Don’t Chase Hype. Build What Works.

In this episode of Crushing It, we sit down with entrepreneur and investor Jeremy Middleton, founder of Middleton Enterprises and co-founder of HomeServe — a company that began with just £10,000 on a credit card and ultimately grew into a FTSE 100 business employing 10,000 people. Jeremy shares the unvarnished reality of building a company from scratch, including early failures, financial pressure, and the tough decisions that shaped his approach to risk, persistence, and growth.

Jeremy reflects on the difference between being a founder and being an investor. While entrepreneurs often start with ideas and optimism, Jeremy explains why he now looks for businesses that have already proven their model and reached profitability. He discusses why founders frequently misunderstand investors, why raising money too early can be dangerous, and why bootstrapping or turning to friends and family is often a smarter first step than chasing venture capital.

The conversation also tackles some of today’s biggest startup narratives — including hype around AI, inflated valuations, and the belief that capital can solve fundamental business problems. Jeremy explains why investment money should accelerate a working model rather than fix a broken one, and why disciplined growth and strong fundamentals still outperform trend-driven business plans.

Finally, Jeremy shares the story of how his struggling plumbing startup nearly collapsed before pivoting into a subscription-based warranty model that transformed the company’s economics. The episode offers candid lessons for founders on persistence, knowing when to pivot, protecting equity, and building companies that compound value over the long term.