Tash Insights
Tash Insights brings you inside the minds of female brand founders and the leaders of the UK’s fastest-growing e-commerce tech companies.
Hosted by Tash Courtenay-Smith – serial entrepreneur, investor, NED and fractional Head of Growth – each episode dives into the strategies, challenges, and breakthroughs that have shaped the futures of some of the UK's leading founders.
Whether you’re a founder, investor, tech lover or you just love hearing the growth stories behind top brands, this is the podcast for you.
Episodes
56 episodes
Why every founder needs to build a personal brand | Tash at Built by HER
Tash Insights presents a live talk from Tash Courtenay-Smith, recorded at Built by HER in New York.Built by HER, hosted by Shopify and EmpowHER, brought together founders, operators and senior leaders in commerce for a hands-on summit fo...
AI, content factories and founder-led brands | Tash at Built by HER New York
Tash Insights continues with a live panel conversation from the Built by HER summit in New York, hosted by Nicole Harvey, founder of EmpowHER.Tash joins Gina Perrelli, co-founder of Stay AI, and Kait Stephens, co-founder of Brij, for a p...
The Truth About TikTok Shop Profitability
TikTok Shop can drive explosive growth — but that does not automatically mean easy profit.In this honest panel discussion, founders, brand operators and TikTok Shop experts unpack the real economics behind the platform: margins, fees, ad...
Why Affiliates Are the Real Growth Engine on TikTok Shop
Affiliates are not just a nice-to-have on TikTok Shop — for many brands, they are the growth engine.In this panel discussion, brand leaders and TikTok Shop operators break down the real role affiliates play in scaling a product, building...
How Brands Really Win with TikTok Shop Live Streaming
Live streaming is quickly becoming one of the most powerful tools inside TikTok Shop — but for many brands, it still feels unfamiliar, resource-heavy and difficult to get right.In this panel discussion, beauty founders, brand leaders and...
From Near Shutdown to Sell-Out: TikTok Shop Beauty Brand Stories
TikTok Shop can transform a brand overnight — but the reality behind that growth is far more complex than most people realise.In this panel discussion, beauty brand founders, operators and marketing leaders share their real-life TikTok S...
TikTok Shop Secrets: How Beauty Brands Are Scaling Millions in 2026
TikTok Shop is no longer a trend — it’s a complete shift in how brands grow.In this exclusive panel, leading operators, founders, and brand builders unpack what is really driving growth on TikTok Shop in 2026.From affilia...
The future of AdTech, transactional data and outcome-based marketing | TMG x Mastercard panel
Tash Insights presents a live panel recorded at Soho House London, bringing together the co-founders of Transact Media Group alongside industry leaders to explore the future of AdTech, transactional data and outcome-based marketing.In th...
Why marketing must move from clicks to real transactions | TMG Keynote with Joel Williams
Tash Insights presents a keynote from Joel Williams, co-founder of Transact Media Group (TMG), on the future of performance marketing and why the industry is shifting from clicks and impressions to real, verified business outcomes.Joel s...
I built an AI version of myself… and it started working
For two years, Tash has been living online alongside a digital twin.What began as an experiment in content and marketing quickly turned into multiple AI versions of herself, testing how avatars, identity and personal brands might scale i...
The 24/7 content machine
In this episode, Tash explores a radical 18-month experiment in "testing in public" using AI digital twins and avatars to solve the production crisis.For many creators and business leaders, the pressure to be "camera-ready" is a c...
EmpowHER: Tash on the most common mistake she sees in fast-growing brands
At the EmpowerHER event hosted by Nicole Harvey, Tash shared one of the most common mistakes she sees across growing brands: building marketing around an imaginary ideal customer.In reality, successful businesses reach millions by appeal...
EmpowHER: How real CPG brands are built, broken and rebuilt
This panel was recorded live at EmpowHER.Hosted by Nicole Harvey, this candid, story-driven conversation brings together female founders and senior operators from across beauty, wellness, supplements and e-commerce, including Tash.
Why AI Twins Are Changing Creator Marketing Forever, with James Rowdy of TwinTone
James Rowdy, founder of TwinTone, sits down with Tash to discuss how AI twins are reshaping creator marketing — not by replacing creators, but by turning personal brands into licensable IP.From scaling content without burnout to why crea...
Building a performance business powered by transactions, data and outcomes with Transact Media Group
Tash Insights continues with a powerful conversation with Joel Williams and Adam Wilmshurst, founders of Transact Media Group.Joel and Adam reflect on the last 12 months of rapid growth, from early client wins to building a global, outco...
Building two cult beauty brands: Meagan Pate on Straand, Three Warriors & the power of category creation
In this episode of Triffin's Founder Stories, Tash sits down with Meagan Pate, co-founder of Straand and co-owner of Three Warriors, to explore how she helped create not just one but two cult beauty brands.<...
The Ultimate DTC Success Story: Maxine Laceby & Absolute Collagen
In this special episode, Tash catches up with Absolute Collagen founder Maxine Laceby at the recent Charge X event in London, hosted by Recharge. Maxine is one of the UK’s best-known DTC success stories.Her journey from kitch...
AI, Avatars & The Future of Beauty — CEW Webinar with Tash
In this special CEW webinar, Tash explores how AI, avatars, and digital twins are transforming the beauty, personal care, and wellness industries.From the rise of digital twins and UGC avatars to the risks, opportunities, and creat...
Funding your brand: Debt vs Equity with Piper’s Lizzie Lord & Triffin’s Franklyn Martin
In this special episode of Triffin Live, Tash is joined by Lizzie Lord of Piper and Franklyn Martin of Triffin to unpack one of the biggest decisions every founder faces: funding.From private equity to bootstrapping,...
You are not your job title: Reinventing work, identity & ambition
This week, Tash is joined by two brilliant women helping others redefine their relationship with work and success: Amelia Sordell, founder of personal branding agency Klowt, and Alina Addison, author of The Audacity Code and found...
How The Pink Stuff Went Viral: TikTok, Social Commerce & The Future of Consumer Brands
At Tash's latest Future Proof event in London, she sat down with Marc Curtis of Houlihan Lokey — one of the leading investment advisors in the consumer space — to talk about how brands are evolving in a digital-first world....
From Kitchen Table to £50m Vision: How PerfectTed is Building in Public
As part of her Future Proof events in London, Tash sits down with Levi Levenfiche, co-founder of PerfectTed—the matcha-powered drinks brand taking over your social feed and supermarket shelf.Levi shares how he and his wife (and brother!)...
From DJ booth to gut health pioneer: Lisa MacFarlane on building The Gut Stuff
Lisa MacFarlane co-founded The Gut Stuff after an unexpected twist in her career as a globe-trotting DJ. In this episode, she chats with Tash about launching one of the UK’s most recognisable gut health brands—without a business background, a p...
How Emma Sayle built a global movement for female empowerment with Killing Kittens
In this unapologetically honest and energising episode, Tash is joined by Emma Sayle—founder of Killing Kittens, the female-led brand that’s revolutionised how women connect with intimacy, empowerment, and each other.Emma opens up about ...
From Sunday Times to Silent Retreats: Eleanor Mills on reinventing life after 50
After 25 years at the top of British journalism, Eleanor Mills was unexpectedly pushed out of her role at The Sunday Times. What followed was a complete reinvention—personally, professionally, and spiritually. In this powerful episode,...