Peer Effect
Best way to scale? Your peers have the answers.
This is the podcast for scaleup founders looking for insightful, actionable wisdom from some of the best operators around. Each week we’ll explore one secret that other founders and experts are using right now and how to implement it.
It’s practical wisdom to build the company AND life you want. Hosted by renowned founder coach and advisor James Johnson.
You’ve survived to £1m, now let’s scale to £10m+.
Episodes
160 episodes
Why Success Feels Lonely (And What To Do About It)
"You're in it together, then you're on a pedestal, then you're a statue."In this Post Bag episode, James and Freddie Birley <...
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Season 5
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Episode 16
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14:51
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Your Business Is Running You (Here's How to Take Control Back) with Steve Duncan
Your business is running you. Not the other way around.Steve Duncan spent 20 years in the same company but built three different businesses. His secret? He stopped playing defense...
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Season 5
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Episode 15
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32:55
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How Do You Separate Your Identity From Your Company's Success? Peer Effect Post Bag
"How do you separate your identity from the company's success or failure?"That's Alex's question – and it's one every founder grapples with, especially in those vulnerable early stages.Welcome to the Peer Effect Post Bag, where
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Season 5
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Episode 14
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17:32
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We Had $2.5M ARR - Then We Pivoted Everything with Gaurav Bhattacharya, Jeeva AI
"We were adding customers, losing customers, adding customers, losing customers. We were stalling."Gaurav Bhattacharya had $2.5M ARR and 50 customers. On paper, things looked fine. But momentum wasn't there. Instead of pushing harder, he...
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Season 5
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Episode 13
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41:12
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When Everything's Working, How Do You Avoid Getting Complacent? | Peer Effect Post Bag
"When everything looks like it's working, how do you avoid getting complacent?"That's Sarah's question - and it's the dream problem most founders wish they had.Welcome to the Peer Effect Post Bag, where
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Season 5
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Episode 12
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14:35
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How to Double Your Sales Team Performance: Why 78% Miss Target with Matt Milligan
"78% of salespeople miss their sales targets. That means your entire revenue forecast is riding on just 22% of your team."That's the brutal reality Matt Milligan discovered after s...
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Season 5
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Episode 11
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48:35
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Should You Take VC Money If You're Already Profitable? - Peer Effect Post Bag
"We're profitable, but VCs keep approaching us. Should I take their money or stay independent?"That's the question from Neil that kicked off this Post bag episode – and it's one that keeps founders up at night.Welcome to the Peer ...
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Season 5
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Episode 10
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15:20
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Why Personal Development Is Business Strategy with Kate Sikora
"The realisation that I wasn't the best person for the job anymore was a big one."Kate Sikora hit the 8–10 person tipping point in her business and realised everything had to change, including herself. What followed was a three-year jour...
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Season 5
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Episode 9
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32:44
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How Do I Scale as a Leader Without Losing What Made Me Effective? - The Peer Effect Post Bag
"What got you here won't get you there."James Johnson and Freddie Birley tackle the question: How do you scale yourself a...
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Season 5
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Episode 8
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13:29
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Building the Future of Work: AI, Mental Health, and Leading with Humanity with Asim Amin
"I don't want to live a stressed out human experience. Mental health isn't a luxury – it's survival."Asim Amin built Plumm, a Series A HR platform with 40+ team members, after standing ...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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29:40
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I Can't Let Go of Control - How Do I Trust My Team? - Peer Effect Post Bag
"I'm struggling to let go of control as we grow. How do I trust my team without everything falling apart?"Elizabeth's question exposes the founder's dilemma: you can't scale by doing everything yourself, but delegation feels terrifying. ...
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Season 5
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Episode 7
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8:25
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Stay Calm and Win: Why Calmness Is Your Competitive Edge with Libby Swan
"I don't want to live a stressed out human experience. And that I think can be a choice."Libby Swan has run Axioned<...
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Season 5
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Episode 6
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33:24
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Post-Success Depression: Why Winning Doesn't Feel Good - Peer Effect Post Bag
"I hit my revenue goals but feel empty and unmotivated. Is this normal?"Ryan's question hits different - because post-success depression is real, and most founders don't talk about it.
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Season 5
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Episode 5
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7:15
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No Investors, No Problem - how George Sullivan has grown his bootstrapped business, The Sole Supplier, to drive £50million GMV per year
"If I had taken investment in the early years, it would've wrecked me. I wouldn't have been able to deal with investors breathing down my neck."George Sullivan turned his obs...
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Season 5
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Episode 2
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37:35
Why Founder Networking Feels Fake (And How to Fix It) - Peer Effect Post Bag
"Everyone finds networking awkward - you're not alone."James Johnson and Freddie Birley tackle your real founder question...
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Season 5
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Episode 3
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6:57
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What’s the right way to network? - with Mark Shepherd, Gathr
"Don't be afraid to be vulnerable. Networking isn't transactional, it's about building genuine connections."Mark Shepherd turned a LinkedIn post about mental health and meeting for drinks into ...
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Season 5
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Episode 1
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40:10
Knowing When to Exit as a Founder, with Dimitar Stanimiroff
"Don't waste your chips on bad hands."Dimitar Stanimiroff has been through multiple exits, some successful, some painful shutdowns. He co-founded WePow(acquired) and Heresy (shut down after 3.5 years). His biggest financial return...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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33:21
Rebuilding and Automating a Business From the Ground Up, with Tara Button
"I had to let everyone go and run the entire business myself."Tara Button's Buy Me Once had raised £3 million and grown to 14 staff. They were burning through cash faster than they could raise it. The choice: close the business completel...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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32:49
The Secret to Enjoying Your Scale-Up Journey, with Nick Baker
Why You Can't Sustain What You Don't EnjoyNick Baker left his successful consultancy after 25 years, burnt out from always being "on." He became a non-exec, convinced he'd never return to operational leadership. Then UK Padel came...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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30:01
Shifting from Founder to CEO, with Jennifer Clamp
The CEO who takes all the meeting notes isn't leading. They're sabotaging their own team.They feel comfortable doing what they're good at rather than tackling new parts of their role. But what if the founder-to-CEO shi...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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29:26
Rethinking B2B Marketing in 2025 with Employee Generated Content (EGC), with Katie Street
Your best marketing content creators probably aren't who you think they are.Most founders assume it has to be them. They overlook the thought leaders already inside their team. They default to safe, scripted content that feels awk...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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31:58
Why Most Partnership Strategies Fail (and How to Fix Them), with Stefan Ross
Most founders wait too long to think about partnerships.They wait until sales hit a ceiling.Until delivery starts to buckle.Until the team is stretched too thin.But what if partnerships weren’t a backup plan?...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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36:16
The Power of 'Deep Work' for Founders – Reconnecting with Self and Having Fun, with Freddie Birley
What if having more fun was the key to being a better founder?Seriously. Not just to feel good, but to actually unlock better decisions, more creativity, and a business that’s built to last.In this episode, I sit down with Fredd...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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35:42
Authenticity First – The Unspoken Key to Scaling Sustainably, with Emma Serlin
What if the key to unlocking better leadership isn’t strategy or scale but something far more personal?In this episode of The Peer Effect podcast, I sit down with Emma Serlin, Founder and CEO of London Speech Workshop, to...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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33:52
Bet on Yourself and Stay True to Your Vision, with Jonathan Cornelias
What does it take to scale a startup without losing sight of your vision?In this episode of the Peer Effect podcast, Jonathan Cornelias, shares the lessons learned from building four companies, including
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Season 3
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Episode 37
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24:54
