How Much We Got Paid to Go on Dragons' Den: Simon Woodroffe

In this episode, we take you inside a brutally honest live cold calling session where Jack, Zac, and special guest Jeb Blunt Jr. dial prospects in real time, proving that even the best salespeople face rejection after rejection and that success in cold calling isn't about magic scripts but about consistency, resilience, and the willingness to keep dialing when everyone else has given up. We break down the psychology of cold calling frameworks, from Jeb's five step approach that grabs attention and builds curiosity in seconds to Jack and Zac's authentic British style that uses contradiction callouts and sounds like statements to disarm prospects. You'll hear the difference between asking for a meeting straight away versus building curiosity first, why calling out contradictions can either open doors or start arguments if you're not careful, and how to handle brush off objections like send me an email without letting polite prospects off the hook. We expose the reality of AI assistants screening calls, the emotional strain of dialing through gatekeepers and voicemails, and why tools like Nooks matter when you're trying to maximize conversations instead of wasting time manually dialing. You'll witness live conversations with prospects who are too polite to hang up, business owners who are genuinely at capacity, and one retired gentleman who definitely does not want a meeting. More from Jeb: LinkedIn: JBJ (Jeb Blunt Jr.) Book: 90 Days to Level Up Your Sales Skills Website: https://www.salesgravy.com Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

In this episode, we sit down with Ella McCrystal, psychotherapist, TEDx speaker, author, and director of the Northampton Clinic, for one of the most raw, honest, and scientifically grounded conversations about trauma, anxiety, ADHD, and what it really takes to heal when your body remembers everything your mind tries to forget. If you've ever wondered whether your anxiety is just who you are, whether your body is trying to tell you something your mind refuses to hear, or whether healing is even possible when the damage feels too deep, this episode will give you the permission to stop waiting for someone else to fix you and start understanding that your nervous system, your cells, and your brain are all capable of change if you're willing to do the work. More from Ella: Instagram: @ellamccrystal Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

In this episode, we dive into one of the most uncomfortable conversations of our time: how social media, broken family structures, and a failing education system are fundamentally rewiring the brains of an entire generation, and why the solution isn't more diagnoses but a complete rethinking of how we raise, educate, and protect young people in a world that profits from their attention. Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

In this episode, we take you inside a brutally honest cold call roasting session where Jack and Zac tear apart their own old sales calls from two to three years ago, proving that even the best salespeople cringe at their past selves and still have room to grow. We break down what actually works in cold calling, from delivering openers like punchlines to the art of matching your prospect's energy, why curiosity is the one skill you can't fake, and how genuine interest beats any script. You'll hear the difference between hard disqualification that kills deals versus soft qualification that opens conversations, why asking the same question twice in different ways is a rookie mistake, and how to spot problems prospects don't even know they have yet. Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

Ever wondered how much the BBC actually pays you to appear on Dragons' Den? In this clip, we find out exactly what the dragons were paid to sit in that famous chair and it's a lot less than you'd think. We also hear the story of how he almost turned down Dragons' Den entirely, how Duncan Bannatyne convinced him to reconsider, and what it was really like behind the scenes on one of the BBC's biggest shows. More from Simon: Book: Yo Man https://www.amazon.co.uk (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yo-Man-Simon-Woodroffe/dp/1399610848) Website: https://www.yo.co.uk Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/

In this episode, we sit down with Simon Woodroffe, founder of Yo Sushi and Yotel, one of the original dragons on BBC's Dragon's Den, and one of the most unlikely success stories British entrepreneurship has ever produced. A man who spent three decades behind the scenes, designing stages and rigging lights for some of the biggest names in music before reinventing himself at 45 to build two iconic brands that changed hospitality forever. If you've ever felt like an imposter, struggled with the fear of failure, or wondered whether it's too late to start something big, this episode will give you the permission to stop waiting and start building the life you actually want. More from Simon: Book: Yo Man https://www.amazon.co.uk (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yo-Man-Simon-Woodroffe/dp/1399610848) Website: https://www.yo.co.uk Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Prospeo, the easiest way to find verified emails and contact data for outbound and lead generation. 98% more effective at finding mobile numbers and email addresses. Try it free at https://www.prospeo.io/wham Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

Rory breaks down why AI in the hands of procurement and finance teams will be catastrophic, how the shareholder value movement since the 1980s has created a managerial Ponzi scheme that misaligns leadership with everyone else in the company, and why the purpose of a business should never be profit maximization but the discovery of new sources of value. He explains why Octopus Energy is now bigger than British Gas by focusing on customer service instead of cost cutting, how Herbert Simon's Nobel Prize winning philosophy completely contradicts Milton Friedman's shareholder value doctrine, and why businesses that optimize for efficiency instead of discovery will make terrible decisions faster with AI. Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Prospeo, the easiest way to find verified emails and contact data for outbound and lead generation. 98% more effective at finding mobile numbers and email addresses. Try it free at https://www.prospeo.io/wham Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

In this episode, we sit down with Amelia, a personal branding strategist who's built a thriving business helping founders scale from £250k to £50 million by turning their personal brands into revenue generating machines, not vanity metrics. If you're a founder struggling to win inbound leads, wondering whether personal branding is worth the time, or trying to figure out how to stand out in a world where everyone sounds the same, this episode will give you the exact playbook to stop hiding behind your logo and start building a brand that makes you money. More from Amelia: Website: https://klowt.com Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Prospeo, the easiest way to find verified emails and contact data for outbound and lead generation. 98% more effective at finding mobile numbers and email addresses. Try it free at https://www.prospeo.io/wham Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

In this episode, we take you inside a live cold calling session where nothing goes according to plan, proving that even the best salespeople have to deal with technical disasters, brutal rejections, and prospects who just want to eat their dinner in peace. Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsor Nooks! Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Hancock, former UK Health Secretary, tech entrepreneur, and now a leading voice in health technology innovation, who breaks down the art of decision making under pressure and why most people are afraid to make the call when it matters most. Matt explains why taking decisions quickly is a strength until it becomes a weakness, how to know when you have enough information to act, and why the most senior people only see the hardest decisions because the easy ones get taken elsewhere. He reveals the difference between decisions that need thinking time versus decisions that should take 60 seconds, why sleeping on a decision is a legitimate strategy, and how indecision is itself a decision with consequences. We dive into the psychology of group decision making, why cabinet government is essentially non hierarchical compared to business, and how write rounds in Whitehall slow down ambition but create accountability. Matt shares why businesses with single decision makers can spend 80 billion on failed projects like the metaverse, how to structure organizations so the right decisions get escalated, and why compromise is the foundation of any successful negotiation. If you're stuck on a decision, wondering whether to take a risk, or trying to understand how to lead better under pressure, this episode will give you the frameworks to stop prevaricating and start taking action. Hear more from the Hosts: Jack https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-frimston-5010177b/?originalSubdomain=uk Zac https://www.linkedin.com/in/zac-thompson-33a9a39b/ Brought to you by our amazing sponsors: Prospeo, the easiest way to find verified emails and contact data for outbound and lead generation. 98% more effective at finding mobile numbers and email addresses. Try it free at https://www.prospeo.io/wham Nooks The AI powered platform helping teams automate outbound sales and book more qualified meetings. To learn more visit : https://www.nooks.ai/wehaveameeting Chapters 00:00:00 Who Is Matt Hancock: From Tech to Health Secretary 00:03:26 The First Principles of Decision Making: Choosing to Decide 00:05:45 When You Have All the Information But Still Get It Wrong 00:07:41 The Psychology of Group Decision Making: From Individuals to Cabinets 00:10:58 Government vs Business: The Hierarchical Decision Making Divide 00:14:53 The Art of Influence: Understanding Your Audience and Their Influencers 00:16:26 Thinking Fast and Slow: The Mental Models That Matter 00:19:30 AI as Your Junior Team Member: Where Humans Still Win 00:28:42 The Driverless Car Paradox: Why We Demand Perfection From AI 00:22:11 AI in Healthcare: The Sepsis Detection Revolution 00:35:04 Trade-Offs and Pareto Optimization: No Decision Is 100 Percent 00:37:10 Deadlines and Pressure: The Consequences of Indecision 00:41:59 The Beast Games Effect: How Group Size Changes Decision Dynamics 00:48:07 The Steve Jobs Audacity: When Knowing What People Want Is a Lie 00:51:10 The Decision Framework: Consequence, Reversibility and Information 00:53:11 The Prevarication Question: What Decision Are You Avoiding