Running a business can be isolating. Especially once it starts to grow, the decisions get heavier and there’s less space to talk openly about what’s really going on.

That feeling is what led London-based finance director Romesh Jeyaseelanayagam to co-host Strive & Thrive, a podcast built around honest conversations with founders and business leaders about the realities of running a business.

The podcast began in October 2024 as a series of informal LinkedIn Live discussions. There was no big launch plan, just people talking about entrepreneurship in a way that felt natural and useful. Those conversations struck a chord and, over time, evolved into a podcast and video series, now 29 episodes in.

Romesh, founder of The FD Consultant, a collective of part time Finance Directors who serve their clients nationally, said the idea came after he spent time guesting on other people’s podcasts and realised how much he enjoyed the format. He went on to launch the series alongside Mike Oliver, founder of Easol and a former client, after the pair discussed running a live session together.

“I liked the conversations, but I didn’t want to set something up on my own,” Romesh said. “When Mike suggested doing a live session together, it felt like a good way to try it without overthinking it.”

From the outset, the pair agreed to keep the format simple. Episodes are recorded as conversations and shared without any editing, allowing the discussion to stay focused while still giving it space to open up and breathe.

“We don’t cut anything out,” Romesh said. “That felt uncomfortable at first, but we wanted it to sound like a real conversation. It’s still a tight discussion, but we let it breathe. That’s where people relax and the real insight tends to come through.”

Each episode features an experienced guest, often an entrepreneur, and touches on topics such as leadership, finance, networking and communication. But Romesh says the moments that resonate most are often the personal ones.

“You can take away practical insights,” he said. “But you really connect when someone talks honestly about what they’ve struggled with or what didn’t go to plan.”

Co-host Mike Oliver says that openness is what listeners respond to most.

“What’s surprised me is how open people become once the conversation gets going,” Mike said. “By the end, guests often say it’s the first time they’ve really talked through their experience. That openness is where the value is, for them, for us, and for our listeners.”

One recent episode featured public speaking coach and entrepreneur Chris Wilson, who spoke candidly about a business failure and the impact it had on him and his team. Romesh says moments like that reflect what the podcast is trying to create.

“He’s done plenty of podcasts,” Romesh said. “But that was the first time he’d talked about that part of his journey. It stayed with me.”

For Romesh personally, the podcast has also had an impact on how he shows up in his own business.

“I started out not even wanting my photo on my website,” he said. “Now I’m much more relaxed about speaking publicly and putting myself out there.”

Since moving to podcast hosting platform Buzzsprout in July 2025, Strive & Thrive has recorded 150 podcast downloads so far in 2026, taking total downloads past 500. The podcast has now released 29 episodes, with listeners tuning in from 26 countries and 130 cities.

Alongside podcast downloads, the series has also built a growing video audience, with just under 1,000 views on YouTube and thousands of views across TikTok clips, where shorter moments from each episode are shared.

Strive & Thrive is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, with short clips also being shared on TikTok.

To listen to Strive & Thrive and find out more.