What does it really take to build a successful business? And how do you know when to keep going, change direction or walk away?

In this episode of Look At You Now, Craig sits down with Andy Evans, serial entrepreneur, investor and mentor, who has built and sold three businesses, invested in over 20 companies and spent decades exploring the opportunities created by new technology.

Andy's entrepreneurial journey began at just 15 years old, selling concert tickets to friends before eventually organising coach trips to major concerts. That early experience sparked a curiosity for business that would go on to shape his life.

From launching digital media businesses in the early days of the internet to starting a podcast production company in 2005, Andy shares what he's learnt about spotting opportunities, trusting his intuition and understanding why being first doesn't always mean being successful.

But this conversation goes beyond business.

We explore why focus is so difficult to maintain, how to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people and why learning from mistakes can be more valuable than getting everything right the first time.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Andy went from selling concert tickets at 15 to building and selling three businesses
• Why being ahead of your time isn't always an advantage
• How curiosity and intuition help us recognise opportunities
• The importance of timing when making big decisions
• Why focusing on too many things can stop us from making meaningful progress
• How to identify your strengths and surround yourself with people who complement them
• What Andy learnt from his first business exit and how it changed his approach
• Why relationships, integrity and genuine connections matter
• How mentors and other founders can help us understand our own challenges
• The importance of continuous learning and staying curious
• Why building something valuable matters more than chasing an exit
• How a simple walk and conversation can help us think more clearly

Some key takeaways:

Being first doesn't always mean winning. Andy learnt that having the right idea is only part of the equation. Timing matters just as much.

You don't have to be good at everything. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses allows you to find people who bring something different to the table.

Focus means knowing what not to do. Progress doesn't come from having the longest to-do list. It comes from recognising which things genuinely matter and giving them your attention.

Mistakes become valuable when you learn from them. Andy explains how the challenges of selling his first business helped him approach his next business differently.

Relationships are built through genuine interest in people. Staying connected, helping others and building trust can create opportunities that you could never have planned for.

Whether you're starting a business, navigating a career change or simply trying to understand how to make better decisions, this conversation offers a different perspective on success, personal growth and the value of learning through experience.

Connect with Andy Evans:

Find Andy on LinkedIn by searching Digital Andy.

About Look At You Now

Look At You Now is a podcast about understanding ourselves through the experiences, perspectives and lessons of others.

Through honest conversations, we explore how people think, make decisions, overcome challenges and learn from life, with the hope of making those lessons useful in our own lives.

Understand yourself. Change how you live.

If you enjoyed this conversation, follow Look At You Now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube, and share the episode with someone who might find it valuable.

Can sound influence how you think, feel and behave without you even realising it?

Why does your favourite song sometimes feel completely wrong? Why can the same noise comfort one person but drive another mad? And how much of what we hear is actually shaped by our brains, memories and emotions?

In this episode of Look At You Now, Craig Leslie sits down with Dr Duncan Williams, an academic and researcher specialising in how humans perceive and respond to sound.

From the psychology of music and the sounds we find irritating to why we dislike hearing our own voices, Duncan explores how our experiences, surroundings and emotions influence the way we hear the world.

But our conversation goes beyond the science of sound.

We explore why failure can be essential to learning, why comparing ourselves with others can distort our sense of progress, and how recognising that people experience the world differently might help us better understand ourselves and one another.

We also look towards the future, exploring how adaptive audio and emerging technology could change our everyday environments.

In this conversation, we explore:

• How our brains process sound and why certain noises capture our attention.
• Why music can change our mood and why our favourite songs don't always feel right.
• Why two people can hear the same sound but experience it completely differently.
• What aural diversity teaches us about perception and empathy.
• Why natural sounds, city noise and our surroundings affect how we feel.
• How context and personal experiences influence what we find pleasant or irritating.
• Why making everything quieter isn't necessarily the answer.
• How adaptive audio could personalise the way we experience sound.
• Why failure is often necessary for developing a deeper understanding.
• How to measure personal progress without constantly comparing ourselves with others.

Whether you're interested in music, psychology, human behaviour, or simply curious about how your mind makes sense of the world, this conversation offers a fascinating perspective on something we experience every single day.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Dr Duncan Williams
00:48 Why Duncan calls himself a failed musician
03:44 How should we measure personal progress?
08:22 How do our brains understand sound?
12:38 Why musical preferences change with context
15:31 How the brain processes sound and attention
19:15 Why we react differently to our own voices
21:35 Why no two people hear exactly alike
26:03 Can sound influence how we feel?
35:19 Natural sounds versus human-made noise
38:41 How context changes our response to sound
43:58 Sound sensitivity, misophonia and empathy
51:12 Could we design a world that sounds better?
01:00:21 What is adaptive audio?
01:03:10 The future of personalised sound
01:05:05 Duncan's favourite song and final reflections

Connect and discover more

Look At You Now: https://lookatyounowpod.com/

Look At You Now | Understand yourself. Change how you live.

Real experiences. Deeper understanding. Practical change.

What if you could turn an idea into a working app without knowing how to code?

And what if the biggest thing holding you back wasn't your ability, but what you believed was possible?

In this episode of Look At You Now, Craig Leslie sits down with Lazar, Professional Vibecoding Engineer at Lovable, to explore how artificial intelligence is changing who gets to build, create and solve problems.

Lazar had never written code before discovering Lovable. Today, he works at the company helping turn ideas into real products using AI. He even challenged himself to build 50 apps in 50 weeks, proving that you don't necessarily need a traditional technical background to bring your ideas to life.

But our conversation goes beyond AI and building apps.

We explore why not knowing something can sometimes be an advantage, how curiosity and persistence help us overcome limitations, and why the ability to understand and communicate a problem could become one of the most valuable skills of the future.

Lazar also shares practical advice for anyone wanting to start building with AI, why finding customers matters just as much as creating a product, and how embracing change can open doors we might never have imagined.

In this conversation, we explore:

• What Lovable and vibe coding actually are, explained simply.
• How Lazar went from business operations to becoming a Professional Vibecoding Engineer.
• Why having no coding experience helped him think differently.
• How he successfully built 50 apps in 50 weeks.
• Why understanding and communicating problems is becoming an increasingly valuable skill.
• Practical advice for turning an idea into a working app using AI.
• Why building something is only half the challenge, and finding people who need it matters just as much.
• How AI could transform jobs, entrepreneurship and the future of creativity.
• Why curiosity, persistence and adaptability matter in a rapidly changing world.
• How technology could give us more freedom to spend time doing things we genuinely enjoy.

Whether you're curious about AI, have an idea you've never been able to build, or simply want to understand how technology might change what you're capable of, this conversation offers a fascinating perspective on the opportunities ahead.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Lazar and his role at Lovable
02:04 From business operations to AI-powered building
07:22 What is Lovable and how does vibe coding work?
12:43 Why not knowing how to code can be an advantage
16:43 The most important skills for the future of AI
23:15 The possibilities of personalised AI experiences
25:19 How to build your first app with Lovable
32:40 Should you build an MVP or a complete product?
35:28 Why finding customers matters more than ever
36:37 AI, job security and the future of work
39:20 Why persistence and adaptability are essential
42:40 Learning through failure and experimentation
44:47 Why everyone should try building something

Connect and discover more

Explore Lovable: https://lovable.dev/

Look At You Now: https://lookatyounowpod.com/

Look At You Now | Understand yourself. Change how you live.

Real experiences. Deeper understanding. Practical change.