Sample Podcast Questions for David Horne
- 1
Here are 10 strong podcast host questions designed to spark engaging conversations across David's four core talking points while showcasing his experience in scaling businesses, M&A, finance, leadership, and supporting female founders.
- 2
Most businesses spend years chasing organic growth. Why do you believe acquisitions can be a far faster and often safer route to scaling?
- 3
You've raised more than £120 million and completed 33 acquisitions. What separates founders who successfully scale from those who stay stuck?
- 4
You often talk about finance being one of the three legs of a successful business. Why do so many entrepreneurs underestimate its strategic importance?
- 5
What's the biggest financial mistake you repeatedly see founders make once their business starts growing quickly?
- 6
Your FACE methodology—Fund, Acquire, Consolidate, Exit—has helped businesses scale dramatically. Can you walk us through how that framework works in practice?
- 7
A single question from an audience member led you to investigate funding for female founders. What shocked you most when you uncovered the data?
- 8
Why do you believe the venture capital industry still struggles to fund female founders fairly, and what needs to change?
- 9
After decades of leading high-growth businesses, you've decided to step back from the CEO role and become Chairman. What prompted that decision, and what have you learned about letting go?
- 10
You've experienced huge business successes, financial setbacks, and personal loss throughout your career. How have those experiences shaped the leader you are today?
- 11
If an entrepreneur listening today wants to build a business that's genuinely valuable—not just bigger—what are the first three things they should focus on?
Key topics
Growing your business 25x means breaking the rules of organic growth
Most entrepreneurs are told that sustainable growth comes from selling more, hiring more people, and waiting patiently for results. But for founders who want to build significant enterprise value, relying solely on organic growth can become the biggest barrier to scaling. David shares how combining funding, acquisitions, and disciplined integration allowed businesses he helped lead to grow from £1 million to nearly £28 million in just three years, and why ambitious founders should start thinking like strategic buyers rather than simply better sellers.
The funding gap female founders meet before the term sheet
Female founders are still building companies in a funding market where access can look open while outcomes remain deeply uneven. The easy explanation is that too few women enter the pipeline, but the harder question is what happens when they do show up and pitch. David looks at the gap through the lens of capital allocation, asking where credibility, pattern recognition, and investor assumptions start shaping who gets taken seriously.
Why brilliant female founders are still being overlooked by investors
Despite producing exceptional businesses, female founders continue to receive a disproportionately small share of venture capital investment worldwide. David explores the published data that first sparked his own investigation into this issue, why the problem extends far beyond individual pitch quality, and what investors, female founders, and the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem need to change. Having become a vocal and award-winning ally while advising high-growth companies, he offers practical insights that help founders better navigate fundraising while encouraging a more balanced investment landscape.
View all topics →
Key topics
Growing your business 25x means breaking the rules of organic growth
Most entrepreneurs are told that sustainable growth comes from selling more, hiring more people, and waiting patiently for results. But for founders who want to build significant enterprise value, relying solely on organic growth can become the biggest barrier to scaling. David shares how combining funding, acquisitions, and disciplined integration allowed businesses he helped lead to grow from £1 million to nearly £28 million in just three years, and why ambitious founders should start thinking like strategic buyers rather than simply better sellers.
The funding gap female founders meet before the term sheet
Female founders are still building companies in a funding market where access can look open while outcomes remain deeply uneven. The easy explanation is that too few women enter the pipeline, but the harder question is what happens when they do show up and pitch. David looks at the gap through the lens of capital allocation, asking where credibility, pattern recognition, and investor assumptions start shaping who gets taken seriously.
Why brilliant female founders are still being overlooked by investors
Despite producing exceptional businesses, female founders continue to receive a disproportionately small share of venture capital investment worldwide. David explores the published data that first sparked his own investigation into this issue, why the problem extends far beyond individual pitch quality, and what investors, female founders, and the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem need to change. Having become a vocal and award-winning ally while advising high-growth companies, he offers practical insights that help founders better navigate fundraising while encouraging a more balanced investment landscape.
View all topics →