FastForward
FastForward answers the questions that keep entrepreneurs awake at night. Hosted by Patricia Keating, programme director at Tech Manchester, this podcast features interviews with experts covering everything you need to know about starting a business including; branding, marketing, mentoring, funding and investment, recruitment and everything in between. Founders also share their experiences of startup life. Packed with tips and advice FastForward gives you all you need turn your business ideas into reality.
Episodes
January 19, 2021 • 53 mins
Crisis spawns Necessity. Necessity fuels Innovation. McKinsey & Co have reported that the pandemic response is that Companies are deprioritizing innovation to concentrate on four things: shoring up their core business, pursuing known opportunity spaces, conserving cash and minimizing risk,
However in past crises, companies that invested in innovation delivered superior growth and performance postcrisis.
Mark as Played
January 12, 2021 • 51 mins
Ian Livingstone CBE is calling for schools to embrace games-based learning and digital creativity to help address the question of the growing skills gap facing employers.
Ian has had a hugely successful career built on his passion for games and gamebooks.
Ian has had a hugely successful career built on his passion for games and gamebooks.
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January 5, 2021 • 41 mins
2020 was one of the most challenging many of us will face in our lifetime. Whilst a little different, Christmas typically allows time to reflect and restore our energy levels with family .
Batteries re-charged, how do we look forward to 2021 with positivity?
New Lockdown measures announced last night (5th Jan 2020) means we need to dig deep.
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December 23, 2020 • 45 mins
Modern digital marketing is truly a maze. How do we navigate this?
There are cutting edge changes in algorithms and fast paced roll out tactics which will make your head spin. Then the strategic copycat nature of the wider social media industry where TikTok style features pop up as Reels in Instagram and so forth.
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December 15, 2020 • 43 mins
If there’s one positive to come of this year it’s that there’s been an eCommerce explosion with 61% of Brits admitting to shopping more online during lockdown. (*Retail Times)
But currently up to 40 per cent of clothing bought online is returned, compared with 5 to 10 per cent of in-store purchases.
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111: 111: From Plant-based Plugs to Compostable Cases: Why more CEOs need to Lead the Eco Revolution
December 8, 2020 • 56 mins
In 2012 Jolyon Bennett risked his home to launch his vision: a sustainable mobile phone accessories business. Some nail-biting moments followed but Jolyon's was handed a big break by John Lewis, just weeks before his money ran out.
John Lewis sold 2,000 units in the first week and Juice became the fastest selling brand they had ever launched.
Juice is now on a mission to not only ensure his company is manufa...
John Lewis sold 2,000 units in the first week and Juice became the fastest selling brand they had ever launched.
Juice is now on a mission to not only ensure his company is manufa...
Mark as Played
December 1, 2020 • 43 mins
Sixteen years ago Gayle Carpenter took a risk. She left the security and support of full-time employment as a design director to start her own creative and brand agency.
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November 24, 2020 • 38 mins
Have you ever been hit with expensive transaction fees while using your card abroad? Having been burned on holiday by expensive card transaction charges the founders of Currensea decided there had to be a more convenient product.
The former investment bankers launched their new venture in January 2020, a perfect time, when many of us are planning annual holidays, to launch a product to cut the cost of transactions ab...
The former investment bankers launched their new venture in January 2020, a perfect time, when many of us are planning annual holidays, to launch a product to cut the cost of transactions ab...
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November 17, 2020 • 42 mins
Most founders have experienced failure, or will do so at some point in their journey. As Samuel Beckett wrote in Westward Ho: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
Currently around 60% of new businesses fail within their first few years and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to send business failure rates sky rocketing.
Currently around 60% of new businesses fail within their first few years and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to send business failure rates sky rocketing.
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November 10, 2020 • 43 mins
If you want someone at the helm to help navigate your SME through an economic storm, then Catherine Birkett CFO of Go Cardless is certainly someone you would want on board your ship.
She's helped businesses though two recessions, guided a telecoms company though the dot-com crash in 2000 and steered the disruptive technology fintech GoCardless through the highly competitive payments industry.
In this episode...
She's helped businesses though two recessions, guided a telecoms company though the dot-com crash in 2000 and steered the disruptive technology fintech GoCardless through the highly competitive payments industry.
In this episode...
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November 3, 2020 • 42 mins
Running a business during a global health crisis is presenting business leaders with huge continuity challenges; making sure staff are safe, securing financial sustainability, assessing the resilience of supply chains and reinforcing crucial systems to support unprecedented levels of remote working.
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October 27, 2020 • 60 mins
Whether you are looking to expand your team or applying for a new job, there is an expectation that the recruitment process is fair.
But what happens when the final hiring decision is distorted by unconscious bias? Could you be biased without even realising it?
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October 20, 2020 • 50 mins
In 2012, Mark Wright landed in UK from his native Australia with a passion for business and just £172. Fast forward to today and Mark is now an award-winning, influential entrepreneur and self-taught digital marketing specialist.
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October 13, 2020 • 36 mins
According to a recent report by O2, the Covid-19 lockdown gave rise to around 200,000 new businesses. We know that crises give rise to unique conditions that fuel innovators to create rapid, impactful solutions.
That is certainly true of Valerie and Noel Moran. The couple founded Prepaid Financial Services in 2008, during the height of the last recession. At the time no one believed it would work. But with bootstrapp...
That is certainly true of Valerie and Noel Moran. The couple founded Prepaid Financial Services in 2008, during the height of the last recession. At the time no one believed it would work. But with bootstrapp...
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October 6, 2020 • 46 mins
When looking for furniture for her first apartment Deirdre McGettrick found it hard to look for specific items. Like so many founders she thought there had to be a better way.
So, in Deirdre left the corporate world behind to enter the highly competitive £25 billion furniture and homewares market and Ufurnish.com was born.
The business is now a team of 13, is partnered with more than 100 retailers including...
So, in Deirdre left the corporate world behind to enter the highly competitive £25 billion furniture and homewares market and Ufurnish.com was born.
The business is now a team of 13, is partnered with more than 100 retailers including...
Mark as Played
September 29, 2020 • 38 mins
SMEs are the engine of the economy. They account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation. In a post-Covid world SMEs are fundamental to getting the economy back on track.
OakNorth is a multi-billion dollar global fintech focused on unlocking the potential in SME lending. It understands the importance of supporting small and medium businesses through the pan...
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September 22, 2020 • 59 mins
For this special 100th episode of FastForward we speak to Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council.
We have heard stories from many visionary entrepreneurs and leaders on this podcast, but what does it take to lead an entire city? And just how do you take a city that's in economic collapse and transform it into the most livable city in the UK? (Economist Global Livability Index 2019)
Sir Richard ...
We have heard stories from many visionary entrepreneurs and leaders on this podcast, but what does it take to lead an entire city? And just how do you take a city that's in economic collapse and transform it into the most livable city in the UK? (Economist Global Livability Index 2019)
Sir Richard ...
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September 15, 2020 • 35 mins
Business opportunities can appear anywhere at any time. But it’s one thing to spot an opportunity and another to take advantage of it and work to turn it into a success.
When the government announced the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme in August 2020, Michael Lawes and Jordan Ryan Madeley, founders of Sancus Group, saw an opportunity to use their already-developed platform to make a positive difference.
Seizing...
When the government announced the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme in August 2020, Michael Lawes and Jordan Ryan Madeley, founders of Sancus Group, saw an opportunity to use their already-developed platform to make a positive difference.
Seizing...
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September 8, 2020 • 51 mins
If there was ever proof of the power of a positive mindset, Susan Morrice is it. She’s been on an incredible journey that’s taken her from Belfast to Belize, where she became the first person to discover oil, proving all the major oil industries wrong. They’d even spent $400 million in the process.
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September 1, 2020 • 51 mins
Rachel Morgan Trimmer is an incredibly successful entrepreneur. She’s been in business for more than 15 years, built a global travel company and is a specialist career coach. Yet sometimes just getting though each day can be tough.
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