This week, Balve Baines, presenter, moderator, and founder of Purple Square AI, takes us somewhere that doesn't exist. Not yet, anyway.

Imagine landing after a long haul flight and stepping into a hotel lobby with a prohibition bar, crackling fireplace, and a woman in the most comfortable chair you've ever seen. Painted in vivid detail and delivered like he's already been there.

Balve has built three businesses. The first dissolved when life got in the way.

The second got him sued.

The third, Purple Square, was born in a pub at Christmas 2024 when a friend in hospitality said something so colourfully honest about repetitive guest questions that he couldn't stop thinking about it.

In this episode Balve talks about the moment a BBC station manager gave him a shot because he'd done his homework.
About the best ideas being born in pubs. About why he nearly burned out working 17 or 18 hour days alone, in a bubble, not noticing until the dots connected. About AI in hospitality, what it can and can't replace, and why trust takes years to build and seconds to break.

Balve's C word? Coastal. After a very long deliberation and the entire dictionary. It tells you everything.

🎙️ Hosted by Helen Wingrove-Sanders (HFBAC) and Emma Campbell (The C Point)
🔗 Find Balve: purplesquareai.com
🔗 Find Helen: hfbac.com
🔗 Find Emma: thecpoint.co.uk

#founders #entrepreneurship #startup #founderstory #podcast #bootstrapped #hospitality #AI

Three Founders Walk Into A... is hosted by Helen Wingrove-Sanders (HFBAC) and Emma Campbell (The Coaching Point).

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