Founder Friday
Founder Friday
Leveraging entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility.
That's the mission behind Canopy Community and the Founder Friday podcast.
We believe talent is everywhere, but opportunity isn't.
Too many people never start a business because they never see someone like themselves become a founder. They assume entrepreneurship belongs to people with different backgrounds, different education, different connections or different resources.
We're here to change that.
In each episode, host Stewart Noakes sits down with founders from around the world to uncover the stories that rarely make the headlines. Together they explore the uncertainty, resilience, failures, breakthroughs and defining moments that shape entrepreneurial journeys.
These aren't polished success stories.
They're honest conversations about building something from nothing.
Our hope is simple.
One story at a time, we want every listener to discover someone they can relate to and think:
"If they can do it, maybe I can too."
Because there isn't one route into entrepreneurship.
- Founders come from cities and villages.
- From universities and factories.
- From boardrooms and bedrooms.
- From privilege and from adversity.
Some are parents. Some are students. Some are immigrants. Some start at 18, others at 68.
Every journey is different, yet has similarities regardless of the origin.
Every story matters.
Every conversation helps widen the picture of what a founder looks like.
Whether you're exploring your first idea, validating an MVP, finding customers, raising investment or simply wondering whether entrepreneurship could be part of your future, Founder Friday offers practical insights and authentic stories from people who are actively building.
Produced by Canopy Community, one of Europe's leading startup communities, Founder Friday is part of a bigger mission:
To leverage entrepreneurship as a tool for social mobility by making founders more visible, more relatable and more accessible to the next generation.
Because changing one life doesn't always start with funding.
Sometimes it starts with a story.
And perhaps the next story you hear will be the one that changes yours.
🎙️ Follow Founder Friday for new episodes as they drop.
🌱 Learn more about Canopy Community: https://www.canopy.community/
👋 Connect with Stewart Noakes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnoakes/
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Founder Friday
Latest Episodes
What If The Safest Place To Speak Up Is A Game Table
We meet Charlene and Vicky, the co-founders of Role Resolve Therapy, and hear how tabletop roleplay becomes a practical way to build confidence and communication for children. We also talk honestly about neurodiversity, co-founder dynamics, com...
Building A 400,000-Strong Tech Careers Community
We talk with Roxanne and Joanna, co-founders of Tech Talk and Reslink, about building a careers community to 400,000 people and why a video CV link can create the human connection that job seekers are missing. We also dig into co-founder trust,...
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What If Your Wellbeing Was Your Best KPI
We talk with Julia, founder of Wave Six, about turning a decade-long health journey into a holistic health tracking app that helps people spot patterns across daily life. We also unpack pitching practice, supportive founder communities, and why...
From Cornwall To Clean Waves With Kate Richards of RadWax
We meet Cornwall surfer and founder Kate Richards, who builds Radical Wax to cut petrol-based pollution from surfing without sacrificing grip. We walk through her path from early prototypes to community-led growth, and the mindset shift that tu...
Hard Work Makes Its Own Luck: How Sahil Created an AI Video Revolution
Sahil, founder of DeepReel, shares his journey from investment banker to AI entrepreneur and explains how his platform creates complete videos from just ideas or text.• DeepReel has evolved from an AI avatar company to a comprehensive v...
