matter07:57 Staging and Open Days10:19 Selling Without Agents13:01 Creating a Founder WhatsApp16:57 Awards and Credibility17:50 Roles in the Family Business19:44 Business First vs Property20:33 Property Education Reality Check22:42 Valuations and Bridging Risks24:18 Mastermind Lessons Learned25:35 Seminar Sales Psychology27:11 Pivot to Supported Housing28:09 Hands Off Deal Flow30:38 Yields and Unicorn Rents31:56 Raising Standards in HMOs34:59 Providers and Compliance Network37:40 Buy to Order Strategy39:37 Using AI Tools40:13 Building Business Community44:20 Quick Fire Round45:47 Generational Wealth Debate50:07 Final Reflections and Outro

Ryan Taylor interviews Oliver James of Property Branding about improving podcast conversations by starting naturally, then focusing on practical business issues. Oliver explains his biggest current challenge is filtering inbound demand to choose the right long-term property clients and partners, especially developers, rather than chasing all revenue.Oliver speaks about how branding and marketing build credibility and can drive earlier, higher-value sales on developments, including a four-home scheme sold four months before completion and increasing GDV by £250,000. Oliver shares his business journey from redundancy, a first £110 logo via networking, year-one revenue of £28k, and consistent 50% annual growth over nearly seven years. They discuss adapting to AI while keeping human vision and high-touch outreach, expansion opportunities in the UAE, crypto fraud on Coinbase, and Oliver’s Investor Stream product aimed at helping property businesses attract investors (often ~£250k in ~3 months).00:00 Start01:48 Biggest Business Problem05:04 Ideal Client Avatar08:26 Branding ROI Case Study11:11 Branding Is Not Luxury13:36 Early Growth Story17:00 Networking and Old School Outreach20:08 Vision Growth and AI24:22 Robots and Early Adoption25:42 Neuralink Brain Chip28:33 Bitcoin Price You Deserve32:10 Building Custom Chatbots40:45 Wrap Up And Investor Stream42:41 Property Income Reality

Ryan Taylor interviews fashion founder Nic Stoddart about building her womenswear brand Tiempo. Nic shares how she left her job after encouragement and financial backing from her mum, and explains her 10-year fashion background, including learning the “full picture” of running a brand at Boohoo. She contrasts property’s lumpy returns with Tiempo’s consistent sales, noting average order value around £250 and £20–25k monthly revenue, and says she reinvests everything while supporting herself through consulting.Nic discusses when fashion expertise matters, overseas manufacturing and whether to visit suppliers, sourcing via agents, and why Shein and Temu win on direct-to-consumer scale despite concerns about standards. She covers selective influencer gifting, avoiding frequent discounting, lessons from launching too many SKUs, scaling challenges like cash flow and first hires, and using AI tools like Newarc for design visualization.Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:35 Property vs Ecommerce Cashflow05:05 Fashion Career And Boohoo Lessons08:08 Do You Need Design Skills?11:24 Overseas Manufacturing Reality13:09 Negotiating And Sourcing Suppliers16:51 Year One Numbers And Brand Identity17:41 Customer Avatar And Community19:28 Long Term Vision No Investors21:42 Scaling Problems Cashflow And Hiring25:19 Why Fast Fashion Is Struggling29:10 Why Shein Wins Shipping32:38 Influencers Done Right37:36 Discounting Strategy39:51 Newsletters and Community45:39 AI Tools for Fashion49:17 Quickfire Business Takes56:03 Wrap Up

Ryan Taylor is joined by Marc Bird, explains his vending and gaming machine business, run with partner Alex, including their complementary sales strengths, lead sources (website and Google ads) and the continued value of door knocking. He shares key numbers and realities of the trade: over 1,000 venues and 1,500 machines across the UK, small team structure, six-figure revenue, and how product mix drives performance, with male pills in toilet vending machines selling strongly while ladies products often do not.Marc recounts his earlier involvement with “joke poker” machines, legal action and restarting via site-finding commissions, then discusses industry pressures, testing card readers to boost takings, and property investing as a long-term plan after lockdown exposed business vulnerability.Chapters:00:00 Introduction02:12 Back To Basics Outreach03:38 When Partnerships Break05:59 Inside The Machines Business08:46 How It All Started09:59 Gambling Crackdown And Court13:04 Starting Again With Pub Smart16:02 Vending Economics And Deals17:39 Pubs Decline And Operations20:57 Card Readers Challenges21:39 Innovation And Product Tests22:43 What Sells In Pubs24:14 Exit Plan Into Property25:21 Property Strategies Compared28:15 Lockdown Wake Up Call33:25 AI And Marketing Outreach36:11 Coffee Points And Wrap Up37:28 Brands Must Evolve

Ryan Taylor sits down with Shyheim Prince, founder of High Living Estates, a Midlands-based property investment agency aiming to become a global investment partner. Shyheim discusses being diagnosed with ADHD and autism, how early trauma and school struggles shaped his focus and creativity, and his path from a fashion background and 14 years at Boohoo in logistics efficiency to building a property business after leaving secure a job. They compare prioritising cashflow and client relationships versus tying up capital in developments, debate the value of property courses and networks, and explore loneliness in entrepreneurship and the importance of community and surrounding yourself with smarter people. Shyheim shares current challenges around scaling systems and processes, ideas for automation and AI tools, hiring lessons, networking opportunities in Dubai, and where to follow High Living Estates online.Chapters:00:00 ADHD and Autism Talk00:52 School Struggles and Trauma02:22 From Fashion to Logistics03:37 Meet Shy and High Living04:27 Cashflow Versus Ownership08:03 Property Courses Reality Check13:49 Growth Mindset and Circle20:11 Dubai Networking and Plans26:27 Building Value Through Connections27:38 Personal Growth Shift29:06 Networking Creates Deals31:57 What The Business Does33:11 Vision For Global Scale33:57 Scaling Pains And Ops36:30 Automation And AI Tools41:45 Org Chart Hiring Mindset43:09 Quickfire Team And Culture45:58 AI Models And Neuralink51:51 Coffee Picks And Wrap Up54:03 Portfolio Legacy Reflection

Lee Thompson discusses his two property businesses: Your Property Centre (sales, lettings and management across Greater Manchester) and Thompson Estates, a sister company focused solely on Tameside to build a community-based estate agency. He explains the strategy behind keeping Thompson Estates hyper-local, including plans to support a local Ashton hospice by donating a percentage of fees in the deceased person’s name, aiming to provide a more respectful, people-first service and improve the industry’s reputation.The conversation covers managing properties at distance, why many landlords chase revenue, and Lee’s view that the Renters’ Rights Bill is being overhyped—arguing most processes already exist, with key changes around Section 21 removal and a shift to periodic tenancies. He also discusses tenant protections, slow eviction timelines, the tenant fee ban’s drawbacks, lead follow-up, marketing experiments, and lessons on business growth.Chapters:00:00 Meet Lee Thompson02:49 Community First Model03:19 Estate Agents Reputation06:39 Managing Far Away Lets08:19 Renters Reform Bill11:59 Tenant Fees Debate13:20 Do Tenants Have Too Much Power16:09 Landlord Horror Story19:04 Your Property Centre Explained24:41 From KFC To Lettings26:44 Acquisitions Versus Organic33:50 Why A Baby Scan Clinic34:43 Impulse Buying Mindset34:58 Baby Scan Upsells36:06 Follow Up Wins Deals38:53 Marketing and Paid Ads41:09 Upselling Existing Clients44:42 Targeting Landlords Smartly45:54 Building Apps With AI54:12 Renter Reform Challenges57:09 Rent Reviews and Renewals01:00:08 Quick Fire Wrap Up01:02:52 Final Thoughts and Contact

Ryan Bevan, co-founder of House to Home Supported Housing, explains how the CIC grew with steady organic growth to around 540 bed spaces and 98% occupancy, providing low-level supported accommodation and weekly in-person support to help residents build skills and move into their own tenancies and employment. He shares his background in finance, property acquisitions for supported accommodation, and HMO sales, and details House to Home’s landlord lease model (typically five years), benefits and responsibilities, and why “guaranteed” rent and 20-year leases are often misunderstood due to registered provider funding and legislative risk.The conversation covers rising sector standards, Awaab’s Law on damp and mould response times, Article 4 planning restrictions, referral conversion challenges, the shortage of move-on housing, operational systems (Rematch and COHO), future hiring, and using tech to improve workflows.Chapters:00:00 Meet Ryan And House To Home00:45 Early Career And Property Blueprint06:32 Supported Housing Model Explained07:36 Landlord Benefits And Real Risks09:04 Raising Standards And Awaabs Law13:00 Growth Plans Article 4 And Move On Homes16:11 Move On Housing Crisis And Solutions20:30 HMO Economics And Market Pressures24:57 Why 20 Year Leases Fail27:11 Biggest Challenges Referrals And Fit28:17 Referrals Versus Move Ins30:07 Gender Safety Considerations31:18 Tenant Communication Systems32:47 Improving Resident Community34:17 Hiring For Scale35:33 CRMs And Maintenance Tools37:45 AI Built Workflow Ideas41:45 Growth Pace And Operations43:36 Business Risks And Moats44:49 Founder Strengths And Partnership47:37 Quick Fire Lessons51:26 Coffee Picks And Wrap Up

Today we interview Aston Haslam - A 28-year-old Manchester-based property investor discusses his background in e-commerce and building a property portfolio focused on social housing and supported living, plus his property community, the Members Club. He explains how the problems of not knowing what’s happening inside managed properties led to creating DAXOME, a hardware-and-software platform using in-home sensors, CCTV and AI to monitor humidity, safety and behavioural patterns, trigger alerts, and help prevent issues like damp and mold, leaks, and excessive heating use.The episode covers DAXOME’s rollout in around 15 houses, plans for streamlined installation and manufacturing, the target market of social and supported living providers, pricing (about £900+ install and £50/month), scaling challenges around installation cost and grants, bootstrapping with a sweat-equity build, and the founders’ goal to sell the company within 3 to 5 years.Chapters:00:00 Meet the Founder00:44 Property Pain Points02:46 What DAXOME Does04:08 Alerts and Compliance06:28 Five Year Exit Plan07:39 AI Bubble and Moats09:02 Launch and Testing10:51 Hardware Scaling Vision13:04 Target Market and Niching14:35 Pricing and Revenue Model18:32 Bootstrapping and Team21:09 Private Resi Use Cases24:26 How the Partners Met26:04 Three Partner Skill Split27:55 Why Partners Beat Solo29:51 Fast Decisions Need Balance31:52 Two Growth Needle Movers32:19 Grants And Install Costs33:30 Personal Brand Awareness36:09 Scaling Installs With Vans39:47 Funding Strategy And Order Book41:46 Quickfire Lessons And Wrap