Real stories of turning life’s toughest lemons into something good. Each week, host Riannon Palmer chats with founders and changemakers about resilience, purpose, and building impact from adversity.
How a Breakdown Led to a Business Built on Balance
After reaching breaking point, Becci McEvoy rebuilt her life and business from the ground up. In this episode, she shares how leaving a 13-year career, navigating her husband’s mental health crisis, and being diagnosed with PMDD led her to create Be Heard Socials - a business that champions balance over burnout.
Becci opens up about redefining success, building flexibility into her work, and helping other women show up online in a way that actually feels good. It’s an honest conversation about resilience, wellbeing, and finding your voice - even when life feels too loud.
Find Becci here. (https://beheardsocials.com/links/)
2 Dec 2025
Turning Imposter Syndrome Into Motivation
In this episode, we speak with Soni Panda, founder of By Soni Panda x, an inclusive hosiery brand. We explore what really happens when the plan falls apart, and how the unexpected detour can lead to something far better. From the heartbreak of a dream that didn’t launch to the joy of building a purpose-led fashion brand from the ground up, this conversation is all about resilience, reinvention and rediscovering your confidence.
We dive into:
• The moment everything didn’t go to plan, and why that became the turning point
• How imposter syndrome can knock you flat… and still become fuel for growth
• Why purpose matters more than perfection when building a brand
• The power of dopamine dressing and showing up for yourself
• Creating a space where everyone feels confident, comfortable and seen
If you’ve ever doubted yourself, pivoted unexpectedly or questioned your place in the room, this episode will remind you that the most meaningful journeys often begin when Plan A falls apart.
Find Soni on LinkedIn (https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sonipanda), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/bysonipandax), X (https://x.com/Soni_Pandax), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sonipandax/?hl=en), TikTok (https://tiktok.com/@bysonipandax) and By Soni Panda x on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bysonipandax/?hl=en) and their website (https://l.instagram.com/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bysonipanda.com%2Fshop%3Futm_source%3Dig%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_content%3Dlink_in_bio%26fbclid%3DPAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGn9MiHt1mbBfTd45wEbFPiEAflYa42sF2BdRmHuAEZ20pClS1pFOfLF1VzTLE_aem_BqVFFcgBE2QNDqzC9Ig4WA&e=AT3dIPc6Q2KhX1X6Uq7rxBMS_NlkFLvr1e9xyAKPyD3vqmplJ3UEFclzMrPaQDEIfUXBsgf0fIF9MeaUOuxnHMV0ZoPXaIgKuU2gG3ZiQQ).
Find us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@lemonadeleaders) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lemonadeleaders/) @lemonadeleaders
25 Nov 2025
When a Cancer Diagnosis Interrupts Your First Year of Business
When a Cancer Diagnosis Interrupts Your First Year of Business Starting a business is challenging enough, but what happens when life throws you a diagnosis that changes everything? In this episode, Riannon speaks to Tom Pratt, a founder who discovered he had cancer just six months after launching his company, Albert Road Consulting. He shares how facing illness reshaped his perspective on work, success, and resilience, and why the experience ultimately confirmed that self-employment was the r...
18 Nov 2025
From Anxiety to Awareness: The Mindful Generation Story
From Anxiety to Awareness: The Mindful Generation Story When Laura became a mum, she expected sleepless nights, but not the wave of anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and overwhelm that followed. What started as a personal struggle soon became her purpose. In this episode, Laura shares how she turned her own experience of postnatal anxiety into The Mindful Generation, a business helping parents understand their minds, break generational patterns, and raise emotionally aware children. From rew...
11 Nov 2025
From Honeymoon to Haircare Hero: How Redundancy Sparked Curly Success
From Honeymoon to Haircare Hero: A Journey from Redundancy to Curly Success When a dream honeymoon ended with redundancy, most people would have taken time to recover — but for this week’s Lemonade Leaders guest, it became the catalyst for change. In this episode, Riannon chats with the founder of a feel-good haircare brand reshaping the curly hair industry. She shares how being laid off days after her honeymoon pushed her to build something better, creating inclusive products that empower pe...
4 Nov 2025
From Panic Attacks to Purpose: How Burnout Sparked a New Mission
After years of juggling a high-pressure marketing career and family life, Gemma Sewell hit breaking point. What followed, panic attacks, anxiety, and a powerful wake-up call, became the catalyst for a complete life shift. Now a transformational coach, Gemma helps others move away from burnout and towards a life that feels free, balanced, and true to who they are. In this episode, we talk about redefining success, letting go of toxic productivity, and rebuilding from rock bottom with purpose.&...
28 Oct 2025
From Grief to Growth: Building a Brand That Celebrates Height
After losing her grandmother, Brynn O’Connell channelled her grief into creating Dauntless - a hosiery brand designed to finally fit tall women. Drawing on her background in data science, Brynn rebuilt the traditional sizing system to celebrate real bodies and redefine what comfort looks like. In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, Brynn shares how loss inspired her to start again, the lessons she’s learned about resilience and self-acceptance, and why there’s never a perfect time to turn an id...
21 Oct 2025
Building a Brand That Solves a Problem 94% of Women Struggle With
What if the thing you thought made you different was actually something almost every woman experiences? In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, we explore how one founder turned a common yet unspoken issue, breast asymmetry, which affects 94% of women, into a purpose-led business transforming women’s confidence. Kate Taylor is the founder of Evenly, a supportive community that unites women and provides effective, non-surgical solutions for breast asymmetry. From engineering innovative bra insert...
14 Oct 2025
Turning Redundancy and ADHD Into a Business Breakthrough
What happens when life throws you two huge curveballs - redundancy on maternity leave and a late ADHD diagnosis? In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, Riannon Palmer sits down with marketing strategist Sophie Griffiths, who shares how these moments shaped her journey from corporate life to building a thriving business on her own terms. Sophie opens up about: The shock of being made redundant while on maternity leave.The trial-and-error of testing business ideas while raising two young children...
7 Oct 2025
The Breakdown That Saved My Business
In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, I’m joined by Tamryn Dicks, founder of Pharsyde Solutions, a company on a mission to stop burnout from destroying small businesses. Tamryn’s story is raw and real. Her own brutal burnout cost her health, happiness, and almost her marriage and business. But it also sparked the mindset shifts that rebuilt her life and shaped her mission: helping business owners create thriving companies without sacrificing themselves. We talk about: Why 80% of small business...
30 Sept 2025
From Breastfeeding Struggles to a Brand Empowering Women
In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, I sit down with Kheyla Buchanan, founder and CEO of Mother Nature’s Recipes. Kheyla shares how her own breastfeeding struggles inspired her to become an NHS peer supporter and create a brand that offers herbal teas, resources, and community support for women at every stage of life. We explore the taboos around motherhood, from the unspoken realities of birth and breastfeeding to the pressure of societal expectations, and how honest conversations can create...
23 Sept 2025
From Poverty and Loss to Changing Schools and Teaching Self-Belief
Claire Hill’s childhood was shaped by poverty, loss and responsibility beyond her years. After losing her dad at just eight years old, she helped care for her siblings while her mum faced mental health challenges. Despite the odds, she found a love of learning, a flair for business, and the resilience to keep moving forward. In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, Claire shares her journey from growing up with secondhand uniforms and stigma to becoming a teacher who spearheaded her school’s pion...
16 Sept 2025
Two Burnouts and One Health Scare That Sparked Change
Two burnouts. One health scare. And a decision that changed everything. In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, I speak with the founder of The Lifestyle VA, Mel Maw, who shares how her career in the music industry and later as PA to a global CEO pushed her to the edge - twice. After her spleen was removed following a major health scare, she knew she couldn’t keep working the same way. What started as a sabbatical in Bali became the catalyst for discovering the virtual assistant world, landing h...
9 Sept 2025
How Toxic Bosses Led to Fashioning a New Path
For 10 years, Louise Duncum thrived in the creativity of designing clothes for High Street brands, but something was missing: a deeper connection with the women wearing her designs. After enduring one toxic boss too many, she decided life was too short to stay unhappy. Retraining as a personal stylist, she launched Weiz Styles, helping ambitious women align their wardrobes with their potential. In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, Louise shares how she turned frustration into freedom, why the...
2 Sept 2025
From arriving in the UK with £300 to building 15 businesses
Darya Simanovich arrived in the UK with just £300 and no English - 20 years later, she’s built 15 businesses. In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, we dive into her journey of resilience: 10 failures, 5 successes, and 1 exit. We talk about why failure is a muscle, the “100 Coffee Strategy” every founder should know, and how motherhood gave her the courage to take risks. An inspiring reminder that perseverance turns life’s lemons into lemonade. Find Darya on Instagram & LinkedIn Find us on ...
26 Aug 2025
From a Life-Threatening Illness to Fashion with Purpose
What happens when your body forces you to stop and re-evaluate everything? For Victoria Harman, a sudden life-threatening neurological illness and redundancy while on medical leave became the unexpected turning point that pushed her to follow her long-held dream. In this episode of Lemonade Leaders, Victoria shares her journey from senior leadership roles at global brands like Levi’s and TikTok Shop to founding Rajani Baker, a platform celebrating South Asian craftsmanship and wearable art. S...
19 Aug 2025
Made Redundant as a New Mum to Building a 36-Person Business From Scratch
When Caroline Marshall was made redundant just months after becoming a mum — at a company that didn’t even have a maternity policy — she faced an uncertain future. Burnout, financial pressure, and a toxic “tech bro” culture could have ended her career. Instead, she turned her skills into a business that now supports dozens of women across the UK and beyond. In this candid conversation, Caroline shares: The reality of maternity discrimination in 2025 (and why it’s worse than you think)How she ...
19 Aug 2025
How a Stroke 7 Days After Giving Birth Inspired a Life-Changing Brand
Seven days after giving birth, Funmi Lawal’s world changed forever. A sudden stroke left her fighting for her life and facing the possibility that she might never walk or speak again. But against all odds, she relearned how to walk, endured years of dialysis, survived a kidney transplant, and went on to create Klip Knix, an award-winning adaptive underwear brand restoring dignity and independence to women worldwide. Funmi opens up about the personal challenges that shaped her journey, from lo...
14 Aug 2025
Lemonade Leaders Trailer
Lemonade Leaders is the podcast that dives into the real, raw, and remarkable stories of founders, changemakers, and everyday leaders who’ve faced life’s toughest challenges and turned them into something extraordinary. Hosted by Riannon Palmer, founder of Lem-uhn, each episode is a candid conversation that goes beyond the glossy headlines. You’ll hear about the moments that nearly broke them, the resilience that kept them going, and the unexpected ways they’ve created businesses, movements, ...
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