Robbie Hearn founded Standing on Giants with Vincent Boon after the two met on the startup team at giffgaff. A disruptor in the UK telco market, giffgaff was founded in 2009 on the 'little bit radical' idea to have no call centres, no stores, just an online community. What followed was beyond Robbie and Vincent's wildest dreams. This community of customers would answer each other's support questions, refer new customers, solve technical issues and even generate marketing material. 

Inspired, they founded Standing on Giants to bring this innovative community-first model to other businesses. Standing on Giants now works with household names like Airbnb, O2, Lenovo, Heineken and Tesco Bank to build thriving online communities of customers, employees, and stakeholders. In this conversation Robbie discusses:

• A radical move in his childhood that built resilience 
• His ambition to become more radical as he gets older (like Willie Nelson)
• How President Obama's election campaign inspired giffgaff
• The power of 'Customer Respect'
• How the giffgaff community saved the company by manufacturing and distributing 150,000 micro-sims 
• What inspired him to co-found his own company
• His proudest moment as a company founder
• The B Corp movement and making Standing on Giants a 'different kind of business'
• Growing a company without taking external investment
• How he would shake up politics
• 'Leap and the net will appear': a mantra for turning your idea into a reality

Robbie on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbie-hearn-0539313/

Rob on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-warren/

Standing on Giants on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standing-on-giants/

Want to appear? Email [email protected]

Visit: ⁠standingongiants.com⁠

We all know that getting the best people in the right positions is key to success in business. It's bad news then, that the latest research shows that hiring is broken. If you're a woman you need to submit 30% more applications to get to an interview. People of colour need to submit 50% more applications vs their white counterparts. 

Linnea Bywall is Head of People and Operations at Alva Labs - a platform helping businesses hire without the usual CVs, cover letters, and years of experience. Instead, candidates are anonymously assessed on their personality and talents, getting matched with roles accordingly.

A trained psychologist and former NCAA athlete, Linnea brings fascinating insights into the world of HR, People and Culture. In this conversation we cover:

• Her radical athletics coach who inspired her
• Her background as a psychologist and how that informs her work
• How identifying your purpose and what matters to you can give you the confidence to take risks and take a stand
• How from a psychological perspective, the idea of 'normal' is fading away
• The pressure of being in charge of hiring at a company that specialises in hiring
• Her best practice hiring process with no CVs, cover letters, or years of experience
• Bringing data into hiring to combat the unreliability of 'gut feel'
• How unconscious bias training is great for awareness but unlikely to create real change in company processes

Alva Labs: https://www.alvalabs.io

Linnea on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linneabywall/

Rob on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-warren/

Standing on Giants on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standing-on-giants/

Want to appear? Email [email protected]

Visit: ⁠standingongiants.com⁠

Elizabeth Osta is Director of Data Management for The Heineken Company. Her illustrious career has included stints at Barclays, dunnhumby, Mckinsey, L’Oreal, and P&G. She is a visiting fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School and advises a number of exciting startups.

Today she leads a large team of data professionals across 85 countries, helping the Heineken company draw the critical insights needed to perform at its best.

In this conversation Elizabeth discusses:

• How her very non-radical background led her to develop a taste for adventure and excitement
• How to embrace the ‘Art of the Possible’ in work and life
• Finding the ‘one number’ to get buy in for your ideas
• Storytelling with the right balance of rational and emotional techniques
• The opportunities as we move into a ‘Tech Winter’
• Embracing the principles of community building to power a winning work culture and leverage collective talent
• The responsibility of employers to provide enjoyment and tackle loneliness

Elizabeth on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-osta-b0a79b3b

Rob on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-warren/

Standing on Giants on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standing-on-giants/

Want to appear? Email [email protected]

Visit: ⁠standingongiants.com⁠

Coming Soon: 'A Little Bit Radical' - a business podcast from Standing on Giants! 

Think you're radical? No? Maybe you'd like to be? Well, we've found that no radical thinker thinks they’re radical. They just think it’s common sense. And often, it is. We want to encourage people to believe in their idea that's ‘a little bit radical’ and help make it happen. 

In each episode we meet a business leader who is just a little bit radical. These are people who are doing things differently, taking risks, and challenging the status quo to bring about exciting change to their business and the world. 

In each episode we dive into:

Little Bit Radical You- What about this guest's background and early years has led them to be a little bit radical?

Little Bit Radical Work- Each guest works for an exciting company. Whether a startup on the bleeding edge of progress, or a much-loved household name, they'll share how their radical ideas and approach have brought about meaningful change and results in their organisation.

Little Bit Radical World: We step outside the world of work and look outwards to hear what changes these radical thinkers would like to see in the world. 

'A Little Bit Radical' promises to be a series of fascinating conversations hosted by Rob Fawkes from Standing on Giants. 

Standing on Giants is an agency helping businesses around the world engage through community. Current clients include Airbnb, Lenovo, Heineken, and O2.

Standing on Giants  linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/standing-on-giants/

For each guest we donate £10 to BEAM: https://beam.org/

Want to appear? Email [email protected]

Visit: ⁠standingongiants.com⁠