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/
#FounderFriday #FirstTimeFounder #StartupFounder #Entrepreneurship #StartupCommunity #SocialMobility #Innovation #MVP #StartupJourney #FollowYourDreams #IfNotNowThenWhen #Tribe
Episodes
24 episodes
What If Your Home Nudged You To Be Present
We sit down with Steve and Andy from Bristol to hear how a pocket money conversation turned into Toggle, a home device and app designed to help families put phones down and reconnect. We dig into their Manchester University backed pilot, what t...
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...
Fear of regret drives me more than fear of failure.
Rob Kramer shares his journey as a serial entrepreneur who has built businesses across Ireland, Portugal, and Brazil, driven by his "fear of regret" and desire to live life on his own terms.• Austrian by birth but citizen of the world, ...
These founders created a VR experience that calms people in just seven minutes
Katie and Zilla are revolutionising mental health support through innovative virtual reality experiences that help people calm down in just seven minutes while developing vital coping skills.• Both founders met while working on a Doctor...
Why Your Co-founder Shouldn't Be Your Best Friend
Rob Cousins shares his journey from corporate banking to co-founding Scribe, a data-driven platform helping founders connect with investors and enabling financial institutions to structure private company data. His transition illuminates the re...
May and Camilla of Beta100.co
BETA100™ is a project-based network of talent that startups can use to build up their teams and grow their businesses. The platform challenges you to change your mindset and test-drive your relationships before committing to a fixed role....
Founder Friday with Michael Calver of Amutri.com
Amutri is the Canva.com of the 3d visualisation world. It democratises the ability to render 3D visualisations in seconds, empowering architects and designers to understand and explore their spaces, engage with stakeholders and res...
Series 3, Episode 2 - David Harris, Entrepreneur and Serial Investor
Considering embarking on an incubator program? Or pitching for investment? David Harris has been on both sides of the table and can shed a little light on setting the tone for a success.Co-founder, business mentor and investor, based in...
Series 3, Episode 1 - Rebecca Matthews and Brendan Sleeman. Co-Founders of Wed Magazine: print media in the ‘Destination Wedding’ industry.
In this first episode of the new series, we hear from Rebecca Matthews and Brendan Sleeman, print media founders that have consistently followed their instincts and never veered from their principles around quality, community and sustainabili...
Series 2, Episode 5 - Terry Hamill, Entrepreneur, 'Connector' and National Director of BNI Portugal
In Series 2, Episode #5 we are delighted to be joined by Terry Hamill - serial entrepreneur, connector of people and National Director of BNI, Portugal, who shares with us his powerful journey and how a childhood experience has made him the per...
Episode 6 - Mariana Bettencourt of Sparkl.pt #backcatalogue
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday series.In Episode #6 of our back catalogue series we are joined by Mariana Bettencourt who is founder and CEO of Sparkl.pthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/marianabettencourt1/● Moving from...
Series 2, Episode 4 - Fabio Rodrigues, Founding Partner & CEO of U5 Marketing
In Series 2, Episode #4 we hear from Fabio Rodrigues, Founding Partner & CEO of U5 Marketing and author of the book Na Dúvida Não Empreenda.Website:https://naoempreenda.com/en/should-you-startup/https://u5marketing.com.br/
Episode 5 - Brittany McDonough of MassChallenge #backcatalogue
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday series. In Episode #5 of our back catalogue series we are joined by Brittany McDonough who is the senior director of global partnerships for MassChallenge
Series 2, Episode 3 - Charity Wilson, Founder and CEO of Beam Education
In Series 2, Episode #3 we hear from Charity Wilson founder and CEO of Beam Education Website:https://www.beam-education.co.ukLinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/charity-wilson-6502789b/In this epis...
Episode 4 - Oana Manolache of Introvoke.com #backcatalogue
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday series.In Episode #4 of our back catalogue series we are joined by Oana Manolache who is the CEO and Co-Founder of Introvoke.com
Series 2, Episode 2 - Robert Baldock of Clustre.net the innovation brokers
In Series 2, Episode #2 we hear from Robert Baldock founder of https://www.clustre.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertbaldock/In this episode we cover his journey including:What Innovation means to Robert
Episode 3 - Gabi Champange of edisfashion.com #backcatalogue
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday series.In Episode #3 of our back catalogue series we are joined by Gabi Champagne who is the CEO and Co-Founder of EDIS Fashion....
Series 2, Episode 1 - Biraj Nakarja of innatecompass.com
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday Podcast SeriesIn Series 2, Episode #1 we interview Biraj Nakarja founder of https://www.innatecompass.com who is now also the host of the Founder Friday series this year.https://www.lin...
Episode 2 - Sofia Fernandes of BGI.pt #backcatalogue
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday seriesIn Episode #2 of our back catalogue series we are joined by Sofia Fernandes who is the head of marketing and projects at Building Global Innovators (BGI) in Po...
Episode 1 - Vanessa Tierney of Abodoo.com #backcatalogue
Welcome to the Canopy Founder Friday series.In Episode #1 of our back catalogue series we are joined by Vanessa Tierney who is the author of "Your company with no walls" and co-founder of Abodoo.com ...
