The Handshakr Huddle - B2B war stories and anecdotes from tech and telco execs.

On the latest episode of the Handshakr Huddle podcast, Leon has a conversation with Karl-Heinz Frankheser, the CEO of Metavshn. His company provides innovative solutions to complex billing and operational challenges faced by telecommunication companies. Karl expresses his disappointment with the lack of innovation in the industry and the high cost of solutions. The two also discuss the difficulties encountered by the telecom industry and the need for a renewed approach. Karl highlights the significance of introducing younger talents and adopting a technology-focused strategy. Additionally, he shares his personal story of being a young CEO and his interests outside the business. Lastly, Karl explains how Metavshn's omni-provisioning solutions can work with any operator anywhere.

Brad Rosen is a superstar of the revops world, someone with an incredibly rare "hockey stick startup to scale up" insight and experience. Brad had an unconventional journey into the world of startups, software and sales and one that I think you'll all enjoy hearing about. I certainly have enjoyed my chats with Brad, and I have a huge amount of respect for his journey and passion for his customer and the professions within the revenue operations umbrella.

Brad is a proven GTM (Sales, CS, Strategic Partnerships) and Operations leader with tons of experience in growing B2B GTM teams - including being employee #3 at G2 and now President of  Sales Assembly - Elevated Learning & Development Platform and Community for GTM Teams.

Aimee Bateman is one of the most inspiring startup founders I've met. Aimee has an amazing story that shows true grit, tenacity and self-awareness. I am a huge fan and can't wait for folks to hear this episode.

Some context: In 2015, Aimee raised funding and began scaling a YouTube channel into an award-winning e-learning company, Careercake. Aimee has since exited the business and now advises startup founders on their journeys towards their goals.

Aimee is a TEDx speaker and has delivered incredibly impactful talks on judgement, imposter syndrome and how to choose/ignore business advice. These are all well worth a watch, folks.

You can find Aimee on her website, LinkedIn, Youtube and Instagram.

In episode 2 of the new series and ahead of the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, we talk with the charismatic and incredibly knowledgeable Neil Martin, MD of Talent Acquisition at MBR Partners.  

We discuss his path into the world of tech and telco recruitment, old-school dodgy sales practices, candidate experience when recruiting, and the benefits of offices in an increasingly remote-first world.

I love chatting with Neil and always learn from our discussions.  Enjoy.

Welcome back to the Handshakr Huddle Podcast.  We kick off the new series with somebody I have the utmost admiration and respect for, Justin Reilly. Justin is the CEO of OSS/BSS disruptor Wavelo.  Our chat covers the man and the mission; we discuss his career, his passions and talk about the problems that Wavelo are solving for telco operators.

Please do get in touch about careers or if you're a forward-thinking telco about partnering here

It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Haydn Povey, CEO at Secure Thingz Ltd., for the Handshakr Huddle podcast, Episode 2.

Haydn and I talked about IoT, cybersecurity by design, the future of IoT, some cool use cases for the tech, his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week and the latest release of their Embedded Trust security solution.

Haydn is great at articulating complex subjects for the layperson, namely me, and used clever analogies to explain IoT security. I hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as I did the discussion.

To kick off Season 2 of the Handshakr Huddle, we have the pleasure of chatting with Gareth Hewlett (ex BT CTIO team Director, EE & T-Mobile Engineering Management). 

Gareth tells us a bit about his career in telco and provides some insight into the mindset of a functional leader working with potential suppliers and innovators. We also talk about his transition to start-up founder from the corporate world – incredibly insightful stuff and a guest I've wanted to get on the pod for some time. 

In the last of the first series of the Handshakr huddle podcast, I talk a bit about what's been going on at Handshakr and summarise the series and some of the lessons we learned from all of our great guests. 

Series 2 will be back in the autumn with 10 more guests discussing some great stories from their careers in technology and telco

In Episode 9 of the Handshakr Huddle Podcast, we talk to Chris Bruce, Managing Director of GlobalReach Technology, a board member of both the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) and the Connected Cities Advisory Board. Chris is an industry leader with notable roles spanning 30 years+ in the telecoms sector.

Chris understands the cultural nuance of smaller companies trying to be seen and heard by the big guys more than most, having worked in large corporations (previously CEO fo BT Openzone, among others) and mentoring smaller startups to find market fit and achieve growth.

We really enjoyed speaking with Chris and have learnt a lot about the industry, innovation and leadership, all of which we cover in a couple in our conversation. We hope you all enjoy the discussion as much as Leon Hardwick did.

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In Episode 8 of the Handshakr Huddle Podcast, we talk to CLARE FORESTIER. We have an open chat about presenting yourself well publicly and virtually, hosting events and how you can get much more out of them with energy, brevity and great technology.

Clare helps people and businesses hold awesome events, maximise their PR opportunities, and make fantastic speeches. Clare comes from a 20+ year career as a broadcast journalist and uses that experience as a corporate event host or MC/Emcee, and to train people in communication skills. Clare has helped us with our events and shaped my thinking and performance when presenting in real life and on camera.

Clare is great to work with and is a good laugh too. I hope you enjoy our discussion.

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