Top 10 Screw It Just DO It Episodes of 2025

0:00Welcome to one of my favourite episodes of the year, our top 10 countdown of the most popular episodes that you listen to. Starting our countdown at number 10 is Pippa Murray, founder of Pippa Nut. This episode resonated because it's a story of someone who literally started roasting nuts in her kitchen and went on to build one of the UK's best-loved challenger food brands. Pippa talks honestly about imposter syndrome, backing yourself when there was no safety net, and the reality of getting a product onto supermarket shelves and keeping it there. It's a brilliant reminder that you don't need to start big, you just need to start.

0:33when else do you get a chance to spend like all your time working on a project that could potentially be like your future you know business work life super exciting it's like your 20s are there to do really weird and wonderful things like that is what they're for like exploration do something different like don't pressure yourself that you need to like be in the nine to five so i in lots of ways i was like this is kind it was great it was really exciting i think my advice really i often say to my team like use your 20s to figure out what you love figure out what you love doing and don't feel the pressure that you have to like get up the chain of the you know corporate ladder if actually that's not your thing and number nine we've got aaron gelbard co-founder and ceo of bloom and wild the brand that reinvented flower delivery with letterbox flowers and obsessive customer focus.

1:28What listeners loved about this one was Aaron's calm, analytical approach to growth, testing, learning and skating across Europe without losing the soul of the brand. He says practical lessons on hiring, culture and leadership that apply to any founder in any sector. A proper masterclass in thoughtful scaling. I think you need to have the right culture and the right values because as your business gets bigger, it becomes less about you as a founder and like you know you forming relationships with everybody and you setting the tone i still do try to form relationships with everybody i still try to get to know as many people as i can i know nearly everybody um in my company not just by name but i try to to get to know them and know about them and their families and things like that and i work really hard at that number eight is julian hearn the founder of huell this episode blew up because julian is so direct about what it takes to build a category defining brand.

2:22He talks about going from a side project to a global business, why he deliberately built a polarizing brand, and how systems and disciplines sit behind what look like overnight success. It's one of those conversations where you come away thinking bigger and questioning how serious you really are about your goals. In the early days, you've got basically effectively your business is a baby. It could die the following day if you don't feed it properly and so you know it's life or death at that stage so you you put everything in and I think I've said before you know you do sort of become obsessed it sounds a bad trait but actually I think you have to to make it work if you're playing at it not giving it 100 % you're not going to get the ball rolling and think you have to get that ball rolling and once you do you can turn from a you know sprint mode into a more of a marathon mode so still put you know a lot of time and effort in you think the best marathon runners they still run pretty fast yeah so you don't slow down, you just don't want to burn yourself out or burn the staff out or burn the business out.

3:19You have to move into more of a fast but more controlled growth. And number seven is Richard Harpin, founder of HomeServe and now the man behind Growth Partner. Listeners really connected with how grounded and practical Richard is. He talks about building a multi-billion pound business over decades, not months, and why boring businesses often hold the biggest opportunity. His advice from resilience, long-term thinking, and backing other founders is pure gold for anyone who wants to build something that lasts. This is the one that I think is the most difficult for us entrepreneurs to accept, and that is hire your replacement.

3:57So I was eight years in, and I got a guy that I brought in who'd done business development really well, helped me sign some of the utility partners. and I thought, I think he could do a better job at running Home Serve UK than me. I was a rubbish chief exec, called him into my office and said, Jonathan, congratulations, you're promoted, I'm giving you my job. That then meant I could work on the business rather than in the business. Number six is my good friend Piers Lenny, entrepreneur, investor, former Dragon and a huge supporter of UK founders, Scale-Ups and indeed this podcast. What made this episode stand out was Piers' honesty about his own journey from law and banking into entrepreneurship and the risks he took along the way.

4:43He breaks down where the real opportunities are right now for founders, how to think about AI and technology and what the UK needs to do if it's serious about building more unicorns. So within 15 years, 10 to 15 years, you're quite happily letting a humanoid robot look after your mum, your elderly parents. So then physical labour has gone away. So the pyramid gets filled and we, and going back to our children, all of us actually, you've got to think about how do you migrate to that space at the top of the pyramid and add value? Because if you don't, you will be, or whatever you do, will be washed over by this technology.

5:21And this is not if, it's when. That's the only question, when. In fifth place is Nell Daly, founder of Revenge Capital. This conversation hit a nerve because it's all about reinvention and backing yourself at a point where most people play safe. Nell talks openly about moving from media and therapy into finance and venture, navigating doubt and criticism and making bold moves later in her career. It's raw, it's honest, and it really captures the spirit of screw it, just do it. Taking the leap even when it doesn't fit the script other people had for you. If 97 % of all venture capital dollars in the U.S.

5:57go to men, people need to be provocative and stand up. Revenge is my personal mission to, and it was the team's mission to say, we're creatives. We're people from outside this industry that want to change something. We want to also model disruption. Number four, it's Richard Reid, co-founder of Innocent Drinks. This episode became a favorite because Richard is such a natural storyteller. He takes us through the early market stall days, the near misses, the values that shaped Innocent, and how they built a brand that feels like part of British culture. He's funny, self-aware, and really generous with the lessons he learned along the way.

6:30From raising money to exiting to Coca-Cola, it's classic screw-it-just-do-it listening. It's like we found a patch of grass, and we built upon it a house, and lived in that house for 15 years. but then we sold that house it's someone else's house now and we'd still go past that house and we'd look at the house great fondness and memory and pride and occasionally invited into the house for a cup of tea and a chat but it's someone else's house now so what i'm really excited by we made sure that we were really conscious of this time it was never a founder-led business it was a mission-led business it was a business that lived and existed to serve the mission and Principles of Innocent, which was to get as many healthy and delicious and ethical natural drinks into as many people and places as possible, make it easy for people to do themselves some good.

7:23So into the top three, and that's where things get interesting. Third on the list is Boris Diakonoff, co-founder of Anna Money, and easily one of the most charismatic and thought-provoking guests we've had on. Listeners loved his mix of humor, intensity, and clear thinking about what it really means to build products that serve entrepreneurs. He talks about the moment he hesitated, the time he had to make an uncomfortable decision, and the leaps of faith that shaped Anna. It's brilliant, slightly wild founder story that clearly stuck with you. We were developing a similar business focused on small businesses and entrepreneurs, and it was quite successful.

8:02And then because of all the geopolitical changes, we had this thought that we need to bring this goodness that we've created to other markets. We were kind of stuck for some time in this analysis preparation, analysis paralysis slash waiting for investor mode. We were preparing, preparing, preparing, and then there was this kind of bolt of lightning thought, what stops us from starting? Taking the number two spot is Juliet Barrett, co-founder of Grenade. This episode struck a chord because Juliet is so refreshingly honest about the grit behind the glossy story. She talks about building Grenade from nothing, the sacrifices and pressure that came with hyper growth and ultimately selling the business for over 200 million pounds.

8:48It's a powerful look at what it really costs to build a rocket ship brand, especially when you're doing it alongside your partner in life and in business. As an entrepreneur, there is never a right time. There's only the right time for you. So some people might say that launching a recession is completely, you know, a stupid thing to do. But for us, actually, it was the only time that we could do it. There was a gap in the market. We could see that. And I think, you know, that's your sort of that's your moment that you're talking about when you just think, well, if I don't do it now, when am I going to do it?

9:18Coming in at number one, your most listened to episode of 2025 is Al Barrett, co-founder of Grenade, husband of Juliet Barrett. This conversation exploded because Al embodies everything screw it, just do it stands for. Taking big swings and refusing to quit when things get tough. It brings you right into the early chaos, the big bets that are made on brand and product, the setbacks no one saw and the mindset that it takes to get there. It's raw, it's energetic and it's no surprise that this ended up as the most replayed episode of 2025. We never got lucky. Trust me, we never got lucky. Some brands do just kind of have a bit of a moment in time and get lucky.

9:58I'm a massive believer in timing. We've had timing on our side because people over the last 10 years have been more interested in health and fitness. That's helped us. You know, if we were doing this in the 70s, you know, it would obviously have been a different time. Well, who would have thought that, right? Hal Barrett and Juliet Barrett from Grenade. Separate interviews at number one and number two in the top 10 most listened to episodes of 2025. Well, look, this year has been one of a hell of a year for me personally. Probably been, well, not probably, without a doubt, it has been the most difficult year of my entire life for both personal and for business reasons.

10:40But if you've listened to the show for any number of episodes, you'll know that the one thing that I am is positive. I always see the glass as half full and I'm always looking to the future filled with hope. That's exactly the same this year as it is any year. I'm uber excited for 2026. Whilst 2025 has been super challenging, the last few months of the year, the last quarter, has been particularly rewarding. And I'm really excited for what 2026 brings. I've got an amazing new partner for the show that I'm excited to tell you about that will enable me and the rest of the team to get you the best guests with the best stories and share this amazing podcast that's coming up to nine years now.

11:27Recorded the first interview with Stephen Bartlett, who now has the number two podcast in the world behind Joe Rogan. Recorded that with Stephen in January 2016. So I'm massively excited. I hope you are too. I hope you had an amazing Christmas. And here's wishing you the most amazing 2026 filled with health and wealth and everything that makes you and those nearest and dearest to you happy as well.