Secret Leaders

Here at Secret Leaders we are all about bringing you the best entrepreneurs in the world - those people who you wouldn’t ordinarily hear from, but who have inspiring stories to tell. They share their highs and more importantly their lows, with the aim of sparking a fire in you to follow in their footsteps, or accelerate the path you’re already on. Because let’s be honest, success stories are all good and well, but it’s the failures that shape us; it’s how we handle adversity that makes us who we are. And today’s two live guests are no strangers to adversity. Jo Malone: “My goals have never been realistic and that's the secret of my success. I really go out there and I push myself above and beyond. I think what we have to realise is that mistakes are a part of life.” Justine Roberts: “I worked very, very hard to find patient capital, which I think is what Mumsnet needs. And I made it very, very clear that we will always put purpose before profit.” Today, sharing the live stage and their entrepreneurial experiences for the first time are Jo Malone CBE and Justine Roberts CBE. Jo is the eponymous perfumier who came from humble beginnings on a council estate with no qualifications whatsoever, who has now successfully launched Jo Loves, her second bite at the startup apple. Justine has been described as one of the world’s most influential women and CEOs, the founder of Mumsnet, the most talked about parenting forum. We chat about: The hardest moments of their entrepreneur experience so far The upside to being sued The difficulty of finding funding for your startup from men, when you’re female Why your equity in your business is your golden ticket The difficulty of achieving a work life balance when you’re an entrepreneur with a family Entrepreneurialism needs to be taught in school If they had a do over, what they would do differently Links: https://www.secretleaders.com/jo-malone https://www.secretleaders.com/s03e3-justine-roberts -- 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

Founded in 2010 in the USA by Co-CEOs brothers Dan and Michael Broukhim and Editor-in-Chief Katie Echevarria Rosen Kitchens, the wildly successful lifestyle subscription platform FabFitFun is a lifestyle membership that inspires happiness and well being. Their flagship product, the FabFitFun box (now available in the UK), delivers a curated collection of full-size products across beauty, fashion, wellness, fitness, home, tech and more - to over 1 million members each season. And as well as the box, members have access to FabFitFunTV, their digital lifestyle magazine, a robust online community, members-only shopping experiences, exclusive perks, events, and their mobile app. Now in their 10th year of trading and having surpassed $200 million in revenue, they have recently closed the most remarkably whopping series A of $80 million, led by some of the best venture capitalists in America. But it hasn’t always been plain sailing. “We were $1 million in debt when we closed our financing the first time. And we were running the business on credit cards, stretching every single payment, the first million that came in went right out the door.” We chat about: How FabFitFun came to fruition Why newsletters are making a comeback Exploring finance options to fund the business The future for FabFitFun The self doubts and personal challenges that each founder faces What they’d change if they could do over Why you should never underestimate the importance of company culture -- 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

In this live podcast episode we talk about what makes a healthy body, a healthy mind and the future of technology enabled healthcare. We’ve previously talked to both of today’s guests - Michael Acton-Smith, founder of Mind Candy, Firebox and Calm.com in Series One of Secret Leaders and Ali Parsa, founder and CEO of Babylon Health in Series Two. But to have both of these guys (who are revolutionising healthcare), sit down together and go through pertinent health issues of the day was too good an opportunity to pass up. Yes, Michael Acton Smith OBE, once described as the ‘tech version of Willy Wonka,’ may not seem an obvious choice to talk all things healthcare with, but this esteemed guest has focused his recent attention on raising awareness and building businesses in the mental health space, an arena that we are still very much lacking information. And Ali Parsa, well Ali is a one man war on healthcare. He’s a refugee who has set up the world’s largest healthcare app successfully changing the way we as humans are getting access to healthcare. Get ready to be blown away by the ambition of these two superhumans, and all for the benefit of the human race. We chat about: What healthy means to each of them Why we don’t have a healthcare system as such, we have a sick-care system How technology and AI is and will enable a better healthcare system Everything affects your life, and nothing affects your life - your genetics are what they are The obesity epidemic The current mental health crisis Conquering aging - we die because we age Links: https://www.secretleaders.com/ali-parsa https://www.secretleaders.com/michael-acton-smith -- 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

Secret Leaders is all about hearing from founders and CEOs of some of the world’s most successful startups. We grill each guest on the highs and more importantly lows of starting and running a startup, and one of the biggest hurdles for any startup to overcome is financing and funding. “Leave investors with two or three messages that are really clear what is special about your business, what's great about you and your founders, and how this thing is ever going to make money. They're probably the only three things that [they’re] going to remember from [a] 45 minutes or an hour [pitch]. Sometimes you feel when making a deck that more is more, it really isn't.” Financing and funding a startup seems to be the biggest sticking point for so many businesses. So much so, we invited back three incredible human beings - Anne Boden, founder and CEO of innovative challenger bank Starling Bank, Alex Depledge, co-founder of Resi and formerly Hassle.com (since sold to Helpling) and David Buttress, ex-CEO and co-founder of Just Eat to discuss their experiences. All three have had very different experiences of finance and raising funds, and so they are the perfect trio to discuss how they did it, what they were hoping to achieve and more importantly, how they handled the process, including how they coped when they came face to face with the urban legends that are in fact actual funding horror stories - because believe it or not, even the most successful entrepreneurs still face discrimination. We chat about: Raising money before you need it What it’s like in the lead up to going public Inner demons and horror stories that actually happen when you raise funds Raising money as a single founder vs being a co-founder Practical processes to set up for successful funding Links: Starling Bank www.helpling.com https://resi.co.uk/ Just Eat UK -- 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 an entrepreneur in the FMCG industry, this episode of Secret Leaders is one you don’t want to miss. Today we talk to the founders of Grenade, one of the fastest growing companies in the UK, featured in the Sunday Times Fast Track Top 100 companies four out of five consecutive years. Launched in 2009 as a hobby company, “we were only ever planning on launching one product, but then it did so well that customers and retailers were asking us for more”, and getting down to just £27 in the bank at one point, Grenade was sold in 2018 for £72 million. So how did this husband and wife team start and grow such a successful company, developing it into a global lifestyle brand? Alan says, “one of the things that I think has been a real strength at Grenade is that people have enjoyed working with us, whether it's a supplier or customer, or the team, treat people how you'd like to be treated yourself.” It’s honest insights like these that make Alan and Juliet Barratt so listenable. They’re funny, inspiring and willing to help the next generation of entrepreneurs succeed, as long as the entrepreneur is hungry for success. “You choose your own luck. We think luck is where opportunity meets preparedness.” We chat about: Why and how Alan and Juliet set up in business together Where the name Grenade came from The cost of setting up in business Why disruption doesn’t need to be expensive Why the perfect work/life balance doesn’t exist -- 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 want to know what it takes to start and run a technology company, then you need to listen to two of our most pioneering guests discuss their experiences live, as they started visionary companies in every single sense of the word. In this special episode we talk live to Jess Butcher, co-founder of Blippar - the augmented reality giant, and Dhiraj Mukherjee, co-founder of Shazam - the app that lets you discover the media playing all around you. Jess was one of our first guests in Season One, and Dhiraj was interviewed for Season Two. We thought we’d bring them back on to the podcast for a catch up, only this time we’d interview them in a live setting. We know, first hand, how hard it is to be an entrepreneur and get a business off the ground. Which is kind of the main reason we started this podcast, to help entrepreneurs, like us. Because the more we sat down with successful founders and picked their brains, the more we discovered that getting from zero to anywhere wasn’t always the glossy and incredible experience that it’s made out to be. In these in-depth live events you’ll get more of an understanding about the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, the challenges and the constant grind that is required to get any venture started, as well as learn best practice tips from the experts who’ve been there before. We hope you enjoy listening to this live episode as much as we did making it. We chat with Jess about: How the Blippar vision has evolved over time Finding the balance between motherhood and running a tech company The advantages of being a woman in tech The highs and lows of co-founding Blippar We chat with Dhiraj about: How four people got together to create Shazam How they got around any law infringements to get the music Getting early adoption through smart marketing Making the decision to leave Shazam Links: https://www.secretleaders.com/jess-butcher https://www.secretleaders.com/dhiraj-mukherjee -- 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

Want to know what it takes to become a food and drink millionaire? Of course you do. That’s why you need to listen to Julian Hearn talking about how and why he founded the powdered food product Huel. Huel is marketed as a super convenient, nutritionally complete meal replacement. With sales of £14 million last year and a projection for 2019 at more than £40 million, this makes Huel one of Britain's fastest growing businesses - full stop. But Huel wasn’t Julian’s first foray into entrepreneurism - he sold his first venture, Promotional Codes, for £10m. “I had enough money to retire, but I get bored and I needed something to stay busy.” So his answer to staying busy was getting back into business. And after a few failed ventures he eventually founded Huel. So if you’re looking for inspiration, you won’t go far wrong tuning into Secret Leaders to hear how a guy who just wanted to find a way to spend time at home, not commuting, made millions in his pajamas. We chat about: How a failed entrepreneurial venture led him to founding Huel The thinking behind Huel branding and how they picked their branding designer The problems with finding a food manufacturer Why he chose to hire in a CEO (thus remaining as CMO) Why he keeps all his recruitment in-house The potential to use Huel to solve world hunger How Huel has been financed (and why they raised money when they didn’t need it) Links: https://huel.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

Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes when one well-known start up buys another well-known start up? Well, wonder no more. You’ve heard us talk to both Nick Jenkins (founder of Moonpig) and Graham Hobson (founder of Photobox) in Series One. But we thought it would be fun to bring them together and have a Q&A with them, side by side. So that’s just what we did. Because you normally only hear the side of the story from the founder who sold their company. You rarely, if ever, hear the story from the founder who bought the company being sold. In this case the wildly successful personalised e-card company, Moonpig.com, that sold for £120m to photo printing giants, Photobox in 2011, which then itself went onto sell for a reported £400m+. You’re in for a treat today - you get to hear from both sides - the good, the bad and the ugly of what happens during a M&A. That and you get a bucket load of advice from two Angel investors who between them have sunk a lot of money into the next generation of start ups. So grab a cuppa and sit down to hear not one, but two entrepreneurial powerhouses talk about how they started and how they became millionaires. Listen out, there are tips aplenty. We chat about: The 4 crap ideas that came before Moonpig What happened when Nick and Graham first met Selling your business to your main rival Top tips on securing an exit The dribble and shake theory Negotiating the deal, going through M&A The importance of culture integration What it’s like to actually buy a company The pros and cons of being a Dragon The art of Angel investing Links: Nick Jenkins - Moonpig Graham Hobson - Photobox -- 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

Welcome back to series 4 - what a season have we got lined up for you! Kicking us off is Cal Henderson, co-founder and CTO of one of this decade’s most famous tech companies - the team communications platform the majority of companies couldn’t be without, Slack. But Cal hasn’t always been CTO of Slack, he cut his teeth as co-founder and VP Eng for Glitch, a web-based massively multiplayer game, before that, he was the Director of Engineering for Flickr at Ludicorp (where he first met Slack fellow co-founder Stewart Butterfield) and then Yahoo. As you will shortly hear, Cal is considered to be one of Britain's finest exports. Although it's probably fair to say that he divides people much less than Marmite. Now residing in San Francisco where Slack is headquartered, Cal grew up in the humble county of Bedfordshire, England. After completing a computer science degree from Birmingham City University, he moved to the US in 2003, but not before landing a job after hacking into the email system of the company he wanted to work for and telling his future bosses that he could help them fix the problems they were having. This is a guy who it would appear got lucky, several times over. But in truth, all of Cal’s success has been down to hard work and his first love - computers. “From the first time I got a computer, I was like, this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. This is what I want to do for work.” We chat about: How he met Stewart Butterfield How he got a job through hacking the company he wanted to work for Why investors Accel and Andreessen Horowitz didn’t mind them failing How on Slack launch day they had 8,000 companies sign up to use Slack The advice he’d give to his 15 year old self Links: www.Glitchthegame.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

Today’s guest is Payal Kadakia, founder and executive chairman of ClassPass. Payal started ClassPass in 2011 a business that was born out of her love for dance, which she has been doing since the age of 3. Prior to founding ClassPass, Payal worked as a consultant at Bain & Company and in Warner Music Group’s Digital Strategy and Business Development Group. However in 2010 Payal realised that her two lives (working at Warner and running her dance class side hustle) weren’t gelling and she wasn’t being authentic to either. It was the push she needed to dedicate herself to ClassPass full time. Fast forward to today and ClassPass is a monthly fitness membership program worth over $500m. It lets you take classes at different studios and gyms in your local area. It's one membership and with that you get credits that you can use to go to a spin class, a yoga class or a dance class for example, anytime and anywhere. We chat with Payal about: How learning to dance at a young age gave her a way of life and a way to think about the challenges that lay ahead. Why there were crickets when they initially launched ClassPass. How she brought her team in and the importance of passionate generalists (in the beginning). How to hand over the CEO reins and move into a new role in the company. If she could run any business, what it would be. Links: https://classpass.com/ Resources: Venture Deals Zoc Doc Favourite book: The Alchemist -- 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

Investment funds for female entrepreneurs are not exactly commonplace in the world of finance. But today’s guest, SheEO founder and Canadian entrepreneurial powerhouse, Vicki Saunders, has been on a one woman crusade to change that. Her mammoth task has involved championing the term ‘radical generosity’, which means allowing people (men and women) to share capital in order to help like-minded women turn their light bulb moment into a successful company. Since launching SheEO in Canada in 2015, Vicki has successfully built up a network spanning numerous countries and sectors, with ambitious plans to raise $1bn of funding for one million women, by 2026, she is well on her way. How? Find out as we chat about: Her favourite quote - everything's broken, what a great time to be alive. How the SheEO fund works. How they’ve achieved a 100% payback rate. What path took her to founding SheEO. Why her favourite book is Winners Take All. What it’s like for someone to get investment through SheEO. How people can get involved if they want to help. Why meditation helps her cut through all the noise. Why she lives by the motto - energy input equals impact you’re having. Links: Winners Take All SheEO Think Like A SheEO -- 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

Sherry Coutu CBE is a serial entrepreneur, former CEO, angel investor and non-executive director based in Cambridge, UK but originally from Canada. She is best known for investing in Lovefilm, Zoopla and for sitting on the advisory board of LinkedIn. A self-confessed techie, Sherry has now turned her hand to philanthropy, having learned first hand that the number one problem for scaling businesses is finding great talent with the necessary skill sets, to enable startup businesses to grow. Sherry’s resume is as lengthy as they come. She founded Interactive Investor International (III) in 1994 which she ran until 2000 when it floated on the London Stock Exchange. She then swapped entrepreneurship for angel investing, because it afforded her a better work/life balance. For 15 years she was a serial angel investor working with hundreds of entrepreneurs. But now she focuses her efforts on charitable endeavours via Founders4Schools. Join us today as we talk to Sherry about: The inspiration behind Founders4Schools Why she decided to start the Scale Up Institute The number one thing holding businesses back from scaling up What appeals to her as an angel investor Her top tips to entrepreneurs What she’d wished she’d known growing up The best advice she’s ever received Links: https://www.founders4schools.org.uk/ http://www.scaleupinstitute.org.uk/ -- 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

Serial tech entrepreneur William Reeve realised early on that he wasn’t quite techy enough to be a techy, and so focused on the business side of tech businesses. And without this early enlightenment, we might not have seen the likes of Zoopla, Dunelm, Secret Escapes, Lovefilm or Graze, to name but a few of the businesses that have benefitted from William’s involvement. At the tender age of 23, having recently graduated from Oxford University with a degree in engineering and having just started his own company, William was told by a family member that he was ‘too young’ to start his own business. Four years later that business sold and netted William £10m. Listen today as we find out what it took to bring Lovefilm to market and how it beat Amazon. Join us as we chat to William about: Other than marriage, what William’s best investment to date was How, aged 27, he sold his first business and made almost £10m in the process Why he chose to go down the DVD subscription route How Lovefilm handled the slow business start by buying out the competition What it’s like negotiating with a behemoth like Amazon How to measure user churn Links: https://www.wreeve.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

Martha Lane Fox is a digital entrepreneur who is not only passionate about the world of tech, but Chancellor of the Open University, a philanthropist and a public servant to boot. Martha can be thanked for making our everyday lives easier, as well as the lives of children, and even prisoners. Martha’s resume is as lengthy as they come, and whilst she is notably the youngest female member the House of Lords has ever had, you will probably know her best as the founder of lastminute.com. However she doesn’t want that to be her sole legacy. She credits lastminute.com for affording her the opportunity to pursue her other work interests: being on the board of M&S, Twitter, Chanel and Channel 4, as well as her charitable work including setting up Reprieve - a charity helping those suffering from torture and human rights abuses. Martha is a keen advocate of just being human, for not letting your work define you, and so it is no surprise that she is the co-founder of prime evening entertainment venue, Lucky Voice. Just don’t make her listen to another rendition of Don’t Stop Believing, and don’t ask her to sing anything by Celine Dion. We chat about: Brent Toberman changing her life forever. The accident that could have been the end of her, but how she drew on her resilience, both mentally and physically, and how it has given her the opportunity to pursue other business avenues. Why no one had come up with the concept of Lucky Voice before, and why it wasn’t called Rubber Chicken. What she learned through working on the board at M&S. The subliminal role San Francisco plays in tech start-ups. Supporting young women in tech and why their voices need to be heard. Links: Doteveryone -- 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

Saasha Celestial-One may sound like a band formed in the swinging sixties, but she’s actually one half of a food waste startup looking to sign up 1 billion users to food sharing app, Olio, by 2025. Born and raised by hippy parents in Iowa, Saasha cut her teeth upcycling and tackling food waste from a very early age. Having grown up with not very much, she set her mind on building a bulletproof CV and worked hard to de-risk her professional career - she admits she was really seeking financial security and career stability. But having worked at Morgan Stanley, McKinley and American Express, she knew her heart wasn’t in financial services and consulting. And it was whilst on maternity leave when she took redundancy, realising she was financially secure, did she finally turn her hand to something she was truly passionate about. Her first foray into entrepreneurship was the hugely successful My Creche, London's first PAYG provider offering flexible childcare for busy parents. But that was nothing in comparison to the behemoth challenge she is tackling by way of Olio. Join us today whilst we talk with Saasha about her journey from Midwest America to tackling food waste, one sweet potato and leftover cabbage at a time. We talk with Saasha about: Olio, what it means, and how it’s tackling the problem of food waste How redundancy changed her life Why a leftover sweet potato and a cabbage brought her to her current path How far £40k will go when you start your startup How Olio began with 12 people in a Whatsapp group Olio’s reliance on volunteers to spread the food waste message How you can get involved The best piece of advice she’s ever been given Links: www.olioex.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

Jed McCaleb is a cryptocurrency legend. He's been involved in some of the most high profile organizations in crypto including Mt. Gox, Ripple, and now his current rocket ship, Stellar.org. But the journey from Little Rock, Arkansas to number 40 in the Forbes rich list has not been a smooth ride. He struggled his whole life with trying to find a balance between wanting to do something huge and wanting to just go chill at the beach and surf. Luckily for the rest of us, he opted to work hard to affect a lot of change in the world. Having dropped out of UC Berkeley after just one and half semesters, realising that he could already do what he wanted to do, programming, it still took him nearly four years in the wilderness, building stuff and floundering in the dark, before he started up e-donkey. And the rest, is history. Join us today as we follow Jed’s journey from e-donkey to Stellar.org and listen as we talk about: Why he’s better suited as CTO, not CEO His childhood growing up in the woods with no running water or electricity The basics of cryptocurrency (it’s mum-friendly don’t worry) Why he picked the name e-donkey for his company The time he built a butanol lab in his girlfriend’s apartment How Mt. Gox was originally started as an online trading exchange for Magic: The Gathering The future of bitcoin Why even as an incredibly successful entrepreneur he still struggled to get Stellar.org off the ground His best piece of advice for entrepreneurs Links: stellar.org -- 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

Riccardo Zacconi is an Italian entrepreneur best known as the CEO of King, the company behind the most popular game of our generation: Candy Crush Saga. Riccardo cut his teeth in the tech startup world during the dotcom boom of the late 90s, when he joined Swedish messaging startup Spray. He left Spray to become vice-president of European sales and marketing at uDate, leaving shortly after it was acquired by Match.com, to set up King in 2003. The rest they say, is history. But we aren’t going to gloss over this incredible piece of history, so join us as we talk with Italy’s most successful entrepreneur and take note, he has a lot of advice to share. Today we chat with Riccardo about: Giving King his all in the early days: selling his car and his flat to self-fund his venture and how King got angel investment at the eleventh hour. Why the University of Life is more important than actual university, and why King is harder to get into than Harvard. What he would take if he was stranded on a desert island. Why timing and predicting the market is so important when launching a product - that and creating a unique UX for users. How innovation buoyed his company up and kept them afloat. Why he credits his success to great hiring (and how to hire successfully). The one KPI all game and app developers have to monitor. His proudest moment whilst building the brand. -- 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

Today’s guest, Jason Calacanis, is best known for his podcast This Week In Startups and for investing in unicorn companies such as Uber, Thumbtack and Robin Hood; as well as selling shares in Facebook (whilst telling Mark Zuckerberg what he thought of him) and working alongside investors such as Elon Musk. But it took him awhile to get here. Jason was the Founder and CEO of Rising Tide Studios and Weblogs Inc (which he sold to AOL in 2005 for $25m), before turning his hand to angel investing. Jason is the dinner party guest you want to have at your table - he would entertain and delight because he favours candidness over honesty, and believes that the secret to success is the ability to get on with difficult people. An early investor in calm.com, Jason could see the benefit it would bring to the world and credits the founder, Alex Tew, for having the same levels of creativity as Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. Jason says he loves angel investing because he gets to hang out with the smartest people in the world who tell him how the world is going to change, how they're going to do it and then they invite him along for the ride. So to that end, join us on our ride as we chat with Jason about: Whether he’s marmite or fungus. Getting trolled for investing in calm.com and why you should never underestimate anyone. The secret to angel investing. Why the people who are going to change the world aren’t always easily likeable. His favourite book of 2018 (hint, it isn’t Shoe Dog). Who his all-time favourite guest on TWIST (this week in startups - his podcast) has been. The impact of the realisation that the person who picked the Times cover model was the most powerful person in the room, not the model themselves, had on him. Links: This week in startups -- 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

Clara Brenner is co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm she established to invest in the future of cities. She had a vision to empower entrepreneurs keen to solve urban problems, and so with business partner Julie Lein, she is helping grow tomorrow’s most valued companies. The UIF provides seed capital and regulatory support to social entrepreneurs looking to create solutions to tough urban challenges, such as transportation, work force, housing in the built environment and education, amongst others. Clara’s journey began in Washington DC where the two biggest industries are government and real estate, and whilst she has no desire to get involved with GovTech just yet, she did enjoy working in real estate, cutting her teeth at Fundrise, a social impact company. From there Clara went on to co-found Tumml, a startup hub for urban tech before establishing the Urban Innovation Fund, which closed a $24.5m seed stage fund last June. And now, with a diverse portfolio of companies under their wing, Urban Innovation fund is set to dramatically change the urban landscape. Join us as we chat with Clara about: Her motivation to begin her hero's journey, from Washington DC to San Francisco. The role technology will play in shaping the urban environments of the future. Why she’s happy for people to acknowledge her success as well as being female, rather than just accepting it. The diverse portfolio that the UIF has inadvertently invested in and why she is drawn to companies with strong female and POC founders. Why she was so determined as a kid not to follow in her mother’s footsteps and how, despite her best efforts, the apple really didn’t fall too far from the tree. What personality traits and motivations entrepreneurs need to have if they hope to succeed with her. The appalling parental leave policy in the USA and the business Clara is championing to support breastfeeding mothers who have to go back to work. Her vision for the San Francisco of the future. Links: Urban Innovation Fund -- 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

Tim Draper is the world’s most famous venture capital investor who’s backed many companies like Hotmail, Twitter or Tesla. He is a ridiculously nice and charming guy (it might be all that Bitcoin he owns, who knows?), he’s full of amazing advice and has a voice like chocolate silk - which, if it did exist, he could probably afford to buy. Tim founded DJF, Draper Associates and Draper University. All you need to know if you’re listening outside the Valley is that Tim is one of the great legacy names known best for a warm smile, a suit and a firm handshake. His unique ability to pick out opportunities explains why you might have heard of him as one of the world’s most prolific Bitcoin supporters and owners. We chat with Tim about: A family of venture capitalists What it means to be a hero Why he disagrees with Elon Musk about AI The benefits of Bitcoin His book, “How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs” What Draper University is all about Links: How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs Bitcoin Hustle -- 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

Tim Brown is an ex-professional New Zealand footballer turned American shoemaker entrepreneur. After a successful football career, Tim got injured. This caused a career turning point and he looked outside the sporting world at a business future. He first obtained a master’s from LSC, and then he entered into a partnership with Joey Zwillinger. The result? Allbirds, a sustainable tech and science-led footwear that has a huge A-list Hollywood following and that’s creating massive waves in the funding community as a direct to consumer brand. We’re here to delve deeper into this exciting brand as it launches its first UK shop within Covent Garden (as well as an online UK store). We chat with Tim about: The difference in the attitude towards entrepreneurship between London and San Francisco How he saw an opportunity in making shoes out of different materials Why and how they became a B Corp Living his boyhood dream of playing soccer in the A-League in Australia The Allbirds funding journey His best piece of advice for entrepreneurs Links: Allbirds -- 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

Described as one of the world’s most influential women and CEOs, Justine Roberts is at the helm of one of the world’s most talked about forums, Mumsnet. Loved by many and the cause of many heated discussions, Justine has created a place for open and frank conversations for a wide sector of the public. As a wife and mother of four, including twins, Justine has had the exact experience of how hard it is to be a working mum. Recognized for her impact on the economy and ultimately being awarded a CBE in 2017, the Oxford-educated ex-journalist takes time from her busy schedule to discuss all things Mumsnet and Gransnet. We chat with Justine about: The disastrous holiday that started everything Growing the Mumsnet community organically, by word-of-mouth The picture of the first years: a very quiet start (2000) and then a very accelerated growth period from 2006 onwards Getting sued memorably and other hard moments Advocating for many good causes via Mumsnet What a typical day looks like for Justine Links: Mumsnet -- 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

Growing up in Swansea with two hard-working parents, Anne Boden couldn’t have dreamt of the future ahead of her. After going on to study Chemistry and Computer Sciences at Swansea University, she made the big move to London to work for Lloyds Bank. Jump forward 35 years and positions at UBS, RBS and ABN AMRO, Anne has put herself out there as a forward-thinking banker who has spotted huge potential in the world of digital banking. Unable to have her vision realized as Allied Irish Banks’ Chief Operating Officer, Anne broke away and developed Starling, an innovative and exciting new way for customers to bank. We chat to Anne about: Quitting her job in traditional banking, moving to London and deciding to start her own bank Raising money as a female founder for her unusual initiative The type of culture and ethos they are trying to build Her ambitions with Starling in the future A typical day for Anne Her advice to entrepreneurs Links: Starling Bank -- 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

WeTransfer started in late 2009 and today it has over 45 million active monthly users. It’s one of the world’s most trusted online brands, helping people to discover and share in every country around the globe. Damian Bradfield, an advertising and marketing specialist who cut his teeth at various agencies, teamed up with Nalden, a famous Dutch design and media blogger. From creating the disarmingly straightforward file transfer service WeTransfer to curating an interactive art installation at Amsterdam’s art’otel, the duo has been behind a series of truly forward-thinking projects. Nowadays WeTransfer helps share 1 billion files every week. In 2015 it took its first round of investment, a series A of $25 million, and Damian moved to LA the following year to spearhead the company’s US operations. Managing a dual role - heading the American office and leading the brand’s marketing growth and content departments - Damian personifies WeTransfer’s commitment to supporting and showcasing the best creative talent. To this end, he has set up content partnerships with the likes of FKA Twigs, Rankin and Nelly Ben Hayoun, among many others working on the newer platform of WePresent. We chat about: The early days of WeTransfer: no money and huge ambition in Amsterdam How StumbleUpon helped them launch Bootstrapping and keeping their full-time jobs until 2015 The two fortuitous things that happened in WeTransfer's early days What Damian believes the future of the internet is going to be And what he’s like as a boss Links: WeTransfer -- 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

Today’s Secret Leader is Jo Malone CBE, founder of her namesake and more recently Jo Loves. Of all the guests we’ve had the wonderful fortune of interviewing, Jo has one of the biggest reputations preceding her, but worry not, it’s an entirely positive one. From battles with dyslexia to cancer Jo is well known for being authentic, inspiring, and a true hero to young entrepreneurs everywhere. We chat about: Growing up in a council house, looking after her mother, and putting her sister through school Leaving school at 14 and going over to London to sell face creams in order to pay the family bills Moving to London and doing all sorts of odd jobs Putting her astounding sense of smell into an actual business Opening the first Jo Malone shop in 1994 with her husband Receiving an offer to sell to Estée Lauder after three years Facing the greatest challenge of her life and starting a new business after five years Links: Jo Malone Jo Loves -- 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

Vijay Eswaran is the Executive Chairman of the QI Group of Companies. Born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1960, to hardworking parents, Vijay had a childhood filled with moves around his native country. His education brought him to the UK, and in 1984, Eswaran graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Socioeconomics. In 1998, Eswaran returned to Malaysia after several years of work that stretched globally, and he co-founded the multilevel marketing company that has grown into what we now know as the QI Group. The QI Group of Companies describe themselves as a diversified multinational entity catering to varied businesses that include education, hospitality, direct selling, financial services, and retail. Vijay would be forgiven for stopping once achieving this conglomerate, however, he has also gone on to establish the RYTHM Foundation and the Vijayaratnam Foundation (named after his father), and has written several books. We chat about: Why getting a degree today is no longer completely necessary Losing his scholarship and being sent to the UK by his father Working as a cab driver while studying in order to pay his student fees under the Thatcher regime Taking a year off in order to hitchhike around Europe Going through 33 days of silence in an Italian monastery Building the QI Group Giving back and living in the now Links: QI Group of Companies -- 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

From a business desk at the Birmingham Post to the world’s fastest-growing tech-for-good platform, Belgium-born Anne-Marie Huby is one of UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs, creating the first online fundraising platform in the UK in 2000. She started her career in journalism in Belgium, and later joined the UK arm of Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières), where she worked for ten years. In 1994, Anne-Marie was in Congo with MSF, not long after the genocide which saw Rwandan soldiers and Hutu gangs claim the lives of more than half a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. MSF received a Nobel prize just one year before Anne-Marie transformed the humanitarian landscape by launching JustGiving with co-founder Zarine Kharas. The company became profitable in just five years. Defying the odds, JustGiving has helped raise over £3.5 billion to date and has improved the lives of over 28 million people in 164 countries. We chat about: Meeting Zarine Kharas and creating a sustainable business model For-profit vs not-for-profit charities Their unusual first pitch and fundraising story What a typical day looks like for Anne-Marie Taking a break, reconnecting with what’s important for her, and reading voraciously Corporate responsibility in modern times Links: JustGiving -- 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

Rankin is arguably Britain’s most successful export to the fashion industry, and one of the world’s leading portrait photographers. He is also well known for his phenomenal work ethic, his charitable pursuits within fashion and his fearlessness when creating art. Rankin made his name in publishing by founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1991. Dazed & Confused has now progressed into Dazed Media, which in itself is a brand synonymous with leading fashion. With more than 40 books published and exhibitions all over the world, as well as still creating work for his own London gallery, it’s a wonder that Rankin has time to devote himself to any other project, let alone sit down with us today. He is also known for his affiliations with charities, and he travels the world creating campaigns for the likes of Comic Relief, Women’s Aid, and Macmillan Cancer Support. Rankin has captured icons and is respected worldwide for being the ultimate visionary. However, he is not just a celebrity photographer, he is also super being passionate about photographing real people of all sizes and shapes. We chat about: From Glasgow to Yorkshire to St Albans: his childhood and finding his way Meeting Jefferson Hack and creating Dazed & Confused Always wanting to give something back What he thinks about the MeToo movement Who he would like to photograph next His attraction to serendipity His fascination with Trump and his love of photographing baddies -- 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

From the pages of a wine magazine to the UK’s largest certified organic haven of delicious produce, Mississippi-born Renée Elliott moved to the UK in 1986. Nine years later, Renée launched Planet Organic having followed her heart. Planet Organic became the first store certified by the Soil Association, and now it has seven outlets. Inspired by the tutelage of Craig Sams, founder of Whole Earth Foods and Green & Black’s, Renée absorbed a wealth of knowledge of fuelled nutrition and everything organic. Walking into the Planet Organic is like walking into the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory but for organic and healthy food. Ever-flowing food and vegetables, bread from artisan London bakeries, sustainable fish from British water, gluten-free, dairy-free raw food and dairy options. Limitless goodness. Speaking of limitless, Renée’s ventures don’t stop there. Beluga Bean, a life and business skills academy for women is another fantastic enterprise that is inspirational and genius in even strokes. -- 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

Our esteemed guest this week is Dhiraj Mukerjee, co-founder of Shazam, the app that has literally put more songs on the record than anyone else in the world. Dhiraj is not a fan of being praised or of receiving any kind of popular commendations of his AMAZING efforts, so we won’t do any of that today. Today we offer you the story that led four people to build one of the world’s most innovative products of all time. Long story short: Shazam was created in 1999 by co-founders Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Avery Wang, and Dhiraj Mukherjee. Since its launch, over 30 billion shazams have been sent via their app, which has been downloaded over 1 billion times. 18 years after it was founded, it sees 100 million users flock to its surface every single month. Join us for a crisp dose of inspiration from someone who really knows what he’s talking about. We chat about: Building Shazam and getting people to use it Getting a lot of nos from investors Disguising the product so that someone else didn’t steal their idea What the future looks like, if you ask Dhiraj Links: Shazam -- 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

Our guest this week is the very inspirational Ali Parsa, founder and CEO of Babylon Health. Babylon is the world’s largest healthcare app successfully changing the way we as humans are getting access to healthcare. Their mission? To provide affordable healthcare to the world and to be, in Ali’s own words, “the Google of healthcare”. We don’t say this often, but get ready to have your mind blown at the scale of his ambition and, even more importantly, his execution. So tune in or you’ll miss out! We chat about: Coming to the UK as a refugee and steering clear of negativity Building Circle and, later on, Babylon Thinking big, acting big, staying human Links: Babylon Health -- 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

Left work on a Friday and gave birth on a Saturday: already our guest this week is pretty much a rockstar. 2014 Tech City’s Entrepreneur of the Year Alex Depledge is a straight-talking British businesswoman best known for being the driving force behind hassle.com. Alex launched her career in the US after completing her master’s degree at the Uni of Chicago, working on the campaign team of a major US politician. In 2006 she returned to the UK to become a consultant for Accenture, where she advised Footsie 100 clients on their customer and channel execution. In 2012 she bravely entered the world of entrepreneurship. In 2011 Alex and her best friend, Jules Coleman, conceived the idea behind hassle.com when they discovered how hard it was to find a piano teacher online. They realized that service providers found it hard to market themselves, as they weren’t always as tech-savvy as other entrepreneurs, and they needed to rely on word-of-mouth. Alongside co-founders Tom Nimmo and Jules Coleman, they started Teddle with the idea of connecting local service providers to customers. Two years later they rebranded to hassle.com and focused on connecting vetted cleaners to local customers. They recently sold for €32 million to German company Helpling. Alex has now launched BuildPath, a company which assesses whether house extensions are viable and how much they would cost. She also continues to be a driving force for shared parental rights in business and female equality amongst the entrepreneur scene. We chat about: Hassle’s journey from we-don’t-know-anything-about-startup-entrepreneurship to building an MVP to joining an accelerator to building the right product at the right time What was raising money like in a period when there wasn’t a startup ecosystem Their hiring challenges as first-time founders with no reputation Selling to Helpling and getting massively depressed Finding an executive coach and surviving Brexit Links: Resi -- 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

Here to share with us his journey from owning an Aston Martin to owning a multi-million-pound shirt company is Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler, one of UK’s most successful entrepreneurs. After being left £8,000 from a great aunt, Nick used the money to purchase the English dream: an Aston Martin DB1. One year later he sold the same car for an eye-watering £75,000 profit. This profit became the funding that set Nick up to become the powerhouse he is now. Nick founded Charles Tyrwhitt as an undergraduate in 1986, after being frustrated that shirts were too expensive. For several years the company was just a hobby alongside Nick’s full-time job. However, by 2002, Charles Tyrwhitt had stores in London, Paris, and NY, and is now on its way to achieve global domination. We chat about: Nick’s previous ventures and how he started and grew Charles Tyrwhitt Nick’s infatuation for learning from mistakes, over and over and over again The do’s and don’ts of hiring when you’re a small company His advice to entrepreneurs worldwide Links: Charles Tyrwhitt Full show notes at secretleaders.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

Today we are delighted to bring you Holly Tucker, the co-founder of the first marketplace of its kind, notonthehighstreet.com, the place to pick up fantastic inspiration and bespoke gifts. Side note: notonthehighstreet.com is also very helpful when you’re trying to get back into your mum’s good books and make her happy with a thoughtful hand-designed gift. Just saying! Since stepping away from day to day operations she's now championing creative business owners through her new venture - Holly & Co. Like so many businesses, it was set up around a kitchen table shared by her co-founder Sophie Cornish. We dare say this was the inspiration behind her bestselling book, “Build a Business from Your Kitchen Table”, but you know, that’s just a guess! Hear more about Holly’s inspirational story, as she shares the highs and lows of building one of Britain’s best-loved online marketplaces. We chat about: Working from the age of 13 Creating notonthehighstreet.com together with Sophie Cornish at their respective kitchen tables Giving back and helping small businesses thrive Why Holly advises entrepreneurs to trust their internal compasses Links: Not On The High Street Holly & Co -- 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

Our guest today is on the more unconventional side. For starters, he wouldn’t necessarily choose to call himself a “leader”, so what better set-up for a secret leader? Mills, aka Matt Miller, is the co-founder of the fampany (read: family company) ustwo, a design studio occupying the ground floor of the Tea Building in Shoreditch, famous for hosting many of UK’s most creative brands. Mills started his career at design studio Animal, where his first and only ever boss demonstrated to him just how leadership can be: a friendship based on trust and shared values. After experiencing that, Mills and ustwo co-founder John Sinclair, aka Sinx, decided to replicate it to create a fizzing company culture of their own. Today we talk about doing things differently and putting values at the heart of an organization that really tries to keep its creativity in full flow, full-time employed. Mills and Sinx have zero intention to ever sell ustwo, and are on a mission to create the best working environment you can imagine. We chat about: The story of how ustwo was formed International expansion How they created a global smash hit mobile game Mills’s love for mindful ultrarunning What's next for ustwo Links: ustwo Monument Valley -- 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

Today we have an audio feast for you as our guest is Karen Jones, most well-known as the co-founder of the Café Rouge chain of restaurants. Her career is a textbook story of entrepreneurship. Karen was born in Lancashire, in northern England, and raised in Yorkshire, London, and Switzerland, before studying English and American Literature at the University of East Anglia, where she has now come full circle to serve as their Chancellor. As the Café Rouge brand grew, Karen and her co-founder Roger Myers formed the Pelican Group, which was eventually acquired in 1996 by Whitbread for a reported £133 million. Karen couldn’t stay away from the table for too long and became the CEO of the Spirit Pub Group. She is definitely not the kind of person to sit back and put her feet up, so she also joined the board of the London Gastropub Company among many others. We chat about: How the first Café Rouge came to be Selling Café Rouge and creating Punch Taverns What makes a brand a winner Karen’s advice to entrepreneurs Links: Café Rouge -- 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

Today you are going to hear the story of Songkick led by Pete Finlay, formerly known as Pete Smith. You’re going to learn about the ups and downs of a very brutal story. Songkick was once one of the startup darlings of the UK, they raised a ton of cash, grew exponentially quickly, and, as Pete will share in today’s episode, really grew too fast for them to really understand how to manage this beast properly. Pete ended up leaving Songkick and starting Silicon Milkroundabout. This had its own challenges, which again he shares in brutally honest fashion. Like any great leader, he owns his mistakes and shares how others could avoid them in the future. We chat about: Songkick’s birth, infancy and later years What made Songkick different from other online concert discovery tools Pete’s experience with burnout and his advice to first-time founders Links: Songkick Silicon Milkroundabout -- 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 are the type of person who is into sustainability, philanthropy, giving back, purpose, any of these things, our guest today is the crème de la crème. Meet Gail Gallie, co-founder of Project Everyone. Today we go through Gail’s entire story from when she was a producer at Radio 1, to becoming CEO of ad agency Fallon, and eventually working with Kate Garvey and Richard Curtis of Four Weddings and Notting Hill fame on Project Everyone, a communications house for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The UN has committed globally to creating a fairer world by creating 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development that we can all commit to. Ironically, the UN is also not unbelievably good at marketing. Fortunately, world-class British filmmaker Richard Curtis and two brilliant marketeers came to the rescue. We chat about: Working as a producer for Radio 1 The challenges of being the CEO of an ad agency Driving awareness towards a sustainable future Links: Project Everyone The Sustainable Development Goals -- 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

For the last 11 years, David has done nothing but think about takeaway. Sounds like a dream, right? But that’s the reality for the former CEO of food giant Just Eat, still part of the board to this day. Described as one of UK’s standout entrepreneurs of the last decade, David got a taste for delivery-based businesses when he created his own newspaper-delivering service at the age of 11. Just Eat helped restaurants deliver almost 100 million orders last year, from anything from curries to salads. David is now working at venture capital firm 83North as general partner. In his new role, he aims to identify technology startups in Europe and Israel that have the potential to grow to the same size as Just Eat, which now has a market cap in excess of £5 billion. Key takeaways: The Just Eat journey: how two colleagues working in a basement created an empire with a valuation of £5.5 billion Their story of getting funded What made Just Eat stand out from other food delivery services Join us to discover more about the incredible story of Just Eat. -- 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

Today’s special guest is one of the key Venture Capital investors in the UK, the CEO and Founder of Draper Esprit, Mr Simon Cook. Most recently, Simon has focused on disrupting the traditional VC structure by taking his company public on an IPO that raised over £100m of ‘permanent capital’ as he calls it which he intends to use to grow the UK’s influence globally. He has been involved in some of the best known deals in the UK including LoveFilm, Graze and Trust Pilot. -- 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

Today we are joined by one of the best known, and certainly most liked entrepreneurs in the UK - Sarah Wood from Unruly Media. The tl;dr on Sarah is that she went to University of Cambridge, then became a lecturer at the University of Sussex, then she Co Founded Unruly, sold it for £114m to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp a few years later, and now teaches a course back at Cambridge whilst maintaining a role as CEO at the company she helped build. In this episode you'll find out what Unruly does, and how Cambridge University responded to her suggested classroom title she teaches entitled “ Mashups, memes and LOLitics, online video culture and the screen media revolution”. -- 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

Today’s guest is the self styled Jesus Christ Superstar of the organic viral growth world, Vincent Dignan. He puts the M in Millennial, the G in Growth and the WTF in Fashion. A man who very much practices what he preaches, and a true obsessive for the American personal branding school of thought - he knows that to stand out, you have to really stand out. And he does this to perfection. In his own words - his mission is to help as many founders and companies grow in the fastest way possible using bespoke techniques, tactics and software most people don’t know about. Whilst his over sharing and very un-British attitude towards self promotion doesn’t resonate with everyone - it’s categorically impossible to ignore Vincent once you’ve made contact, and underneath all the outfits and image is simply a guy interested to see how he can help others succeed with the knowledge he’s accumulated. From living off benefits to touring the West Coast inspiring young entrepreneurs and makers how to build an audience, Vincent’s life has gone from rags to riches in very little time, and should be viewed as an inspiration that anyone with a strong work ethic, positive attitude and most importantly, the self belief and confidence in what makes you unique and interesting is your pathway to 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

Tamara Lohan MBE is the co-founder and CTO of Mr & Mrs Smith Hotels. She started Mr and Mrs Smith with her husband James 14 years ago, and has been at the heart of one of the best loved internet brands in Britain, but it in fact started as a publishing business; a guidebook for people like her who wanted to explore the luxury boutiques across the country and discovering the real gems and stylish weekends away in unique hotels. They sold 10,000 copies in their first 6 weeks, but fast forward to today they have over 100 staff spread across London, LA, Singapore, New York… and have had contributions from celebrities ranging from Stella McCartney to Cate Blanchett. -- 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

Our guest this week is the advertising giant Sir John Hegarty. As the co-founder of ad agency BBH and creator of acclaimed campaigns for brands such as Levi’s, Audi, BA and Johnnie Walker, Hegarty has been a leader in the advertising industry for more than 50 years. In our interview with him he reveals some of his creative tricks (lose the headphones) and “when the world zigs, zag” – words which went on to become the BBH’s mantra. -- 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

Our second Australian guest in a row for our 10th episode of Secret Lives of Leaders. This episode we have the pleasure of hosting Alicia Navarro - the co-founder and CEO of Skimlinks. Known for her energy and enthusiasm, Alicia has been in the heart of the tech scene in London for over a decade. Her company has gone through many highs and lows along the way as well as receiving over $20m in venture funding. Alicia gives us an insight into running starting and then running a high growth company as well as what she gets up to when she's not working. -- 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

Our guest in episode 9 is the bestselling author Daniel Priestley. Hailing from Australia Daniel was already a success before he moved to Europe. He used writing as a way to get his thought process down while running his own business and along the way his books is what he is most well known for. His catalogue includes the titles “24 Assets”, “Oversubscribed” and “Key Person of Influence”. Along the way Daniel has built huge businesses, advised celebrated entrepreneurs, broken world records, raised millions in venture capital and fundraised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity. -- 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

Our guest this week is one of the best networked ladies in UK tech, as the Co Founder of not only the first ever, but also arguably the most successful Seed Fund in Europe, Seedcamp. By only part-selling their stake in their most successful investment, they’ve already returned their entire fund back, as the high profile FinTech unicorn Transferwise was originally developed before Reshma’s eyes and with her support and brainpower. With over 200 investments to her name, its not fair to focus only on their largest, as they’ve backed many really exciting winners, which she’ll be talking to us about in this episode. With her roots from India, teenage years in America, and an MBA in france, it’s Europe she’s chosen of the 3 continents to call home, and it’s fair to say she’s had a huge impact on the technology scene. -- 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

Our guest in this episode is probably responsible for the funny tweets you saw, or that ridiculously viral campaign that captured your imagination. At 24, he’s one of those guys who has already had the life experience of most 40 year olds, with offices in Manchester, Berlin and New York, plus spending a small stint living in San Francisco as an Entrepreneur in Residence advising Bebo for their relaunch, he’s accomplished a great deal in a short period of time and shows no signs of slowing down. At the age of 18, Steve Bartlett dropped out of school and embarked on his first business, Wallpark - a social media venture connecting students with similar interests around, essentially a digital social notice board. He then exited that business in 2013 and Co Founded the Social Chain, having met a young guy called Dom McGregor, who had a unique knack of creating multiple twitter accounts and growing the shit out of them, and from there they’ve been at the heart of a number of viral campaigns growing Social Chain to a multi million pound business counting Apple, McDonalds and BBC as some of their clients. Quite rightly, they’ve picked up a ton of PR along the way and Steve, presumably learning along the way from those he promotes, has increasingly been popping up in my facebook feed as an inspirational speaker with his own YouTube channel, therefore, in his own right, becoming a key person of influence. -- 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

Michael Acton Smith OBE is a man who's been described as the ‘tech version of Willy Wonka’. From setting up popular e-commerce websites with university friends to extravagant online games Michael Acton Smith has always had a drive as a maker. His biggest success, Moshi Monsters, grew to over 100 million registered users and expanded to over 150 countries around the world. It’s not all been plain sailing though. His businesses have come within days of missing payroll and after booming success Mind Candy has found it challenging reproducing it’s second hit. More recently our esteemed guest has focussed his attention on raising awareness and building businesses in the mental health space - an area very close to his heart with the meditation app - Calm. -- 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

Jess Butcher is the co-founder of Blippar - the augmented reality giant. Founded in 2011, Jess has over 250 colleagues and as of 2016 raised a total of $100m valuing the business at a reputed $1bn and it’s also reported that they turned down an acquisition of £1.5bn. Jess gives us an insight into the founding days of Blippar and also what it's like building a behemoth of a business while also raising a family. This episode of The Secret Lives of Leaders was recorded at Stockton House in front of a live audience at the Foundrs Unconference. -- 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