James Batchelor knows more than most about the highs and lows of building a business.

Before launching Alertacall, he'd already started 11 businesses. But nothing prepared him for the challenges of building a technology company designed to improve the lives of older and vulnerable people.

Inspired by his grandmother Eveline, Batchelor sold his first home to fund Alertacall and spent years battling to make the business work.

He admits he expected 10,000 customers after the first year. The reality? Just 10.

More than two decades later, Alertacall employs 110 people, has been acquired by Canadian technology giant Volaris Group and Batchelor has received an MBE for services to technology for older people.

In this revealing episode of The Naked Founder, Batchelor discusses failure, resilience, social impact, selling his business and why he believes the time is right to hand over the CEO role.

Key talking points include:

• Why Batchelor believes his 11 previous businesses and countless setbacks taught him the most valuable lessons.
• How his wildly optimistic first-year forecast became a reality check. Why Alertacall proved 10 times harder to build than his previous ventures.
• How his grandmother Eveline inspired him to develop technology to help older and vulnerable people feel less isolated.
• Why Batchelor finally accepted an acquisition offer after years of approaches from potential buyers.
• Why he believes even successful founders develop blind spots and businesses can benefit from fresh leadership.

The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast produced by Dan Brown at Renowned.

What does it take to build a £15m global fashion brand with your childhood sweetheart?

In the opening episode of season two of The Naked Founder, host Chris Maguire meets Ross Menghini, who co-founded bridal fashion brand Six Stories with his wife Lucy.

The couple met at nursery, started dating at 16 and went on to work for Manchester businesses Social Chain and Apadmi before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.

But when Covid brought the wedding industry to a standstill, their fledgling business faced an existential crisis.

Their response? Give away 15,000 free T-shirts to brides whose weddings had been cancelled. The campaign went viral and helped transform Six Stories into a global brand with £15m turnover.

In this episode, we discuss:

How Ross and Lucy went from childhood sweethearts to business partners.

Why a honeymoon in Bali inspired them to quit their jobs and launch a business

The secrets of building a £15m global fashion brand without outside investment.

What it's really like running a business with your husband or wife.

Why listening to customers has been central to Six Stories' success

The importance of following your gut rather than blindly follow advice.

The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast produced by Dan Brown at Renowned.

What does it take to build a £15m global fashion brand with your childhood sweetheart?

In the opening episode of season two of The Naked Founder, host Chris Maguire meets Ross Menghini, who co-founded bridal fashion brand Six Stories with his wife Lucy.

The couple met at nursery, started dating at 16 and went on to work for Manchester businesses Social Chain and Apadmi before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.

But when Covid brought the wedding industry to a standstill, their fledgling business faced an existential crisis.

Their response? Give away 15,000 free T-shirts to brides whose weddings had been cancelled. The campaign went viral and helped transform Six Stories into a global brand with £15m turnover.

In this episode, we discuss:

How Ross and Lucy went from childhood sweethearts to business partners.

Why a honeymoon in Bali inspired them to quit their jobs and launch a business

The secrets of building a £15m global fashion brand without outside investment.

What it's really like running a business with your husband or wife.

Why listening to customers has been central to Six Stories' success

The importance of following your gut rather than blindly follow advice.

The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast produced by Dan Brown at Renowned.

Ahead of the launch of season two of The Naked Founder podcast, BusinessCloud has produced two special bonus episodes featuring highlights from the first season.

Each episode brings together 12 compelling stories and valuable lessons from the entrepreneurs who appeared on the podcast.

Their insights cover everything from securing a celebrity investor, the importance of being paranoid in business, dealing with the menopause and knowing your lift pitch.

The 12 founders featured in the second bonus episode are:

Mark Stuart, Stuart Energy

Tom Dunlop, Summize

Simon Swan, uthful

Sean Brown, Versori

Clare Roberts, Kids Planet

Jennie Johnson, Vets at Home

Adam Ward, Airtime Rewards

Ruth Percival, Contollo

Suzanne Waring, The Helping Hands Group

Craig Smith, Mazuma Mobile and ICT Reverse

Dez Derry, exited founder

Daniel Burton, Wondrwall

The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast produced by Dan Brown at Renowned.