Episode #615: Building Integrated Systems Creates Consistent Opportunities - with Peter Juhasz
Release Date: 06/08/2026
Episode #629: Why Resilience is the Missing Link in Accountability - with Melissa Thornley
ScaleUp Radio
ScaleUp Radio Show Notes Melissa Thornley: Why Resilience is the Missing Link in Accountability What if the reason accountability isn't sticking in your business has nothing to do with performance management and everything to do with resilience? In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent is joined by Melissa Thornley, leadership coach, consultant and founder of Melissa Thornley Consulting. Melissa works with leaders operating in high-stakes environments including emergency services, government agencies, manufacturing, construction and technology businesses. Her mission is simple but...
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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....
info_outlineWhat happens when founders get fed up with fragmented agencies, disconnected marketing tactics, and expensive growth projects that fail to deliver?
In this episode of ScaleUp Radio, Kevin Brent sits down with Peter Juhasz, co-founder of Syrvi.ai, to explore how they are reinventing go-to-market support for SMEs through what they call “Service as Software”.
Peter shares the scaling journey behind Syrvi.ai, from bootstrapping a tech platform with no previous software experience to building a 12-person team supporting around 30 active clients across the UK and beyond.
The discussion dives into why traditional agency models often fail scaling businesses, how AI is changing the way SMEs approach growth, and why guarantees and trust are central to Syrvi.ai’s model.
A standout message from this episode:
“Most SMEs don’t need more agencies. They need one joined-up revenue system.”
In This Episode
Why SMEs Struggle to Scale
Peter explains the challenge many growing businesses face between:
- Trying to learn and implement AI internally
- Hiring multiple specialist agencies that rarely work cohesively together
The result is often:
- High costs
- Conflicting strategies
- Founder burnout
- Poor ROI
- Fragmented accountability
Peter references research suggesting over 95% of growth projects fail because businesses focus on isolated tactics instead of integrated systems.
The “Service as Software” Model
Syrvi.ai combines:
- Human expertise
- AI automation
- Proprietary software
- Integrated go-to-market execution
Their Revenue Engine platform supports:
- Multi-channel outreach campaigns
- LinkedIn and email pipeline generation
- AI-assisted thought leadership
- SEO and content creation
- Generative AI Engine Optimisation (GAIO)
Rather than replacing humans with AI, Peter explains how AI enables SMEs to execute more consistently and strategically without needing multiple suppliers.
Earning Trust Through Guarantees
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation is how Syrvi.ai reduces client risk.
Their process includes:
- A free 45-minute strategy session
- A bespoke 25-page go-to-market plan
- A 90-day pilot programme
- Guaranteed qualified opportunities
If targets are missed:
- They continue working free of charge until achieved
- Or refund the client
Peter explains why demonstrating value before asking for long-term commitment has been critical to their growth and retention.
Building a Tech Company Without a Tech Background
Peter openly shares the challenges of:
- Bootstrapping the business
- Building software from scratch
- Recruiting the right CTO
- Learning AI and technology fundamentals as non-technical founders
The company has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds into developing their platform while staying founder-funded.
Today:
- The business has 12 team members
- Supports around 30 active clients
- Is approaching break-even
Leadership Lessons and Founder Advice
Peter shares lessons he would give his younger self:
- Take balanced risks
- Learn business management earlier
- Understand M&A sooner
- Invest time learning technology and AI fundamentals
He also discusses:
- Founder mindset
- Sustainable scaling
- Managing growth pressure
- Long-term vision
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:
Most founders I speak to feel busy but stuck; plenty happening, but not always clear on what genuinely matters most this quarter. If that sounds familiar, the G90 Summit is worth a look. It’s a structured half-day session where we help founders identify the three to five priorities that genuinely matter over the next 90 days and build the systems to deliver them. Quarterly, virtual, and £97 a seat. You can find out more at http://Smart90.co.uk/summit .
Peter can be found here:
Resources:
Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/think-and-grow-rich-the-original-classic-hill/2073500?ean=9781906465599&next=t
Good To Great by Jim Collins - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/good-to-great-collins-jim/5255326?ean=9780712676090&next=t
Claude AI - https://claude.ai/