Why do over 60% of #startups fail when there is so much business support out there? Ricci Colla of Those Collaborations joins Dani Wallace on The Festoon 500 Interviews.Those Collaborations: https://thosecollaborations.co.ukThinking Spaces: https://thosecollaborations.co.uk/thinking-spaceJoin the Festoon 500 community: https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500Going from employee to business owner can feel lonely fast. One day you have colleagues, the next you are wearing eight or nine hats, spending most of your time on things you never set out to do, and sometimes working for months with no money coming in. Ricci believes that is exactly where so many founders give up, often just before the pivotal point.In this episode Ricci shares why it takes a village to raise a business, how his coaching business began when a friend stepping into a CEO role asked for help, and why business advice that says "this is the only way" doesn't work for unique humans. He and Dani also talk about finding the leaders who support business leaders, why success leaves clues, and why being part of just one network doesn't really suffice anymore.Ricci also shares what he and his brother Paul are building next: a membership run with its founding members as ambassadors, action focused local meetups (no mouthful of croissant networking), Lunch Break Live, Thinking Spaces, and Collaborative, a business and wellbeing event by the sea in the South.If you are in the early years of your business and it feels like you are doing it all on your own, this conversation is for you.RICCI COLLA, THOSE COLLABORATIONSWebsite: https://thosecollaborations.co.ukThinking Spaces: https://thosecollaborations.co.uk/thinking-spaceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riccicollaFacebook: search "Ricci Colla"JOIN THE FESTOON 500The Festoon 500 is Dani Wallace's founding community of 500 business owners who believe we all do well when we all do well. Every pass includes tickets to The Big Festoon and the Beyond the Arena meetups, and sponsors grassroots organisations into The Big Festoon who might not otherwise be able to attend.https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500CHAPTERS0:00 Trailer: Why 60% of Startups Fail1:00 Welcome to The Festoon 500 Interviews3:54 Meet Ricci Colla: Business Support for Early Stage Founders7:05 Why Starting a Business Feels So Lonely8:29 Why Do Over 60% of Startups Fail?11:14 How a Coaching Business Started With One Friend14:16 Building a Business Community With Ambassadors and Local Meetups17:39 How to Get Involved: Lunch Break Live and Thinking Spaces19:23 Collaborative: A Business and Wellbeing Event by the Sea23:33 Why The Big Festoon Keeps Drawing Founders Back25:18 Where to Find Ricci Colla and How to Join the Festoon 500#startups #entrepreneur #smallbusiness

DeclutterCon is on Saturday 10 October 2026 in Sheffield City Centre. Follow Heather using the links below for tickets and details.Get Heather's free download, Get Sh*t Done: 26 Weird and Wonderful Strategies for ND Brains: https://www.untangledbytingle.com/danipodHeather's website: https://www.untangledbytingle.comJoin the Festoon 500 community: https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500Why does a home that looks beautiful on the outside feel impossible to live in? In this episode of The Festoon 500 Interviews, Dani Wallace sits down with professional declutterer and organiser Heather Tingle of Untangled by Tingle to talk about ADHD, autism, executive function and the hidden shame of doom piles, floordrobes and cluttered homes.Heather works mainly with neurodivergent clients, many of them late diagnosed, to drop the shame and build a home that works for their brain instead of against it. She shares why decluttering is not just about a skip and a clear-out, why neurotypical advice like lists, diaries and reminders so often fails, why there is so little support for people who look capable on the outside, and why sometimes a client does not need to remove a single thing.Dani and Heather also talk about the full tent at Ideas Fest, and the story behind DeclutterCon, the UK's first decluttering conference designed for neurodivergent people, created after Heather felt truly welcome at The Big Festoon.If you have ever felt like a failure because you can't keep on top of your home, this conversation is for you. It is not a personal failing, and there is help.HEATHER TINGLE, UNTANGLED BY TINGLEWebsite: https://www.untangledbytingle.comFree download: https://www.untangledbytingle.com/danipodFacebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/untangledbytingleInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/untangledbytingleLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-tingle-848a2531Podcast: Decluttering UntangledJOIN THE FESTOON 500The Festoon 500 is Dani Wallace's community of serious business people running serious businesses, built on the belief that we all do well when we all do well. Membership includes tickets to The Big Festoon and supports grassroots organisations who would not normally be able to access a business and personal development event.https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500

0:00 Trailer: ADHD, Autism and Clutter With Heather Tingle0:51 Welcome to The Festoon 500 Interviews6:13 Meet Heather Tingle: Professional Declutterer for Neurodivergent Clients8:48 ADHD, Autism and Clutter: The Hidden Shame Behind a Beautiful Home11:13 Doom Piles and Executive Function: Why You Can't Rest at Home14:21 Why There Is So Little Support for Neurodivergent Adults Who Look Capable16:33 Avoiding Home: Shopping Malls, Dopamine and the Cost of Clutter18:19 Ideas Fest: Why a Talk on Neurodivergent Clutter Filled the Tent19:48 Why Lists, Reminders and Diaries Don't Work for ADHD Brains23:41 Decluttering With ADHD: Tools, Strategies and Getting a Cleaner26:29 DeclutterCon: A Decluttering Conference for Neurodivergent People in Sheffield28:44 How The Big Festoon Inspired DeclutterCon30:07 What to Expect at DeclutterCon: Quiet Rooms, Challenges and Real Strategies32:48 Decluttering Isn't About Getting Rid of Things35:59 Why DeclutterCon Is the Best Place to Start38:53 Free Strategies for ND Brains, Where to Find Heather and How to Join the Festoon 500

What if you took a health day instead of a sick day? In this episode of The Festoon 500 Interviews, Dani Wallace sits down with Emmaline McAndrew — The Slow Business Woman — to talk about building a business when your energy isn't reliable, why chronic illness changes everything about how you work, and why “success doesn't love speed.”

Emmaline helps women with limited or fluctuating energy — including those managing chronic illness, disability, or neurodivergence — learn how to set up and run their own business, whether that's a freelance gig, self-employment, or a limited company. In this conversation, she and Dani unpack “the Great Unlearning” — the lifetime of social conditioning that teaches women to be quiet, be organised, and do it all — and why “work life balance” needs to become “work health balance” instead.

They also get into why professional boundaries work even when people hate them at first, why sharing the messy, unglossy parts of business builds a safer community than hiding them does, and Emmaline's challenge to every founder listening: take a health day, not a sick day.

Website: https://www.theslowbusinesswoman.com

Instagram: @theslowbusinesswoman

Join the Festoon 500 — The Big Festoon's founding community of founders supporting founders: https://highlevel.thebigfestoon.com/festoon500

0:00 The Big Idea: Work Health Balance Over Work Life Balance

0:58 Welcome To The Festoon 500 Interviews

3:10 Meet Emmaline McAndrew: The Slow Business Woman

4:14 The Great Unlearning: Hustle Culture, Hormones & Having It All

11:02 Why "Slow Business" Started: Building With Fluctuating Energy

14:56 Redefining Success: Wellness, Perimenopause & Burnout

17:22 Professional Boundaries: Why "That's The Point"

19:10 Sharing Your Story: Building A Safer Business Community

24:37 Neurodivergence & The Right To Be Cared For

25:57 Take A Health Day, Not A Sick Day

29:34 Where To Find Emmaline McAndrew

31:38 Join The Festoon 500: Founders Supporting Founders

Emmaline McAndrew — The Slow Business WomanCHAPTERS