エピソード

  • How do people feel about your brand? - Business of Design

    How do people feel about your brand? - Business of Design
    2026/09/01
    Here's the truth about your brand: it was never really up to you. It's the gut feeling someone gets the moment they meet your business, not the words you use to describe it. Rakesh Makwana is a brand designer and art director with more than two decades in the industry, helping founders and business owners build visual identities that actually connect with the people they're trying to reach. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek talks to him about what a brand really is, how his discovery process works, where AI fits into a design studio, and why he never tries to convince a client to hire him. Subscribe for more conversations with UK business owners about the tools and decisions behind their businesses. If you're building a brand, running a service business, or trying to work out why some companies just feel more trustworthy than others, this one is for you. WHAT WE COVER Growing up in a family of makers, and discovering design at sevenBeing diagnosed with dyslexia, and reframing it as a creative advantageWhy a brand is not your logo: Marty Neumeier's "gut feeling" definitionThe kickoff call, and why it's an assessment for both sidesTurning down clients when the budget or the fit isn't rightWhat actually happens in a brand discovery sessionPresenting two "stylescapes" before any design work beginsWhy two design concepts beat fiveWhy Rakesh stopped designing logos on their ownUsing AI for copywriting and pressure-testing ideas, without letting it flatter himThe tech stack and freelance network behind a one-person design studioHandling rejection, knowing your value, and never justifying your priceLINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR"It's not what you say about your brand to be true. It's the gut feeling of the person who perceives you.""I was very ashamed and embarrassed about being dyslexic because I saw it as a weakness. But for many years now, I see it as a superpower.""It's not AI taking over your jobs. It's people that are not using it."CHAPTERS00:00:00 Introduction00:00:25 Welcoming Rakesh back to the show00:01:04 Meet Rakesh Makwana, brand designer and art director00:02:12 Growing up in a family of makers00:02:57 Dyslexia, and finding his language in design00:04:06 Studying graphic design at college and university00:07:34 From hand-drawn design to the first iMac00:08:08 Chasing trends before finding design thinking00:09:31 Why business owners underestimate their own visual identity00:11:12 Marty Neumeier and the real definition of a brand00:12:08 Consistency, recall and emotional connection00:13:10 Colour psychology and what it signals00:13:41 The discovery process before any design begins00:15:07 Benchmarking competitors to understand the landscape00:15:29 How much clients actually know about what they want00:18:07 Handling friction and misaligned expectations00:19:17 Building user personas and a brand's DNA00:19:43 Stylescapes: presenting two directions before designing00:21:15 Rakesh's end-to-end business process00:23:27 Qualifying budget before writing a proposal00:25:16 Taking 50% upfront before discovery begins00:26:15 Inside the discovery workshop00:29:06 Why two design concepts beat five00:30:05 How long a rebrand typically takes00:31:13 Why Rakesh stopped designing "just logos"00:33:41 Being a dyslexic, colourblind graphic designer00:34:52 Using AI for copywriting and articulating ideas00:38:07 Full AI versus human-first design00:40:26 Prompting AI to challenge you, not praise you00:42:45 Why real client feedback beats AI validation00:45:21 The core tech stack: Adobe Creative Cloud00:47:03 Google Drive as the central hub for files00:49:10 Running solo and bringing in freelance support00:52:27 Community question: dealing with rejection00:54:55 The value of expertise, and never justifying your price00:56:05 Community question: measuring rebrand success01:00:03 Visual identity vs verbal identity01:01:12 Where to find Rakesh01:01:43 Final thought: perception is the real brandConnect with RakeshInstagram: @rak.i.amConnect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: theupgradezone.co.uk/Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlOApple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750Instagram: www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcastSupport the show:buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake#BrandDesign #BrandIdentity #SmallBusinessUK #GraphicDesign #TheUpgradeZone
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 3 分
  • The Truth About Building A Successful Joinery Business

    The Truth About Building A Successful Joinery Business
    2026/08/24
    The truth about building a successful joinery business is that most of it isn't joinery. Alex Meadows runs AM Joinery, a bespoke joinery business in Warwickshire, and he is blunt about what it really takes.Alex started his joinery apprenticeship in 2008. Seventeen years on he prices, designs and delivers bespoke joinery on his own terms. In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek asks him how a joinery business actually makes money: pricing, deposits, 3D modelling, outsourcing, and the new website that brought in an enquiry inside the first week.Subscribe for more conversations with UK business owners about the tools and decisions behind their businesses.If you run a trade business, a service business, or anything where you sell your own skill and time, this one is for you.WHAT WE COVER- Starting a joinery apprenticeship in 2008, straight out of school- The December 2010 health scare that changed everything- The questions Alex asks to spot a difficult client before he quotes- Taking 50% upfront or the full material cost, whichever is higher- Scope creep, and the work clients never see- SketchUp and CAD: modelling a job before you cut a single board- FreeAgent, NatWest and the Excel sheet that turns an enquiry into a quote- When outsourcing admin to a virtual assistant starts to make sense- A £36,000 quote against rivals at £11,000 and £12,000, and what the drawings revealed- Quoting for hours, then hearing nothing back- Organic SEO, Google reviews and a lead in week one with zero ad spendLINES WORTH STICKING AROUND FOR"People want Prada but only want to pay Primark.""It's £20 for the hammer and £9,980 for the experience.""You do all this work, send the price off, and you don't hear back. Not even a sorry."CHAPTERS00:00:00 Introduction00:00:33 Meet Alex Meadows and AM Joinery00:01:00 Where the idea of running a business began00:03:49 Starting the joinery apprenticeship in 200800:05:10 December 2010: the health scare that changed everything00:08:36 Cycling, purpose and the Geneva to Milan ride00:11:49 Spotting a difficult client before you quote00:15:57 Budget, materials and what a job actually costs00:20:03 Prada money, Primark budget00:22:55 Deposits: 50% or materials cost, whichever is higher00:27:15 Scope creep and absorbing the small extras00:28:15 Reviews, quality and reputation00:31:49 Testing the work before the client ever sees it00:33:54 AI, rendering and helping clients picture the finished job00:39:30 SketchUp, CAD and modelling before you cut00:45:07 Learning the craft on someone else's payroll00:47:26 Registering AM Joinery on 23 September00:49:52 "Why are you so expensive?" and the £20 hammer00:51:24 The tech stack: FreeAgent, NatWest and Excel costing00:55:38 When outsourcing to a VA starts to make sense01:01:08 Where the time actually goes01:02:01 A £36,000 quote against £11,000 and £12,00001:05:01 Quoting, then silence01:07:05 Getting paid, and building trust through terms01:08:57 Dealing with rejection and a 50/50 win rate01:12:12 Where clients actually come from01:13:22 Why the previous website wasn't paying back01:14:37 No paid ads, everything organic01:16:17 Page one of Google, and showing up in AI searchABOUT ALEX MEADOWSAlex Meadows is the founder of AM Joinery, a bespoke joinery business based in Warwickshire. He began his joinery apprenticeship in 2008 after a careers adviser suggested he would be better off running his own business than working for someone else, then built experience across several employers before registering AM Joinery on 23 September. His approach centres on craftsmanship, clear communication and work built to last rather than work priced to win.Website: https://amjoinery.uk/Instagram: @amjoinery.ltdConnect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlOApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcastSupport the show:https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake#JoineryBusiness #TradeBusiness #SmallBusinessUK #BespokeJoinery #TheUpgradeZone
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 20 分
  • From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand

    From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand
    2026/08/17
    From Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal BrandFrom Farm Accident to Media Founder: Resilience, Technology and Building a Personal Brand | Henry CarpenterAt 14, Henry Carpenter survived a serious tractor accident on his family farm. What followed was years of recovery, fundraising, charity work, travel and eventually a move into podcasting, presenting and building his own media company.In this episode of **The Upgrade Zone**, Daniel Chrzastek speaks with Henry about resilience, failure, personal branding, starting a business with simple systems and knowing when technology needs to evolve with you.In this episode• The farm accident that changed Henry's life at 14• Recovery, mental health and rebuilding confidence• Raising money through endurance challenges• Volunteering with Reach to Africa in Kenya• Building the Down the Farm podcast and Down the Farm Media• Starting lean with Excel before investing in more complex systems• Canva, WavePad, CRM and podcast distribution tools• Lessons from the family agricultural parts business• Personal branding, content creation and authenticity• Sales, pricing, customer trust and learning through failureKey Takeaways:**Start with what you have.** A spreadsheet can be enough in the early stages if the process behind it is clear.**Failure creates useful information.** Henry's setbacks in health, media and career direction have repeatedly pushed him towards new opportunities.**Your personal brand is part of the business.** People often buy into the person before they buy the service.**Know your numbers.** Pricing, margins, overheads and cash flow matter even when the business is still small.**Technology should remove friction.** The right tool is the one that saves time or improves control, not simply the newest or most complicated option.Episode chapters00:00:17 Meet Henry Carpenter00:00:52 Growing up on a Herefordshire farm00:03:37 The tractor accident that changed everything00:07:25 The air ambulance and emergency response00:14:05 Mental health, recovery and rebuilding00:15:38 Fundraising challenges and the start of Henry's media journey00:19:16 Kenya and Reach to Africa00:21:40 Technology and administration inside the charity00:25:22 Building Down the Farm podcast and Down the Farm Media00:30:12 Why failure can be a powerful teacher00:31:21 Henry's media tech stack00:33:01 CRM and systems in the family agricultural business00:40:15 Starting a new business with Excel00:44:49 Podcast distribution, costs and monetisation00:48:21 Personal branding and authentic content00:52:43 Choosing the right tech stack as you grow00:56:34 Travel, perspective and personal growth01:04:04 Sales advice for new business owners01:10:00 Adaptability, confidence and saying yes to opportunitiesAbout The Upgrade ZoneThe Upgrade Zone is a business and technology podcast hosted by Daniel Chrzastek, exploring the people behind businesses, how those businesses actually work and the technology supporting them.We speak with founders, business owners, operators and technology leaders about business growth, AI, automation, software, systems, operational efficiency and the real-world return on investment from technology.Connect with Henry:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/henrycarpenter2/Connect with The Upgrade ZonePodcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlOApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcastSupport the show:https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 12 分
  • Property Sourcing

    Property Sourcing
    2026/08/10
    Property Sourcing

    From PureGym to Property Deal Sourcing: Building a Business with CRM, AI and Networking | Sam Meese

    How do you go from a stable career into property, build a new business from scratch and figure out which systems you actually need along the way?

    In this episode of **The Upgrade Zone**, Daniel Chrzastek sits down with **Sam Meese**, a property deal sourcer from Kidderminster, to talk about his journey from martial arts and personal training to management at PureGym and eventually into full-time property entrepreneurship.

    They explore mindset, networking, deal sourcing, business systems, CRM, AI and the practical reality of building a business when you are still doing almost everything yourself.

    ## In this episode

    - How martial arts shaped Sam's approach to discipline and self-development

    - Moving from personal training into management at PureGym

    - Realising he was climbing the wrong career ladder

    - How Sam first became interested in property investing

    - Moving from a rent-to-rent model into property deal sourcing

    - Using networking to build relationships with investors and find opportunities

    - Why cash flow determines what gets prioritised in the business

    - The four principles Sam uses to guide his decisions

    - Why a CRM became essential as the business started growing

    - Using AI and property data tools to reduce research time

    - How Sam uses ChatGPT for content, analysis and recalling previous work

    - Why technology should support relationships rather than replace them

    ## Episode chapters

    00:00:16 Meet Sam Meese

    00:02:42 Identity, self-development and always looking for the next level

    00:05:05 How martial arts shaped Sam's mindset

    00:07:08 Becoming a personal trainer

    00:10:57 Turning martial arts into a career

    00:13:45 Moving into management at PureGym

    00:16:00 Coaching, leadership and climbing the career ladder

    00:17:18 Discovering investing and property

    00:20:03 Finding Samuel Leeds and entering the property world

    00:23:00 The importance of environment and surrounding yourself with the right people

    00:24:30 Using networking to create opportunities

    00:25:55 Sam's original goal when entering property

    00:26:30 Why the business changed from rent-to-rent to deal sourcing

    00:27:30 Betting on himself and planning the move into full-time business

    00:29:30 Building investor relationships before leaving employment

    00:32:00 Why busyness is not business

    00:32:40 Sam's four business principles

    00:33:30 Prioritising cash flow and revenue-generating work

    00:35:00 Work ethic, failure and taking action

    00:38:00 Risk, resilience and learning from mistakes

    00:41:20 The technology behind the business

    00:43:09 Why Sam needed a CRM

    00:45:40 Choosing Less Annoying CRM

    00:47:25 Building property and investor pipelines

    00:50:50 Connecting CRM, Google Calendar and contacts

    00:53:00 Knowing when you have outgrown your software

    00:55:00 Using data and ChatGPT to solve practical problems

    00:56:00 Why CRM is the central hub of the business

    01:01:00 How to choose the right software

    01:01:00 Revisiting old deals using data and AI

    01:02:00 Improving the tech stack as the business grows

    01:03:12 Final thoughts

    01:04:20 Why businesses need to keep adapting their technology

    01:04:58 Using Property Market Intel

    01:05:45 AI-powered property deal sourcing

    01:07:05 How Sam uses ChatGPT

    ## Connect with Sam Meese

    Instagram: [SAMs INSTAGRAM]

    ## Connect with The Upgrade Zone

    Podcast site: theupgradezone.co.uk/

    Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO

    Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750

    Instagram: www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/

    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/

    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast

    ## Support the show:

    buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 14 分
  • From Pastor to a Live Virtual Events expert

    From Pastor to a Live Virtual Events expert
    2026/08/03
    Building a Scalable Media Business Through Strategy, Livestreaming and Resilience | Darlington, GMT Media

    How do you build a media company when technology keeps changing, clients keep saying no and the opportunity arrives before your business is ready to scale?

    In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek speaks with Darlington, Founder of GMT Media, about his journey from Zimbabwe to South Africa, discovering audiovisual production and building a corporate media and livestreaming business in Cape Town.

    They discuss entrepreneurship, hybrid events, business strategy, team building, rejection, mentorship and the technology behind professional live production.

    In this episode

    • How Darlington discovered videography and founded GMT Media

    • Building a one-stop audiovisual service through specialist partners

    • How livestreaming created new opportunities during the pandemic

    • Turning corporate, church and family communication into recurring services

    • Training more than 200 young people and building a flexible production team

    • Why strategy and problem-solving can matter more than technical skill alone

    • Using selected free projects to build trust, testimonials and a stronger portfolio

    • The technology behind professional hybrid events and multistreaming

    • Why media businesses must keep learning as technology changes

    • Whether visibility matters more than highly polished content

    The conversation covers:

    • Multistreaming to several platforms at the same time

    • Combining physical and virtual audiences

    • Managing internet reliability and network latency

    • Synchronising audio and video from different sources

    • Working with SDI, HDMI and professional audio connections

    • Adding graphics, presentations, adverts and other media to a live production

    • Using OBS as an accessible starting point

    • Moving to tools such as vMix for more advanced productions

    • Using presentation software such as ProPresenter

    • Following developments in AI-powered camera tracking and production automation

    Connect with The Upgrade Zone

    Podcast site: https://theupgradezone.co.uk/

    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YcP3LG4sy5NPHimYLlO

    Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-upgrade-zone-podcast-by-daniel-chrzastek/id6796156750

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielchrzastek/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielchrzastek/

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-upgrade-zone-podcast

    Support the show:

    https://buymeacoffee.com/danielcheesecake
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 17 分
  • Technology and data, which helps saving agriculture in the UK

    Technology and data, which helps saving agriculture in the UK
    2026/08/03
    What happens when traditional wildlife management meets modern data and technology?In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek speaks with Pablo, a farm vet and Co-Founder of Sylva, about building a more professional, measurable and sustainable approach to deer and wild boar management.They explore the effect unmanaged wildlife populations can have on farms, woodland, biodiversity, animal health and road safety, as well as the technology Sylva is developing to help landowners understand what is happening on their land and make better-informed decisions.In this episode• Why deer populations have grown rapidly across parts of the UK• The financial and environmental impact of wildlife overpopulation• How deer can affect crops, woodland regeneration and biodiversity• Turning field observations into useful data for landowners• Creating deer management plans based on evidence rather than assumptions• Building an app for data collection, safety and wildlife tracking• Using technology to improve venison traceability from field to fork• Developing a family-run business across the UK and Spain• Why simple software and customer feedback matter when creating a new product• The role of delegation and complementary skills when building a businessAbout PabloPablo is a farm vet who moved from Spain to the UK around ten years ago.Having grown up around farming, hunting and countryside activities, he began exploring how these traditional practices could be approached more professionally.Together with his brothers, he founded Sylva, a business focused on data-driven deer and wild boar management in the UK and Spain.The businessSylva helps landowners, farmers, land agents and other organisations understand and manage wildlife populations on their land.The process begins by looking at how the land is being used. This could include crop production, livestock farming, woodland management, conservation, rewilding or another commercial activity.Sylva then assesses the wildlife population, measures its impact and creates a management plan based on the needs of that particular area.The goal is not to remove wildlife completely. It is to maintain a healthy balance between the animals, the land, farming activity and the wider environment.The team is also exploring ways to make responsibly sourced venison more widely available through online venison boxes.The tech behind the businessSylva is developing its own software to make wildlife data easier to collect, understand and use.The mobile app is designed to let deer managers record routes, observations, activity, photographs and post-mortem findings while working in the field.It can also help teams see where other members are operating, creating an additional layer of safety for people working alone or across large areas of land.Landowners and managers will be able to monitor activity through an online dashboard and see what work has been completed on their property.Over time, a larger and anonymised dataset could help identify population trends, seasonal changes, movement patterns and possible connections between wildlife and animal disease.The same technology could also provide greater traceability for venison, showing where an animal came from and how it moved through the process from field to fork.Key takeawaysReturn on investment is not always purely financial.Wildlife management can protect crops and farming income, but it can also support biodiversity, animal welfare, woodland regeneration, road safety and disease prevention.You cannot manage what you do not measure.Before deciding what action to take, landowners need to understand the size of the problem, where it is happening and what effect it is having.Data can translate wildlife damage into business terms.By estimating the number of animals, how much they consume and the market value of a crop, Sylva can help a farmer understand the potential financial cost of doing nothing.Good technology has to work in the real environment.An app used outdoors, in poor weather and during physical activity must be quick and simple. A complicated system will result in missing or unreliable data.Start with a useful product and improve it with users.The Sylva team is beginning with a more focused version of the platform and plans to develop it using feedback from the people working with it in the field.Build around different strengths.Pablo and his brothers contribute different skills across veterinary knowledge, fieldwork, software development, data processing, reporting and client relationships.Responsible wildlife management is about balance.The objective is not to eliminate deer or wild boar. It is to maintain a population that the land, local environment and surrounding activity can support.Episode chapters00:16 Meet Pablo and the story behind Sylva01:00 From farm vet to business founder03:40 Why deer population data matters05:25 Understanding deer overpopulation in the UK08:10 Wildlife disease, farming ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    48 分
  • AI CRM Founder - SaaS, Scaling & ROI

    AI CRM Founder - SaaS, Scaling & ROI
    2026/08/03
    What does it take to build an AI-powered software business where the technology actually delivers a return?In this episode of The Upgrade Zone, Daniel Chrzastek sits down with Dori Shabat, Co-Founder and CEO of CallMarker, to unpack the journey behind an AI-powered sales platform built long before ChatGPT made AI mainstream.They explore how CallMarker grew from a real problem inside Dori's previous advertising business, how the first customers came onboard before the MVP was finished, and what Dori has learned about product development, sales, team building, scaling and AI along the way.In this episode• Why solving a real problem matters more than building a perfect product• Selling an MVP before it is finished and using customers to shape development• How AI can identify hidden revenue opportunities across sales and customer interactions• Building a founding team around complementary strengths• Scaling a bootstrapped SaaS business without losing service quality• Why Dori believes revenue is one of the most important measures of whether business software actually works• In-house development, beta testing and learning from failure• Where automation should replace repetitive work and where AI should enhance people instead• Why the future of sales may be less about replacing salespeople and more about making each person significantly more effectiveAbout Dori ShabatDori Shabat is the Co-Founder and CEO of CallMarker, an AI-powered platform built to help sales teams operate more effectively.His journey into the business started with an advertising agency serving close to 1,000 customers. After seeing businesses struggle to follow up with leads consistently, Dori and his team began looking at how technology could manage more of the process and help salespeople focus their time where it matters most.The businessCallMarker was built around a simple problem: generating leads is only useful if businesses can actually turn those opportunities into conversations and revenue.The platform brings together CRM functionality, communications and AI to help sales teams manage leads, prioritise activity and identify opportunities that might otherwise be missed.Dori also shares the realities behind building the company, from bootstrapping and finding the right co-founder to hiring teams, expanding from Israel into the UK and learning which systems and processes need to change as a company grows.The tech behind the businessAI has been part of CallMarker's approach from the beginning.The system uses data from sales and customer interactions to understand what is happening across the customer journey, prioritise activity and identify opportunities for additional revenue.One example discussed is Decode Revenue, which looks for opportunities hidden inside existing sales, marketing and customer service processes and can recommend or automate the next action.But the conversation goes beyond automation.For repetitive tasks, AI may be able to handle much of the work itself. For more complex interactions such as selling, Dori sees the future as people enhanced by AI, with technology giving salespeople better context, information and guidance before and during customer conversations.Key takeawaysSell before you overbuild.Dori sold the first version of the product using a presentation before the MVP was complete. Paying customers provided much stronger validation than building against assumptions.Build around complementary strengths.Dori focused on marketing, sales and revenue while his co-founder focused on technology and product. Their responsibilities were deliberately different.Scale the process, not just the product.Growth required documented processes, clear metrics and eventually handing responsibility to people who could outperform the founders in specific roles.Measure technology by business outcomes.Rather than focusing only on software features or time saved, the conversation repeatedly comes back to revenue and whether the technology produces a meaningful commercial result.AI does not have to mean removing people.Some repetitive processes can be automated completely. More complex work can become significantly more effective when skilled people have better information and AI support.You will not predict everything.Products break, customers behave differently than expected and assumptions turn out to be wrong. The advantage comes from learning quickly and improving each time.Episode chapters00:16 Meet Dori Shabat and CallMarker01:50 The problem that led to CallMarker07:36 Building and selling the first MVP11:03 Finding hidden revenue with AI15:03 Choosing the right co-founder21:19 Building a team and scaling beyond the founders26:55 Expanding from Israel into the UK31:49 The metric that matters when building a new product34:28 Designing a product for scale39:20 Growing as a founder alongside the business44:01 Productivity, focus and protecting your time47:50 Rapid growth vs sustainable growth48:34 Why Dori ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 時間 8 分
  • The Upgrade Zone Podcast Trailer - what is the show about?

    The Upgrade Zone Podcast Trailer - what is the show about?
    2026/07/31

    Ever looked at the systems running your business and thought, “It works... but I’m not sure it should work the way it does?”

    That’s where The Upgrade Zone comes in.

    Hosted by Daniel Chrzastek, the show brings together founders, business owners and operators to talk honestly about how their businesses actually work, what they’ve learned along the way, and the technology supporting everything behind the scenes.

    Each conversation explores three things:

    The person

    Who they are, what drives them and the story behind what they’ve built.

    The business

    Where it came from, how it works today and what happens behind the scenes.

    The tech

    The systems, software, AI, automation and tools helping the business run, grow and become more efficient.

    We’ll look beyond the latest tech trends and focus on what really matters: where technology makes a difference, where it creates unnecessary complexity and whether the investment is actually worth it.

    Expect real conversations about business growth, AI, automation, tech stacks, operational efficiency and the real-world return on investment from technology.

    This is The Upgrade Zone. Welcome to the show.

    Follow the podcast to join the next conversation.

    Connect

    Instagram: [LINK]

    LinkedIn: [LINK]

    YouTube: [LINK]
    続きを読む 一部表示
    1 分