Episode #549 - Designing Products That Change Lives, Innovation, Resilience and Radical Teamwork - with Jono Taylor
Release Date: 12/08/2025
Episode #565 - Unlocking Drug Discovery in Space - with Aqeel Shamsul of Frontier Space
ScaleUp Radio
What if the future of drug discovery isn’t on Earth? In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Aqeel Shamsul, the visionary CEO and co-founder of Frontier Space, a UK-based space biotech company developing shoebox-sized biolabs to unlock the power of microgravity for pharmaceutical R&D. Spun out of Aqeel’s PhD at Cranfield University, Frontier Space is on a mission to make in-space research and biomanufacturing accessible, affordable, and impactful, and they’ve already achieved what few startups can: bootstrapping two space missions and securing over £1.3M in...
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Episode #564 - From water tech to rewards apps - what scaling really takes
ScaleUp Radio
In this ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin Brent and Granger Forson compare the fascinating journeys of two recent guests: Samantha Mant, founder of Halcyan Water, and Sarah O’Neill, founder of The Cotswold Collective. While their businesses couldn’t be more different, one focused on water sustainability and the other on community-driven rewards, what unites both founders is their deep sense of mission and their ability to scale with authenticity. The conversation dives into: Why they started: One sparked by environmental impact, the other from a need for community. Marketing with heart...
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Episode #563 - Turning Isolation into Growing A Collective That Transforms Local Shopping Into Shared Purpose - with Sarah O'Neill
ScaleUp Radio
Find me, Granger Forson, at or on LinkedIn. Sarah O’Neill’s journey began with a simple, heartfelt need: to feel part of a community again. What started as a personal response to the isolation of lockdowns grew into Cotswold Collective, a thriving rewards-based membership platform dedicated to supporting local businesses and bringing people together. Her background in marketing and events became the spark that helped transform a difficult season of life into something meaningful for thousands of others. In our conversation, Sarah shares the early days of the...
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Episode #562 - Making Water Behave, Saving Energy And Scaling A Mission That Matters - with Samantha Mant
ScaleUp Radio
Welcome to another inspiring episode with me, Granger Forson find me at or on as I sit down with Samantha Mant, CEO and Founder of Halcyan Water, a business transforming the way homes and companies manage hard water and energy efficiency. Samantha’s journey began in the world of beautiful bathroom design, where she repeatedly saw installations deteriorate in just months. Instead of accepting that frustration, she experimented. She searched globally, discovered a technology that could turn badly behaved hard water into nicely behaved hard water, and...
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Episode #561 - The Power of Saying 'No'
ScaleUp Radio
This week on ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin and Granger dive into two powerful conversations from recent episodes, with leaders who’ve scaled very different businesses, but who share strikingly similar philosophies. 👉 Hugh Taylor took Roadnight Taylor from burnout to brilliance by radically niching down, cutting 80% of his client base and doubling fees through a bold auction model. 👉 Michael Yorke of Prime dcm discovered the sweet spot in not trying to grow too big, instead focusing on lean, trust-led delivery with full transparency and hands-on leadership. Here’s what you’ll learn in...
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Episode #560 - How Radical Focus Transformed a Struggling Consultancy into a Global Leader - with Hugh Taylor
ScaleUp Radio
I’m Granger Forson and you’ll find me at or on . In this inspiring episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Hugh Taylor, CEO of Roadnight Taylor. His story is a masterclass in transformation, determination, and the power of experimentation. Hugh shares the remarkable journey behind Roadnight Taylor’s shift from a struggling generalist consultancy to a globally respected Independent Specialist Grid Consultancy, now recognised in the top 0.1 percent worldwide for client value perception and enjoying 100 percent team retention over six...
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Episode #559 - Building Trust Not Tension by Changing Construction Through Openness and Real Financial Clarity - with Michael Yorke
ScaleUp Radio
Welcome to another episode of ScaleUp Radio with me, Granger Forson. You can connect with me at or find me on anytime. Today I’m joined by Michael Yorke, co founder of Prime DCM, a construction and development business based just outside Gloucester. Michael’s journey is a powerful example of what happens when you challenge industry norms and build a company rooted in openness, respect and genuine partnership with clients. Starting just one month before the 2020 lockdown, Michael and his business partner James shaped Prime DCM around an open...
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Episode #558 - From Unicorn Ambition to Creative Freedom – Lessons from Two ScaleUp Journeys
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, hosts Kevin Brent and Granger Forson dive into the powerful contrast and surprising common ground between two visionary founders: Lilia Stoyanov, CFO and Founder of HR-tech and fintech platform TFY, and Virtyt Pula, Creative Lead of boutique creative collective TOML. Though their sectors, business models, and goals couldn’t be more different, both leaders share an innovative approach to building remote-first, talent-led organisations that challenge conventional ideas about scaling. 🔑 In this episode, you'll learn: How Lilia scaled TFY to...
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Episode #557 - From PR Pioneer to Portfolio Career; Value-Based Growth and Lasting Legacy - with Andrew Bloch
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Andrew Bloch – one of the UK’s most influential voices in the PR and marketing space. Best known as the co-founder of Frank PR and now the founder of a boutique consultancy, Andrew shares the story of building, scaling, exiting, and reinventing a business around his strengths and values. We explore his fascinating career arc – from growing Frank into one of the UK’s leading agencies, to selling it, buying it back, and eventually transitioning it to employee ownership. Andrew now operates a portfolio career that combines M&A...
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Episode #556 - Turning the Spam Filter on its Head: A Privacy-First Approach with Sentrya - with Claudiu Cogalniceanu
ScaleUp Radio
On this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Claudiu Cogalniceanu, the solo founder behind Sentrya, a revolutionary new approach to email protection. What makes Claudiu’s story so remarkable isn’t just the tech, though that’s impressive, but the journey. He built the first version of Sentrya in under a month while working as an Uber driver, launched it on Product Hunt, and grew to over 450 users in 25+ countries using organic Reddit marketing alone. Sentrya flips the traditional spam filter model: instead of trying to detect spam, it creates a clean list of approved senders and...
info_outlineHi, I’m Granger Forson find me at www.bizsmart-gloucestershire.co.uk or connect on LinkedIn and in this episode of ScaleUp Radio we dive deep into the world of product design engineering with Jono Taylor, founder of Relay Industries.
Jono has spent ten years building a business that brings breakthrough physical products to life, helping solve real-world problems in medical, industrial, scientific and connected technology sectors. From life-saving blood pumps and IoT telematics hardware to quantum physics instrumentation, Relay Industries stands out by combining creativity with deep manufacturing insight.
What makes Jono’s journey special is the unwavering belief in humility, shared thinking and building long-term relationships. He openly discusses the rollercoaster of growth: winning major international contracts, expanding rapidly, then facing a six-month drought that forced difficult decisions. Through resilience and relentless networking, the company rebuilt stronger and now operates with a flexible team structure powered by freelancers treated like true teammates.
At the heart of Relay Industries sits a passion that shines through every story: designing products that genuinely improve lives, avoiding landfill for landfill's sake, and creating environments where people and ideas thrive.
If you want inspiration on navigating uncertainty, scaling with lean thinking, and finding joy in solving meaningful problems, this episode is a must-listen. 🎙️
To ensure you don’t miss any inspirational future episodes do subscribe to ScaleUp Radio wherever you like to listen to your podcasts.
So, let’s now dive into the inspiring journey of invention, resilience and collaboration with Jono Taylor.
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:
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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/
Jono can be found here:
https://www.relayindustries.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonotaylor/
Resources:
The Designers Directory of Colour by Sean Adams - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/designer-s-dictionary-of-colour-uk-edition-sean-adams/4244311?ean=9781419726392&next=t
The Curious Bartender podcast - https://www.thecuriousbartender.com/
Timely app - https://www.gettimely.com/features/mobile-app/