John Caudwell | The Billionaire Who Wants to Rebuild Britain

Jimmy's Jobs of the Future

Boxlight Creative Studio

Technology, Business, Careers

5 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Want your own Brand or Business Podcast? Try out our NEW Podcast Calculator: https://www.boxlight.io/ From Billion-Dollar Business to Philanthropy: John Caudwell's Journey | Jimmy's Jobs of the Future In this episode of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future, Jimmy welcomes John Caudwell, the entrepreneur behind Phones 4U. John opens up about his remarkable journey from starting in the mobile phone industry to eventually selling his business for billions. He shares his insights on hiring practices, the importance of ambition and resilience, and the evolution of his entrepreneurial strategies. The discussion also covers John's philanthropic efforts through Caudwell Children and Caudwell Youth, as well as his thoughts on current economic policies, the future of AI, and personal health practices. John candidly discusses his views on government and commercialism, and his personal life, including the challenges and joys of raising young children again. This episode is packed with valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, insights on philanthropy, and John's vision for the future. 00:00 Intro 01:33 How John Hires (and Why He Looks for “Brilliance”) 05:09 Building Phones4U Into a Billion-Pound Brand 11:19 Hard-Earned Lessons from Early Struggles 18:26 Why the UK Economy Needs Urgent Reform 36:51 Family Life, Personal Challenges & Adventures 38:38 Finding Purpose After Retirement 40:25 Parenting, Legacy & Raising Kids Again 44:55 The Real Threat of AI (and What Comes Next) 56:29 How John Gives Back Through Philanthropy 01:12:36 His Daily Health Habits & Wellness Advice ********** Follow us on socials! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjobs Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jimmysjobsofthefuture Twitter / X: https://www.twitter.com/JimmyM Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-mcloughlin-obe/ Want to come on the show? [email protected] Sponsor the show or Partner with us: [email protected] Credits: Host / Exec Producer: Jimmy McLoughlin OBE Producer: Sunny Winter https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnywinter/ Junior Producer: Thuy Dong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:29.8	Welcome to Jimmy's Jobs to the Future. Today's guest is John Cordwell. He has one of the most
0:35.8	remarkable stories in British business. He was a used car
0:40.2	salesman in Staffordshire in the 1980s and he was one of the first people to spot the trend
0:46.2	of the mobile phone. It changed his life and it changed all of our lives as he built the phones
0:52.3	for you empire, turning it into a mega
0:55.2	juggernaut. He sold the business just before the financial crash in 2008. Today we talked to John
1:01.5	about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, how difficult it was, but also what he's planning
1:06.5	to do with his money now. I find it pretty remarkable that some of our episodes have 10 times as many
1:11.4	listeners as they do subscribers. It really helps us grow the show if you're a subscriber because it's
1:16.9	what people see when we approach them and it helps us get bigger and bigger guests. So we would
1:21.5	really appreciate you hitting the subscribe button wherever you're listening or watching this podcast.
1:34.2	Well, John, welcome to Jimmy's Jobs of the Future.
1:42.4	I wanted to ask you at the beginning, how has your approach to hiring changed over the years?
1:44.4	And when you're hiring for business,
1:46.2	do you look for different skills than when you're doing your philanthropy work?
1:49.9	I don't think my hiring's changed at all.
1:53.8	I had six critical success factors
1:57.8	in anybody that was at top level
1:59.7	or was deemed to be at top level.
2:01.6	It was ambition, drive, passion, resilience, commercial intellect and leadership.
	...

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