40 Minute Mentor

“It's really demotivating in the early days to keep building, keep building but nothing seems to happen. You need tenacity and planning skills to get you through that.” 

In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Sho Sugihara, Founder and CEO of Pave, the FinTech-for-good helping customers improve their credit score and history with bill monitoring and credit building. 

Sho started his career working with NGOs around the world, driven by the desire to build a world free of financial inequality which led him to start Pave, out of Entrepreneur First in 2017. 

In this episode, we learn more about his brilliant journey with Pave alongside his candid advice and mentorship for any aspiring Founders, including: 

➡️ How his education has shaped him into the leader he is today [04:50] 

➡️ Where Sho got his entrepreneurial spirit from and why he went into consulting before starting Pave [07:05] 

➡️ The most difficult part of switching from a consulting mindset to a Founder mindset [13:48] 

➡️ How becoming a Deliveroo driver shaped the early days of Pave [16:05] 

➡️ How the business has evolved since and why it’s so important to evolve your product with the market climate [19:58] 

➡️ How Pave have shifted from a pure B2C product to a B2B offering [25:27] 

➡️ The importance of getting the hiring of your leadership team right [28:09] 

➡️ Why tenacity and conviction will set you apart as a Founder in tougher economic times [30:44]

➡️ Small but meaningful things we can all do to improve our financial health [32:25] 

➡️ Why Founders need to think about their bigger purpose before starting a business [34:32] 

➡️ How Sho’s own leadership style has evolved over the years and his own battles with imposter syndrome [38:09] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ More about Sho: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shoalexander/

➡️ More about Pave: https://www.paveapp.com/

➡️More about the Unrest Accelerator: https://www.unrest.world/

📅 Join us at the Sifted Summit! 

We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th. 

To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREE for your General Administration ticket on https://sifted-summit-2022.reg.buzz/splash 

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

40 Minute Mentor LIVE and in person! 

We’re attending Sifted Summit on Thursday, October 6th, to record a live panel discussion with some of the most inspiring purpose-driven Founders and Investors. 

If you haven’t heard of Sifted Summit before, it’s the Startup event of the year, bringing startup Europe under one roof with new perspectives, new opportunities and new chances to collaborate. 

Our 40 Minute Mentor session at 2pm on the Thursday will be all about ‘Purpose Over Profit’ and will feature an amazing panel, including: 

➡️ Amali de Alwis, CEO of Subak 

➡️ Dr. Anna Hushlak, Co-founder and CSO of Ferly 

➡️ Emma Steele, Partner at Ascension 

➡️ Nikki Wicks, CEO of The Body Coach  

Listen to today’s episode to learn a bit more about why this is such a relevant topic, who has already championed purpose-driven businesses on the podcast and why more and more candidates are looking to join purpose-driven businesses. 

📅 Secure your free ticket! 

To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREE for a General Attendee ticket on  https://sifted-summit-2022.reg.buzz/splash 

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Plus, if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our bite-sized Monday episodes, please get in touch with Hannah at 

[email protected]

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“The biggest shift in the candidate market is that people care just as much about how they work as what they do.” 

In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Molly Johnson-Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexa. 

Flexa is a global directory of verified flexible companies that lists companies by vacancies and flexibility percentage scores, benchmarked against thousands of data points. 

We’re proud partners of Flexa and were ‘flexified’ earlier in 2022. That’s why we were so excited to catch up with Molly on the podcast, share her story and the incredible journey Flexa have been on. 

Molly shares some truly candid insights into her own journey and the future of flexible working, including: 

➡️Her unfair dismissal from investment banking and how she bounced back after [06:43]

➡️Why she started Flexa and how it works for candidates and employers [14:36] 

➡️ The hardest parts of being a first-time Founder [18:33]  

➡️ Why investing in your mental health is so important [20:00] 

➡️ Her advice for any aspiring Founders [22:23]  

➡️ What it’s like to found a business with your partner and why it held them back when raising funding [24:31]  

➡️ Why flexibility means choice and how employers can embrace flexible working [31:33] 

➡️ The cases in which stripping back flexibility can be beneficial [33:48]  

➡️ How employers can attract more talent in a very competitive market [36:31]  

➡️ What do the next 5 to 10 years of flexible working look like [40:53]

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ More about Molly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-johnson-jones/

➡️ More about Flexa: https://flexa.careers/

➡️ JBM on Flexa: https://flexa.careers/companies/jbm

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

📅 Join us at the Sifted Summit! 

We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th. 

To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREE for a Startup ticket on on www.summit.sifted.eu

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“We’ve really found that added flexibility has been an amazing way to attract talent, retain talent, and give everybody a chance to work in a way they want to work.” 

In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we talk about all things flexible working and the way in which we’ve implemented more flexible ways of working here at JBM. 

We touch on the various benefits we introduced to the JBM team over the past 12 months, what’s been working the best and the lessons we learned along the way. 

Whether you’d like to find out more about how you can benefit as an employer or you’d just like some candid insights into what is working and what isn’t when it comes to flexible working at JBM - there’s something for everyone in this bite-sized episode. 

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Plus, if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our bite-sized Monday episodes, please get in touch with Hannah at 

[email protected]

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“Entrepreneurship is a process of natural selection. You can't ever guarantee that the playbook you're going to follow is going to guarantee success.” 

In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Graham Hobson, the Founder of Photobox, a photo printing company that acquired Moonpig and was later sold for a reported £400 million.

Today, Graham is an angel investor, mentor and advisor, working to support climate change initiatives, fairer tax and social impact. 

In this episode, Graham shares candid insights into the brilliant journey he’s taken Photobox on and the chapter that followed, including: 

➡️ How Graham’s upbringing and natural inclination to not follow a traditional path has brought him to entrepreneurship [07:54] 

➡️ Why social mobility played a huge part into the leader he is today [09:37] 

➡️ How Photobox was created on Graham’s commute to and from work and what the early years were like [11:58] 

➡️ How Graham and his Co-Founder Mark navigated the bumpy growth journey Photobox was on  [18:38] 

➡️ Graham’s candid advice for anyone looking to merge businesses [23:37] 

➡️ How he transitioned from CEO to CTO and the challenges that came with that [26:56] 

➡️ Why Photobox acquired Moonpig and what exiting the business was like for him [30:11] 

➡️ Why it didn’t take a long time for Graham to get back into work after exiting Photobox and his advice for any Founders preparing for their exit [34:12] 

➡️ Graham’s involvement in driving for higher taxes for the Wealthy and why this is a topic so close to his heart [40:58] 

➡️ What Founders should keep in mind as they navigate the economic downturn and impending recession [47:52] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ More about Graham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamhobson

➡️ More about Photobox: https://www.photobox.co.uk/

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

Pacaso - a co-ownership platform for luxury homes. Picasso curates stunning holiday homes in top vacation destinations around the world. Find out more over on https://www.pacaso.com/

📅 Join us at the Sifted Summit! 

We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th. 

To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREEE on on www.summit.sifted.eu

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“There are so many opportunities out there for Founders. If you decide to step away, I can promise you there will be lots of people that will want to hire you.” 

This week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, is all about knowing when to stay as a Founder and when to exit - something we talk a lot about with Founders, including in our upcoming episode with Graham Hobson. 

Over the next 4 minutes, James shares his insights on what Founders need to think about when deciding whether to transition to CEO or stepping away to pastures new and the many opportunities that lie ahead for exited Founders. 

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

📅Join us at the Sifted Summit! 

We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th. 
To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREEE on on www.summit.sifted.eu

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Plus, if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our bite-sized Monday episodes, please get in touch with Hannah at 

[email protected]

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“In the whole of my career, I lost more races than I won. I think people like to look at the medals, but don’t necessarily look at the other side of it.” 

40 Minute Mentor is officially back for Series 8! 

We’re kicking off this new series with the amazing Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s greatest Paralympic athlete, who has won 11 Gold medals and broke 30 world records throughout her career. 

Following her competing years, Tanni was created a life peer and is a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. 

In today’s episode, we get a really candid insight into Tanni’s life and career, including: 

➡️ Why setbacks have been so important to her success as a Paralympian [03:10]

➡️ Her upbringing and why her parents fought to keep her in a mainstream school [04:09]

➡️ What made her fall in love with wheelchair racing and what it was like to make the British squad at age 17 [07:27]

➡️ Her experience of her first Paralympics and the journey to Seoul [09:39] 

➡️ How you consistently push yourself and build the resilience to keep going [13:52] 

➡️ Why she never saw anything as a sacrifice [15:57]

➡️ Why breaking the 400 meter world record stands out from all her successes [20:50] 

➡️ How she decided to retire and her advice for anyone transitioning careers [22:30] 

➡️ How she transitioned to a career in Politics and the issues closest to her heart [27:41]

➡️ Why getting into sports is such a great opportunity and how people can get motivated [31:32]

➡️ And why it’s so important to open up and talk to people when the going gets tough [33:04] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ More about Tanni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanni-grey-thompson-9a6b84a6/

➡️ For mental health support, we recommend: 

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“If you feel that you can be your vulnerable self, and you can bring your true self to work, you’re going to push yourself outside your comfort zone and achieve more.”

In addition to our usual 40 Minute Mentor episode on Wednesdays, we’re launching a brand new bite-sized mentorship format. 

Starting today, every Monday, you can tune in and spend 4 minutes with JBM Founder and 40 Minute Mentor host, James Mitra. 

We’ll be covering some of the most popular topics we get asked about, share first-hand experiences and mentorship; and you’ll get a chance to submit your questions at the end of every episode. 

Today’s episode is all about resilience. 

James shares his own experience of building resilience, within himself and the JBM team, why he almost threw in the towel 5 years ago and what 3 things helped him stick with it and turn JBM into what it is today. 

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Plus, if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our bite-sized Monday episodes, please get in touch with Hannah at [email protected]

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more. 

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

40 Minute Mentor, your pocket-sized career mentor, is back with a brand new series!

From purpose-led Founders to Olympic champions; learn first-hand from today’s successful leaders on what it takes to be brilliant, all in just 40 minutes.

To get a little preview of what's coming your way over the coming months, hit play on our Series 8 trailer. 

⭐Enjoying 40 Minute Mentor?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on  https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:

Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.
 

To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/  to find out more.

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

“Every single problem that you’re experiencing in your business today, there’s somebody out there that has solved it.” 

To round off our 40 Minute Mentor ‘Early Stage Founders’ Feature Series, we’re joined by Nathan Chan, Founder and CEO of global media and education company, Foundr. 

Foundr provide training from the world’s greatest entrepreneurs through magazines, podcasts, videos, articles and online courses, to inspire their worldwide community of entrepreneurs. 

As a seasoned 40 Minute Mentor listener, you’ll see the obvious synergy between Foundr and our podcast, so we were really excited to include Nathan in this feature series, sharing his own ups and downs of being a Founder and the lessons he has learnt from interviewing some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. 

Some of these lessons include: 

⛳️  Helpful links: 

➡️ More about Nathan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/
➡️ More about Foundr: https://foundr.com/
 

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on  https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Enjoyed this episode?

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.