Sharmadean Reid MBE is a serial entrepreneur and founder of The Stack World - a global community of ambitious, mission driven women. This is a powerful, deep dive conversation into:

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:20 - Relationship With Control

06:45 - Impact of Covid

08:15 - George Floyd Murder

14:20 - Support Spreadsheet

16:20 - Support As A Leader

20:40 - How To Ask For Help

24:23 - Short & Long Run Balance

29:40 - Female Founders & VC

38:08 - Women's Socialisation

47:30 - Creative vs Commercial

51:00 - Networks Of Power

01:02:25 - No Therapy

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🙋‍♂️ Who am I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

James Routledge is a serial entrepreneur, Chief Product Officer and Venture Capitalist who says it how it is. This is a deep dive conversation into:

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:00 - Mentorship

06:50 - Doing Startup Things Well

07:53 - VC-Backable Business

15:00 - US / UK Differences

18:40 - What To Do With $250m?

21:45 - Product Market Fit

27:45 - Founder & Investor Market Fit

35:18 - Scaling

39:05 - Work/Life Harmony

43:30 - Org Chart Design

49:00 - Skill of Decisiveness

53:40 - Rockstars & Superstars

01:02:10 - People As Revenue Centres

01:05:30 - Managing Superstars

01:16:10 - What does failure mean?

01:18:30 - Principles For Enjoying Failure

👇 Follow me on Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj-connection/

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Beta Lucca is a serial entrepreneur, BAFTA winner, investor, non-executive director, with guest judge appearances of TV shows like The Apprentice. She is also a singer/songwriter, improv. actor, and multifaceted creative. In this interview we tap into how to inject creativity into business while also peeling back the layers of her upbringing and inspirations.

📖 Chapters

00:00 Intro

03:58 Stimulus from Connections

09:50 Emotions In Business

11:39 Spaces For Creativity

14:09 Creative Principles

21:30 Hiring T-Shapes

28:50 Quit Or Carry On?

34:17 Unfair Advantages

36:38 Making Life More Game-Like

42:27 How Gamers Brains Are Unique

44:10 Type Of Decisions

48:50 Strong Team Probabilities

49:45 Investor Relationships

01:05:28 David Bowie

01:08:10 Being unapologetic

01:13:20 Her Mum's Inspiration

👇 Follow me on Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj-connection/

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Dhiraj Mukherjee co-founded Shazam in 2000, which then went on to sell to Apple for $400m. They raised $150m in the company's lifetime. In this energising interview we cover:

00:00 Intro

04:45 Hiring For Values

11:00 No Absolute Strengths

14:00 Beliefs from stories

19:00 Lessons from failures vs successes

25:25 Recipe For Persistence

33:40 How To Delegate

39:18 Luck

45:30 Loving Fundraising

49:40 Impactful Questions

51:30 What's next? (Climate & Young People)

1:00:30 Old & Young Working Together

1:02:30 Conditions For Being Fluid

01:08:10 Adopt A Culture Of Change

01:12:30 Selling To Apple

01:16:20 What stories to tell?

01:19:00 Sibling relationship 01:23:50 Badges

01:25:50 Living out our values

👇 Follow me on Linkedin

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🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I? If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Bernhard Niesner is the founder of Busuu, which sold to Chegg for €436m in 2021, making it the largest EdTech Exit in Europe. However, the company almost died 7 years in which marked a pivotal moment for Bernhard, specifically with how he approached startup culture.

_ _ _

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Bernhard was kind enough to share his incredible story and lessons from the rollercoaster ride of Busuu!

_ _ _

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:19 - Culture Crisis

17:30 - Culture Exercises

21:42 - Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast

32:02 - Team of A Players

38:55 - 100 Rejections From VCs

47:56 - How much to raise?

50:37 - Relationships with investors

58:05 - Evolving our internal chatter

01:02:12 - Success is the struggle

01:05:50 - M&A Learnings

01:17:43 - Post-exit life

01:20:11 - Family : Work Harmony

01:24:10 - What's impossible?

01:28:55 - Unconventional Opinion

01:30:04 - How we can help Bernhard

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

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🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

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Katy Turner is a serial startup founder, investor and advisor. She's wise, cool and also incredibly silly.

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Katy and I have been close friends since I started running Foundrs and we had so much fun in this conversation with topics ranging from...

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro (sillyness)

12:18 - The Human Experience

14:02 - Work Isn't A Family

22:56 - Overcoming conflict aversion

29:06 - Creativity in business

37:14 - Culture

48:04 - How To Solidify Values

53:48 - Foundations Of Stories

01:06:31 - Different 'Why's

01:09:35 - Soren Kierkegaard

01:15:21 - Katy's Best Friend

01:17:44 - What's under your bed?

01:18:52 - Katy's influences

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🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

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Jamie Mitchell was the MD of Innocent Drinks, Tom Dixon (designer furniture), and now he's a serial Non-Executive Director and Board Chairman.

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Jamie and I met when I advised him on his community of entrepreneurs (called All Together) which was started during covid, connecting volunteer advisors with startup founders.

This was a brilliant conversation about...

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - intro

05:09 - ADHD

24:12 - Great board meetings

28:30 - When should we have a board?

31:00 - Who should we have on our board?

35:00 - What problems do boards tackle?

41:00 - How to know when the meeting is going well

44:23 - CEO mistakes with their board

49:00 - CEO : Chairman Relationship

51:18 - When should the board fire you?

55:51 - How to nurture board relationships

57:49 - All Together (community)

01:03:49 - Asking for help

01:08:00 - Do world changers love themselves?

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The Hardest Part Of Scaling: What You Can't Delegate | Hannah Feldman

Shocking Stories From A Successful Startup Founder | Graham Hobson

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🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Hannah Feldman scaled her company, Kidadl, from 12 to 450 people in two years. In this podcast interview she shares the hard truths of scaling, and the life of a full time entrepreneur and parent.

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_ _ _

Hannah and I have been good friends for years (she was even the catalyst to me proposing to my fiancé - which we speak about at the end) so this is as honest a conversation between entrepreneurs as it gets.

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:28 - 4 Year Rollercoaster

10:48 - Scale Up Lessons

13:11 - Impactful Processes

19:08 - Measuring Quality : Quantity

21:32 - Culture With Global Freelancers

25:55 - Growing Pains

29:59 - What you can't delegate

34:11 - Interview Qs

37:32 - Juggling parenthood & startups

40:39 - How to keep going

44:49 - Where did you learn resilience?

47:54 - Unlocking fulfilment

51:12- Mental models for home and work

55:15 - Roles split at home

58:23 - What characteristic are you most proud of?

01:00:10 - How Hannah changed my life

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

Shazam Founder Interview; Secrets of Luck, Persistence & Success

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Stu MacDonald has built the world's tastiest peanut butter. From auto-immune disease, to accounting, a trip to Argentina, scrappy beginnings and then 8 years of grind to build ManiLife to what is it today.

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Stu has been one of the most supportive people on my content journey and his generosity, openness and wisdom shines through in this interview where we cover...

📖 Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

00:53 - Wilson's Disease (The 'Fuck You' Driver)

05:16 - Psychosis, Mania, Depression

10:42 - Who Is Stu?

11:40 - Why Are People So Important?

13:38 - Edu, The Supplier

16:51 - Love As A Currency

23:00 - Listing With Holland & Barrett

25:39 - One Favour A Day

27:46 - Balancing Ambition And A Family

32:29 - Doing Things That Don't Scale

41:56 - Interviewing For Care

44:16 - Trickle Down Attention To The Team

45:35 - Balancing Accountability & Care

47:52 - Long Run vs Short Run

52:50 - How To Get Out Of The Way

54:47 - What's Unique About You As A CEO

🍿 WATCH NEXT (YouTube)

The Human Side Of Startup Leadership | Margot De Broglie

From Vision to Action: Olio’s Bold Goals & Cofounder Dynamics | Saasha Celestial-One

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🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

- - -

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Margot De Broglie founded Juno, a free app for women and non-binary people to help them become more financially literate. Margot is a very honest and passionate entrepreneur who, in this podcast, shares her relationship with key investors, advisors and her sibling cofounder relationship as well as her relationship with herself.

This is the best summary of the human side of startup leadership I've ever seen.

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Margot and I have been good friends for years so this is as honest a conversation between entrepreneurs as it gets. We deep dive into...

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:57 - Sibling Cofounder Relationship

09:30 - Encouraging Employees To Push Back

12:21 - When To Systemise Your Management

16:17 - The Impact of Advisors

25:04 - Vulnerable Investor Relationships

29:20 - Leaning Into Inexperience & Imposter Syndrome

32:45 - Masculine & Feminine Leadership

43:10 - How To Bring Play Into Work

47:18 - Story Of A Human Moment

49:42 - Founders Never Get Positive Feedback

51:32 - How Is Your Mental Health?

56:51 - Founders Are More Polyamorous

01:01:09 - What existential crisis are you going through?

01:10:29 - Who are you outside of work?

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Hard Startups Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my podcast, my videos on Youtube and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

- - -

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Graham Hobson built Photobox for 17 years before selling it for €400m. In this deep dive interview he shares crazy stories from that journey and frameworks for building companies.

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- - -

Graham and I have been friends for years so this was a deeply personal and educational dive into:

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Trailer

00:46 - How To Deal With Code Reds

08:19 - Intro

15:03 - Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur

18:48 - Talk To Other Founders

28:57 - Culture Transplant

41:54 - What Leader Would You Have Liked To Be?

45:30 - How Much Can We Push Employees? (& Incentives)

51:52 - Near Death Experiences

57:00 - Was It Worth It?

01:02:00 - Impact On Family Life

01:06:04 - Lessons That Apply To Family & Business

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Hard Startups Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my podcast, my videos on Youtube and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

- - -

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Saasha Celestial-One is the cofounder of a rapidly growing consumer scale-up called Olio (4m users in the UK, 8m users globally).

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---

Saasha and I have been friends for years so this was a very real and educational deep dive into cofounder relationships, scaling challenges, and juggling personal life struggles with the demands of a scale-up.

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:44 - What Does 'Getting Old' Mean To You?

03:28 - How Does That Impact Your Leadership?

06:17- ABF (Always Be Fundraising)

08:54 - Weaving Values Into Everyday Life

15:31 - Top Of Funnel Experiments

17:40 - Impacts on User Experience (UX)

20:40 - Olio's Community

23:52 - How To Test Cofounder Relationships

29:53 - How To Nurture Cofounder Relationships

35:50 - Staying Aligned With Cofounders

42:49 - Company Vision Iteration

49:06 - What Feels Ambitious For Olio?

53:08 - Founder-Led Brand

56:30 - Transparency With The Team

01:00:19 - Managing A Divorce & Running A Startup

01:05:10 - Saasha's Husband Mat

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

---

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James Grant is the cofounder of My Tutor, an online tutoring startup, and in our interview he shares the highs and lows of startup hiring, structuring of rapid team growth, and how leaders must evolve as the business grows.

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- - -

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:58 - Lessons From Pole Vaulting

06:17 - Scientific Hiring Process

15:58 - Hiring Failure Story

18:53 - How To Nurture Employees

23:17 - Evangelist Employees

26:48 - Different Leadership Stages

30:28 - James' Progression Plan

32:28 - Invest In Your Network

34:14 - Covid Journey

40:27 - Growing Pains

45:00 - Investing In Your Leadership Team

50:25 - Cofounder Relationship

56:47 - The Step Into Parenthood

59:17 - What Is Balancing To You?

01:03:38 - Marriage Teamwork 🍿

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🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

---

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Rachel Carrell is one of the most methodical, and intuitive hiring experts. She's CEO of the highly acclaimed Koru Kids, where they're building the world's best childcare service.

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---

Rachel and I have been friends for years and this was a very real and educational deep dive into culture, hiring and the nuanced challenges that CEOs face.

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

03:00 - Effective Teams

08:00 - Culture of Feedback

20:00 - 3-Word Check Ins

26:00 - Decision Systems

30:40 - Assessing for Values

34:00 - Hiring Process

48:15 - Getting Lots Of Candidates

51:00 - Our Biggest Unsolved Mystery

01:03:35 - What Is Success For You?

👇 Follow me on Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj-connection/

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Discover some of the common startup myths, and a deep insight into the life of a founder in this raw interview with Sho Sugihara.

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---

Sho Sugihara is a serial founder who has through both Entrepreneur First and Y Combinator. He's raised millions in funding, he's had a cofounder divorce and he's smoothly transitioned out of his first business.

Our interview is a deeply honest dive into:

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:47 - Stepping Down As A Founder

12:54 - Delegation & Burnout

26:56 - Get The Right People On The Bus

30:34 - Navigating Cofounder Break Ups

36:16 - Skill Of Surfacing Tension

40:43 - How To Build Trust In Your Team

48:00 - Purpose, Vision, Mission Setting

56:24 - How To Get The Best Talent

59:39 - Product Market Fit Definition

01:04:35 - Is The Chip On Your Shoulder Yours?

01:11:58 - Connecting With Our Fun Side

👇 Follow me on Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj-connection/

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Dan is a serial entrepreneur, content creator, and community builder. He's started a number of businesses, has over 50m downloads on his own podcast (Secret Leaders) and has >500k followers across socials.

👉 Subscribe to the newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for company and community building.

In this episode we deep dive into:

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:20 - How much money?

08:13 - Personal Brand Process

22:00 - Content Goals

25:20 - Balancing Inputs and Outputs

29:20 - How much should you invest?

36:15 - My Foundrs Chapter

53:20 - 10X Your Investment Potential

59:00 - Who Are You As A Father?

01:04:30 - Managing Priorities Changing

01:10:20 - The Awareness Parents Need

01:12:00 - Losing His Dad & Fatherhood

👉 Follow me on Linkedin for daily posts

🤷‍♂️ Who Am I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Julian Metcalfe founded both Pret A Manger and Itsu, which are together worth over $3 billion! That speaks for itself really...

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_ _ _

I visited Julian in the Itsu offices in London where we broke down what it takes to be a unicorn entrepreneur and the operating principles behind building Pret A Manger and Itsu.

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:20 - The Truth

06:29 - Itsu

09:23 - Innovation

13:55 - Being demanding

16:55 - Passion

20:58 - Beauty

23:06 - What's itsu missing?

26:24 - How Pret changed

27:50 - Pride

30:06 - Trust

34:26 - Itsu's values

35:17 - Evolving

38:51 - Awareness

44:32 - Itsu as a startup

46:53 - Butterfly Club

47:55 - Julian's Drive

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

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👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

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Monika Holod has been Head Of Brand for unicorns like BlaBlaCar and Ankorstore as well as VP of Global Brand for OYO (after their $1bn Series E). Since then she has founded a therapy startup called OMA.

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_ _ _

In this zen conversation we cover founder wellbeing, startup branding, and scaling culture.

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:50 - What makes a great brand?

07:07 - What questions to ask?

12:03 - Scaling a brand (AirBnB)

15:14 - Hiring cultures

23:50 - Scaling culture internationally

34:04 - Story of OMA

42:55 - Founder therapist matching

53:13 - Psychology of founders

01:01:13 - Pre-therapy work

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

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Dan Hogan is an epic founder. He co-founded Ember, an automated accountancy and tax startup that recently raised £5m and boasts clients including thousands of small business owners and banks like HSBC.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

He's also one of my closest friends, - we clicked at a retreat I was running while at Foundrs (a community of 400 entrepreneurs in the UK), and have since lived together and seen each other's best and worst.

Dan is an incredibly wise, kind and diligent founder (he was originally an accountant after all) so this was a detailed, powerful and hilarious conversation where we dove into:

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:30 - How We Met

05:03 - Ember Story

10:48 - Choosing Cofounders

18:17 - Remote Team Comms

24:18 - Key Internal Documents

37:00 - How To Connect Employees

46:15 - How Vulnerable At Work?

50:54 - Boundaries

59:00 - How To Fire With Care

01:04:02 - Pre-Firing Work

01:08:48 - Founder Resilience

01:10:56 - Building Resilience In Others

01:15:39 - Ember's Fundraise

01:21:09 - Meeting Stripe's Founder

01:23:51 - Shifts In Fundraising Market

01:29:10 - Closing Lesson

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Leadership Styles, Social Apps, Cancer & More | Jack Rogers

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

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Kike Oniwinde is the founder and CEO of BYP Network, a community of 150,000 whose purpose is to advance the careers of black professionals.

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Kike and I have been friends for years and really bonded over the grief of losing our parents (trauma-bonding is a thing!). Here we have a very real and wide-ranging conversation on...

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:06 - Team GB Javellin

09:28 - Mindset 13:12 - Loneliness

14:28 - Mindset Evolution

23:43 - Identity Crisis

25:53 - Dealing with pressure

27:11 - Sports vs Business

30:28 - Achievement Fallacy

33:22 - Lessons From Loss

34:38 - Childhood moulding

39:32 - Ambition Evolution

41:00 - Kike's Uncle Dado

46:50 - Mother Daughter

49:29 - Business as a child

51:51 - Changing Black Narrative

58:06 - BYP's Growth

01:02:20 - How BYP makes money

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Create Your Networks Of Power | Sharmadean Reid MBE

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👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for people-centric company building

James Mitra is the founder and CEO of JBM, a top startup executive recruiter. Since recording this, James sold JBM to Amplified Group after 11 years of building. He's very kind, wise and breaks down hiring into simple terms.

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James and I have been friends for the past couple of years and so in this interview we deep dive into...

📖 Video Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:04 - Retained vs Contingent

17:21 - Priority Of Info

25:15 - Candidate Packs

28:05 - Assessment Criteria

33:27 - Our Biases

39:40 - The Whole Process

43:33 - Interview Process

49:45 - Feedback

54:02 - How long it takes?

55:00 - Power of relationships

01:00:19 - Relationship Niche

01:07:27 - What feels risky now?

01:11:20 - James Mentoring me

01:17:00 - Who do you plan to be?

01:22:40 - Kind stories to ourselves

_ _ _

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands| Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

_ _ _

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

_ _ _

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast and my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

_ _ _

👉 Subscribe on Youtube to be first to learn from world class, inspiring entrepreneurs

📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for people-centric company building

Sophie is the Chief Sales Officer at the scale-up onefinestay. We have been friends for a couple of years as she started a community of senior commercial leaders called cmrcial, which I helped get off the ground. She has an electric and infectious energy and we go into the nitty gritty of how to build sales teams and processes.

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In this detailed conversation, Sophie and I break down...

📖 Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

03:55 - Promotions After Maternity

12:56 - Organisation Superpower

20:38 - Communication Superpower

28:06 - Staying Aligned With Your Gut

30:10 - Being Data Driven In Sales

41:16 - Creating Long Term Mindsets

43:24 - Exceptional Sales People

46:07 - Questions To Personalise A Pitch

47:44 - Difficult Questions

50:24 - Going Niche

53:41 - 80/20 of Defining Your ICP

54:58 - Finding Your Team's Superpowers

59:49 - Personalised Management

01:01:56 - Managing Up

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Jack Rogers is a serial founder with deep experience in the B2C space - alongside that he's a legend. A wonderfully real, reflective, and often self-deprecating guy who has been through a lot of hardships and laughs about them. His current startup is called Picnic which is helping people 'reimagine the camera roll', and they have only just started to taste product market fit, 5 years in....

_ _ _

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_ _ _

In this very real conversation, Jack and I break down...

📖 Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

02:49 - Tinder Banter Fb Page

04:00 - Hard Things In Consumer Apps

11:43 - TikTok & Our Evolution

23:19 - Ambition Changing Over Time

36:44 - Raising 4 Seed Rounds

39:59 - Keeping Companies Alive

42:49 - Different Leadership Styles

51:52 - Screening for high integrity

55:31 - Bumble's Brand & Culture

01:02:25 - How Much Time On Brand?

01:04:06 - Connecting To 'The Problem'

01:09:57 - Unique Founder Characteristics

01:19:38 - Cancer, Break Up, Failure

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

Mastering Leadership: Growing Teams & Growing Yourself | James Grant

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Kay Munday is Google's expert communication coach. She works with large corporates as well as startup founders to help them connect with themselves, which she says is the key to becoming a great speaker

_ _ _

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In this very energetic conversation, Kay and I break down...

📖 Episode Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

02:02 - Names (Kay & Bear)

07:39 - Not fitting in

10:25 - How to find our essence

15:50 - AJ as a case study

20:54 - Timeline therapy

23:45 - Finding the golden thread

26:30 - Crafting your story

28:35 - Your story breakdown

32:41 - Youtube's ABCDs

38:36 - Example Story

43:16 - Simon Sinek (+ so what?)

44:15 - Stories as medicine

48:40 - Labels

55:41 - Where are you judging yourself?

🍿 WATCH NEXT (Youtube)

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail At Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

Mastering Leadership: Growing Teams & Growing Yourself | James Grant

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ WHO AM I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building.

Through my videos here on this channel, my podcast and my writing on Linkedin, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling business - giving you a life of freedom!

Most founders don't talk about this... but success isn't years of experience... it's confidence!

Emilie Vanpoperinghe, CEO of Oddbox, built a wonky vegetables business into a £20M+ scale-up.

This revolutionary female founder explains the uncomfortable biases women have in business, her hiring protocol and what leadership advice backfired on her.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ Why confidence trumps experience in determining entrepreneurial success (and the 20% confidence gap that's holding women back)

▪️ How to stay close to customers without losing focus as you scale to 50,000+ users

▪️ The uncomfortable truth about hiring bias

▪️ How small sustainable actions create bigger behavioural shifts than grand gestures

▪️ Why asking for input when you don't really want it damages team trust

▪️ The art of being directive as a leader without being authoritarian

📖 Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

01:35 - From Finance to Fighting Food Waste

08:03 - Tangible vs Intangible Impact

13:00 - The Sustainability Brand Balancing Act

19:17 - When Product-Market Fit Isn't Enough

25:24 - Staying Close to 50,000 Customers

32:00 - The Values Exercise That Almost Failed

38:22 - "I Ended Up Hiring All Men"

43:18 - The Confidence Research That Shocked Emilie

52:15 - Why She doesn't post on LinkedIn

57:23 - Co-founding With Your Husband

01:03:58 - "Stay Odd" — What It Really Means in Management

🍿 WATCH NEXT (on Youtube)

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

How To Be A Great Manager | Mel Murray-Serter (interview)

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Not the kind of burnout you see coming - Will Pearson, Founder of Ocean Bottle.

When you’re still performing, still hitting targets, but your identity has become so intertwined with your company that you can't see where you end and the business begins.

This is the story of Will Pearson and how stepping down as CEO saved both his sanity and his relationship with the company he'd built from nothing.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ How to build a company that works around your lifestyle, not against it

▪️ Why prioritising happiness actually made Ocean Bottle more successful

▪️ Co-CEO structures often create exhaustion, not efficiency

▪️ Understand how to decouple your self-worth from company performance

▪️ Avoid the "everything depends on me" trap that destroys founders

▪️ Build a regenerative business model that gives back 15% of revenue to impact

📖 Chapters:

00:00 - Intro

00:28 - "I Intertwined My Identity With the Company"

01:02 - A CEO Shake up

04:12 - What Works in Co-CEO Leadership (and what doesn't)

09:45 - Co-Founder Coaching That Changed Everything

12:11 - The 5-Step Pearson Plan

14:08 - Crafting Business Around Lifestyle. Not the Other Way Around

17:09 - "We've Come So Far But We're Just Getting Started"

22:07 - "My Life Would Be Over" - The Toxic Early Mindset

23:49 - How Perspective and Meditation Changed Everything

25:10 - "Every Minute Should Be Work" - The Burnout Point

26:31 - The Happiness Advantage: Success vs Happiness

28:00 - Staying Grounded When the Rocket Ship Takes Off

30:35 - Decoupling Identity From Company Performance

31:23 - "What Are You Insecure About?" - Megs' Question

36:03 - Key Lessons From Board Member Peter Ward

38:00 - Ocean Bottle's Impact Model: 15% Revenue to Impact

40:34 - Building a Coalition of Impactful Companies

48:28 - Triple Bottom Line: Balancing Profit, People, and Planet

52:35 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Open Communication

54:10 - Why People Join Mission-Driven Companies

56:09 - Reinventing Capitalism: Measuring Success by Good Done

🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too (Youtube):

How 120 Seconds Changed My £7.6M Startup | Laura Fullerton

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🔗 Will's Links:

Ocean Bottle

LinkedIn

Instagram

🚀 Affiliates:

Monk Ice Bath

For a £100 discount on the world's first smart ice bath, visit - www.discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL

Heights Supplements:

15% OFF from the world class, all-in-one brain and gut supplements with everything you need and nothing you don’t, head to - www.heights.com/scalewithsoul

From burnout to community leadership.... After 18 months of Long Covid, perimenopause, and complete breakdown, Emmie Faust channelled her recovery into creating one of the UK's most impactful founder communities - Female Founders Rise.

🧠 What You'll Learn

• What does burnout actually look like and how to bounce back
• The surrender mindset that turned a passion project into an 8,000-member community
• The people-pleasing trap that keeps founders stuck and how to break free
• Turning her breakdown into an 8,000-member community - Female Founders Rise
• How to build sustainable founder communities while prioritising mental health
• How to monetise a community without compromising your mission or accessibility

📖 Chapters

00:00 - The breaking point

01:05 - Rising from the ashes

04:59 - "Founder burnout is huge..."

06:30 - The Founder's Dilemma: Pushing Until You Break

08:21 - Early Warning Signs You're Approaching Burnout

11:39 - The Surrender Experiment: Letting Go While Taking Action

14:58 - From Self-Doubt to Self-Confidence

17:15 - The People-Pleasing Trap

23:28 - Building Female Founders Rise: From 10 to 8,000 Members

28:47 - The Art of Gut-Based Decision Making

33:14 - The Community Monetisation Challenge

38:29 - IMPACT first - INCOME second

41:55 - Why Everything Should Cost Something

47:02 - The Two Questions That Changed Everything

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Scale with Soul - The home of Connected Scaling - how to build businesses without breaking yourself

This is his unfiltered story of how founder martyrdom, ego-driven decisions, and the relentless pursuit of “productivity” can kill everything you’re trying to build.

🧠 Critical Founder Insights

▪️ How to identify what work actually moves the needle

▪️ The difference between being bold versus being rash

▪️ The psychological traps that make founders optimise for ego instead of reality

▪️ The art of creating psychological safety that transforms company culture overnight

▪️ Why putting yourself first isn’t selfish - it’s the only way to truly serve your team

▪️ The “martingale system” trap that destroys even the most promising startups

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:45 - From university reject to startup head of growth

05:00 - “95% of work is a complete f**king waste of time”

08:11 - How to spot busywork vs needle-moving activities

10:24 - The ego test: when rationalisation becomes poison

12:20 - Breaking down founder ego and fear of failure

16:01 - The other side: why you still need some ego to succeed

20:22 - The secret to good research (Amos Tversky’s game-changing quote)

22:08 - Reality vs perception: mental models for startup success

23:13 - Mould toxicity: when founder martyrdom nearly killed him

28:04 - The subtle signs that compound into disaster

30:39 - Why your energy ripples through everything

35:05 - The Elon paradox: when 100-hour weeks actually work

41:33 - Bold vs rash: the Napoleon trap every founder falls into

45:25 - Richard Branson’s secret: understanding the rules before breaking them

52:11 - The barbell theory: how to take asymmetric bets

58:44 - First principles of hiring: why companies are just people breaking bread

01:04:39 - Leading through change: communication as the ultimate leverage

🍿 WATCH NEXT (YOUTUBE)

How 120 Seconds Changed My £7.6M Startup |...

📧 Get exclusive insights, timeless frameworks & founder tools in my newsletter: https://the-aj-connection.kit.com/e2d...

Visit discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL for a £100 Discount

Most founders don't talk about this... but the pressure of "it all depends on you" doesn't just create stress - it creates an impossible choice between succeeding and surviving.

Laura built a £7.6M company while discovering why that choice is actually killing founder performance - and how 2 minutes of discomfort changed everything.

Use our affiliate link for your £100 discount with MONK https://discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ Why the "founder pressure paradox" sabotages both your health and your business results

▪️ How to optimise cold therapy based on your gender, cycle, and specific goals (not just "jump in when you can")

▪️ The $2.7M fundraising lesson: Why saying no to money can be your smartest business decision

▪️ How to disconnect your identity from your business without losing your drive

▪️ The "3-day rule" that prevents founder burnout before it starts

▪️ Why leading with "feminine energy" might be your biggest competitive advantage

_ _ _

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📧 Subscribe to my newsletter to get exclusive content and timeless frameworks for company building

_ _ _

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:24 - "Mother nature doesn't screw up" - What we've forgotten about being human

04:01 - The science behind strategic cold therapy (not just "jump in")

06:00 - Why your menstrual cycle changes EVERYTHING about ice baths

10:30 - The 120% autophagy increase that changes your cells

13:10 - From ancient Greeks to modern biohackers: 5000 years of cold

15:02 - When your identity IS your business (and why that's dangerous)

19:27 - The founder pressure paradox: Why "it all depends on you" KILLS performance

23:42 - The 3-day rule that saved her mental health

27:44 - Using AI as your co-CEO and therapist

34:19 - Masculine vs feminine energy: when to tap into each

39:36 - Why female founders get "protection" questions (and how to flip them)

43:17 - Turning down money: the $2.7M fundraising lesson

48:58 - How to stress-test investors before they stress-test you

53:02 - The ROI of founder networks (and when they're worth 10k)

57:18 - Values that actually work: solutions-focused, health-first, innovate always

01:05:00 - The uncomfortable truth about building hardware without being technical

01:09:55 - What's keeping me up at 3am (and why sleep scores decline)

01:12:23 - How to ask for support when you're used to giving it

🍿 Watch Next On Youtube

One Of Europe's Largest EdTech Exits - Busuu €436m | Bernhard Niesner

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

Raj Dey is a serial entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Learnerbly, a workplace L&D platform at Series A.

Raj has stared some dramatic health crises in the face while building and has come out more optimistic than ever.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

In this interview, Raj shared very openly about...

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

00:52 - Ego-Minimising Practices

06:33 - Where Are Founders At Risk

09:14 - Who is Raj?

16:21 - Butterfly Effect Moments

20:43 - Solo Founder Mindset

24:10 - Founder Communities

30:21 - Extreme Positivity

40:34 - Leading Indicators To Stress

45:10 - Advisors & Investors

52:22 - How To Maintain Relationships

56:21 - Learnably

01:00:44 - Justifying L&D Spend

01:05:22 - Talent Activation over Acquisition

01:09:45 - Entrepreneur's Characteristics

01:12:41 - Who Impacted Raj Most?

01:18:48 - Where Raj Needs To Grow

01:22:22 - How Can We Help Raj?

🍿 Watch Next On Youtube

One Of Europe's Largest EdTech Exits - Busuu €436m | Bernhard Niesner

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ Who am I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast, my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

Mel Murray-Serter was Ops Director for Vice Media in Europe before it collapsed, she is the Executive Chair of Foundrs, the community of 400 entrepreneurs that I previously ran, and she's generally a startup weapon.

_ _ _

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_ _ _

I visited Mel in her home in London where she shared a tonne of lessons on how to be a great manager, running Foundrs, motherhood and many others including...

📖 Episode Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:35 - Who is Mel?

12:29 - Mel's Career

14:52 - Vice's Downfall

20:03 - Great Maternity Leave

25:25 - Foundrs, the community

45:24 - Hiring & Managing A Board

52:21 - Management Comms & Team Charters

01:06:24 - Impact Of Motherhood

01:11:20 - Relationship OKRs

🍿 WATCH NEXT ON YOUTUBE

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe

Hard Startup Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

👉 Follow me on Linkedin

🙋‍♂️ Who am I?

If we haven’t met before - Hey 👋 I’m AJ, a serial entrepreneur and community expert who believes that company building should be viewed more through the lens of relationship building. Through my videos on Youtube, the podcast, my writing on Linkedin and in my newsletter, I share stories of successful entrepreneurs and evidence-based strategies and tools to help you create the most sustainable and fulfilling people-centric business!

Startups are meant to be rocket ships - some reach outer orbit… Others crash back down to earth in a ball of flames

Rob Bridgman built Snug from £1M to £31M revenue in just three years, only to watch it nearly collapse overnight when the market turned. This is the unfiltered story of what it really takes to survive as a founder when everything falls apart.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ How to build challenger (or “Pirate”) thinking into your culture from day one

▪️ The "Clear Is Kind" framework that transforms difficult conversations into breakthroughs

▪️ Why Rob's "Golden Hour" policy became their secret weapon for creativity and retention

▪️ The brutal reality of what happens when growth-stage funding disappears overnight

▪️ How feedback loops with customers can drive exponential product-market fit

▪️ How to scale from 12 to 70 people without losing your startup soul

📖 Chapters

0:00 - Intro

1:06 - From Childhood "Inventor" to Entrepreneur

3:42 - The Values That Built Snug's Culture

10:10 - How "Clear Is Kind" Revolutionised Team Performance

15:49 - Working With the Best: Hiring Top 5% Talent

17:17 - The Nonviolent Communication Framework

24:04 - Give Every Team Member Professional Coaching

26:21 - Making Culture Tangible: Weekly Pulse Surveys & NPS

39:46 - The ICE Framework: How to Prioritise 100+ Product Ideas

44:22 - Year One: Selling One Sofa to £1M Revenue

46:26 - The Three Pillars: Product Innovation, Customer Journey & Brand

52:25 - Year Two: £7M Revenue During COVID Chaos

54:32 - Year Three: £31M and 70 People - "It Was Absolute Chaos"

57:24 - Scaling Pains: From 12 to 70 People in One Year

59:29 - Fixing Our Management Structure Crisis

67:00 - The Fundraising Nightmare: From £70M Valuation to £900K Exit

69:23 - Selling to SCS: From Pirates to Navy

78:13 - What I'd Do Differently: Standing Your Ground From Day One

85:33 - The Fork in the Road: Rebuild Snug or Start Fresh?o

🍿 WATCH NEXT

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

The Human Side Of Startup Leadership | Margot De Broglie

👉 Subscribe for weekly interviews and deeply practical videos on how to scale with soul

📧 Get exclusive insights, timeless frameworks & founder tools in my newsletter

🧊 Affiliate Link: For a £100 Discount on the World's First SMART Ice Bath - follow this link discovermonk.com/SCALEWITHSOUL

Rob's LinkedIn

He built a company to millions, hired someone better to run it, and walked away.

Why stepping down as CEO can be your greatest act of leadership.

Most founders cling to their CEO titles long after they've outgrown the role.

Evgeny Shadchnev did the opposite. He recognised the misalignment, planned his exit over 14 months, and handed the keys to someone who could scale what he'd built. What he soon learnt transformed both his life and the business.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ How to recognise when you've outgrown your own company (before burnout forces the decision)

▪️ The difference between founder skills and CEO skills — and why confusing them kills companies

▪️ A framework for making confident leadership transitions without destroying what you've built

▪️ The breathwork techniques that shift your nervous system from reactive to strategic

▪️ Why starting a company for belonging can lead to profound misalignment later

📖 Chapters

00:00 - What A Founder Coach Does

00:41 - What Founders Don't Talk About

05:02 - "Predicting the Future of the Company"

08:10 - The Founder's Job: Make Sure It Survives

11:15 - The Skills Needed at Pre-Product Market Fit

14:17 - Moving to Product Market Fit - "This Is a Very Specific Skillset"

15:15 - "The Skills You Never Stop Needing - Fred Wilson's Advice"

17:48 - The First Alarm Bells

20:24 - CEO Transitions Take Time

22:16 - Feeling Misaligned: Childhood Experiences

27:59 - The One Thing That Helped Me Make the Tough Decision

35:23 - Ego Wanting vs Heart Longing

37:40 - Success 10 Years Ago vs Success Now

40:07 - The Startup Is Not There to Make You Happy

45:09 - Running Away or Braving the Wind

49:26 - Working Long Hours Sustainably

58:22 - Decision Making

01:05:31 - What Makes You Tick?

01:08:20 - Revelation on Simplification of Life

01:13:12 - What Your Fiancée Said About You

01:15:25 - Read Evgeny's Book!

🍿 WATCH NEXT

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

Why Your Outer Voice Is Your Biggest Threat | Soheil Ahmadzadeh - Coach

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🔗 Guest Links:

Find Evgeny's Book Here

Founder and Ex CEO at Makers

Mentioned Resources:

"Let Your Life Speak" by Parker Palmer Other Sheep breathwork app

Fred Wilson's blog on CEO framework (Union Square Ventures)

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If you want to help Freddie's research on founders please fill this out: https://forms.gle/jLiW7TJBniXQfDRK8

Most founders obsess over their company metrics while completely ignoring their own performance metrics.

What if the secret to scaling your startup isn't just building better systems, but becoming a better human?

Finder coach Freddie Birley has spent years studying what separates venture-backed rockstars from the rest ... and it's not what you think.

🧠 What You'll Learn

Critical Founder Insights:

▪️ Avoid the spiritual poverty trap that follows most successful exits

▪️ Master the balance between masculine drive and feminine intuition in leadership

▪️ Discover the 3 core traits that define outlier performers in venture-backed startups

▪️ Understand why 50%+ of founders report wellbeing as their biggest personal challenge

▪️ Learn why alignment beats intelligence when it comes to sustainable high performance

▪️ Data Vs Debate: What founders at different stages (0-10, 10-20, 20-50, 50-150 team size) struggle with most

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro - Headhunting Taught Me to Coach

02:50 - What Actually Makes a Venture Rockstar

05:47 - The Three Pillars: Authenticity, Value Creation & Leadership

11:35 - Founder Challenges by Company Stage (Research Insights)

14:55 - Why First-Time vs Serial Founders Face Different Identity Crises

19:50 - The Performance Paradox: Preparation vs Play

25:47 - When Success Becomes a Spiritual Prison

29:09 - Internal vs External Motivation: Signs of an Emotionally Rich Founder

32:39 - Building High-Performance Culture Without Cracking the Whip

37:33 - Founder Circles: What Makes Them Thrive vs Die

43:44 - Breathwork for Founders: The Wild Modality Explained

50:29 - Connecting with Yourself as the Ceiling for Leading Others

52:31 - What the Startup Ecosystem Gets Wrong About Human Nature

54:57 - Balancing Masculine Structure with Feminine Intuition

1:05:40 - The Fundamental Principles of Being a Better Human

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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Dangerous (But Common) Startup Myths | Sho Sugihara

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🔗 Guest Links & Resources Connect with Freddie Birley

Her Website

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Most founders talk about near-death experiences, but few admit the brutal truth: sometimes the company survives, but you lose pieces of yourself you can never get back.

James Lo had 2 weeks left before bankruptcy, watched a team member become a stalker after layoffs, and wrestled with whether building venture-scale companies requires abandoning your deepest values.

This is his unfiltered reckoning with what it really costs to build.

🧠 What You'll Learn

▪️ How to survive the 48-hour countdown to bankruptcy

▪️ Why consensus-building will destroy your startup - and the conflict framework that saves it

▪️ The hidden psychology of why deep friendships at work become emotional time bombs

▪️ How Sequoia plays a 10-year game most founders never see coming

▪️ Why the "spend money to grow" VC playbook is fundamentally broken in 2025

▪️ The automation-first hiring philosophy that could revolutionise early-stage companies

📖 Chapters

0:00 - Intro

1:24 - Two Weeks From Bankruptcy

4:58 - "We Were Completely Wrong..."

7:45 - The Portuguese Holiday That Nearly Killed Us

10:21 - When Deep Friendships Become Toxic at Work

15:17 - From Hong Kong Activism to Silicon Valley

22:13 - "You Look Down at Your Footsteps, Walk Upward in Flow"

25:16 - Why Activism and Entrepreneurship Are the Same (And Different)

30:47 - The Guilt of Abandoning the Movement

35:20 - How We Pivoted After Raising (And Why Antonio Still Backed Us)

40:04 - How Sequoia Scouted Me for 2 Years Before I Knew It

46:18 - The 30-Person Founder Speed Dating Experiment

50:12 - How to Test Co-Founder Chemistry in Crisis

55:46 - From Consensus Builder to Conflict Embracer

60:21 - Why "Hire Your Way Out of Problems" Will Kill You

65:16 - The Controversial Truth About VC Growth Mentality

70:19 - Building Vision from Personal Problems (Not Top-Down Idealism)

78:53 - How Simplicity Reveals Unexpected Vision

88:00 - The Team Member Who Became a Stalker

95:17 - Balancing Ruthlessness with Humanity

🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love

Why 93% of Entrepreneurs Fail at Content Creation | Dan Murray-Serter

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🔗 James Lo on LinkedIn

Ethos

Most founders don't realise they're killing their brand until it's too late. The very growth they're chasing becomes the poison that destroys what made customers fall in love with them in the first place. Bryony Simpson has spent 20 years watching brilliant startups scale themselves into irrelevance—and she knows exactly why it happens. 🧠 Critical Founder Insights What You'll Learn:

▪️ Why 90% of scaling brands lose the human connection that built them

▪️ The four relationship principles every resilient brand must master

▪️ How to spot the early warning signs before your customers start leaving

▪️ Why personalised marketing often feels like spam (and what works instead)

▪️ The simple feedback loops that keep you connected as you grow

▪️ How tech and data can deepen relationships instead of destroying them

📖 Chapters 00:00 - Intro

01:21 - Human Connection Built Civilisation

04:15 - What's Actually Broken About Branding

09:12 - The Four Principles of Relationship Building

16:22 - Building Trust: Don't Break Promises

20:00 - Short-Term vs Long-Term Brand Thinking

23:04 - Knowing Yourself: The Brand Foundation

28:38 - Getting to Know Your Customer

37:48 - How Growth Destroys Customer Connection

48:05 - Becoming Human-Centred

52:13 - The Human-Centred Mindset in Practice

59:35 - How Data Can Build (Not Break) Relationships

1:06:36 - Growing Together: Evolution, Not Revolution

1:18:26 - The Solo Founder Challenge

🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

Google's Expert Communication Coach | Kay Munday (interview)

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Most founders won't talk about this…

But the line between grandiose confidence and dangerous delusion is thinner than you think.

James Roycroft-Davis stood on Putney Bridge, hearing voices telling him to jump, before discovering his bipolar diagnosis would become his greatest teacher.

This is the unfiltered story of how ego, untreated mental health, and founder identity nearly destroyed everything - and how radical self-awareness rebuilt it all.

💡 What you'll learn in this episode:

▪️ How to spot the early warning signs of ego-driven decision making that destroy startups

▪️ Why bipolar disorder can be both a founder's greatest asset and deadliest trap

▪️ Why most founder therapy misses the mark - and what actually works

▪️ How becoming a father rewired his entire relationship with success and identity

▪️ A framework for making decisions based on who you want to be, not who you think others expect

▪️ The difference between £100M ego goals and £500K happiness goals (and why one nearly killed him)

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:19 - The Bridge Call That Changed Everything

07:28 - 20 Years of Trauma Exploding at Once

09:07 - The Guilt of Surviving

11:12 - Nature vs Nurture in Mental Health

12:19 - When Granddad's Death Flipped the Switch

15:31 - The Israeli Psychologist Who Gets Startups

18:10 - "Most Founders Do Have Grandiose Sense"

25:49 - Type 1 vs Type 2: Why It Matters

28:58 - The £500/Hour Diagnosis Story

34:13 - Ego Work: From Validation to Creation

38:20 - Why "Founder" Identity Makes You Unemployable

42:21 - Two Job Offers, One Ego Check

44:51 - Old James vs New James

46:58 - The Exit Community Vulnerability

49:02 - Alex McDonald's Life-Changing Advice

50:48 - Happy and Comfortable vs £100M Dreams

58:32 - The CBT Technique That Rewires Your Brain

01:02:15 - Dual Purposes: Father and Founder

01:06:26 - Final Asks: Jobs, Dad Groups, and Baseline

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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Shazam Founder Interview; Secrets of Luck, Persistence & Success (Ep. 1)

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🔗 Guest Links & Resources

James Roycroft-Davis : LinkedIn

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What does it really takes to SCALE (not just grow...)?

Neda Sahebelm was an early joiner at Multiverse, achieving 98% retention and 50% diversity in her teams, whilst delivering multiple £20M quarters.

Growth is doing more with more.

Scale is doing more with less.

In this episode she reveals the system that transforms chaos into high-performing teams.

🧠 What You'll Learn

▪️ Growth vs Scale: The difference between success and chaos

▪️ "Operation Thrive": How to flip a toxic team culture in 6 months

▪️ The hiring system that achieved 98% retention and radical diversity

▪️ The 3-pillar framework: Org Design, Recruitment, and Retention done right

▪️ How to fire people gracefully (and why most leaders get this catastrophically wrong)

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

06:14 - Growth vs Scale: Why Most Founders Get This Wrong

10:11 - The "Operational Efficiency" Myth.

16:32 - The SVB Crash Aftermath: Market Shifts and Human Costs

24:35 - Start with Product (Not People or Process)

30:34 - The Org Design Crisis: Why Founders Hire Wrong

38:14 - Building Scalable Hiring Systems: The 55-Person Quarter

46:04 - The Diversity Masterclass: 98% Retention Secrets

58:11 - "Operation Thrive": Turning -5 NPS Into +68

1:08:00 - The "Train Analogy": Managing Exits with Grace

1:16:23 - "Don't Bring Your Whole Self to Work" - The Leadership Reality

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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Hard Startups Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

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A Universe Class Coaching Session...

This is an insight into the framework to separate your inner wisdom from the fear-based voices that keep you small. This isn't therapy. It's reconnecting with your humanity.

🧠 What You'll Learn

▪️ The “5 Pillars of Connection” that transform any relationship

▪️ 9 Steps to identify "outer voices" Vs your authentic inner voice

▪️ The visualisation technique that silences self-doubt in minutes

▪️ How to turn your values into actionable "inner voice archetypes"

▪️Ask "If X wasn't there, what would be different?"

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

02:01 - "I've Never Been Career-Driven" - Led by Curiosity

10:13 - Meet Soheil: Founder of ReHumanity

14:15 - The 5 Pillars of Connection Framework

17:11 - Inner vs Outer Voices: The Foundation of Self-Awareness

21:25 - 9 Signs You're in "Outer Voice Territory"

25:10 - Moving from Outer Voice to Inner Voice

31:38 - Creating Inner Voice Archetypes from Your Values

57:18 - A Firm Foundation - "My Work Is Led by Love"

59:40 - How to Connect: Building Humanity in Startups

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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Google's Expert Communication Coach | Kay Munday (interview)

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🔗 Guest Links Connect with Soheil Website

https://rehumanity.com

Instagram: @rehumanity

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A Billionaire AND World Champion Powerlifter?

Jodie Cook, after selling her agency for 7-figures, is now building Coachvox whilst training to be a world champion. And the secret isn't talent, it's systems.

This discussion explains how to crack the code on any goal; why Jodie never looks at competition; and the exact framework that's taking her to the top of two completely different games.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ How to identify your personal success system from past wins (and apply it to anything)

▪️ Why "extreme people get extreme results" and how to test your edges safely

▪️ The 3-part superpower matrix: Ace Cards, Best Self, and Success Systems

▪️ The spirit animal framework that instantly shifts you from reactive to zen

▪️ How to build user manuals for your team that eliminate 90% of friction

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

04:21 - From Birmingham Agency to Global Ambitions

07:07 - Lifetime Goals Vs Annual Targets

14:19 - Cognitive Biases and the Halo Effect

17:12 - The Superpower Matrix: Ace Cards, Best Self, Success Systems

22:15 - Lion vs Pomeranian Puppy 28:12 - What Makes You Human in an AI World?

31:44 - Your Success System (Extract It from Past Wins)

40:06 - Finding People's Superpowers on Your Team

52:20 - Jody 2.0 vs 3.0: The Card Exercise

57:43 - Horizontal vs Vertical Relationships in Teams

1:08:18 - High Standards for Yourself, No Standards for Others

1:26:47 - The Content-Beliefs-Community Flywheel

1:34:42 - "Don't Waste Your Potential"

1:39:10 - Applying Success Systems to Becoming a Billionaire

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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Mastering Leadership - Growing Teams & Growing Yourself | James Grant

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🔗 Guest Links

Connect with Jodie: LinkedIn

Coachvox

Mentioned Resources:

The Courage to Be Disliked (Book) Blue Ocean Strategy (Book) Rocket Fuel (Book) Power vs Force (Book)

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The "ruthless" business world tells us kindness is weakness – but what if that's backwards?

Marcus Exall has built a reputation as one of the most respected angel investors in the world, not through aggression, but through genuine care for founders.

His approach challenges everything we think we know about succeeding in startups.

🧠 What You'll Learn

▪️ Why treating kindness as strength (not weakness) creates better investment returns

▪️ The 6-month founder evaluation process that's led to 2.5x returns across 31 investments

▪️ How to build resilience through saying problems out loud instead of carrying them alone

▪️ How to separate exceptional founders from good ones through focus and vulnerability

▪️ Why obsessing over product features (not problems) kills most early-stage startups

▪️ The storytelling framework that makes impossible visions feel inevitable

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:03 - From Tokyo Diner to 31 Angel Investments

03:07 - What Japanese Culture Taught Me About Company Building

13:08 - Balancing Kindness with Ruthless Business Decisions

17:22 - The Swan Problem: Creating Safe Spaces for Founders to Be Real

24:45 - Why Marcus Doesn't Invest Primarily for Money

33:21 - How to Spot Exceptional Focus in Founders

39:06 - Building Resilience: Why You Must Keep Getting Up

42:03 - The £150k Mistake Most Founders Make

01:02:07 - The Choice Between Health and Building Big Business

01:03:28 - Marcus's Mum on Raising a Future Angel Investor

🍿 WATCH NEXT

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

Shazam Founder Interview: Secrets of Luck, Persistence & Success (Ep. 1)

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How to comeback from over 80 VC rejections.

Atilana Pinon, CEO & Founder of Retorna, went from constant rejection to investors fighting for her, all by telling her story.

🧠 What You'll Learn In This Episode:

▪️ How to shift the power dynamic with VCs

▪️ The research framework that identifies aligned investors before you waste time

▪️ Why being profitable before fundraising is the ultimate negotiating position

▪️ Elite cash management mindsets

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:44 - "Saying No to £600K"

05:31 - The Breaking Point: 80+ VC Rejections 07:47 - The Moment Everything Changed

11:03 - How to Research Investors Like a Pro

13:47 - The Preparation That Made All the Difference

19:52 - Cash Management: "Take Care of the Pennies"

27:08 - Revenue-Based Bonuses That Actually Work

31:14 - Growing Double-Digit Monthly (The Secret Sauce)

41:01 - From Solo Founder to Co-CEO Partnership

45:08 - Building Mutual Respect and Trust

52:29 - "Stop Worrying About the Future"

59:05 - "I Don't Deserve to Be Successful" - Breaking Limiting Beliefs

1:02:07 - Building a Zebra, Not a Unicorn

🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

My Identity Was Crippling My Company | Will Pearson - Ocean Bottle

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🔗 Connect with Atilana: Atilana's

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/atilanapinon/?locale=en_US

Website - https://retorna.app, or other relevant links]

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Why do most startups fail?

Harvard's largest startup study reveals this as the #1 cause of failure, yet most founders don't realise.

Orr Vinegold, CEO of Unrest, has built an entire programme around solving this hidden crisis.

💡 What You'll Learn:

▪️ Why interpersonal issues kill more startups than any other factor

▪️ How to separate your ego from your business before it becomes toxic to your team

▪️ The trauma-to-fuel framework that turns personal pain into authentic brand messaging

▪️ A practical 4-pillar resilience system to "fix the roof when the sun is shining"

▪️ Why most founders confuse their identity with their company (and how to break free)

▪️ The neuroscience behind founder burnout and the salience network that controls motivation

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

00:44 - From Israeli Politics to Startup Psychology

02:16 - The Four Dimensions of Self-Development

04:10 - What Kills More Startups Than Anything Else

11:22 - The Circle of Connection: Self vs Others

14:13 - Creating Challenging Relationships That Push You Forward

22:02 - Dangers of Building a Business to Heal Yourself

26:06 - The Trinity - I Am, I Will, I Must

31:45 - Four Pillars Framework

39:29 - The Three Arenas: Personal, Community, or World Impact

43:06 - From Aberdeen to Israel: A Founder's Origin Story

58:23 - The Rooms We Haven't Entered: Unprocessed Trauma

01:09:02 - The Energy Cost of Carrying Unresolved Pain

🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too

You Find Your Edge When You BREAK | Emmie Faust - Female Founders Rise

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Orr's LinkedIn

Unrest Website

After 70 rejections and six months of pain, Mai Le made one phone call that changed everything. She asked for help for the first time in her life, and raised £6.5M in seven days.

This is the unfiltered story of how a hyper-independent founder learned that sometimes all it takes is one person with conviction.

💡 What You'll Learn

▪️ How to turn 70 rejections into a £6.5M round in one week

▪️ How to handle co-founder breakups with respect and generosity

▪️ The "smart but nice" hiring framework that builds unshakeable trust

▪️ The three pillars of authentic leadership: respect, abundance, consistency

▪️ Why masculine "giving" energy must balance with feminine "receiving" energy

📖 Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:03 - From Vietnam War to Entrepreneurial Mastery

03:48 - "You Can Never Fail Until You Quit"

09:09 - Project Bold: The £10K Learning Disaster

16:05 - The "Smart but Nice" Hiring Philosophy

20:20 - The Biggest Struggle as a Leader

27:23 - When Logic Meets Intuition in Leadership

35:24 - The Remote vs Hybrid Hiring Strategy

42:14 - 70 VCs, 6 Months of Pain, Then Magic

52:31 - The Practical Side of Resilience No One Talks About

61:25 - Mai's Ask: Take Care of Yourself First

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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Hard Startups Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

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SAPI

WeWork's Cofounder, Miguel McKelvey, shares the most vulnerable, insightful and rounded account of WeWork in his first interview since the startup's dramatic collapse 5 years ago.

📖 Chapters - In this interview we cover...

00:00 - The Guilt Of WeWork & How To Let Go

15:40 - What Does Changing The World Actually Mean?

22:03 - Business And Community Tensions

27:36 - What Does Community Actually Mean?

32:21 - Community Ideologies vs Geographies

38:20 - Wisdom & Naval Ravikant

44:38 - When Does A Startup Become A Cult? "

57:26 - "How do you scale culture? "

01:04:03 - What culture practices to invest in as a smaller startup

01:11:21- Leaning Into Conflict

01:13:07 - Team Adam vs Team Miguel

01:21:24 - Power Tensions

01:26:27 - Rebekah Neumann's Role in WeWork

01:32:23 - S-1 IPO Filing

01:37:34 - The Public's Reaction To Adam

01:47:19 - Miguel's Awareness Of WeWork's Finances

01:54:02 - How Much To Trust Others In The Leadership Team?

01:57:18 - Noticing Scrappy Scaling

02:00:31 - Why It Made Sense For WeWork To Buy An Artificial Wave Startup

02:02:41 - Adam & Miguel's Reality Distortion

02:10:45 - What Really Destroyed WeWork

02:12:40 - How To Step Outside Of Ourselves & Reflect

02:18:08 - Miguel's Advice For Entrepreneurs

02:27:40 - What Can We Support Miguel With

🍿 WATCH NEXT

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe (interview)

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When GoHenry's founder hit rock bottom, she was drowning...

She realised that the single point of failure was her. At 6am every morning, that familiar sick thump of dread would hit.

Here's how she built her company from the ground up, faced rejection from her own board, and emerged stronger than ever.

💡 What you'll learn in this episode:

▪️ How to identify and eliminate dangerous "single points of failure" in your business before they drown you

▪️ Why operationalising your values through your entire team is the secret to retaining talent for over a decade

▪️ How to navigate brutal board dynamics and still drive toward what's right for your company

▪️ The 6-month evolution framework that prevents you from running into walls as you scale

▪️ The counterintuitive approach to M&A that led to a successful £125M+ exit to Acorns

📖 Chapters

00:00 - What Keeps You Up At Night?

01:21 - When you are the Single Point of Failure

05:19 - Fixing the system when you're drowning

07:36 - The little Red Handbook!

13:59 - Fixing the Points of failure in practice

15:39 - Realising you might not be needed in a company you built

19:14 - Do they just want a yes man?

23:09 - Control as a leader: When to hold on and when to let go!

27:32 - Developing Finance Function... When and how to do it

30:21 - The board chose someone else to be CEO

35:30 - 2 Points: Identify Your Dragons and Learn The Art of Pre-Present

37:41 - Working with Dragons on your board

39:52 - Three biggest Board meetings, the biggest decisions

43:02 - Fundraising Learning Curves: Raised £125M, Acquiring Pixpay and Being acquired by Acorns

48:01 - How we Acquired Pixpay, finding a similar culture in your acquisition

48:03 - Biggest learnings from 6 rounds of fundraising

52:14 - Generosity within the company culture. A solidifying moment

56:08 - The ROI of paying for a holiday for all the staff

01:00:29 - What in the culture leads to people staying on for so long?

01:03:31 - Going from CEO to Executive Chair of the Board

01:07:44 - Make your passion your mission

01:12:08 - How to choose and win your battles

01:15:38 - What action we need to take

🍿 WATCH NEXT

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One Of Europe's Largest EdTech Exits - Busuu $436m | Bernhard Niesner (interview)

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🔗 Guest Links https://www.gohenry.com/

LinkedIn - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/louise-hill-5197614

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Most founders think they can figure it out alone - until they crash.

Sam Knight was "very, very resistant" to coaching, convinced it was just "talking about feelings." Then his friend forced him to try it...

This is the story of how losing his father at 15 shaped his leadership blind spots, and why facing them transformed both his company and his life.

🧠 What You'll Learn

▪️ The performance management framework that separates high-growth teams from collections of individuals

▪️ Why "I am because we are" (Ubuntu philosophy) transforms competitive founders into collaborative leaders

▪️ The five pillars every leader must master (and why most CEOs score poorly on at least two)

▪️ How childhood trauma creates invisible leadership blind spots that sabotage teams

▪️ How to spot what you know is true now but will only admit in six months' time

▪️ Why feeling words at work unlock deeper team connection and performance

📖 Chapters

00:00 - From Resistant CEO to Coaching Convert

06:11 - The Yoko Ono Exhibition That Changed Everything

11:24 - Pollinate: Building and Selling a B2B Platform

13:52 - "I Really Just Wasn't Enjoying My Job"

17:38 - The Five Pillars of Leadership Framework

25:47 - Goal Setting vs Accountability: What's the Difference?

32:43 - Why Most Teams Avoid Performance Management

42:43 - The Question That Reveals Hidden Truths

49:02 - Ubuntu: "I Am Because We Are"

1:02:18 - Losing Your Father and Leading Others

1:13:06 - Preparing for Fatherhood After Loss

1:16:56 - The Ubuntu Philosophy That Transforms Teams

🍿 WATCH NEXT

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too

Pret & Itsu Founder: The One Skill To Build £Billion Brands | Julian Metcalfe (interview)

👉 Subscribe for weekly interviews and deeply practical videos on how to scale with soul

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🔗 Guest link

Sam Knight - LinkedIn

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Most founders don't realise the biggest barrier to scaling isn't capital or talent — it's learning when to let go.

Carolyn Dawson built a 10,000-person founder community by understanding this one truth:

The best leaders know exactly when to stop being indispensable.In this interview you’ll discover what is needed to choose between entering the US vs Europe startup sector.

🧠 What You'll Learn:

▪️ Why European founders' "humanity" in hiring decisions might actually be holding back the ecosystem

▪️ How celebrating failure accelerated growth at Supercell (and why most founders get this backwards)

▪️ The curation secrets behind building the UK's most exclusive founder community

▪️ Why "founder mode" becomes dangerous after Series B and when to transition

▪️ The internal vs external balance that separates unicorn founders from the rest

📖 Chapters

00:00 - UK vs US: The Narrative Problem

06:27 - When Founders Should Actually Exit Their Companies

11:43 - Building a People-Driven Business at Scale

22:46 - The Stories Behind Closed Funding Rounds

24:15 - What Separates the Top 1% of Founders

31:03 - The Quality vs Speed Trade-off in Company Building

33:22 - Building Loyalty: The Team That Follows You Everywhere

39:13 - From Control Freak to Strategic Leader

42:05 - The External vs Internal Balance Every Founder Must Master

45:21 - What Information to Share vs Keep Private

47:37 - European vs US Firing Culture: The Speed vs Humanity Debate

57:28 - Going Global: Boots on Ground vs Remote

59:09 - The Inner Voice That Builds Resilience

62:06 - Taking Yourself Too Seriously: The Success Trap

🍿 WATCH NEXT

If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:

Hard Startups Truths; Funding, Team Design, Skills | James Routledge

https://youtu.be/XcBwsq-KzmI?si=-WhZcPjyXXLWZYMq

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