Small Business, Big Network

Paul Westlake (Westy) is on a mission to make learning actually work – not just tick boxes.As Digital Director at PeopleUnboxed and Customer Success Director at BentoBot (BentoBot.com) – a spaced repetition solution that makes learning stick – Westy transforms how organisations develop their people.He also hosts the popular PeopleUnplugged podcast, where he unpacks what really works in L&D.But here's the thing: Westy didn't start in a boardroom. He spent five years in the trenches delivering face-to-face leadership training before leading McDonald's UK through a complete digital L&D transformation – designing learning experiences for 120,000 employees who didn't have time to waste on forgettable training.That experience taught him something crucial: great learning solutions need to work for both the L&D team and the people actually using them. It's like designing a car that's brilliant to drive but also easy to maintain – both sides matter.After his McDonald's decade, Westy moved supplier-side with Kineo, where he designed award-winning learning solutions for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Compass Group, and Mitchells & Butlers. He also hosted Kineo's "Stream of Thought" podcast, proving that learning geeks can be entertaining.His superpower? Combining analytical and creative thinking to challenge the status quo. He doesn't just ask "what training do you need?" – he asks "what actually needs to change?" Then he builds blended solutions that genuinely shift behaviours and deliver results.When he's not empowering L&D teams to be heroes, Paul's an award-winning wedding photographer whose company sponsors a race car. So his weekends are an unlikely mix of grease, spanners, running shoes, camera lenses, and bass guitar riffs. He lives with his wife and two daughters, who've learnt that Dad's enthusiasm for digital learning is matched only by his enthusiasm for... pretty much everything else.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/westyphotography/PeopleUnboxed: https://peopleunboxed.co.uk/BentoBot: https://bentobot.com/

Laurie Kozan is a brand and marketing strategist who helps founders, experts and independent consultants attract more of the people they really want to work with, by learning what to say about what they do.Laurie’s work is built around the conviction that the way we communicate has real power — to create clarity, community and change. Using her background in PR, marketing, graphic design, and intuitive coaching, she develops brands that align expert perspective with audience desires, so selling feels easier + business works better. A mother of three, Laurie is especially good at spotting synergies, coaxing order from chaos, and taming competing priorities. Like any good parent, what absolutely lights her up is helping others figure out what they uniquely contribute to the world — and setting them up with the tools to do it really, really well.You can connect with her on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriekozan and on her website https://www.sourcemarketingstudio.com

Anna Brand is obsessed with one question: Why should anyone care about your brand? She helps founders get clarity and confidence in how their brand shows up, without overcomplicating it. No bloated processes. No buzzwords. No BS. Blending psychology and straight-talk brand thinking, Anna helps create brands people actually feel something for. She also hosts B. with Anna Brand, a podcast featuring honest conversations about work, identity, failure, and the messy human stuff behind success.https://annabrandcreative.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-brand/

Jane Parslow is a retirement coach and one of the founders of 'Retirement Pathways'. They are specialists in retirement, using a ‘Wholistic’ approach that empowers people to tackle the challenges and adjustments needed to make a successful transition to retirement. Jane finds that most of her clients come to her via networking, one way or another. www.retirementpathways.co.ukhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/janeparslow/

Christen Gilchrist is a Organisational Psychologist and Executive Coach who helps leaders and organisations remove friction from the way they work.Through her consultancy, Core Potential Solutions, she's supported clients ranging from Harrods and the NHS to founder-led businesses. Christen specialises in the psychology behind performance, decision making and efficiency - showing how behaviour patterns and operations shape business results. Her work bridges science and practicality, helping leaders build trust, influence ethically and create cultures that sustain growth.Website:https://www.corepotentialsolutions.com/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/christen-gilchrist-654701130?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Kaye King is on a mission is to debunk the myths that cause fear, frustration, and overwhelm around marketing. After working with brands like Kenco, Hilton, and Nationwide during her 30-year marketing agency career, Kaye now uses her experience to strip everything back to basics for her clients. Her aim is simply to stop business owners wasting time, energy, and money on marketing that doesn’t work for them (or to stop them avoiding it altogether!) Through her calm, practical and jargon-free approach, Kaye encourages her clients to embrace marketing and prioritise it to grow their business in a way that works for them. All without being sleazy, spammy or annoying.Connect with Kaye on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/kaye-king-marketingmentorVisit Kaye’s website https://www.marketingmentorkaye.com/Join Kaye’s email community for a regular dose of Marketing Calm in your inbox https://www.marketingmentorkaye.com/marketingcalm

Jordan Cracknell is a UK-based financier and author. In addition to writing opinion pieces for publications such as TODAY.com, Metro.co.uk, City AM, and others, she is the author of You Can Count on Penny, a children’s book that inspires young people to embrace their love of mathematics.A native New Yorker, she is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, where she obtained an MBA. Additionally, she has a MSc in Finance from Baruch College. Her parents inspired her to forge a career in Finance after attending ‘Take Your Daughter to Work Day’ with her father, who worked in the World Trade Center.From being hired straight out of university putting pitch books together to working on the trading floor for companies such as Deutsche Bank and Renaissance Capital, she has never looked back.Jordan lives in the UK with her husband, the double Olympic gold medalist James Cracknell, and their dogs and cats, balancing her career goals with being a stepmother of three, writing, advocating for more women to enter finance, and inspiring the next generation to manage money and excel in the industry.www.jordancracknell.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jconnell26/

A facilitator, coach and professional speaker for 23 years, Clare Haynes runs award-winning business Wildfire helping people to speak up and have confident conversations. She works with teams and 1:1, building peoples’ communication and business confidence using their greatest asset – themselves. Clare has a psychology background and her career spans television, sport, charity and the social sectors. Clare was named in the UK’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs by Small Business Britain’s f;Entrepreneur iAlso campaign 2025, celebrating women business leaders, and has won national awards for her coaching and as a service provider. Clare believes networking is like all business success, not being something you’re not but bringing out your best!Website: https://www.wildfireatwork.co.uk/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarehaynes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildfirespark/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clare.haynes.Wildfire/

Jenny Green is the Senior Account Manager at 22:22 Marketing. The company work across all aspects of digital marketing but are particularly well known for helping businesses with online ads for platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Google.When it comes to networking, Jenny's top tip is to keep your pitch short and sweet!https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-green-080121242/https://www.2222marketing.co.uk/jenny@2222marketing.co.uk

Imogen Ley-Clowes is the founder of London-based Immo Studio. Too often, branding looks polished but doesn’t do much. She’s more interested in the stuff that works: sharp strategy, clear structure, and design that grows with the business behind it. She started Immo Studio to help ambitious teams turn brand confusion into something clear, impactful, and built for what’s next. With over a decade of experience working with startups and global businesses, Imogen likes getting to the heart of what’s not working, untangling the in-between bits, and turning all of it into something strategic, useful, and well-designed.https://www.immostudio.co.uk/

Serge Santos began his career in physics, earning a PhD before completing a Master’s in Finance at London Business School. He went on to build a successful career as a strategy consultant, investment banker, and hedge fund professional — managing global investments before turning his analytical mindset toward entrepreneurship in 2013.Today, Serge leads Bedrock Enterprises — a group of interconnected businesses that include the fintech lender Funding Alternative Group, the industrial distributor Compressed Air Centre, and Calms Solutions UK, a smart-energy venture helping manufacturers reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint.www.linkedin.com/in/santossergehttps://fundingalternative.co.ukhttps://compressedair.co.ukhttps://calms.com

David Barnett's specialism is helping people to buy (and sell) businesses, and though he's based in Canada he's able to help people around the world.He encourages his clients to network in the right places so that they meet the people who might be wanting to sell the kind of business they want to buy.https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbarnettmoncton/www.davidcbarnett.com

Dan Willers is the founder of Yellow Mouse Studios based in Devon. As a 2D and 3D designer and animator he has worked for some of the coolest companies around including Aardman and Paramount.As well as Yellow Mouse, Dan also runs a Community Interest Company, 'Animate Devon', to support the animation and creative community in the county. This provides talks and education, skill sharing, project collaboration, work opportunities and other support/outreach projects to everyone who is on the journey into animation. Whether that's a student, a graduate or a 20's years in professional.Website: Yellowmousestudios.co.ukWebsite: Animatingdevon.comhttps://www.instagram.com/yellowmousestudios/linkedin.com/company/yellow-mouse-studios-ltdThis episode is very kindly sponsored by The Content Consultancy, founded by Content Confidence Coach, Kate Llewellyn. Tell me, are you a business owner who finds content creation overwhelming or inconsistent?It's time to stop doing what you think you "should" or "must." It's time to start doing your marketing, your way!Kate helps serious entrepreneurs and business leaders cut through the noise to build a powerful content strategy that actually drives growth.Join her membership, The Confident Content Creators Club, for the structure and clarity you need to Plan with Purpose and Create Content with Confidence.Ready for an immediate mindset shift?Grab Kate’s free, four-day Content Confidence Audio Series. It’s designed to instantly help you identify your limiting beliefs and the specific barriers stopping your content creation success.Sign up today and stop letting self-doubt drive your business marketing: thecontentconsultancy.com/content-confidence-audio