One of the wildest business stories of our time... Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos disaster. And honestly… where do you even start with this one?

Holmes dropped out of Stanford at nineteen, put on a Steve Jobs turtleneck, lowered her voice about two octaves, and somehow convinced some of the richest, most powerful people on the planet to throw over $700 million at a device that never actually worked. (If only confidence alone could do that for the rest of us.)

Theranos promised to change healthcare forever with a simple finger-prick blood test. In reality? Their machine was so inaccurate that results could be up to 40% off, which is… not ideal when you’re trying to diagnose actual diseases.

It took brave whistleblowers to finally crack the illusion. Holmes ended up with an 11-year prison sentence and a casual $452 million restitution bill.

But beyond the drama (and oh, there’s plenty), we get into the why behind it.
Why are people so desperate for quick healthcare fixes?
Why do investors get swept up in charisma instead of due diligence?
And why does “revolutionary tech” somehow keep meaning “we hope nobody checks the numbers”?

If you love a good business scandal, a bit of chaos, or a gentle roast of Silicon Valley optimism, you’re going to enjoy this one.

Grab your brew, get comfy, and join us as we unpack the madness.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

So… do you have to be slightly unhinged to start a business?

Simon and I decided to tackle the question head-on... and honestly, the evidence is stacked against our sanity.

We kick things off with some very British statistics from 2023:
800,000 new businesses registered in the UK, which sounds impressive… until you realise 20% don’t even make it through the first year and a whopping 60% disappear within five.
Cheery, right?

There's also the emotional side of entrepreneurship... the bit no glossy Instagram reel prepares you for. The late nights, the internal panic, the quiet crying at your desk while googling “how to run a business without losing the will to live.” Entrepreneurs are 200% higher risk of depression. Yes, two hundred percent!!
Suddenly “Do you have to be crazy?” starts to feel like a genuine screening question.

But before you think this is all doom and gloom, we talk about why people still do it, and why we did it too. Because honestly? You need a little bit of madness. A bit of misplaced confidence. A sprinkle of “I’ll figure it out.” And a solid dose of resilience (or stubbornness, depending how you look at it).

We also dig into the role of support networks, the people who remind you that even when you’re convinced your business is falling apart, it’s actually just Tuesday. Entrepreneurship can be isolating, but it doesn’t have to be lonely. With the right people in your corner, the madness feels a lot more manageable.

This episode is honest, hilarious in moments, and painfully relatable if you’ve ever tried to build something from scratch.

So grab your brew, settle in, and ask yourself: Are you brave, brilliant… or just a tiny bit bonkers?

It’s probably all three.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

What’s really going on behind those “too good to be true” marketing promises?

Simon and I are talking the good stuff first: marketing that treats people like actual humans (ground-breaking, we know). Clear communication, real expectations, transparency that isn’t just sprinkled on top like glitter.

Then we jump straight into the chaos... the fear-based messaging, the “act now or you’ll die cold and alone” tactics, the pretend scarcity, the “guaranteed results” promises, and the guilt-tripping funnels that somehow convince you you’re failing at life if you don’t buy the course. You’ve seen them. You’ve probably rolled your eyes at them. Same.

From SEO cowboys, to lead-gen “gurus,” to PPC agencies that promise the moon and deliver a pebble, we shine a very bright, very unapologetic light on the worst offenders, and why these tactics stick around. Spoiler: because people don’t always know they’re being manipulated.

But here’s the good news! Once you understand how unethical marketing works, you’re a lot harder to fool. Consumer education is the real power move, and ethical businesses (the ones who actually care) are the ones who win long term.

If you’ve ever felt confused, pressured, or straight-up bamboozled by a marketing message… you’re going to love this episode. It’s honest, it’s funny, it’s slightly chaotic, and yes, we definitely rolled our eyes more than once.

Grab your brew, press play, and enjoy.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

In this week’s episode, Simon and I dive into a topic that comes up again and again… corporate denial. You know the one, the moment a huge organisation gets caught red-handed, denies everything with a perfectly polished statement, and quietly carries on making millions. Yep!

We unpack some of the biggest examples from recent years and explore why it happens, how companies manage to bounce back so quickly, and why society seems to give them more grace than they sometimes deserve.

We also talk about the performative side of corporate “values,” where glossy marketing promises don’t always line up with what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s the gap between what brands say they stand for and what they actually do that frustrates so many of us.

This isn’t just a rant session (although we had a few moments!). It’s an honest look at accountability, reputation, and why genuine change is so rare in corporate spaces. We explore whether public outrage ever leads to lasting transformation, or if most businesses simply ride out the storm until the media moves on.

If you’ve ever wondered why some companies seem untouchable... or why “lessons learned” often feels like an empty phrase, this episode pulls back the curtain. It’s thought-provoking, a little spicy, and full of those conversations we all have privately but rarely say out loud.

Grab a cuppa and join us. This one goes deep!

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Grab your mug and settle in, because this week we’re tackling one of the biggest questions shaking up the creative world... can artificial intelligence really be creative?

We chat about the good, the bad, and the slightly terrifying side of it all, from how AI can supercharge efficiency to the uncomfortable question of whether it could ever replace genuine human creativity. Spoiler! We’re not convinced it can.

There’s also a serious side to this brew-fuelled chat, the ethical and legal mess that comes with AI-generated content. Should creators be declaring when something’s AI-made? Who’s responsible if it copies someone else’s work? And what happens when regulations finally catch up?

This episode isn’t a doom scroll in podcast form, it’s a conversation about balance, transparency, and remembering that while AI can imitate, it can’t feel. Creativity, at its core, is still a human heartbeat.

Tune in and join us as we unpack the ethics, the innovation, and the odd existential crisis, all in the name of keeping our creative cups half full.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Fraud. Scams. Dodgy deals that sound too good to be true (and usually are).

In this week’s episode of Business and a Brew, we dive headfirst into the wonderfully weird and slightly worrying world of fraud. From fake magazine ads to a suspicious pig purchase (yes, you read that right), we’ve seen and shared some stories that prove scammers will try anything.

We get into the mechanics of how these scams work, from the “just one more person and you’ll be rich” world of MLMs, to pyramid schemes that crumble faster than a soggy biscuit, to Ponzi schemes with promises so outrageous you wonder how anyone believed them.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Between the laughs and the “you couldn’t make it up” stories, we share practical advice too, like how to spot the red flags of a scam, and why Action Fraud should be your first port of call if you think something’s dodgy.

If you’ve ever wondered how scams really work, or you just want to hear us giggle about pigs, pyramids, and promises that were never going to happen, this episode’s for you.

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Grab your cuppa, because this week we’re diving headfirst into one of the most divisive business conversations out there, niching. Yep, that old chestnut.

On one side, we’ve got the anti-niche camp waving their “don’t box me in!” banners. They argue that telling every small business owner they must pick a niche is like telling a toddler they can only play with one toy forever. It’s restrictive, it’s stressful, and it can totally squash your creativity.

On the other side, the pro-niche brigade are sipping their lattes smugly, pointing out that having a clear niche makes your marketing easier, your messaging sharper, and your conversions higher. They’re not wrong either, it’s just that the rest of us are still trying to figure out which box we actually fit in.

We chat through the evolution of niches (because, yes, they can change), sharing real examples from our own businesses, from B2B e-commerce to the world of greeting cards. There are stories, laughs, and maybe a few gentle rants about how “finding your ideal client” can sometimes feel like online dating with less flirting and more spreadsheets.

So, whether you’re proudly niched down to a fine art or still dabbling in a bit of everything, pop the kettle on, plug in your headphones, and join us for some honest, funny, and surprisingly liberating chat about the non-rules of niching.

Tune in and tell us, are you team niche, or team “don’t tell me what to do”?

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.

Ever wondered what happens when one of the world’s biggest credit reporting agencies accidentally leaves the front door wide open... for 76 days?

In this week’s episode, we dive into the absolute chaos that was the Equifax data breach of 2017.

We chat through how it went from bad to worse, the PR disaster, the “less than £5 per victim” compensation that wouldn’t even buy a pint, and the eye-watering £500,000 UK fine (which, let’s face it, is about as painful to Equifax as a paper cut).

This episode isn’t just about tech gone wrong, it’s about leadership, accountability, and why patching your software might just save you a few hundred million dollars (and your reputation).

Grab your brew, because this one’s got everything: corporate scandal, a sprinkle of outrage, and a few laughs at the expense of the world’s most ironically named “security” company.

Tune in now and tell us, if your data was worth a fiver, what would you spend it on?

About Simon and Danielle:

Simon and Danielle are both business owners, based in the East Midlands, who met through mutual business contacts and who share a love of all things business.

Simon runs Skylight Media – Award-winning experts in Website Design, E-commerce & Marketing running since 2003.

Danielle runs Goldspun Support – a multi-faceted support service for fractional directors and small business owners across the globe, running since 2009.

Since they first met Simon and Danielle have spent a ridiculous amount of time talking about the subjects that interest them – usually over a drink in the pub – and they decided that now was the time to bring these conversations to a wider audience and invite them to join the chat.

Both Simon and Danielle are successful business owners in their own rights with big plans for the future but will never lose their love of talking all things business… and the pub.