40 Minute Mentor

Your 40 Minute Mentor today is the fantastic, Jeff Lynn, co-founder of the hugely successful crowdfunding platform Seedrs.

Since recording this episode it was also announced that Seedrs will be merging with their biggest competitor Crowdcube to create the worlds largest PE marketplace – an incredibly exciting proposition!

Jeff started his career as a lawyer but while doing his MBA at Said Business School he got the entrepreneurial bug and with his co-founder Carlos Silva, created Seedrs

11 years on have helped fund almost over 1200 businesses with more than £1bn has been invested on the platform including funding well known scale ups Revolut, Allplants, Perkbox and FreeAgent amongst many others!

Jeff has such an insightful perspective on the start-up world, both from his own journey as a Founder and as the owner of a platform that supports other entrepreneurs following a similar path.

In today’s episode, we delve into Jeff’s career and hear some incredible career advice, including:

How to approach doing an MBA if your goal is to become an entrepreneur rather than climb the corporate ladder

Why a Founder isn’t always the best person to run a start up in the long term, and how he came to the decision to replace himself as CEO of Seedrs in 2017

And we discuss the power of crowd funding and hear which have been some of his favourite startups to come through the Seedrs platform over the years.

It was fascinating to hear Jeff’s story and learn more about the incredible startups that Seedrs supports - from those just starting out to established household names.

So, whether you’re thinking of starting your own business or are interested in finding out more about crowdfunding, I know you’ll take a lot from this episode.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Jeff, take a look at his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefflynn/

If you want to find out more about Seedrs, check out their website

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Your mentor for the next 40 minutes is the incredible Check Warner, Co-Founder of non-profit organisation Diversity VC and Ada Ventures, a venture capital firm, committed to investing in overlooked founders and markets.

It took around 18 months, 67 flights and 300 pitches to raise their first fund and Check shares her learnings through this process in today’s episode.

She also shares brilliant insights into what it takes to succeed in the VC sector, including:

How her graduate job in advertising gave her experience across a variety of industries and some core skills that helped her as she transitioned into VC

Why she is passionate about supporting underrepresented founders and her tips for breaking into VC

And how having the right mentor can help you overcome imposter syndrome, recover from knockbacks and keep you focused on your goals

D&I and social mobility are topics very close to our hearts, so it was an absolute pleasure to speak to Check about her career and the incredible work she is doing in the VC and tech world to drive much needed change.

She’s made us feel much more optimistic about the future of the industry, so whether you’re a Founder fundraising or you’re desperate to break into VC, this episode is packed full of tangible advice that we're sure will be of great benefit.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Check, take a look at her LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/francescawarner/

If you want to find out more about Ada Ventures, have a look at their website – https://www.adaventures.com/

If you want to find out more about Ada Ventures, have a look at their website – https://www.diversity.vc/

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Your 40 Minute Mentor today is Tessa Clarke Co-Founder and CEO of the food-sharing app Olio.

We throw away around one third of the food we buy, while 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. That’s 1 in 9 people on the planet who are starving or malnourished. Every one of them could be sufficiently fed on less than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the USA, UK and Europe each year. Tessa is on a mission to to change this.

In just 5 years Olio has built up almost 2.5 million users in 54 countries and 50,000 ambassadors, who are all cutting waste in their communities by sharing their spare food with their neighbours.

Tessa’s success as a founder is built on a high-flying career that’s taken her from consulting to publishing and included four years as MD of eCommerce at Dyson, where she worked directly with founder James Dyson.

It was a pleasure to chat to Tessa and learn more about her career journey and what it takes to found and grow a successful social enterprise, like Olio. She shared so many interesting insights in this episode, including:

The leadership lessons she learnt from James Dyson, and how she has scaled Olio into the successful business it is today.

How Olio’s clear and simple mission and purpose is key for recruiting and retaining a high-performing team.

And how investors are short-changing the world by not backing diverse founders; and what we can do to change that.

Tessa is a fantastic leader who is so passionate about Olio’s mission, which is incredibly inspiring.

So if you’re looking for easy to implement ways to decrease your own food waste or perhaps you’re thinking about joining or starting your own mission-driven business, you’ll definitely want to listen to the great advice Tessa shares in today’s episode.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Tessa, check out her LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tecook/

If you want to find out more about Olio, have a look at their website and download the app – https://olioex.com/

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It’s not every day you get to chat to a former COO of Google, but Ben Legg, your 40 Minute Mentor today, is exactly that!

Ben spent the first 10 years of his career in the British Army building bomb-proof structures and, occasionally, arm-wrestling members of the French Foreign Legion….

He successfully transitioned into business, working for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca Cola and Google as well as the high growth mobility Scale Up Ola and Adknowledge which he grew into one of the largest adtech companies in the US.

Since then, Ben has built a portfolio career for himself and has recently founded The Portfolio Collective, a community for portfolio professionals.

In this episode we explore the many sides of Ben’s career to date and what he’s learned along the way, including:

The skills that he was able to leverage from the military into business, such as the ability to bring order to chaos and stay calm under pressure

How he transitioned from a commercial role at Coca Cola to becoming a COO for Google and what it was like to work alongside the Google Founders

And the key things you need to consider when you’re recruiting a high performing team in any organisation

It was fascinating talking to Ben who is one of the most impressive and productive leaders we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing. He is a real force of nature, with so much knowledge and experience to share.

So, if you’re looking to switch sectors, want to start a business of your own or are considering becoming a portfolio professional, we know you’ll get so much from Ben’s insights and fantastic career advice.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Ben, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/benlegg/

If you want to find out more about the Portfolio Collective, have a look at their website – https://portfolio-collective.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 most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

Today’s guest and your mentor for the next 40 minutes is Dan Ziv, CEO at TouchNote, the world’s most popular postcard sending app.

Since joining the company in 2016 as Chief Product Officer, they’ve gone from strength to strength and Dan quickly climbed the ladder to CEO.

But Dan’s career hasn’t always been plain sailing. A previous tech start up he founded with a friend failed to take off, but with his infectious optimism, he saw the shortcomings as a good way to learn and move forward with his next venture, the last minute table booking app Uncover, which was a huge success. In just over two years Dan and his cofounders proved there was a market for the app, attracted £1m in seed funding and sold it to a competitor.

Together, we discuss the ups and downs throughout his career and how they’ve shaped him as an entrepreneur and business leader, including:

How taking command of 132 soldiers as a 21-year-old in the Israeli army gave him a crash course in leadership and built his resilience

The importance of choosing who you work with carefully and how the complementary skills of his cofounders at Uncover contributed to its success

And why he has pivoted TouchNote from eCommerce to communications by focusing on a subscriptions business model.

Dan is such an upbeat person with some brilliant insights into how to create a positive culture within an organisation. It was a pleasure talking to him and discovering more about the values that drive him and the wider team at TouchNote.

If you’re considering starting your own business or are about to step into your first leadership role, this episode is an absolute must-listen.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Dan, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/danziv/

If you want to find out more about TouchNote, have a look at their website – https://touchnote.com/

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Social mobility is a subject that’s very close to our heart which is why we're so excited to bring you this extra special roundtable episode of the 40 Minute Mentor.

In today’s episode you’ll hear from an expert panel, who are all committed to advancing social mobility

They are: Mandy Nyarko, Co-founder of Startup Discovery School; Lucy McCarthy-Christofides, Head of Proposition and Range at Tails.com; Ezechi Britton, Co-Founder of digital skills academy Code Untapped and Founding Member and Principal at Impact X Capital; Ruth Penfold, People Practice Lead at BP Launchpad and Euan Blair, Co-founder and CEO at WhiteHat.

Every single person on this panel is incredibly passionate about levelling the playing field and providing more opportunities to those from underrepresented communities.

It was so interesting to dive deeper into this important topic and we covered a lot of ground, including:

The numerous barriers people from underprivileged backgrounds must overcome as they attempt to build a career and we explored what steps business leaders can take to help level the playing field.

Why a degree isn’t the be all and end all, and how apprenticeships can play a key role in boosting social mobility.

The cultural shift many companies still need to make when it comes to recruiting people from different backgrounds, specifically people who have been on less traditional educational journeys.

Plus, why Black Founders are far less likely to gain venture capital funding and what can be done to rebalance this.

As you’ll hear, there was so much to discuss and we could easily have gone on for another hour, so we hope that there will be an opportunity for a round 2 soon!

Our panel shared personal stories, frustrations, many thought-provoking opinions and provided inspirational advice and ideas on how we can tangibly make a difference.

So if you are keen to do more to support those who are underrepresented in your industry or society at large, then this podcast will give you an insight into what can be done right now and what you can do to start making a difference.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you want to find out more about Mandy, Lucy, Ezechi, Ruth and Euan check out their LinkedIn profiles:

Mandy Nyarko - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-nyarko

Lucy McCarthy-Christofides - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarthytails

Ezechi Britton - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezechi-britton-452a893/

Ruth Penfold - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthpenfold/

Euan Blair - https://www.linkedin.com/in/euan-blair-54a11925/

And take a look at the organisations they’re part of:

Startup Discovery School - https://startupdiscoveryschool.com/

Tails.com - https://tails.com/gb/

Code Untapped - https://codeuntapped.com/

BP Launchpad - https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/what-we-do/technology-at-bp/bp-launchpad.html

WhiteHat - https://whitehat.org.uk/

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.

Today’s inspiring guest and your mentor for the next 40 minutes is Adrian Blair, CEO of the digital bookkeeping platform Receipt Bank.

Receipt Bank helps make accounting easier for over 400,000 small businesses around the world and recently raised $75 million Series C funding for the next chapter in their growth journey.

Before joining Receipt Bank, Adrian led the development of the eCommerce partnership strategy at Google and helped grow Just Eat from a small scale start up to the FTSE 100 company we now know it as now.

In today’s episode, we talk about the lessons Adrian has learned on his amazing career journey so far, including:

The leadership lessons from working alongside Google Co-Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and how they still influence his approach to this day.

The highs and lows from his journey with Just Eat and how this experience has shaped how he’s steering Receipt Bank on their rapid growth journey.

And, what to think about when planning your career and why you should be considering more than just money and experience when planning your next move.

It was fascinating to learn more about Adrian’s early days at Google, the motivations behind his big career moves since, and what the future holds for Receipt Bank.

If you’re thinking about making your next career move or want to know what it’s really like on the inside of an incredible growth journey like Just Eat, you’ll definitely want to listen to Adrian’s invaluable advice in this episode.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please get in touch at [email protected]

If you’d like to find out more about Adrian, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianblair

To see what Receipt Bank are all about, take a look at their website - https://www.receipt-bank.com/uk/

And if you want to see some of the brilliant things Circl are doing, take a look at their website – https://www.circl.org/

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.

People are at the heart of every startup’s success and nobody knows the importance of recruiting the right talent more than today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Zoe Jervier Hewitt, Operating Partner for Talent at venture capitalists EQT Ventures.

Zoe’s career started in HR and Talent at Apple before transitioning into Tech at the high growth Start Up Mind Candy. She then became one of the first employees at Entrepreneur First, where she built a global, talent acquisition and assessment function from scratch. After 4 very successful years at EF, Zoe joined the leading VC EQT Ventures as an Operating Partner where she acts as both an in-house Talent Advisor to the investment team and EQT’s portfolio.

In today’s episode, we talk more about Zoe’s unusual route into the sector, having done a degree in History of Art at Oxford University, and we take a deeper look into her biggest learnings from her career so far, including:

How growing up in a mixed race, working class family helped to instil in her a strong work ethic that has aided her throughout her career

The importance of brand building and proactively searching for talent when you are a small start up

Why a structured recruitment process is key to preventing biases creeping into your decision making

Plus, her advice for those from underrepresented communities looking to raise investment from VC’s like EQT

Zoe’s passion for developing talent really shines through in this episode and it was fascinating to get her perspective on recruitment in the Tech sector from someone who is a bona fide expert. We really enjoyed chatting to her about a topic we are particularly passionate about.

So, if you’ve recently founded your own start up and are looking to expand your team, or you’re looking for advice on how to raise from a top VC like EQT, or perhaps you’re weighing up the benefits of a career in talent – whatever your situation, we're sure you will benefit from Zoe’s insightful advice.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please get in touch at [email protected]

If you’d like to find out more about Zoe, check out her LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoejervier/

And if you want to get to know EQT Ventures a little better take a look at their website – https://eqtventures.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 most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review.

It’s not every day you close a $13m Series A funding round, but to do it in a global pandemic is really quite an achievement.

That’s what today's 40 Minute Mentor Stefano Vaccino successfully did with his FinTech Yapily. A feat that is even more impressive, given the fact that he also contracted Covid-19 during the raise – he is truly made of tough stuff.

Stefano has an impressive and diverse career, pivoting from academia to Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs, then into product leadership roles in start ups, before he took the plunge and set up Yapily in 2017.

Yapily’s mission is to transform the Financial services sector by harnessing the power of open banking and it was an absolute pleasure to hear more about their incredible growth journey over the last 3 years.

In today’s episode we talk about the future of Financial Services and dig deeper into various aspects of Stefano’s entrepreneurial journey, including:

The lessons he learnt from raising a $13 million Series A round this year and his advice for anyone looking to fundraise

Why building a diverse team and a positive company culture is so important and why you need to build a team that embraces learning and innovation

Plus, his candid insights into the day-to-day life as a CEO of a fast growing, well-funded, start up.

Stefano was a fantastic guest and it is not difficult to see how he has achieved so much in such a short amount of time with Yapily.

He shares some wonderful advice that is applicable to anyone working in or looking to move into the start up world – from CEO’s looking to fundraise, to frustrated bankers looking to break into Fintech; Stefano provides fantastic mentorship throughout this episode.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please get in touch at [email protected]

If you’d like to find out more about Stefano, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanovaccino/

And if you want to get to know Yapily a little better take a look at their website – https://www.yapily.com/

Enjoyed this episode?

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After eight successful years at Google, James joined what was at the time a little known travel tech firm called Airbnb to lead their business in the UK and Northern Europe. Over 3.5 years he had significant successes, as well as having to overcome a fair few challenges, before he moved to another US Headquartered Scale Up SeatGeek as their International GM

Never shying away from a challenge, James joined the job search engine Adzuna, as their CCO, right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic…!

In this episode, we talk though James' career highlights and lessons learned including:

How he built a successful career at Google and the lessons he’s taken forward into all his roles since

His experience of working for US headquartered businesses like Google and Airbnb and how you can ensure you stand out, even if you’re on the other side of the world

Plus, how he’s dealt with starting a new exec role in the middle of a global pandemic and how he’s helped the team adapt to the “new normal”

We had a brilliant time talking to James who has had such an impressive career to date.

Despite holding senior roles for some of the most aspirational Tech Scale Ups that have ever existed, he has remained incredibly down to earth and we really enjoyed hearing about his varied experiences.

James provides a fascinating window into the workings of Tech Scale Ups and shares some great advice for anyone looking to follow in his footsteps.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, so please do get in touch at [email protected]

If you’d like to find out more about James McClure, check out his LinkedIn profile –https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mcclure-5b6a364/

And if you want to get to know Adzuna a little better take a look at their website – https://www.adzuna.co.uk/

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.