Disrupters

Kamal Ahmed and Rohan Silva meet leading entrepreneurs to hear their stories of risk, sacrifice and ambition - including those behind Dyson, Linkedin, Mumsnet, lastminute.com and Netflix. Business journalist Kamal Ahmed and start-up supremo Rohan Silva lift the lid on the realities of starting your own business in a series of candid, unfiltered interviews with innovators who have changed our world. We hear the unvarnished truth about their successes, failures, and the challenges they faced on the way to realising their vision. From fearless company founders to visionary CEOs, each has a fascinating story to tell. There's Julie Deane, who went from starting The Cambridge Satchel Company at the kitchen table with GBP600 to selling 10,000 bags a month; Tony Kitous, who arrived in London from Algeria with nothing and ended up with a chain of 25 Comptoir Libanais restaurants; and Temie Giwa-Tubosun, creator of LifeBank, which works to improve access to essential medical supplies in Africa and has saved over 7000 lives. They're joined by a wealth of other inspiring disrupters to share their hard-earned wisdom, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, lastminute.com founders Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Mumsnet's Justine Roberts and Sir James Dyson. Among the lessons they've learned are knowing when to cut your losses, how to change direction without giving up on an idea, the dangers of over-idealism and self-delusion and the importance of patience, persistence and passion. The advice they give - about managing relationships, maintaining self-belief and not being afraid to make mistakes - is invaluable for everyone, not just entrepreneurs, and will help you to succeed both in business and in life. Copyright (c) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution LtdPresented by Kamal Ahmed and Rohan SilvaProduced by Georgia CattWith: Demis Hassabis, Julie Deane, Martha Lane Fox and Brent Oberman, Reid Hoffman, Justine Roberts, Tony Kitous, Surinder Arora, Sir James Dyson, Temie Giwa-Tobosun,John and Irene Hays, Reed HastingsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 5 November 2018-29 January 2021