The Midlife Entrepreneur

This week Jo sits down with Claire Burrows, founder of London footwear brand Air & Grace, to discuss building a business in midlife by solving the style-versus-comfort problem. Claire shares how redundancy pushed her to launch in 2014 after 20+ years in buying, design, and product development, funding early work with her life savings, renting out her home, and borrowing money. She explains developing the patented Tender Loving Air technology with technologist Kevin Ban, including setbacks like rejecting the first production run, running out of money, and later winning a Metro Newspaper competition that enabled a pivot from a failed wholesale plan to direct-to-consumer via Shopify. Claire describes learning marketing, e-commerce, and cashflow management, using consumer events to drive early sales and feedback, and later refocusing online. Her advice highlights investing in legal support and knowledge, keeping teams lean, and trusting red flags earlier.
 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:47 Redundancy Sparks the Leap
02:39 Finding the Comfort Gap
04:25 Building the First Prototype Team
08:02 Naming Air and Grace
09:21 First Product and Early Setbacks
12:51 Tender Loving Air Tech
15:03 Funding and Cost Realities
16:38 Pivot to Direct to Consumer
19:24 Shopify Site and Winning Investment
21:04 Learning D2C Marketing and Finance
22:40 Money Mindset Shift
22:57 First Hire Milestone
23:22 Selling Comfort Online
23:42 Consumer Events Playbook
25:30 Trade Show Chaos Story
26:18 Online Focus Tipping Point
26:59 Back To In Person
27:40 New Product Evolution
28:22 Best Selling Flat
29:27 Color Range Strategy
30:12 Surviving Tough Markets
31:51 Streamlining For Growth
32:54 Team Culture Energy
33:33 Business Owner Surprises
34:40 Shoemaking Complexity
35:46 Three Two One Framework
36:06 Worth Every Penny
40:44 Team Size Regrets
42:25 Quit Earlier Lesson
44:07 Thanking The Technologist
45:02 Final Wrap And Goodbye
Visit at https://airandgracelondon.com/
Follow on Instagram @airandgrace
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: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

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: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
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 Melisse Shaban, CEO of Aramore, a US-based longevity science company, to share three ways to innovate when everyone else is copying you in a low-barrier, noisy market. First, Melisse advises pursuing technical innovation by identifying unmet, unknown, or evolving needs, and reframing familiar problems (such as “longevity” versus “anti-aging”) while staying open to new formats and delivery systems across categories, from GLP-1s and peptides to sleep and recovery tools. Second, she stresses being honest and authentic in a world where it’s hard to tell what’s real, arguing that trust and truth-telling drive meaningful innovation. Third, she recommends constant discovery—looking in unexpected places, staying curious, and using practices like affirmation—while remaining focused and credible, as Aramore does by targeting cellular health in skin through long-term science.
 
00:00 Welcome to Masterclass
00:34 Why Copycats Win
01:04 Unmet Needs Drive Innovation
01:27 New Longevity Mindset
03:46 Formats and Recovery Trends
04:56 Authenticity in Noisy Markets
07:24 Brave Truth Tellers
08:11 Discovery and Self Belief
12:02 Aramore Inside Out Skin
14:08 First to Market Focus
15:18 Science Led Differentiation
16:13 Wrap Up 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: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

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: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
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 speaks with Antonia Philips, a pediatric nurse and co-founder of Nursem, an award-winning handcare brand created to solve the cracked, bleeding hands caused by constant handwashing with harsh antiseptics. Antonia shares how she and her husband Jonny spent seven years researching and testing products (including Manuka honey) while raising three children and continuing her nursing career, eventually moving to flexible bank shifts after burnout. They discuss finding support through the Newcastle Science City incubator, standing out in a saturated skincare market, listening to customers via a 2,000-person testing panel requiring 90% approval, and scaling a small team as they aim to enter grocery. Antonia explains the Nursem Promise, donating a month of free handcare per product sold, with 700,000 promises delivered and a million targeted by 2027, and reflects on working with her husband, managing energy, and planning for an investor exit without losing purpose. 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:50 Balancing Nursing and Business
04:15 Staying Connected to Nursing
07:31 Handwashing Damage Explained
09:01 Searching for a Real Solution
11:46 Building the Formula and Testing
14:57 Packaging and Early Feedback
16:13 Funding and Incubator Support
17:07 Launch and Giving Back
18:38 Burnout and Energy Management
23:36 Sleep and Support
24:13 Running as Therapy
24:24 Standing Out in Skincare
25:58 Customer Led Product Expansion
27:40 Working With Your Spouse
31:36 Team Growth and Grocery Plans
33:38 Exit Pressure and Purpose
39:59 Three Two One Reflections
45:45 Final Thanks and Wrap Up
https://www.nursem.co.uk/
 
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: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

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: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
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 speaks with Rosie Nixon, coach, founder of Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats and author of The PRO Method, about three ways to avoid burnout before it derails you and your business. Rosie explains burnout as a workplace-based syndrome where demand outstrips recovery, often showing up as insomnia, irritability, anxiety, overwhelm, low motivation and reduced creativity. Her three tips follow the PRO framework: first, Pause—calm the nervous system through micro-pauses like getting outside, breathwork (count four in, hold two, release six), or exercise, and take longer time away if needed. Second, Reflect—get curious about what’s happening, name emotions, clarify what matters now, and identify unmet needs and values. Third, Organise—map small, values-aligned steps forward, including letting go of responsibilities, work or relationships that no longer serve you.
 
00:00 Welcome to Masterclass
00:34 What Burnout Looks Like
02:11 PRO Method Overview
02:31 Pause to Reset
07:19 Reflect with Curiosity
09:36 Organise Next Steps
12:21 Reinvention Mindset
14:33 Book and Farewell
https://www.rosienixon.co.uk/
Follow on Instagram @rosiejnixon 
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: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

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: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
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 Vivien Wong, co-founder of Little Moons, to discuss how the brand introduced mochi ice cream to the UK in 2010, grew from restaurants into FMCG, and scaled after going viral on TikTok during the pandemic with user-generated “Tesco adventure” videos that drove immediate purchase. Vivien shares the operational strain of a sudden “hockey stick” demand surge—COVID hiring constraints, machinery limits, and supply shortages—plus lessons on maintaining quality, retailer relationships, and culture while expanding into more supermarkets and selling in over 38 countries. She explains how her father’s cancer diagnosis prompted her to leave a city finance career, why she self-funded through five years of restaurant sales, and how she and her brother managed a sibling partnership. Vivien reflects on burnout, the impact of private equity bringing in a CEO, investments in coaching/therapy/training, and announces Mini Moons launching exclusively in Sainsbury’s.
 
00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
01:43 TikTok Viral Breakthrough
03:47 Scaling in a Pandemic
06:56 Pivotal Leap from Corporate
09:08 Building with a Sibling
12:21 Perfecting Mochi from Scratch
14:39 Landing Yo Sushi Deal
16:42 From Restaurants to Retail
19:51 Hiring and Letting Go
22:30 Burnout and Better Boundaries
25:07 Learning to Slow Down
25:26 Working On Business
25:42 Flavor Trend Hunting
26:36 Stepping Back With CEO
27:43 Trusting Leadership Team
28:47 Favorite Flavors Origins
29:47 Three Two One Segment
30:45 Coach Versus Therapy
32:54 Dog As Investment
35:06 Working Mum Lessons
37:44 Hiring Mistakes Regrets
38:48 Questions For Dad
40:03 Thanking Key Advisor
42:00 Networking And AI Tools
43:14 Mini Moons Launch
44:22 Closing And Farewell
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: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk

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: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com
www.joglynnsmith.com

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