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Wild, Wise & Working

Wild, Wise & Working

Written by: Jackie Naghten
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Real conversations with midlife women turning wisdom into wins. Host, Jackie Naghten, celebrates the power, ambition and potential of midlife women in business. Each episode brings inspiring conversations with standout entrepreneurs and leaders who’ve reinvented their careers - and their lives - in their second act. Packed with energy, insight and practical takeaways, the show empowers women to think bigger, back themselves and build thriving businesses on their own terms. It’s inspiring, motivating and designed to spark momentum for anyone ready for their next chapter.Jackie Naghten Economics Leadership Management & Leadership Social Sciences
Episodes
  • GoHenry's Louise Hill: Building a fintech empire after 50

    GoHenry's Louise Hill: Building a fintech empire after 50
    Jun 29 2026
    What happens when a frustrated parent's iTunes bill turns into a category-defining fintech business used by millions of families? Louise Hill set out to build something the whole world needed, and then she did exactly that.In this episode of Wild, Wise & Working, Jackie is joined by Louise Hill, co-founder and chairwoman of GoHenry, the prepaid card and financial education app now used by millions of families across the UK, US, Spain and Italy. After two decades in retail and e-commerce, working with names like Next, John Lewis and Debenhams, Louise spotted a gap that didn't exist yet and built it herself. She's spent the last decade turning that idea into a genuine category leader, while also becoming one of the UK's most persistent voices campaigning for financial education in primary schools.The conversation traces Louise's career from a graduate scheme at House of Fraser, through six years of management consultancy parachuting into glass factories and doorbell manufacturers, into 25 years at the coalface of the UK's shift to e-commerce. Jackie and Louise talk candidly about divorce, financial downsizing, and the long, unglamorous slog of fundraising (300 phone calls, 300 no's, before the right introduction landed). They dig into where GoHenry's idea actually came from, how Louise validated it before building anything, and why she was determined from day one to build for scale rather than build small. Along the way, Louise reflects on curiosity, mentoring younger entrepreneurs, and why women in midlife are far from written off, especially now AI is levelling the playing field for anyone willing to have a go.This is a candid, energising conversation about resilience, reinvention, and proof that two decades of "ordinary" corporate experience can be exactly what makes an extraordinary business idea work.Covered in this episode:The iTunes bill that started it all: how a frustrated single parent's observation became the spark for GoHenryWhy Louise was adamant GoHenry shouldn't be "educational theory" but real money, real cards, real learningThe cold outreach story behind GoHenry's first big break, including the 300 calls and 300 no's before meeting Visa's then head of innovation, Ray RedmondHow two decades in retail and e-commerce, from House of Fraser to running operations for the Cotswold Company and Hotel Chocolat, gave Louise the operational grounding to build and scale a businessThe earlier business that didn't work out, sold for £1 and an earn-out that never materialised, and the lesson it taught her about building for scale from day oneRaising the first £692,000 to get GoHenry off the ground, and why founders need to be ahead of the curve on funding, not raising with hindsightGoing through divorce while building a career and a business, including the financial downsizing that came with itWhy some founders build small, lifestyle businesses on purpose, and why that's just as valid as chasing global scaleLouise's take on AI, curiosity, and why women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are uniquely placed to combine analogue experience with new technologyAbout my guest: Louise Hill Louise Hill is the co-founder and chairwoman of GoHenry, the prepaid debit card and financial education app for children that she helped build into a category-defining fintech business used by millions of families worldwide. Before GoHenry, she spent two decades at the forefront of UK retail and e-commerce, working with major names including Next, John Lewis and Debenhams. She's now one of the most prominent women in UK fintech, a vocal advocate for financial education in schools, and an active mentor to younger entrepreneurs. Louise is proof that the best business ideas often come from solving your own ordinary, everyday problem.GoHenry: https://www.gohenry.com/Be a part of the show, and get in touch if you want to chat through your business idea:Don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackienaghten/Send me voice messages, questions, or story ideas for a future show: You'll find everything you need HERE - https://wildwiseandworking.transistor.fm/Quick voice message link: https://www.speakpipe.com/WildWiseAndWorkingProduced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk
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    50 mins
  • From glamour agent to hair and beauty founder: Judy Koloko's incredible second act

    From glamour agent to hair and beauty founder: Judy Koloko's incredible second act
    Jun 15 2026
    You've had decades of experience, built a network, and always known there was something bigger waiting. But what does it actually take to step into that gap, build a business from scratch, and raise nearly £1 million on little more than belief and a brilliant idea?In this episode of Wild, Wise & Working, Jackie is joined by Judy Koloko, founder of The Steam Bar, a premium scalp and hair care brand built for people with natural, curly, coily and afro-textured hair. After nearly three decades working her way through the fashion industry, from glamour agencies to managing talent for the world's top creative houses, Judy spotted a gap that no one else was filling, and decided she was the one to fill it.The conversation travels the full arc of Judy's journey: the graft of building a career from a two-week internship, the early entrepreneurial instincts that surfaced in a handbag line nearly stocked by Harvey Nichols, and the personal reckoning in her forties that made her look beneath the wig and finally honour her crown. Jackie and Judy explore what it means to turn lived experience into a business idea, how to raise money on conviction alone, and why the network you have built over decades is one of the most valuable assets you will ever own. This is an honest, energising conversation about resilience, reinvention and why midlife really is the moment your experience becomes your competitive advantage.Covered in this episode:How Judy got her first break by sending a speculative CV to a glamour agency and turned a two-week work experience placement into a career that eventually put her in rooms with the world's top supermodels and creative talentThe handbag line called Just Judy that nearly made it to Harvey Nichols, and why pregnancy and bandwidth forced her to let it go, but left her with the taste for building something of her ownThe personal wake-up call in her forties: taking her wig off and seeing the damage that years of chemicals, relaxers and traction had done to her scalp, and the determination to start honouring what lay beneathHow a conversation with a long-term colleague about their daughters' hair, and the absence of premium scalp care products in any mainstream department store, crystallised The Steam Bar ideaHow Judy became the first UK brand ever to win a place on Sephora's Accelerate programme, a six-month accelerator run in collaboration with the 15% Pledge, and what it felt like to walk into a Sephora summit and find herself sitting alongside the team behind Rare BeautyRaising close to £1 million, largely without a trading history, by selling conviction, story and personal credibility, including through a Dragons Den-style angel investor event where Jackie herself stepped forward to back the businessAbout my guest: Judy KolokoJudy Koloko is the founder of The Steam Bar, a premium hair and scalp care brand stocked in Selfridges, Sephora and BT Edit Mayfair. She spent nearly three decades working across some of the UK's most respected fashion and creative talent agencies, rising from a glamour agency internship to managing photographers, stylists and art directors for the creme de la creme of the industry. In 2024 she became the first UK founder to win a place on Sephora's prestigious Accelerate programme. She is living proof that the longer the road, the richer the foundation you build on.The Steam Bar - thesteambar.comJudy on Instagram - instagram.com/misskolokoJudy on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/judy-koloko-02b803181/Mentioned in this episode:Sephora Accelerate — Sephora's accelerator programme for indie beauty foundersThe 15% Pledge — the organisation partnering with Sephora on the Accelerate programmeSelfridges — UK retail partner for the Steam BarBe a part of the show, and get in touch if you want to chat through your business idea:Don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackienaghten/Send me voice messages, questions, or story ideas for a future show: You'll find everything you need HERE - https://wildwiseandworking.transistor.fm/Quick voice message link: https://www.speakpipe.com/WildWiseAndWorkingProduced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk
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    52 mins
  • From £300 to 15 businesses: Darya Simanovich on immigrant entrepreneurship

    From £300 to 15 businesses: Darya Simanovich on immigrant entrepreneurship
    Jun 1 2026

    What would you do if you arrived in a new country with £300 in your pocket, barely speaking the language, knowing almost no one? Darya Simanovich called it a start, and what she built from there is nothing short of remarkable.

    In this episode of Wild, Wise & Working, Jackie is joined by Darya Simanovich, entrepreneur, business mentor and author of The Immigrant Entrepreneur- a raw, honest account of building from nothing in a country that wasn't hers. Originally from Russia, Darya arrived in London at 22 to study at Imperial College and never really left. In the two decades since, she has launched 15 businesses, sold one, and is still actively building, all while raising three children and supporting other founders to do the same.

    Jackie and Darya cover a remarkable amount of ground in this conversation: the moment the 2008 financial crash closed a corporate door and opened an entrepreneurial one, the swim school born out of a basement pool and a new mother's need for human connection, and the Chelsea crêperie that survived six years, a pandemic, and Brexit before Darya decided to sell.

    But this episode is really about the mindset underneath all of it: how to spot a problem worth solving, why sales is the first skill every founder needs, and why being direct, whether you're Russian or just plain tired of the British habit of not saying what you mean, is actually a superpower. Darya's "100 coffees" framework alone is worth the listen, and her core belief that you should fall in love with the problem rather than the solution will stay with you long after the episode ends.


    Covered in this episode:

    • Arriving in London at 22 with £300, limited English and no contacts and why Darya saw that as an opportunity rather than a crisis
    • How the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 ended her corporate career and pushed her towards building her own businesses
    • The Chelsea swim school that started as a personal pool, grew into a five-day-a-week operation, and began simply because Darya couldn't find one nearby
    • Why Darya believes entrepreneurs should "fall in love with the problem, not the solution"
    • The 100 coffees framework: how writing 100 names on a blank piece of paper and starting conversations can become the foundation of any new business or consultancy.
    • The honest truth about sales - why women in particular struggle to sell themselves.
    • Knowing your customer deeply enough to build for them, and why "women aged 18 to 65" is not a target audience


    About my guest: Darya Simanovich

    Darya Simanovich is a serial entrepreneur, business mentor, and author based in London. Originally from Russia, she came to the UK at 22 to study risk management and financial engineering at Imperial College London, and went on to build 15 businesses across sectors including childcare, hospitality, and property management. She runs a mastermind and events community for entrepreneurs, works full-time supporting early-stage founders, and has recently written The Immigrant Entrepreneur, a candid account of what it takes to start from nothing. What makes Darya remarkable is the combination of mathematical rigour, direct practicality and genuine warmth she brings to every founder she meets.

    • LinkedIn: Darya Simanovich on LinkedIn The Immigrant Entrepreneur — details in the show notes once the book is live
    • Chelsea Swim Spa — Darya's swim school and pool hire business in London

    Be a part of the show, and get in touch if you want to chat through your business idea:

    • Don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.
    • Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackienaghten/
    • Send me voice messages, questions, or story ideas for a future show: You'll find everything you need HERE - https://wildwiseandworking.transistor.fm/
    • Quick voice message link: https://www.speakpipe.com/WildWiseAndWorking


    Produced by The Good Studio - thegoodstudio.co.uk
    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
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