The Midlife Entrepreneur

The Midlife Entrepreneur is the podcast for women who are building businesses later in life. Hosted by Jo Glynn-Smith, career transitions expert, coach and entrepreneur, who works with founders every day, each week Jo sits down with a different business owner to unpack the real stories, turning points and hard-won lessons behind their ventures. The show also features the 15 Minute Masterclass, where seasoned experts share practical advice designed to help entrepreneurs at every stage. Honest, inspiring and genuinely useful, this is the show that proves it is never too late to back yourself. Top 15% of podcasts globally and charting on Apple's Entrepreneurship category. New episodes every Tuesday.

The Midlife Entrepreneur is a business podcast hosted by Jo Glynn-Smith, with 55 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jo Glynn-Smith hosts The Midlife Entrepreneur, a business show with 55 episodes published.

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  The Midlife Entrepreneur

  EP42: Marielle Wyse, Founder of Wyse London, the contemporary womenswear brand known for joyful, luxury, wardrobe essentials.

  Sep 28, 202641 min

  This week Jo Glynn-Smith interviews Marielle Wyse, founder of Wyse London, launched in 2014 from five cashmere jumpers after a TV production career and a separation at 49 prompted her to rethink finances. With no formal training and a small loan from her father, she took her designs to a factory, sold £15,000 of stock at a June trade fair, repeated it in November, and saw sales grow from 15 to 75, later building a business now with six UK stores, 170,000 Instagram followers, and over £18 million turnover with no outside investment. Wyse says COVID drove major growth by dropping wholesale, selling direct via honest Instagram content, and navigating chaotic stock demands, growing fivefold from about £2M to £10M. She describes post-COVID pressures, losing money after hiring “experts,” opening her first store in Marylebone, focusing on customer experience for midlife women, prioritizing fitness, adding a CEO for structure, and shifting from pre-orders to holding more stock while emphasising kindness and team development. 00:00 Welcome and Subscribe 00:30 Meet Marielle Wyse 01:54 From Mum to Founder 05:42 Leading Left Field 08:18 COVID Growth Surge 10:20 Chaos and Customer Connection 15:35 After the Boom Lessons 17:41 Opening Physical Stores 21:05 Design Structure and Teams 22:04 What She Loves Now 23:04 Just Do It Mindset 23:25 Founder Leadership Challenges 26:21 Building Trust and Safety 27:38 Surviving a Tough Market 29:36 Energy Fitness and Rest 31:43 Hiring a CEO for Structure 33:31 Three Two One Reflections 37:40 Kindness and Proud Wins 39:20 What Comes Next 40:28 Closing and Listener Call https://www.wyselondon.com/ Follow on insta @wyselondon Support the show Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025. Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change. Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com www.joglynnsmith.com MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

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  The Midlife Entrepreneur

  EP41: Claire Burrows, Founder of Air & Grace, the footwear brand created around the idea that women shouldn't have to choose between style and comfort.

  Aug 17, 202646 min

  This week Jo sits down with Claire Burrows, founder of London footwear brand Air & Grace, to discuss building a business in midlife by solving the style-versus-comfort problem. Claire shares how redundancy pushed her to launch in 2014 after 20+ years in buying, design, and product development, funding early work with her life savings, renting out her home, and borrowing money. She explains developing the patented Tender Loving Air technology with technologist Kevin Ban, including setbacks like rejecting the first production run, running out of money, and later winning a Metro Newspaper competition that enabled a pivot from a failed wholesale plan to direct-to-consumer via Shopify. Claire describes learning marketing, e-commerce, and cashflow management, using consumer events to drive early sales and feedback, and later refocusing online. Her advice highlights investing in legal support and knowledge, keeping teams lean, and trusting red flags earlier. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:47 Redundancy Sparks the Leap 02:39 Finding the Comfort Gap 04:25 Building the First Prototype Team 08:02 Naming Air and Grace 09:21 First Product and Early Setbacks 12:51 Tender Loving Air Tech 15:03 Funding and Cost Realities 16:38 Pivot to Direct to Consumer 19:24 Shopify Site and Winning Investment 21:04 Learning D2C Marketing and Finance 22:40 Money Mindset Shift 22:57 First Hire Milestone 23:22 Selling Comfort Online 23:42 Consumer Events Playbook 25:30 Trade Show Chaos Story 26:18 Online Focus Tipping Point 26:59 Back To In Person 27:40 New Product Evolution 28:22 Best Selling Flat 29:27 Color Range Strategy 30:12 Surviving Tough Markets 31:51 Streamlining For Growth 32:54 Team Culture Energy 33:33 Business Owner Surprises 34:40 Shoemaking Complexity 35:46 Three Two One Framework 36:06 Worth Every Penny 40:44 Team Size Regrets 42:25 Quit Earlier Lesson 44:07 Thanking The Technologist 45:02 Final Wrap And Goodbye Visit at https://airandgracelondon.com/ Follow on Instagram @airandgrace Support the show Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025. Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change. Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com www.joglynnsmith.com MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

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  The Midlife Entrepreneur

  15 Minute Masterclass: 3 Ways to Innovate when Everyone is Copying You with Melisse Shaban, CEO of Aramore skincare, a US based longevity science company.

  Aug 10, 202617 min

  This week Jo sits down with Melisse Shaban, CEO of Aramore, a US-based longevity science company, to share three ways to innovate when everyone else is copying you in a low-barrier, noisy market. First, Melisse advises pursuing technical innovation by identifying unmet, unknown, or evolving needs, and reframing familiar problems (such as “longevity” versus “anti-aging”) while staying open to new formats and delivery systems across categories, from GLP-1s and peptides to sleep and recovery tools. Second, she stresses being honest and authentic in a world where it’s hard to tell what’s real, arguing that trust and truth-telling drive meaningful innovation. Third, she recommends constant discovery—looking in unexpected places, staying curious, and using practices like affirmation—while remaining focused and credible, as Aramore does by targeting cellular health in skin through long-term science. 00:00 Welcome to Masterclass 00:34 Why Copycats Win 01:04 Unmet Needs Drive Innovation 01:27 New Longevity Mindset 03:46 Formats and Recovery Trends 04:56 Authenticity in Noisy Markets 07:24 Brave Truth Tellers 08:11 Discovery and Self Belief 12:02 Aramore Inside Out Skin 14:08 First to Market Focus 15:18 Science Led Differentiation 16:13 Wrap Up and Subscribe Support the show Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025. Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change. Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com www.joglynnsmith.com MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

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  The Midlife Entrepreneur

  EP40: Antonia Philp, Paediatric Nurse & Co-Founder of Nursem, the award-winning skincare brand created on a hospital ward.

  Aug 3, 202647 min

  This week Jo speaks with Antonia Philips, a pediatric nurse and co-founder of Nursem, an award-winning handcare brand created to solve the cracked, bleeding hands caused by constant handwashing with harsh antiseptics. Antonia shares how she and her husband Jonny spent seven years researching and testing products (including Manuka honey) while raising three children and continuing her nursing career, eventually moving to flexible bank shifts after burnout. They discuss finding support through the Newcastle Science City incubator, standing out in a saturated skincare market, listening to customers via a 2,000-person testing panel requiring 90% approval, and scaling a small team as they aim to enter grocery. Antonia explains the Nursem Promise, donating a month of free handcare per product sold, with 700,000 promises delivered and a million targeted by 2027, and reflects on working with her husband, managing energy, and planning for an investor exit without losing purpose. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:50 Balancing Nursing and Business 04:15 Staying Connected to Nursing 07:31 Handwashing Damage Explained 09:01 Searching for a Real Solution 11:46 Building the Formula and Testing 14:57 Packaging and Early Feedback 16:13 Funding and Incubator Support 17:07 Launch and Giving Back 18:38 Burnout and Energy Management 23:36 Sleep and Support 24:13 Running as Therapy 24:24 Standing Out in Skincare 25:58 Customer Led Product Expansion 27:40 Working With Your Spouse 31:36 Team Growth and Grocery Plans 33:38 Exit Pressure and Purpose 39:59 Three Two One Reflections 45:45 Final Thanks and Wrap Up https://www.nursem.co.uk/ Support the show Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025. Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change. Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com www.joglynnsmith.com MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

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  The Midlife Entrepreneur

  15 Minute Masterclass: 3 Ways to Avoid Burnout with Rosie Nixon, Coach, Founder & Best Selling Author.

  Jul 27, 202615 min

  This week Jo speaks with Rosie Nixon, coach, founder of Rosie’s Reinvention Retreats and author of The PRO Method, about three ways to avoid burnout before it derails you and your business. Rosie explains burnout as a workplace-based syndrome where demand outstrips recovery, often showing up as insomnia, irritability, anxiety, overwhelm, low motivation and reduced creativity. Her three tips follow the PRO framework: first, Pause—calm the nervous system through micro-pauses like getting outside, breathwork (count four in, hold two, release six), or exercise, and take longer time away if needed. Second, Reflect—get curious about what’s happening, name emotions, clarify what matters now, and identify unmet needs and values. Third, Organise—map small, values-aligned steps forward, including letting go of responsibilities, work or relationships that no longer serve you. 00:00 Welcome to Masterclass 00:34 What Burnout Looks Like 02:11 PRO Method Overview 02:31 Pause to Reset 07:19 Reflect with Curiosity 09:36 Organise Next Steps 12:21 Reinvention Mindset 14:33 Book and Farewell https://www.rosienixon.co.uk/ Follow on Instagram @rosiejnixon Support the show Edited and produced by Jo Glynn-Smith 2025. Recorded at Eight Works Podcast Studios, 1 Dysart Street, London, EC2A 2BX For bookings: eightworks@eightclub.co.uk Jo Glynn-Smith is an entrepreneur, professional coach, writer, and speaker from London, she is an expert in career transformation and change. Instagram @jojoglynnsmith and @themidlifeentrepreneur Contact: enquiries@joglynnsmith.com www.joglynnsmith.com MUSIC CREDIT Easy Money by REX BANNER licensed by Artlist.io PHOTOGRAPHY by JONATHAN GLYNN-SMITH www.jonathanglynnsmith.com

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