UMicast

Fraser Doherty is co-founder of the world's most popular beer subscription service, Beer52. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Beer52 allows enthusiasts to taste expertly sourced craft beer from a different part of the world each month and has grown into one of Scotland's most exciting start-ups. Prior to joining Beer52, Fraser Doherty built an impressive 20-year career in business through his company SuperJam. In this conversation, the 33-year-old shares stories about some of the amazing destinations he's visited in the pursuit of the best beer and explains what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur from a young age. 

The latest episode of the podcast is the second in a new series UMi is producing in collaboration with Innovation SuperNetwork to discuss the landscape for innovation in the North East. Sarah Cox is the Innovation Challenge Programme Director at Innovation SuperNetwork and in this conversation, she introduces the concept of 'mission-led innovation' and the Challenge North Tyne project, which has launched a number of 'missions' to tackle key social, economic and environmental problems throughout the region. 

Challenge North Tyne is funded by North of Tyne Combined Authority. 

The latest episode of the podcast is the first in a new five-part series UMi is producing in collaboration with Innovation SuperNetwork. Jordan Dargue is Head of Access to Finance at Innovation SuperNetwork and Shaun Fooy is a Senior Manager at the British Business Bank. In this conversation, Jordan and Shaun discuss the innovation funding gap and what needs to be done to improve the investment landscape for early stage companies in the North East. 

The Accelerating Investment & Innovation Summit is part-funded by ERDF as part of the Catalysing Innovation in North East Clusters Project. 

Washington Vieira is the founder and driving force behind independent coffee business, Santu Coffee. Based in Edinburgh, Santu roasts high quality coffee beans sourced ethically and directly from farmers in Brazil and operates a café in the heart of the city. In this conversation, Washington shares his journey from growing up on his grandparent's coffee farm in Brazil, to working in the US and relocating to Edinburgh to set up Santu in 2018.  

Daniel Harrison is a deputy director in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy working at the heart of government to support business innovation and growth. A senior civil servant with 17 years' experience working in a range of ministerial departments, Daniel is passionate about solving the UK's productivity puzzle and making it easier for SMEs to thrive. In this conversation, we talk about Daniel's career and get his thoughts on the short and long-term challenges facing UK businesses, from inflation and the cost of living to talent attraction and net zero. 

Lisa Hart Shepherd is a market researcher and serial entrepreneur who expanded her market research business all over the world before selling it to Thomson Reuters in 2019. Acritas is well known by global top 100 law firms for developing the Sharplegal programme, which has become the world’s most comprehensive annual study of the legal market. Passionate about building relationships and making connections, Lisa is now turning her focus to growing The Lamp House - a shared office and coworking space in the North East. 

James de le Vingne is the CEO of the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) and in this episode of podcast, we speak to him about how businesses can unleash the potential of their people by becoming employee-owned. Given his extensive prior experience of working for NGOs in different parts of the world, we also discuss what James has learned about leveraging the power of business to tackle local and global challenges.

Heidi Fisher is an award-winning social enterprise consultant, public speaker, author and change advocate who wants to build a world run by social entrepreneurs. She began her career in accounting and finance working at multinational professional services firm, PwC, but soon realised that she wanted to strike out on her own and set up a purpose-led business. Over the last 20 years, Heidi has helped over 2100 social enterprises, CICs and charities through her business, Make an Impact CIC, and in 2020, she was awarded an MBE for Services to Innovation in Impact Measurement & Social Enterprise. In this podcast, we speak to the author of ‘Impact First: The Social Entrepreneur’s Guide to Measuring, Managing and Growing your Impact’ to find out exactly what it takes to start and run a purpose-led business.

This special episode of the podcast was recorded for the Innovation SuperNetwork as part of VentureFest North East. It features Graeme Miller, Head of Innovation at Innovation SuperNetwork, Gordon Dodd, Chief Strategy Officer of augmented reality marketing specialist Aircards, and Andrew Jenkins, CEO of renewable energy optimisation specialist, Kinewell Energy. The panellists discuss what it means to run an innovative company in the current environment, highlighting challenges around access to talent and opportunities around the productisation of services to create new revenue streams. 

In the 10^th episode of the podcast, we speak to UMi chief executive, Nicki Clark to find out more about her life and career and learn about the journey she’s been on with UMi since starting the business as one of the founding directors in 2007. Over the years, Nicki has worked in a variety of sectors and believes that the best way to be successful in the world of business is to plan for the long-term while keeping a close eye on new opportunities for growth. 

In our latest podcast, we speak to Dan Martin, the Founder and CEO of electric vehicle charging business, Elmtronics. Dan's journey in business has been full of many twists and turns, but his perseverance has seen him build one of the UK's most exciting EV start-ups. Elmtronics has just been acquired by Mer, which is owned by renewable energy giant Statkraft. The company is also working with Octopus Energy and a number of public and private sector organisations to bring the green transport revolution a step closer. 

In our latest podcast, we speak to Raman Sehgal, the Founder and Global President of international marketing agency, ramarketing. When he's not running his life sciences-focused company, Raman is the Host of the Molecule to Market podcast, an experienced keynote speaker, a regular contributor to Forbes and most recently, the author of The Floundering Founder: 24 Lessons to Refocus Your Business and Better Yourself. The book tackles issues around work/life balance and how not to get consumed by your business - something Raman himself has struggled with over the years.