Success Stories

Alex Klein tells Jonathan Moules about his ambition to transform attitudes to computing with his kit to help people of all ages make their own and write the programmes to go with them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Geoff Watts and Julia Fowler co-founded EDITED, an innovative tech company that brings data analysis to the retail industry, nearly a decade ago. They tell Jonathan Moules that the toughest problem they've faced was when they hired someone who wasn't a team player. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Al Shariat trained as a lawyer, but then took a job with the UNDP in Iran, working on microfinance and other projects. It was this experience that inspired him to change direction and set up a business providing ethically-sourced coconut products to western consumers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Six entrepreneurs who have featured in recent episodes of FT Start-up Stories discuss survival strategies and key ingredients for success with Jonathan Moules in front of an invited audience at the Financial Times in London. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

In a new FT business education podcast, you can hear Jonathan Moules in conversation with entrepreneurs on the front line, who tell stories of building a successful brand through tweets, giving birth to a child in the middle of a funding round, and rebuilding a business reputation in the wake of bankruptcy. Real stories from those who've done it, from idea to exit. This ten-part series starts on Monday October 26. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Emily Brooke wanted to help solve the worst problem faced by urban cyclists - safety. She tells Jonathan Moules how she went about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Slack co-founder Cal Henderson and his collaborator Stewart Butterfield started out with the aim of creating a successful video game but ended up doing something completely different. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Jane Ni Dhulchaointigh imagined a product for fixing things that would help end the global throw-away culture. She tells Jonathan Moules how she turned her idea from a fun concept into a reality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Mixcloud, a music streaming service, got off the ground and achieved profitability without any external funding - something highly impressive and unusual in the world of tech start-ups. Nikhil Shah tells Jonathan Moules the story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Bernard Liautaud's startup was the first French company to go public in the US back in the 1990s. He describes how he steered the company from idea to exit and now advises other European companies hoping to take the same route. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Tugce Bulut's market research business Streetbees uses social media and mobile technology to gather data from paid volunteers in 87 countries Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Shakil Khan and his co-founder kept their student accommodation website out of the media spotlight during its early years while they tested the market and its global potential. He tells Jonathan Moules why he thinks this was the right strategy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Will Dean tells Jonathan Moules how a legal challenge acted as a catalyst for the growth of his extreme sports business Tough Mudder. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Daniel Reilly made a mistake that is all too common among tech entrepreneurs. He failed to test the strength of demand for his product before launching it onto the market. But the experience left him with a renewed respect for founders and helped him to discover what he really wanted, he tells Jonathan Moules. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Dutch entrepreneur Siete Hamminge tells Jonathan Moules how his tech start-up was nearly undone by the long lead times required to seal deals with big companies. He found an alternative use for his bird detecting radar technology and saved the business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

William Sargent founded his visual effects company over 30 years ago in London’s Soho district, and tells Jonathan Moules that the location was key to the early success of the business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Lopo Champalimaud, wanted to expand his online marketplace for health treatments rapidly across Europe. He chose the unusual route of recruiting other entrepreneurs who provided both local knowledge, an existing customer base - and a new name for the business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Jonathan Moules introduces a second season of his popular FT Start-up Stories podcasts, in which entrepreneurs talk candidly about their successes and failures: real stories from those who've done it, from idea to exit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Nuno Sebastiao had trouble finding European backers for his untested tech start-up based in Portugal. But he found US investors more willing to take a gamble because they understood the technology behind Feedzai's fraud detection service. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

In the final episode of the series, Jonathan Moules looks at the reasons why founders decide to sell up and hears a cautionary tale from Paul Collins, chief executive of M&A advisor Equiteq Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Tristram and Rebecca Mayhew started their tree-top adventure business after deciding they wanted to get out of the city. They tell Jonathan Moules about the risks they took, what they would do differently next time, and how it all worked out, with a little bit of luck and a lot of optimism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Phil Davidson is a bit of a health nut, and was frustrated when working long hours as a broker in London that he couldn’t find healthy food in the office vending machines. So after a spot of travelling, he decided to design his own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

A crowded train journey home after a Chicago baseball game provided the inspiration for Katie Hill-Gottesman's Commuter Ads business, as she tells Jonathan Moules Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Engineer Paul Roberts and his co-founders spotted a need in the market that was not being met for a device that could make keyhole surgery more widely available to patients all over the world. He now has a 50-strong team working to bring the devices to market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article

Dale Murray co-founded Omega Logic, which provided an electronic solution for mobile phone top-ups just as mobile phone use in the UK was becoming widespread. Timing played a big role in the success of the company, but it was ultimately her networking skills that saved the business Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. View the full article