#335. Ideas Fest Founder & Glastonbury for Business - Frankie James

Dodge Woodall

Eventful, True Crime, Risk, Interviews, Crime, Events, Entrepreneurship, Festivals, Sports, Life Story, Entrepreneur, Roger Woodall, Start Ups, Society & Culture, Military, Business

5 • 857 Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Frankie James opens up about her journey from the South Wales valleys to becoming one of the UK’s most respected event founders. She shares how she went from door-to-door sales to launching the Great British Entrepreneur Awards with her dad, growing it into a movement that’s been called the Grammys of entrepreneurship. Frankie also reveals the risks behind Ideas Fest, known as “Glastonbury for business,” and the moments that nearly broke her before it all came good.

This is the eventful life of Mrs Frankie James

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm the founder of Ideas Forums. Ideas Fest has been described. Glastonbury for business.
0:06.3	Started off as an awards program. We'd get two, 300 applications a year. Grown to something in its
0:11.6	peak year, got five and a half thousand applications a year.
0:14.2	Five and a half thousand.
0:15.3	I stood on that balcony and I looked down. I actually found myself getting quite choked up at the view.
0:20.4	Tell me how much it was to hire the venue in 2021.
0:23.1	It's a couple hundred grand by the time you've got the food and the drink.
0:26.6	How much risk was that?
0:28.0	A lot of risk, a lot of money.
0:30.6	We've got a really good track record for picking up amazing entrepreneurs
0:34.3	before they go on to become household names.
0:36.5	Did you have to pay Stephen Bartlett to be there that year?
0:38.5	Can't remember.
0:39.5	Roughly.
0:41.0	I think sponsorship at that point was...
0:44.7	Welcome to the Eventful Lives podcast.
0:46.7	I'm your host Dodge and I'm the founder of Borma Sevens, the world's largest sport
0:50.2	and music festival. On this podcast, I speak to proper characters of all lived eventful lives.
0:55.3	Do us a favour and hit that follow button and be sure to check us out on YouTube, Instagram,
1:00.1	Facebook and TikTok at Dodge Woodall, where we've now had over 100 million views.
1:05.0	Frankie, welcome to the show.
1:06.3	Thank you for having me.
	...

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