Episode #477 - Creating Joyful, Sustainable Business for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs - with Nikki Butler
Release Date: 05/05/2025
Episode #628: Bridging Research, Digital Skills and Community Impact - with Vicki Ayton
ScaleUp Radio
What happens when academic research, climate resilience, digital inclusion and community development all collide? In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Vicki Ayton, Founder of BizEd, a Community Interest Company (CIC) that exists to bridge the gap between research and real-world community impact. What started as a response to a local library closure has evolved into a growing community hub delivering digital inclusion support, climate resilience education, research projects and policy work across Shropshire and beyond. Vicki shares the realities of building a sustainable...
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Episode #627: ScaleUp Radio Shorts - Burnout, Boundaries and Better Businesses
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt bring together three powerful conversations from recent ScaleUp Radio guests: Dan Glyde, Megan Robinson and Sam Eaton. Whilst their businesses are very different, they all arrived at remarkably similar conclusions about what it really takes to build a business that grows sustainably. From avoiding burnout to empowering your team and creating systems that scale, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can implement straight away. In this episode we discuss: Why founders should think of themselves as cognitive...
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Episode #626: Closing The Leadership Expectation Gap - with Megan Robinson
ScaleUp Radio
Why do so many talented managers struggle when they step into leadership roles? It's a challenge that affects businesses of every size. High performers are often promoted because they're brilliant at what they do, yet they're rarely given the skills, tools, or support needed to lead people effectively. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent speaks with Megan Robinson, Founder of eLeader Experience, about what she calls the "Leadership Expectation Gap" and why it is costing organisations far more than they realise. Megan shares how businesses can move leaders from being stuck in the...
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Episode #625: Why Authentic Leadership Starts With Looking After Yourself - with Daniel Glyde
ScaleUp Radio
What happens when the very traits that helped you succeed become the ones that push you towards burnout? In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent sits down with Daniel Glyde, founder of Positive Masculinity, to explore how business owners and leaders can build sustainable success by developing a healthier relationship with themselves first. Daniel shares his personal journey from BBC producer to coach, following a severe burnout and panic attack in 2018. His experience led him to challenge the traditional expectations many men place on themselves and ultimately build a business focused on...
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Episode #624: ScaleUp Club - Why You Should Plan for Exit Long Before You Want to Sell - with Helen Bower
ScaleUp Radio
Why should founders start planning their exit years before they intend to leave? That was the theme of this month's ScaleUp Club, where members explored one of the most misunderstood areas of business growth: exit planning. Joining Kevin Brent was returning guest Helen Bower, former owner of Adder Bookkeeping, who successfully sold her business to Fresh Financials Group in 2025 after deliberately building it with a 10-year exit strategy in mind. Helen shared a refreshingly honest account of how she transformed a self-employed role into a scalable business, the systems she put in place, how the...
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Episode #623: Building a Business That Scales Without Losing Its Soul - with Sam Eaton
ScaleUp Radio
Many founders dream of building a business that gives them freedom, impact and financial success. The challenge is that what gets a business to £1m rarely gets it to £4m and beyond. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Sam Eaton, founder of MindAbility, a business that helps HR and talent entrepreneurs build successful businesses on their own terms. Sam shares lessons from scaling her own HR business from £650k to £4.3m, the systems that made growth possible, and why founders need to rethink leadership, culture and accountability as their organisations grow. From...
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Episode #622: ScaleUp Shorts: The Founder Psychology Behind Better Decisions, Better Teams and Better Growth
ScaleUp Radio
This episode is created using AI What do a wine entrepreneur, a decision-science expert, and an occupational psychologist have in common? More than you might think. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt revisit three fascinating conversations with Jamie Smith of EcoSip, Dr Magda Du Preez of GetSense.net, and Tameron Chappell of athinka. Together, they uncover a common theme that sits at the heart of so many scaling challenges: founder psychology. From letting go of the superhero mindset to building decision-making guardrails and avoiding emotionally-driven...
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Episode #621: How EcoSIP Reinvented Wine Packaging and Built a Defensible ScaleUp - with Jamie Smith
ScaleUp Radio
What happens when a pandemic destroys your original business model? For Jamie Smith and his co-founder Alex, it became the catalyst for creating an entirely new category within the wine industry. Starting as a wine retailer and tasting club, they quickly discovered that shipping glass bottles was expensive, inefficient and environmentally problematic. Rather than accept the challenge, they spent three years developing a proprietary wine pouch capable of preserving and ageing wine in a way that mimics a traditional glass bottle and cork. Today, EcoSIP works with major brands including Naked...
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Episode #620: Mastering Better Decisions - with Magda Du Preez
ScaleUp Radio
How often do business owners make decisions they later regret? Whether it's hiring, investment, strategy, pricing or growth, most founders like to believe they make rational decisions. Yet the reality is that emotions influence almost every business decision we make. In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by psychologist, researcher and entrepreneur Magda Du Preez, founder of GetSense.net. Following years of academic research into decision-making and cognitive bias, Magda has developed practical tools that help entrepreneurs and leaders make better decisions under pressure....
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Episode #619: ScaleUp Radio Short - Building a Business Worth Selling
ScaleUp Radio
Most business owners spend years building their company, yet very few spend any time building an exit strategy. In this month's ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt explore why exit planning isn't really about leaving your business. It's about creating a stronger, more valuable, and less owner-dependent company today. The reality is sobering. For many founders, their business is their most valuable asset after their home, yet the vast majority have no formal exit plan. Even fewer achieve the outcome they hoped for when they eventually sell. The good news? The same...
info_outlineIn this enlightening episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Nikki Butler, the dynamic founder behind The Autistic Joyologist. Nikki shares her powerful journey from corporate burnout to creating a thriving, purposeful business that supports neurodivergent entrepreneurs in finding joy, balance and authenticity.
Nikki was diagnosed with autism and ADHD at the age of 36, and what followed was a profound transformation. Through her personal experiences and professional insights, she now empowers others through coaching, mentoring and her innovative RADIATE model – a framework for self-reflection, acceptance, and sustainable change.
This conversation is full of thought-provoking perspectives on neurodiversity, entrepreneurship, and how to build a business that not only works with your strengths but also doesn't rely on your constant presence.
The one key thing you’ll hear from Nikki is the importance of building a business that doesn’t depend on you constantly being present – one that’s sustainable, scalable and aligned with your values.
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 Nikki.
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/
Nikki can be found here:
https://www.autisticjoyologist.co.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkibutlerautisticjoyologist/
Resources:
Are You Maximising Your Business Potential? Quiz - https://nikkibutlerscaleup.scoreapp.com/
The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-obstacle-is-the-way-the-ancient-art-of-turning-adversity-to-advantage-ryan-holiday/321415?ean=9781781251492
Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/rebel-ideas-the-power-of-thinking-differently-matthew-syed/4848192?ean=9781529348408
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
ChatGPT Voice App - https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-can-now-see-hear-and-speak/