Surviving crisis - from a Beirut hostage ordeal to losing every client overnight. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Dave Mason has survived two crises most people never face: being held hostage for 45 minutes in Beirut and every client cancelling in a single afternoon. Now he helps companies survive theirs.

⚠️ Note: this episode contains a first-hand account of violence and trauma (a hostage situation and PTSD).

Listener discretion advised. In 2006, Dave Mason was reporting on displaced families in Beirut when his car was surrounded by a mob. For 45 minutes, he and his colleague held on in the back of that car, fighting for their lives, punched, robbed, and threatened- before, of all groups, Hezbollah ended up getting them to safety, and he was taken to meet the Prime Minister of Lebanon.

This is not the only crisis Dave has survived. From a media-obsessed teenager - fired up by a single teacher's offhand comment - Dave built a 30-year career spanning local radio (he founded the much-loved Orchard FM), GMTV breakfast TV and NATO media training. Then he backed himself, financing a management buyout against his own pension to buy the agency he worked for. Three months later, COVID hit and every single client cancelled in one afternoon. This is how he rebuilt in 48 hours, turned crisis into a four-day-week business, and spun out Splutter - a real-time social media crisis simulator now used in one of the world's largest financial-sector crisis exercises (1,000+ participants, Hong Kong).

Along the way: honest financial advice for freelancers, why local media still matters, what AI really means for PR, and why your health is worth more than the money. If you're a founder weighing up a risky bet, a management buyout, or how to survive when the market disappears overnight, this one's for you.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Resilience is adaptability. Dave didn't survive COVID by waiting it out, he rebuilt in 48 hours and pivoted his media training into a digital-first product. When the market vanishes, the move is to reshape what you offer, fast.

2. Use AI to amplify people, not replace them

3. Your health is the real wealth. Dave's line "if you've got your health, you are a millionaire" lands hard. Money is the trade-off freelancers make; protecting your wellbeing is what makes the success sustainable.

WHAT WE COVER - Beirut, 2006: 45 minutes that became a near-death experience - and the PTSD treatment that followed - The teacher's comment that lit the fire, and breaking into media with cold letters as a 15-year-old (75 rejection letters kept to this day) - Founding Orchard FM - why local radio mattered, and what we lost when the corporates took over - The freelance reality: "no show, no dough", saving for sickness, and the holiday that costs double - Financing a management buyout against your pension - and what the regulators put him through - The COVID afternoon every client vanished - and the 48-hour pivot that saved the business - Building Splutter: simulating thousands of hostile avatars to stress-test real organisations - What AI really means for PR, focus vs adaptability, and why careers only make sense looking backwards

💬 Over to you: what's the toughest crisis you've had to navigate in your business? Tell us in the comments.

Guest: Dave Mason LinkedIn: Dave Mason | X: @DaveMasonTV Splutter: https://splutter.training Mentor Media Training: https://mentormediatraining.co.uk

Hosted by Ollie Tiramuragan Collard and Dr. Becky Sage.

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They bought an office in lockdown when nobody else was buying. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/founded. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.

Two mates met on a rugby pitch, became accountant and client, then bought an office building in the middle of lockdown, when no one else was buying.

In this episode, Ollie speaks to Rhys Jones (The Online Accountant) and Olly Ladbrooke (Moose Studios), business partners behind the Bristol Office Hub, about going from corporate life to running multiple businesses side by side.

They get honest about the mindset shift from employee to serial entrepreneur, the brutal moment a down-valuation left them scraping to fund a leaking roof, why complementary skills beat codified roles, and how community and referrals (not contrived networking) quietly built everything. Plus, we explore AI in accountancy and marketing, and why "just show up and take action" still wins.

Whether you're a solo founder feeling the isolation or weighing up a big risk, this one's for you.

LISTENER TAKEAWAYS

1. Resilience isn't a trait; it's a position. Their first building ran "like a dream", which is exactly what gave them the confidence and cushion to survive a brutal down-valuation on the second.

2. Cash buys you calm. Build six to twelve months of runway in the first two years, keep it lean, and you stop pouring energy into chasing bills instead of growing.

3. Action beats overthinking. No scaremongering about AI, these business partners just show up, make the call, and move forward. 90% of success is being there and taking the next step.

GUESTS

Rhys Jones, accountant and co-founder of The Online Accountant and The Property Accountant. Left corporate life to go solo, took on Olly as client number one, now runs a six-person practice.

Olly Ladbrooke, chartered surveyor (ex-BNP Paribas) and founder of Moose Studios, a marketing agency with offices in Bristol and London. Together they own and run the Bristol Office Hub.

Bristol Office Hub — bristolofficehub.co.uk (195–197 Whiteladies Road, Bristol)

Moose Studios - moosestudios.co.uk

The Online Accountant - theonlineaccountant.com

Have questions about this episode? Ask our hosts, chat now via our website

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Is software dead, or just being rebuilt? Ollie spent two weeks obsessing over Claude Cowork and turned 100 episodes of Founded & Grounded into a content engine. Becky spoke alongside the legendary Steve Blank.

We break down agentic AI, SaaS valuations, customer development, pricing as conversation, and why human connection is the moat that AI cannot copy. This will leave you wanting to experiment right now.

Key takeaways

- Agentic AI is not a tool you add. It's the sand between your existing software stack, doing the connective work while you sleep, so you stop running the business by hand.

- Pricing is a conversation, not a number. Steve Blank's lesson is simple. Ask the customer the question, listen to the answer, then build the proposal. Skip that step, and you're guessing with someone else's money.

- AI raises the floor on output. It does nothing for trust. The founders who win the next cycle are the ones in rooms without laptops, building relationships that agents cannot fake.

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