First-Time Founder Mistakes That Kill Growth (& How to Spot Them)

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Founders with Nick

Nick Langridge

18 episodes

5 days ago

"Founders with Nick" is the podcast for anyone who loves stories of ambition, grit, and disruption. Join Nick as he dives deep with young entrepreneurs redefining their industries, tackling challenges head-on, and sharing what it really takes to build something extraordinary. Whether you're a startup founder, a dreamer, or just curious about the journey behind the hustle, this is where you'll find inspiration, insights, and unfiltered conversations.

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Entrepreneurship

Business

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First-Time Founder Mistakes That Kill Growth (& How to Spot Them)

Founders with Nick

57 minutes 5 seconds

2 months ago

First-Time Founder Mistakes That Kill Growth (& How to Spot Them)

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Charles McManus took the stage at our very first Founders With Nick LIVE event to tell a different kind of startup story. After decades in traditional finance, he stepped away to build ClearBank, the UK’s first new clearing bank in over 250 years. Not a flashy app or consumer brand, but the infrastructure beneath the surface that makes modern finance work.

Charles shares how he transitioned from banking exec to founder, how he built trust in an industry where credibility is everything, and what it takes to scale quietly in a world that rewards noise.

00:00 Introduction
01:00 Kicking off the live event and introducing Charles McManus
03:03 The unexpected lunch that sparked the ClearBank journey
05:21 Selling the unsexy backbone of fintech via cloud-native APIs
07:44 Navigating rulebook gaps to build the first new clearing bank
11:25 Winning early clients by rejecting legacy attitudes
13:13 The reality of hiring the wrong people early on
15:41 Graduate schemes, early churn, and what made them proud
17:40 Losing a year chasing big client revenue over product focus
19:50 Holding the culture intact through growth and global scaling
24:18 The hidden pressure of being responsible for other people’s money
26:46 Refusing to chase growth at the cost of profitability
27:59 Adapting leadership style and showing up authentically
30:24 Lessons on transparency, risk, and building no-blame culture
32:02 What real sacrifice looks like as a founder CEO
33:33 Why it was all worth it despite what was lost
36:11 The one thing holding the UK back in fintech innovation
39:37 Lack of urgency around digital payments and stablecoins
45:56 Why big banks keep failing on basic compliance
54:27 Can fintechs survive without being eaten by incumbents?

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-mcmanus-/