Seat of the Muse

Founder & CEO of Whering Bianca Rangecroft shares 5 crucial things to know when fundraising for the first time.

This week's Muse is Bianca Rangecroft, founder and CEO of Whering, the Clueless-inspired wardrobe app now used by over 10 million people across the world to digitise, see and style what they already own.

Bianca spent years in finance working on consumer IPOs including Stitch Fix and Farfetch, where she saw firsthand how much the world buys and how little it actually wears.

In this episode, Bianca opens up about what it actually took to build Whering without writing a line of code, the freemium business model that has powered its growth, scaling from 20,000 downloads in month one to over 10 million users today, raising more than £10 million quietly, and her bigger thesis on treating your wardrobe like an asset class.

This conversation is for the founder who can't code but can see the product, the over-shopper trying to do better, and anyone curious how a 10-million-user app gets built without the usual fanfare.

LINKS

Follow Bianca: https://www.instagram.com/biancarangecroft/Explore Whering: https://whering.co.uk/Follow Seat of the Muse: https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

Founder Julia Baldet shares how, just under a year after opening her first location, Elevate landed a spot in the iconic Selfridges and the slightly unexpected chain of events that made it happen.

This week's Muse is Julia Baldet, founder and CEO of Elevate, London's first functional smoothie bar.

She opened her first store not in Notting Hill but in the Royal Exchange, picked with a clicker and a hunch. A year in, she's been called London's answer to Erewhon, opened a second location inside Selfridges, and is quietly running one of the most impressive consumer brands the City has seen in years.

In this episode, we explore what it actually takes to leave a high-status career behind, from the slow unravelling of her finance years to the moment she finally gave herself permission to go, and the identity shift of going from "I work in private equity" to "I run a smoothie bar."

Julia also opens up about the months between leaving finance and opening Elevate, working as a barista herself while raising a £400k pre-seed, the unconventional bet that was the Royal Exchange, building Elevate in public on TikTok, and the peak-hour numbers that genuinely floored me.

This conversation is for the would-be founder still sitting in a high-status seat, the consumer brand builder starting from scratch, and anyone quietly wondering who they'd be without the title.

LINKS

Follow Julia: instagram.com/juliabaldet

Explore Elevate Wellness: https://elevatewellness.uk/

Follow Seat of the Muse: instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast

This week’s Muse is Hadi Halabi, an entrepreneur building a new way to invest in sports.

After starting his career in investment banking, Hadi went into entrepreneurship to co found Stryde, a platform with a mission to democratize private markets by opening the door to opportunities that were once reserved for institutions and large investors.

In this conversation, we explore his transition from banking to building, the discipline required to spend more than a year navigating legal and regulatory hurdles before launching, and what it takes to create trust in a new financial category.

We also unpack how sport is evolving into an investment opportunity, from valuations and ownership structures to the role of media, technology, and long term growth, and what investors should understand before stepping into this space.

This episode is about entrepreneurship, access, risk, and the business behind the game.

LINKS:

Check out Stryde here: https://gostryde.com/

Follow Seat of the Muse socials here: https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

https://www.tiktok.com/@yourhostcarine

This week’s Muse is Cyril Abou Jaoude, who co-founded Tioopo Capital in 2020 alongside his partners Grégoire Louisy and Shahan Sarkissian, at a time when most professionals in finance are still building experience. Together, they set out to acquire and grow established small and mid-sized businesses across Europe, focusing on companies with strong fundamentals and long-term potential.

Five years later, the firm manages around €100 million in assets under management and supports a portfolio of businesses employing hundreds of people. Tioopo’s model focuses on partnering closely with management teams, improving operations, and helping companies scale, creating value through hands-on involvement in the businesses they invest in.

In this conversation, we unpack what it actually takes to build and run a private equity firm from the ground up, from raising capital and sourcing deals to making decisions under pressure and earning credibility as the youngest person in the room. Cyril walks us through how opportunities are evaluated, how risks are managed, and how judgment evolves when you move from learning the business to leading it.

We also explore what working in private equity really looks like: the skills that matter, the discipline behind good investments, and the realities of building a firm early in your career.

This conversation is about how private equity really works behind the scenes and what it takes to step into responsibility earlier than most.

LINKS:

Check out Tioopo here: https://www.tioopocapital.com/

Connect with Cyril here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyril-aboujaoude/

Follow Seat of the Muse socials here:

https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

https://www.tiktok.com/@yourhostcarine

This week’s Muse is Kalim Bechara, Lebanese art curator, collector, and founder of Kalim Bechara Art Gallery in Beirut.

In this episode, Kalim takes us inside the reality of owning and running an art gallery, from the early days and challenges to the relationships that sustain trust between artists, collectors, and institutions.

We explore what it truly means to build a gallery, how he developed his eye as both a collector and curator, and why education remains at the heart of a serious gallery.

We also discuss the growing momentum behind Arab art, how value is shaped beyond price, and why collecting art is not just about ownership, but about legacy.

This conversation is about the business behind the art, the responsibility of building cultural spaces, and the rising global presence of Arab artists.

LINKS

Visit https://kalimbecharaartgallery.com/

Follow Kalim here: https://www.instagram.com/kalimbecharagallery/

Follow Seat of the Muse: https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

This week’s Muse is Philip Khoury, pastry chef, author, and founder of Khoury’s.

Formerly Head Pastry Chef at Harrods, Phil has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of modern plant-based pastry, combining classical technique with bold experimentation.

In this episode, we talk about his path through the world of fine pastry, the decision to step out on his own, the story behind his books A New Way to Bake and Beyond Baking, and how he’s now building a chocolate brand inspired by flavours from cities around the world.

This conversation is about craft, creativity, and the many worlds of Phil Khoury.

LINKS

Follow Philip: https://www.instagram.com/philkhoury/

Explore the Khoury's chocolates: https://khourys.co/

Follow Seat of the Muse: https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

This week’s Muse is Tia Maria, triple-certified integrative nutritionist and founder of TMDWELLNESS, specialising in gut and hormone health. Her mission is to empower people to create sustainable change through a holistic, habit-based approach to wellbeing.In this episode, we explore what integrative nutrition really means and why food doesn’t work in isolation, from gut health and daily routines to the lifestyle factors that shape how we feel long term.Tia also opens up about reinventing her own path, starting her practice from scratch, and what it takes to build a career aligned with purpose in a demanding world.This conversation is about real health, real habits, and creating lasting change, from the inside out.LINKSFollow Tia: https://www.instagram.com/tmdwellness/Explore TMDWELLNESS here: https://www.tmdwellness.com/Follow Seat of the Muse: https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

This week’s Muse is Yaroslava Malkova, a foodie working in food, and the Global brand director of 971 Hospitality. She is the creative mind behind some of London’s most in-demand restaurants, including Nina, Zephyr, Bottarga and Lagana.

In this episode, Yara answers the question everyone's dying to know: how do you actually land a role like hers, and end up shaping the restaurants everyone’s trying to get into? She shares how she broke into hospitality, how these concepts were built from the ground up, and what it really takes to turn an opening into a hotspot.

Whether you live in London or are planning a trip to the city, these are the places people keep recommending, booking, and talking about.

We go behind the scenes from the origin of the names to the ideas behind the menus, the atmosphere, and the creative decisions that brought multiple restaurants to life in just three years.

If you’ve ever wondered why some restaurants become the hardest tables in town and what actually creates the buzz, this episode is for you.

LINKS

Follow Yara: https://www.instagram.com/yaroslavamalkova/

Check out all the restaurants: https://www.pachamamagroup.com/restaurants

https://www.instagram.com/ninamarylebone/

https://www.instagram.com/bottargalondon/

https://www.instagram.com/laganalondon/

https://www.instagram.com/zephyrnottinghill/

https://www.instagram.com/zephyrmonaco/

Follow Seat of the Muse:https://www.instagram.com/seatofthemusepodcast/

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