The BD Podcast

About The BD Podcast

Builders & Doers is where founders, operators, and investors get practical about building. Each episode unpacks one decision that mattered, the options on the table, and the evidence behind the choice. Clear lessons you can use to launch stronger, lead smarter, and stay ahead. A Horizon Search production. Get The Searchlight newsletter: https://www.thesearchlight.com/subscribe

Publisher

Horizon Search

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

2 Jun 2025

Latest episode

30 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 85 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   30 Sept 2026

   An Actor's Playbook for Leadership, Sales & Presence — Dominic Colenso | 85

   Dominic Colenso is a former actor turned leadership, sales, and communication coach who has worked with tens of thousands of people over the past 12 years. He trained at Drama Centre London, acted on stage and screen, and is the author of Cut Through. In this conversation, Dominic explains why the biggest communication mistake is making it about yourself instead of your audience, how to prepare in the five minutes before a big pitch, and the three ingredients of cut-through: simplicity, emotion, and "level eight" energy. He also covers whether charisma can be trained, why silence beats over-explaining, why AI makes human connection more valuable, and the fear he faced before leaving acting behind. Find Dominic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominiccolenso/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominiccolenso/) Builders & Doers is produced by Horizon Search. Work with us: https://hiddenstructure.co (https://hiddenstructure.co) Find out how much revenue your company is leaking with the 4-minute Revenue Leak Scorecard: https://hiddenstructure.co/scorecard?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description (https://hiddenstructure.co/scorecard?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description) 0:00 Intro0:49 Trained as an actor, now building a business around leadership, sales, and communication1:04 From directing and teaching at drama schools to "you know about storytelling, can you help our team?"2:55 What drama school teaches about human behavior that business school doesn't4:12 Superpower or manipulation? Why the communicator sets the intention5:11 Stanislavski and codifying the "emotional intention buttons" we press every day6:50 Politicians, confidence as a proxy for competence, and Helen Mirren in MobLand9:04 Everyone has innate confidence — what "presence" in great actors really means10:55 Living in an "AHA world": AI-focused, hyper-connected, always on12:03 How much of charisma is trainable?12:45 Switching it off — why stars slip past autograph hunters at the stage door13:41 Playing all the octaves: you're allowed to be more than one version of yourself at work14:28 The most common communication mistake: thinking it's about you, not the audience15:30 Less than two seconds to make a first impression16:25 Five minutes before the biggest pitch of your career: walk the garden, have a cup of tea18:05 Crying on cue — how actors learn to access and control emotion19:56 The drama-school song exercise21:50 Vulnerability as a superpower in the boardroom22:40 Why founders avoid sales, and the proximity problem that sinks good products24:29 Cut-through ingredient one: simplicity and the two-week rule25:45 Ingredient two: emotion — what should they feel when the Zoom ends?26:10 Ingredient three: energy, and why you should aim for level eight27:25 The behaviors that are hardest to change and why awareness comes first28:58 When your second and third thoughts keep coming: the problem of over-explaining30:58 Getting comfortable with silence32:07 Why "any questions?" gets tumbleweed, and what to ask instead33:15 Preparing with rigor: discover and distill34:27 AI, Hollywood, and billions of storytellers with studio power at their fingertips36:35 Why live, human-to-human experiences will be worth more39:09 Can AI measure executive presence?40:08 Performing to the test: will AI scoring reshape how we communicate?41:16 AI-written emails — "that doesn't sound like Bob"43:05 Why he won't let his 12-year-old daughter hand her homework to AI43:54 AI search summaries: a version of the truth, not the truth46:50 Imperfection as a way to connect47:40 Rehearsal is about failure, not perfection48:37 Jonathan Frakes, Sir Ben Kingsley, and asking to experiment after a good take50:43 The hardest reinvention: going all in and leaving acting behind52:57 Judi Dench and the lesson of not taking it too seriously55:00 Where to find Dominic and closing thoughts#through #communicationcoaching #leadership #publicspeaking #SalesTraining #executivepresence #storytelling #charisma #ai #ActingForBusiness #buildersanddoers #horizonsearch

2. 

   23 Sept 2026

   CFOs, AI, and startup hiring — Tom Hunter | 84

   Tom Hunter is the founder of Story Recruitment, a boutique agency built around one hyper-specific niche: placing the first finance hire and first CFO for tech, fintech, and deep tech startups across Australia. He started his career as a primary school teacher in London before pivoting into accounting and finance recruitment — nine years building a UK business, six more running its Australian arm — before launching Story Recruitment on his own earlier this year. He also hosts The CFO Track, now in its third season, interviewing Australian CFOs across the tech ecosystem.In this conversation, Tom breaks down how founders can tell when they've outgrown founder-led finance, the real distinctions between a financial controller, a fractional CFO, and a full-time CFO, and a cautionary tale of a startup that lost its Series A after conflating ARR with GST. He explains why "the CV isn't enough" and what he's actually evaluating when he leans on story instead — resilience and character, not just technical skill. Tom also shares results from polling 50 CFOs on how they're really using AI in finance (the hype is running well ahead of most companies' reality), who he's genuinely worried about as automation reshapes junior finance careers, and why he built Story Recruitment to deliberately stay small — owning one narrow wedge of the market rather than competing on volume. He closes with the philosophy behind his growth: give away free, honest advice with no commercial strings attached, and trust eventually becomes pipeline.Find Tom: storyrecruitment.com.au | LinkedIn — Tom Hunter StoryListen to The CFO Track on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTubeBuilders & Doers is produced by Horizon Search.Find out how much revenue your company is leaking: take the 4-minute Revenue Leak Scorecard → https://horizonsearch.com/scorecard?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=descriptionWork with us: hiddenstructure.co0:00 Intro: AI hype vs reality, LinkedIn reach, learning from people 0:50 Meet Tom: Story Recruitment, first finance hires and first CFOs in tech, fintech and deep tech 1:16 When to hire: SaaS vs fintech vs deep tech, seed to Series B 2:43 Signs a company has outgrown founder-led finance 4:33 A startup that waited too long: an ARR error cost the Series A 5:45 Can you hire a CFO too early? Controller, head of finance, fractional CFO 8:12 What a CEO gives up when a CFO arrives: M&A and investor relations 9:40 From psychology and teaching to London recruitment 12:24 Nine years in accounting recruitment, then setting up the Australian business 13:11 Starting The CFO Track podcast and learning from successful people 14:29 Why a CV isn't enough: story, skills, resilience and culture fit 17:08 How to gauge resilience: burnout, failed IPOs, and learning from what goes wrong 20:16 Founders hiring for skills or for comfort 22:05 Asking 50 CFOs how they use AI: the hype vs the reality 24:52 The AI and finance workflow guide: 80% auto-matched reconciliations 26:47 No trust in the data means "crap data faster" 27:14 What AI means for junior finance careers 29:15 The bigger worry: 20-30 year veterans in repetitive roles 32:00 Underestimating brand-building: 30k LinkedIn followers and niching down 34:14 What Story does that a conventional recruitment agency can't 36:03 Telling clients they don't need a CFO: trust over transactions 38:11 Staying lean: scaling with tech and AI, not headcount 38:33 What running a business changed: patience and empathy 41:15 Why hiring is broken for job seekers, and why small advice helps 43:14 "A rising tide lifts all boats" 43:19 Wrapping up: The CFO Track and where to find Tom #BuildersAndDoers #HorizonSearch #startupfinance #cfo #recruiting #recruitment #techstartups #aiinfinance #fractionalcfo #fundraising

3. 

   4 Aug 2026

   Your Body Needs Sunlight Like It Needs Food—Torkil Færø | 83

   Dr. Torkil Færø is a Norwegian physician, wearable-data researcher, and author of The Pulse Cure — now back with a new book, The Sun Cure, released today in Norway. After noticing that heart rate variability could double simply from sun exposure, Torkil spent years digging into the research and found that sunlight touches nearly every major disease doctors treat today, from heart disease to cancer to chronic inflammation.In this conversation, Torkil breaks down the different wavelengths of sunlight and what each one does in the body, why the UK Biobank and Melanoma in Southern Sweden studies suggest low sun exposure carries mortality risk comparable to smoking, how morning light exposure sets the circadian clock and downstream hormone release, why sitting near a window changes cognitive performance and hospital recovery times, the surprising research showing sunscreen doesn't prevent skin cancer, why sunglasses may be blocking a key signal your body uses to prepare for UV exposure, and how he restructured his own life — including driving a motorhome from Oslo to southern Spain — around getting more daylight.Builders & Doers is produced by Horizon Search.Find Torkil: Instagram @dr.torkilBook: The Sun Cure (Norwegian, English translation forthcoming) / The Pulse Cure (available now) https://northernstories.no/books/231-torkil-faero-the-sun-cure (https://northernstories.no/books/231-torkil-faero-the-sun-cure)Find out how much revenue your company is leaking: take the 4-minute Revenue Leak Scorecard → https://horizonsearch.com/scorecard?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description (https://horizonsearch.com/scorecard?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description)Work with us: https://horizonsearch.com/revenue-architecture (//horizonsearch.com/revenue-architecture)Timestamps:0:00 Intro — from wearable data to writing a book on sunlight1:16 The Sun Cure: why sunlight affects nearly 100 diseases3:16 UVA, UVB, infrared — breaking down the spectrum5:37 Is too little sunlight as dangerous as smoking?7:23 Controlling for confounders: the UK Biobank study (400,000+ people)10:12 Morning light, the eyes, and setting the circadian clock12:20 Lux explained: outside vs. office vs. living room light levels15:40 Skin aging vs. living longer — the tradeoff no one talks about17:35 Is there an ideal daily "dose" of sunlight?20:08 Why sitting near a window changes performance and recovery24:47 Vitamin D supplements: helpful, or just a biomarker?27:45 Winter light, road-tripping to Spain, and rebuilding a daily routine32:01 UVB, endorphins, and blood pressure — the hormonal cascade37:09 Does sunscreen actually prevent skin cancer? The surprising research44:14 Final thoughts: reconnecting with a 500-million-year-old biological system44:52 Where to find Torkil and The Sun Cure#TheSunCure #Sunlight #VitaminD #CircadianRhythm #RedLightTherapy #Longevity #HeartRateVariability #SkinCancer #Sunscreen #Biohacking #buildersanddoers #horizonsearch

Inside a recent episode

The 12-Minute Secret That 25x'd His Income - John Mitchell | 60

Published 7 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And those enhanced improved actions then create the life you want. Does that make sense? To me, it sounds a little bit like if you were to go to the gym all the time, you would find it easy to just pick things up that are heavier. You're not even thinking about it in that point. You've just reprogrammed your muscles to be able to do it in every way. So it sounds a bit like that. It's a reprogramming of. Right, Becky, yes, I think that's that's right. And I think a lot of people and know you guys would probably agree with this. Most people are frustrated that their results don't match their. Their effort, right? […]

Who has been a guest on The BD Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Anne-Maartje Oud
• Rick Ton
• Blair Huddy
• Chris Kille
• Angela Cox

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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

11,801

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

79

Social presence

0

YouTube

72

Engagement

0

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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