Business and a Brew
Welcome to Business and a Brew – the podcast where real conversations about business happen over a good drink. Hosted by Danielle and Simon, this show brings together two friends with years of shared experiences, lessons learned, and plenty of stories to tell.
We’re here to explore the highs, lows, and in-betweens of business, from awkward challenges to unexpected victories. No topic is off the table – if it’s part of the entrepreneurial journey, we’re talking about it. Whether you’re looking for relatable advice, fresh perspectives, or just a laugh, you’ll find it here.
Think of us as your business buddies, chatting over coffee (or something stronger), keeping it real and keeping you entertained. So, grab your brew of choice, tune in, and let’s get talking. Cheers!
Episodes
81 episodes
Ponzi by Stealth? Inside the Fall of Equitable Life
What happens when one of the country's most trusted financial institutions stops living up to its name?In this episode, Dani and Si unpack the extraordinary rise and dramatic collapse of Equitable Life, once regarded as one of the safest...
Last Orders? Inside Britain’s Pub Crisis and the Rise of the Micro Pub
Is Britain calling last orders on one of its most iconic institutions?In this episode, Danni and Si pull up a chair and explore the story behind the British pub crisis. From Roman taverns and medieval ale houses to Victorian gin palaces ...
When Doing the Right Thing Destroys Your Career: The Dark Reality of Whistleblowing
What happens when doing the right thing comes at the cost of your career?In this episode, Dani and Si tackle the uncomfortable subject of whistleblowing and ask a question that sounds simple but rarely has a simple answer: are whistleblo...
Redefining Success: Why Six Figures Isn’t the Whole Story
What does success actually mean?Not the Instagram version. Not the LinkedIn version. Not the version that tells you success is six-figure months, luxury cars, 5:30am starts, and an endless grind.Just success. For you.In thi...
First, Do No Harm? The Business Behind the Vaginal Mesh Disaster
This one is difficult listening at times, but it’s a story that needs to be told.Dani and Si take a closer look at the vaginal mesh scandal, one of the biggest medical controversies in recent UK history, and a stark example of what can h...
Icing on a Fraudulent Cake: What Really Happened at Patisserie Valerie?
Grab a brew and a custard slice, because this one is proof that sometimes the prettiest shop window hides the messiest books. ☕🍰Dani and Si dig into the very British scandal behind Patisserie Valerie, the high street favourite tha...
Why Red Bull Sells Energy, Not Energy Drinks
This one starts with a tired businessman in a taxi and ends with Formula One dominance, space jumps, and one of the most powerful lifestyle brands on the planet. ☕️🥤We crack open the surprisingly wild story behind Red Bull, from i...
Would you drink Round up weed killer?
Is there a hidden ingredient in your pint?In this episode of Business & a Brew, we dive into the surprising story behind glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup weed killer – and its journey from farm fields to your ...
BrewDog Revisited : The Rise, the Hype, and the Hard Crash
BrewDog was once the poster child for punk business – cult branding, guerrilla marketing and a loyal army of “equity punks” behind it. So how did a billion‑pound craft beer darling end up as a cautionary tale?In this episode, Danielle an...
Beware the Sand Mafia
Sand sounds harmless. Beachy. Innocent. Something you shake out of your shoes.Turns out it’s one of the most fought-over resources on the planet.We get into the world of illegal sand mining, often referred to as the “sand mafia,” ...
Can You Rename a Problem Away? The Meta rebrand story
Facebook changed its name. The internet didn’t change its mind.We unpack the 2021 rebrand from Meta, when the company tried to pivot from social network giant to metaverse pioneer. New name. New vision. Very shiny presentation. But publi...
Why Nintendo Won by Losing First
From playing cards in 1889 to plumbers saving princesses on global cinema screens, Nintendo might be the greatest reinvention story in business.We talk about how Nintendo tried taxis, instant rice, plastic toys and a few glorious flops b...
Who's Killing The Planet?!
Feeling guilty about your phone upgrade? Your takeaway coffee cup? That parcel that arrived in a box big enough to house a Labrador?We get into consumer guilt. The kind that makes you side-eye your wardrobe while corporations quietly chu...
The Fake Cancer Cure.
This one explores what happens when hope, fear, and business blur into something dangerous. With a brew in hand, we unpack the story of Laetrile, also known as amygdalin or vitamin B17, a compound once promoted as a natural cancer cure.W...
Everything is Mined or Grown - prepare to have your mind blown.
We talk about mining, not the obvious kind with hard hats and diggers, but the kind hiding in plain sight. Phones, electric cars, toothpaste, tech, it all starts in the ground. And over a lifetime, each of us gets through millions of pounds of ...
The Hidden Politics of Fishing
We’re turning our attention to the UK fishing industry and asking some uncomfortable but necessary questions about who the system really works for. We talk through the pressure small scale fishers are under, from shrinking quotas and rising cos...
Bayer Buys a Beehive Full of Lawsuits - part two
The story doesn’t end when a name disappears.We pick up where part one left off and follow the money, the lawsuits, and the legacy that refused to stay buried. This time, we’re unpacking the $63 billion acquisition that was meant to draw...
Bayer - Seeds, Patents, Power and Profit! part one
We’re opening up a two-part conversation around one of the most controversial business stories of the modern era. This first part focuses on how innovation, when paired with unchecked power, can quietly reshape entire industries and lives.<...
Juicero the wifi juice you never knew and never needed.
Juicero had Wi-Fi. Venture capital. Sleek design. And absolutely no reason to exist.We unpack how Juicero raised around $120 million to build a $399 juicer that only worked with proprietary juice pouches and stopped functioning if your i...
The Festival That was not FYRE!
FYRE Festival promised champagne, supermodels, and luxury villas. What people got was cheese sandwiches, wet tents, and a masterclass in what happens when marketing runs miles ahead of reality.We break down how a glossy influencer campai...
The Bait and Switch of Pale Ale
Changing a formula sounds simple on paper. It rarely is in real life.We dig into why tweaking a product can be one of the fastest ways to upset your most loyal customers, using craft ale as the perfect example. The stuff brewed to be dru...
They Leaned Into Ugly And Made Billions - The story of CROCS
Crocs were once the punchline. The shoe you mocked… right up until everyone started wearing them anyway.We talk about how Crocs went from cultural joke to business comeback story of the decade. After selling hundreds of millions of pairs...
F1 Saves babies lives
Formula One and premature babies don’t sound like they belong in the same sentence. And yet here we are...We talk about how the high-speed, high-pressure world of F1 pit stops ended up transforming the care of critically ill babies at Gr...
The Cover-up That Changed How We Eat
Mad Cow. Variant CJD. Government reassurance served with a side of crossed fingers.This chat pulls apart one of the biggest food and trust scandals the UK has ever quietly moved on from. We’re talking about how contaminated feed made its...
Why The Loudest People Aren't Always The Most Capable... Pt 2 With Dawni Baxter
Imposter syndrome has a funny way of turning capable people into silent overthinkers.In this part 2 conversation, we sit down with Dawn Baxter and get honest about what imposter syndrome actually does in real life. Not just the wobbly co...