{"podcast":{"title":"Business Leader","slug":"business-leader-5718807","podcast_index_feed_id":5718807,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/665f2584aa134f0012248c29","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/665f2584aa134f0012248c29","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/665f2584aa134f0012248c29/1786365863553-4e1fd141-229a-4d05-8336-2d2337e91b28.jpeg","author":"Business Leader","episode_count":226,"summary":"Richard Harpin grew his business HomeServe from a single idea to a £4.1bn sale. On the Business Leader Podcast , he speaks to entrepreneurs and business leaders about the moments that shaped their success and failure, unlocking original advice and practical insights for anyone building or leading a business. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-09T06:19:13.057637+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807"},"episode":{"title":"Seams Impossible: How Nadine Merabi built a £40m fashion brand","slug":"seams-impossible-how-nadine-merabi-built-a-40m-fashion-brand","published_at":"2026-06-30T15:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807/seams-impossible-how-nadine-merabi-built-a-40m-fashion-brand","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807","url":"https://shows.acast.com/business-leader-podcast/episodes/seams-impossible-how-nadine-merabi-built-a-40mn-fashion-bran","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/665f2584aa134f0012248c29/e/6a327d36883f9289e904ffcf/media.mp3","summary":"Manchester-based Nadine Merabi played Hockey professionally for England, bought a £250 sewing machine from Argos and taught herself how to sew. With no formal training she sold a collection to Selfridges and from there she stitched together a £40 million luxury fashion business. She talks candidly with host Sir Richard Harpin about the resilience needed to build a business from scratch —the only thing standing in entrepreneurs’ way is themselves. Merabi pivoted during covid into a Darcie pyjama line, which was worn by celebrities and still makes up a significant proportion of sales, but she draws the line at loungewear. She reveals why growing 800% in a year was her biggest mistake and what it taught her about culture and leadership. And her why her mantra has shifted from \"pressure makes diamonds\" to \"planning makes profit\". Also, she explains how her decision to hire a CEO frees her up to focus on what she does best: giving women confidence.   Subscribe to the Business Leader Podcast and sign up to our free weekly newsletter at businessleader.co.uk/newsletters Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support, peer-to-peer learning, expert coaching, and high-impact events. Sign up for our Business Leader newsletter here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Manchester-based Nadine Merabi played Hockey professionally for England, bought a £250 sewing machine from Argos and taught herself how to sew. With no fo…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2772,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/business-leader-5718807/episodes/seams-impossible-how-nadine-merabi-built-a-40m-fashion-brand/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/business-leader-5718807/seams-impossible-how-nadine-merabi-built-a-40m-fashion-brand.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}