The Room Where It Happened

From a childhood helicopter dream to building and selling a £4.1bn company, Richard Harpin shares the moments that nearly ended, and ultimately defined,his journey as a founder.

In this episode, Richard takes us inside the make-or-break decisions behind HomeServe, including the last-ditch mail shot that saved the business when they had just £10,000 left in the bank, and the devastating moment a partner told him it was over and to return to corporate life. He reveals how copying what already worked, then pivoting fast, became a survival strategy, and why hiring people to cover your weaknesses is one of the most underestimated leadership skills.

Richard also reflects on the bold moves that unlocked global growth, from trusting local leaders to scale internationally, to the bittersweet decision to sell the company after decades of building.

This is a candid conversation about staying grounded, enduring setbacks, and the long journey from near-failure to lasting success, and why childhood dreams still matter at the finish line.

IFS - award-winning Asset & Service Management software
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What begins as a personal crisis quickly turns into a leap of faith. For Olivia Ferdi, everything changed seven weeks before her wedding, when a serious ACL injury forced her to confront her health, and her future, head on.

In this episode, Olivia shares how that moment sparked an immediate decision to walk away from a career in law and commit fully to building something of her own. She takes us behind the scenes of the early days of TRIP, from a chance meeting with a Selfridges PA at a vegan market to stacking cans floor-to-ceiling in her living room, and even launching the first-ever Deliveroo store from home during COVID.

Olivia also reflects on the realities of starting with no safety net, why having “skin in the game” matters, and the importance of not letting so-called best practice talk you out of your own instincts.

It’s a story about trust, navigating uncertainty, and what can happen when you back yourself fully and unapologetically, even when the path ahead isn’t clear.

IFS - award-winning Asset & Service Management software
👉 Reimagine your operations at:
https://highpfrmc.com/RWIH-IFS-au
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When Heights hit a wall after rapid early growth, founder Dan Murray faced a brutal truth: the product wasn’t the problem, the story was.

In this episode, Dan takes us inside the moment everything changed, explaining how a simple rebrand unlocked a new phase of growth, and why founders often look for answers in the wrong places when momentum stalls.

Dan is candid about the decisions that nearly broke him, including letting go of over half the team in a single day to keep the company alive, and walking away from high-profile influencer partnerships just before controversy hit. He opens up about the tension between ego and data, how his own love of science blinded him to what customers actually wanted, and why every brand needs an “edit button” when growth tactics start to carry reputational risk.

This is a clear-eyed look at the real cost of entrepreneurship: years of low pay, emotional strain, and hard calls made without certainty.

IFS - award-winning Asset & Service Management software
👉 Reimagine your operations at:
https://highpfrmc.com/RWIH-IFS-yt

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What starts as a side idea quickly becomes a full-scale obsession. For Will Shu, that obsession turned into Deliveroo, and it began with him delivering meals himself, learning the business from the pavement up.

In this episode, Will takes us inside the early days of building a food delivery company from scratch, including the mistakes no one sees, the moments that tested his resolve, and the realities of scaling at speed under intense scrutiny. He also reflects on everything from riding orders across London to navigating a major antitrust investigation, and the pressure that comes with building a category-defining business in public.

This is a story about founder grit, learning by doing, and why staying relentlessly focused on the customer, even when the stakes are highest, can be the difference between building a product people use and a brand people trust.

IFS - award-winning Asset & Service Management software 👉 Reimagine your operations at: https://highpfrmc.com/RWIH-IFS-au
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What happens when a career built on spreadsheets collides with a gut-level belief in great food? John Eckbert’s path to becoming CEO of Five Guys is anything but conventional, and it nearly didn’t happen at all.

In this conversation, John unpacks the improbable steps that took him from banking into the heart of one of the world’s most recognisable fast-casual brands. He shares how a single moment of curiosity turned into a bold move, the early discussions that defined Five Guys’ future, and the leadership calls made long before success was obvious. John also reveals the behind-the-scenes thinking that shaped the company’s culture, expansion strategy, and refusal to compromise on what matters most.

This episode explores what it really takes to switch lanes at the highest level, why patience can be a competitive advantage, and how building something people genuinely care about often means saying no far more than yes.

IFS - award-winning Asset & Service Management software
👉 Reimagine your operations at:
https://highpfrmc.com/RWIH-IFS-au
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.