40 Minute Mentor

“Ability is equally distributed but opportunity isn’t. It’s about giving people the freedom to fail and the right and opportunity to fully participate in all levels of the society we live in today.” 

Social Mobility has always been an important topic for us on 40 Minute Mentor. 

Not just as a topic to openly discuss on the podcast, but as a production team to continue to find underrepresented stories to share with you every week. 

Although a lot of progress has been made across industries in the last 4 years since we initially recorded this roundtable episode, a lot of what our guests have shared is (sadly) still relevant. 

In this Roundtable episode, you’ll hear from: 

✨ Mandy Nyarko MBE, Co-Founder of Startup Discovery School

✨ Lucy McCarthy-Christofides, Fractional Commercial Product Marketing, ex Tails.com

✨ Ezechi Britton MBE, Co-Founder & CEO of Code Untapped, Founding Member of Impact X and CEO of Centre of Finance, Innovation and Technology

✨ Euan Blair, Co-Founder and CEO of Multiverse

✨ Ruth Penfold, Founder & Creator of Bloom, ex Launchpad and Onfido 

Together, they discuss…. 

Episode chapters:

➡️ Why social mobility is important [02:15] 

➡️ The role of education [09:50] 

➡️ Continuous learning and reskilling [15:10] 

➡️ Improving social mobility as an employer  [25:20] 

➡️ Social Mobility in hiring [30:00] 

➡️ Building a truly diverse and inclusive team [42:20] 

➡️ Social Mobility in VC [52:50] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Mandy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandy-nyarko 

➡️ Follow Ezechi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezechi-britton-452a893/ 

➡️ Follow Lucy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarthytails 

➡️ Follow Ruth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthpenfold/ 

⭐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.

“The great differentiator of that England team was our ability to never allow ourselves to be consigned to fate. We always believed it was in our hands.” 

Over the years, we’ve had some absolute legends of the sporting world on 40 Minute Mentor. 

One of them is England Rugby legend, Broadcaster and Journalist, Will Greenwood MBE. 

Will is one of the greatest English Rugby players of all time, playing 55 times for his country, representing the British and Irish Lions on multiple tours and including playing a fundamental role in England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning team. 

Not only do we unpack Will’s impressive Rugby career in this episode, but you’ll also hear about… 

Episode chapters:

➡️ Will’s upbringing and his parents influence [02:00] 

➡️ The route to professional Rugby [04:30] 

➡️ Making big sacrifices [13:40] 

➡️ Winning the World Cup [16:30] 

➡️ Removing luck to succeed [18:50] 

➡️ What made this team so special [19:55] 

➡️ From Rugby to Broadcasting [26:50] 

➡️ Facing failure and taking risks [32:00] 

➡️ Why we should all be paying it forward [35:30] 

➡️ Making Rugby more diverse and inclusive [37:50] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Will on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willgreenwood/?originalSubdomain=uk 

➡️ Check out Will’s book ‘World Class’: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/443223/world-class-by-greenwood-ben-fennell-and-will/9780753558782 

⭐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 are not expected to all develop in the same direction. Success isn’t the same for all of us and we can’t plan our way to some kind of predictable future.” 

40 Minute Mentor is fast approaching its 12th season. 

With over 250 episodes published, we know that not every single one of our listeners will have been around from the beginning. 

To share some of our earlier mentorship with you, we’re running another one of our Replay feature seasons. 

In today’s Replay episode, we’re revisiting our 40 minutes of pocket-sized mentorship with the brilliant Helen Tupper. 

Helen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Amazing If, a bestselling Author and Co-Host of the popular Squiggly Careers podcast. 

In these 40 minutes, you’ll find out… 

Episode chapters:

➡️ Joining for the company, not the job [03:25]  

➡️ Working for big brands [04:30] 

➡️ Defining your career values [08:30] 

➡️ Taking the plunge into entrepreneurship [10:20] 

➡️ Building a business with your friend [15:15] 

➡️ Defining a Squiggly Career [20:45] 

➡️ Building your confidence [26:45] 

➡️ Starting the Squiggly Careers podcast [30:35] 

➡️ The secret to community building [35:20] 

➡️ Advice on career pivots [35:45] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Helen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helentupper?originalSubdomain=uk 

➡️ Find out more about Amazing If: https://www.amazingif.com/ 

➡️ Listen to the Squiggly Careers podcast: https://www.amazingif.com/listen/ 

⭐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’s a competitive drive and edge that you see in sport that is really important in business. And Teamwork. Dealing with individuals, knowing what helps make an individual tick is really important.” 

For the final episode in this season of our VC feature, we’re joined by Ruari Bell, Founding Partner at The Players Fund, the UK’s first athlete-led firm, founded to empower the athlete community as investors. 

The Players Fund brings together a collective of renowned athlete investors, including Ben Stokes, former 40 Minute Mentor guest Jessica Ennis-Hill, Jos Butler, Allyson Felix, Serge Gnabry and many more top athletes. 

Ruari has had a fantastic career in entrepreneurship and investing and we’ll dig into every part of it and his journey with The Players Fund in detail, in today’s episode. 

In these 40 minutes, you’ll hear about...

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Increasing diversity and inclusion in VC [03:00] 

➡️ Growing up in the Northeast of England [03:50] 

➡️ A love for sport [05:45] 

➡️ Transitioning out of professional sport [07:55] 

➡️ An entrepreneurial journey [10:50] 

➡️ Transferable skills from sport to business [17:40] 

➡️ The origin story of The Players Fund [20:15] 

➡️ What makes Founders stand out to him [28:00] 

➡️ Openness to feedback [29:30] 

➡️ Vision for the future [35:15] 

➡️ Building a business with family [38:00] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Ruari on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruaribell/ 

➡️ Find out more about The Players fund: https://www.playersfund.vc/ 

⭐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.

“When a VC gives you a low valuation, it isn’t the fact that your company is worth that much, it might just be because you didn’t pitch it in the right way.” 

Fundraising can be a lonely process at times. And an endless emotional rollercoaster throughout. 

In today’s episode, we collated some of the best fundraising advice from Founders who have been in your position and raised some impressive rounds over the years. 

You’ll hear from: 

🌟 Avion Gray, Co-Founder & CEO of Belong

🌟 Alice Pelton, Co-Founder & CEO of The Lowdown

🌟 Christian Facey, Founder & CEO of Audiomob

🌟 Ham Serunjogi, Co-Founder & CEO of Chipper Cash

🌟 Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Olympian & Co-Founder of FemTech, Jennis

🌟 Molly Johnson-Jones, Co-Founder & CEO of Flexa

🌟 Exited Founder Nicolas D’Audiffret of Ankorstore

🌟 Simone Maini, CEO at Elliptic

🌟 Tim Chong, Co-Founder & CEO of Yonder

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Find all of the full episodes used in today’s roundup in the 40 Minute Mentor archives, or by searching ‘Name + 40 Minute Mentor’ on Google: https://jbmc.co.uk/40-minute-mentor/ 

⭐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.

“This is a long partnership. We’re here to return money to our investors, but we are also here to experience a very unique journey together. So, trust is very important, on both sides.” 

We’ve been so lucky to have some of the best VCs in the industry, come on 40 Minute Mentor over the years. 

For today’s episode, we thought we’d collate some of the best VC advice we received on the podcast to date. 

You’ll hear from: 

🌟 Leila Rastegar-Zegna, Founding General Partner of Kindred Capital 

🌟 Hannah Seal, Partner at Index Ventures

🌟 Pippa Lamb, Partner at Sweet Capital 

🌟 Ian Hogarth, Partner at Plural 

🌟 Antoine Nussenbaum, Co-Founder of Felix Capital 

🌟 Cleo Sham, ex-Partner at Stride.VC 

🌟 Check Warner, Co-Founder of Ada Ventures 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Hardest part of being a VC [01:30] 

➡️ Investing at Seed stage [04:09] 

➡️ Mission first VCs [04:40] 

➡️ Backing exceptional Founders [08:30] 

➡️ Being strategic in choosing your fund [16:20] 

➡️ DE&I in VC [22:45] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Find all of the full episodes used in today’s roundup in the 40 Minute Mentor archives, or by searching ‘Name + 40 Minute Mentor’ on Google: https://jbmc.co.uk/40-minute-mentor/ 

⭐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.

“Founders deserve Investors that have relevant operating experience, time to help them and can be impartial and objective in the advice they give.” 

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gideon Valkin, former Monzo and ClearScore Commercial Leader, Investor and Entrepreneur. 

Following 15 years as a Founder, Operator and Investor, Gideon is now combining being a Founder and Investor in the launch of Andrena Ventures - a $12m solo GP fund. 

Andrena is investing $100k-$400k tickets at pre-seed and seed into teams coming from the UK and European ecosystem, focusing on backing the most talented FinTech alumni.

In these 40 minutes, you’ll find out… 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ The Investors Founders deserve [03:00] 

➡️ Upbringing & values that shape Gideon today [04:00] 

➡️ Learning fundamental lessons from Tennis [10:30]  

➡️ From Founder to Operator [14:15] 

➡️ Overcoming the most challenging times [17:45]  

➡️ Working alongside Tom Blomfield and Justin Basini [20:50] 

➡️ Raising a solo GP fund [27:30]  

➡️ A solo GP approach to working with Founders [29:00] 

➡️ Important qualities in a Founder [32:15] 

➡️ A look into the future [39:30]       

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Gideon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gideon-valkin-05a44823?originalSubdomain=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 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 eventually want to do investing, become an Operator or Founder, don’t go into banking.” 

We are back with another season of our popular VC Feature series, where we hear from some of the best Investors in the space. 

Today, we’re joined by Ash Arora, the youngest Partner at LocalGlobe. 

Before joining LocalGlobe in 2022, Ash was the Investment Lead for Crypto Unicorn, Polygon’s venture arm, with LPs such as Sequoia, Lightspeed, Softbank, Tiger, etc. 

In this episode, we discuss Ash’s career journey, her transition from banking to VC and her focus on Blockchain and AI investments.  

Episode Chapters: 

➡️ Upbringing & early career aspirations [03:10] 

➡️ Career foundations in banking [05:00] 

➡️ Reflections on her time at Polygon [07:30] 

➡️ The value of an Ops background as a VC [10:30] 

➡️ Joining LocalGlobe [13:20] 

➡️ Why Blockchain & Web3 [16:00] 

➡️ What makes Founders stand out to Ash [18:15] 

➡️ What to avoid when pitching to VCs [22:25] 

➡️ Raising in a challenging climate [26:50] 

➡️ Embracing Failure [29:00] 

➡️ The importance of mentorship & becoming a mentor [32:20] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Ash on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aashima-arora?originalSubdomain=uk 

➡️ Find out more about LocalGlobe: https://localglobe.vc/ 

➡️ Read about Ash’s parameters for finding your next role: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/aashima-arora_how-do-you-find-your-next-job-half-the-activity-7136378080742318081-E6PV?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop 

⭐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?

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“Dyslexia is a learning difference. There’s nothing difficult about it. You have challenges, but you’re not a difficult individual.” 

In our final episode in this specialist advice series, we’re joined by Onyinye Udokporo, one of the UK’s youngest education experts, entrepreneur, dyslexic author, neurodiversity consultant and content creator. 

Onyinye’s entrepreneurial journey started when she was only 12 years old, when she began tutoring children and young people from her local community in her parent’s living room. 

Following her own diagnosis with Dyslexia, she became an author of ‘Dyslexia and Me: How to survive and thrive if you’re neurodivergent’ and started her own Neurodiversity Consulting firm in 2022, where she delivers training and workshops as well as consulting services to businesses including Google and the BBC. 

Today we’ll dive into her entrepreneurial journey, from day one in her parent’s living room to using AI for good, and everything in between. 

Episode Chapters: 

➡️ Learning from setbacks [02:15] 

➡️ Upbringing & starting a business at the age of 12 [04:10] 

➡️ Quitting big 4 consulting on Day 1 [09:10] 

➡️ Early entrepreneurial inspirations [18:30] 

➡️ Being diagnosed with dyslexia [21:15] 

➡️ Making businesses more neuro inclusive [27:50] 

➡️ Advice for neurodivergent Founders [30:40] 

➡️ Hiring & retaining neurodiverse talent [36:30] 

➡️ Education & AI [41:30] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Onyinye on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onyinyeudokporo?originalSubdomain=uk 

➡️ Find out more about her work: https://www.onyinyeudokporo.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?

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“It very often feels uncomfortable for Founders to put themselves out there in that way. But the more you do it, the easier it will get.” 

In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re covering a topic critical for every early-stage Founder - the power of Public Relations. 

To help us discover the do’s and don’ts and share some of the biggest advice for Founders and Communication teams, we’re joined by Rhiannon Evans-Young, Founder & Director of Crest, Isabella Cookson, Director at Milltown Partners and Hannah Urbanek, Fractional Head of Marketing and 40 Minute Mentor Producer. 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ The Do’s & Dont’s of PR [01:10] 

➡️ Building your Founder brand [05:00] 

➡️ Common PR mistakes [10:30] 

➡️ Navigating a communications crisis [15:00] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Follow Rhiannon on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rhiannon-evans-young-0179885b 

➡️ Follow Isabella on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/isabella-cookson-03218280 

➡️ Follow Hannah on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/hannahurbanek 

⭐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.