Double Espresso With Dee: Change sessions

I am so beyond happy to welcome the legend - Sian Sutherland, a serial entrepreneur across many disciplines and sectors from advertising to Michelin-star restaurant, film production, and skincare startup. On top of all, her attention is now focused on the titanic problem of plastic. So she and her incredible co-founder launched the Plastic Planet.

Sian shared with us the raw story of her beginnings. She was the first entrepreneur in her family and sort of a black sheep. Unlike her siblings, who had an academic future planned, she made her rocky road through life, starting with the first job at the age of seventeen. On the other side, she had an incredibly supportive family and total encouragement, which helped her become who she is today. 

We talk about the importance of failures and how they made us more empathetic, grounded, connected persons. So, Sian re-branded the term "failure" into "growth." We need to applaud people for trying, and if they fail, we have to applaud them for having grown into that failure. 

The first business Sian launched was a restaurant. She wanted to leave her job in advertising to start a restaurant business she had zero experience with, so she simultaneously did 3 jobs for a year. After that, she finally opened her restaurant. 

This was a fantastic five-years-experience. Sian describes it as a rollercoaster. She also thinks that women are biologically adept at re-invention, so she got back to her marketing roots and started a branding and marketing agency. 

We talk about the position of naivety and how empowering is the benefit of not knowing. This is something that has played a huge role in Sian's decision to build her next business - a pregnancy skincare brand Mama Mio. If you have a will, you will find a way. If you can run the restaurant, you can run the country.

Finally, she left Mio too, and she talks about her feelings back then. That business was a part of her identity she loved. Still, she realized she had to jump off. At the time, she was asked to consult the board of Plastic Ocean Foundation. She advised them on releasing the documentary film "A Plastic Ocean" and realized this was her next thing. 

Sian shared with us the story of the very beginning of the idea behind the Plastic Planet. They wanted to give people a choice to buy something different, become free of guilt, and start prototyping the future. 

She is aware that plastic pollution is not slowing down. Plastic Planet is initiating dialogue between important stakeholders and at the same time building a global resources library.

Sian's message for people who are starting their business is: "Don't find a trend, find a need, or go even further - find a movement and build a community." She also has a question you need to find the answer to if you want to build a successful business: "How is it converted to sales?"

"Life is too short to blend in," "Embrace your naivety as your superpower," and many other inspiring pieces of advice from Sian are waiting for you in this episode. 

Listen to it until the end, and find out even more about how incredible Sian does her thing and still makes time for mini-breaks with friends and family.

Key Takeaways:

Introducing Sian Sutherland (00:33)

The beginning: Sian as an entrepreneur - when did that start? (04:20)

What was your first job ever? (06:26)

At what point did you come to the attitude: "I'm going to give it a go because I have nothing to lose?" (09:14)

Re-branding the failure (09:55)

What was the first business you launched? (11:03)

How did you feel when you were exiting businesses? Leaving Mio (20:04)

Emotions of transitions: starting the Plastic Planet (23:35)

What was the first step for the plastic-free concept? (28:35)

Prototyping the future (33:01)

What is your vision for the next 6-12 months? (35:29)

What are the top tips you would give to people who are starting their business? (39:16)

How would you encourage young people to just do their own thing? (43:36)

Importance of mini-breaks and holidays (49:17)

What would you've been doing if you weren't doing this? (51:09)

Additional Resources:

Follow Sian on Linkedin 

Learn more about Mama Mio and Mio brands

A documentary film on misuse of plastic - A Plastic Ocean

Learn more about Plastic Planet

Follow us on Instagram

Visit our website

My guest is another incredible entrepreneur and my dear friend, Jackie Cuyvers. She is a tech entrepreneur and social intelligence expert. Jackie is also Co-Founder and CEO of leading tech company Convosphere, a social intelligence agency working with clients across a range of different industries. 

I have to add that she is also a mother of three. She is doing the MSc at Oxford University in the Social Science of the Internet and supporting young female entrepreneurs along the way.

In the beginning, Jackie explains what social intelligence is and how it helps businesses understand consumer behavior. They analyze public conversations that have already happened, and they do it globally in different languages.

We talk about changes made by pandemic experience and how social intelligence replaced traditional research technics such as focus groups. 

Jackie remembers how she evolved along with the tech industry and how her career combined art, science, and technology.

She shares her perspective on privacy and mass data collection and why she thinks that concern is misplaced.

Jackie encourages young people who are building businesses to try things out, prioritize and focus. She also recommends a book she recently read, "Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age."

Key Takeaways:

Introducing Jackie Cuyvers (1:07)

What is social intelligence? (2:10)

Which sectors can benefit more from this type of technology? (4:15)

How pandemic experience influenced social intelligence? (6:31)

Privacy and cross-related clients matter (8:25)

What was the beginning for you in this industry? (10:23)

Looking to the year behind us in terms of privacy (13:56)

What would the Jackie-today say to the Jackie-15-years-ago? (17:28)

What have you learned through your life experiences so far? (19:22)

How do you see women entrepreneurship today? (21:17)

What is your secret for having the fullness of a life on so many fronts? (24:04)

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing? (25:28)

Book recommendation (26:24)

Additional Resources:

Recommended book - "Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age" by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger

Follow Jackie on Linkedin 

Learn more about Convosphere

Follow us on Instagram

Visit our website

I'm excited to welcome Kike Oniwinde, founder and CEO of BYP network and the winner of many awards. You can find her on all lists that matter, such as Forbes 30 Under 30, 25 Leading Black British Business People To Follow, Computer Weekly's Most Influential Women in UK Tech, and 100 Bame leaders influencing the tech sector. Also, she is a former professional athlete.

We talk about the year 2020 and how Kike and her business ended up thriving instead of just surviving. 

Kike is taking us back to the beginning of her career and tells us the story of how her dream of becoming an Olympic champion evolved into something else. She remembers the time when she first thought: "where are all those black professionals?"

Kike talks about how competitive sport made her what she is today, especially the "I could do better" mindset. She adapted to her later entrepreneurial career. 

We talked about the 2020 challenges for both athletes and entrepreneurs, wrapping up with ways for leaders to find more time for themselves. 

Kike shared with us what keeps her going and what she is excited about in the future. 

Key Takeaways:

Reflecting on the previous year: fundraising, growth, team expansion, innovation, and initiatives. (2:31)

How is business conducted online? (6:36)

Beginnings of Kike's career (8:23)

How are you coping with challenges? (15:38)

How do you find time for yourself? (18:53)

Looking out in the future, what are you excited about? (21:39)

Superpowers (23:19)

Lesson from the last year (24:54)

Additional Resources:

Follow Kike on Linkedin 

Learn more about BYP network

Follow us on Instagram

Visit our website

Hi, I'm Dee Stirling, a storyteller, a lover of languages and language. I am also a businesswoman and co-founder of the Centre for Entrepreneurs. Welcome to my podcast, Double Espresso with Dee. Over coffee, I will get curious with my guests about their journey in business and in life, and how they practice living courageous, creative, and interesting lives. In my first series, I will be talking to some incredible entrepreneurs both new and aspiring, and those who have been down the road for years about their stories and their journeys.

Additional Resources:

Follow us on Instagram

Visit our website