Scale-Up Sessions

AI is transforming the way businesses operate, but simply adopting more AI tools doesn't automatically create more value. The real opportunity lies in knowing where AI can genuinely improve the way your business works.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how growing businesses can move beyond AI experimentation and start using it to create real commercial advantage. From identifying the right use cases to redesigning workflows and avoiding unnecessary complexity, we unpack what it really takes to use AI as a lever for sustainable growth.
Joining us is Yinka Fasawe, AI Go-To-Market Lead for FSI capital markets at Google Cloud for the UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa. Yinka works with organisations to help them adopt AI strategically, enabling businesses to move beyond the hype and focus on where AI can improve productivity, decision-making and long-term competitiveness.
Yinka shares practical insights, including:
Why the businesses seeing the greatest return from AI aren't simply adopting more tools, they're rethinking how work gets done.
How to identify the business processes where AI can create the greatest value, rather than automating for automation's sake.
Why successful AI adoption is ultimately a leadership challenge, and how businesses can build the right culture, governance and mindset to turn AI into a genuine competitive advantage.

● Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Yinka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yinkafasawe/
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

Growing a business isn't just about getting more attention. It's about making sure the right people find you, trust you, and know exactly how to buy from you.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how founders can turn visibility into sustainable growth. From building meaningful relationships and creating a clear market position, to systemising sales and reducing founder dependency, we unpack what it really takes to build a business that can scale.
Joining us is Molly Ruland, Founder of Heartcast Media. Molly has spent more than two decades building businesses rooted in art, music, culture and community. Today, she helps founders and business leaders use strategic visibility and podcasting to build meaningful relationships that translate into long-term business growth. Her philosophy is simple: the strongest opportunities come from having better conversations.
Molly shares practical lessons from building and scaling her own business, including:
Why not everyone is your customer, and how focusing on the right audience creates stronger growth than chasing vanity metrics
How to turn visibility into predictable revenue by creating a clear offer and building repeatable sales systems
Why the most valuable businesses are designed to operate without constant founder involvement, and how to start reducing dependency on yourself as the business grows

● Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Molly on the channels below:
https://mollyruland.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heartcastmedia
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

What stops businesses from scaling? More often than not, it's not the market or the strategy - it's founder bottlenecks, misaligned leadership teams, and decisions made under pressure.
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we unpack the leadership challenges that emerge as businesses grow and become more complex. From struggling to let go of control to building alignment across senior teams, we explore what really gets in the way of sustainable scale.
Joining us is Kate Waterfall Hill, leadership coach, advisor, and author of How to Lead. You may also know her alter ego, Linda, the Bad Manager, whose brilliantly relatable online sketches shine a light on the everyday management mistakes many leaders make.
Kate shares practical lessons from decades of working with founders and leadership teams, including:
Why founders struggle to let go of control, and how to delegate without feeling like you're losing control of the business
How to build and maintain an aligned leadership team as your business becomes bigger and more complex
How to make smarter resourcing decisions that support growth, avoid team burnout, and prevent overhiring too quickly

Follow Kate Waterfall Hill on the channels below:
https://www.waterfallhill.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/katewaterfallhill/
https://www.tiktok.com/@katewaterfallhill
https://www.instagram.com/katewaterfallhill/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUCO50cN8ETdaUwQ_IiosFQ
Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

Is access to finance really drying up for growing businesses, or has the SME lending market simply become more complex?
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we explore how the UK SME lending landscape is evolving and what business owners need to understand before raising finance. From the rise of fintech and alternative lenders to the growing importance of brokers and long-term planning, this conversation cuts through the headlines to reveal what’s really happening on the ground.
Joining us is Jim Higginbotham, CEO of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), the UK’s largest trade body for commercial finance brokers. Jim shares insights from across the broker and lender ecosystem, explaining how funding routes have diversified, why many businesses rule themselves out of finance too early, and how scale-ups can make better funding decisions to support sustainable growth.
Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
Follow Jim Higginbotham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-higginbotham-33142523/

Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk

According to Product Talk’s 2026 CDH Benchmark survey, only around 20% of product teams describe themselves as truly outcome-focused, while roughly 30% are still primarily measuring outputs rather than real impact.
So, are you measuring what truly drives growth — or just tracking activity?
In this episode of Scale-Up Sessions, we’re joined by Sam Collett, Chief Innovation Officer at Eventus.do. Sam introduces the concept of “outcome engineering” — starting with what success looks like and working backwards to identify the actions that truly drive results. He explains why so many organisations fall into the trap of measuring activity instead of impact, why KPIs and dashboards often fail to tell the full story, and how businesses can take a more outcome-led approach to AI and innovation that delivers meaningful value rather than simply adding more activity.
Why not keep up to date with Sam via his newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7445799737930170368

● Follow Martin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkennington/
● Follow Sam Collett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collettsam/

Scale-Up Sessions is brought to you by Cynergy Bank. To learn more about Cynergy Bank, visit https://www.cynergybank.co.uk/
This episode was produced by Flamingo Media. If you want to create a chart-topping podcast, visit www.flamingo-media.co.uk