40 Minute Mentor

We're really excited to bring you this special bonus episode of the 40 Minute Mentor with one of the most well-known figures in FinTech – the awesome David M. Brear, CEO of 11:FS.

11:FS are made up of some of the greatest minds in FinTech who are working to build and launch next-generation digital propositions for some of the biggest financial institutions in the world.

In just 4 years they have achieved some incredible results as a challenger consultancy, whilst also launching one of the top business podcasts in the UK. Their strapline alone – Digital banking is only 1% finished – gives you a flavour of their drive to challenge the status quo and disrupt the industry.

As a fellow podcast host and passionate sports fan, David and James had a lot to talk about!

We have admired 11:FS for a long time so it was a real honour to sit down with David to find out more about his own career path and hear first-hand the incredible journey that 11:FS have been on.

Meeting him in person didn’t disappoint and, in the episode, we cover some really exciting topics, including:

How David’s initial plans to become a professional Basketballer were curtailed by injury and how he ended working up in Banking during the Financial Crisis

His incredible journey with 11:FS and how they’ve carved their own path, creating a multi-faceted business full of incredible talent and amazing clients – all without any external funding

And what company culture means to him and how his love for sports has shaped the way 11:FS have grown their own high-performing team

David is such a down to earth and refreshingly honest leader, who was so easy to talk to. This episode is filled to the brim with great advice, particularly for those of you working in consulting or Fintech.

Whether you’re a junior consultant looking to advance your career or a founder yourself – David goes into detail on the secrets that have helped him succeed and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

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 David M Brear, check out his LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbrear/ 

If you want to find out more about 11:FS you can have a look at their website –  https://11fs.com/

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The word ‘inspiring’ gets thrown around a lot when discussing entrepreneurs and business owners. However, with today’s guest, we can’t think of a more accurate or deserving description.

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is the incredible Catherine Wines, co-founder of WorldRemit. WorldRemit is a mission-driven online money transfer service that allows people to send money to friends and family living abroad.

WorldRemit is one of the most successful and fastest growing Fintechs in the UK, with a worth of almost $1bn, employing over 700 people and serving 4 million customers across 150 countries.

Catherine is one of the most high profile female leaders in Fintech so it came as a real shock to the industry when she was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer in 2018. Despite the shock of this and the ensuing treatment she has had to go through, she has remained incredibly positive and active throughout.

She continues to support WorldRemit’s as a Non-Exec Director whilst also mentoring and advising a number of other start up founders (including fellow 40 Minute Mentor guest, Alex Stephany of Beam).

Since her diagnosis, she’s paved the way for firms to improve the way they support employees living and working with cancer. We go into detail on this in today’s show and Catherine shares some great advice for anyone out there either living with, or supporting a loved one or colleague with, cancer.

In today’s conversation you’ll hear about a number of interesting topics, including:

• Why Catherine set up WorldRemit and how she has grown the business from a small start up to a team of over 700 employees across 6 continents.

• Her philosophy on living with cancer and how she is happy to talk about it in order to raise awareness and change perceptions about it

• Plus, her thoughts on the importance of mentorship, championing women in tech and why she got involved with Beam, the tech for good start up that helps homeless people get back in to work and off the street.

It was an absolute pleasure speaking with Catherine about her many achievements and hearing her unique and uplifting approach to life. She truly is an inspiration and is certainly a great reminder to live life to the fullest, and without regret.

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 Catherine, check out her LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-wines-8060b26/

If you want to find out more about WorldRemit you can have a look at their website – https://www.worldremit.com/

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Today’s guest and our first 40 Minute Mentor of 2020 is the brilliant Ben Sanders, who is the MD for Europe at the Tech Scale Up Pollen.

Pollen, formerly known as Verve, is one of the top 10 fastest growing UK scale-ups and a global leader in word-of-mouth sales in the live entertainment and travel industries.

As MD for Europe, Ben leads a team of over 100 people, and he has played a key role in the growth of their marketplace, which has been turbo charged by a recent £70m Series C Funding round.

Ben started his career in Consulting at Bain & Company where he spent just under 5 years before pivoting into Fintech in 2014 with Worldpay. He was subsequently headhunted by the UK Digital Bank Pockit as COO in 2016, despite having no previous COO experience, and in that time achieved significant successes – scaling the team to over 70 people and winning multiple awards.

Ben has achieved some very impressive feats during his career, and it was great to get a chance to talk to him about his diverse experience so far (which has also included spending time as a Nightclub promoter) and share his advice for others who want to do the same.

• Why Ben made the move from Consulting into Fintech and how he was able to adapt so quickly and achieve so much in a such a short time frame

• How Ben successfully made the jump into being a COO, and the lessons he learned from his time at Pockit, as well as his advice for others looking to make a step change in their own careers

• And finally, Ben’s guidance for building and leading high performing teams and his thoughts on the importance of getting culture right

Having talked to a lot of candidates who want to make the move from Consulting into Fintech, it was fascinating to hear Ben’s experience and get his candid advice for people looking to make the same move that he did.

Ben is one of the nicest and most impressive people I know in Tech. He was open and honest during our conversation and he shared some fantastic insights that I’m delighted to be able to share with you in this episode. I hope you’ll get as much out of it as I did.

I’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/ben-sanders-b280716/

If you want to find out more about Pollen you can have a look at their website - https://pollen.co/uk/

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In today’s episode I get to talk to a guest who has been described as “one of the UK’s most hotly-tipped young entrepreneurs”: co-founder and CEO of Fanbytes, Timothy Armoo.

Timothy started his first ever business at the tender age of 14 and sold his second business at just 17. In 2017 Timothy and his co-founder, Ambrose, started the ‘Gen Z’ focused advertising agency, Fanbytes.

Fanbytes specialises in helping brands reach the ‘Gen Z’ audience through popular social media channels like Snapchat and TikTok. Using their specially developed algorithm they search out the future stars of social media and connect them with global brands to create impactful campaigns.

Their unique approach has drawn a high-profile client base and they’ve already worked with some of the world’s biggest brand names such as Apple Music, Warner Brothers, Deliveroo and Universal.

Since launching the business they’ve grown rapidly, and Timothy and Ambrose now lead an award-winning team of 30. Helping their clients make an impact with Gen Z buyers.

In today’s interview we cover some really interesting topics; going all the way from Timothy’s teenage years starting his first business through to how he’s growing and scaling a team working with global brands.

During our conversation you’ll hear about:

How Timothy began Fanbytes while still studying at University and how he balanced his studies with launching the business.

The challenges he faced convincing brands to work with Fanbytes in the early days and his advice for other entrepreneurs looking to carve their way in a new niche.

And his thoughts on the importance of culture and how he’s managed to maintain and develop Fanbytes unique culture while rapidly scaling the business.

I really enjoyed speaking to Timothy and it was so inspiring to hear how much he’s accomplished as such a young age. He is clearly incredibly passionate about what he does and is a truly inspiring individual to talk to.

I’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 Timothy check out his LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyarmoo/ 

If you want to find out more about Fanbytes you can have a look at their website - https://fanbytes.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.

Today’s guest and your Mentor for the next 40 minutes is the ever so inspiring author of “The Business of Sharing” and Founder and CEO of Beam – Alex Stephany.

Having started his career as a lawyer, living and working all over the world, Alex decided to join the tech startup JustPark as their COO in 2011. Alex was promoted to CEO at the end of 2012 and let the business to close the largest start up equity crowdfunding raise in history.

Following his success with JustPark, where he remains a board advisor to this day, Alex ventured out on his own and started Beam - the world’s first crowdfunding platform that helps homeless people to train up and get back into work.

Beam’s growing community of supporters have made a total of 17,000 donations, helping over 50 people find stable employment in a position that will provide a living wage. Beam hasn’t grown unnoticed, winning lots of plaudits in the press and it has won many awards, including being named by The Guardian as one of the most important social tech innovations of 2018.

I loved finding out more about Beam and Alex’s diverse experiences. In our conversation, we talked about many different aspects of his career, including:

The skills that helped Alex switch from working as a lawyer to a high-growth tech startup and the challenges he faced in the early days of JustPark

How he became a thought leader on the sharing economy and how this led him to write and publish his book, “The Business of Sharing” (which involved him interviewing some very high profile people, which we discuss during our chat)

And also his ideas on how everyone can get involved in the sharing economy and how we can find long-term solutions for the homelessness problem, including ways to get involved with his amazing business Beam

Alex’s passion for using technology to connect people who want to help, with people who need help, is both inspiring and contagious.

If you want to find out more about Alex you can check out her LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexstephany/

If you want to find out more about Beam you can have a look at their website - https://beam.org/

We’re always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview, just drop me an email 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.

Today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor is another bonus episode which was recorded live at our JBM drinks event in September.

We run these events every quarter, to bring together clients and candidates who have helped us spread the word about JBM and to thank them for all their help and support. These events are always great fun and give our network a chance to get to know some of the great business leaders that we get to work with.

Our special guest on the night and your 40 Minute Mentor today is the brilliant Pippa Lamb, Partner at Sweet Capital.

Pippa has had a fascinating career so far. After graduating from the University of Oxford, she joined the Global Equity Strategy Team at J.P. Morgan where she spent 5 years before leaving to pursue her MBA at Harvard Business School as a Fulbright scholar. Following her MBA experience, she decided to take a different course and moved into the VC world, joining Sweet Capital – the investment fund established by the founders of King.com. She climbed quickly and earlier this year was promoted to Partner across their London and LA offices.

I really enjoyed my interview with Pippa and there’s some great advice in here for anyone considering a bold career move. Be it pursing an MBA, moving into venture capital or taking a step out to do something else. We cover a whole range of topics in this one, including:

How Pippa landed the role at Sweet Capital and her advice for anyone looking to move into the world of VC

Why Pippa left banking to undertake her MBA and the key questions that she would recommend asking yourself when deciding whether an MBA is the right choice for you

And her advice to start ups, and what she looks for in founders and companies that are pitching to her in her role at Sweet Capital

It was great to sit down with Pippa and hear her advice on some of the hot topics that we regularly get asked about by our candidates. If you’re thinking about doing an MBA, looking to move into VC or want to learn how your business can secure its next round of investment, you’re going to love this conversation!

If you want to find out more about Pippa you can check out her LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pippalamb/

If you want to find out more about Sweet Capital you can have a look at their website - https://sweetcapital.com/

We’re always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview, just drop me an email at [email protected]

Disclaimer: All views and opinions expressed in this episode are our guest's own opinion and do not represent any entity with which they've been, are now, or will be affiliated in the future.

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In today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, I’m joined by the former Bulgarian football international and Aston Villa captain, Stiliyan Petrov.

Having started his professional football career in Bulgaria, Stiliyan joined Celtic, in 1999, where he went on to win ten trophies, including four Scottish Premier League titles. Following his success with Celtic, he moved to Aston Villa, ultimately becoming the club’s captain in 2009, leading the team to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of the League Cup in his first season.

With his career going from strength to strength, everything changed for Stiliyan in March 2012 when after going for some routine medical tests after a game, he was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

He tackled this challenging part of his life with an incredible bravery and positivity and ultimately successfully beat the cancer, although the road to recovery took its toll and despite getting back to being fit and healthy, he ultimately had to retire from the professional game in May 2013.

Stiliyan is extremely honest and open about the struggles he went through and it was amazing to sit down with him to learn more about his incredible career story and what he’s taken from both the highs and the lows so far.

In this interview we talk about so many interesting and important topics including:

Stiliyan’s early years and how he went from playing Sunday league in Bulgaria to professional football in the UK, when he didn’t speak the language!

His take on what makes a great leader, how he adapted to the role of captain and his advice for others looking to get the best from their team.

And his battle with cancer and post football career, how he overcame the mental and physical challenges that he faced and what the future holds for him now.

As an avid Aston Villa football fan, I’ve followed Stiliyan’s journey throughout his career and it was a true honour to sit down with him and learn more about his life on and off the pitch.

What he’s achieved is truly inspiring and it’s incredible to see how he’s managed to come back from such adversity to continue pursuing a career and life around the game he loves.

Meeting Stiliyan dispelled a lot of the stereotypes I had about footballers. He is warm and very down to earth, honest and generous with his time and ultimately a very loyal, family man with strong values and a genuine desire to help others.

I hope you enjoy listening to this very special episode and take some inspiration from Stiliyan’s amazing story and his wise mentorship.

If you want to find out more about the Stiliyan Petrov Foundation and how you can help its mission to revolutionise the way leukaemia and cancer are treated, check out the Foundation's website following - http://www.thestiliyanpetrovfoundation.com/phone/index.html

We’re always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview just drop me an email 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 today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, I’m joined by founder and CEO of Rubies in the Rubble, Jenny Costa.

Having started her career in finance, Jenny soon realised there was a bigger cause she felt passionate about.

After reading that one third of all food produced globally is wasted, she knew she had to see it with her own eyes. So, one morning she decided to visit the New Covent Garden wholesale fruit and veg market. Her visit ended with her cycling back with baskets full of perfectly good and yet unsold produce. Produce that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

That’s how Rubies in the Rubble, the UK’s leading ‘anti food waste’ brand, was founded. In 2011 Jenny started making and selling chutneys, made of produce saved from the rubbish heap. Having started with a single stall on Borough Market, Rubies in the Rubble now stocks their delicious jams, relishes, chutneys, ketchups and other condiments at major retailers, such as Waitrose, Ocado, Whole Foods and a large number of independent stores.

In my conversation with Jenny, we cover some really interesting topics including:

How Jenny took the leap from a lucrative career in investment management to selling home-made chutneys on Borough Market.

Jenny’s key learnings as she’s taken Rubies from a single market stall to a rapidly growing business with products on the shelves of supermarkets up and down the country.

And Jenny’s advice to fellow entrepreneurs on growing a team, building a successful culture and her approach to work life balance.

I loved chatting to Jenny about Rubies in the Rubble and hearing how her team are disrupting the food industry with their amazing products.

It was fascinating to hear her advice on how we can all help do our part to tackling the problem of food waste and how her team are setting the tone for it. It has certainly changed my view on the importance I place on the appearance of the fresh produce I buy, and hopefully my conversation with Jenny will inspire you to follow in her footsteps and reduce your own food waste too.

If you want to find out more about Jenny you can check out her LinkedIn profile here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-costa-685b474a/

If you want to find out more about Rubies in the Rubble you can check out their website following - https://rubiesintherubble.com/

We’re always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview just drop me an email 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 today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, I’m joined by my first guest from a tech Unicorn, as I speak with Fred Jones, Board Director and Head of New Mobility for Uber UK and Ireland.

Uber need no introduction, they’re one of the world’s biggest tech businesses and have grown from a small scale start up in 2009 to one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market cap of over $56 billion.

Having started his career on Consulting, Fred joined Uber in 2015 and climbed rapidly through the company, to where he is today. For those of you who are considering making this move yourselves, Fred’s journey from Consulting into tech is a really interesting one and something we discuss in detail in today’s show.

In addition to his role at Uber, Fred advises a number of start-up and scale up businesses, including ourselves here at JBM, where he provides invaluable advice to myself and the team as part of our advisory board.

We cover some really interesting topics in this interview including:

How Fred made the move from Consulting into tech and his advice to others thinking of doing the same.

What it’s like to work at one of the world’s biggest tech unicorns and why feedback is such an important part of Uber’s culture.

And Fred’s advice to aspiring leaders in tech and why he sees optimism is a key characteristic that all aspiring leaders should foster.

If you want to find out more about Fred you can check out his LinkedIn profile here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-jones-2b25875/?originalSubdomain=uk

If you want to find out more about Uber you can check out their website - https://www.uber.com

We're always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview just drop me an email 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 today’s episode you get to hear from not one, but two brilliant guests as I chat with Henry Faber and Walter Kerr, founders of Oppidan.

Frustrated by shortcomings that they saw in the tuition sector, Henry and Walter set up Oppidan to tackle the pressurised, anxiety-driven education market in the U.K.

Their goal was to disrupt the tuition sector by focusing on mentoring children - not simply teaching them fact. Their services help children develop critical life skills like empathy and emotional intelligence and not just how to pass their 11+.

Since founding the business in 2016 they have grown rapidly and in 2017 expanded from tutoring in to summer camps with their unique, Oppidan Camps. Taking the US summer camp experience and bringing them to the U.K for children aged 7-14.

We discuss so many fascinating topics during this interview and go deep in to the state of education today including:

The impact that mentoring can have on children,

Why it’s important for children to learn these life skills at a young age and

What we can do to help level the playing field when it comes to social class and educational achievement

We also dig into the business side of Oppidan and Henry and Walter share their insights in to what it’s like launching a start up in a completely new niche and the challenges they’ve had to overcome along the way.

I loved chatting to Henry and Walter who are truly passionate about their business and it’s great to see them making a real difference.

I took so much away from this interview and it really got me thinking about how I’ll approach some of these critical decisions for my own 3 year old daughter, Sienna, as she grows up.

So if you’re currently working in the education sector, you’re a parent wanting to know how to give your child the best possible start in life or you simply want to hear how two inspiring entrepreneurs are carving a brand new niche in one of the UK’s most traditional industries, I know you’re going to love this one.

If you want to find out more about Walter and Henry you can check out their LinkedIn profiles:

Henry Faber - https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-faber-7989b5109/

Walter Kerr - https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-kerr-145308119/

If you want to find out more about Oppidan you can check out their website - https://www.oppidaneducation.com/

We're always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview just drop me an email 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.