Secret Leaders

Founders have a lot on their plates - how do they navigate it all without losing track of what’s important? In this episode, we chat with Sophie Scott - a Founder and psychotherapist who’s on a mission to help Founders discover their purpose, cultivate sustainable self-care practices, and answer the question, “why do Founders need therapy?" Just as a disclaimer; Sophie mentions some of her clients' experiences. These accounts are composite and anonymous. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Faisal Abid, The Co-Founder of Eirene Cremations, spent two years developing the product for his first business. He thought after all of his planning and developing his company would be a hit, once it finally launched. He soon realised; building a product isn’t the same as building a company. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Is there anything harder in business than growing your company? Probably not and that's why we're speaking to one of the best in the growth game - Matt Lerner. He explains how to find the 10% of things that will actually grow your startup, how to hire growth people, how to prioritise growth experiments (it's not the usual way) and lots of other things that can change your company's future. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Amanda Brock, the CEO of Open UK, took a decade too long to jump from her legal career to what she really craved - the frenzy of entrepreneurship. She stayed in law too long because she’d experienced a sobering failure years ago - running an event which lost half a million pounds. What happened? -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Sokratis Papafloratos is the Founder of Numan who are tackling a lot of male healthcare problems like erectile dysfunction, hair loss, sleep and weight issues. This isn't his first rodeo. Sokratis exited with his first startup, albeit at great personal cost. His second one failed. And now he's leading Numan. What's going to be his fate this time? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Ken Schmitt is the Founder and CEO of a high end executive search firm, which is ironic because we’re going through his biggest career failures and they all revolve around hiring. Well, hiring or being hired because Ken went through a period where he kept being fired. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

SpareRoom is a business you've probably heard of - bringing together strangers and putting roofs over their heads. It's a bootstrapped business and its Founder Rupert Hunt still finds his housemates through it today. Rupert could've sold up years ago - he turned down an offer he says he couldn't refuse. Why on earth did he do that? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Brian Will is a seasoned entrepreneur who’s sold several businesses, but his first one was a baptism of fire. Brian had a difficult childhood. He was a D student who failed high school, got kicked out of home at 18 and joined the military. He had a chip on his shoulder and struggled with discipline - he lost rank twice. And then his first business went under at the worst possible time for him and his family. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Can you imagine graduating university and exiting for tens of millions at the same time? Cue Harry Gestetner and Simon Pompan, the Founders of Fanfix, a platform that helps creators better monetise their content. They built the business for mobile-first, multi-channel Gen-Z creators and their audiences (a bit like Patreon for Gen Z) - and their traction was so strong that SuperOrdinary bought them just 10 months after launch. Here's how. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Adam Weber is a multi exited Founder, podcaster and the SVP of Community for 15Five, a performance management software company. What’s fascinating is he ended up making it in a very different role to what he thought he was good at. Adam had been a salesman until the biggest deal of his life collapsed, along with the plan for his future. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Clarkson's Farm taught us that being a farmer is tough, and from this podcast we've learnt how tough it is to become a successful Founder. James Chase's family has done both. His father was up against it as a farmer so started Tyrrells crisps before launching Chase spirits followed by Willy's apple cider vinegar (all consumed by Dan). Now James is building his own thing, a skincare for men brand called BAZ & CO. How do you build multiple well known B2C brands? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Personio - all in one HR platform: https://personio.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Joel Gandara sold his businesses a few months ago, is retired, doing what he enjoys - so he’s feeling pretty good about his life choices. But a few years ago, it was a very different story. It seemed more likely that Joel would find himself back where he’d begun - and Joel didn't have the easiest start to life. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Doctor Driando Ahnan-Winarno is the CTO at Better Nature Tempeh, but he’s not just any CTO - he is a Chief Tempeh Officer. Tempeh is a type of food that's really popular in Indonesia, where Dr Driando grew up, so he tried bringing it to the UK. He got early validation but had to give up on his original vision. Here's how it went wrong - and what he learnt from it. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Jessica Rolph is the Co-Founder and CEO or Lovevery which makes play kit subscription boxes for kids - and is one of Dan's favourite kids brands. It's also massive, valued at $800 million at the last count - and it came pretty quickly off the back of a challenging earnout she experienced with Danone having sold her previous company Happy Family for about $300 million. How has she done it? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Neil Ambikar says you can't rely on the UK legal system. Neil is the Founder of B2Bpay and Narvi Payments - and B2Bpay is lucky to still be here. The company was taken to the brink by a sequence of events that led to Neil questioning the legal system in the UK. He says he did everything right but ended up losing. This is how the game is really played. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Vlad Magdalin is the Founder of Webflow, a no-code platform which allows people who aren't software engineers to build complex websites. They were valued at $4b at the last count but amazingly he tried doing the business three times before getting it right. He wouldn't advise a friend to take the same risks he did - despite the enormous pay off. Here's why. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Molly Johnson-Jones is the Founder of Flexa, a global directory of flexible companies. The idea was born out of the worst moment in Molly’s career, which left her doubting her worth and ability to be in a workplace. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Anna Gudmundson is the Co-Founder of Sensate: a pebble like device you can put on your chest which tones (vibrates) the vagus nerve, which helps control your stress response. Anna is fascinated by stress and how we can handle it (75% of the world are anxious - go figure). She explains some some of the science and tactics to manage your stress response, and of course it's a subject Dan love being Mr Vagus Nerve. Sensate: https://www.getsensate.com/ -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Tay Sweat is retired today having put a lot of the earnings from his fitness and supplement business into the stock market. But that was actually his second attempt at that business. He failed on his first go, and that knocked him back decades - back to an even worse position than he'd been in when he was a teenager. It would’ve broken a lot of people but Tay, well, he likes to sweat. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Jonny White is the Founder of Ticket Tailor. He was a software engineer who spotted a gap in the market for ticketing systems before building a white labelled service to sell to companies. TimeOut got interested in the tech and that was the start of his wild ride in entrepreneurship. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Sameer Vaswani is the Co-Founder of Prodigy Chocolate, a company that’s taking classics like Snickers and making them more modern and child friendly, like less sugar and more eco packaging. Before this venture, he built a very successful food manufacturing business in West Africa - but before all of that - he failed. He set up a restaurant which boomed for a few years - he was living his dream life. But gradually that dream slipped away. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Lord Karan Bilimoria is the Co-Founder of Cobra beer, the best selling beer in Indian restaurants around the UK. We all pray for those moments we find a gap in a market we can exploit. That’s exactly what happened to Karan in 1989, realising the UK needed a better lager that complemented pan-asian food. He’s now a member of the House of Lords, having joined in 2006 and sits as a cross-bench peer, helping in particular with the Covid response. Over the years he’s almost lost the business 3 times, so what has he learnt about building resilience? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Sometimes in business you pass the point of no return and you don't even know it. Someone who knows all too well is Rico Mandel, the Founder of Miz En Place, a successful foodie marketplace... but Rico only got into food after his marketing agency business went bust. This is how Rico failed, what he learnt from it - and a simple hack to make you feel better about your life, however bad things seem. -- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Sir Robin Millar is arguably the UK's leading record producer, having worked with the likes of Sade, Randy Crawford, Eric Clapton, Sting, The Grateful Dead and many others. He produced the Atlanta Olympic Games opening ceremony in 1996, has had over 160 gold & platinum discs - including 44 No. 1 hits. He's got a great CV. He's also a blind man and in today's episode we learn what that's really like, how to make great music - and how to build a successful music business. Sir Robin is full of business principles, whatever industry you're in - with some real insights to when you should exit even if it's not the best price you'll ever get. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Emma Parker is the Founder of Playful Promises, a company behind a few lingerie and swimwear brands - including a lingerie brand of the same name. What’s funny though is she lost that business despite the outside world thinking it was going amazingly well. This is how Emma failed and how she recovered - and what you can learn from it about building businesses. --------------------------- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Is there a more important skill for business leaders than making good decisions? We’re not sure there is. Yeah, you need vision, communication skills and hopefully some empathy - but without good decision-making you won’t get very far. In today’s episode we’ve got arguably the world’s most popular decision-making expert Shane Parrish, Founder of Fanham Street, to explain the key principles of clear thinking and great decision-making. -- Sponsors Get better internet through Vorboss: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2 though Vanta: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Save on your SaaS or Cloud spend by using the code 'secretleaders' with Vertice: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Sometimes we put on a brave face when it's the opposite of what we should be doing. Alex Chisnall is the Founder of a Podpreneur, a podcast agency, and the host of the Screw It Just Do it podcast. He’s built a great business and loves what he does, but his first foray into entrepreneurship was a disaster. After a debt collector knocked on his door, blocked his car and refused to leave, it resulted in him having to come clean to his wife about the extent of his business’s problems. It was the worst place Alex has ever been. In this episode we learn how it got to that point, his regrets, and the business lessons he took from it, so you don’t make the same mistakes. --------------------------- To get a better handle on your security, check out https://npsa.gov.uk/innovation and download their free Quick Start Guide.

Amy Edmondson has spent her life dedicated to studying failure and psychological safety. It’s her belief that the most successful cultures are those in which you can fail openly, without your mistakes being held against you. Amy is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and has been named by Thinkers50 as the most influential management thinker in the world. Her work has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Psychology Today and Harvard Business Review, and been drawn upon by companies including Google, Pixar and Microsoft. She joined us on Secret Leaders to talk more about her new book ‘Right Kind of Wrong: Why Learning to Fail Can Teach us to Thrive’ which provides the science and solutions for us to promote greater innovation, efficiency and safety – both across the workplace and in our personal lives. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

If you’ve visited a high street in the last 40 years there’s a good chance you’ve seen Games Workshop, a British institution that’s stood the test of time. One of its Founders, Sir Ian Livingstone, sold out of the company in the 90s but continued to make an unbelievable impact in the games industry, alongside being an angel investor and a best-selling fantasy author. He’s had a hand in Tomb Raider, Hitman, Championship Manager, Fall Guys and Golf Clash to name just a few. So you’ve absolutely played something he’s helped bring to market. Last year Ian released his memoir, Dice Men, which tells the story of the early days of Games Workshop and he has recently opened his own academy in Bournemouth. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

2011 was the beginning for Depop, an app that lets you buy and sell your own clothes on a marketplace, Depop attracted GenZ and created a boom for vintage clothing. Simon Beckerman wanted to create a community behind his marketplace, somewhere users could create virtual stores from a device in their pocket. Fast forward 10 years, Simon sold Depop to Etsy for $1.6bn. But he didn’t stop there. Instead of taking time off, Simon decided to get straight back into the game. This time, he’s taking on the food industry with DELLI, an app that lets you buy and sell a curated mix of locally sourced and produced food and drinks. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

If you’ve been online in the last 10 years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of The Sidemen. 7 guys from the UK, all successful YouTubers in their own right, who grouped together to create one of the most successful YouTube collectives in the world. With over 240 million monthly views and 19 million subscribers, the Sidemen have branched out well beyond content - launching their own fast food chicken franchise (Sides) and premium vodka brand (XIX Vodka). Whilst these 7 guys are immensely talented creators, they needed structure and a strategy to exploit their commercial potential - and that’s where Jordan Schwarzenberger and Arcade Media came in. Jordan started his career as a creative at VICE and LADBible before he became the Chief Creative Officer at YMU Group, Europe's largest talent management company. Having being introduced to the Sidemen by his friends and co-founders,Jordan now manages the group in all their endeavors. In fact,The Sidemen are Arcade Media’s only client. In this episode you’ll hear Jordan explain what it’s really like working with some of the biggest content creators in the world and how you can replicate some of their success. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Would you go back to save the business you started, when you’d already walked away? Renée Elliott had to fight for her business, Planet Organic, right from the start. Two years after they launched in 1995, her then-business partner tried to force her out, which culminated in a High Court battle. Renée won and along with her husband Brian who came on as Managing Director, took back control of the business. They ran it together for ten years. Then, in 2009 they decided to step away from the business to raise their children. They moved to Italy, then returned to the UK, where Renée started a coaching and wellbeing business, Beluga Bean. Nine years after she stepped back from the business, Renée sold the majority of her shares in Planet Organic. She'd done it, achieved the entrepreneur's dream, built a business, sold it and could now relax… or that’s what everyone thought. In May 2023 Renée made headlines when she led a bid to buy Planet Organic after it was announced the company was going into administration. It’s an extraordinary journey, but one Renée has not been able to be completely open about…until now. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

If you're a Founder, or if you've just got big career ambitions, building your personal brand is becoming less and less optional. It's what potential employees or investors or Co-Founders or employers look at when deciding whether work with you. It's also one of the things that our usual host Dan is best at. He's just passed 150k followers whilst running three businesses so today he's spilling the secrets of how to do it. Yes, we really mean the secrets - the stuff people don't talk about but is key to success. Let's find out what's behind the curtain. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Being comfortable with different opens your mind… Those are the words of our guest today, Christine Lemke, she’s the Co-Founder and CEO of Evidation. Christine’s story is a unique one, she was adopted from South Korea as a baby into a strict Lutheran household in South Dakota. Several start-ups later, Christine was encouraged by her own chronic pain to co-found Evidation,an app which uses points as rewards for daily activity, education, and health monitoring. Once users get enough points, they can redeem them for cold hard cash. They reached unicorn status recently, joining the big leagues, but Christine says she doesn’t care about reaching this milestone. Why? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Former professional baseballer, Devan Kline founded fitness company Burn Boot Camp with his wife Morgan. From starting out in a parking lot with only 600 dollars in his bank account, they are now operating in 42 states and have 375 gyms across the country. But we wouldn't be talking to Devan if everything had all gone up and to the right. In the early days he made a serious mistake that put the whole company at risk. What happened? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

How long would you spend before launching your business? Milda Mitkute was at a party in 2008 when she ended up chatting to developer Justas Janauskus. She’d come up with the idea for Vinted after she found herself with too many clothes for the small flat that she moved to for university. They decided then and there to turn the idea into a reality and launched the website just two weeks later…Only to forget one critical detail. A decade later, despite many bumps in the road, Vinted was valued at $1 billion, making it Lithuania’s first ever unicorn. Two years later, in 2021, their valuation sored to to $4.5 billion. It’s now Europe’s number one second-hand marketplace, with over 75 million users spanning 16 countries. And it was all sparked by an unexpected exchange at a time and place where good ideas normally die. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders. Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders. Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/. You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes.

Lucy Cohen is the Co-Founder of Mazuma, the UK's first subscription tax advisory firm and one of the country’s leading online accountants for small and micro businesses. They have over a thousand clients across the UK and have moved into the US market. But, in their early days, it all came so close to falling apart. What happened? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

Have you found your ‘calling’ in life? Do you think you ever will? Today’s interview is with Rewind AI Co-Founder and CEO Dan Siroker. After leaving Google to take on the role as director of analytics in the 2008 Obama campaign, Dan knew his purpose was elsewhere. Having gone deaf in his 20s and later getting a hearing aid, he felt superpowered. This inspired him to try and augment human existence with new powers, senses and abilities. He co-founded Optimizely in 2009, growing it to $120M in annual revenue and 450 employees before leaving in 2020 to start Rewind AI, a program that remembers everything you’ve seen online, giving you instant access to everything you’ve ever looked at on your phone or computer. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Glenn Poulos is a successful founder, who exited from his company in 2022. But that was his second exit. His first, 15 years before, was a very different story. He thought he had achieved the entrepreneur's dream, an eight-figure exit, after selling his business to a public company. With the shares he got in return he was going to be a multi-millionaire. Instead, he was left with hardly anything, and no job, after having to fire a hundred people. What happened? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

Have you ever questioned what kind of leader you are and which roles truly suit you? Today’s interview is with Leon Co-Founder and Former CEO John Vincent. Named after John’s father, Leon was founded in 2004. John became CEO ten years later in 2014 after his co-founder Henry Dimbleby stepped down. In 2017, Leon was named on The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 list, which ranks Britain's 100 private companies with the fastest-growing sales over the last three years. In 2021, the company was sold for a reported £100 million to the billionaire Issa brothers. But look behind this success, and you’ll find a lot of lessons along the way. John talks about: How to identify your personality type and which roles might suit you best as a founder Why every business needs disruptors, scalers and executors What John did wrong as a disruptive CEO Coming up with the idea for ‘healthy’ fast-food Their big mistake early on Why wise investors keep Founders in the driving seat His relationship with his co-founder What to do if you give away too much equity early on How much he actually made when they sold the business Why he wrote the book ‘Winning not Fighting’ which draws on the philosophy of Wing Tsun, an ancient Chinese martial art How identifying your fears can help you understand your desires Why he thinks it's unhealthy to have too many regrets -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodesvanta.com/secretleaders

Peter Kell is a serial entrepreneur and successful marketer who has gone from being a millionaire to losing it all to being a millionaire again. As a teenager he was obsessed with the idea of getting rick quick. So he set about to do it, he hustled, setting up seven businesses in four years. But each one of them failed. He was left with nothing; completely broke, his car repossessed, evicted from his flat. How did he pick himself up and turn his life around? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

In 2008 Dr Jason Wersland was in crippling chronic pain after a motorbike accident. He was in a dark place. A trained chiropractor, he knew what kind of relief he needed, and searched the market for a product that could give it to him. But when he came up empty handed, desperate, he decided to make one himself. By 2019 the Theragun was being used by over 250 professional sports teams and by 2022, Therabody, the company Jason founded, generated nearly $400 millions in revenue. Woof. How did he do it? And how did he attract so many celebrity clients? -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

"Every single major tech company that you know of has this story where they battled it to the bitter end." Young Han grew up in Silicon Valley and worked in tech before moving to Texas a few years ago for a slower way of life. In this most recent chapter he’s really got into small businesses, like a pool cleaning company which he scaled to $1m in revenue in 10 months. He’s a coach, tech consultant, and Founder himself. He’s a fan of taking as many shots as you can and failing fast....well now he is. Because one of his companies, GoVolunteer, didn’t fail fast. In fact, it took him and his Co-Founders 9 years to go from deciding it wasn’t working to actually switching it off. What did that teach him about when to walk away? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

Daniel Priestley is a serial entrepreneur and one hell of a thinker who we first spoke to on the podcast in 2017, for just our 9th episode. How the time flies. Daniel is prolific. He’s the bestselling author of books like Key Person of Influence, 24 Assets and Oversubscribed. He’s a lecturer and an excellent teacher of entrepreneurship. He’s also the co-founder and CEO of consulting agency Dent Global - and the Founder of ScoreApp. You’ll hear some of his entrepreneurial gems today which we hope will make you a better business builder. In fact, we think there are more lessons in this episode about business building than we’ve done in a while. Hope you like it. It’s time for round two. What would make the show better? Please tell us :) [email protected] -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Jennifer Moss is a workplace happiness writer, speaker and strategist. Having moved back to Canada from Silicon Valley in 2012, she co-founded a company called Plasitcity Labs with her husband. They developed happiness strategies for companies and got some big clients like LuluLemon. On the cusp of signing a transformative deal in 2019, they got blind-sided days before signing which fatally crippled morale. And in the midst of all this, it didn’t escape Jennifer that she was running a happiness startup but was desperately unhappy. What happened? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

Sean Harrington is the Co-Founder and CEO of Elemis, one of the best-known skincare brands in the UK. Before being bought by L’Occitane four years ago for $990 million, they were the number one British skincare brand in the world. Sean spent time as a bouncer, taxi driver and worked for his dad’s suntanning business before it was bankrupted in the recession of 1989, leaving him destitute in the process. Thankfully, one of his former clients saw something in Sean and made a point of investing in him. Through them, he found himself in a new role, co-founding a company alongside Noella Gabriel and Oriele Frank. To this day, he cites their individual strengths as the reason Elemis succeeded. The goal was always to create something global and their products are now available in 45 countries. We get into how he built Elemis into what it is, from launching their products to the landmark L’Occitane sale. Plus, how cancer made him live differently but not how most people expect. What would make the show better? Please tell us :) [email protected] -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Anita Abildgaard is the Founder and CEO of Iris AI, a company helping humans make sense of the world’s scientific knowledge. She’d always wanted to be a Founder and lead companies. In fact that was her specific goal after finishing her MBA. She achieved that, but her first venture ended in failure, as did the next. She went through two bruising startup experiences in a row. So what did she learn from it? And what did she learn about walking away? That’s something we don’t talk about enough in startup circles. --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

Niklas Adalberth is the co-founder and former Deputy CEO of Klarna. The massive Swedish fintech provides payment services for online shops like ASOS being able to offer their customers buy now pay later. Although Klarna has been hugely successful, Niklas found himself hitting an emotional rock bottom after he came to the infamous realisation that money doesn’t buy happiness. After some soul searching, Niklas left Klarna and founded his next venture: Norrsken Foundation. It's a non-profit dedicated to helping entrepreneurs solve the world’s greatest challenges like poverty, famine, mental health, pollution, climate change, or something else entirely. Niklas is now less interested in unicorns than he is in impact unicorns – companies that positively impact one billion lives. We want to know if 'typical' entrepreneurial success is even worth it. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Sançar Sahin is the Co-Founder of Oliva, a mental health startup which has just raised £4.3 million at the time of putting this together. It’s a B2B which helps companies give mental health support to their employees, like on-demand therapy and coaching. Like our host Dan, with his company Heights, there’s a very clear line of sight from Sançar’s personal health crisis to starting his company. At his low points, he found himself stripped of confidence, unable to make the simplest decisions. What happened? --------------------------- If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? [email protected] Sponsor links: personio.com/secretleaders

Did you know that IMDb was one of the first 100 websites EVER? Yeah it's mad, and it's still going - and it's always in the top 50 most visited sites in the world. Welcome to the mad world of IMDb Founder Col Needham, the movie buff you want to take to the pub to ask him all the trivia and best-of questions you can imagine. But this is also a great business story. IMDb was one of the first ever acquisitions from Amazon, making Col one of Amazon's earliest employees. He got to work alongside Jeff Bezos and in this episode we draw on his extraordinary insights. -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign up here: https://secretleaders.email/ You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes