Business Mutiny by Jon Graves

Business Mutiny: Wisdom from a Lifetime of Work is a straight-talking UK business podcast focused on the real stories behind entrepreneurship, not the highlight reel. Each episode explores the decisions, mistakes, lessons, and defining moments that shape business owners, founders, and leaders over time. From surviving recessions and navigating tax and growth challenges, to building teams, making tough calls, and learning the hard way, this podcast is about what actually happens when you’re responsible for a business. There’s no shortage of opinions and advice online but much of it isn’t grounded in lived experience. Business Mutiny exists to close that gap, sharing insight that’s been earned through doing, not theorised from the sidelines. Hosted by entrepreneur and investor Jon Graves, the podcast features in-depth conversations with business owners past and present from those still building today to those reflecting back on a l

Business Mutiny by Jon Graves is a business podcast hosted by Jon Graves, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Jon Graves hosts Business Mutiny by Jon Graves, a business show with 20 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #21

  Why Working Harder Isn't the Answer | Paul Crick on Leadership & Performance

  Jul 31, 20261h 24mS1

  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.

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  Episode #20

  The Founder Who Built One of Britain’s Best Backpack Brands - Tom Gale at Atom Packs

  Jul 2, 20261h 1mS1

  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

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  Episode #19

  She Built Her App 3 Times… And Still Didn’t Quit with Carla Nokes The Fitness Directory

  Jun 10, 202658 minS1

  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.

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  Episode #18

  Half Your Staff Could Be Pretending… And You’d Never Know. Introverts Explained with Joanna Rawbone

  Jun 1, 20261h 2mS1

  <p >What if up to 50% of your workforce is being misunderstood?</p> <p > </p> <p >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.</p> <p > </p> <p >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 busi...

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  Episode #17

  Bullied, Dyspraxia & Cancer — The Story Behind Coach of the Year with Jordan Stringer

  May 13, 202646 minS1

  <p >Some people are born with confidence. Others have to fight for every piece of it.</p> <p > </p> <p >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.</p> <p > </p> <p >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.</p> <p > ...

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