Welcome to the Founders Matter Podcast.

The podcast where we talk openly about what it really means to build a business on your own terms.

In this second episode, Kat Sykes is joined by co-host Jase Smith to explore self awareness and why it matters for founders who want focus and a business that supports the life they are trying to build.

Drawing on the research behind the Mind Your Business programme, the conversation starts from a holistic view of entrepreneurship. The founder and the business are not separate entities. Kat and Jase discuss how overwhelm can reduce a founder’s sense of purpose, autonomy, and achievement, and how that loss can show up as decision fog and a feeling of drifting away from what the business was originally for.

The episode looks at common wellbeing pressures that appear consistently in workplace research, including rising demands and stress, the impact of culture and management behaviours, and the challenge of finding a workable work life mix. Kat and Jase explore how these pressures can be intensified for founders, who often carry every responsibility in the business, rebuild cultures they hoped to leave behind, and struggle to switch off without clear boundaries.

Instead of offering quick fixes, this episode encourages founders to slow down, reflect on what matters most to them, and define success on their own terms, because protecting your self worth is part of building a sustainable business.

Access Episode Two resources here

Connect with the hosts on LinkedIn:

Jase Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jase-smith-zero78training/

Pablo Munoz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablomunozroman/

Kat Sykes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-sykes-business-not-as-usual/

Welcome to the Founders Matter Podcast.

The podcast where we talk openly about what it really means to build a business on your own terms.

In this first episode, Jase Smith and Pablo Munoz examine the UK Government’s Backing Your Business strategy and related national and regional business support policies, asking whether these frameworks are designed for founders as people, or for an idealised version of entrepreneurship.

Drawing on research into founder wellbeing, the conversation questions the continued focus on operational skills, leadership capability, funding access and growth targets, and highlights what is often missing from these approaches. Jase and Pablo explore how growth first narratives, early stage funding, and constant expectations to ‘do more’ can contribute to over optimism, pressure, and the decline of founder self-worth.

The episode also challenges the assumption that more startups and more funding automatically lead to better outcomes, raising questions about profit-first strategies, long-term sustainability, and why many viable businesses are excluded from support because they do not fit narrow definitions of success.

Rather than offering simple solutions, this episode asks uncomfortable but necessary questions about how entrepreneurship is supported, who that support is really for, and what happens when founder wellbeing is treated as secondary.

Access episode one resources here.

Connect with the hosts on LinkedIn:

Jase Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jase-smith-zero78training/

Pablo Munoz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablomunozroman/

Kat Sykes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-sykes-business-not-as-usual/