Choosing Leadership with Sumit Gupta

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.Gabriel is the Founder/CEO of Tutti. His expertise lies at the intersection of creativity and technology, which has inspired Tutti: a tech company that gives creators more time to create.In this inspiring interview, the founder of Tutti, often referred to as the "Airbnb for creative spaces," shares his compelling backstory and the challenges they encountered along the way. Gain valuable insights into the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship, as our guest reveals how their diverse background in film, programming, theater, and photography shaped their unique perspective on life and business. Discover how their passion for providing creators with more time to create led to the development of groundbreaking technology that automates administrative tasks in the creative industries. Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and equipped with practical wisdom as you embark on this enlightening leadership journey with our remarkable guest. You can find Gabriel at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gmisserlis/[email protected] the interview, Gabriel shares"We are essentially Airbnb for creative spaces." "Our mission is to give creators more time to create." "I have a vision for 10, 20 years in the future, but how we get there is not roadmap mapped at all." "The creative industries require a lot of admin, and we're building technology to automate and simplify that." "There's no real, very good technology for the creative industries, so creators use generic platforms and mix and match them in ways they aren't designed for." "We started as Airbnb for creative space, but we realized venues also lacked software to manage their bookings." "We're building software for our venues to run all inquiries, no matter where they come from." "Expansion plans include moving beyond the UK and scaling globally in the next two years." "One of the biggest challenges is hiring and defining the company's culture." "Taking breaks and consuming non-business content is essential for mental health and inspiration."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Erik Norberg is the CEO, Co-founder and Portfolio Manager at Nyfikna Investerare, one the Sweden’s fastest growing investor networks.In this captivating interview, a seasoned CEO turned investor and entrepreneur shares his transformative journey and sheds light on the traits that drive success in the startup and entrepreneur world. Having transitioned from leading large corporations to the fast-paced world of startups, he reveals the motivation behind his shift and the value he finds in being closer to the action. With a passion for making an impact and seeing immediate results, he explains how the agility and speed of startups captivated his interest. Drawing from his experience, he highlights the importance of vision, confidence, and empathy for entrepreneurs, while also discussing the challenges of decision-making and providing valuable feedback. Looking ahead, he talks about the exciting opportunities presented by emerging technologies and the role of skilled individuals in capitalizing on them. With his investment company, Curious Investors, he aims to support and nurture promising startups, leveraging his expertise and fostering growth in a rapidly changing business landscape.You can find Erik at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-norberg-3a893b1/[email protected] the interview, Erik shares"I've spent a major part of my career as a CEO in different medium tech companies.""I run an investment company called Curious Investors, which combines a syndicate and educational network for early-stage startups.""I made the tough decision to transition from being a CEO in large corporations to working as an investor and entrepreneur.""My interest in leadership started at an early age when I worked in the Swedish Navy.""Working in fast-moving environments with international markets nurtured my leadership journey.""I wanted to use my experience in leadership and big corporations to support entrepreneurs in their growth journeys.""As an investor, I prioritize keeping the energy and traction up in startup and entrepreneur ventures.""A good investor or board advisor can help entrepreneurs navigate challenges and make informed decisions.""It's important to balance confidence and empathy as a leader in the startup world.""I shifted to investing in early-stage companies to be closer to making an impact and seeing results."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Anup Jain is the Managing Partner at Orios Venture Partners, with previous leadership stints in Bata and Yum Restaurants. In this captivating interview, we meet a venture capitalist who is dedicated to making India's entrepreneurial dreams come true, particularly in the technology-led business sector. With a background in corporate marketing and experience in both startups and established companies, they bring a unique perspective to the world of investing. They emphasize the importance of leading by example, inspiring teams, and creating a collaborative and non-hierarchical work environment. They believe that founders' journeys are filled with challenges, humbling experiences, and valuable lessons. They highlight the significance of building a strong support system within the ecosystem, including fellow founders, coaches, and investors who genuinely care about the founder's success. Finally, they share their investment focus, which spans across sectors such as regional entertainment, financial services, healthcare, climate, and education, all with a strong emphasis on catering to the unique needs of Indian consumers and businesses.You can find Anup at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anuporiosvp/In the interview, Anup shares"My dream is to make India's entrepreneurs' dreams possible, especially in the area of technology-led businesses because this is where India is strong.""Being part of startups, growing from zero to one, one to a hundred, interests me a whole lot.""Leadership, irrespective of organization size, should always lead by example and bring their best to work.""Founders' journey is humbling and full of acceptance and realization. Holding the core team together is crucial for progress.""Cultivating a positive culture within organizations is more important than any strategy for growth.""The wider ecosystem plays a vital role in supporting founders through challenges, successes, and failures.""Networking with other founders and sharing references, vendors, and legal advice is essential for startup growth.""Being a sounding board and listening post for founders can provide fruitful support during their journey.""Investors who genuinely have the founders' best interests at heart are preferred by founders.""Investment focus on regional entertainment, financial services, health, and climate reflects the needs and opportunities in the Indian market."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Subrata Patra is the Managing Partner at IdeaCapital Ventures and an Alumnus of UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, IIT Delhi, and Jadavpur University.Join us for an insightful and engaging conversation with Subrata Patra, as he shares his remarkable journey and invaluable leadership lessons. With over two decades of experience spanning diverse industries, Subrata's perspective on leadership has evolved, emphasizing the importance of being a good follower before becoming a great leader. Discover how leadership styles have transformed from authoritative to coaching, with an emphasis on leading by example. Gain practical advice on navigating challenges, fostering authenticity, and developing a purpose-driven approach. Don't miss this friendly and value-packed interview that will inspire you to embrace resilience, mindfulness, and continuous learning in your leadership journey.You can find Subrata at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/subratapatra1/[email protected] the interview, Subrata shares"Leadership has evolved from being authoritative to being a coach, employing different styles to solve problems and lead by example.""To become a good leader, one must first be a good follower, understanding the nuances of being a team player.""Authenticity, purpose, and leading by example are key traits of effective leadership in today's organizations.""Leadership is difficult to define because it is vast and unique in its meaning, making it an interesting and challenging concept.""Taking failure positively is crucial to personal and professional growth, embracing the lessons it offers.""In our firm, we back purpose-driven founders and entrepreneurs who are solving important problems, with a particular focus on climate tech and health tech.""Resilience, passion, and the ability to be dispassionate are essential traits we look for in founders.""Mindfulness and strong cultural values create a solid foundation for successful startups.""Investing in the right team is crucial, and we focus heavily on understanding the founders, the senior team, and the organizational dynamics.""Keeping our ears and minds open allows us to learn from both good and bad experiences, embracing the idea of continuous learning."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Mark Kahn is a Mark is a Managing Partner at Omnivore based in India. He is funding entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture and food systems.In this thought-provoking conversation, Mark shares his remarkable journey from the United States to India, driven by a passion for agribusiness and the pursuit of transformative solutions for agriculture and rural economies. Discover how his experiences shaped him as a leader, why he believes the most successful entrepreneurs possess a unique darkness within them, and the crucial traits he seeks in founders before making investment decisions. Gain valuable insights on navigating success and failure, understanding the impermanence of triumph, and building resilience in the face of uncertainty. Mark's vision for Omnivore and their commitment to backing disruptors and visionaries in the agri-food sector will inspire and ignite your own leadership aspirations. Don't miss out on this engaging conversation that will leave you inspired and ready to take on your own leadership challenges.You can find Mark at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-kahn-20490a/https://www.linkedin.com/company/omnivore-partners/In the interview, Mark shares"We support entrepreneurs building breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food climate, and the rural economy." "India is a unique agricultural ecosystem with a tremendous number of farmers. Solving the problem of Indian agriculture can build a better, more equal India." "The most successful entrepreneurs have some tremendous darkness in them, some void they are filling through their work.""Intentionality is crucial. Founders need a real motivation to survive, not just to start up." "Leaders should be secure in themselves and not need to be the smartest person in the room on everything." "Resilience is more important than external validation. Success and failure are temporary imposters." "Success and failure both have pitfalls. It's important to understand that they are fleeting moments in the journey." "We look for founders who have a deep, psychological motivation for entrepreneurship, not just superficial reasons." "Avoid the 'rich kid startup' syndrome where founders offload risk on institutional investors instead of investing their own family money." "The real joy of being a VC is seeing ideas transform into scalable solutions through execution and witnessing the impact on rural India."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Tom Horsey is a Business Angel and very early stage VC investor focused on founding teams based in Spain from any sector. He is also a co-founder of StartupLabs Spain and Malta which is an accelerator program focused on growth stage startups.Based in Southern Europe, Tom has been an active investor in early-stage startups, particularly in Spain, Malta, and Portugal. With his wealth of experience, he understands the challenges faced by leaders—dealing with people, handling uncertainty, and managing pressure. He recognizes the crucial role leadership plays in the success (or lack thereof) of founders. Having learned from his own experiences, he emphasizes the shift from being an executor to being a leader as a startup evolves and grows. When investing in founders, he looks for ambitious individuals who possess strong execution skills, whether it's in marketing, technology, or overall leadership. He values the ability to make things happen and considers ambition and capacity as key indicators of success. Conversely, red flags include founders who struggle with execution and lack ambition. He believes that success lies in taking action and not being afraid to fail. He encourages founders to try, as the only true failure is never attempting something in the first place. Passionate about supporting others, Tom finds fulfillment in creating opportunities for startups and the jobs they generate. He believes in solving problems and making the world a better place through entrepreneurship. His friendly and humorous approach to leadership takes the pressure off and fosters an environment that motivates both himself and those around him.You can find Tom at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhorsey/http://www.startuplabsspain.com/In the interview, Tom shares"I've set up 16 different companies in my lifetime, just over half of which have been successful.""As an entrepreneur, I realized the importance of balancing leadership and operational focus for sustainable growth.""In early-stage startups, the shift from operational focus to leadership becomes crucial as the team expands.""To attract high-quality team members, founders must demonstrate leadership skills and create an environment for growth.""Successful founders excel not only as executors but also as good leaders who can drive their vision forward.""When investing in founders, we look for execution skills, ambition, and the capacity to make things happen.""Creating milestones, building a strong team, and achieving growth are indicators of a founder's ability to execute.""Past experiences and early entrepreneurial traits can reveal a founder's potential and entrepreneurial spirit.""Failure is only not trying in the first place. Taking action and making things happen is crucial for success.""Investing in startups is a way to support entrepreneurs and contribute to job creation and making a positive impact."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Vignesh Shankar is a Managing Partner at Artha99 Investment Partners with a background in Strategy, M&A, and Corporate Finance.Step into the captivating world of an interview with a dynamic entrepreneur and investor. Meet the seasoned professional who, despite a background in finance, dared to venture into the world of entrepreneurship. From working in top firms like Pricewaterhouse and HP Emphasis, this individual craved more than just numbers and spreadsheets. Eager to break free from the confines of a closed environment, they fearlessly established their own boutique investment advisory firm back in 2008. With an insatiable entrepreneurial spirit and a thirst for growth, they took on a remarkable challenge: not only to advise on acquisitions but also to step into the shoes of running the business itself.Join this interview to uncover the entrepreneur's reflections on the importance of humility, constant learning, and being open to help. Discover their unique approach to investing, where synchronizing with founders, people skills, and unwavering ethics take precedence. Gain insights into their views on sales, the lifeblood of business, and the critical role it plays in building relationships, understanding customer pain points, and embodying a company's brand. You can find Vignesh at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/vigneshshankar/[email protected] the interview, Vignesh shares"Never assume that you know everything and always be open to the fact that there is much you don't know. Seeking help and being receptive to it will always benefit you.""Having the openness to learn while being confident in your vision is crucial for founders and leaders. It allows for growth and adaptability in the market.""When considering investments, the synchronization with founders, their people skills, and ethics are essential factors. These determine whether we invest or not, even if the business itself is promising.""Red flags in investment opportunities include founders solely focused on an exit strategy without considering long-term growth, and a lack of openness to bringing in key team members for vital segments of the business.""Sales is one of the most critical functions in a business, as it ultimately brings in the money. Exceptional people skills, understanding the customer's pain points, and being the brand ambassador are crucial for sales success.""Cash flow is the oxygen for a business. Without a plan to bring in cash, there are hard questions to face. Acknowledging this fundamental aspect is vital for CEOs and business owners.""Salespeople often show empathy toward business owners since they understand the challenges of investing in and growing a business. They play a crucial role in driving growth and building relationships.""Dealing with both successes and failures requires leaders to remain humble, take responsibility, and exhibit a willingness to learn from their experiences. Being honest about failures and analyzing successes with logic are important traits.""Supporting founders' growth in human skills that aren't typically taught in business schools is essential. As passive investors, we provide a support system to help founders with various aspects, such as networking, business planning, and funding.""Building relationships with founders involves difficult and uncomfortable moments, but they are crucial for growth. Open communication, reasonable demands, and respectful reasoning are essential to maintain a strong relationship."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Raja Skogland is the founder at the Visionary Company & VC and an Advisor at Antler. She is an exited founder, an investor in 70+ startups, and one of the TOP 100 most influential women in the European VC & Startup space. In this captivating interview, join us as we dive into the remarkable journey of Raja, a tenacious founder who overcame numerous obstacles to build a thriving entrepreneurial career. From a background in private banking to becoming a respected investor and startup advisor, Raja shares her invaluable insights and hard-earned wisdom. Discover how her resilience, determination, and continuous learning paved the path to success. With candid anecdotes, Raja reveals the transformative moments that shaped him as a leader, emphasizing the importance of never giving up while also recognizing when to pivot. Uncover practical advice for new founders, learn how to navigate difficult conversations, and explore the power of respecting others and fostering emotional intelligence. Join us as we explore the delicate art of balancing ambition with self-care and find out how slowing down can actually accelerate personal and professional growth. You can find Raja at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rajaskogland/In the interview, Raja shares"I persevered and I feel like I'm still on a journey as a founder. It's never built. A business is never built.""It's a combination of never giving up, but also knowing when to give up. When to pivot, when to stop.""Help founders figure out the high impact activities and work smarter, not harder.""Respecting others, treating them as human beings and valuing their input are essential traits of successful leaders.""Good founders have emotional intelligence and empathy, while bad founders are selfish, egocentric, and lack respect.""Assess the pros and cons, prioritize your mental health, and choose whether it's worth your time working with a difficult founder.""Navigate difficult conversations by adapting your communication style to the founder's needs and establishing a professional board.""My drive today is to find a balance between helping founders and moving away from the hustle culture.""Simplifying processes and focusing on the right companies has increased our revenue and impact.""Enjoy the simple things in life, be present, and prioritize time for yourself. It's the ultimate luxury."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviours, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Anoop Mohan is the Managing Partner at Freespirit Ventures. He has successfully exited 3 ventures, and invests in early stage FinTech, Media, Gaming and Crypto based startups. Discover the fascinating journey of Anoop, with 14 years of corporate experience, he ventured into the startup world, experiencing three successful exits along the way. Free Spirit Ventures, his brainchild, represents his unrestricted approach to investing, where risk capital is injected at the early stages to shape innovative ideas. His leadership philosophy revolves around adaptability, recognizing that different situations demand different leadership styles. He supports founders in navigating challenges and shares invaluable insights gained from his own past failures and setbacks. In the ever-changing landscape of finance and entrepreneurship, he emphasizes the importance of being agile, flexible, and prepared for both successes and downturns.You can find Anoop at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anoopmohan79/https://freespirit.ventures/In the interview, Anoop shares"Prescreen Venture, a London-based investment firm, specializes in portfolio investments across FinTech, tech, web three, gaming, and media.""At Free Spirit Ventures, we invest in early-stage ideas and work closely with founders to shape and develop their products.""The name 'Free Spirit Ventures' reflects our risk-taking approach and our willingness to embrace new opportunities.""In the investment field, adaptability is crucial. We navigate the diverse worlds of finance and entrepreneurship by adjusting our strategies to fit each unique situation.""Leadership skills are important, but situational leadership is key. We help founders adapt their leadership styles to the specific challenges they face.""Learning from failures is vital, but success can also present challenges. Allocating resources for both good and bad times is essential for sustainability.""In times of success, it's important to strike a balance. Enjoy the moment, but also allocate resources for future expansion or unforeseen challenges.""Building a sustainable business requires a strong network. Supporting and helping each other within the same network can make navigating tough times easier.""Coaches and advisors play a crucial role in helping founders navigate challenges. Today's coaches and advisors bring a wide range of networks and connections to provide effective support.""As an investment firm, our vision is to carefully manage our current investments while seeking new opportunities that align with our expertise and commitment to growth."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviours, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Bala Kamallakharan is the Founder of Startup Iceland and Managing Director at Iceland Venture Studio. He is also a startup coach, speaker, and 8 time marathon runner. Step into the world of Bala as he shares his journey and insights on leadership challenges. His story began when he made a life-changing decision to move from the US to Iceland, seeking a closer connection to family. After the Icelandic financial collapse, he took the leap to start his own venture and support founders in building companies. His leadership style is rooted in the idea of servant leadership, where leaders work alongside their team, clearing obstacles and inspiring others to walk the right path. As an investor, He emphasizes aligning with founders' visions and providing support without imposing his own agenda. He values genuine authenticity and aims to build trust with the founders he works with. He recognizes that leadership traits are shaped by culture, yet he believes in inspiring others to act and encouraging their growth, regardless of their background. His vision is driven by the joy of seeing the teams he mentors succeed in the marketplace, grow as leaders themselves, and contribute to the betterment of humanity. Join Bala on his mission to empower and uplift founders as they navigate the challenging yet rewarding world of entrepreneurship.You can find Bala at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/balakamallakharan/http://startupiceland.com/In the interview, Bala shares"I moved to Iceland, not doing what I do now. I used to work for one of the Icelandic banks. And then the Icelandic financial collapse happened, and then I decided to start my own thing.""Technology will be a huge leverage, just like capital was. And I felt that, at least to my mind, it was very clear that technology will be a huge leverage.""Leadership is always about standing in front, inspiring others to walk the way you are walking, or inspiring them to walk the way that you think is right for whatever the context.""I'm a big fan of the servant leader model. That means you serve them by actually working, not just giving directions.""Leadership is about inspiring people to volunteer their heart and their mind, and that takes trust and building a genuine relationship.""In Iceland, captains are not just standing up and giving orders. They actually work with everybody because when you are on the boat in the ocean, you can't just stand and give orders.""Leadership is about absorbing a lot of things, pushing forward, and inspiring people to act and move forward. You can't do that with fear.""The first rule of investing in venture is you need to have an open mind. There are certain things you know, and there are certain things you don't know.""We only work with founders who are mission-driven and are working on hard problems. Our job is to find them, back them, and help them achieve those things.""What gives me the most joy and satisfaction at the end of the day is to see the teams we work with win in the marketplace and make progress as leaders, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviours, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Francisco Badia is the Managing Partner at Grow Venture Partners and the author of "Meaningful Entrepreneurship”. he enjoys helping Founders create and grow their companies especially in their early stages.Step into the fascinating world of venture capital with an insightful interview featuring a seasoned leader, discussing the importance of purpose-driven entrepreneurship and meaningful leadership. Meet the charismatic founder of Grow Venture Partners, a Barcelona-based VC firm specializing in tech transfer. With a focus on helping scientists transition from academia to entrepreneurs, their purpose lies in shaping better founders who create both wealth and jobs with a positive impact. As you delve deeper, discover the pivotal role of purpose in startup success and failure. Explore the power of listening, bringing people together, and embracing resilience on the entrepreneurial journey. Uncover the unexpected link between meditation, gratitude, and building meaningful companies. Gain a glimpse into the investment criteria of Grow Venture Partners, emphasizing deep tech, sustainability, and MedTech. Finally, find out how to reach out to this passionate leader and explore potential collaborations. Embark on this captivating interview and gain valuable insights for your own leadership challenges in a friendly and engaging tone.You can find Francisco at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/franciscobadia/http://www.growventurepartners.com/In the interview, Francisco shares"Our purpose is to shape better founders, helping scientists transition from academia to entrepreneurs, creating wealth and jobs with a positive impact in our world.""Good leaders have a clear purpose and the ability to transmit that meaningfulness to their team, fostering a collective sense of purpose.""Leadership is about listening, bringing people together, and empowering those who can do things better than you.""Startups driven by meaningfulness and purpose exhibit resilience in the face of challenges, setting them apart from those solely motivated by financial gain.""Understanding an entrepreneur's why is crucial in discerning whether they are driven by purpose or material success.""Encouraging founders to write down the purpose of their company and regularly revisit it helps align decision-making and navigate challenging situations.""Meditation and finding meaning can be transformative for entrepreneurs, providing clarity, resilience, and gratitude.""Living with thankfulness and adopting a service-oriented mindset is crucial for effective leadership.""Our venture capital firm invests in deep tech, sustainability energy, and MedTech companies with a focus on impact investing and positive societal change.""Real transformation requires emotional engagement and action, going beyond intellectual understanding and reading alone."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviours, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Paulina Jansch is the Founding Partner at Leanox Impact Capital and one of the TOP 100 most influential women in the European VC and startup space. In this engaging conversation, she shares her journey and the organic growth of Leanox, a startup consultancy turned venture capital firm. With a background in finance and project management, Paulina brings people together, organizes processes, and evaluates companies based on facts and figures. Paulina's drive to make a difference comes from her involvement in female empowerment, having worked with human trafficked women. The realization that female founders were not getting equal opportunities led her to establish Leanox's vision of a balanced ecosystem where both male and female founders thrive. She emphasizes the importance of education, dialogue, and unlearning biases to achieve equality. The challenges they face include creating a mindset shift and navigating cultural differences when giving feedback. Join this insightful interview to gain valuable insights on leadership challenges, impact investing, gender parity, and fostering a culture of open communication. Get inspired to make a difference and contribute to a more inclusive and equitable world. You can find Paulina at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paulinajaensch/http://www.leanox.eu/In the interview, Paulina shares"We started Leanox because we wanted to become founders again and support startups with financial planning, fundraising strategies, and valuations.""At Leanox, we invest in early-stage startups that have impact at their core.""Our vision at Leanox is to achieve gender parity in the startup ecosystem by investing 50% in female founders and raising capital from 50% female investors.""We believe in educating people about discrimination and biases to create a more inclusive society.""Supporting each other and seeking mentorship is crucial in fighting against gender inequality and empowering women.""We support our founders both financially and through our expertise in impact investing.""Navigating difficult conversations with founders requires cultural sensitivity and adapting feedback styles.""We create a feedback culture that focuses on highlighting successes and providing constructive feedback for growth.""Building relationships based on listening and understanding is key to effective communication and collaboration.""The joy and satisfaction come from working with courageous individuals who strive to make a positive change in the world and seeing our company grow from scratch."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Rajiv Vaishnav is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Cornerstone Venture Partners Fund. He is the Honorary Executive Chairman of Start-ups council of India, and was an integral part of NASSCOM’s senior management team for 13+ years. From humble beginnings to working with renowned organizations like Reliance and NASSCOM, Raji's career has been defined by seizing opportunities and making a difference. With an entrepreneurial spirit, he co-founded Thai, an organization that empowered entrepreneurs in India. Rajiv's leadership evolved through the challenges of working with both small startups and big conglomerates, giving him a unique perspective on leadership. His experiences have shaped his approach to working with founders, emphasizing the importance of self-monitoring, accountability, and taking ownership. His management style is rooted in storytelling, using anecdotes and experiences to inspire and guide others. He believes in the power of faith, confidence, and trusting mentors to navigate the unpredictable path of success. With a focus on passion, problem-solving, and societal impact, he encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to embark on an inside-out journey, where fulfillment comes hand-in-hand with financial success.You can find Rajiv at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rajivvaishnav/[email protected] the interview, Rajiv shares"I had a very humble beginning coming from a middle-class background, and I always wanted to do some business of my own.""I have gone with the flow and have no regrets. I was at the right time with the right set of people, and those people have really changed my life.""Every job I've done, I was either the first person in that organization or my boss was not sitting in the next cabin.""Confidence in yourself and belief in yourself are key factors in leadership and personal growth.""Leadership and mentorship may sound pompous, but for me, it's about taking ownership, being self-monitoring, and being accountable for your actions.""Having faith and trusting your mentors' advice, even when it seems unconventional, can lead to unexpected opportunities.""Management by storytelling is my style. I love sharing anecdotes and experiences of life to inspire and guide others.""The difference between an entrepreneur and an employee lies in the mindset. An entrepreneur is driven by passion to solve societal problems, while an employee's focus is often on money and fulfillment.""Success doesn't come from rushing. It requires balance, faith, and the ability to adapt to unexpected situations.""The entrepreneurial journey involves co-creating, building products, working with people, and finding solutions that customers are willing to pay for."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviours, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Bryony Cooper is a startup enthusiast and serial founder-turned-investor. She has led a few tech startups, a venture builder, an accelerator program, and is now a Managing Partner at Arkley Brinc VC. Get ready to be inspired by Bryony Cooper, with a background as a tech startup founder and experience in helping startups go from concept to commercialization, she brings a unique perspective to the table. Her unconventional journey, rooted in a creative background as a professional singer and writer, sets her apart in the world of venture capitalists.Drawing from her own experiences and observations, Bryony underscores the significance of broad skill sets in founders and the value of interpersonal skills in addition to technical expertise. Mapping out a clear framework for growth, maintaining open communication, and aligning on company values are key aspects she highlights.For individuals struggling with confidence, Bryony encourages deliberate practice and stepping outside comfort zones. Understanding one's worth, believing in oneself, and exuding confidence while remaining humble are crucial factors she advises.Join Bryony Cooper on her remarkable journey and gain valuable insights to overcome leadership challenges, foster company culture, navigate success and failure, and embrace your own creativity in the ever-evolving startup landscape.You can find Bryony at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bryonycooper/https://www.bryonycooper.com/In the interview, Bryony shares"I ran three tech companies by the age of 30 as CEO, and in between, I also ran a venture builder program helping other early-stage startups." "In the tech startup world, you can grow very quickly, and it's important to establish a company culture early on." - Bryony Cooper"Having open communication and shared vision with co-founders or management is crucial for the growth and success of a company." "Failing makes you learn much faster, and experienced founders who have learned from failure are valuable in the startup ecosystem." "Success can be more challenging than failure because it brings new responsibilities and expectations." - Bryony Cooper"Knowing your own worth, believing in yourself, and carrying confidence into the room are essential for leadership." "Practicing pitching, presenting, and public speaking builds confidence and improves communication skills." "Humility is just as important as confidence, especially when seeking investments or support for your company." "Creativity can be an outlet and a source of energy replenishment for leaders in the business world." "Body language plays a significant role in effective communication, and power poses can boost confidence and presence."

This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviors, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Anil Joshi is the Managing Partner at Unicorn India Ventures. Previously, he was heading operations at Mumbai Angels and Bangalore Angels, leading Angel Investment forums in India as President. He is also a mentor with various incubation centres and a speaker on startups and early stage investment.In this insightful interview, we delve into the extraordinary journey of our guest, who stumbled into the world of startups and strategic investments by accident, only to discover a deep passion for supporting and nurturing innovative ventures. From working in India's largest engine network to collaborating with thought leaders and assisting international businesses in entering the Indian market, their wealth of experience brings invaluable lessons for leaders facing diverse challenges. Discover the contrasting leadership styles required in large organizations versus startups, as well as the unique qualities that founders bring to the table, whether they're seasoned professionals or fresh graduates. Get ready to be inspired as we explore the accidental path to success and the joy found in navigating the dynamic startup ecosystem. Tune in for a friendly and engaging conversation that will leave you motivated and armed with practical insights for your own leadership journey.You can find Anil at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/aniljoshi74/https://www.linkedin.com/company/unicornivc/In the interview, Anil shares"My journey to where I am today was unplanned and accidental, transitioning from a successful corporate career to strategic investments and becoming part of Mumbai Angels.""I've had a diverse professional background, ranging from working in India's largest engine network to being a consultant and eventually finding my passion in the startup world.""I had the opportunity to interact with thought leaders and assist international businesses in establishing their presence in India, which provided invaluable learning experiences.""I was exposed to the startup ecosystem in India even before it gained significant momentum, giving me a unique perspective on its growth and development.""As an investor, I've witnessed the contrasting leadership styles required in large organizations versus startups, and understand the challenges faced by founders in building effective leadership teams.""In startups, founders often play multiple roles, taking on responsibilities from CEO and CMO to HR and finance, until the organization matures and a proper leadership structure can be established.""Supporting young founders, who may lack experience but possess great potential, is a crucial aspect of my role as an investor. Providing guidance and acting as a sounding board helps them navigate the challenges of entrepreneurship.""Every founder brings unique qualities to the table, whether they have years of industry experience or are fresh out of college. Both groups benefit from learning, making mistakes, and developing their leadership skills over time.""My current role in strategic investment and being part of Mumbai Angels was never planned, but it has become my passion. The accidental nature of my journey has allowed me to thrive in identifying promising ventures and working with them.""Being exposed to the startup world and witnessing the growth and success of innovative companies brings me immense joy and a sense of gratitude. It's a reminder that when you love what you do, excellence follows naturally."

This is the Investor's Lens series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.This series will look at leadership from the point of view of an investor or VC.In each episode of this series, we will explore what traits, behaviours, or red flags investors see in the leaders that they work with - and how founders evolve over time as they become better leaders.Suresh Narasimha is an idea-stage investor in student startups. He helps student entrepreneurs with funding, resources, and connections; and believes in co-creating rather than mentoring or advising.Join us in this captivating interview as we dive deep into the remarkable journey of an entrepreneur turned investor, who has paved a unique path in the world of startups. Discover how this visionary leader, with a strong sense of purpose, has dedicated himself to nurturing the brightest minds of the next generation. From motivating college students to become entrepreneurs while pursuing their education, his approach challenges the traditional norms of leadership. Uncover the power of purpose, flexibility, and emotional balance in driving teams towards success. Explore the intriguing dynamics of gender diversity and how having women in leadership positions has proven to be a game-changer. With thought-provoking anecdotes and practical wisdom, this interview will inspire and empower you on your own leadership journey. You can find Suresh at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cocreator/https://www.cocreate.ventures/In the interview, Suresh shares"I started as a deep tech entrepreneur and built several startups before transitioning to becoming an investor with a purpose.""I believe the best thing for the country and the world is when bright youngsters become entrepreneurs and solve real problems.""My role is to motivate and support young college students to become entrepreneurs while continuing their education.""In the past two years, we have invested in around 45 startups, with 60% of them being led by female entrepreneurs.""Leadership requires a strong vision and purpose to drive change in the world.""I emphasize the importance of sticking to purpose rather than being fixated on specific solutions.""When working with young and inexperienced individuals, I focus on co-creating rather than just mentoring them.""I trust in the capabilities of youngsters and believe there is much to learn from them.""In my investment decisions, I look for disciplined and innovative students who are deeply committed to solving complex problems.""Having female leaders in startups has proven to be beneficial, as teams with women in leadership positions tend to perform exceptionally well."

This is the Can't Stay Silent series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.For most of my life, I have kept my voice buried beneath layers of fear and insecurity. In each episode of this series, I will find the strength to express myself from the bottom of my heart.These short episodes will be filled with honest reflections, simple stories and metaphors, and some gentle provocations - all to help you Deploy Yourself in your own life.Together, we'll discover how we can create a world where all of us can show up as leaders. So, if you are ready to allow the leader in you to bravely listen to my call of leadership, join me on Can’t Stay Silent.You can find more about me & the Deploy Yourself School of Leadershiphttps://www.deployyourself.com/https://www.deployyourself.com/podcast/https://deployyourself.com/newsletterhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sumit4all/https://twitter.com/sumitgupta4allhttps://www.youtube.com/@leadership-sumithttps://www.tiktok.com/@sumitguptacoachShow NotesHow being smart and intelligent leads you to never having enough time?He said that my biggest challenge is time. Or my biggest enemy is time. He said that I am super ambitious. I have this drive, this energy. I'm very smart. I know what to do, but I never have enough time. What if being smart and very good with planning leads you to never having enough time?normally we see time as a horizontal time shift. Like we see time as something which is coming from the past and going to the future. We see time on the calendar. We see time as a minutes, we see time as hours and seconds. And we also, we always see time on this dimension right. That it is running out. as long as we have this mindset about time. It only means that there is limited time. That's one. Naturally. way for dealing with time horizontally. That there is only limited time.They will never be enough time. In fact, there cannot ever be enough time For your dreams for your potential, for your leadership, which are infinite as they should be. What if there's also a vertical dimension to time, which is not finite, which is infinite. And which is always available to us. And which is a never-ending.It's a choice that we always have. To continue operating the way that we have been in the horizontal dimension of time driving. Thinking overthinking with our brains. And always ending up with time as an enemy, with never having enough time. Or we can slow down. We can stop. We can sense we can listen. We can go deep and we can see what is an oppurtunity, which is here. What is an opportunity that can lead to those big exponential results.it is very important to recognize when your strengths are becoming a liability. Any strength. Even of being. Super smart or having an . High IQ. If you cannot choose to when to use it. And when not to use it. It becomes a liability.you're totally missing out on playing some shots. which can give exponential results, but which are only accessible when you access the vertical dimension of time. It requires you to be present. It requires you to slow down the rush.When you get this, your life will never be the same again.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this interview, Abdul shares how he took inspiration and lessons from his father and became an entrepreneur. He trusts people and believes in giving them full responsibility, and he also shared the importance of prayer, meditation, and journaling to his leadership and day to day activities as an entrepreneur. You can find Abdul at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/abdul-salim-83413015/In the interview, Abdul sharesmy father was a very successful entrepreneur. So as a kid, I've tagged along with him, wherever he has done business, be it a small business or he was doing multiple businesses, right?I was always with him and just to see his his persistence and passion, the way he used to work. It always inspired me, right? My father is my motivation and I'm following his footstep.I worked in large companies where people would want to give their arms and legs to be in companies like infosys, HP or even Target, but I was never content there. I always wanted to be entrepreneur. I start very early, right? Like, I typically wake up by six o'clock every day. So first three hours is for myself, right? So that's completely divided for myself. It could be my mind. It could be my body, it could be my learning, right? This three hours is completely, I will work out, I will do meditationIt helped me schedule my day pretty well. And then I don't react for every little thing, right? because of meditation. It's helped me for sure.I've hired some smart people and then we have completely given them the freedom, where they can manage their work.Whenever I think of a idea or anybody in my team, comes up with the idea and I feel that this is a good idea. We implement immediately so that freedom I've got being an entrepreneur we've seen a lot of ups and down, but then somehow manage to survive in this 10 years.Everybody deserves respect and when you do that, the team members always perform

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this conversation, Tom shares how he started his company while still in college and how that has been an advantage - when it comes to culture, leadership, and working remotely. He reflects about the difficult times he faced early on and the important role of transparency in organisations. You can find Tom at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tomcoburn/[email protected] the interview, Tom sharesSo this has been my only real job to date. I was not one of those kids growing up that like always knew I was gonna be an entrepreneur. I always wanted to be a doctor. My grandfather's a doctor. He's 82 years old and still practices in his small town outside of Boston where he grew up. And I always loved science and school.I went to college in Boston, at Boston College. I got there in 2009 and I was, I, pre-med major, working in the lab, getting ready to take the MCATs. All of those things you've gotta do to go become a doctor in the US.my roommates were in the business school, and our business school had a business plan competition. You could pitch a Shark Tank style pitch in front of judges and you could win $10,000 for your business idea. And so I decided to do that competition with my friends just for fun freshman year, we submitted our first year of college, we submitted an idea to the business bank competition, and we didn't make it past the first round. Our second year, we came back with a new idea, which ended up being the start of the idea for Jebbit, although we changed the idea a lot and we ended up winning the competition with that idea. I was mentally ready to drop outta school after that summer and go do the business full-time. And the thing that made it an easy decision for me was I talked to both my dean at my college and I talked to the dean I was gonna have at the medical. And I just asked them both for a one year leave of absence and they both said, sure My current challenge is everything around culture and communication and getting everyone internally at Jebbit g rowing in the same direction, fully in sync with each other.One of the things I hear a lot from new employees when I get their feedback is they're shocked at how transparent me and my management team are.We spend a lot of time trying to get people in person and getting the right combos of people in person. So we get the whole company together twice a year now for a three day offsite. Once in January and once in July.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this interview, Abhijit opens up about how lonely it can get as a founder and the toll it can take on your wellbeing and health. He also shared his decision making process - and how every decision in the company depends on how it impacts the bottom line, the top line, and the company’s reputation. He also shared how he plans his day, stays productive, and how gardening teaches him patience and tenacity. You can find Abhijit at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/abanand/[email protected] the interview, Abhijit shares I'm a first generation entrepreneur. My dad is a doctor, he's been a government servant. And my mom's been a teacher all her life. one thing I've realized is that cash is king. The moment cash disappears, the company will cease to exist. my number one priority is to make sure that there is enough cash in the company to keep us liquid for at least the next three quarters. That is the number one priority. Number two I've, both me and my wife, we've decided. that Every single decision that we take in our company will have a three-pronged approach. That decision will be a yes or a no, depending upon how well it improves the company's top line. How well it improves the company's bottom line, and does it impact the company's reputation in a positive way or a negative way?From a sales point of view, I've realized that, a small customer and a large customer, They'll take the same amount of time. They demand the same kind of attention. So I've decided to focus on some very large customers who, from whom we keep getting big projectsone key thing that we did was we kept on we kept our focus on customer satisfaction. Number two, we've managed our finances very tightly. And number three, I think We've tried to make sure that we treat our employees with the same respect as what we would do to our customers and to our vendors. Richard Branson's book, losing my virginity, somebody asked him a question that you look like a quintessential entrepreneur, in your opinion, how would you define a business? And his response was, I'm paraphrasing, but his response was, A business is nothing else but an idea that will improve people's lives. So that's how the name Zindagi, which is Hindi the way of life. That's how the name started. one key mission statement that we have is to ensure that we leave this earth better than the, where, how we found it.from a personal point of view, I can tell you that It becomes hard sometimes because I feel that there is nobody to talk to.I think one thing that, that I'm trying to learn even now is, Don't dilute responsibility. Give one task to one person, let him make it his baby and let him own it completely end to end.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this heartfelt conversation, Paddy shares his passion for startups and how he moved from technology to entrepreneurship. He shared the powerful yet simple lesson of “nishkama karma” or detached action - and how he applies that in his role as the CEO. He shares how he had to take a big risk and pledge his property to pay salaries in his previous startup. You can find Paddy at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyraghavan/In the interview, Paddy sharesI don't know, somewhere in my life somewhere I got this entrepreneurial, bug it's something that I've had right from my college days. Multipl is my third StartUpI always wanted to build something on my own that was on the cards, but it wasn't, I wasn't really desperate or I wasn't, not every day that I wake up that I start thinking about, or I should be starting something. I mean it's always especially when you're actually interacting with someone who's fairly successful, which I would call myself and you would only see the positive side of it. And people tend to think that, yeah it's a nice journey. It's good we should become entrepreneurs. But I've definitely had my fair share of challenges.I literally had to pledge my property and to pay the salaries in the previous startup it was at a point where we had very difficult situation in terms of you know, raising capital and paying the salary I must be grateful to a lot of people. You know, my family has been very supportive. My wife has been very supportive throughout because that is very important. You can't have a you know, if you have a family you need the support because that could definitely take away a lot of your Focus if it is not in the right frame.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Pavel shared how his journey as an entrepreneur has evolved over the years. We talk about the importance of believing in ourselves, and how he has established teams in different countries that can work independently without his direct involvement. He also shares his love for flying and how he experiences freedom when in flight. You can find Pavel at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/vspavel/http://solar-staff.com/In the interview, Pavel sharesI was interested in technical issues and legal issues and both together helped me to open the private legal practice for the internet companies in Ukraine.I decided to move to international law and international taxation and help Russian based internet companies to move abroad to open the subsidiary companies anywhere in the world. I went to the chief of the office I was working in and told him of the future of internet business. He listened to me but didn't believe that was a good solution. I was invented by that Idea and I took on that step and just followed my idea and my dream.When I was a child I read a book written by the Russian famous authors. And there was a phrase, if you want to pass through the wall, you need only two things. You need to believe in yourself and do not look at the barrier. If you do not look at the barrier and look through that if you can, and if you believe in you, in yourself, you can go through the world. The first five years I worked really hard in Solar Staff and I almost had no time to have any kind of hobbies maybe except swimming in a pool or some kind of sports. I'm starting piloting. I will start my career as a private pilot next year in Oakland. I feel very excited about flying. Flying is like having freedom. I'll also start my first art project. I'll work together with a team of AIs to create an art. An abstract art, abstract portraits of the personalities. I allow my company and my team to make mistakes and and to learn from their own experience on those mistakes.Now I'm focused on the human and AI collaboration and sometimes it scares me. I start to learn A lot of subjects, a lot of terms about the philosophy of AI systems, and I start to know a bit more about that.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Brian shares how his world turned upside down when a drunk driver hit him in 2016, and how he turned that into a positive by creating companies that can continue to operate without him. He shares that if he doesn’t feel a connection with somebody at a grounded level, he doesn’t do business with that person. You can find Brian at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjesposito/https://twitter.com/brianjespositoIn the interview, Brian sharesI get invited into startups, even up the Fortune 500 companies and help these companies succeed, grow, and become profitable.when I work with these startups, or even failing large corporations, it gets really fun and exciting to look at what am I holding that can make them more valuableSo in the late nineties, I built the first B2B B2C eCommerce platform for the beauty. I was first to build a website basically to distribute beauty products and personal care products.I had to quickly learn that life is very difficult and we want to try to do great things sometimes. Whether it's universe or jealous, people want to try to harm you and prohibit that from happening.I learned from that experience, it turned problems into potential opportunities. So anybody that was potentially suing me, like it was a, if it was a brand, for example, or a retailer, well, I was very open and communicative with them. So I always try to look at problems or negativity and turn in and say there's always a solution or an upside here.when they had a liquidity event or a larger company bought them out, not only did I have no connection to the upside or equity ownership, I also lost the brand and the distribution because those other companies have their own distribution.biggest turbulent time in my history was in 2016, a drunk driver hit me head on and outside of Nashville, Tennessee, I had 30 or so companies in my holdings doing what I felt was quite well and That was the first domino where I began to lose everything. So my whole world turned upside down. I realized I was the glue for everything. I'm definitely love old movies and old western types of shows, so that's my escape. I do that every night. I'll watch, I'll flip on YouTube and start going through old Johnny Carson shows, and that's my therapy, that's my escape.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Luis spoke about the importance of organizational structure and having a strategy - especially for content and sales - for first-time entrepreneurs. He also shares how he is experimenting with Reiki and meditation and is obsessed with personal development. He is learning to be more patient and deal with rejection on his entrepreneurial journey. You can find Luis at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/luismsg/https://evolution4all.com/In the interview, Luis sharesI started my career almost 20 years ago. I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. So 20 years ago I left Portugal in direction of Finland.I was lucky enough to work in Nokia that time. Nokia was still a really big company I'm an Amazon best seller, so I have four books published. The last one is coming in couple of weeks.From the leadership point of view, if you're a leader in the company software de delivery is the core. But if you don't really look at organizational structure, the strategy, the operationsI was lucky enough to start as a software developer, but then I moved a little bit for more to, into team leadership and then a little bit more into organizational design. when people know me and they ask me what's my background? And I say, I'm a software engineer, everyone, wow. How is it possible? Because I'm very outgoing. So I'm not shy at all, so I'm very social personMy first book in 2015, if I remember correctly, was about a job retrospectives. So it was exactly a book on that topic.So what I do is usually I have an idea, I create a brochure, I create a brochure of that idea, and then I send to a bunch of people and ask for feedback then as hobbies I do water polo I play football as any Portuguese guy, I go to gym. I'm trying now as well.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Rosemarie shared her interesting journey from being a lawyer to a tech startup co-founder. She has just joined the Founder’s Pledge to give a percentage of her proceeds to charity. She shares her love for working together in person and adds that we are denying us something if we do not work physically together.You can find Rosemarie at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rdiegnan/https://twitter.com/rdiegnanIn the interview, Rosemarie sharesstarted out in the tech world as a technical I'd always had an intent to go to law school. So after doing that for a little while, I went to law school worked as a lawyer in the US for about five years.Decided I did not wanna be a lawyer and tried a bunch of different things. Actually, I I thought I wanted to go. I was looking into going into the charity sector and worked for about two years between being a lawyer and getting full-time employment did various things including working as a volunteer attorney for an organization addressing women and children's issues. after about a year of doing HR consulting I'm was at an event and I met someone who was the c e o of an HR software company, and I convinced him to hire me as their first product manager without actually really knowing what a product manager was.But so started that, did that for a while. I was involved with a couple of startups in the US and about 10 and a half, 11 years ago made the decision to, I was able to get my Irish citizenship through my heritage. My grandparents were born in Ireland, so I decided now's the time to take advantage, and I came to the UK to check out the startup scene here. like giving back has always been a big motivator for you, like when you started as a lawyer also, can you share a bit about. ultimately it's something that is important to me and hopefully in the future I'll be able to do it more effectively. But particularly children and opportunities for children have always been really important to me when I was in California, I joined an organization called casa, which is court appointed special advocates. And basically what it is they train volunteers. So I happen to be a lawyer, but you don't have to be one to do this. They train volunteers to represent the interests of children who are in the foster care system.And I've just joined an organization called Founder's Pledge where essentially what you do is you pledge to give a percentage of the proceeds from your. Your startup, your scale up once you have an exit and then it can be, it gets given to charities. I think that one of the biggest things that hold people back is fear.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Akhil shares how he traveled as a child to protected rainforests, and how that has shaped his vision and what he does today. He also talks about the importance of having mentors for any entrepreneur, and how he loves to go on long walks without any direction. You can find Akhil at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/akhilsivanandan/In the interview, Akhil sharesGreen Story. So what we do at Green Story is we work with fashion brands to calculate the footprint of their products in a very credible manner through a scientific methodology, and allow them to make improvements in their supply chain, offset their footprint, and most importantly, show it to consumers at point of sale. I never thought I'd want to wind up being an entrepreneur. I grew up in India and very typically I did engineering in India in computer science. I didn't have want anything to do with it in my career so I ran away screaming and ended up working In a space that I was very interested in since I was a child, and that was in the environmental space. Then I moved to Canada in 2011. The intent was to build out a career in the renewable energy and sustainability space in Canada That's also where I met my co-founder, Nav. He and I were one of five people in the entire batch who were into sustainability.I do want to point to my father as one key component of that. I was very fortunate in the sense that he had a job in the government of India, which involved a lot of work in rural communities. And a lot of his work was in charge sometimes of the development of these regions in India. gradually I grew a love for nature and my parents also instilled that in me by purchasing a lot of books about it. For me I was a voracious reader, so I read a lot of books on natural history and used to watch a lot of documentaries what I learned to do was learn to identify. Whom I could go to for what, . So if I needed different levels of support, if I needed different levels of push sometimes to get to that next level, I used to find different mentors who could help me for those specific things and just or just generic like mental health in a way. I'm myself very bad at taking breaks. , which is a weakness that I have, but I do think that's important though. What I like doing in my downtime is really what people call rambling. So it's probably the most boring. What I find the most rewarding hobby in the world is like really going in a long walk with no direction. , and that's how my wife and I Spend quality time together There's so many beautiful parks and forests where you can get lost inMy wife's a professional artist. I'm very much part-time, so . I do like drawing and sketching and painting as a way to relax and also express myself.I used to actually do a lot of Tai Chi as a relaxation mechanism. I don't practice as much anymore, unfortunately. And I do want to get back into it. It's something I learned from my master in India.Be mindful of your body, and recharge your batteries cuz that's when you can present the best version of yourself.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Nicole shares how she grew up as a small business daughter and that led her to develop a powerful work ethic. She reveals her fun side in the interview, and how she builds a culture of accountability and fun in her company. She also mentioned how she is running a remote company, but never misses on opportunities to bring people together and connect in person. You can find Nicole at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-grinnell-b6190515/http://bosunsolutions.com/In the interview, Nicole sharesI had a unique perspective of being able to work alongside my parents' employees and hear the complaints and needs that they had, as well as understanding the management and leadership that's needed to have employees. Having a background of being a small business daughter, I think I have an unbelievable work ethic and really, Resilience and ability to hop into any role. And I think that in my corporate life, that was really what made me succeed. Having to let go of a team member is probably one of the toughest.when you have a creative space and bouncing ideas off of each other, even though our team is remote, we like to be able to get together in person. There is a human to human connection that is really needed.Most people don't know that I have two polar opposite personalities. When I'm at work I just wanna be productive and I'm a complete goofball outside of work. We definitely love to have a good time internally and, keep things light and we celebrate wins like crazy. That is our biggest thing. It is so easy as an entrepreneur to go high as a kite and like to the bottom of despair. And just when those experiences happen, whether it's the loss of a client or a situation that happened, we have like a three step process where we look back and say, what could we have done differently.Find a mentor and it doesn't have to be this exclusive program that you enroll in, but just find someone who has already done what you are doing. We actually have a mentorship program internally. We do open forums where our other contractors are able to meet with the current contractors and do different topics every quarter.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Shikha shares her vision and how she started out in her own unique way. She started an edtech consultancy based in Africa and serving the African continent when she saw that nobody was serving Africa. She shares how she drew inspiration from her mother and grandfather early on and that led her to becoming the first engineer in her family.You can find Shikha at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/shikha2020/[email protected] the interview, Shikha sharesI completed my engineering in computer science 2012, and I started working with one of the companies as software developer just out of curiositywhen I actually thought of starting my own company, that was one major curiosity that hit me was why not Africa? So why are the companies not reaching out to the African market?She's the first engineer, and a woman working and owning a business on her parents side. Her mother was always encouraged her become something and how both her brother and her are the only engineers in the family.The people she met have been respectful of the position and very curious to know her journey.How recently they were shortlisted by New Chip Accelerator, which is a accelerator program in Texas based in USA because they are concentrated on the Western world and also trying to make a change in the African continent. She feels that she has, as an individual, achieved whatever she has to. From starting working in six different companies in a corporate world, starting her own company, not just in one country, but two countries in two different continentsShe says that the only thing left is just going to the moon. She wants to strike a good balance between developing high-tech projects for the Western world and trying to make something substantial for the African continent.There's more that comes to being a leader than just having the knowledge. The most important skill that a leader should have is empathy.I feel that in the next three years of time when it comes to me as transitioning, who I want to be, to what I want to create is also this one important fact that I want a table where everyone gets the opportunity to speak. So the only advice that I can give is you need to work on how to conquer that fear, because once you are over that stage of being fearful, the world is all yours and I really feel you take one step and then the world will help you take the next 10 steps.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this heartfelt conversation, Sanjay shares his story of starting out as an entrepreneur 27 years ago and the challenges he faced. He shared how he has grown and evolved as a person along the way, and his vision of contribution and serving the agricultural world through technology. He also shares the powerful but often invisible role our co-founders and families play in our success. You can find Sanjay at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjayborkar/[email protected] the interview, Sanjay sharesWe were first-generation entrepreneurs when we founded our company, and I would say that the toughest part is we did not have any experience working anywhere. Santosh and I, came from agricultural families but studied computer engineering in the University and we felt we should marry agriculture and IT so software. We were offered to go and work in Brazil by our first client. However, Santosh and I didn't find it very attractive. He even offered to come to our houses and speak to our parents.We approached the Department of Agriculture to see if we could work with the and we fortunately got the opportunity to develop design and develop a multimedia content for them. We learnt that information has to be always given free but the services are to be charged or sold. You have to involve your stakeholders, employees, customers, vendors, your banks or financial partners etc in your dreams and vision so that you can all be in the same page. You need to learn how to communicate with everyone successfully so you can get your work done through a very right way of communication.for next three to five years, definitely we want to be one of the top five companies in the world who are serving agriculture typically as a smart platform. Secondly, we want to add value to all our customers not just by providing them with technical solutions, but also helping them practice regenerative agriculture. So internally in the organization we inculcate a lot of leadership trainings and behavior to create more leaders. We most importantly try to hand over the entire responsibility to a leader and give them complete freedom to work on the projectI'm very grateful For my friend and co-founder Santosh together with my family and his family and definitely not forgetting our employees.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the heartfelt conversation, Glenn shares the story of how he moved into sales early in his career, and how he has never looked back. He also revealed many other stories from his long career and the lessons he draws from them - which are not only useful to anybody in sales but any leader in my opinion. You will not want to miss this conversation.You can find Glenn at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/glennpoulos/http://www.gapwireless.com/In the interview, Glenn sharesMy first job was as a civil servant. I worked for the federal government as a technical role in the weather department fixing electronic weather equipment.I had a government company car. It was the crappiest car you could imagine and I think it was a Chevy Chevette.My then boss always told me that I was in the wrong job. So I listened to him and I applied for a sales job and I ended up getting that job and leaving the government and going into the world of sales.When I got the interview for the sales job they flew me to Montreal to visit and meet one of the owners. I was picked up in a B M W 750. And and I'm like, wow, I really need a job in Sales because I had just gone from a Chevy Chevette to a BMW 750, and that had a huge impact on me I was like "I gotta get me one of these things."The only reason I got the job was because I was the only one that followed up twice a day for 10 days. Their reasoning was that I would go to that length to keep the job. When I set my sights on things, I can get very focused on following up and sticking to the task I found it very difficult to learn the products at the beginning because I didn't have any way to apply them. But once I got into the field, I started learning tips and tricks from the owners who became my mentors, and that's where I started writing down the rules, which eventually became the book.I resigned my job after I realized that my bosses were never gonna be my partners or see me as an equal.After I retire, I'm planning on building the background to perhaps have a bit of a public speaking effort or just drift off into the sunset, play pickleball and relax. Book some speaking gigs and maybe do a bit of public speaking tours.the biggest challenges were integrating our business into another bigger business that bought us and figuring out how to blend systems and people.I learned was that the moment you realize you're not getting the business leave, just end it and let other people fight for it because you are wasting time.A rejection and a no is not a judgment on yourself. It's a path towards finding the person that does need your product or solution at that time.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Chinmay shares how he wanted to stand out and that led him to entrepreneurship quite early in his life. He also shares the importance of learning as a leader, and how he learned and became good at sales. We also touched upon on his passion for music and travelling and how this helps him find balance and deal with the pressures that come with entrepreneurship. You can find Chinmay at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/chinmay-bhanagay/In the interview, Chinmay sharesHe comes from a background in enterprise sales and solutions but studied mechanical engineering.I've been part of multiple roles in one company and has really given me a sense of how difficult the journey is but rewarding and how much fun it is to delve deep into different realms of the business and to understand different aspects of the business.In college I started a company with my friend, selling t-shirts to colleges where we would customize, print and make t-shirts. I started enjoying that a lot more than actually starting for mechanical engineering because it I used to go around different colleges.I've always enjoyed keeping my foot in different places and experiencing different sites of business or life in general as well.I love being part of finance, part of the solution, part of enterprise sales and building relationships with clients and really understanding the problem statements and then consulting them or suggesting different solutions. In the near future we see ourselves being able to simplify the usage or the way people, consume services in a much more efficient and simpler way.The challenge facing them is being able to operate lean, serving a broader range of customers and still meeting demands which lie outside the purview of the product solution you provide.Personally, I handle challenges keeping myself occupied with certain hobbies. I play instruments I'm an active guitarist and I have a band I play with. This helps me zone out and also balance myself and get back on that the next day. I travel quite a bit and it's all offbeat travel with my wife. We both love exploring places that people have not gone to, and we make video logs of it.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, David shares his story and the philosophy behind running a group of 8 companies and 130+ people. We spoke about the importance of being kind and transparent as a leader, and also the importance of delivering on what you have promised. He shares that business is not the only important thing and everything else that he spends time on a daily basis.You can find David at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/david-rodriguez-wim-group/http://www.webimpacto.es/In the interview, David sharesI wanted to develop the Spanish market and a UK company I was working for didn't believe in the Spanish market. I quit my job and I mortgage of my house so I could start my company. Started on my own working from my parent house.I hired my first employee who was my sister and she started doing call meetings, setting appointments etc.I start getting customers and more customers and now we have like around one hundred forty employees, nine different divisions and different companies.We are focused more on e-commerce and the entire digital business. I try to set up a really good relationship with people and they help me because always I have been helping them without expecting anything backI don't like to work with people that don't work very well with teams especially those that don't respect othersIf my team does something wrong, we have to admit it to our customers and we pay for the mistake and vice versa. It is important to be aligned with people that have, similar values as you haveYou have to deliver what you promise and you should are not be slaves of what you are doing.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name. In the interview, Mohan shared his family roots and connection to entrepreneurship. He shared many interesting stories from his experience as an entrepreneur - providing valuable lessons like how to hire well, how to delegate and scale, and the importance of trusting your intuition and following up. He also shares how he is a very simple man and finds valuable lessons from ancient 2000 year old classics like the Bhagavad Gita and the Thirukkural from India. You can find Mohan at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mohanthas/http://www.swiftprosys.co.in/In the interview, Mohan sharesI'm the first this generation to be in business in my entire family from both my mom and dad's side.From a young age I used to see my grandfathers having lot of money, counting cash at end of the day, and this somehow made me get interested in business.I resigned in early 2009 and then I started my company in April, 2009 along with my longtime friend.I was earning very good, much it's a very good lavish spending. I enjoying. . But the thing is you can't see as a person, you cannot even more than 24 hours a day. So I believe on that since when I saw my grandparents. Okay, so they take even though, or they are in trading, if they want to take a leave or they want to take a risk, they can do easilyI want to retire by 45 years, so that's what my aim is to get 30 years. start a business, earn lot of money. Retire at 45 and enjoy life. Yeah. I'm a very minimal person, a frugal person. I don't. spend that was much of money. Yeah. Okay. So my needs are very small and and also I can take risk since I am started from the lower level.So delegation is more important and we have to give freedom for them, and we have to give advice for them get work done.as an entrepreneur, if you are very much strong in sales and marketing, it's very easy If you are a tech guy or a operational guy, if you don't know sales and marketing then it's very hard to sustain in the business.you have to delegate to a person who knows very good in sales and market. and you have to learn from them. , you should not just delegate. The sales and marketing is a different strategy.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Smiti shares her journey as a woman leader and the kind of unique challenges it presents. She talks about how she was raised as second to none and how led to confidence and growth as a leader as she is on a mission to create happier workplaces. She gives practical nuggets of wisdom from her life and simple advice for leaders when it comes to dealing with the challenges that come with leading by example.You can find Smiti at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/smitibhattdeorah/In the interview, Smiti sharesI think as a person your Priorities and your ambitions in life keep changing over time. As you grow, as you experience more of the world, you realize that, okay, this is the right fit for me. I do love technology, It's not like I cannot code for the life of me, but I realized that maybe business is something which I'm more interested in. One of the major things which women, not just leaders or otherwise, lack today is self-worth which comes from the lack of support, which comes to men naturally from their peers. General stereotyping definitely affects the way one thinks and of course eventually has a major impact on ones growth.Men are naturally accepted as leaders as compared to a woman who have to prove herself to then be accepted as a leader.I've been lucky enough to have a great family support structure, not just from my parents, but also like from my in-laws and that has helped in my own self-confidence.my mom always had that ideology that she'll not make her girls feel any lesser than the boys and overprotect us. to create happier workplaces, to create digitized programs through which in a hybrid work setup, you can actually bring employees closer together to the organization, make them more productive, uh, reduce attrition, increase retention overall. So employee retention has become very big problem, not just in one country, but globallybiggest challenge from an Advantage Club's perspective, which we see today is the is that there's so much to cover and there is so little time to cover so much.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name. In the interview, Markus shares his story of starting as a scientist and and his growth as a leader. He shares about some of the important but difficult lessons that he had learned along the way. He also explains how he has invested in his own leadership and now continues to grow the next level of leaders in his organisation as they scale . You can find Markus at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-markus-wuebben/In the interview, Markus shareshow he founded his company in 2015 and their main focus was on increasing the customer lifetime values.In his young years he always wanted to achieve more, he wanted to play a lot of basketball and be successful and just create things and create something out of his own hands. When you're really in charge, you need to understand everything and be realistic and honest to yourself in order to see when things are not running right and when you need help.as an entrepreneur, one of the key things you need to do is you need to surround yourself with the people who are better at things than you are not.I think it's important that we focus on the learning and development aspect because times and society is changing.In my company, we have flexible working hours, but we don't allow people to work at night because we believe we are humans and need to interact.I'm very reliable, so when I say something, I'll get it done. If something doesn't go well, I try to always be thereI never demand anything from my employees that I'm not doing myself. I can't demand anything from people that I'm not really showing.So when there are setbacks, it's really around what can we do to be better next time.thing that worries me in terms of maybe the business is the way that we sometimes lack to accept the opportunities and innovation. We are focused on the risks and things that could go wrong if you were employing new technologies.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.We spoke about his interesting story of starting multiple companies in the last 15 years. He shares how he has learned the value of meditation, slowing down, and keeping your balance over the years, and how he maintains boundaries between work and his personal life now. He also shared a dream which keeps coming back to him, and we explored trusting our intuition and what it could mean.You can find Gabriel at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrieljarrosson/https://twitter.com/GJarrossonIn the interview, Gabriel shares I've been an entrepreneur my whole life when I was, 13 started. Learning html, css, creating websites and actually trying to sell them to friends of my parents.No one in my family was an entrepreneur, but, My family had an entrepreneurial spirit. I would say a project spirit, like if you wanna go after something, go do it.I was really passionate about building a business and I really to make it, whatever that means. And for me, when I was really young, 18, 20 was have a business that grows, that exists that, is a real business, not just a hobby. And so the first thing that I did was I was starting a new business every week, every month. That was obviously a mistake I've come to realize.It's actually my first exit that I mentioned, and I realized that wine is a terrible business because white is heavy and so it's very expensive to ship. Shipping is by weight. and it's also very fragile so it breaks, you have to send it again.when you're investing in a startup, you want to reduce. , everything that can go wrong. There's this thing that says anything that can go wrong will. And so you wanna reduce all of those potential problems, shipping, but even, production, there's, raw materials that you gotta have. There's production in itself, the assembly line. So many little things that can go wrong.If you wanna succeed, you are going to have at some point to work super hard for some periods of time. Maybe when you're when you've made it, you can relaxI've learned that the importance of self-care, if you wanna work hard and be able to keep doing this in a long time, you gotta, take care of yourself, not do it not burning out and meditatethe only way to be sure to fail is to, forfeit and abandon. But if you keep going, at some point, something is gonna happen. learned the value of your, reputation, your kindness, being nice to others. That's something that I, completely didn't care about at the beginning. On the side, helping coaching entrepreneurs, helping them grow, develop their business and also I'm, helping the companies that I invest in grow.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name. In the conversation, Philippe shares his journey - which started in the German countryside, then led him to start a nightclub, and later became a social entrepreneur and co-founder of multiple organisations. We spoke about culture, what it means to genuinely take care of your people, and how to keep balance while doing all of that. You can find Philippe at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/philippe-birker-94960014/http://www.climatefarmers.org/In the interview, Philippe sharesHow as a child they didn't have much money and started earning at the age of 14 years then my exchange semester in 2010 at a university in South Africa.I'm very extroverted, I have a lot of energy but I don't fit very well into existing structuresGot very deep into impact entrepreneurship and nightlife in my twenties. I had a nightclub in Amsterdam for three years and I worked in different impact entrepreneurship. I always wanted to go back to the countryside and have a bit more nature around me this got me back into agriculture. and then into the amazing potential of regenerative agriculture to essentially reverse climate changeHe and some of his friends bought an older abandoned village in Portugal and the idea was to basically rebuild the village as a community.I was introduced to social entrepreneurship, and since then, I basically kind of shifted my personal mindset and goal from basically earning money while having fun, to actually having a positive impact.I started a foundation with two of my best friends called the Love Foundation where we basically organize parties to fundraise money for water projects. Climate change is the biggest threat that we have at the moment to our planet and to our own human well-being as well.one of the core issues that we are having in our society is the fact that we are very disconnected from nature. Human beings have the tendency nowadays to see themselves outside of nature. I look at what are the things that I'm good at and that I enjoy. What are the things that I'm not good at, but I really want to get better at, and I enjoy them, and what are the things that I'm not good at, and I don't enjoy. and one of the things that I'm good at, but I don't enjoy them and I try to do not much of the end of the parts, which I'm not enjoying.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name. In the interview, Leslie shares how travelling to China opened up his perspective and helped him become an entrepreneur. He also shares his vision of trust and transparency that he sees in the world of HR in organisations. We also explore how every leadership journey is also a personal journey, he shares how he has grown and evolved over the years. You can find Leslie at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leslielapwingkivit/https://twitter.com/LeslieKivitIn the interview, Leslie sharesThat he has been working in the HR space for about 15 years where he mostly worked within startups and also into scale up.He describes himself as a leader who has strong hands-on experience.I studied and worked at the same time which was very beneficial for my own development.I started to work for booking.com and I think this was personally the first company where I truly experienced, professionalism in a way and hyper-growth and the use of data to make really good decisions.I had the support also of my parents and that was great. But I also realized this kind of pushed me to go out of my comfort zone so I decided to do an internship in Shanghai China because I felt that I needed to do something that was not very obvious.I think we can Restore trust to become more transparent, to become more clear and to overcommunicate on the expected impact, right before we actually start a work. It's becoming more and more important that employees would also like to have a stronger say to have more access in the organizations that they work for so they would like to influence a certain process.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the conversation, Caleb shares how his entrepreneurial journey started at college going door to door when he was only 19 years of age. We spoke about how the role of a founder or leader changes as their company grows to more than 50 people. He shared the challenges that presents as you have to learn to let go and trust others, and how invests in his own learning in this process.Caleb discusses the challenges he faced while going door to door and trying to sell their payment processing services to small business owners. He shares how this experience helped them to handle rejection and empathize with people. He also talks about the importance of leading by example and how a founder-led sales approach is crucial in the early stages of a business. Caleb emphasizes the importance of pushing oneself out of the comfort zone and doing things that they may not be incredible at, to help the organization grow. Finally, we discuss the importance of feedback and being open to suggestions from investors, the board, and the team. Overall, the conversation is an inspiring and educational look into the journey of an entrepreneur and the challenges they face along the way.You can find Caleb at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/caleb-avery/http://www.tilled.com/In the interview, Caleb sharesmy entrepreneurial journey at 19 by co-founding , uh, credit card processing business when I was in college. And started my career going door to door, selling payment processing services to small business owners over time, scaled up that business.a buddy of mine at the time, uh, we were talking about this idea of credit card processing and ni neither of us really knew anything about credit card processing at that particular time.I learned, in that experience was really, the, this idea of rejection and how to handle, the rejection, not take it personally, how to overcome those objections and really. Taught me a lot about, how to sell, how to empathize, with the people you know that you're working with. it's easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the things that, you're good at you enjoy, and you could basically do on autopilot. Like that's the kind of comfort zone, for an entrepreneur. And oftentimes like, that's where you decide to go start a business. it's easy to fall into the trap of focusing on the things that, you're good at you enjoy, and you could basically do on autopilot. Like that's the kind of comfort zone, for an entrepreneur. And oftentimes like, that's where you decide to go start a business.for the organization to grow and for you to evolve, into that c e o role, you have to push yourself out of that comfort zone and say, Hey, here's something that I need to go do.I'm an entrepreneur, at heart that's what my business needs and you have to have leaders in the right roles within the organization that have that desire and intense focus.leader myself, empower them to have the ability to institute, follow and maintain those processes without me, getting in the way.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Shay reveals both the very practical data-driven as well as grounded spiritual part of himself, and how he balances both in his day-to-day. We spoke about his vision for the future, how he deals with often debated topics like AI and unemployment, and how entrepreneurship is different now than when he started his first company.You can find Shay at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/shaydavid/http://www.retrain.ai/In the interview, Shay sharesThat he has been working in the HR space for about 15 years where he mostly worked within startups and also into scale up.He describes himself as a leader who has strong hands-on experience.I studied and worked at the same time which was very beneficial for my own development.I started to work for booking.com and I think this was personally the first company where I truly experienced, professionalism in a way and hyper growth and the use of data to make really good decisions.I had the support also of my parents and that was great. But I also realized this kind of pushed me to go out of my comfort zone so I decided to do an internship in Shanghai China because I felt that I needed to do something that was not very obvious.I think we can Restore trust to become more transparent, to become more clear and to overcommunicate on the expected impact, right before we actually start a work. It's becoming more and more important that employees would also like to have a stronger say to have more access in the organizations that they work for so they would like to influence a certain process.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Manish shared the secrets behind his calm and balanced answers to my questions. We also talk about why there is no one right or wrong way to be a leader and an entrepreneur and unpack some of the unconventional choices he has made. He also shared his vision for the future as he looks to take his organization to the next level of growth.He also shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and how to deal with setbacks. He emphasizes the importance of having a growth mindset and building expertise to provide the best value to clients. Additionally, he talks about his interests outside of work, including reading about fundamental sciences and building audio equipment. Overall, the conversation provides insight into entrepreneurship, renewable energy, and personal interests.You can find Manish at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/manishgodha/http://www.advaiya.com/In the interview, Manish sharesMy father has a background in engineering, power production, and power generation, so I became interested in those fields and got an opportunity to work on solar power.As a chartered accountant, you definitely gain exposure to how enterprises use technology, especially in their business processes and overall enterprise resource planning.You have to choose a few things that are fixed and non-negotiable, and other things will then fall into place around those choices.Most entrepreneurs, especially traditional ones of my generation or the one before, tend to have this tendency.One of the challenges is how to continue building, growing, and refreshing your expertise in your business.We have to have the right set of people who share a growth mindset and are willing to build expertise in themselves and provide the benefit of that expertise to others.Things have a way of taking care of themselves, and we just have to ensure that we learn the right things and continue to persistI love reading a lot of things of a fundamental nature, like aspects of physics and the laws of basic sciences. They have quite a calming effect.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Sooraj shared his creative side as he also has a popular youtube channel where he makes web series and short films in the Malayalam Language. We also spoke about his transition from technology to sales, and how creativity is very important in sales as well as leadership.You can find Sooraj at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/soorajjayaraman/In the interview, Sooraj shareswhen an opportunity comes to you, if you are hesitant to, uh, even attempt that you never know that's what you are missing. I always enjoy solving problems instead of just doing for one company or one organization.So we are, our YouTube channel is called we are a Sambhavan which stands for Awesome. So the motto is like, we are awesome. It's not only us, but everybody in this world is, awesome. , that's the kind of message you want to put across.I used to write blogs a lot, so when blogs were popular long back when I was in Toronto so we. Same thing. I take this experience, uh, of my life and put that in a very, comical way.everything I have done in that video production is self-taught. YouTube is my group till now. So I go and uh, view stuff, you know, how to edit a video and how to shoot a video about lenses to use.creativity and playfulness play in your journey as a leader, obviously like that in the communication conversations this skill, uh, really gives an advantage over, anything else. It becomes an icebreaker. creative person, which certainly creates curiosity on the other person. in the business aspect, it helps in conversations. A beautiful conversation sometimes, and suddenly you hit with another person who says, I always wanted to be an actor.every leader should be creative. If not, you want, because every, the problems you face on a day-to-day basis, you need creative solutions.if you want your people to listen to you, you must first listen to your people then. You get into their life, you understand what they're feeling, you know, their difficulties, their happiness.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name. In the conversation, Manoj shares how growing up in a small town and then living in the United States shaped him as a person. He shares that his next level of success is not about him but something much larger than himself, and how he runs away from negativity and only chooses to focus on opportunities and growth. He shares that his confidence comes from the fact that he started from nothing and he has nothing to lose. You can find Manoj at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/manojdhanotiya/aitrillion.com In the interview, Manoj sharesPressure is simple. If you create hurdles which are unachievable, basically, then you have pressure. You know, if you know your limits and you try to build around it. I don't think there is any pressure. Change is not pressure. Change is okay. Change will happen. Change has to happen.For a first generation entrepreneur, there are no choices, you are molded by direction You. It is always just the direction you want to grow towards and Are you content with what you are.When you attain certain level of maturity, it's not like we are like very successful, but our mindsets have changed. Now we are content in terms of what we are doing, not in terms of what we are, but content, what we're doing. It's not about me anymore, it's more about making a contribution, helping people lead better lives or do better in their business.I will not deny that I am not working for money. Money comes automatically with it, it is just part of the process. The more known you are, the more your product is doing, better automated that comes in.I've realized that you cannot do everything alone. You need to have team and finding the best person across the world, challenge is global then is something you have to figure it out if you can build a great.You have to make it easy for others to work with you. That is my landing. Otherwise, we used especially in India when I came back here, use the different culture. If you make it easier for people to work with you, and if you create a opportunities to grow, that is the only way you can avoid electrication is the only way you can avoid bonds and people will work with you.Being positive is something I totally believe in, it's simple. If somebody's not positive, he may have his own reasons. I am always positive no matter what.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the heart-felt, Ben shares his vision for a better world, and included a call for all leaders to embrace their humanity. We talk about learning and integrating the feminine side of humanity, and how he sees exchange and making changes in small increments as the way to create tectonic shifts in the way leaders and companies operate today.You can find Ben at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-demiri-a7aaa06/In the interview, Ben sharesThe most defining moment I would say is when I was asked to step into a C E O role, which was through a mentor of mine.It starts with a gradual degree of holding responsibility and really, taking it closely when it comes to both the execution, and also the nurturing element, making sure that things really fall under your care.Gradual ascend in leadership positions has really created a much necessary awareness that things are complex.It is very easy to say I care about this or I care about people, but it's very difficult to take care, especially when in the heat of everything. So you're have to have balance. we need to recognize the reality that sometimes there's simply very little choices depending on where you are and the environments, the microeconomics. So you've got to sometimes do what you've got to do, but I always think there is a degree in that decision making.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this open and honest conversation, he shares how living in Canada but having Indian roots has shaped his personality. We also discussed the role money play in our economic and psychological worlds, and how he sees Bitcoin as the future. Sunny also shared the difficult challenge they faced in 2018 and how they challenged and won against the Indian government in the Supreme Court of India.You can find Sunny at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sunnyray/http://unocoin.com/In the interview, Sunny sharesCombination of curiosity and money coupled with my engineering degree gave me the ability to read the white paper, not be and start tinkering and playing and learning and this led to my obsession with Bitcoin. India everyone loves cricket and in Canada everybody's loves football. I didn't want to around people who only talk about sports, so I started India's first Bitcoin meetups which eventually grew to even larger ones. When growing up in Canada, I realized that kids took a lot of this for granted where else in Kolkata life was tough. It was a struggle to even have one meal a day. It really helps shape your view because you start to realize that the world is not like.Our goal is really to let people know that, once they get into Bitcoin they can have flexibility and they have options if they need to buy something from Amazon or acquire a gift card.I highly believe in connecting with people and talking to them and not just sitting behind a computer and programming and hoping that, you'll hit the mark.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Barnaby shared his early fascination with technology, the challenges of leading a distributed and remote team, and what he has learned by leading across cultures and geographies. We also talk about the importance of quarterly planning, agile, and his plans to travel as he enjoys his sabbatical with his family.You can find Barnaby at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/barnaby/https://twitter.com/barnabyIn the interview, Barnaby sharesHow his father's filmmaking helped him in early adoption of technology which led him to writing codes as a kid. That the role of a CTO, is really about working with people and helping them in innovation and development.Great leaders are able to really observe and have empathy and understand what other people are going through, what motivates people to do and achieve things. That helping people with curiosity and also helping them get past their fears and all the reasons why you can't. How it is important to connect with people as people so that you are able to communicate you goals to them.It is important that you have structure, humans are creatures of habit and if you don't create structure, people will create their own structure and those structures won't be aligned. I left my last role and just decided that it was time for something new and take some time off.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Gaurav shared how entrepreneurship is in his roots, and that has always meant he is comfortable taking risks. We also spoke about the importance of OKRs, the role of intuition in his decision making, and the importance of being present and keeping the balance between work and family. You can find Gaurav at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gsabharwal/getjop.com/ In the interview, Gaurav sharesI decided to help my father expand his business in the US rather than spending ours doing jobs during school break. Growing up I always saw my family talking about business on dinner table and that had a huge impact on me, how I looked at life and at business. Our biggest challenge as a company would be trying to emerge as a mature player in this space that we are creating.As an entrepreneur, sometimes you get so absorbed with the passion of your business that you tend to ignore or miss on things which are beautiful and which will not come back in your life again.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In this open and honest conversation, Shakun her personal story of living in the Netherlands and how that led her to start a company in an otherwise taboo industry. We also spoke about what gives her the confidence and grounding to lead her team, as well as the importance of slowing down and establishing clear boundaries.You can find Shakun at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/sethishakun/https://twitter.com/SethiShakunIn the interview, Shakun sharesOne of the problem I had when I was starting my company was that it was difficult for me to go into an sex store and look around while asking questions.I lost a lot of friends when I started my company because I come from a culture where talking about sex openly is a tabooDemand is completely, nullified. Everybody has a demand, everybody wants it.Due to the nature of my company, we started facing problems like banks would not allow us to have a bank account, PayPal and Stripe flagged us too.Starting a company in an otherwise taboo industry led to the realization that this is not something bad or wrong, and then internally you feel okay, you feel more confident, you feel more open while otherwise.After my 12 or 13 hours shift when I lie down in the bed, I have a smile on my face. I know that, we are onto something big and what we are building is like we are in a position to make it.

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, we talk about the importance of continuously learning and growing over time, and the challenges as you move from an IC to being a manager, and then a manager of managers. He shares the importance of EQ as well as IQ, the importance of self-awareness, and how he has learned to do performance management and feedback conversations very differently from most companies.You can find Jay at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jaygoldman/https://twitter.com/jaygoldmanIn the interview, Jay sharesDifferent people have different motivations that drive them forward. For me, learning is one of those. So I always look for opportunities to be learning and growing,Sometimes those challenges feel insurmountable in the moment, but when you look back, you can see. The amount of growth and development that's happened in themthose inflexion points teach you a lot about how to think about your own time, how to think about the leverage effect of your timeThe most humbling moments are the moments where I've. Let go of something and my team has done a much better job than I would've done with it.The feedback that is gonna drive real performance is given as close to the incident where the feedback was generated as possible. So you can course correct as early as possible.We are always smaller than we will be in the future, and so as a leader, that means that I will always have a larger and larger team to lead

This is the Leadership Journey series on the Choosing Leadership Podcast.I believe we all have a lot to learn from each other's stories - of where we started, where we are now, and our successes and struggles on the way. With this series of interviews, my attempt is to give leaders an opportunity to share their stories and for all of us to learn from their generous sharing. If you know a leader whom you would like to see celebrated on the show, please send me a message on LinkedIn with their name.In the interview, Jose shared how coming from a family of immigrants meant that he had to be better than anybody else to be able to reach anywhere. We spoke about his views on computers, entrepreneurship, always being secure about himself, and how with a very good team, you can make the impossible happen. He shares the importance of a good night’s sleep and taking care of our bodies. You can find Jose at the below linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/josegraca/https://www.josegraca.com/In the interview, Jose sharesIt's never easy to be an immigrant, depending on the country where you are. But I always felt that I had to be better than anybody else because if I would not be, right? As an immigrant, you would not be able to reach anything. So there was a very big push for you to overperform always. And this definitely influenced my life later on.I think entrepreneurs in general are also very creative people. they are solution providers, right? They are always thinking about something new, an idea, or solving a problem, right? So it's a combination of an X amount of things. Uh, and definitely that was my case as well.when you work for money, right, money is the most important thing. But when you work with a mission and with pleasure, money is something that comes in second place. when you were younger, you. Are a little bit more stressed, I think this is the right word. You are a little bit more anxious to get things done right. When you get older, you become a calmer, uh, it's, I think it's a maturity process and you become because you are, you have more experience, you become more wiser in the decision that you make and how you handle it.All my staff members are also stakeholders in the company, so I don't have people in the company that HA are not a shareholder today. And this makes a huge difference because they know that whatever they're building okay.I would say that in every business, the most important thing in a business is your team. Without a proper team, you can not make miracles. But with a good, very good team, you can make the impossible. Okay. Even if your business is not so good.every leader can make mistakes that make, that's what makes us humanSo your co-founders, I like to talk, say, talk about co-founders. Your co-founders are a very important piece of the whole puzzle. Even if a few things, uh, don't go as planned, your co-founder is, right there to support you and help you to get out faster. you cannot do it alone. You need to have people around you. So start building that team around you, as fast as possible. But you are also not the only knowledgeable person in the world, and I can tell you upfront that you definitely are not they're always smart at people than ourselves.