Rebuilding a Creative Company with Nancy Reyes

This week I am talking to Matt Davis, Co-Founder of Red Brick Road and Patron at ambitious for autism. But more importantly, for this interview, Matt is also the father of 14-year-old Isaac who was diagnosed with autism aged three. Matt talks to Sara about rebuilding his expectations and assumptions about being a parent.

As Isaac grows and as their family has grown Matt describes  his parenting experience as one of unlearning, as fluid learning curve, always being redefined in part due to the fluid nature of autism itself. This fluidity has also altered how Matt approaches other aspects of his life and work, as his mind has become more attuned to challenging his own assumptions about things.

Matt also  shares how his experiences with Isaac have helped him to shape the culture of inclusion at the business he co-founded including the hiring of a team member who is also autistic. 

If you would like to read more of Matt and Isaac's story then please explore his blog. To learn more about autism please visit Ambitious About Autism and to donate to research into autism visit Autistica. 

To read more  stories from inspiring rebuilders then the book is available here. 

You will not want to miss this episode! Jamie Klingler, Writer and Activist for women's safety shares her story of making a change she had given up on, and in doing so finding a new calling. Alcohol and food dependancies were helping Jamie numb the pain of grief, but keeping her stuck in destructive patterns. In the first UK lockdown in 2020 she realised that something had to change. Jamie shares with Sara, how she managed to start and sustain a change and this gave her the resolve and energy to fight for a cause she cared for, after the murder of Sarah Everard 

As co-founder of Reclaim These Streets, she was part of the group that successfully sued the Metropolitan Police for breaching her human rights after they banned a vigil for Sarah Everard.  She was named ninth in PR Week UK's list of top communicators in 2021. Her writing can be seen in Vogue, the Guardian, Grazia and many more outlets.  Her recent TEDx talk is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtycbSeGp2I  and she writes regularly at jamieklingler.substack.com

You can read more about Jamie's incredible story here and here.

She also mentions the book The Surprising Joy of Being Sober which you can order here.

If you fancy hearing more stories like Jamie's and to explore the learnings among our rebuilders then you can order The Rebuilders book here. 

In this episode I talk to Jane Evans, Activist, Author and Creative Director, about the freedoms and challenges of hitting midlife as a woman. Jane started the Uninvisibility project after the creative industries that she had excelled in for many decades, no longer had a place for her. She believes that women shouldn't become invisible in mid-life and that they have wisdom empathy and experience that workplaces badly need, but are overlooked because of ageism. Like all good female pioneers she has channeled her anger into action with the Visible Start programme, getting mid-life women back into work in digital marketing in partnership with WPP. This episode will leave you fired up, possibly angry but definitely inspired!

To find out more about the incredible work that Jane is pioneering, look into the links below. And to get your hands on The Rebuilders book then click here. 

Websites Uninvisibility.com Visible start.com Visible Society.com

Twitter @janee @uninvisibility , Linkedin, Youtube

Invisible to Invaluable the book 

Abigail is the Chief Marketing Officer at Cignpost Diagnostics and former  CMO of Debenhams before the brand was sold to BooHoo. Prior to this Abigail enjoyed a 24-year career at British Airways (BA) where she has held senior marketing roles since 2002, notably excelling as Global Head of Brands and Marketing. In this role, Abigail was responsible for BA’s overall marketing strategy at a global level with a portfolio including Brand Strategy, Marketing, Customer Experience Design, Partnerships, Sponsorship, and Community Relations. She built BA’s brand strength to a 17-year high, with four consecutive years as a UK Consumer ‘Superbrand’. Abigail was the driving force behind the ‘Don’t Fly, Support Team GB’ campaign, commissioned by BA for their sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. This campaign was critically acclaimed has since been nominated as one of the best sponsorships of the last 25 years. She also pioneered customer programmes including ‘Marks and Spencer Buy on Board’ and ‘New Club World’, as well as delivering dynamic new digital service initiatives for the BA app. She lives in Surrey with her husband and is both a Fellow of the Marketing Society and Alumni of the Marketing Academy Fellowship.

Craig Fenton is a lover of all things tech and has a finger in many pies. He has worked in technology for 20 years and alongside his role at Google, he is also an investor, mentor and supporter of a range of businesses including several start-ups, where he finds great inspiration for his own personal and professional ventures.  In 2021 he gave a TED Talk about Humanity in a Digital Age which you can listen to here.  

He tries to meet 3 new people each week and shares these conversations on his YouTube channel ‘Coffee, Eggs and Inspiration’. You’ll find a wide range of guests from professional sportspeople, to the creator of gaming apps, to Emmy Award winning producers. He is also the proud founder of ‘Big Community Records’, an independent record label to support talented artists from lower socioeconomic areas who struggle to get a foot in the door, and 'Big Community Productions', which does this same for film and TV.  He has also written an excellent short book called Playful Curiosity which is a manifesto for a new approach to education. You can buy it from Amazon here. You can also follow him  on Linkedin  and Twitter

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If you enjoy the podcast then you will enjoy our new book called The Rebuilders, exploring how to overcome set-backs in work or life, featuring Dr Maryhan and many more. The book is out in June and you can pre-order here.

For over 15 years Dr Maryhan has been supporting children, teens, and young adults struggling with low confidence and anxiety. She bottles and shares her wisdom and experience in her acclaimed podcast 'How Not to Screw up Your Kids'  which shares really practical tips for parents and carers. 

Of her work she says "You might think my role involves a lot of telling people what to do, that I have a magic route map for success and happiness. However, what I have become surer of over the years is that the right route map differs wildly from one family to another. My job is therefore focused on helping and supporting each family to create their own bespoke toolkit of practical tools and strategies; moving their child from angst to courage, so everyone feels confident, calm, and connected. Once you have your unique set of tools and strategies those day to day challenges become easier to navigate, for you and for your child. The route map becomes easier to read and the journey becomes a whole lot more enjoyable."

If you want to get in touch with Dr Maryhan then explore her website where you can also find many helpful resources.

Dr John Curran is one of the pioneers of business anthropology and specialises in making organisations purpose led, people centric and highly productive in order to achieve sustainability and growth. 

​He combines expertise in the social sciences with executive coaching, team systemic coaching and process consulting to work with senior leaders and their teams to develop dynamic and collaborative organisational cultures that connect their values with those of their employees, consumers and wider stakeholders

​He holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and has formal training in executive coaching (EMCC EQA), systemic team coaching, facilitation, organisational process consulting, qualitative research and group psychoanalysis. He is a guest lecturer at Cass Business School in marketing and a  lecturer at the renowned Tavistock Institute on change management. He is a fellow at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), a TEDx speaker and his thinking and work has appeared in the Financial Times and other media.

​You can subscribe to his excellent Decoding Culture newsletter here and get in touch with him here 

Pre-order The Rebuilders book, exploring how to overcome set-backs in work or life, featuring Dr Curran and many more. The book is out in June and you can pre-order here.

Kris Hallenga  has achieved an incredible amount in her short time of planet earth. Diagnosed with incurable cancer in her twenties, she went on to found Breast Cancer Awareness charity CoppaFeel!. Since that time she has won a Pride of Britain Award, been a Sun columnist and written a Times Bestselling book about her incredible journey called Glittering a Turd.    As well as reminding a whole generation of young men and women to check their breasts.

If you have ever wondered how to face the toughest things that life has to throw at you then Kris is a shining example of how to take the rough with the smooth and still have a laugh along the way.

If you want follow her story then you can find her on instagram and twitter.

And don't forget to check your breast folks!

Nigel Reed is the author of The Dog Guardian and a prominent dog behaviourist in the UK.

Nigel’s youtube channel features many useful tutorials and tips and is regularly updated with content:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg7fvol14TxOa2vokLuwmFw

Nigel’s book can be purchased here:

The Dog Guardian: Your Guide to a Happy, Well-Behaved Dog

Tiffany co-hosts a podcast to help others find joy at work, she also writes to challenge perceptions and coaches people to fulfil their desires. And she does it all so nothing holds us back from a life worth living. 

Her writing about work, life and love has been published in Refinery 29, Stylist, The i Paper, Sifted and The Startup.

Find her podcast here -  Is This Working? - which talks about the messy parts of work.

Read and subscribe to her newsletter The Tiff Weekly, for a weekly story told from her life that challenges perceptions on how we should be living our lives.