Business Mutiny by Jon Graves

What can horses teach us about leadership, team performance, burnout and becoming a better business owner?
Quite a lot, as it turns out.
In this episode of Business Mutiny, I head out to the barn to meet Julia from Business Horsepower, a leadership development specialist who works with horses to help CEOs, founders and senior teams improve how they lead.
Julia’s journey is anything but conventional. She started out in hospitality, moved into hotel consultancy, built a specialist business unit inside Arthur Andersen, grew it from an idea on a piece of paper into a global market leader, and then experienced the shock of seeing that business sold.
That experience, alongside burnout, a sabbatical in Africa and a lifelong passion for horses, ultimately led her to create Business Horsepower.
This is a fascinating conversation about how leaders evolve, why founders often struggle to let go, how burnout can creep up unnoticed, why attention might be the greatest leadership superpower of all, and what horses can teach us about shared leadership, energy, presence and trust.
One of the biggest themes in this episode is the transition founders face as their businesses grow.
The mindset that gets you to your first £100,000 in revenue isn’t necessarily the mindset that gets you to £1 million, £10 million or beyond.
At each stage, the leader has to evolve.
Sometimes that means learning new skills.
Sometimes it means stepping back.
Sometimes it means accepting that someone else might actually be better at running part of the business than you are.
Julia talks openly about experiencing exactly that in her own corporate career. She was brilliant at creating and growing something new, but once the business matured, it needed a different style of leadership.
That realisation now shapes much of her work with entrepreneurs and senior teams.
We also discuss founder bottlenecks.
Modern technology means leaders are available almost constantly. WhatsApp, email, Teams, mobile phones and endless notifications mean employees can ask the boss a question almost instantly.
That sounds helpful, but Julia argues it can actually prevent people from developing confidence, accountability and decision-making skills.
If the founder is always available, why make the decision yourself?
Instead, strong leaders need to learn to ask better questions.
Rather than immediately solving the problem, ask:
“How would you solve it?”
That small change can create more confident, empowered and engaged teams.
We also explore Julia’s idea of teamship.
Traditional leadership assumes one person sits at the top and everyone else follows.
But horse herds operate differently.
Leadership is distributed.
The lead mare looks for food and water.
The stallion creates energy and movement.
Sentinel horses monitor direction and protect the herd.
Every horse plays a role in keeping the herd safe.
Julia believes modern businesses can learn from this.
Instead of putting every decision and responsibility onto one individual, businesses should build teams where leadership, accountability and responsibility are shared.
The conversation also goes much deeper into Julia’s personal journey.
After years in corporate life, she took a sabbatical.
While travelling, she realised something uncomfortable.
She had once gone swimming with dolphins, but when somebody asked her what the experience actually felt like...
She couldn’t remember.
She had been living life as a checklist.
Experiences were things to complete rather than things to actually experience.
That moment eventually led her to spend four months training as a safari guide in the African bush, learning the importance of presence, awareness and attention.
And let me know:
What do you think horses could teach us about leadership?
#BusinessMutiny #Leadership #BusinessHorsepower #Entrepreneurship #LeadershipDevelopment #Teamwork #BusinessPodcast #Founder #HighPerformance #BusinessGrowth

Why Working Harder Isn't the Answer | Paul Crick on Leadership & Performance
Is working harder really the key to success, or are we chasing the wrong thing?
In this episode of the Business Mutiny Podcast, Jon Graves is joined by Paul Crick, leadership coach, performance specialist and founder of The Elevate Partnership, to explore why sustainable success isn't about working longer hours—it's about understanding yourself, your team and how people actually perform.
Paul shares his GRACE Framework, a practical approach to improving leadership, resilience, communication and team performance. Together, they discuss burnout, psychological safety, business growth, emotional intelligence and why many leaders unintentionally hold their teams back.
The conversation also explores Paul's own journey—from struggling with performance anxiety as a musician to building a career helping organisations create healthier, higher-performing cultures.
Whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur, manager or aspiring leader, this episode is packed with practical insights that can transform the way you think about leadership and performance.
In this episode you'll discover:
• Why working harder often leads to burnout instead of better results• The hidden cost of poor communication and team misalignment• Why psychological safety is essential for high-performing teams• The difference between learning leadership and becoming a leader• How to create a culture where people thrive• Why founders struggle to let go as businesses grow• Practical ways to improve resilience, creativity and performance• The leadership lessons Paul learned from martial arts, coaching and neuroscience
This episode finishes with one simple but powerful question that every business owner should ask themselves:
"What do you really want?"
Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest to answer.
If you enjoyed this episode, follow the Business Mutiny Podcast for more conversations with experienced entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons they've learned from a lifetime in business.

What does it really take to build a world-class product from absolutely nothing?
In this episode of Business Mutiny, Jon Graves sits down with Tom Gale, founder of Atom Packs, to uncover the incredible story behind one of Britain’s fastest-growing outdoor equipment brands.
Tom didn’t start with investment, a business plan or a factory.
He started with a cheap sewing machine, an old backpack from TK Maxx, and one simple question:
“Why doesn’t any backpack actually fit me properly?”
That curiosity would eventually lead to thousands of backpacks being used around the world—including one carried by Jon Graves to the summit of Mount Vinson in Antarctica, the highest mountain on the continent.
This is far more than a conversation about backpacks.
It’s a masterclass in entrepreneurship, product design, customer feedback, resilience and building a company that genuinely improves every single day.
Tom explains how years of hiking across America, New Zealand and the UK inspired the first Atom Pack, why he deliberately ignored traditional backpack design, and how thousands of miles of real-world testing shaped every product they build today.
Along the way you’ll hear:
• Why he spent years prototyping before launching a business
• The Reddit post that generated his first 20 orders
• Living in a van while starting the company
• Why customer complaints became the secret to building a better product
• Growing from one person to a team of nearly twenty
• How Atom Packs has sold almost 14,000 backpacks worldwide
• Why customisation nearly became too successful
• Lessons from hiring the first employee
• Managing cashflow, growth and uncertainty
• The realities of running a manufacturing business in the Lake District
• Building products used everywhere from weekend hikes to Antarctic expeditions
Tom also opens up about being diagnosed with ADHD and autism, explaining how creating Atom Packs allowed him to build a business around how his own mind works rather than forcing himself into someone else’s mould.
Towards the end of the conversation, Tom shares some incredibly honest advice for young entrepreneurs struggling with confidence, identity and finding their place in the world.
If you’re building a business, launching a product, growing a startup or simply love hearing how great companies are created, this is an episode packed with practical lessons you can apply immediately.
Subscribe for more conversations with founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders every week.
Business Mutiny is the podcast where real business owners share the lessons that never make it into textbooks.
👍 Like the video if you enjoyed it.
💬 Let us know in the comments:What’s the best product you’ve ever bought because it simply solved a problem better than everyone else?
#BusinessMutiny #AtomPacks #Entrepreneurship #Startup #OutdoorBusiness #FounderStory

In this episode of Business Mutiny, Jon Graves sits down with Carla Nokes, founder of The Fitness Directory, to explore a raw and honest founder journey built on resilience, rejection, sport, injury, mistakes and relentless persistence.
Carla started out as a high-level tennis player, reaching the top 10 in Great Britain as a junior and representing at international level. Tennis shaped her mindset from an early age, teaching her resilience, discipline, competitiveness and the ability to solve problems under pressure.
But when injury disrupted her tennis career, Carla had to rethink everything.
After shoulder surgery, financial pressure and the reality that tennis may no longer be the route forward, she moved into the fitness industry and began working across multiple gyms. She was doing brutal hours, sometimes working from early morning until late at night, trying to earn enough money to fund her way back into tennis.
But while working across those gyms, she spotted a major problem.
Gyms were constantly struggling to find reliable cover for fitness instructors, PTs and class leaders. Fitness professionals were stuck on spreadsheets, waiting weeks to be paid, and trying to find work across fragmented networks.
That is where the idea for The Fitness Directory was born.
Carla describes it as an “Uber for fitness” — an on-demand platform connecting gyms with vetted fitness professionals for short-term cover, classes and shifts, while removing the headache of invoicing, admin and delayed payments.
But the journey has been anything but easy.
In this conversation, Carla talks openly about building the app three times, getting development wrong, spending money on expensive lessons, struggling with perfectionism, being scared to sell, learning how to cold approach gyms, dealing with rejection, navigating a male-dominated industry and building a startup alone.
She also shares how working with a business coach helped her realise that the biggest thing holding her back was herself.
This episode is packed with lessons for founders, entrepreneurs, startup owners, fitness professionals and anyone building something from scratch.
We discuss:
High-level tennis and the mindset it created
Why injury forced Carla to rethink her future
How The Fitness Directory idea was born
Building software as a non-technical founder
Expensive startup mistakes
Why perfectionism can kill progress
Learning how to sell
Pitching gyms and handling rejection
The reality of being a solo founder
Raising investment
Why validation matters
The future of fitness recruitment
This is a brilliant conversation about resilience, founder mindset, learning the hard way and refusing to quit when most people would have walked away.
If you are building a business, launching an app, trying to raise investment or fighting through the messy early stages of a startup, this episode will hit home.

What if up to 50% of your workforce is being misunderstood?
 
In this episode of Business Mutiny, Jon Graves sits down with Joanna Rawbone, founder of Flourishing Introverts, to explore one of the most overlooked challenges in modern business: the hidden cost of introversion in the workplace.
 
Joanna shares her personal journey from burnout to becoming one of the UK’s leading voices on introversion, explaining why so many talented people spend years pretending to be more extroverted just to fit in. Together, Jon and Joanna unpack the myths surrounding introverts, why businesses often reward the loudest voices, and how organisations may be losing valuable employees without ever understanding why.
 
They discuss the powerful “battery vs solar panel” analogy, the impact of open-plan offices, hybrid working, workplace bias, psychological safety, leadership styles, burnout, confidence, and why some of the best performers quietly leave organisations.
 
Whether you’re a business owner, manager, HR professional, leader, entrepreneur, or someone who has ever felt misunderstood at work, this episode offers practical insights into building stronger teams and creating environments where people can genuinely thrive.
 
Topics include:
 
• What introversion really is (and what it isn’t) • The hidden burnout risk for introverts • Why quiet employees are often overlooked • Workplace bias towards extroversion • Hybrid working and productivity • Psychological safety and team culture • Leadership lessons from introverts • Why people quietly quit • Building workplaces where everyone can flourish
 
If you’ve ever wondered why some people seem exhausted by environments that energise others, this conversation will completely change the way you think about people, performance and leadership.
 
#BusinessMutiny #JoannaRawbone #Introverts #Leadership #BusinessPodcast #PsychologicalSafety #WorkplaceCulture #Management #Burnout #Entrepreneurship

Some people are born with confidence. Others have to fight for every piece of it.
 
In this episode of Business Mutiny, Jon Graves sits down with Jordan Stringer — football coach, speaker, mentor, and someone whose life has been shaped by adversity, resilience, and an unbelievable refusal to give up.
 
Jordan opens up about growing up with dyspraxia, struggling through school, and enduring years of humiliation from a teacher who publicly mocked him in front of classmates. What should have been a safe environment became something he dreaded every single day.
 
But this story doesn’t end there.
 
Instead of allowing those experiences to define him, Jordan found purpose through football. What started as a challenge to simply fit in became a pathway into coaching, leadership, and eventually winning Football Coach of the Year.
 
This is not just a conversation about football.
 
It’s about:• overcoming bullying• living with dyspraxia• mental health and resilience• dealing with cancer at a young age• finding confidence through purpose• why sport changes lives• and how one supportive teacher can completely alter someone’s future
 
Jordan also shares the emotional reality behind receiving a cancer diagnosis just months after achieving one of the biggest moments of his life, and how football became both an escape and a lifeline during the darkest periods.
 
There are moments in this episode that are genuinely difficult to hear — especially the stories from school — but there’s also an incredible message of hope running through the entire conversation.
 
One of the most powerful parts of this episode is Jordan’s outlook on life:Take risks. Ask for help. Be patient with yourself. Keep going.
 
Whether you’re a young person struggling to fit in, a parent supporting a child through challenges, or someone trying to rebuild confidence after setbacks, this episode will resonate deeply.
 
This is a raw, honest, emotional conversation about adversity, identity, purpose, and resilience.
 
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Topics in this episode:• Bullying in schools• Dyspraxia awareness• Mental health• Football coaching• Cancer recovery• Confidence and resilience• Sport and community• Overcoming adversity• Motivation and mindset• Youth development and coaching
 
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If this episode helped you in any way, share it with someone who needs to hear it.
 
Follow Business Mutiny for more real conversations with founders, coaches, leaders, and people with extraordinary stories.

Building a business is hard. Building a business while raising a child, managing a home, and supporting others?
That’s a completely different level. In this episode of Business Mutiny, we sit down with Lucy Piper, co-founder of Any Little Thing, to uncover the real, unfiltered truth about what it takes to build a startup while navigating motherhood, responsibility, and the daily chaos that comes with it.
This isn’t your typical polished “CEO stories” highlight reel.
This is the reality behind entrepreneurship — the late nights, the sacrifices, the doubt, and the resilience it takes to keep going when things feel like they’re falling apart. Lucy shares how she built her business from scratch, starting with nothing but an idea and a desire to make a difference in people’s lives. From cleaning houses and doing odd jobs to building a trusted service supporting elderly and vulnerable people, this is a true how to start a startup story grounded in real life.
We dive into: 
What it really looks like to build a business while raising a newborn 
The emotional and mental challenges of juggling motherhood and entrepreneurship 
Why growth isn’t always about scaling fast — and why slow, sustainable business growth can be more powerful 
The importance of having the right support system and mindset 
How to push through the moments where you question everything Lucy opens up about the early days of the business — taking her baby to work, balancing clients with childcare, and figuring things out as she went.
There’s no blueprint here. No shortcuts. Just grit, determination, and an entrepreneur mindset that refuses to quit. One of the most powerful themes in this episode is the idea of giving yourself permission to try.
Too often, people hold themselves back — waiting for the “right time,” the “perfect plan,” or external validation. But as Lucy explains, sometimes the hardest part isn’t the work itself… it’s deciding you’re allowed to go for it.
This episode is packed with real, actionable insights for anyone thinking about starting a business, especially parents, founders, or anyone trying to balance life and ambition. We also explore the reality of money matters in business — from starting with zero funding, avoiding debt, and growing organically, to making smart decisions that protect both your business and your personal life. It’s a refreshing take in a world where “scale fast” and “raise big” are often pushed as the only path to success.
If you’re interested in:
• Real CEO stories without the fluff
• How to start a startup from scratch
• Building a business around your life, not the other way around
• Developing a strong success mindset
• Understanding the reality behind entrepreneurship
Then this episode is for you. Lucy’s story is proof that you don’t need everything figured out to begin. You just need to start.  💬
Let us know in the comments: What’s been the hardest part of your journey so far? 

In this episode, we sit down with Omid Moallemi, co-founder of Prsnt, to break down the real story behind one of the most talked-about startups to appear on Dragons’ Den.
 
From pitching in front of Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, and Steven Bartlett… to walking away from a deal that shocked many — this is the full, unfiltered startup journey you didn’t see on TV.
 
At the heart of this episode is Prsnt — a fast-growing UK startup transforming how we give gifts. Instead of traditional gifting, Prsnt allows users to send gifts instantly via smartphone, complete with video messages and digital unwrapping experiences. Explore Prsnt here 
 
Built to make gifting “as easy as sending a text,” Prsnt connects users with over 100+ major high street brands, enabling real-time gifting without the hassle of delivery, wrapping, or logistics. 
 
But this episode goes far deeper than just the product.
 
We unpack:
The real behind-the-scenes experience of Dragons’ Den
What actually happens during the 3-hour pitch (vs what you see on TV)
How they secured investment from multiple Dragons… and why the deal didn’t complete
The brutal realities of startup life — from running out of money to near burnout
The moment everything nearly collapsed… and how they bounced back
 
Omid shares the highs and lows of building Prsnt — from early MVP struggles and outsourcing development, to landing major partnerships and scaling a platform that now reaches hundreds of thousands of users.
 
We also dive into the business model behind Prsnt — including how they generate revenue through brand partnerships, commissions, and transaction fees, while helping businesses drive customer engagement through digital gifting and rewards. 
 
This episode is packed with lessons for founders, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in startups, SaaS, marketplaces, or scaling a tech business.
 
Key topics include:
Startup resilience and dealing with rejection
Why most people underestimate how hard tech businesses are
The power of co-founders and building the right team
Why “other people’s limitations aren’t your own”
How to validate an idea and turn it into a real business
The truth about raising investment in today’s market
 
Whether you’re building a startup, thinking about going on Dragons’ Den, or just want a raw, honest insight into entrepreneurship — this episode delivers.
 
If you’ve ever wondered:
Is Dragons’ Den real?
What happens after the cameras stop rolling?
And what it actually takes to build a scalable tech company…
 
This is for you.
About Prsnt
 
Prsnt is a UK-based gifting platform designed to modernise how people send and receive gifts. With instant delivery, personalised messages, and a marketplace of leading brands, it removes the friction from traditional gifting and creates meaningful moments in seconds. 
Follow / Subscribe for more founder stories, business lessons, and real conversations from the front line of entrepreneurship.
 
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Most people never question what’s holding them back… they just accept it.
In this episode of Business Mutiny, I sit down with Falguni Patel — TEDx speaker and transformational strategist — who went through anxiety, IVF struggles, divorce, and a complete life reset… before a stranger said something that changed everything:
“You’re an onion.”
It sounds ridiculous. But it unlocked a powerful way of understanding how we build layers, hide our true selves, and stay stuck in patterns that limit our growth.
We get into:
Breaking limiting beliefs and comfort zones
Why success can actually hold you back
The fear of being judged (and how to overcome it)
Building confidence and stepping into the unknown
The truth about freedom, purpose, and fulfilment
 
If you’ve ever felt stuck, comfortable but unfulfilled, or unsure what’s really holding you back — this one will hit.
Chapters 
00:00 – The “You’re an Onion” Moment
02:30 – Anxiety, IVF & Hitting Rock Bottom
08:45 – Walking Away & Starting Again
15:20 – Comfort Zones Are Killing Growth
21:10 – Doing Things Alone & Building Confidence
27:40 – Online Business & Freedom
34:15 – The Truth About Education & Careers
41:00 – Business Failures & Lessons Learned
47:30 – Limiting Beliefs Explained
51:30 – Quick Fire Round

What does it really mean to redefine what’s possible?
In this episode of Business Mutiny, Jon speaks to Glen Mallen, Director of the Nimsdai Foundation, about how the charity is creating real impact through education, disaster relief, environmental projects, porter welfare, and transformational expeditions to Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro.
This is not just a conversation about mountains.
It is about purpose, resilience, leadership, charity, community support, and changing lives.
We cover:
• The mission and purpose behind the Nimsdai Foundation
• How the charity supports education in Nepal
• The reality of disaster relief after earthquakes and floods
• How they are helping clean up Everest and the big mountains
• Why Project Odyssey is transforming the lives of veterans
• The story behind the new Porter House in Lobuche
• How mountain environments can improve confidence, wellbeing, and self-belief
• What it takes to run and grow an international charity
• Glen’s journey through the charity sector and leadership
 
If you are interested in charity leadership, Nepal, Everest, Kilimanjaro, veterans, mountain expeditions, porter welfare, disaster relief, education projects, or purpose-driven organisations, this episode is packed with insight.
 
In this episode:
• Nimsdai Foundation
• Everest Base Camp
• Kilimanjaro
• veterans rehabilitation
• porter house project
• Nepal education
• mountain clean-up
• disaster relief
• charity leadership
• redefining what’s possible
 
Check out the foundation here
https://www.nimsdaifoundation.org/
 
🔔 Subscribe for more conversations on business, leadership, resilience, purpose, and impact.
 
#NimsdaiFoundation #Everest #Kilimanjaro #Charity #Leadership #Nepal #Veterans #BusinessMutiny #DisasterRelief #Education
 
Chapters
00:00 Intro: Can You Really Redefine What’s Possible?
01:05 What Is the Nimsdai Foundation? (Mission & Purpose)
02:40 The “Nothing Is Impossible” Mindset Explained
04:30 What Are the 4 Pillars? (Education, Environment, Impact, Disaster Relief)
06:50 How Do You Clean Up Everest? (Mountain Waste Reality)
08:20 What Does “Nims Has a Vortex” Mean?
10:10 Project Odyssey: How Mountains Transform Veterans’ Lives
13:30 Why Do People Open Up More on the Mountain?
16:00 Everest vs Kilimanjaro: Which Is More Transformational?
18:30 Why Shared Hardship Builds Stronger Human Connection
20:40 The Porter Problem: What’s Really Happening on Everest?
23:00 Building the Porter House at 5,000m (Real Challenges)
26:10 $500,000 Build: Why It Costs So Much on Everest
28:20 Are Porters Being Treated Fairly? (Reality Explained)
30:30 Can Everest’s Waste Problem Ever Be Solved?
33:00 What Is a “Trash Trek” & Why It Matters
35:10 The £25 Project Changing Girls’ Lives in Nepal
38:00 Charity Work Reality: How Do You Actually Fund This?
40:20 From Lifeboats to Global Impact: Glen’s Career Journey
43:00 Purpose vs Profit: Why Values Matter More Than Money
45:10 Biggest Leadership Lesson: Surround Yourself With Talent
47:00 Advice for Young People: Believe in Yourself
49:00 Final Thoughts: Did You Do Everything You Could?
 
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