Screw It Just Do It with Alex Chisnall: How Podcasting and Video Are About to Blow Up Your Business

21:05Alex Chisnall:I think there'll always be, you know, similar to mine and yours where it's it's an interview based. It's a deep dive and it's, you know, 40, let's say 30 to yet 30 to 90 minutes. You know, I think two hours, three hours for me is is too much. And I would love to know what the average listen time would be on on those kind of shows. you know um what's the other one chris williams you know is obviously very popular right now as well and he's really pushing the boundaries um his latest episode with matthew mcconaughey and they created a whole set with a with a you know jet stream you know trailer on the set it was like it's a film set basically you know but he's spending the money to do that again i don't know if i'd even want to go to those lengths personally um but i can understand why people are kind of crossing over and okay this used to be what was considered an alternative to radio now we're talking about video and we're talking youtube spotify embracing video then netflix watching it on an airline um watching it in a cinema i mean what's next after that i don't know kind of

22:19Jeannette:ticked every box haven't we um i don't know and of course something else will come along won't it

22:24Alex Chisnall:some other medium will come along and we don't know what that is

22:31Jeannette:so if you're enjoying this conversation now is the time to subscribe to brave bold brilliant on your favorite platform and please share this episode with a friend or colleague who's really passionate about leadership growth and making an impact you know it's by listening to people like alex that you know we're able to be the best version and meet and reach more brilliant leaders like you with the best stories possible.

23:01Jeannette:But I guess the point here is that you've got the whole range, haven't you? You've got people that are able to start a podcast.

23:09Alex Chisnall:There's very little barrier to entry if you're vaguely techy

23:15Jeannette:and enough to be able to physically. You could do it all yourself. You could record it with not a lot of expensive kit, get it out on the platforms, edit it, and do it in a very, very kind of cheap and cost-effective way. Or you've got the whole opposite end of the spectrum where it's a full production. It's a film. It's like, you know, edited within an inch of its life. It's perfection. Everyone looks beautiful, you know. But the whole point is it's accessible to all those that want to create content. And I think to where you started originally, Alex, is what's the why, you know what I mean? What are you trying to achieve?

23:52Jeannette:What's the purpose? who are you inspiring who are you helping because some people will be really turned off by all of that glitz and glamour other people love it yeah other people like a bit more and grittier and you know a little bit more sort of like a real conversation sitting in on as if you were in the room having a chat yeah um and there's a role for all of that isn't there yeah and you can

24:12Alex Chisnall:you always give the example um forgotten her surname now but you know using one of these you know, a smartphone. And she, again, you probably remember from the clubhouse, I knew her from before then, but Maria, who was the founder of Rodial, you know, 100 million pound beauty brand. She's now one of the dragons on Dragon's Den Greece. And, you know, she had was a Carly Jenner was like the face of their campaign. So, you know, super successful business. But she her podcast was done through her phone. She literally just used a free app to record and she would be out on a shoot for a campaign and she would literally be interviewing Kylie Jenner on her phone.

25:00Alex Chisnall:And would I recommend that? No, but again, if it's a barrier to entry for you, then yeah, use the phone that you've got with a free app that you can get from the app store with the free headphones that came with the phone. And you can you can definitely start that way. You know, the easiest way, I think, is to do something like this. You know, literally have a conversation with your friend who can live in the next street, but record it on, you know, we're on Riverside. But you could do this on Google Meets or Zoom and just just record it and have a conversation with someone. Not all podcasts are obviously conversationally based.

25:34Alex Chisnall:They could be solo. You could just get on and talk passionately about a topic that you're passionate about. Talk about rugby. OK, let's talk about the selection that's going to be for the next Wales game for the autumn series. You know, you can you can you can niche down, can't you? OK, then let's talk about the opposition team. Let's talk about the history between the two teams. You know, you can there's multiple episodes there. Right. So you could do it yourself. You could do it on a phone or the free software that your computer comes with. The barriers to entry are ridiculous and they're becoming lower because of the ability to, for example, like this Riverside.

26:12Alex Chisnall:it can create the social media clips for you that will be a reel on Instagram, that will be a TikTok on TikTok, video on LinkedIn, et cetera. I mean, Gary Vaynerchuk did obviously way before his time, but he did something years ago and he can still find it on social media now. He did a deck that you can download and it was how to turn one macro piece of content. So like a podcast interview or a keynote, a live event, and turn that into something like 72 pieces of content. Right. And things have moved on since then. Again, like the contents change, but the principles are the same. You're literally, you know, breaking that down into a series of maybe 72 hooks that you you can hook somebody in with a soundbite with a quote that will then get them to go and consume the long form piece, which would be the main interview.

27:08Alex Chisnall:Right. The fact that, you know, the most popular content on TikTok is 60 second previews to podcasts says a lot, given the demographic of that audience, etc. You know, being being a young video focused audience. But this stuff works. And of course, you know, the flip side of that, of course, is that it has become harder. There's more and more, you know, people with audiences jumping on podcasts, celebrities. So but I think, you know, to go back to your point, there will always be a place for something roared for non celebrity because that turns people off as much as it turns people on. I agree with you.

27:48Alex Chisnall:I think it's a valid point.

27:50Jeannette:Yeah, and screw it, just do it, Alex. So talk us a little bit about this because obviously, you know, it's sort of linked to your early career as well and early life with Branson, isn't it, in terms of, you know, tipping the hat there. Talk us about your podcast, talk us through about your podcast, kind of where you are with it, where it started, where it is now, where you're heading because it's a brilliant podcast and you've had some incredible guests, haven't you?

28:14Alex Chisnall:Yeah, I'd be very lucky. literally you know everybody from uh from steven bartlett was the first ever guest funny enough you know all the way through to a to a lord bill amoria from cobra beer or lewis house in the states or um you know ray kelvin from ted baker rowena bird from lush you know founders of amazing amazing businesses and yeah i've been through a real journey with it it'll be nine years in january since i january 2026 when i recorded that first interview with with steven um i it's changed i've kind of come full circle basically i started off i got two downloads in the first seven days um and i didn't know what i didn't know right and the first couple of years i was lucky if i put one post out a week to promote it so it just flatlined but again you look up you know what steven's talked about with his podcast his was the same it just flatlined he was he was recording his under the duvet in his in his bed right um until he took it seriously i took mine seriously in 2019 and i set goal that i was going to get get it to number one in the uk and by the end of six months it was number one in the uk and by the end of that year being number one in in 10 different countries so that was a lesson and actually set your sights higher than than you ever think possible right um and podcasting was different back then you know it's definitely harder now to but but not impossible to to make an impact with your post with your podcast at all i think as you say it comes down to, you know, what is your goal if it's to impact one person to change somebody's life.

29:43Alex Chisnall:And for me at the start, it was very much linked to Virgin. I've been with Virgin Atlantic 17 years, Virgin Startup, then Richard's Not-for-Profit for five years. And it was very much targeted at that audience who were early stage, who was starting a business. And I was interviewing those people who I was helping at Virgin Startup. And then when I started getting access to these amazing people, Virgin, a Virgin email gives you that, I have to say, it does give you access to all sorts of people. And I expanded things. So next thing you know, very soon I was interviewing the likes, you know, of Chris Ducker or Richard Reed from Innocent, Lewis Howes, people like that.

30:28Alex Chisnall:So I kind of, you know, again, expanded my vision and was like, wow, well, imagine who I can get in a room with and have a conversation with. Because before I had this podcast, I couldn't do that. But all of a sudden I'm asking people to come on and they're just saying yes. Most people don't reply right. But you very rarely get no's. It's usually just not a reply or I'm busy right now. Try me again. So for me, it's been persistency, you know, not taking no for an answer or when I get a no, that's fine if I get a no. But if they don't say no, it's keep on asking. And then it's being consistent, you know, putting out an episode.

31:09Alex Chisnall:It took me seven years before I before I took a break on putting something out every week. At one point, you know, I was I was two episodes a week. I'm now back to two episodes a week. And I kind of lost focus. And I guess this happens with a lot of things in life where I I went from just interviewing entrepreneurs who had a screw it, just do it story. I, you know, what made them decide to, you know, stop procrastinating and do the thing that they wanted to do. and that led to this story. And I then kind of took that to, okay, so that could also mean people from all walks of life. So I started interviewing Olympic medalists from BMX and canoeing, rugby players, singers, all sorts.

32:00Alex Chisnall:But do I regret it? I probably don't regret it because I met a load of people. But when you go back and look at the stats, I lost my audience at that point. They were like, okay, Alex is into this, but we're also not into this. We like this for this specific reason. So I've kind of been on a bit of a journey with it. I took two breaks. We're very much back doing two episodes a week, one new episode and one, you know, a dive back into that back catalog of all these amazing guests that I've had on the show. And, you know, tying it in with, and I guess it was just that kind of timing again of me being asked to start this new business festival of entrepreneurs, which which you kindly graced us with your presence last week at the NEC in Birmingham and making it the official podcast for that.

32:50Alex Chisnall:And again, you know, recreating that podcast, you know, live on stage, interviewing some of my past guests like the Ray Kelvins and the Rowena Birds and the Piers Linnies and going, OK, so, you know, this is this is, you know, amazing opportunity again this is this is what my audience were into we've taken them on a journey I lost my way a little bit maybe I don't know if it was even losing my way but I think it was taking my finger off the very reason why people listen to it um and maybe I should have just started another show for that and kept the audience you know but you know it's in the past you can't change that um and I'm very much now focused on again just you know meeting very interesting people who are in the entrepreneurial business space who have very interesting stories.

33:42Alex Chisnall:It's very founder focused. And I love it. It's my most favorite thing that I do having conversations, you know, with those people and recreated it live last week and got an interview later today. So we continue.

33:57Jeannette:Amazing. Yes. And I was lucky enough to interview the wonderful Juliette Barrett on stage, a co-founder of Grenade as well. And I'd had Juliette on my podcast, because I think you might have done the original intro for me to Juliette. I'm trying to remember now. You might have done, but you got to meet her. I think you probably did. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So she's really cool. And so what we've started to do then through this is connect podcasting with business opportunities, right? So one is clearly the guests you have on and their stories and their highs and lows of business, whether it's bigger businesses or smaller businesses, et cetera.

34:31Jeannette:But now for you, you have then made that connection as a co-founder of the Festival of Entrepreneurs and you're bringing the podcast in to that as well. So let's talk about when podcasting becomes business, either a business connection or a business in its own right or a way to do business and what you're doing with Festival of Entrepreneurs. So yeah, just talk us through that a bit, Alex, Because I think that's probably an area that people don't realize actually can happen quite naturally through this medium.

35:05Alex Chisnall:Yeah. And it happened to me naturally, completely by accident in that maybe four or five years ago now. But it was a conversation with with an American entrepreneur. And for me, you know, the the two most important parts of the interview is when you meet the person before you go live. and then the bits, if you don't know them or you don't know them too well and then the bit afterwards when you finish the conversation. So always build in time for the non-live bits and for me it was chatting to this American entrepreneur, Eric and just at the end of the conversation we were talking about his podcast and then I didn't even, so I have a podcast agency, right?

35:49Alex Chisnall:So I wasn't deliberately trying to get him as a client. I didn't even come into my mind because he was in America. You know, I just didn't think that I wanted an American client, for example. Didn't even cross my mind. Anyway, we were just talking about his podcast and, you know, just kind of shooting the shit around, you know, getting guests and, you know, what's the difficult bit? Which bits do you enjoy? And he was just like, I'm having real problems with my agency at the moment. They're just really slow, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was just like, oh, right. Well, you know, that's what we do.

36:21Alex Chisnall:And he was like, no, I didn't. I thought you were just a podcast host and I thought we clearly have done your research but anyway we let that slide and before you before you know it I've got you know um a brand new client paying us at the time I think three thousand pounds a month to produce you know their podcast and that carried on for you know for quite a while till ultimately they decided they wanted somebody in America that they could work with more closely and the connection that I had with the with the person that was running their show she left the business blah blah blah blah yeah point being podcasts are an amazing medium to have a conversation with somebody who is in your space because by the end of that conversation if you write the ask the right questions in a non-salesy conversational manner you will find out what they're struggling with and you position yourself as the authority who, if you can't help them directly, you can introduce them to somebody else in your network, as evidenced by me on Saturday speaking to Simon Squibb, Jamie Lang, and Stephen Bartlett's team,

37:33Alex Chisnall:because solve the problem for the client. And the client being, or the friend, as it were, with Ray, wanting to get his story out to a bigger audience. And I was like, well, first of all, you know, if you want, we'll put your conversation with me out on my podcast. I know my podcast isn't the biggest in the world, but I happen to know people who do have podcasts that are some of the biggest shows in the world. So let's solve that problem for Ray. And why would I do that? Because Ray came and spoke at my event for free. As he said, I did it as a favor for you, Alex, you know, for free, came from London, etc.

38:05So it's a super,

38:07Alex Chisnall:super powerful medium for doing that. And I, you know, we've helped people at, you know, through our agency to start up shows specifically with the intention of landing clients for the business. And I remember the most obvious example was one who's in the digital transformation space. They had clients like, for example, Coca-Cola, and they would want to have a conversation with Pepsi. So what's the best way they could do that? Let's get the head of marketing from Pepsi on the podcast and, you know, ask them about, you know, marketing and the brand and all the rest of it. And by the end of it, they find out they have a relationship and then they'd follow up with a, you know, with a coffee or a virtual meeting or whatever and see if they can do business.

38:53Alex Chisnall:And you can do that in any, you know, it's sector agnostic. You know, you can do that in any walk of life for any business, you know, and why wouldn't you do that?

39:03Jeannette:yeah yeah well and you know i think people fundamentally do business with those that they know like and trust so when you have that kind of relationship or you've had a conversation before after and during you're right you know even even if you don't have a business that matches what they need just the fact that you've had this connection um it can lead to something five years down the line 10 years down the line you know can't it you know so the power of relationships again and in fact you know with you well you know very well with my podcast brave ball brilliant that's now become the brand of our business it's become the whole ecosystem of

39:39Alex Chisnall:everything that we're the best example of it you're the best example of this entire

39:44Jeannette:structure yeah but it wasn't the intention you know and still you know we don't we don't um have sponsorship deals or advertising on on brave ball brilliant that's something that you and i need to have a look at right clearly um but but you know i think it's a it's a great i think do good in the world for the right reasons and then the law of reciprocity tends to have its way of working its magic it's not about giving to receive is it but i just think actually it's funny how it sort of works out that way unintentionally um yeah no it is like you said and the thing with ray i mean

40:19Alex Chisnall:look at that that was 2018 was the last time i saw him so seven years later which is which is bonkers but um i made the call you know put the message out there and um and he came good and and then let's see how i can you know help him exactly and then he's funnily enough come back with a kind of counter offer going you need to be my partner how do you fancy doing x and um and i'm going okay um hadn't thought about that but let me think about it okay he's like no pressure think about it he's like i'd rather give the money to you than somebody else so have a think about it and go like, wow, okay, that's mental.

40:56Jeannette:Exactly, exactly. I love it when these things come together. So let's talk briefly, because I'm conscious of time, Alex, but let's talk about the Festival of Entrepreneurs because you're an entrepreneur yourself. You've pivoted, used the word, pivoted, changed, started businesses, left businesses, done loads of great stuff with the podcast, and here you are with the Festival of Entrepreneurs, which was a great first event. Talk us through what it is, why people need to get involved, how it helps, what the vision is, and yeah, all of that side of it.

41:27Alex Chisnall:Yeah, and it just started off as a simple vision, really, to bring entrepreneurs and business owners together who wanted to learn how to grow and scale their businesses from those who've been there and done it, those before them. So literally getting the Rowena Birds, the Ted Bakers who've built billion pound businesses and gone, OK, what can we do for other business owners to get you to take a day out of working in your business to instead working on your business to find out, you know, how did Ray Kelvin and Rowena Bird each go from one shop to 500, 600 shops across the world and, you know, billion pound revenue streams?

42:14Alex Chisnall:you know how can we do how can we you know inspire people with those figures but meanwhile also educate them about the different components that they need to be able to grow and scale their business so hence we had stages for tech AI marketing funding what else did we have we had another one that I've completely forgotten about the other one was called scale up so that was all of the things that we that didn't fit under a nice easy heading we kind of bolted into that you know had four stages for that so um and and around that something that we want to do more of next time which again we just couldn't do all the things we wanted to do but to have more networking opportunities you know to have you know you could set your diary up so that you could go there and you could have these meetings so instead of you know scheduling that around your normal week why not come and distill that into into one day and have all those meetings in one day under that one roof you know as you demonstrated with a with a Cillian Fox for example you know have those really important meetings look he was former Secretary of State for International Trade he went away unbelievably impressed with you know what happened on the day there and it's just trying to get more of those people and there's definitely also an element for those who are starting out or looking to start out, there's still those elements.

43:35Alex Chisnall:I brought Virgin Startup in who I used to work with, so they're very much early stage. But for us, you know, and I think what was really underlined was the fact that there were people that were serious businesses who no one would have ever heard of because they don't have that social media profile, but people with proper, you know, seven, eight, nine figure businesses who were there to learn more. And we want more of those people to to come right so we're doubling down we're going to london um in may may the 12th and 13th um in london at olympia and and then we're back at the nec in birmingham in in november uh 2026 and then the following year you know all bets are off you know um as to where we where we're gonna go and what we're gonna do but we just wanted to have a successful launch event, put our flag in the sand and go, this is what we stand for.

44:27Alex Chisnall:This is who we're trying to help. We're trying to bring people together physically and then now for us, we need to do it digitally and keep people connected online in between these physical events.

44:41Jeannette:Yeah, it's exciting. So Festival of Entrepreneurs, we'll put all the details in the show notes. So make sure that you connect with Alex. What's the best way for them to do that, Alex? Either you personally or for Festival of Entrepreneurs.

44:53Alex Chisnall:Yeah, easiest way is probably LinkedIn. I'm at Alex Chisnell everywhere on social media or Instagram. It's at Alex Chisnell underscore. But you'll find me. I don't think there's any other ones out there that I can find. Lucky in that regard with a relatively unique surname to find us, probably like yourself. So, yeah, easiest way to connect with me is through that way. And you can find my podcast, screw it, just do it. and you can leave a review of that and I always see those etc as well to connect with people so yeah

45:28Jeannette:so check out Festival of Entrepreneurs check out Screw It Just Do It check out Brave Bold Brilliant which you're already listening to so continue to do that but Alex last couple of questions before you go we are building a Brave Bold Brilliant playlist of all our in fact it's on Spotify so Brave Bold Brilliant playlist of all our cool guests what's your track Alex what are we going to add on for you?

45:51Alex Chisnall:Yeah, that's a really good question. I'm going to give you something that I've been meaning to do for a very long time, which I, which I haven't done. I'm going to give you, I'm going to give you, okay. I'm going to give you a band that I'm seeing next month because they're my favorite, favorite singer, Gavin Rossdale from a band called Bush used to be married to Gwen Stefani. and the song is one of my favourite all time songs Letting the Cables Sleep

46:24Jeannette:We've not had that one Alex Excellent Love it And my final question Alex What does Brave Bold Brilliant mean to you?

46:35Alex Chisnall:What does Brave Bold Brilliant mean to me? I think it means making your mark in the world I think it's taking no prisoners it's about giving it your best shot I think it's that whole epitome of we only get one chance in this life so if you're not going to be bold, if you're not going to take action if you're not going to be brilliant then really what is the point? There are no second chances there's no time for regrets so take action get out, just do it

47:14Jeannette:screw it just do it and that wasn't deliberate

47:18Alex Chisnall:it just seems to come out

47:21Jeannette:see what we did there wonderful listen Alex thank you so much as always and yeah super excited I think the best is yet to come you've only just begun

47:29Alex Chisnall:absolutely wholeheartedly agree with that yeah thank you Jeanette as always

47:38so I'd just like to say a huge

47:41Jeannette:thank you to Alex Chisnall for joining us today and sharing such inspiring insights you know his journey is a reminder of the power of resilience storytelling how podcasting and networking and being an entrepreneur has the ability to create lasting change you know in all of those businesses lives and the people that work in them you know and that ability to be able to connect communicate and stay consistent can transform not only your business but also your sense of purpose you know and Alex's work through Screw It Just Do It, Prodpreneur and the Festival of Entrepreneurs it shows what's possible when you combine authenticity with action so if you'd like to connect with Alex you can find him on LinkedIn tune in to Screw It Just Do It or you know connect so that you can join the Festival of Entrepreneurs a brilliant network that's there to help entrepreneurs scale up.

48:37Jeannette:Or, of course, you might need help with your own podcast, in which case Alex is there to support and help you. And for all of you listening, every successful entrepreneur starts with a single brave step. So whether you're launching your next idea, building your brand, or refining your leadership, trust that your story has power. Just keep showing up, keep learning, keep believing in what you're capable of. And as always, remember, it's by being brave and bold that you are going to unlock your brilliant.

49:08Alex Chisnall:I really hope you've enjoyed this episode of Brave Bold Brilliant.

49:11Jeannette:Remember, check out our new website, www.brave-bold-brilliant.com. You're going to find loads of resources on there that's going to help you with your leadership journey and with the businesses that you're trying to scale up and grow. So take care everyone and remember there are no limits to your growth but it is by being brave and bold that you're going to unlock your brilliance.