Jazz Shapers

Molly Johnson-Jones: CEO & Co-founder of Flexa

Molly Johnson-Jones is the CEO and co-founder of Flexa, a platform connecting job-seekers with companies offering flexible working environments.Molly joins Elliot to chat about how getting fired (after asking if she could work from home 1 day a week due to her auto-immune disease) has led to her revolutionising the way that people find jobs.

Floyd Woodrow: ex-SAS soldier,  founder of Quantum Group & creator of coaching programme Compass for Life.   

Floyd Woodrow MBE/DCM is an ex-SAS soldier, founder of Quantum Group (a fintech and security investment incubator) and creator of coaching and development programme Compass for Life. Floyd joins Elliot to talk about becoming one of the youngest soldiers ever to have been selected for the elite SAS, and why he believes focusing on your super strengths (more than your weaknesses) is the key to success.

Rachel Watkyn: Founder of Tiny Box Company

Rachel Watkyn OBE is the Founder of Tiny Box Company, creating sustainable, ethically-sourced gift packaging. Rachel joins Elliot to share her tales of overcoming incredible adversity and how she's now Dragon Den’s most Successful Female Entrepreneur to date.

Giles Fuchs: Founder and Chairman of Office Space in Town

Giles Fuchs is the Founder and Chairman of Office Space in Town, the flexible workplace provider, and founder of ‘No or Low alcohol’ brand, Gunner Cocktails . He's also the owner of the iconic, art deco Burgh Island Hotel. Giles joins Elliot to chat about all of this, and his drive to prove to his dad that failing his A Levels wouldn’t define him.

Emily Bendell: Founder and CEO of Bluebella

Jazz Shapers is back! To kick off the new season Elliot welcomes back Emily Bendell, founder and CEO of lingerie brand Bluebella. Emily was last on Jazz Shapers in 2012 and tells Elliot about the challenges of growing a non-conforming lingerie business, and her successful campaign to get the Garrick Club to allow female members for the first time in its 193-year history.

Rossella and Huw Beaugié: Co-founders of The Thinking Traveller

Rossella and Huw Beaugié are the co-founders of The Thinking Traveller, a travel brand specialising in high-end exclusive villas and experiences. Rossella and Huw join Elliot - for this last Jazz Shapers of the season - to talk about how, after holidaying in Stromboli, they designed themselves a life (and new career) in Sicily.

Caroline Casey: Founder of the Valuable 500

Caroline Casey is the Founder of the Valuable 500, a global organisation of 500 Partners and Companies, and their CEO's, working together to end disability exclusion. Caroline joins Elliot to share how she kept her severely limited vision a secret before - as she says - 'coming out of the disability closet,' on a mission to drive lasting change for the 1.3 billion people in the world with a disability.

Andrew Radcliffe: Co-Founder and CEO UK of Spyrosoft

Andrew Radcliffe is the Co-Founder and CEO UK of Spyrosoft, the global technology services company. Andrew joins Elliot to chat about creativity and the power of sharing your big idea.

Farah Kabir: Co-founder of Hanx

Farah Kabir is the co-founder of Hanx, the female-focused, sexual wellness brand. Farah shares with Elliot the moment of embarrassment that led her to change careers and launch a shame-free brand, prioritising female empowerment.

Marielle Wyse: Founder and Creative Director of Wyse London

Marielle Wyse is the Founder and Creative Director of Wyse London, the womenswear brand. Marielle joins Elliot to chat about starting a business aged 49, after reconnecting with a childhood passion.

Charlie Jardine: Founder and CEO of EO Charging

Charlie Jardine is the Founder and CEO of EO Charging, an electric vehicle charging company. Charlie joins Elliot to chat about overcoming scepticism and his journey from designing his first charger in a pig shed on his grandfather’s farm, to having their technology used by some of the world’s largest businesses.

Lauren Scott-Harris: Founder of communications company Scott Ideas (now The Re-Agency)

Lauren Scott-Harris is the Founder of communications company Scott Ideas (now The Re-Agency) and the Co-Founder of EARNT, an initiative rewarding good deeds with bespoke, money-can’t-buy items and experiences. Lauren joins Elliot to chat about how she's redefining what it means to be a VIP.

John Wood: Founder of Room to Read & U-Go

John Wood is the Founder of 2 nonprofit organisations: Room to Read (supporting children’s literacy) and U-Go (helping women in low-income countries to attend University). John joins Elliot to share how a hiking trip to Nepal was the spark that drove him to raise over $750 million in philanthropic capital and bring Room to Read's education programs to over 30 million children.

Will Guidara: Restaurateur

Will Guidara is a restaurateur, former co-owner of Eleven Madison Park, (which rose to number 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List) and author of “Unreasonable Hospitality” - his tales of service and leadership. Will joins Elliot to talk about how a 2 dollar hot dog changed his life and gave birth to the strategy that would guide them to three Michelin Stars and the number 1 spot.

Cameron Leslie: Co-founder of fabric 

Cameron Leslie is the co-founder of fabric the iconic London nightclub and record label. With the club now 25 years old, Cameron joins Elliot to share his tales of surviving administration and the loss of their licence as they built a platform for the unsung heroes of electronic music.

Amy Taylor: Co-Founder and Director of Tap Social

Amy Taylor is the Co-Founder and Director of Tap Social, a craft brewery & social enterprise, employing and supporting people in prison and prison leavers. Amy joins Elliot to chat about taking on a broken system and their aim to prove that employing people from prison works as a business decision.

Chip Conley: Founder of boutique hotel operator Joie de Vivre

Chip Conley is the founder of Joie de Vivre, the US boutique hotel operator, and co-founder of Modern Elder Academy, the midlife wisdom school. Chip joins Elliot to chat about growing the second-largest operator of boutique hotels in the USA, and how mentoring a small tech startup (called airbnb) led to an epiphany about how we could re-imagine the 2nd half of our lives.

Josh White: Co-founder and Global Brand Director of Cano Water

Josh White is the co-founder and Global Brand Director of the water brand, Cano Water - a fully recyclable alternative to single-use plastic bottles. Josh joins Elliot to talk about how a holiday in Thailand with his best friends led to the 3 of them taking on the corporate giants of plastic pollution.

Melissa Odabash: Founder & Creative Director of luxury swimwear brand, Melissa Odabash

Melissa Odabash MBE is the Founder & Creative Director of the eponymous luxury swimwear brand, Melissa Odabash. She shares with Elliot the stories behind her successful, global modelling career and how she grew a business creating - as Vogue describes them - ‘The Ferraris of the bikini world'.

Richard Hilton: Co-Founder and CEO of Fairgame

Elliot welcomes back a past business shaper - Richard Hilton - who first joined him in 2013. Richard is the Founder of Gymbox, the fitness brand, and now the Co-Founder and CEO of Fairgame, a first-of-its-kind immersive, fairground experience. He shares with Elliot why his retirement plans didn't quite work out - thanks in part to the waltzers and whack’a’moles at Hampstead Fair.

Sean Dixon: Co-founder and MD of Richard James

Sean Dixon is the co-founder and Managing Director of Richard James, the Savile Row tailors. Sean joins Elliot to chat celebrities and burglaries, and what happened when they brought bold, disruptive design to London's most famous tailoring street.

Andrei Papancea: Co-Founder and CEO of AI platform NLX

Andrei Papancea is the Co-Founder and CEO of AI platform NLX. Andrei joins Elliot to share his journey from running his own business in Romania - while still at primary school - to operating on the edges of technology in New York.

James Brown: Founder of Loaded magazine

Jazz Shapers is back! To kick off the new season, Elliot is joined by James Brown, journalist, Founder of Loaded (the men's lifestyle magazine) and author (most recently of his autobiography ‘Animal House'). James shares his tales of passion and addiction and how a single-minded focus on writing for music magazines took him from fanzine-creator, to features editor for the NME, to launching an award-winning, hedonistic magazine that broke the rules.

Luke Boase: Founder of Lucky Saint

Joining Elliot for the last Jazz Shapers of 2023 is Luke Boase, Founder of Lucky Saint, the alcohol-free beer brand. Luke tells his story of how, against the advice of many (and despite having no experience in the industry) he chased a dream to overcome the pre-conceptions of alcohol free lager, and build a better tasting, aspirational brand.