Beaver Tales
Around the world, people have been creating different paths, though we may not see them in the current world focus of bigger is better. We seek those people who build different paths: Not because it’s easier. Not because it’s cheaper. Not because it’s faster. Because they believe there’s a better way to build. In nature, beavers are a keystone species. Other species depend on their work. Beavers build not through force or scale — rather through steady, deliberate precision. By placing one log at a time, beavers divert the flow of water and reshape entire ecosystems—creating environments...
Beyond the Pouch: Revolutionising Baby Food with Pumpkin Organics
What if the secret to transforming an entire industry lies in simply refusing to compromise on what you feed your children?
In this episode of Beaver Tales, I sit down with Jaclyn Schnau in Munich, Germany, the visionary co-founder of Pumpkin Organics. We explore her journey from the corporate heights of Big Food in the USA to revolutionising the baby food aisle in Germany and beyond. Jaclyn shares how a commitment to high-quality, vegetable-first nutrition and an unwavering dedication to educating and supporting parents has allowed her and her co-founder husband, Florian, to build a thriving, uncompromising...
Building a Global Creative Ecosystem from Cape Town with Chantel Green
What does it truly take to build a world-class production agency that prioritises people, trust and long-term relationships over pure profit and unbridled growth?
In this episode of Beaver Tales, I am fortunate to sit down in the beautiful Franschhoek Winelands near Cape Town, South Africa with Chantel Green, the founder and creative force behind Lustre Global. Chantel shares her 20-year journey from "falling into" the industry at a fancy-dress party to building a highly respected, female-led production house in Cape Town with global reach. We explore how she successfully champions South African talent on the global...
Graham Allcott: The Quiet Power of Kindness
Why is the gap between talking about kindness in business and actually practising it, so wide?
In this episode of BeaverTales, I walk with Graham Allcott, a keynote speaker, productivity coach, and the award-winning author of Kind: The Quiet Power of Kindness at Work. We explore why true kindness requires more courage, how it differs from nice, and why building a business around your core values is more important than infinite scale to Graham.
What You’ll Discover
- Kindness as a Performance Driver: Why kindness and its 8 principles are the foundations for ps...
Euan McGinty: Building an Independent Optometry Practice in a Corporate World
How do you build a thriving, independent business when your entire industry is being consolidated by corporate giants who are both your suppliers and your competitors?
In this episode of Beaver Tales, I sit down with Dr. Euan McGinty, a Scottish-trained optometrist who packed up his life and family and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to build a different kind of eye care practice. Rather than competing on price or selling out to massive corporate groups, as many of his competitors are, Euan and his partners at Ocean Optometry and Miller Optometry have chosen to focus...
Howard Napper: Building a Purpose-Driven Brand in a Competitive World
In the very first episode of Beaver Tales, I sit down with Howard Napper, someone I admire for many reasons, to explore what it actually takes to build a business with purpose. From a moment of curiosity in a yoga class to founding a company that’s spent 25 years pushing for more sustainable products, this is a conversation about doing things differently, even when it’s harder, slower, and less profitable.
What You’ll Discover
- The Idea That Started It All: A simple question in a yoga class sparked a mission to rethink how everyd...
Introducing Beaver Tales
There was a moment and I suspect you know the one - when you looked around at how business was being done and felt something quietly shut down inside you.
In this introductory episode of Beaver Tales, I explore why so many of us feel a profound sense of loss in the world of work and what it looks like when people choose to build differently. I introduce the idea of the keystone builder: those who, like beavers, don’t dominate the ecosystem instead create the conditions for everything around them to thrive.
Beaver Tales ex...
