Inside Coventry and Warwickshire Podcast: Recent Episodes
Daniel Martin
Inside Coventry and Warwickshire Podcast is dedicated to raising the profile of Coventry and Warwickshire by sharing the stories of the region's successful business owners, experienced professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders.
Through a series of unscripted and unpolished conversations, you will hear how these people and their organisations are helping to develop, innovate and grow our local community.
In short, the goal is to inspire and strengthen the business community in and around Coventry and Warwickshire, by sharing knowledge, developing ideas and forming partnerships.
Hosted by Daniel Martin; a born and bred local lad, and also a Director of MDM Wealth, a family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
I am joined this week by Russell Butler. Russell is the founder of iVentiv, based in Kenilworth. iVentiv offers learning and networking events for senior executives. Founded in 2008 as a response to what he saw as an inadequate ‘sit and listen’ conference format that didn’t allow people to truly learn and exchange ideas. Instead, iVentiv’s unique format does away with formal talks in favour of interactive sessions where every participant is a speaker, allowing event attendees to take away new ideas that they can apply to their business in an actionable way.
Starting as a one man band, the business now employs a full team and runs events attended by most of the world’s biggest companies. From its beginnings in Warwickshire, iVentiv has hosted events in 44 countries, for more than 1500 senior executives at 845 companies. Since the pandemic, the company has pivoted quickly and successfully into Virtual Events. iVentiv’s 200th event will take place at the start of 2022.
I really enjoyed learning more about Russell, and his story, and I hope you do too.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iventivevents
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iVentiv
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iventiv
Web: https://iventiv.com/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I am joined this week by Gus Bhandal. Gus runs a digital marketing agency supporting small businesses with online visibility, focusing on social media. He has over 20 years of marketing experience in a variety of sectors, and now helps service-based businesses to grow their presence and, ultimately, their business using digital marketing strategies.
I really enjoyed learning more about Gus, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Twitter: @mguruuk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mguruuk
Web: www.themguru.co.uk
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I am joined this week by Claire Russell. Claire is CEO and one of the founders of MHIB - and her vision is to lead a global shift in mental health in the workplace. With her fellow directors she is passionate about helping to effect change, break down taboos and open up the conversation about mental health.
Aside from the work that she does in MHIB, she is a prolific speaker - speaking candidly about her own experiences with mental illness, and losing someone to suicide. She continues to be a committed volunteer, giving much of her time to her local Samaritans branch.
Claire also has a long standing career in the insurance industry- she has been leading insurance businesses for over 20 years and brings this valuable business and industry experience to the work that she and her team does with their many corporate clients.
I really enjoyed learning more about Claire, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @clairerussellbusiness
LinkedIn: claire-russell-business
Web: www.mhib.co.uk
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I am joined this week by Ryan Cleaver. Ryan is the owner of Power Nation Cheer.
Sports has been a big part of Ryan’s life, especially gymnastics, since he suffered from meningitis losing his hearing in one ear at the age of 5. It has lead him down so many paths including that which encouraged him to start his own business based on a passion he have, that passion being Allstar Cheerleading. Over the last 7 years Power Nation (PN) has become a leading supplier in the niche industry of Allstar Cheerleading, providing bespoke designs and finished products of various sporting merchandise along side manufacturing high level equipment for teams across the UK & Europe. The combination of Ryan’s passion for the sport and business has set his goals to not only creating a successful and sustainable business but also increasing the awareness of Allstar Cheerleading itself, improving the services and products available within the market therefore encouraging people of all ages to get involved, improving physical and mental wellbeing.
I really enjoyed learning more about Ryan, and her story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @Powernationcheerltd
Instagram: @powernationcheer & @ryan_cleaver
Web: https://www.powernationcheer.com/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I am joined this week by Taylor James. Taylor is the host of The Waffle Shop Podcast, the Mental Health Podcast that was born as part of his therapy for his Anxiety and PTSD after nearly losing his Mum to an operation gone wrong.
He is now on a mission to turn the pain and experience into a survival guide for others who may be struggling or facing their own Mental Health Challenge
What started out as a hobby to help him open up about how he was feeling has now turned into a full time career, its hit the top 10 in the Podcast charts in over 5 countries and has even landed him a job in New York City!
He now wants others to believe in themselves and to get out of their comfort zones as incredible things can happen just by taking that first step!
I really enjoyed learning more about Taylor, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @waffleshoppod
Instagram: @waffleshoppodcast
Twitter: @waffleshoppod
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
Dale is a fellow Rugbiean, who is a confidence coach for students with an ambition to impact over 1 million students worldwide.
He had spoke in Parliament on the issues surrounding, mental health, low self-esteem and a confidence crisis in schools, Dale has raised awareness of this need in schools.
In this episode we hear how Dale struggled with bullying and the impact that this had on him personally, how coaching transformed his life following a series of life changing events, as well as exploring some sub topics, such as social medias impact on kids
I really enjoyed this episode and I hope you do too.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @dalevincentcoaching
Instagram: @dalevincentcoaching
Twitter: @CoachingDale
Web: http://www.dalevincentcoaching.com/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Jessica McLish. Jess is the owner of Coventry Rocks - a website made especially for families to find things to do in the local area. Usually full-to-the-brim with local events and attractions, the website has adjusted (once again!) to feature Outdoor Spaces, Online Activities, and Supporting Local Businesses.
Jess lives in Coventry with her husband and two daughters, who are aged 4 and 9 months. Her motivation to start up Coventry Rocks was born out of her own experiences as a mother, and the need to have a 'one stop shop' for things to do in Coventry for families.
I really enjoyed learning more about Jess, and her story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @coventryrocks
Instagram: @coventryrocks_
Twitter: @coventryrocks
Web: www.coventryrocks.co.uk
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by David Ohandjanian. David is founder of a local marketing and design agency called Adao, based in Rugby.
In this episode we hear about why you should see your business as an extension of you, why culture is so important, and why businesses have to be seen online, especially during COVID-19. Also be sure to listen to the end where David shares some of his top online marketing tips and has a great offer for you and your business.
I really enjoyed learning more about David, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @OfficialAdao
Instagram: @officialadao
Twitter: @OfficialADAO
Web: www.adao.co.uk
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Lash Saranna. Lash is the founder and CEO of Electric Zoo.
Establishing Autobahn Porsche in 1985 in Coventry, which grew to be Europe’s largest Independent Porsche Centre. After 35 years he gave the business, free of charge to his employees as we listened and invested in our then 12-year-old daughter’s dream to study Global Sustainable Development at University.
Since then Lash, has been on a self discovery and self learning journey for electric cars and all things associated which lead them to incorporate Electric Zoo back in 2017.
Electric Zoo have defined 4 different offerings to help de-carbonise road transport for business and consumers:
Smart Tech: Analyses current petrol /diesel car usage to find the ideal electric car replacement with demonstrated savings in money and carbon dioxide
Salary Sacrifice Scheme: Where both the Employer and Employee can save 32-42% on the cost of new Electric Cars with service, tyres and maintenance are included
Flex-E-Lease: Our platform where the consumer configures their own use case for car, term from 3 months upwards, mileage, insurance to checkout online with delivery date, say goodbye to long term contracts which can be the biggest help in the uncertain times we are currently going through!
Charge Points: For Commercial, workplace and home, we carry out free surveys with tailormade solutions
In this episode we hear about what it took, for Lash to give up on 35 years and move on, why the barriers to entry for electric are not as high as we think and how the future is fast approaching.
I really enjoyed learning more about Lash, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Electric-Zoo-153778988806898
Instagram: @ezoo_uk
Twitter: @EZoo_UK
Web: www.electriczoo.co.uk
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Rosanna Williams-Wood. Roz is the founder of The Secret Coach and Co-founder of Summit Human Potential.
Roz is an experienced professional Executive, Leadership, Talent and Team Coach. She combines a commercial background with an in-depth knowledge of Leadership and Management Development to drive organisational and behavioural change. Her interest in people, performance and culture became evident when she was head of ‘business change’ helping over 500 financial advisory firms with industry and regulatory change. On finding that the human element of change was the greatest challenge for businesses, she committed to learning about the psychology of change, which is the foundation of her work today.
After 28 years’ experience with FTSE100 Financial Services brands, and a belief that ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast’ she now works with teams, leaders and talent to empower them to achieve high performance cultures.
In this episode we hear about the importance of being comfortable with discomfort, how truly listening to someone can help them unlock their potential, as well as a critical piece on how to successfully manage feedback.
I really enjoyed learning more about Roz, and her story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InspiringLeadersToFly
Instagram: @rosannawilliamswood
Twitter: @Secret_Coach_
Web: https://www.the-secret-coach.co.uk/ & https://summit-humanpotential.com/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Ethan Smith. Ethan is the founder of Five Star Theatre, a rugby based theatre production company.
A passion that started as a child, has since morphed into a labour of love. Five Star Theatre now produces regular professional productions, including pantomimes, children’s tours and various one-nighter concerts, alongside a number of partner venues. They design and create all costumes in-house, and another arm to their business is the hire of costumes to other productions and companies.
During our discussion we hear about some key business lessons Ethan has learned since his first production in his father garden barn, where Ethan sources his inspiration from and his thoughts on the wider industry and its response the the pandemic.
I really enjoyed learning more about Ethan, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fivestartheatre/
Instagram: @fivestartheatre & @fivestaracademy1
Twitter: @officialFST
Web: https://www.fivestartheatre.co.uk/
Tickets: https://uk.patronbase.com/_BennHall/Productions
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Paul Nicholls. Paul is the founder of Wolf Pack Tennis.
As a junior Paul represented Great Britain, gaining both national and international success. Paul was mismanaged and let go, and after time spent out of Tennis, and during a period of redundancy, Paul had a business idea that he decided to into action.
Based in Rugby town centre, Wolf Pack Tennis is is the first indoor, High Street, 'neo tennis' venue in the UK and we aim to smash the barriers involved in people picking up a tennis racket and playing tennis, by making it cool!
I really enjoyed learning more about Paul, Wolf Pack Tennis and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Facebook: @TennisWolfPack
Instagram: @wolfpacktennis
Twitter: @Wolf_PackTennis
Web: https://www.wolfpacktennis.co.uk/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Alex Harvey. Alex is the Co-founder and Creative Director of RiVR, otherwise know as Reality in Virtual Reality.
RiVR has become an international brand with recognition for being one of the leading companies in the world in creating photo realistic roomscale and interactive training environments using photogrammetry.
RiVR’s clients include Ministry of defence, Department of defence in USA. Various blue light services, Transport for London, Landsec, BAT, TUI, Transguard and Emirates in Dubai.
I really enjoyed learning more about RiVR, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Instagram: @rivr.uk @alextench
Twitter: @rivr_uk @alextench
Web: https://rivr.uk/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Adviser at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by James Byrne. James is the CEO and co-founder of AccountancyManager, a multi-award-winning onboarding and practice management software designed to reduce the admin involved in running an accountancy firm.
James joined his family firm as an accountant in 2010, taking responsibility for marketing and overseeing the onboarding process of new clients. Frustrated by the amount of time the firm spent on what could only be described as admin, James and software developer Alex Hawke built a system that would automate his practice's most time-consuming tasks. 3 years later, AM is helping thousands of practices every day by automating their onboarding, recording requests and generating their task lists.
Today, AccountancyManager has taken the practice management world by storm. Since its launch, the company has expanded from 2 to 20 members of staff and have been voted the UK’s #1 CRM and Practice Management Software for two years in a row, making AccountancyManager a true start-up success story.
I really enjoyed learning more about Jame, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Instagram: @accountancymanager
Twitter: @accountancymgr
https://www.accountancymanager.co.uk/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Planner at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Holly Matthews. Holly is a former TV actress on shows such as Byker Grove and Waterloo Road, Ted X speaker, a no bullshit self development coach, NLP practitioner and founder of The Happy Me Project.
Holly has established a strong social media following of engaged fans, has over 40,000 followers across her social platforms and over 3 million views on her award-winning You Tube Channel.
In 2017, Holly’s husband, Ross died of brain cancer and she vlogged about her experience. In the aftermath, Holly launched her flagship brand The Happy Me Project, just months after the death of her husband, to show people that life an be tough, but yet amazing at the same time.
During our discussion we hear about how having an escape to be creative is so important not just in our youth but throughout life, why entrepreneurship, failure and earning money in business is not something to be ashamed off, and critically that if you can accept and understand that pain and suffering are just a part of our human experience, you can really begin to build an amazing life.
I really enjoyed learning more about Holly, and her story, and I hope you do to
LINKS & RESOURCES
Instagram: @hollymatthews84 & @channelmum vlogger
Twitter: @hollymatthews
https://www.ted.com/talks/holly_matthews_tough_luck_accepting_life_s_unfairness_will_set_you_free
https://www.iamhollymatthews.com/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Planner at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Matt Robinson. Matt is a rugby lad, born and raised, and the owner of the multi-award winning Mr Robinsons Barbershop.
We hear how Matt overcame difficult periods in his life and now uses these trials and tribulations to drive his culture and inspiration throughout his life and business, to #keepithandsome.
So if you’re searching for inspiration for getting through tough times, or want to know more about how Matt puts community and people at the absolute centre of his business then this is the pod for you.
I really enjoyed this chat with Matt and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
Instagram: @mrrobinsons
https://www.facebook.com/MisterRobinsonsRugby
https://www.hope4.org.uk/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Planner at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
I'm joined this week by Sandra Garlick. Sandra is the founder of Woman Who - Woman who exists to inspire women in business to recognise their achievements, celebrate them and become local women in business role models to, in turn inspire others.
We hear how it took a broken ankle to put a business idea into action, the importance of goal setting and personal branding, and why not every unexpected phone call is a scam.
So if you’re searching for the reasons to start your own personal branding journey, or want to know more about how Sandra provides women in business with ways to create and promote their brand, you have come to the right place.
I really enjoyed learning more about Sandra, and her story, and I hope you do to
LINKS & RESOURCES
https://sandragarlick.com/
https://www.womanwho.co.uk/
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Planner at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.
For the first ever episode, I'm joined by Les Ratcliffe. Les is Chair and one of the founder members of the Coventry and Warwickshire Champions and Place Board; a Deputy Lieutenant; and the previous Head of Community Relations at JLR.
In addition, Les also runs his own community relations consultancy business, Community Engagement Ltd.
What’s unique about Les is that he uses his career experience from his role as Head of Community Relations to continue to promote programmes to bring people together within Coventry and Warwickshire.
I really enjoyed learning more about Les, and his story, and I hope you do to.
LINKS & RESOURCES
https://www.coventry-warwickshire.co.uk/
@LesRatcliffe - Twitter
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Daniel Martin is a born and bred local lad, a keen rugby player and sports fan.
In his day-to-day life, Daniel is a Director and Independent Financial Planner at MDM Wealth. A family run firm of lifestyle financial planners and independent financial advisers based in Rugby, in the heart of Warwickshire.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORLD
If you know someone who should be a guest on the show, and has a great story to share, please do not hesitate to get to touch. We would also love it if you would give us a review and a 5-star rating.
Until next time.