Business Leader

The Beauty Tech Group is a British business success story. Laurence Newman founded the home-use beauty tech firm in Manchester in 2009. It’s probably best-known for its LED face masks for skincare treatments. In late 2025 it went public on the London Stock Exchange, valued at more than £300m. Newman explains to Dougal Shaw how he scaled the business, in an emerging category that not everyone had faith in. He set out by focusing on four key pillars of aesthetic technology, including LED and radio frequency, to offer clinical results at home – treatments usually associated with expensive aesthetic clinics. He shares insights on the challenges of securing investment in a niche market and the complexities of managing international regulation and manufacturing and supply chains for a global e-commerce brand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben Askins is the co-founder of Gaia, a green technology company that builds online tools for companies within the environmental space. But he cut his teeth as an entrepreneur by creating a digital marketing business for luxury brands, which he scaled and successfully exited. He shares with Richard Harpin practical advice on interview techniques to hire the best candidates, building an engaged and happy workforce and how to scale a start-up with a future exit in mind. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Stoffel is the entrepreneur who founded the matched betting platform Outplayed, taking a punt on the online betting space. He explains to Richard Harpin how he bootstrapped a simple idea into a multi-million pound enterprise by copying and refining existing business models and mastering digital marketing. He shares the leadership lessons he picked up along the way, including the dangers of "shiny object syndrome". The interview explores the technicalities of subscription-based revenue, the risks of rebranding while you scale, and the importance of well-planned delegation. Stoffel also discusses his exit and transition to his latest venture, Subspot, sharing his ambition to scale a globally successful software platform. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hub van Bockel shares his story with Richard Harpin about founding Tenzing, a natural energy drink brand inspired by Himalayan sherpas. Drawing on his marketing background at Unilever, MTV, and Red Bull, van Bockel explains how he identified a gap in the market for low-sugar, plant-based alternatives to artificial energy drinks. But how do you take on incumbents in such a competitive space? He explains his bootstrapping strategy, which to begin with focused on niche communities like climbing and running. He also explains how he slowly wooed major retailers like Tesco and Sainsbury's. But it all really began with a pitch deck he presented to convince his wife of the risks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Business Leader podcast, Richard Harpin interviews Caspar Lee, the YouTube pioneer who successfully transitioned from influencer to powerhouse entrepreneur. Lee reveals the strategies behind co-founding Influencer.com, a marketing agency with multi-million pound revenues and his subsequent move into venture capital with Creator Ventures. The conversation explores vital insights for scaling businesses. Lee explains why hiring 'big company' veterans can backfire in mid-sized firms. He also outlines how partnerships can be used to drive organic growth when building communities. He also shares his tips for personal branding, reflecting on the strategies he used to build his own following. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.