Frankie James - GBEA & Ideas Fest
Frankie James: She Spotted Grenade, BrewDog and Tangle Teezer Before They Were Household names. The Woman Behind Britain’s Biggest Entrepreneur Network
Frankie James is the founder behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Ideas Fest and one of the UK’s most influential entrepreneur communities.
In this episode of Building The Brand, Frankie shares how she built a platform that celebrates and connects British founders, startup leaders, scale-up businesses and some of the UK’s most exciting future household-name brands.
The Great British Entrepreneur Awards have helped spotlight entrepreneurs and brands including Grenade, BrewDog, Tangle Teezer, Dr.PAWPAW, Zilch, Cera Care and Simmer Eats. But this conversation is not just about business awards, black tie events or winning trophies.
It is about the real power of UK entrepreneurship, founder community, business networking, face-to-face events, visibility, resilience and human connection.
Frankie explains why entrepreneurial spirit in Britain is still alive and well, why the government needs to listen to founders across every region and industry, how GBEA became more than an awards programme, and why Ideas Fest has become known as the Glastonbury of business.
She also opens up about intuition, ADHD, working with her partner Dylan, using AI in business communities, and why the best entrepreneurs are often not the ones with the perfect business model — but the ones hungry enough to keep figuring it out.
IN THIS EPISODE, SHE SHARES:
▪️ Why UK entrepreneurship is still alive and well
▪️ How Frankie James built the Great British Entrepreneur Awards
▪️ Why Ideas Fest became known as the Glastonbury of business
▪️ Why business awards can help founders build visibility and credibility
▪️ How founder communities help entrepreneurs through difficult times
▪️ Why entrepreneurship is not just tech companies in London
▪️ What Frankie looks for in future household-name founders
▪️ Why face-to-face events still matter in an AI-driven world
▪️ How AI can help connect founders, investors, partners and business support
▪️ Why the best entrepreneurs are hungry, resilient and willing to pivot
▪️ How Grenade, Simm Eats and other UK brands came through the GBEA ecosystem
▪️ Why there is nothing wrong with building a great business you enjoy running
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE ON YOUTUBE
