{"id":8674,"date":"2022-07-04T09:24:19","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T08:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/?p=8674"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T14:35:54","slug":"sound-advice-algorithms-scale-your-startup-ed-hancock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-algorithms-scale-your-startup-ed-hancock\/","title":{"rendered":"Use algorithms to scale your startup"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--audio entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--audio\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUse algorithms to scale your startup\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2022-07-04T09:24:19+01:00\">4 July, 2022<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Use algorithms to scale your startup\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-algorithms-scale-your-startup-ed-hancock\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/author\/bexburncallander\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/12\/Rebecca-burn-callander-podcast.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Bex Burn-Callander<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignfull is-type-rich is-provider-buzzsprout wp-block-embed-buzzsprout wp-block-sage-buzzsprout-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-10882790\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1422304\/10882790-ed-hancock-use-algorithms-to-scale-your-startup.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-10882790&#038;player=small\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-sage-podcast-networks\">\n\t<div class=\"container has-dark-background-color on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"h4\">Listen to Sound Advice on:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"unstyled\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/sound-advice-get-year-one-in-business-right\/id1544479344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"660\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/2-US_UK_Apple_Podcasts_Listen_Badge_RGB.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Apple Podcasts\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2yhPIOebSiBpEYek6q2GZJ?si=UWWTKrgIQ2OsUAlnHrzHTQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"330\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/spotify-podcast-badge-blk-grn-330x80-1.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Spotify\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNDIyMzA0LnJzcw?sa=X&#038;ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwios_fb8YnuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQBw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"76\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge_2x.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Google Podcasts\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/show\/sound-advice-get-year-one-in-business-right\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"558\" height=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/06\/Stitcher_Listen_Badge_Color_Light_BG.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"Listen on Stitcher\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Calling all cheese lovers, this Sound Advice podcast episode is especially for you!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ed Hancock is single-handedly revolutionising the dairy industry by offering his customers a unique cheese experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">cheesegeek, his subscription business, uses a complex algorithm to send customers new cheeses every month, tailoring the selection to suit their specific tastes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By integrating a high level of technology into this business model, cheesegeek is not only creating a better, more personalised customer experience. It\u2019s also cutting down on food waste and looking at scaling up in a sustainable way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make sure you have your cheese and crackers ready for this episode.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here\u2019s what we cover:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><a href=\"#for\">For the love of cheese!<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#never\">Never forget your passions\u2014you can always revisit them later in life<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#seeking\">Seeking out a new career before you\u2019re forced to<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#not\">Not making a decision is the worst decision you can make<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#market\">Market research doesn\u2019t work for all businesses<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#it\">It takes a village to build a scalable business<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#the\">The challenges of cheese\u2014it is a living organism after all<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#using\">Using algorithms to create a cheesy personal touch<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#technology\">Technology can help you to scale your business on a global level, reduce wastage and improve your service<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#reconstructing\">Reconstructing the dairy industry<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#mindset\">Mindset is your magic weapon<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"#you\">If you can conquer Dragons\u2019 Den, you can conquer anything<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t>Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"for\">For the love of cheese!<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ed, so wonderful to have you on the show. And so excited to talk about cheese for the next hour.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you for being here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you very much for having me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And again, the opportunity for me to talk about cheese for an hour is absolutely delightful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, maybe we\u2019ll start with that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So tell me about your passion for cheese. How long have you been, is it a turophile? What was the word you told me, the official term for a-<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How long have you been a turophile?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am officially a turophile. I\u2019ve probably been a turophile now for over 25 years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I mean, I may have been a turophile for even longer, but sort of unaware of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the clearest memory I have was when I was 11, going to France with my parents, going to the first fine dining restaurant I\u2019d ever been to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And after the meal, the cheese trolley got wheeled out, and I was just blown away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was like, \u201cWhat is this? What are all these?\u201d I\u2019ve never seen anything like it, I\u2019ve never smelt anything like it, the colours, shapes, sizes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But then the expert who was wheeling them out, his knowledge of the cheeses and the amount of information on all of them was just incredible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I said, \u201cThis is so much more exciting than pudding.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so from that moment on I became a bit of a cheese nerd, I guess.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then I had the nickname, cheese monster, pretty much from then on through school and university. I\u2019d always have a piece of decent cheese in the fridge no matter how skint I was.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It just became a trademark, if you lived with me, you knew there\u2019d be cheese that shouldn\u2019t be in the fridge, that was far too expensive for a student with no money.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was at 11 years old, that was definitely, I think, the memory I have of that moment, the \u201cA-ha\u201d moment where I was like, cheese is pretty amazing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"never\">Never forget your passions\u2014you can always revisit them later in life<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But for most of your life, it\u2019s been a passion, but definitely something that was not entwined with your career. You went off and you did other stuff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how did you end up combining your day job with this passion?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So when I was 13 years old, you went to school, you\u2019d do your subjects, you then get to A-levels, and you get to pick a new subject, which sounded quite exciting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I thought economics sounded exciting because it sounded a bit different.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was bored of the subjects I\u2019ve been doing up until then. And then you\u2019re sort of geared towards university.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Everyone\u2019s like, \u201cRight, you\u2019ve got to go to uni. Which uni do you want to go to?\u201d It\u2019s not like, do you want to go to uni? It\u2019s automatically, which uni are you going to go to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You have the careers chat, which is generally if you\u2019ve been to the kind of school I went to, the careers chat is, \u201cWell, your options are finance, economics, accounting, medicine.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a very small group, so everyone\u2019s just doing the same thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you don\u2019t really have a chance to think about what else is out there. You\u2019re living in this quite tunnel vision existence. And I was funnelled in that way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I went to uni, read economics, came out, went into finance. That was kind of what was expected all round and I didn\u2019t really think about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So for 12-15 years in finance, cheese was my evening and weekend pastime.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I say pastime, I mean just eating cheese or going out and exploring, trying to find new cheeses, but I was going down a very, very traditional career path.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But to answer your question, how did they loop back and intertwine?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, I think 10-12 years down the track and I kind of achieved what I set out to achieve quicker than I thought. So I thought, 30-40 years in the industry, but I probably got there a little bit quicker, and it gave me a chance to have a bit of a pause for reflection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the years, I had been getting really into the neuroscience of decision-making, how our brains kind of dictate a lot of our emotions that we feel when we\u2019re making decisions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether that be making good decisions or bad decisions, but also that kind of spilled over into consumer behaviour and how consumers make decisions, which in turn spilled over into why great brands become great consumer brands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it really got me excited about understanding the DNA of great brands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I mean, there are lots of little stories I could put in here, but I think overall to answer your question, the love of cheese has always been there. The love of great consumer brands really developed and built.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I just got to a point in my career where I was ready for something and the two sort of came together.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I just thought, I want to wake up on Monday morning and be super excited about my week. And that was the naive bit of me, thinking, \u201cOh, starting a business can be so exciting. I\u2019ll be my own boss. I\u2019m going to love Mondays.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then you realise quite quickly that actually you might enjoy your Monday mornings a bit more, but you enjoy your weekends less because you\u2019re working on them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the background story to how I got from where I was to cheese.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it\u2019s a big jump. I doubt anyone\u2019s ever done that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"seeking\">Seeking out a new career before you\u2019re forced to<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But was there a tipping point, as in was there just a really bad day at the office where you were like, \u201cI just don\u2019t want to look at investments again,\u201d or did you get a subscription box or something else and think, \u201cWhy can\u2019t they get this for cheese?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Was there a snappy kind of that\u2019s it, I\u2019ve reached the end of this road?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were three things, and they were kind of coming from different angles, but they converged at the same point.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So number one was my local cheesemonger had closed down, and I was forced to look elsewhere, and my local cheesemonger was great because I got to know them, I felt quite comfortable, and I enjoyed cheese, but knew very little about it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Certainly not an expert in any way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I started having to look further afield and I started realising it\u2019s actually quite an intimidating industry in terms of 60 cheeses laid out in front of you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Usually when you\u2019re buying cheese, it\u2019s the weekend or Christmas when they\u2019re busy, so you don\u2019t really have time to stay and chat. It\u2019s just not the experience that I was used to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So then I started trying to explore delivery cheese, and it was terrible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I think that was one thing that got me thinking.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think the second thing was I read a book called Where\u2019s My Cheese, and that is a complete coincidence that the book had cheese in it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s more a book about sort of thinking about your career and you as a person. And it\u2019s about two mice and one mouse is very happy to eat his pile of cheese until it\u2019s finished in this maze and then has no idea what to do, and he\u2019s going to have to starve.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the other mouse who realises this cheese is about to run out and goes searching for new cheese before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That sort of struck home with me. I felt that I wanted to do something before I was forced, either because I was unhappy or whatever it might be. I thought now\u2019s the time to pre-empt that and try and look for something different to do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The final one was I was at a wine tasting, and they had fine wines out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The wines were incredible, but the cheese was awful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I asked the guy there, \u201cWhere\u2019d you get the cheese from?\u201d And he said, \u201cIt\u2019s from the supermarket next door.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I just thought, \u201cWow, we are tasting \u00a340 bottles of wine and the cheese is probably worth a couple of quid.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those were three things that really stood out in terms of things that made me think, I could probably do something better here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t>Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"not\">Not making a decision is the worst decision you can make<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And where did you start?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you kind of thought, right, I know there\u2019s a better way to get people really amazing, top quality, delicious cheeses, but what was the kind of step one on this journey?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How did you get the whole thing off the ground?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The very number one step was I called one of my best friend\u2019s wives.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She\u2019s a graphic designer, an incredible graphic designer. And I said, \u201cI\u2019ve got this idea. I\u2019m going to do cheese, but better than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I\u2019m going to get the UK excited about artisan cheese because even though it\u2019s only four years ago, even now to be honest, there\u2019s nearly a thousand British varieties of cheese, but people could probably only name five or six of them, if that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So there\u2019s just huge disconnect.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I was like, \u201cI\u2019m going to get people excited about cheese. Can you bring this to life? We need this to visually look very different from just being an online cheese shop.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So she started to bring it to life, which made it quite exciting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I was very fortunate to have her to drop an email to, and she put some ideas together, put the branding together and the logo.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So that sort of brought it to life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then beyond that, I then just ordered a massive fridge and got it delivered to my mum\u2019s house.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s going to be a theme here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I\u2019m a big believer in, you work through your process of making a decision, but then you\u2019ve got to pull the trigger and make a decision. So I don\u2019t sit on decisions for a long time. I go through my process, and then I do it because that way you learn a lot quicker.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you make a bad decision, you learn from it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But not making a decision is the worst thing you can do, so not doing anything. So I decided I was going to do this thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I got a fridge delivered to my mum\u2019s house. It arrived on her driveway, and she looked really, really unwell. The blood drained from her face. I think it was two things.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was one, \u201cOh my gosh. What are you doing with your stable career that I\u2019d encourage you to do for your whole life?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And number two was, \u201cThis fridge really doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s going to fit through my doorway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So luckily it did just about fit, it chipped a bit of the paint off, which I still need to fix, but I will get round to it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I had the fridge, got the equipment, we put the website up, which we built for \u00a3500, which is amazing when I look back now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then I just really spent a lot of time on Google figuring out where to get cheese from, how to wrap it, because I didn\u2019t know how to wrap cheese. I didn\u2019t even know how to cut cheese, there are specific ways of cutting and breaking down a cheese, and I just learnt on the job.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the first order came through in September 2017, I honestly thought to myself, \u201cWhy have you ordered cheese from us because I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But this lovely lady ordered some cheese, on a three-month subscription, which I\u2019ll never forget when that order came through, and it was just learning on the job.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s all it was, it was learning on the job.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it was getting the first things in place to force us to keep moving forward, onto the next step, and you just keep taking the next step until either it\u2019s obvious it\u2019s not going to work, or it becomes clear that it\u2019s worth trying and taking another step.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And we always got that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So every time we did something else or tried something different or took a step forward, we got the feedback that the customers were interested, that we were getting the traffic, we were getting orders and so you just keep going.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s the very early stages of that started.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"market\">Market research doesn\u2019t work for all businesses<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Did you do a lot of market research?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I mean, did you think, because obviously you are biased, you\u2019ve loved cheese since you were 11 years old, but how did you know that there were going to be enough people out there that wanted more than the supermarket offering?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have a belief, and this doesn\u2019t apply to everyone necessarily or every business that you start or go into.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I do have the belief that when you believe in something, and you believe it to be pioneering, and you don\u2019t believe anyone else is doing what you\u2019re doing\u2014which is certainly what I feel with this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you look at the tech or the experience or what we\u2019re trying to do for the entire industry, as opposed to just our own business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think sometimes it can be very hard for people to really grasp the whole scale of what you\u2019re trying to do and so market research can be tricky, because how do you frame a question or a set of questions that adequately reflect what you are trying to achieve?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That in itself becomes a challenge and complicated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In no way am I equating what we are doing to Apple, but if you listen to the founders of Apple speaking 30 years ago, they talk about this.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They say we didn\u2019t really do market research.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What we did was we had an insatiable or unwavering belief that what we were doing was needed and important for society, and we just relentlessly went out and produced a product that we knew people would love.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I get that that\u2019s probably the minority because it seems maybe a bit reckless, but that\u2019s how we\u2019ve approached it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We haven\u2019t done lots and lots of market research.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you don\u2019t have a huge amount of money, there is a cost to it as well, and you don\u2019t know whether you\u2019ve done the market research in the right way, so it can create more questions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So for us, we felt so sure and confident in what we were doing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like I said, we were drip-feeding new things all the time, and we were getting feedback.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were getting customers coming back, and we were getting word of mouth. We could see it from where the orders were getting placed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, Manchester.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were seeing loads of orders in Manchester because clearly people were talking about us. So we just kept going, we just kept going in that way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve never really believed in investing a lot in market research. I\u2019ve just believed in \u201cLet\u2019s put together an incredible product that we believe is going to change the face of cheese and let\u2019s just not cut any corners, and we\u2019ll learn pretty quickly if it\u2019s not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"it\">It takes a village to build a scalable business<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You were saying \u2018we\u2019 a lot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Is that just habit, because was it just you at that point?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you know what? This is fascinating because someone else said exactly the same thing to me recently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the idea for this, it was me, just completely me, but I\u2019ve always been one to draw on expertise and skills from all around me to build the business collaboratively, whether it\u2019s building a website, whether it\u2019s operations, logistics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I really make an effort to ensure that it feels collaborative.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I think that\u2019s probably why I always use the term \u2018we\u2019, and \u2018we\u2019 at the start meant me and my mum.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then it meant me, my mum and Amy, and then Rich, and then Annabelle who joined later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, \u2018we\u2019 is easier because \u2018we\u2019 means the company and the 14 or 15 of us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I think that\u2019s why I always use \u2018we\u2019 because yes, it\u2019s my idea, I started the business, but from the very early stage it couldn\u2019t have been done without the people that have joined us on the journey. I like \u2018we\u2019, it\u2019s nice. It feels like a family, like a team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t>Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the\">The challenges of cheese\u2014it is a living organism after all<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ve made such a success of this in a really short time. I saw that, I think last year you turned over \u00a31.5m. That\u2019s amazing, that was in just four years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s really interesting, that fulfilment challenge, because I didn\u2019t realise that cheese was more specialist than maybe another type of food delivery or another type of subscription business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can you tell me a bit about what makes it so difficult to hand this over to someone else to package and post?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So first of all, a piece of cheese is like a living and breathing thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So just to use one example, you take a one kilo wheel of Brie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the minute you cut into that cheese it starts to very, very slowly degrade. It\u2019s no longer ripening. It\u2019s now you\u2019ve stopped the ripening process and this piece of cheese is never going to get any better. It\u2019s actually going to start getting slightly worse on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So really what your challenge is, is to say, \u201cI want you to be eating that cheese as soon as possible after I\u2019ve cut it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s how you get the cheese tasting how we want it to taste, which is as it would off the cheesemaker\u2019s maturing shelf.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So that\u2019s the core of the challenge.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We could portion it up and store it, but it wouldn\u2019t taste as good. But it\u2019s like that thing I said earlier about cutting corners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is an example of it where we want you to taste the cheese absolutely fresh so that when you feed back, you go, \u201cThat is the best piece of Brie I\u2019ve ever tasted.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so all of our processes are with that in mind, and that\u2019s why we can\u2019t outsource because not only is it food safety handling on the one side, on the very basic top level, but beyond that is speciality cutting down cheese and packaging it and sending it out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we do it ourselves and that\u2019s the speciality of it, and that\u2019s why we can\u2019t really outsource to anyone else.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s absolutely fascinating. I love the idea of cheese being this living organism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"using\">Using algorithms to create a cheesy personal touch<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And you used the example there, Ed, of Brie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now you\u2019d said earlier that there are a thousand different varieties, so how on earth do you decide what to put in those boxes?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And for those people that have been with you for two years, you don\u2019t want to be giving them the same stuff all the time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People have different preferences. I hate smoked cheese, so I would be cross if I got lots of smoke cheese.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So how do you decide what goes in? It just seems mind-boggling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the starting point is, let\u2019s say of those 1,000, we have around 200-250 that we know at any one time that people will enjoy, that we love, that at that time of the season it\u2019s going to be good.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So on a live basis we\u2019ve got around 250 that we\u2019re sending out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now of the remaining 750 some of those are mass-produced. They don\u2019t tick our box. Some of them we just don\u2019t think are actually good enough, or certainly not good enough for that time of year. So from those 250, this is where the algorithms come in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So this is where when I first set the business, I\u2019m sitting there in front of my spreadsheet for our six subscribers, and I\u2019m working out everything in my head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I\u2019m like, right, on my spreadsheet what did they have last month? What did they have the month before?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So they\u2019ve got to get new cheeses. What order should they be in? What\u2019s seasonal? And it took me 45 minutes per person.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So really it was from that moment you\u2019re thinking, well, look, this isn\u2019t going to scale whatsoever. I built algorithms in fund management and I thought, well, really this is what an algorithm is for. It\u2019s to automate a process that is manual.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this case it\u2019s getting my brain or decision-making automated through a model, and so that\u2019s what we did.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So to answer your question of how do we decide? Well, the algorithms decide it, but the algorithms represent the decisions that I would make, or a chief specialist would make.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So that every time you order, instantaneously it runs all of these calculations to say, well, these are the cheeses you\u2019ve had before, can\u2019t have them again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s spring, so we want to get a goat\u2019s cheese in there. That\u2019s got to be in slot one because you want to have that first, the order\u2019s right.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You say, right then you can\u2019t have a hard goat\u2019s later because you\u2019ve already got one goat, so you\u2019re going to make it balanced. You can\u2019t have these two cheeses because those are both available in the supermarket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don\u2019t want to have more than one of those.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I mean, there are a lot of these parameters, and it runs these instantaneously, and that\u2019s what decides the five cheeses you get each month. But then laid on top of that is any preferences you\u2019ve given us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So like you\u2019ve just said, if you\u2019ve ever emailed us saying, \u201cI don\u2019t like smoke cheese, never send it to me at all.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On your dashboard it\u2019s going to say, \u201cDo not send this customer smoked cheese.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Likewise, some customers might say, \u201cThat cheese I had last month is so good, I want that every month.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So then that one\u2019s got a stick in that slot, and then that also is taken into consideration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it\u2019s another one of those examples where, why make it so difficult? Because every other cheese business in the world sends everyone the same five cheeses every month. It makes it so much easier. It really does.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sometimes I dream about that. Let\u2019s just do that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But then I remind myself that we don\u2019t like making things easy, but the reason is because if we\u2019d gone down that route, then we\u2019d be sitting here today, Bex, and I wouldn\u2019t have a clear USP to talk to you about, because we\u2019d just be doing what everyone else does.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We might have branded it a bit differently and have a fun tone of voice, but the decisions that we made back then have got us to this point now, three years later, where I can sit here and genuinely say that we offer a product that is unparalleled, not just within cheese, but I\u2019d even say it\u2019s up there with anything else in the direct-to-consumer area.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whether you\u2019re talking about flowers with Bloom &amp; Wild or Gousto with ready meals, that management of subscription, the bespoke personalisation, being able to tell you that we\u2019ve picked this cheese just for you.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of these factors that we can now get so excited about, they started three years ago, and it\u2019s taken that long for us to get where we are today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So there are a lot of decisions that go in, a lot of computations, but the result is you feel like you\u2019ve got something that\u2019s purely unique and special to you as a subscriber.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"technology\">Technology can help you to scale your business on a global level, reduce wastage and improve your service<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And you wouldn\u2019t imagine that you\u2019re talking about cheese, that it would be such a high-tech business, but actually building a high-tech back end, starting with the algorithms, but also everything that\u2019s then been built on top of it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tell me about how you\u2019ve actually created a whole world of tech which is going to take you into even more ambitious territory in the future.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first big thing is scalability.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I\u2019ve never really set out to set up a nice business, like a family run business, that stays small. And by the way, there\u2019s absolutely nothing whatsoever wrong with that. It\u2019s just my path wasn\u2019t ever to set up a small business and then just tick along for a long time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve always wanted to scale, because I\u2019ve always wanted to tackle cheese in the UK, but then beyond.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I\u2019ve always wanted to get artisan cheese to everyone mainstream.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So scalability is the key thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what the tech enables you to do is to replicate at scale a very complex model, which is everyone getting a unique subscriber journey.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So as I mentioned earlier, you can scale it a lot easier if everyone gets the same five cheeses, but the way we do, it\u2019s quite intensive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And to have human beings do that would not be possible. You just have too many people having to make these decisions, and everyone getting different cheese, it\u2019d be a nightmare. Just thinking about it actually scares me a bit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So having the tech allows you to do this at scale, to provide this customer experience at scale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But beyond that, it allows you to also take this model in the UK and apply it anywhere else in the world. So all you really need is a database of cheese, and each of those cheeses tagged according to its style and what it might be paired with.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That information goes in, and then it just runs it, as it runs it here, with German cheese or with Portuguese cheese or with French cheese.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so you can have the cheesegeek experience wherever you go.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For me, that\u2019s so exciting to think that you could, just with your cheesegeek app, travel to Portugal and order Portuguese cheese, artisan cheese, to be delivered in 24 to 48 hours, with no necessary knowledge of Portuguese cheese, or any cheese for that matter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it\u2019s that incredible democratisation of artisan cheese, which the tech facilitates. It makes that possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what the tech\u2019s also done, which we didn\u2019t actually think about when we started out, it was always just meant to be an allocation system.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what the tech\u2019s also done is it\u2019s enabled us to have incredibly low stock wastage, for example.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our tech can understand our stock all the way down to how big a piece of cheese is, and how many portions you can get out of it, based on the orders that have already come through, and based on the pipeline of subscriptions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s why a subscription model is so exciting because you get that runway of visibility of demand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So our stock system has an incredibly granular understanding of current stock, and also what we\u2019re going to need for the next week and two weeks and three weeks.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So wastage is incredibly low. It\u2019s a by-product of our tech.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also means that the cheese is as fresh as it can possibly be, because cheese is coming in to go out, because the stock management\u2019s so good.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the tech started doing all sorts of other things. Another example of what the tech can do, which we figured out and learned, is that you can now rate every cheese that you\u2019ve ever tried.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that information, those ratings can then start to decide or guide our curation process for your future boxes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we can say, \u201cYou didn\u2019t like these cheeses, you liked those, this gives us an idea of what you may like or where we might be testing a boundary, and we\u2019re going to communicate that with you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you feel like you\u2019re on this journey with us. Those ratings feed in.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another angle to those ratings is that we can feed that back to the cheesemaker.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the cheesemaker might experiment with a new batch using a new starter culture or new process. Then what we can do is tag that batch, get customer feedback from that batch, in terms of ratings through the app, and we can cross-reference that against the baseline for previous ratings of their cheese.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it becomes something that the cheesemaker can get value from as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are more examples, but the core building of this tech has enabled it to achieve so many more things than we thought was possible initially.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t>Download your free small business toolkit: a guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template so you can boss your business<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"reconstructing\">Reconstructing the dairy industry<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And how ambitious are you?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You said that you never wanted to build just a lifestyle business, so how big would you like this to be?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How big could it be? And where does your ambition come from?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ve got to go a long way before you hit a limit on this, because if you look at the UK cheese industry, it\u2019s \u00a33.2bn. And then Europe\u2019s cheese industry is around \u20ac90bn, and the US is $19bn.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve had people email us from India, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, France, saying \u201cI think this would work out here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So you look at the size of those collective markets, that\u2019s exciting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what\u2019s also happening is that, if you can make it work, you\u2019re diverting milk from mass-produced cheese to artisan cheesemakers, because not all cheesemakers have their own cows.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\u2019re not dairy farmers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot of cheesemakers are taking milk from local dairy farmers to make their cheese. So what you\u2019re doing is, you\u2019re not only taking a portion of the speciality cheese market, what we\u2019re trying to do is we\u2019re trying to actually grow the pie itself, the entire pie.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re trying to say, if we can divert milk from mass-produced cheese, or even divert milk that goes into a carton to be sold in a supermarket at cost price almost, or sometimes as a loss-leader.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we can divert milk to cheesemakers who then add value, and we can charge a premium because our customers appreciate the end product, then you actually start to completely reconstruct the dairy industry as a whole.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than a race to the bottom on price, it becomes a virtuous cycle in terms of product quality, people willing to pay more, and everyone gets more for their work, right down to the dairy farmer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the scale of the ambition is huge in terms of market opportunity, but it\u2019s also huge in terms of society.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"mindset\">Mindset is your magic weapon<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I mean, I can imagine even an off-day, this side of what you do will get you out of bed, will get you figuring out a way through a problem, will cheer you on, basically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Ed, you gave me a sneak peek at one of your clever strategies that have made you successful, when you said, \u201cI don\u2019t take a long time about decisions. When I know something needs to happen, I get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can you tell me any other smart strategies that you\u2019ve developed that you think have been absolutely key to the success of cheesegeek?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think the other one is really a mindset thing, because there tends to be a lot of advice that can be relatively specific, but in terms of an overall application, in terms of what we do at cheesegeek, it\u2019s definitely mindset.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And when I say mindset, if anyone is saying to me, \u201cI\u2019m starting up a business,\u201d or, \u201cI\u2019ve just started up a business,\u201d the first thing I\u2019m going to say is, \u201cYou are going to come across challenges. You\u2019re going to come across challenges that you expected, but you\u2019re also going to come across challenges that you had no idea to expect. Unknown unknowns, to take a term from my finance life. And there\u2019s really not a lot you can do about unknown unknowns.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so your final weapon there, or line of defence, is mindset, to say, \u201cI accept that we\u2019re going to have problems and obstacles, and that\u2019s exciting, because it\u2019s an opportunity for us to fix something and provide a solution.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot of the problems we\u2019ve had, the solutions are now applications that anyone in the industry could use to make their life easier.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So that\u2019s really cool, but you don\u2019t get that unless you\u2019ve got the right mindset.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because I can honestly say a lot of the struggles we\u2019ve had, like over the years, could have got us really down and just left us feeling a bit defeated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve had people far more experienced than us say there\u2019s no solution to something or there\u2019s no way around it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Computer says no.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think computer says no, for me, is one of the biggest things I struggle with, with my employees or with anyone I work with. It\u2019s that mentality that this can\u2019t be done because I can absolutely guarantee it can be done with the right mindset, and we\u2019ve proven that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think connected to that, the other thing I bang on about, it drives people crazy at work, but it\u2019s so important, it\u2019s process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Process is actually linked to decision-making in a big way, and it\u2019s even slightly linked to sort of having the right mindset.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have a militant process in place for how decisions are made, what the culture of your business is, what the cheesegeek is all about in our case.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have the right process for, like I said, either decision-making, but the right process for every individual at the business, whatever their job is, this is the process, then you can trust the process. It helps you to then make a decision because you follow the process.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also avoids unknown unknowns as much as you can because we\u2019ve seen it so many times in the past when we\u2019ve had big problems, it\u2019s because there\u2019s been a glitch in our process that we hadn\u2019t spotted, and if we\u2019d had the right process in place, it wouldn\u2019t have happened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I think process is just being absolutely meticulous.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How are things being done? How are decisions being made? Why are we doing this? And being consistent with how you address all of those things will minimise, it won\u2019t eradicate, but minimise those unknown unknowns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It will also help you be confident when you make a decision to take action because, otherwise, you just can never commit to a decision. So I think that process is a big one as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those are things that we use and at leadership level at cheesegeek, we all have those in place.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re decisive. We have meticulous processes, and we have a positive problem-solving mindset, and we try and ensure that flows through to everyone in the business, all the way through.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think if you have those things in place, you\u2019re going to give yourself the best possible chance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"you\">If you can conquer Dragons\u2019 Den, you can conquer anything<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You went on Dragons\u2019 Den, and you got investment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can you tell me just briefly about that experience and why you did it, what you got out of it, what you learned? All that good stuff.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My wife had been saying for ages I should apply for Dragons\u2019 Den, and I don\u2019t know whether it was like imposter syndrome or you\u2019re just never really sure if everyone else is going to think what you\u2019re doing is as great as you do.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you just some crazy cheese person?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I always just thought, I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t know. Also let\u2019s be honest national TV, I mean, very few people are like inherently up for just being on national TV, being grilled by the Dragons.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But I think January 2021 came along, and I just thought, I\u2019m really happy to talk to anyone about this business. I think I just completely believe in what we\u2019re doing and I think it\u2019s so exciting, and so I just did it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I just applied sort of slightly spontaneously. I just made a decision to do it and I just did it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was like a kiss the frog moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s another phrase I use, \u2018kiss the frog\u2019. It\u2019s like you know when you\u2019ve got a to-do list and there\u2019s stuff on there that you just really don\u2019t want to do. It always gets left and you just never really do it, but you can feel you\u2019ve not done it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It just sits there, and it\u2019s on your mind, and you just feel like it\u2019s a burden.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So I have a policy when you\u2019ve got something like that on your to-do list, you just got to do it first. Very first thing you do before you do anything else is, kiss the frog.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s what I did that day. I woke up, and I was like, first thing I\u2019ve got to do before I do anything else is apply for Dragons\u2019 Den.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So it went from one thing to another. They got back to me about six weeks later.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019d sort of forgotten about it, and I was like, oh, that\u2019s interesting and then by June we were filming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I applied, Steven [Bartlett] hadn\u2019t been announced as a Dragon, so he only got announced after I\u2019d already been invited to go on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For me that added another level of excitement because as a fit, he was perfect. So that was more pressure because then it was like, we\u2019ve got to get Steven. He\u2019s absolutely the guy that we need to get.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So yeah, we went up there. It was definitely one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rich, our COO who\u2019s the calmest guy in the world, he never gets flustered about anything, he didn\u2019t eat for 24 hours. I mean, he looked pale that whole time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But once it started, you got the pitch out of the way, I could talk about this business till the cows come home, not really and pun intended there, but I just know the business inside out, and I know the opportunity.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So when they start asking questions, you then get into your stride, and then it becomes exciting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019re not nervous anymore. You\u2019re just excited to share with them what you are doing, and you can sort of see that they\u2019re starting to get excited about it, and then you just hit a stride.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then like you said, we got the result we wanted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Due diligence was super quick because I think we\u2019re a bit more mature maybe than some of the businesses that go on there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the due diligence went through very quickly, and it all ran very smoothly, and I mean it was great experience, but definitely once in a lifetime. I don\u2019t think I could take that level of stress too many more times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it makes everything else easier when I do events online or whatever it might be, interviews. I used to maybe get a bit nervous, not anymore because I\u2019ve done Dragons\u2019 Den, that\u2019s the max. So everything else is fine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But yeah, it was a great result, and we\u2019re really happy to win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How weird was it to watch yourself on TV?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Has the episode actually been aired now, yeah?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ed Hancock:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Awful.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Awful? No, fair enough. I\u2019d be exactly the same.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bex Burn-Callander:<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ed, you\u2019ve been a phenomenal guest. I\u2019ve loved talking to you. I feel like I haven\u2019t even scratched the surface of what we could have touched on today.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are so many amazing parts of your business and your plan and the mindset, but I\u2019m going to have to leave it here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you so much for being here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Inspired by this small business story?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wherever you\u2019re listening or watching, subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/sound-advice-get-year-one-in-business-right\/id1544479344?_gl=1*6o40wv*_ga*MjA5NDY4NjE4OC4xNjE0NzM4MTI4*_ga_N0V23L0VEC*MTYzMzUwOTU4NS4xOTYuMS4xNjMzNTA5NjA2LjA.\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sound Advice on Apple iTunes<\/a> here.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2yhPIOebSiBpEYek6q2GZJ?si=UWWTKrgIQ2OsUAlnHrzHTQ&amp;nd=1&amp;_gl=1*1h0trqy*_ga*MjA5NDY4NjE4OC4xNjE0NzM4MTI4*_ga_N0V23L0VEC*MTYzMzUwOTU4NS4xOTYuMS4xNjMzNTA5NzQ3LjA.\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">We are also on Spotify<\/a> and anywhere else you get your podcasts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Join our community to share your insights and stories on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sageireland\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter @SageIreland<\/a>\u00a0using the hashtag #SoundAdvicePodcast, on Instagram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/sageofficial\/channel\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SageOfficial<\/a> or in the comments below!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want to know more about cheesegeek and Ed Hancock?<\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can find cheesegeek on their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecheesegeek.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">website<\/a> or their <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheCheeseGeekUK\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Twitter.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can also check out Ed Hancock\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/edward-hancock-558b761b6\/?originalSubdomain=uk\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LinkedIn page<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Small business toolkit <\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get your free guide, business plan template and cash flow forecast template to help you manage your business and achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-73c0a131-e4f3-485b-a6c6-62c451003a2f\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free toolkit<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/08\/YBCA_FY19_Intacct_V3_0338-1-1215x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/08\/YBCA_FY19_Intacct_V3_0338-1-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join 1.5 million subscribers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-53abbdcc-410c-4c8c-bf97-ca5c6982eebd\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"999\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2021\/04\/z.5E3A0481_All-Uses.jpg 999w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/start-business\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to start a business\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/sound-advice-podcast\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSound Advice Podcast\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/tag\/startup-stories\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStartup stories\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-16742 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters category-strategy-legal-operations tag-accounting-102 tag-bookkeeping tag-business-planning tag-cash-flow tag-financial-decisions tag-grow-business tag-startup-stories business_type-small-business business_type-accountants card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1215\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-1215x810.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Working on business funding applications\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1327235816-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-10-31T09:30:00+00:00\">31 October, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">18 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/business-loan-calculator\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tBusiness loan calculator (with amortisation schedule)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tWith this business loan calculator, payments and costs are easy to assess at a glance. Read our guide for everything you need to know about business loans.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--more h4\">More on this Topic<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-1 post-15854 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-entrepreneurship tag-grow-business tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-turn-social-presence-into-business-growth-part-2-ash-jones\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep24-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep24-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep24-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep24-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-12-23T07:00:00+00:00\">23 December, 2024<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">43 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tTurn social presence into business growth \u2013 Part 2\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-15839 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-entrepreneurship tag-grow-business tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-turn-social-presence-into-business-growth-part-1-alex-nicolaou\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep23-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep23-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep23-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep23-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-12-16T08:00:00+00:00\">16 December, 2024<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">38 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tTurn social presence into business growth \u2013 Part 1\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-15824 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-ai tag-entrepreneurship tag-grow-business tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-using-ai-for-your-business-heather-murray\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep22-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep22-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep22-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/12\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep22-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-12-09T08:00:00+00:00\">9 December, 2024<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">1 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tYou don\u2019t need to be a \u201ctechie\u201d to use AI for your business\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-15785 post type-post status-publish format-audio has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-grow-business tag-start-business tag-sound-advice-podcast tag-startup-stories post_format-post-format-audio business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/sound-advice-discover-the-power-of-positive-company-culture-foong-ng\/?scroll=1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep21-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep21-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep21-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/Sound-Advice_Blog_S3_Ep21-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M9.75 1.5C8.793 1.5 8 2.293 8 3.25v8.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0 .243v4.38c0 .957.793 1.75 1.75 1.75h5.5c.957 0 1.75-.792 1.75-1.75v-4.377a.8.8 0 0 0 0-.243V3.25c0-.957-.792-1.75-1.75-1.75zm0 1.5h5.5c.147 0 .25.102.25.25V11h-6V3.25c0-.148.102-.25.25-.25m-4.012 7.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v4.5A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 9.749 21h2v2a.76.76 0 0 0 .216.537.74.74 0 0 0 .534.223.76.76 0 0 0 .535-.223.74.74 0 0 0 .216-.537v-2h2A4.76 4.76 0 0 0 20 16.25v-4.5a.76.76 0 0 0-.216-.537.74.74 0 0 0-.535-.223.75.75 0 0 0-.75.76v4.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25 3.25h-5.5a3.24 3.24 0 0 1-3.25-3.25v-4.5a.755.755 0 0 0-.469-.707.8.8 0 0 0-.293-.055zM9.5 12.5h6v3.75c0 .147-.102.25-.25.25h-5.5a.24.24 0 0 1-.25-.25zm3 1a.997.997 0 0 0-1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1 1 .997.997 0 0 0 1-1 .997.997 0 0 0-1-1\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2024-11-11T06:00:00+00:00\">11 November, 2024<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">1 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tDiscover the power of positive company culture\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how cheesegeek founder Ed Hancock is using tech to improve the scalability of his business, while revolutionising the dairy industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1161,"featured_media":8673,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1422304\/10882790-ed-hancock-use-algorithms-to-scale-your-startup.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-10882790&player=small","footnotes":""},"categories":[162],"tags":[132,332,153],"business_type":[5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[232],"imagine_tag":[230],"coauthors":[439],"class_list":["post-8674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-start-business","tag-sound-advice-podcast","tag-startup-stories","post_format-post-format-audio","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ie","author_name":"Bex 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