Great At Business
Introducing #greatatbusinessA podcast series with long-standing Jersey business owners. Uncovering the stories, challenges, and lessons behind their success. Delivering insights and celebrating resilience of our local businesses.With Luke Smith, Managing Director - Purpose. #greatatbusiness #jerseybusiness #purpose #rialtoinvestmentpartners
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Episodes
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The reluctant business owner - Jeralie Pallot on buying Rowland's, selling it, and everything in-between.
Friday, 22 May 2026
Jeralie Pallot didn't set out to own a business. Born in New Zealand, she managed five travel agency branches before she was 20, won a first-class BA trip for hitting a million dollars in bookings - then was too busy to take it. She built a career across Sydney, Auckland and Jersey before spending 16 years growing Rowland's Recruitment from the inside before finally buying it. Her husband asked her one question that changed everything: what percentage of your energy goes on getting permission to do things? Luke Smith sits down with Jeralie Pallot, former owner and now, Non-Exec Director of ...
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Borrowed £1,000 from his hairdresser, built Jersey's best garage - Andrew Ruellan on 33 years of Ruellans
Friday, 8 May 2026
Andrew Ruellan was going to be a marine biologist. Then he broke his leg, read a motorbike manual out of boredom, and never looked back. Made redundant at 23 with a month's money and a dream of "Mostly Minis," he borrowed £1,000 from his hairdresser and started fixing cars on his mum's driveway - no ramp, no running water, no toilet.Thirty-three years later he's the UK's top independent automotive technician, has grown the business 275% in real terms, and is still in his work gear fixing cars every morning before meetings.Luke Smith sits down with Andrew Ruellan, owner and master technician...
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Beer mat business plan to multi-million pound recruiter - Lee Madden on building GR8 from scratch
Friday, 8 May 2026
Lee Madden has lived several lives. Soldier. Policeman. Restaurant owner. Signage company director. Each one ending harder than the last - a partner who changed the locks, a brother's business that collapsed, a divorce, four nights sofa surfing with an empty bank account.Then he wrote a business plan on a beer mat in St Mary's pub, started GR8 Recruitment with £23,000 from a voluntary redundancy and a PPI claim, and built it into a multi-million pound business changing lives across Jersey, Guernsey and Kenya.Luke Smith sits down with Lee Madden, founder and MD of GR8 Recruitment, in this ep...
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From DJ dreams to Channel Islands events leader - Simon Gasston on 20 years of Delta Events
Friday, 8 May 2026
Simon Gasston left sixth form the day before his birthday, told his parents he wanted to be a DJ, and was handed £500 and told to follow his dreams. He spent it in a week. What followed was a winding road through Liverpool, London Labour Party conferences, and back to Jersey, where he'd go on to spend 20 years building Delta Events into the Channel Islands' leading technical events company.Then, four months after remortgaging his house to buy into the business, COVID hit.Luke Smith sits down with Simon Gasston, Managing Director and shareholder of Delta Events, in this episode of #GreatAtBu...
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From a racing car bed to building a multi-jurisdiction business - Oliver Mourant on 22 years of Jersey business
Wednesday, 6 May 2026
Leaving school at 15 with no GCSEs and a teacher who told him he'd struggle to amount to anything. That was Ollie Mourant's starting point. What followed was 30 jobs, a beer-fuelled lunch conversation that sparked a business idea, and the founding of Enhanced Investments.Luke Smith sits down with Oliver Mourant, co-founder of Enhance Investments and co-founder of Rialto Investment Partners, in this episode of #GreatAtBusiness.Listen to this for advice and insights on:Why a healthy dose of naivety is one of the most underrated assets in businessHow relationships, not sales processes, built E...
