Episode #559 - Building Trust Not Tension by Changing Construction Through Openness and Real Financial Clarity - with Michael Yorke
Release Date: 01/12/2026
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...
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Episode #555 - What if your business could scale globally with just 25 people — and no external funding? - with Lilia Stoyanov
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Lilia Stoyanov, the CEO and cofounder of TFY (Transformify Ltd), a bootstrapped, AI-powered global workforce management platform. TFY enables businesses to hire, onboard and pay contractors in 184+ countries – all from one platform. And it’s not just another HR tool — it’s a human-centred, AI-powered engine that automates compliance and payments, so finance and HR teams can focus on strategic growth. In this episode, we cover: How TFY achieved 90% profit growth in 2024 with zero external investment The three-phase scaling strategy that...
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Episode #554 - From Neurosurgeon to $200M Founder
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Granger Forson unpack the remarkable ScaleUp journey of Dr. Mark Kotter, a neurosurgeon, stem cell biologist, and founder of Bit Bio, a deep-tech biotech company that’s raised over $200 million and scaled to 200+ people. It’s a story that starts with clinical frustration and leads to a cutting-edge company using AI to literally reprogram cells. But beyond the science lies a business story that any entrepreneur can learn from, full of lessons on leadership, values, team alignment, and the bumpy road of scale. 💡 Episode...
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Episode #553 - Flipping The Traditional Agency Model On It’s Head - with Virtyt Pula
ScaleUp Radio
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, I’m joined by Virtyt Pula, the founder of TOML, a talent-first creative agency that’s reimagining how creative work gets done. Instead of a traditional in-house model, TOML operates as a global creative collective, blending a tight-knit core team with a flexible international network of creative specialists. Founded in 2015, TOML was built to challenge agency norms, and when the pandemic hit, its remote-first model went from being questioned by clients to becoming its biggest asset. We cover three key areas in this conversation: The Business, how TOML...
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Episode #552 - ScaleUp Club Special: Scaling Deep Tech - with Mark Kotter
ScaleUp Radio
In this exclusive ScaleUp Club session, Kevin Brent sits down with Dr Mark Kotter, the visionary neurosurgeon and founder of Bit Bio, a revolutionary deep tech company transforming how we produce human cells at scale. Bit Bio has raised over £250 million, and what started as academic frustration with the limits of regenerative medicine has become a game-changing platform for industrial-scale cell production. But it hasn’t been an easy ride. From a near-collapse caused by co-founder misalignment to pioneering an intensive, values-driven hiring process, Mark shares a raw and honest look at...
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Episode #551 - ScaleUp Radio Shorts: The Engineer and The Artist – Balancing Structure with Spirit in Scale-Ups
ScaleUp Radio
This week on ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin and Granger reflect on two standout interviews that bring together the worlds of engineering precision and artistic expression in leadership. On one side, we have Jono Taylor, a grounded product design engineer scaling his service-based business with a flexible freelance model. On the other, Nigel Hughes, a ballet-trained serial entrepreneur helping leaders inspire from within. Despite their wildly different backgrounds, both guests shared strikingly similar insights around resilience, team dynamics, and the importance of values in scaling. 💡 In this...
info_outlineWelcome to another episode of ScaleUp Radio with me, Granger Forson. You can connect with me at www.bizsmart-gloucestershire.co.uk or find me on LinkedIn 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 book financial model, completely removing the traditional conflict between builder and client. Instead of guarding information or chasing margin, they guide clients every step of the way, giving full transparency, daily communication and real accountability over cost, time and quality. It’s the foundation that has created deep trust and consistent word of mouth referrals.
From delivering a complex seven story development of 38 apartments in Gloucester Docks to high end residential projects for private clients, Prime DCM focus not on being the biggest, but on being truly efficient and consistent. They choose to run only two or three sites at a time and invest in developing the next generation, training apprentices through degree pathways and passing forward the expertise and values that shaped their own careers.
If you’re interested in building a business that values trust, lean thinking, long term relationships and the courage to grow people alongside results, this one is packed full of inspiration.
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 open book transparency, efficiency over growth, and building trust through honesty with Michael.
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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/
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