Sam Sims, CEO at National Numeracy: The Volunteer Transforming a Nation’s Confidence with Numbers
My Duvet Flip by Jack Parsons
Jack Parsons
4.2 • 5 Ratings
🗓️ 11 November 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Episode Guest:
Sam Sims is the Chief Executive of National Numeracy, with a career rooted in empowering individuals through confidence-building and lifelong learning. His work focuses on supporting those often overlooked to realise their potential with the right tools and encouragement.
Episode Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:32 Meet Sam Sims, CEO of National Numeracy
1:13 What National Numeracy does
1:54 Sam’s early work and first jobs
3:06 Lessons from the call centre
4:18 How Sam built confidence as an introvert
5:21 Honest talk on imposter syndrome
6:16 Why networking is Sam’s greatest professional tool
7:23 The right (and wrong) way to network
8:55 From research to running his own business
10:11 What his first company was really about
11:02 When business plans don’t go to plan
11:42 Discovering purpose through volunteering in the US
13:10 Helping a teenager unlock maths confidence
14:19 Why confidence is more important than skill
15:06 The long-term impact of belief and encouragement
15:52 Why Sam joined the charity sector
17:02 What keeps him motivated in the third sector
17:51 Why volunteering is the engine behind social impact
18:37 National Numeracy’s biggest annual campaign
19:45 The power of their partnership with Compare the Market
21:00 How number confidence connects to money
22:01 Why financial literacy is about mindset first
23:00 Sam’s biggest money regret
24:06 One money tip Sam wishes he knew at 18
25:00 Helping communities through local volunteers
26:04 What the charity sector gives back to professionals
27:13 The best work-life lesson Sam ever received
28:09 Sam’s final message on confidence and belief
29:00 What gets Sam out of bed in the morning — his duvet flip
Episode Partners:
📊 Compare the Market
Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK’s most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they’re on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.
https://bit.ly/4i53Svj
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The content provided on Duvet Flip is for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. The views expressed by hosts, guests, brands or contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the show's producers, sponsors, or affiliates. The information shared is not a substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to career counseling, financial guidance, legal consultation, or mental health support.
Listeners and viewers are responsible for their own decisions and actions based on the content provided, and Duvet Flip assumes no liability for any outcomes resulting from reliance on the information shared. By engaging with the show, you acknowledge and agree to this disclaimer.
If you’re struggling with debt, trusted advice and free support can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/debt-advice
If you’re struggling with mental health of any kind, you can find free support here: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I thought, I know these people of a range of nationalities and languages who are bilingual, |
| 0:04.9 | and we could leverage that to do high-level technical translation. |
| 0:07.8 | But as things turned out, that's not what it ended up doing. |
| 0:10.0 | Quite often like that with business, it actually took a different direction and wasn't doing |
| 0:14.3 | that technical translation at all. |
| 0:15.8 | Sam, it makes completely sense now how you can understand my Essex. |
| 0:20.2 | Literally. |
| 0:23.2 | Hello, I'm Sam Sims. I'm the chief executive of the charity national numeracy. We have 35 colleagues and over 3.5,000 volunteers. |
| 0:30.5 | And this is my duvet flip. Did you stay in being an entrepreneur? I don't know why I started |
| 0:35.4 | volunteering, but something made me want to do that. I started working with teenagers who were struggling with their maths and by working and believing |
| 0:42.0 | in them, they believed in themselves and made progress. |
| 0:44.5 | And that was the turning point. |
| 0:45.5 | Go and work for a charity, go and volunteer, get involved. |
| 0:50.0 | Why? |
| 0:51.0 | You're always working with like-minded people who want to make a difference, who want to support |
| 0:55.0 | others, who believe in others with kindness and support. |
| 0:58.0 | And that's a really special thing to work with him and people to work with. |
| 1:02.0 | What's your dovet flip? |
| 1:03.0 | What gets you out of bed in the morning to flip the duvet? |
| 1:05.0 | I know what it is. |
| 1:07.0 | My dovet flip ultimately is... |
| 1:10.0 | Hello, I'm Sam Sims. I'm the chief executive of the charity national numeracy. |
... |
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