Running a business is often romanticised online, but the reality is very different.

In this episode of the Built Not Born in Business podcast, Chris and Helen reflect on the biggest lessons they have learned from interviewing successful founders, including entrepreneurs behind major brands, technology companies and high growth businesses.

They discuss the real challenges business owners face behind the scenes, why solving genuine problems is the foundation of successful companies, and how hiring people who are better than you can completely transform a business.

The conversation also explores the “two way door” decision framework used by companies like Amazon, the power of learning from people further ahead in their journey, and why podcasting may become one of the most powerful marketing tools for businesses in the coming years.

If you run a business, want to start one, or are interested in how successful founders actually think, this episode shares honest insights that most people only learn the hard way.

In this episode:

• Why many businesses start backwards and how to fix it
• The real emotional reality of running a company
• Why successful founders hire people smarter than them
• What “standing on the shoulders of giants” really means
• The decision making framework that prevents costly mistakes
• Why podcasting could be a huge opportunity for businesses

Watch the full conversation and learn what building a real business actually looks like behind the scenes.

She shut down her business.

Lost a major client. Closed the office. Thought she was done with entrepreneurship.

Then one conversation changed everything.

In this episode, Kim Antoniou shares how personal tragedy, business collapse and relentless belief led her to build two mission-driven tech companies, including Fonetti, a platform transforming reading confidence for children across the UK.

We talk about:

- Losing everything and starting again

- Why most founders underestimate “how bloody hard it is”

- Building technology that didn’t exist yet

- Collecting voice data across the UK to train AI

- Landing Amazon partnerships

- Why autonomy is the most underrated skill in leadership

- And what it really feels like when children’s lives change because of your product

This is about grit, instinct, trust and building something that genuinely changes lives.

If you’re building something meaningful, this conversation will stay with you.

In this reflection episode of Built Not Born In Business, we unpack the biggest lessons from our recent conversation with Andrew Hulbert and what they mean for founders building real businesses today.

This isn’t a surface-level recap. It’s an honest discussion about what actually stuck with us and what we’re implementing inside our own businesses.

We talk about:

• Why long-form video is one of the most underused growth tools in modern marketing

• How one podcast episode can fuel weeks of content, lead generation and brand authority

• Why hiring the person, not the CV, could completely change your culture

• The reality of equity, ownership and rewarding the people who help you scale

• What your “island” looks like after exit and why most founders never stop to think about it

• The uncomfortable truth about happiness, money, health and what success actually feels like

This episode is for business owners, founders and leaders who are building something meaningful and want to think more deeply about how and why they’re doing it.

Real reflection from two founders still in the game.

Because success isn’t born.
It’s built.

What does building a $100m+ business really teach you about people, leadership and success?

In this episode of Built Not Born In Business, we sit down with Andrew Hulbert, founder of Pareto FM, to talk honestly about what it takes to build, scale and eventually step away from a business without losing yourself along the way.

This conversation isn’t about growth hacks or surface-level culture talk.

Andrew shares how building a people-first business from day one shaped everything that followed. From hiring without traditional interviews, adapting roles around real lives, and rewarding behaviour that actually matters, to the uncomfortable lessons that only come from responsibility, pressure and making mistakes at scale.

We also talk openly about:

• What founders often get wrong about “company culture”
• Why treating people like humans is a competitive advantage
• The leadership lessons that only come from losing money and trust
• What happens emotionally after exiting a business
• Why success doesn’t feel the way most people think it will
• How family, time and perspective change once the business is no longer running you.

This is a grounded, honest conversation for business owners who care about how they build, not just what they build.

What does it really take to build a £100m+ business in the real world?

In this episode of Built Not Born In Business, we sit down with Tobias Allen to talk honestly about the lessons that shaped his journey, including what he learned from working with Alex Hormozi and Simon Squibb.

Tobias breaks down the realities of building a high-growth business. The pressure that comes with scale. The personal cost of ambition. The decisions that matter when the stakes are high. And how ideas popularised by Alex Hormozi and Simon Squibb translate into real-world execution, not just theory.

We explore:

• What building a £100m+ business actually demands

• Which Alex Hormozi principles work in practice and which only work if you are willing to do the hard work

• The mindset shifts required to scale without losing yourself

• The mistakes, pressure, and responsibility that rarely get talked about

• Why success is built over time, not born overnight

Built Not Born In Business is a podcast for business owners, founders, and people thinking about starting a business who want the full picture. The truth behind the results. The thinking behind the decisions. And the reality behind real business success.

This intro episode explains why Mr & Mrs In Business has evolved into Built Not Born In Business and what this new series is really about.

The original podcast started as honest conversations about life and business as a married couple. It was real, relatable, and helped a lot of people feel less alone in their journey.

But over time, the conversations changed.

The guests we were drawn to weren’t just talking about running businesses. They were talking about building them. The pressure. The responsibility. The mistakes. The personal cost. And the long, unglamorous road that rarely gets shared online.

Built Not Born In Business exists to tell those stories.

This podcast is about what actually goes into building something meaningful. Not the overnight wins. Not the polished success narratives. But the decisions, sacrifices, mindset shifts, and moments of doubt that shape real business owners over time.

In this short intro episode, we explain:

• Why the name had to change

• What Built Not Born In Business stands for

• Who this series is for

• And what you can expect from the conversations ahead

This series is for business owners, founders, and people thinking about starting a business who want a clearer, more honest picture of what success really involves.

Because real business success isn’t born.
It’s built.