Episode #450 - Transitioning Leadership & Empowering Teams - with Doug Betts of Sure Betts HR Solutions
Release Date: 01/29/2025
Episode #603 - ScaleUp Shorts - What two very different founders teach us about leadership, resilience, Al and the future of human connection in business
ScaleUp Radio
This week on ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt unpack two fascinating conversations with founders operating in completely different worlds — yet connected by one powerful idea: Business success still comes down to people. On one side is Bob Ferguson — city councilman, long-standing business owner, and leader of what he calls an “all-volunteer army” through his network marketing organisation in Fairfield, Iowa. On the other is Priyanka Rao — immigrant tech founder and creator of MicroInterns, an innovative platform connecting students with startups through short-term,...
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Episode #602 - Solving the Experience Paradox with Micro-Internships - with Priyanka Rao
ScaleUp Radio
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Priyanka Rao, founder of MicroInterns. Now if you’ve ever struggled with hiring or wondered whether CVs really tell the full story anymore, this one’s for you. With AI now writing CVs and even running interviews, there’s a growing question around trust in the hiring...
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Episode #601 - Leadership Effectiveness Is A State Of Mind - with Bob Ferguson
ScaleUp Radio
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Bob Ferguson. Bob brings a fascinating perspective on leadership - combining decades of experience in business, community building, and global networks - and at the heart of it all is one powerful idea: mental fitness. We explore why your effectiveness as a leader is shaped less...
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Episode #600 - ScaleUp Shorts - Stop explaining. Start solving!
ScaleUp Radio
This episode is created with the use of AI In this ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt unpack two recent interviews with very different leaders operating in very different sectors, yet facing strikingly similar scaling challenges. On one side, Paul Patras, a deep-tech founder translating complex AI into commercial value. On the other, Greg Baldwin, scaling a fast-growing operational business through practical, data-led leadership. This episode focuses on the practical shifts in thinking, communication, and leadership that enable businesses to move from complexity and...
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Episode #599 - 5 Years On: What Happens When You Choose Control Over Chaos? - with Greg Baldwin
ScaleUp Radio
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Greg Baldwin, Managing Director of Highway Traffic Management. Now this is a special one; because we’re revisiting Greg’s journey five years on to see what’s actually happened since our last conversation. And it’s a fascinating look at what real scaling looks like in...
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Episode #598 - ScaleUp Club - AI Agents, Anti-Fragile Teams & Hiring for Outcomes - with Rafmary Baker
ScaleUp Radio
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by returning guest Rafmary for a live Q&A session recorded at our ScaleUp Club. This episode is structured a little differently and brings together three key elements. First, our latest AI Pulse update, where we explore how tools like Claude Co-Work are moving AI beyond content...
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Episode #597 - Net AI – From Academic Breakthrough to Commercial ScaleUp
- with Paul Patras
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Paul Patras, co-founder of Net AI, a University of Edinburgh spin-out transforming how telecom networks manage energy and capacity. What started as deep academic research has evolved into a commercial AI engine helping telecom providers reduce energy costs by up to 35% - potentially saving tens of millions annually - without compromising service quality. This is a fascinating conversation about the realities of moving from research to revenue, the mindset shift required, and the challenges of scaling a highly technical innovation into...
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Episode #596 - ScaleUp Short - Why Your Leadership, Not Your Strategy, Is Holding You Back
ScaleUp Radio
This episode is AI generated In this ScaleUp Radio Shorts edition, Kevin and Louise revisit two powerful conversations exploring one of the biggest constraints in scaling a business: people. Drawing insights from Mike Moorhouse and Anita Čavrag, this episode unpacks how leadership, culture, and self-awareness shape your ability to grow beyond the founder-led phase. This episode was produced with the aid of AI to help bring together key insights and actionable takeaways. 🔍 What You’ll Learn 1. Why People Are the Real Bottleneck Both guests highlight that while strategy and finance...
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Episode #595: Stop being the problem solver, and become the person who BUILDS problem solvers - with Michael Moorhouse
ScaleUp Radio
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Michael Moorhouse, a leadership expert and advisor who works with scaleup businesses to align their strategy, systems, and people for high performance. In this episode, Michael shares practical frameworks to help you break through one of the biggest scaling barriers — founder...
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Episode #594 - Burnout doesn’t stay at the top, it cascades through the organisation - with Anita Cavrag
ScaleUp Radio
Hi there and welcome back to another edition of ScaleUp Radio, the podcast brought to you by Smart90, inspired by the Entrepreneurial ScaleUp System and designed to make navigating our ScaleUp journeys that little bit easier by learning from others' experiences. I’m Kevin Brent and in today's episode I’m joined by Anita Čavrag, a leadership expert who specialises in helping founders overcome burnout and build high-performing, engaged teams. In this episode, Anita shares practical frameworks to help you make the critical shift from operator to leader — and why failing to do so is one of...
info_outlineIn this insightful episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent sits down with Doug Betts, the founder of Sure Betts HR Solutions. Doug shares his journey of creating a proactive HR consultancy tailored for charities and non-profits with up to 60 employees. Through his expertise and practical advice, Doug sheds light on the leadership challenges that growing businesses face and provides actionable strategies to overcome them.
Key Points In This Episode
- Building a Proactive HR Framework: How Doug’s business improves workplace culture and leadership for smaller organisations in the non-profit sector.
- Leadership Development: Why businesses struggle when promoting technically skilled employees to leadership roles and how to fix it.
- Organisational Design: The importance of clear career paths and accountability in building a scalable business.
- Scaling as a Founder: How to transition from managing everything to empowering teams and focusing on high-value tasks.
- The Value of Writing a Book: Doug’s experience with his book From New Line Manager to Great People Leader and how it serves as a tool for thought leadership and business growth.
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For now, continue listening for the full story from Doug.
Scaling up your business isn't easy, and can be a little daunting. Let ScaleUp Radio make it a little easier for you. With guests who have been where you are now, and can offer their thoughts and advice on several aspects of business. ScaleUp Radio is the business podcast you've been waiting for.
If you would like to be a guest on ScaleUp Radio, please click here:
https://bizsmarts.co.uk/scaleupradio/kevin
You can get in touch with Kevin here:
Kevin's Latest Book Is Available!
Drawing on BizSmart’s own research and experiences of working with hundreds of owner-managers, Kevin Brent explores the key reasons why most organisations do not scale and how the challenges change as they reach different milestones on the ScaleUp Journey. He then details a practical step by step guide to successfully navigate between the milestones in the form of ESUS - a proven system for entrepreneurs to scale up.
More on the Book HERE - https://www.esusgroup.co.uk/
Doug can be found here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-betts-hr-reward-leadership/
Resources:
Ben Sweeney (Corporate Sween) - https://www.instagram.com/corporate.sween/
Nick James Empire Builders - https://www.empire-builders.co.uk/ebphome
Breathe HR - https://www.breathehr.com/en-gb/