When a late‑night phone call in Bucharest led Anca Tomescu’s mother to rescue 300 dogs in a single day, she had no idea she was founding one of Eastern Europe’s oldest and most remarkable shelters.

In this episode of ‘It Runs In The Family’, we meet Anca and her daughter Sara, the second and third generations behind Adăpostul Speranța Shelter, now home to over 500 elderly, disabled, and rehabilitated dogs.

They share what it’s like to grow up in a shelter, how Sara is now blending business skills with a lifelong love of animals, and how the duo are so much more powerful together than apart.

🔑 Key Themes

• Turning Crisis into a Calling
• Multi‑Generational Family Business Dynamics
• Leading With Compassion
• Blending Passion with Profession
• Balancing Work, Family, and Boundaries

🔗 Connect with us

Adăpostul Speranța LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/speran%C8%9Ba-shelter/

Adăpostul Speranța Website: https://adapostulsperanta.ro/

Anca Tomescu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anca-tomescu/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

When Sophie and Axel Steenberg walked away from corporate life to start an organic spice business, they bet on their values, their patience, and their family.

Steenbergs is a business grown from a tiny North Yorkshire unit with just two kilos of each spice; now it’s a tried, tested and trusted brand, known for doing the right thing at all costs…

Sophie and Axel join us to explore the reality of doing business ‘the nicer way’, and how your business’ ethos is a stark reflection of the family who runs it.

🔑 Key Themes

• Building a Values-Led, Organic Business
• Patience and Risk in a Niche Market
• Preserving Your Ethics Amid Wider Pressures
• Environmental Responsibility

🔗 Connect with us

Steenbergs Website: https://www.steenbergs.co.uk/

Steenbergs LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steenbergs/

Steenbergs IG: https://www.instagram.com/steenbergsltd/

Axel Steenberg LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/axel-steenberg-3209b37/

Sophie Steenberg LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-steenberg-a475828/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

The Headland Cornwall is an unmistakably iconic hotel overlooking Fistral Beach, and the family in charge have their eyes set on the long term…

Veryan Palmer is the hotel’s director, and has wanted to be a hotelier since the age of 10 - her passion for the building, the team, and the area is second to none.

Discover a building steeped in history, and learn what it takes to keep it running as more than a hotel, but as a living piece of Cornish history.

🔑 Key Themes

• Custodianship and Heritage
• People, Culture and Team
• Community Responsibility and the Cornish Visitor Economy
• Balancing Legacy with Future Growth and Sustainability

🔗 Connect with us

• The Headland Cornwall Website: https://www.headlandhotel.co.uk/
• The Headland Cornwall IG: https://www.instagram.com/theheadlandcornwall/
• The Headland Cornwall LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-headland/
• Veryan Palmer LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veryan-palmer-fih-mi-is-a528a115/
• Veryan Palmer IG: https://www.instagram.com/veryanp/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

The idea that glass can be worked in a small studio, rather than a closed-off factory, was once novel. Thanks to Peter Layton, it’s become an icon of London.

He discovered studio glass in the US, and has since built one of the UK’s most influential glass studios, thriving for over 50 years and now boasting a site on Bermondsey Street.

We’re joined by Peter and his daughter, Sophie, who share how family, community and a deep love of craft have kept the fires burning through recessions, big commissions and the handover to the next generation.

🔑 Key Themes

• The Craft and “Magic” of Glass
• Community, Mentorship and Open Studios
• Resilience and Creativity
• Succession Planning

🔗 Connect with us

• Guest Website: https://londonglassblowing.co.uk/
• London Glassblowing IG: https://londonglassblowing.co.uk/
• London Glassblowing LI: https://www.linkedin.com/company/london-glassblowing/
• Peter Layton LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-layton-7a04996/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

Food is more than food for the Founder of Xi Home Dumplings Bay - whether it’s love or an apology, it’s the strongest language shared by this family.

Wenjun Xiang launched her career while she was still in school, starting the business with her mum at age 17, and while Forbes 30 Under 30 is a mighty accolade to achieve in that time, it’s not the only definition of success for her.

Join us for a truly unvarnished take on the family business journey with Wenjun, as she describes what makes the relationship with her maternal co-worker a unique challenge…

🔑 Key Themes

• The messy reality of family business
• Resilience and risk
• Cultural identity, love and communication
• Ambition and redefining success

🔗 Connect with us

• Xi Home Dumplings Bay Website: https://www.wjxfoodculture.co.uk/
• Xi Home Dumplings Bay LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wjx-food-culture/
• Wenjun Xiang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wenjun-x-9716811b8/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

Velfrey Vineyard began life as a field beside a family magazine business. Reinvention took the Mounsey family to pastures new.

Fiona is a Director in the business alongside her son, Ryan, and both of their spouses, making their award-winning wine business a wide-spanning family affair.

Ryan and Fiona join us on the podcast this week to share how a chance tasting of local wine, a well‑thumbed vineyard handbook, and a willingness to “just get it going” led them from animal feed trade titles to an internationally acclaimed vineyard in Pembrokeshire.

🔑 Key Themes

• Reinventing a Family Business
• Long-Term Risk and Reward in Starting a Vineyard
• Weather, Wildlife and the Realities of Farming
• Family Dynamics and Shared Decision-Making
• Balancing Tourism, Provenance and Growth

🔗 Connect with us

• Velfrey Vineyard: https://www.velfreyvineyard.com/
• Velfrey Vineyard LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/velfrey-vineyard/
• Velfrey Vineyard IG: https://www.instagram.com/velfreyvineyard/
• Ryan Mounsey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mounsey-6b34aab1/
• Fiona Mounsey LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-mounsey-09551272/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

Step inside a London salon story 50 years in the making. It begins with Hari Salem’s vision for a salon which cares for its staff like family - a core value that remains today.

They’ve expanded their team and their locations, but for 2nd gen leaders Lucan and Tassie, it must never lose its charm…

In this episode of It Runs In The Family, the new guard shares how their dad built a quirky, much‑loved Chelsea hair institution – and how they’re now steering it into its next chapter.

🔑 Key Themes

• Training and education as a core value
• Culture, loyalty and long-term staff retention
• Modernising processes while staying true to your roots
• Navigating next-gen transitions and sibling dynamics

🔗 Connect with us

• Guest Website: https://harissalon.com/
• HARI’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harissalon/
• HARI’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/harishair/
• Lucan Salem Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucan-salem-8174b620/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/

Imagine turning one of the hardest moments in your life into the catalyst for a whole new family business.

That’s how the mother–daughter duo of Nikki and Emilia Jeffery, along with sister Olivia, brought The Staging Experts to life.

They’re a fledgling business, but they share all the values and relationships that have made so many family firms so successful - and so special. Join us as we explore what lessons Nikki and Emilia have learned about each other, which could only have been learned from the family business…

🔑 Key Themes

• Turning grief into the inspiration for growth
• The reality of home staging
• Family dynamics between work and home
• Values at the heart of customer care
• Keeping a flexible long-term vision

🔗 Connect with us

• https://thestagingexperts.co.uk/
• https://www.instagram.com/thestagingexperts/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-jeffery-b925222b4/

Liz Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/lizzielean/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-willingham-09273a3/

Leila Willingham: https://www.instagram.com/leilawillingham/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-willingham-821530a1/

Liz Lean PR: https://www.lizleanpr.co.uk/

https://www.instagram.com/lizleanpr

https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-lean-pr/