Welcome back to Confounded, where we dig into the untold stories behind building businesses—the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Today, I’m joined by someone whose name might not be immediately familiar, but whose influence on the UK’s automotive and tech scenes is undeniable. David Edmonston is the founder of the legendary PistonHeads.com, one of those rare founders who built something before the world was ready for it, and made it work anyway. Pistonheads was a site that not only...

In this episode of Confounded TV, Alastair sits down with David James, founder of Total Car Check and now Director of Special Projects at Motorway. What starts as a conversation between friends turns into a masterclass in building lean, lasting businesses — fuelled not by hype, but by persistence and purpose. David shares how Total Car Check began with a personal crisis: his parents unknowingly bought a stolen car, losing over £4,000. Frustrated by the lack of affordable tools for car buyers,...

Iman Fadaei is helping the estimated 10 million displaced Ukrainians find work worldwide. From a standing start, he and his team are helping get Ukrainians into work wherever they end up, which helps them with accommodation, mental well-being, and quickly integrating into society. The platform was initiated in response to the situation of their CTO Igor, who is Ukrainian and still based in Ukraine. The suddenness of his plight during these first days of the war and the severity of the situat...

Meet Andy Entwistle CEO of The British Motor Show Prepare to be taken on a journey of automotive revival, as Andy, a true veteran of the car industry, joins us to recount the adrenaline-fueled adventure of breathing life back into the iconic British Motor Show. Discover how he steered through the unpredictable roadblocks and high-speed turns of reinventing the illustrious event, which vanished in 2008. From securing the legendary name to crafting a show that drove nearly 50,000 fans wild wit...

Shannon, now 31, joined 10 Yetis when she was just 18-years-young and worked her way up through the PR ranks to the helm of the agency. She has previously been awarded accolades such as PR Week’s 30 under 30, The Drum’s UK’s Top 50 Digital Women Under 30 and a place on B2B Marketing’s Top 10 30 under 30 list. She has led campaigns for the likes of Confused.com, Gocompare, Just Eat, carwow, Totaljobs, WaterAid, Optical Express and Hillarys Blind and is passionate about delivering creative ca...

Meet Iman Fadaei  Founder at employukraine.org & TalentPoolsIman is helping the estimated 10m displaced Ukrainians to find work across the world. From a standing start he and his team are helping get Ukrainians into work wherever they end up which helps them with accommodation, mental well-being and quickly getting integrated into a society.The platform was initiated in response to the situation of their CTO Igor who is Ukrainian and still based in Ukraine. The suddenness of his plight during these first days of the war, and the severity of the situation his family and friends are still experiencing, has inspired the team to contribute however they can. From over 100 countries they has posted 2000+ vacancies from companies looking to help. And this is just the beginning - staggeringly employukraine.org has only been live for 30 days and already covered by Forbes, CNBC, Sifted, SIA, REC and others. Here's how you can help:Post a job. Do you have a job you can post? Go to employukraine.orgPromote. Can you share employukraine.org with your business network and invite them to post their jobs? Feel free to tag employukraine.org on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or TikTok. Volunteer.employukraine.org need help with PR, translations, social media, partnerships, research, development and more.If you're able to volunteer please send your LinkedIn details and (any) availability to team@employukraine.orgFind out more at https://employukraine.org and find Iman on Linked In at https://www.linkedin.com/in/imanfadaei/ 

Andy is an experienced events producer and is now Chief Executive of Automotion Events, the business behind The British Motor Show. After a 12 year absence The British Motor Show returned in 2021, delivering a unique new format and helping educate and entertain nearly 50,000 visitors over 4 days.  Unlike many specialist shows, they focus on bringing automotive back to the masses, helping to deliver new audiences to all elements of automotive, from EV to Motorsport. The British Motor Show is like no motor show seen before, featuring dynamic content including an arena show, 2 Live Stages, "The Electric Motor Show", test drives and much much more. Andy has over 20 years experience within the automotive industry, with specific experience in business development and event and business management. A strong passion for the industry and a leader with a focus on delivering innovative solutions to help promote our industry. Find out more at https://thebritishmotorshow.liveFind Andy on Linked In

Shannon, now 31, joined 10 Yetis when she was just 18-years-young and worked her way up through the PR ranks to the helm of the agency. She has previously been awarded accolades such as PR Week’s 30 under 30, The Drum’s UK's Top 50 Digital Women Under 30 and a place on B2B Marketing’s Top 10 30 under 30 list.She has led campaigns for the likes of Confused.com, Gocompare, Just Eat, carwow, Totaljobs, WaterAid, Optical Express and Hillarys Blind and is passionate about delivering creative campaigns for brands that drive phenomenal results.From helping start-ups sky-rocket to success through clever PR tactics, to making a splash with stunts and “hero” content, Shannon shares how things have changed over the years in the world of PR and the impact of digital media and SEO on client and journalist expectations.   10 Yetis works with start-ups right through to global brands on PR, social media, web, design, video and SEO campaigns.Find out more at www.10yetis.co.ukFind Shannon on Linked In

Meet Tara Halliday PhD – Imposter Syndrome Specialist Ever feel like a fraud at the peak of your success? You're in good company as we unpack the elusive imposter syndrome with our guest expert, Tara, who holds a PhD in the subject. We kick off by peeling back the layers of this psychological pattern, distinguishing it from mere low self-esteem. Tara enlightens us on how our worth isn't measured by our accolades and how childhood beliefs might be the true culprits behind those nagging...

Embark on an enlightening journey with Darren Fell, the maverick behind Crunch, as he narrates the amazing saga of transforming the accounting landscape for the better. Darren spills the beans on the genesis of Crunch, the hurdles faced, and the triumphant moments that cemented its place as a haven for small businesses and contractors in dire need of accounting bliss. From the early days of battling sceptical bloggers to the expansion of services that bolster the backbone of micro-businesses...

Unlock the secrets to transformational project planning and masterful delegation with the digital pioneer behind New York City WebGurls International, who joins us in a riveting conversation. We're diving into the heart of effective task prioritization and how to cultivate a team culture that prizes learning from every outcome. You'll hear tales from the tech trenches that paint a picture of the internet's dramatic evolution, and glean practical advice on breaking down monolithic projects int...

Imposter syndrome is the secret feeling of being a fraud when you’re not. A doubt that you’re good enough, despite a track record of success, and a fear of being found out. It affects 70% of professionals at some point in their careers, men and women equally. Imposter syndrome creates stress, reduces creativity and productivity. It can lead to burnout and people ending their careers. When you resolve imposter syndrome, you finally feel good enough, you feel like you belong, excel and enjoy your success. Dr Tara Halliday has been a holistic therapist and coach for 21 years and specialises in resolving imposter syndrome. Her book ‘Unmasking' was an Amazon #1 Bestseller in 2018. She runs Inner Success, an 8-week, one-to-one training and coaching programme for C-suite executives to eliminate imposter syndrome for good.Take the Free Imposter Syndrome Test: http://bit.ly/ImpostorQuizhttps://completesuccess.co.ukhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-halliday-phd/ Book: http://bit.ly/TH_Unmasking

Meet Darren Fell,  the Founder at Crunch an award-winning online accounting solution and community. Crunch is invested in by former Skype Chairman Michael van Swaaij.Darren has been named ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Sussex Business Awards, and is also a past winner of the ‘Innovation in Business’ accolade at the Brighton and Hove Business Awards. Prior to Crunch, Darren created, built, and later sold the email marketing specialist company Pure360 to the NASD listed US firm, MobiVentures, for $7.8m (funds that Darren later used to create Crunch). Pure360 now employs around 100 people and has over 2,000 clients including Innocent Drinks, Financial Times, and Rightmove.Crunch offers easy-to-use, accounting software, with every add-on imaginable, all the way through to a full accountancy service. The audience they love to work with is freelancers, contractors, and small businesses across the UK.Crunch is also home to Crunch Chorus, an ever-expanding self-employed community of 50,000 members.

Nelly is on  a mission to help entrepreneurs minimise technology mistakes. She teaches the roadmap to successfully manage technology teams and projects like a CTO ... without being technical or learning how to code.She runs the TechSpeak for Entrepreneurs Academy  and was featured in ️Fast Company’s “League of Extraordinary Women” and ️Wall Street Journal’s “Woman on the IT Fast Track”The TechSpeak 10 step process consists of the following:Step 1: Validate and Refine the IdeaStep 2: Build an interactive prototype of a possible solution.Step 3: Create technical specifications for your prototypeStep 4: Pick the right tools & technologies that could be used to build the project.Step 5: Determine the price and budget for your project & define your MVPStep 6: Hire a Tech Team to estimate and code the projectStep 7: Design your MVP.Step 8: Project manage the coding of the MVPStep 9: Hosting options, security, and scaling techniquesStep 10: Refine your product based on data from actual users using your productYou can find out more, completely free at https://www.techspeakforentrepreneurs.com/free-classes/ and if you subsequently decide to sign up Nelly has kindly given you a 10% discount code  - use code CONFOUNDEDTVNelly is also a Speaker and presenter for many organisations and major industries events including: Women’s Enterprise Center, NY Entrepreneurs Business Network, Small Business Summit, BlogHer, Social Media Jungle, Women 2.0, BlogWorld, and has been featured in INC Magazine, NBC Today Show, Fast Company Magazine, NewsDay.com, O’Reilly, SmartMoney, SmallBiz, TechRepublic, Women’s RadioAnd if that wasn't enough Nelly is the CTO of Webgrrls International, the first and largest networking organisation of women in or interested in the Internet and Technology. Founded in April, '95 with six women in New York City, Webgrrls' currently has over 100 chapters worldwide with over 30,000 members.Watch:YouTube http://bit.ly/confounded2Confounded TV is the people podcast with amazingly successful and interesting guests and a high octane energy blast.

Born and raised in south London, Rich runs a Y Combinator backed startup, Business Score, connecting online businesses with growth capital. He spent his early years in #activism from representing his local town Croydon as youth MP. He also worked on social and political campaigns including the #LivingWage campaign. He studied at the London School of Economics where he was also elected the universities Court of Governors. Rich then worked at McKinsey in London before starting his #entrepreneur...

Step into the future of work with us as Gerry Brennan, CEO and founder of Cloudbooking, unveils how a simple hospitality orders system sprouted into a pioneering cloud-based solution for corporate booking systems. Imagine a world where managing workspace usage is as smooth as the cloud services we've come to rely on, a vision Gerry turned into a corporate revolution. Throughout our chat, we navigate the twists and turns of Cloudbooking's history, from its early struggles to its rebirth...

Just back in London from Copenhagen, we discuss on how normal life is in Denmark compared to UK and how people need to meet people to build real relationships. For the last 3 years Mads has been building and championing his platform. A single API where consumer facing businesses and website can allow their visitors and clients can apply to multiple lenders simultaneously. A graduate of Copenhagen Business School, Mads honed his knowledge of lending at Zopa and Lendable growing a wide ne...

News Flash ! – Quinoa isn’t pronounced the way you think or why you think… That’s one of many amazing things I learned from Meeting Kathryn and the most trivial. Listen to this episode as Kathryn tells the story behind her success at Discount Vouchers and her amazing new startup Upside Savings , a single app that can save money in your bank account based on what and where you shop while you do nothing! Since our recording their Seedrs campaign is now live and as of 19/09/2020 is at 87% of tar...

Did you know there were 10,000 varieties of Champagnes in France you have never seen in the UK? Me neither! Peter and Dan are two of the most interesting people i’ve met – the depth and knowledge they have of the wine is amazing. Add in their energy, humour and sense of mission and this podcast fizzes with energy 🙂 They have launched Sip Champagnes to bring you the very best wines from across France from small local vineyards. These champagnes are the very best they can find and the e...

A fun and insightful chat with Tom Wood, the CEO and founder of Cazana. In a short space of time, he has built the company, raised crowdfunding and equity funding, bought https://carandclassic.co.uk and taken to Cazana to be a leading data company in the automotive space. Tom hails from a business & innovation background having led technology teams within investment banking and pharmaceutical sectors and founded and sold companies in the marketing technology space. Cazana pro...