Episode #472 - How Embracing Change Within Your Business Makes You A Better Leader - with Simon Phillips
Release Date: 04/16/2025
ScaleUp Radio
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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 Steve Johnson. Steve’s a founder who’s been in the trenches, he grew his SaaS business from £750k to over £5 million ARR in just three years. In this conversation, we break down his proven 3-stage framework for scaling sales the right way, starting with the founder doing...
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Hi, I’m Granger Forson, and you can find me at or on . In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Hamish Yates, founder and CEO of Neptune Infrastructure Associates, a fast-growing advisory firm dedicated to helping asset managers optimise the performance of renewable energy projects across Europe. With experience advising on over £2 billion of projects powering more than two million homes, Hamish brings a rare blend of engineering rigour and entrepreneurial purpose to the clean energy space. We explore how Neptune was built on a...
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Hi, I’m Granger Forson, and you can find me at or connect with me on . In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I sit down with Kat Wellum-Kent, founder of The Fractionals Group. A business built on the powerful idea that scale-ups deserve fractional support that truly integrates into their teams. Kat shares her inspiring journey from accountant to entrepreneur, revealing how a chance lunch with a friend in Australia sparked her leap into creating Fractional Finance and later Fractional Human Resources. From just an idea to a 12-person team...
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In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Phil Harding, the founder of BBB Drinks, a business that’s not only disrupting the traditional drinks distribution model but also redefining how emerging brands grow and scale in an evolving market. From a shift in consumer drinking habits to a unique retainer-based model, Phil shares how BBB Drinks is tackling the industry's deep-rooted inefficiencies head-on – and helping new brands get the attention and traction they deserve. This episode is structured in three parts: The Business & Model: We explore BBB’s innovative business...
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In this powerful ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin Brent and Granger Forson contrast two founders tackling very different ends of the healthcare and life sciences spectrum: Michael Colling-Tuck, founder of Agency Medical Marketing, is on a mission to ensure life-changing innovations get adopted by clinicians and patients. Prasun Chakraborty, founder of Genevation, is developing personalised cancer vaccines using cutting-edge AI and immunotherapy. One is solving the problem of visibility and market traction. The other is solving for scientific possibility and clinical impact. Yet both share...
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Find me, Granger Forson, at or connect with me on . This episode of ScaleUp Radio features Michael Colling-Tuck, founder of Agency Bristol, a specialist marketing agency helping medical and technology innovators reach both patients and healthcare professionals. With over twenty years in healthcare, Michael has seen how even the most brilliant inventions can fail if no one knows they exist. His agency bridges that critical gap, giving groundbreaking products a fighting chance to reach the people whose lives they can transform. What makes Michael’s...
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In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, we're diving into the groundbreaking world of personalised cancer treatments with Prasun Chakraborty, founder of Genevation – a biotech startup on a mission to revolutionise how we treat and potentially prevent cancer. Unlike the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to oncology, Genevation is using advanced AI and genetic sequencing to create custom mRNA cancer vaccines for individual patients – in just 14 days. Prasun shares the inspiring story behind the business, the massive challenges of scaling deep-tech biotech, and his clear vision of a future...
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In this special ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin Brent and Granger Forson take a step back to reflect on two contrasting founder journeys shared recently on the podcast: Paul Wray, founder of Breakspeare Clinic, a values-driven physiotherapy business Joe van Gelder, founder of fintech firm Powdr, a fast-scaling tech company Although these two founders operate in completely different industries and approach business from opposite ends of the personality spectrum, their journeys reveal powerful shared lessons about scaling, leadership and founder development. What You’ll Learn in...
info_outlineOn this episode of ScaleUp Radio, we’re diving deep into change management, leadership, and scaling impact with Simon Phillips—a seasoned expert in orchestrating change for both organisations and individuals.
With 25+ years of experience, including time at Accenture and over two decades running his own consultancy, Simon has developed powerful frameworks like the Delta Model for Change and the LACE Way for Human-Centric Leadership. His mission? To develop a million changemakers—people who can support others in making positive transformations.
What We Cover in This Episode:
🔹 The Psychology of Change – Why people don’t resist change itself but rather being changed, and how leaders can foster engagement.
🔹 Empathy & Leadership – The power of vulnerability, self-empathy, and active listening in building trust and high-performing teams.
🔹 Scaling a Knowledge Business – How Simon evolved his approach, from expanding teams to deepening value and leveraging AI tools.
🔹 Resilience & Growth – Simon’s personal journey, including lessons from surviving a severe car crash and overcoming imposter syndrome.
🔹 Business Development & Networks – The importance of long-term relationships and how platforms like LinkedIn have shaped Simon’s approach.
If you’re navigating change, leading a team, or looking to scale a business while maintaining impact, this episode is packed with insights and strategies you can apply right away.
Make sure you don’t miss any future episodes by subscribing to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.
For now, continue listening for the full story from Simon.
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.
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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/
Simon can be found here:
https://www.simonphillips.co.uk/
https://changemakerpledge.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonphillips/
Resources:
The Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-second-book-by-steven-bartlett-keep-it-to-yourself-steven-bartlett/7257436?ean=9781529146509
What’s Your Dream? by Simon Squibb - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/what-s-your-dream-find-your-passion-love-your-work-build-a-richer-life-simon-squibb/7678552?ean=9781529935578