£80k Week & 40 Unused Standing Desks: Paddy McCubbin on Startup Reality | Ep 07 – How NOT to be a Founder cover art

£80k Week & 40 Unused Standing Desks: Paddy McCubbin on Startup Reality | Ep 07 – How NOT to be a Founder

£80k Week & 40 Unused Standing Desks: Paddy McCubbin on Startup Reality | Ep 07 – How NOT to be a Founder

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

£80k in week one… then the VAT bill hit.


Paddy McCubbin walked away from a cushy director role to co-launch WeDo Group with two friends.

Day-three revenues smashed £80,000, but a four-month wait for a VAT number froze the cash, and an impulse order of 40 adjustable desks soaked up the runway.


In this episode, we unpack the un-Instagrammable side of a “rocket-ship” start-up:


  • The Hacker–Hippie–Hustler trio – why three very different co-founders trump going solo.
  • HMRC limbo – billing clients you can’t invoice and the domino effect on cash-flow.
  • Buying mistakes – the stand-up-desk fiasco & other ego-driven purchases.
  • Keeping momentum – rapid-fire idea testing (and killing) inside a recruitment scale-up.
  • Fractional firepower – hiring a part-time CFO and CMO before you think you can afford them.
  • Authentic brand – flip-flops in a CFO pitch, paddle-board meetings and why “fake it till you make it” kills trust.


If you’ve ever wondered what happens after the champagne-spraying LinkedIn post, this is the real balance sheet.


Listen in for hard numbers, hard lessons, and a reminder that the fires you fight are often the ones you lit yourself.


What listeners say about £80k Week & 40 Unused Standing Desks: Paddy McCubbin on Startup Reality | Ep 07 – How NOT to be a Founder

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.