Crisis What Crisis with Andy Coulson

Sir Richard Harpin wanted to be an entrepreneur since before he knew the word. He sold conkers in the playground, bred and sold rabbits in his garden, ran a tuck shop from his school locker, and by 15 was bunking off chemistry to cash cheques with the bank manager.
In this special episode of Crisis What Crisis – recorded in front of a live audience at the Walbrook Club in the City of London – Andy sits down with the founder of HomeServe, the company Richard built over 30 years and sold in 2023 for £4.1 billion. Richard was knighted in the 2024 New Year Honours. His Sunday Times bestselling book, How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps, is out now.
This episode is for anyone who has ever wanted to start something, scale something, or is simply looking for guidance on how to manage the day-to-day crises of running a business.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters, and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley. Visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FIVE BUSINESS LESSONS FROM SIR RICHARD HARPIN
1) Copy. Richard didn't invent the HomeServe model – he openly admits that he copied it (and then did it better). If someone else is doing it and it works, the risk is lower.
2) Prove the model before you scale it. HomeServe burned through half a million pounds trying to grow a loss-making business. With modern technology, Richard says, you really don't have to do that.
3) The best time to build is when conditions are hardest. Comfortable conditions produce cautious thinking. The best businesses are built with their backs against the wall.
4) Admitting the mistake is often the fastest route out of it. Richard told the stock market he'd wasted £130 million, wrote off the assets, and said sorry. The share price went up £250 million the same day. The market doesn't punish honesty. It punishes opacity.
5) Not taking a risk is itself a risk. Staying still has a cost that compounds invisibly. The test isn't whether the risk is scary. It's whether you can live with not taking it.
CHAPTERS
04:52 – Why Richard wanted to be an entrepreneur
10:35 – His first businesses
13:28 – What working at P&G taught him
19:22 – How HomeServe started
19:22 – Running out of money at Christmas
21:07 – Taking investment at the wrong terms
22:00 – The moment he nearly quit
23:00 – The £50 letter that saved the business
24:43 – The importance of copying
25:34 – Why he hired someone to replace himself
27:06 – Breaking America
30:01 – The £100m mistake he made publicly
30:59 – How he structures his day
36:10 – Negotiating a £4.1bn exit
37:37 – What selling actually feels like
38:55 – Why he's still working
42:25 – His advice on AI and careers
44:46 – Starting over with nothing
BUY SIR RICHARD'S BOOK
How to Make a Billion in Nine Steps – Sunday Times Bestseller https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Make-Billion-Nine-Steps/dp/034944644X
FOLLOW SIR RICHARD HARPIN
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rharpin/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/richard_harpin/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@richard.harpin
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS
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FOLLOW THE WALBROOK CLUB
This episode was recorded live at the Walbrook Club, London. Special thanks to Philip Palumbo and his team for hosting us.
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/thewalbrookclub/

Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Anya to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns on her darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:00 A Person
01:36 A Habit
03:01 A Comfort
03:45 A Piece of Advice
BUY ANYA'S BOOK
If In Doubt Wash Your Hair – https://www.anyahindmarch.com/products/if-in-doubt-wash-your-hair-paperback-book-in-paper-off-white
FOLLOW ANYA:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/anyahindmarch/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@anyahindmarch
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

Dame Anya Hindmarch started her global fashion business on a gap year trip to Italy aged just 18. Four decades on, she is the founder of one of Britain's most recognisable brands – worn by the Princess of Wales and a new holder of a royal warrant from Queen Camilla. Anya joins Andy for a candid conversation about courage, control and how treating fear and excitement as the same emotion has proved to be her superpower.
This is a masterclass in resilience from a founder who has dealt with the ‘daily stomach punches’ of being an entrepreneur
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on. This episode is powered by @kingsleynapley – visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FOUR BUSINESS LESSONS:
Doubt is your friend. Don't try to silence it. The moment you stop being scared is the moment things will go wrong.
Cling on to your equity. Getting investment isn't winning a prize. When you do it the hard way, you stay in control.
Be honest about the journey. Admitting what you've got it wrong buys you more credit than pretending you've got it right.
Sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette. You will get things wrong. Get them wrong, correct, and learn.

CHAPTERS:
03:09 – Learning to accept that in life you’ll never be fully satisfied
06:47 – How Thatcher's Britain created a generation of founders
08:19 – Dyslexia and the entrepreneur's brain
15:55 – Starting at 18 with no network, no internet, no clue
18:09 – "Stupid determination" – the trait every founder shares
20:09 – The lonely years of building a business
21:17 – Anxiety vs stress
24:07 – Why imposter syndrome is healthy
24:58 – I'm Not A Plastic Bag: changing national behaviour with a £5 product
27:35 – Honesty as a brand strategy
30:10 – Building a blended family without dropping the business
35:06 – The mistake of stepping away as CEO
40:16 – Buying it back: how to turn a crisis into a restructure
41:32 – Localising in a global business
44:20 – Her creative process
46:30 – Outside investment: why she'd tell founders to wait
48:08 – Perspective: what a child's illness teaches a CEO
52:06 – Brand Britain – what we're selling and what we're missing
54:41 – AI: "Stop moaning and get really good at it"
BUY ANYA'S BOOK
If In Doubt Wash Your Hair – https://www.anyahindmarch.com/products/if-in-doubt-wash-your-hair-paperback-book-in-paper-off-white
FOLLOW ANYA:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/anyahindmarch/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@anyahindmarch
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington in February 2023. What followed — the campaigning, the memoir, the forgiveness, the compassion — has made her one of the most consequential reform voices in contemporary British life.
In this bonus episode of Crisis What Crisis, I sit down with Esther to discuss her Crisis Compass. The four points of navigation that she turns on her darker days – a person, a habit, a comfort and a piece of advice.
Esther is the founder of the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project and Peace in Mind UK, a social enterprise focused on mental health in schools. She launched the Phone Free Education campaign, has campaigned in parliament, and last month received an honorary doctorate from the University of Chester. She was named The Independent's Most Influential Woman of 2024. Her memoir Under a Pink Sky, published by Penguin, is out now in paperback.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
CHAPTERS:
01:16 A Person
02:04 A Habit
03:10 A Comfort
03:39 A Piece of Advice
FOLLOW ESTHER GHEY:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/esther.ghey/
Peace in Mind UK – www.peaceinminduk.com
Under a Pink Sky – available now in paperback
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

In February 2023, Esther Ghey's 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered in a park near their home in Warrington, in a premeditated attack by two 15-year-olds. Today, Esther is a bereaved mother, but she is also one of the most significant voices for social reform in contemporary British life.
She founded the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project, co-launched the Phone-Free Education campaign with Kate Winslet, and has helped force a national reckoning on children, smartphones and social media. She was named the Independent's Most Influential Woman of 2024 and a GQ Hero.
Her bestselling memoir Under a Pink Sky - now available in paperback - is a searing and hopeful account of love, loss and rebuilding. It is one of the most breathtaking tales of resilience I have ever read.
POWERED BY KINGSLEY NAPLEY:
I know what it is to have the right legal support around you when facing crisis. Kingsley Napley are the kind of lawyers I wish more people knew about – there to help you make the right decisions, protect what matters and build real resilience when the pressure is on.
This episode is powered by Kingsley Napley, visit www.kingsleynapley.co.uk for more details.
FIVE LESSONS FROM ESTHER:
Grief doesn't get easier – you learn to build your life around the hole the person left.
Don't blame other people for your own decisions.
Perception is everything: You can walk the same street looking down at the dog mess or up at the blossom – the choice is yours.
Mindfulness isn't a wellness trend. It's a tool that rewires how you respond to stress.
Compassion costs nothing.

CHAPTERS:
03:56 – The cherry blossom and the sign
05:20 – Growing up with mum
07:55 – Leaving school with no GCSEs, becoming a mum at 18
09:13 – The sludge-green walls and the addiction
12:17 – Why she refuses to blame anyone but herself
15:43 – Going back to school in her 30s
16:07 – Discovering mindfulness
17:51 – When Brett became Brianna
21:17 – The phone, the bedroom, the 3am email
27:24 – The day it happened
30:16 – The dream that became acceptance
32:47 – What she'd say to anyone in early grief
34:35 – Grieving in public
36:33 – Why she won't name the killers
37:55 – Meeting Emma
43:23 – Building Brianna's legacy
48:05 – Could I have done more?
51:16 – Phones don't build resilience
54:26 – Where the campaign goes next
FOLLOW ESTHER GHEY:
Instagram – www.instagram.com/esther.ghey/
Brianna Ghey Legacy Project – www.instagram.com/briannagheylegacyproject/
Phone-Free Education – www.instagram.com/phonefreeeducation/
BUY ESTHER'S BOOK:
Under a Pink Sky – www.amazon.co.uk/Under-Pink-Sky-Esther-Ghey/dp/0241738733
FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?
Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast
TikTok – www.tiktok.com/@crisispod