172: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 172

172: The Good Listening To Show with Chris Grimes - Episode 172

Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of how a family can turn big ideas into bricks, mortar, and a coach‑load of staff. This episode of The Good Listening To Show centres on the "Pilleys" – Daniel Pilly and his “elite crack squad” of son James and daughter Rebecca Clark – as they share how a Suffolk-based business empire grew from ice pops and baby shops into hotels, spas and a buzzing salon.

Hosted by Chris Grimes, the show has a playful, story-driven style. There’s the recurring metaphor of “the clearing”, a tree to be shaken for stories, and even “a cheeky bit of Shakespeare” and cakes thrown into the mix. It’s firmly aimed at people who love business stories with heart – especially anyone juggling entrepreneurship with family life, or curious about how hospitality, wellness and beauty ventures can all sit under one family umbrella.

Daniel talks about starting his first business when his wife was eight months pregnant, and sums up the core motivation simply: "Everything we do is for our family." James explains how his background in pub kitchens steered the family into running The Suffolk Hotel, bar and now Tiger Fusion, their East Asian fusion restaurant and cocktail bar. Rebecca shares how a covid-era surge in bridal hair bookings pushed her from hotel-room start-up to a nine-chair high street salon.

There’s plenty of humour as they joke about Essex accents, Thomas Gainsborough wigs and the fact that their workforce is now big enough to "hire a coach" for staff nights out. Underneath the banter sit clear themes: the grind and reward of family business, the importance of strong teams, and making space for holidays and grandchildren as the empire grows.

If you’re thinking about building something with your own family – or even just dreaming of a different kind of working life – which of the Pilleys’ choices resonates most with you?