The Midlife Entrepreneur

Maxine Laceby: Starting Absolute Collagen at 50 and building a £30m DTC Brand
This week Jo sits down with Maxine Laceby, co-founder of Absolute Collagen, to discuss how she built a pioneering liquid collagen, direct-to-consumer brand in midlife. After 25 years as a stay-at-home mum, turning 50 and studying fine art led Maxine to a self-identity project, “Dare to Go Bare,” and a wellbeing journey that began with homemade bone broth and evolved into discovering collagen. In 2017 she launched Absolute Collagen with her daughter Darcy, growing it from a kitchen-table idea into a £30m business, raising £15m investment, and earning major rankings and awards. Maxine credits transferable “mum skills” like emotional intelligence, intuition, and reading people, alongside a consumer-first mindset, strong team culture, hiring to offset weaknesses, and choosing aligned partners over money. She emphasizes authenticity, integrity, and scientifically proven claims in a “Wild West” supplement market.
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
02:23 Motherhood Skills to Boardroom
03:06 Emotional Intelligence as Superpower
05:11 Designing for the Absoluter
08:01 Dare to Go Bare Origins
10:51 Finding Maxine Under the Masks
13:47 Kids Reactions and Leading by Example
15:39 Always a Problem Solver
17:51 Collagen Discovery with Darcy
19:13 Early Results and Hair Science
21:55 Mother Daughter Business Dynamic
23:28 Empowered Family Collaboration
26:08 Respect and Boundaries
27:07 Scaling With Great Hires
29:29 Authenticity Versus Celebrity
32:09 Brand Integrity and Science
33:58 Culture Fit and Team Freedom
34:53 Investment and Valuation Lessons
38:39 New CEO and Absoluter Mindset
40:44 Three Two One Advice
43:33 Thanking Brad and Closing
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: [email protected]

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: [email protected]
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

This week Jo sits down with AI expert, broadcaster, and AI Method founder Georgie Barrat to share three ways to scale productivity with AI. 
First, Georgie advises “onboarding” your AI like a new employee by creating an AI blueprint: a North Star vision document, ideal audience details, and “voice DNA” samples for emails, newsletters, and social posts, stored via tools like memory, projects, or custom GPTs to improve outputs and avoid confusion from overly long threads. 
Second, she recommends using voice input to reduce friction, brainstorm more naturally, and let AI consolidate ideas into well-formatted drafts you can refine. 
Third, she suggests building a simple toolkit by choosing one main AI tool and targeting repeat weekly workflows for small, high-impact time savings, while factchecking and ensuring the final work still sounds like you. 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:59 Tip 1 AI Blueprint Onboarding
03:16 Where to Store Context
04:34 Avoid Long Threads
06:06 Tip 2 Talk to AI
07:57 Tip 3 Workflow Toolkit
10:36 Small Wins Over Hype
11:37 Recap and AI Sandwich
15:32 Closing and Subscribe
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: [email protected]

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: [email protected]
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

From City Marketer to Heirloom Seed Disruptor: Kate Cotterill on Building She Grows Veg in Midlife
Jo kicks off a new season by speaking with Kate Cotterill, CEO and co-founder of She Grows Veg, an heirloom seed company launched in November 2023 with Instagram grower Lucy Hutchings. Kate shares how a garden design course led to their partnership, how Lucy’s 120,000-strong following revealed pent-up UK demand for heirloom seeds, and how Kate left a 25-year marketing career to start the business at 46. They discuss what heirloom seeds are versus hybrids, She Grows Veg’s rapid growth from a £17,000 crowdfund to £1.4m turnover and a 30+ person team, two Chelsea Flower Show gold medals, and the challenges of funding, scaling operations, website crashes, and seed production lead times. Kate also describes their women-focused hiring model, AI-driven content and customer support, new veg-growing app, charity work, and advice to research then act.
 
00:00 Welcome and guest intro
01:55 Why seeds
04:58 Market shift to growing
07:51 Heirloom seeds explained
10:46 Funding and crowdfunding
13:22 Product build and packaging
15:49 Chelsea spotlight and website crash
19:07 Scaling team and operations
22:13 Energy routines and tech
24:59 Co-founder roles and balance
25:28 Finding Your Yin Yang
25:59 Seed Hunting Secret Sauce
26:26 Funding the Fast Growth
28:44 Angel Investing Explained
30:17 Scaling Teams and Roles
31:14 Production and Stock Fears
32:54 Customer Support with AI
34:00 Family Support and Midlife Drive
36:33 Pinch Me Chelsea Moments
37:45 Digital Marketing Disruption
39:39 Next Phase and Veg App
41:04 Joy of Growing and Reviews
42:41 Advice to Just Go
44:23 321s People AI Premises
47:22 Do Differently and Thank You
50:35 Final Wrap and Goodbye
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: [email protected]

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: [email protected]
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

Jo hosts the 15 Minute Masterclass and interviews Mirry Christie, CEO and founder of Be.Able, about three ways to lead with more purpose and positive impact. Mirry advises starting with the business by identifying priority social and environmental focus areas, engaging teams beyond the boardroom, and making practical improvements that add brand value, reduce waste, improve staff wellbeing and retention, and prepare for investors and future regulation. Second, she encourages action closer to home through conscious consumption, reusing, recycling, repairing, community support, and projects like selling clothes on Vinted and local initiatives such as Remnant Revolution. Third, she stresses talking honestly and transparently about impact to counter greenhushing/greenwashing, build communities of brands, and inspire others, noting resource use is at 1.8 Earths today and heading toward two by 2030.
00:00 Welcome to Masterclass
00:35 Purposeful Leadership Question
00:54 Start With Business Impact
02:11 Social and Environmental Priorities
03:43 Making Change Practical
06:20 Advice Two Home Habits
07:51 Community Projects and Brands
09:53 Advice Three Talk About It
11:08 Building Communities for Impact
12:51 Recap and Final Thoughts
15:30 Subscribe and Contact
Connect with B.Able here: https://www.bable.world/
Follow on Instagram @bable.world
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: [email protected]

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: [email protected]
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

This week’s guest is Zoe Levey, founder of Wildflower Press and editor of Wildflower Magazine. With over two decades in senior commercial roles across major magazine titles, Zoe left Conde Nast in 2017 after her son’s SEN diagnosis to create more flexibility, moved to the Cotswolds, and launched an independent publishing business designed to feel special, seasonal, and collectible. Eight years on, Wildflower is distributed nationally in the UK and stocked by Waitrose, M&S and WH Smith, and has expanded into Wildflower Live events, the Little Green Book for independent businesses, and a Wine Club. Zoe explains her brand-led approach, self-funding and lean resourcing model, the skills she had to rebuild outside a large company (distribution, subscriptions, finance, digital), where AI may help efficiency, and the importance of boundaries, patience, and trusted people.
00:00 Welcome and Mission
00:55 Meet Zoe Levey
02:02 Why Start a Magazine
02:51 Designing Wildflower
04:57 Naming the Brand
06:45 Building the First Issues
08:48 Lean Team and Finances
09:52 Growth Pains and Skills
12:03 AI for Efficiency
14:36 Live Events Return
16:28 Seasonal Editorial Process
18:43 Weekly Rhythm and Balance
22:18 The Turning Point Story
23:31 Chasing Work Life Balance
24:07 Lists And Starting Projects
25:07 Eat The Frog First
25:47 Rest And Self Care Boundaries
27:04 Protecting Mornings And Breaks
28:46 Phones And Blurred Work Lines
30:33 Three Two One Framework
31:00 Worthwhile Investments
34:49 Career Skills And Confidence
36:29 Mistakes Hiring And Structure
39:35 Distribution Lessons And COVID
42:39 Thanking A Key Mentor
44:08 Final Wrap And Call To Action
Find out more about Wildflower here: https://wildflowermagazine.co.uk/
Follow them on Instagram @wildflowermagazine
Support the show
Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025.
Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX
For bookings: [email protected]

Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change.

Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur
Contact: [email protected]
www.joglynnsmith.com

MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io
PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com