Episode #573 - ScaleUp Radio Shorts: The Pivot Point: Moving from Busy to Impactful
Release Date: 02/13/2026
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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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...
info_outlineScaleUp 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_outlineScaleUp Radio
What’s really stopping your business from scaling; poor decisions or poor execution? In this ScaleUp Radio Shorts episode, Kevin and Louise distil expert insights from two leading advisors working at the heart of scaleup challenges. Drawing on conversations with Lis Hubert and Diane Mentzer, this episode brings together practical frameworks to help founders cut through overwhelm, make better decisions, and build the operational capability required to execute effectively. This episode is produced with the aid of AI to help surface the most valuable insights and make them easier to apply....
info_outlineThis week on ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin and Louise unpack two fascinating recent conversations, one with Samantha Thurlow of In Collaboration, and one with Graeme Tennick of Tennick Accountants.
Different sectors. Same pivotal moment.
Both guests hit a point where “business as usual” stopped working, and had to rethink structure, mindset, and action to move forward.
🔎 What We Cover
1️⃣ The Associate Trap
Samantha built her agency on a flexible associate model. It worked, until it didn’t.
Growth meant more work… but not more profit.
Flexibility became a ceiling.
Her pivot? Moving towards an employee model to build stability, culture, and long-term asset value.
Lesson: Convenience can quietly cap your growth.
2️⃣ Strategy Over Volume
Samantha also shared a key observation about marketing.
AI-generated content is everywhere. But engagement is dropping when there’s no strategy behind it.
More posts ≠ better marketing.
Clear positioning and thinking wins.
3️⃣ The Real Reason Businesses Don’t Scale
When Kevin asked Graeme the biggest barrier to growth, his answer wasn’t cash flow.
It was procrastination.
We are drowning in knowledge but starved of action.
His advice is simple:
Identify the biggest challenge in front of you, then take one immediate action to move it forward.
One action is progress.
4️⃣ 10x Requires Reinvention
Graeme referenced 10x Is Easier Than 2x, the idea that small growth can come from working harder, but exponential growth requires fundamentally changing how you operate.
You cannot 10x with yesterday’s structure.
🎯 The One Key Thing
If you feel stuck, don’t just push harder.
Change the structure or behaviour that’s holding you back.
🎧 Want More?
To hear Samantha’s full transition story and Graeme’s Client Impact Tree framework in detail, listen to their full episodes of ScaleUp Radio.
Follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode.
This episode was created using AI