Pitching Passion

What does it actually take to make a brand impossible to ignore — and why are so many of the world's biggest names still getting it completely wrong?

Edward East is the founder of Billion Dollar Boy Group, a global leader in creator-led brand building that he has grown from a two-part startup in 2014 to one of the most awarded and fastest-growing social agencies in the world. With over £50 million in revenue, 200+ people, and campaigns running across multiple global markets, BDB has become the agency of choice for brands including Heineken, Nike, Unilever, PepsiCo, and L'Oréal.

BDB Group brings together three distinct businesses: Billion Dollar Boy, the global social agency with Creator Instinct® at its core; FiveTwoNine, the world's largest platform and community for creator entrepreneurs; and Companion, BDB's proprietary AI-powered influencer marketing platform. Named Social and Creator Agency of the Year by both Adweek and The Drum in 2025, and recognised in the Financial Times 1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe for the fifth consecutive year, Ed's group is defining what modern brand marketing looks like.

We cover:

📱 Why brands have shifted from TV-led to social-first — and what it actually means to build a social-led brand with creators at the heart of it 📊 The insight from 5,000 creator-led assets: why leading with your product kills reach by 40%+, and what to do instead 🎯 How to brief creators effectively — freedom within a framework, and why your job is only 50% of the final output 🏆 Campaign case studies: taking Lipton from the 21st to the 4th most talked-about brand globally, the Arg Haus mockumentary for Argos, and the Ikea x Chupa Chups April Fool's collaboration 🤖 How AI is accelerating the creator economy and giving more power to individuals 🌍 The global-to-local challenge — how BDB solved it for Lipton across multiple markets simultaneously 🛠️ Companion, FiveTwoNine, and how BDB is building infrastructure for the creator economy 💡 Entrepreneurship lessons: sensible risk, why the path to success is always squiggly, and why focusing on what's going right beats obsessing over what isn't

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Mentions: Edward East, Billion Dollar Boy (BDB), Billion Dollar Boy Group, FiveTwoNine, Companion, Heineken, Nike, Unilever, PepsiCo, L'Oréal, Garnier, Lipton, Argos, Arg Haus, Ikea, Chupa Chups, Quaker Oats, Thomas Straker, All Things Butter, Hugo Philip, Cool Pancake, Trip (drinks brand), Kendall Jenner, Douglas Booth, Red Bull, Amazon, Tesco, Cannes Lions, Campaign Awards, The Drum, Webby Awards, Shorty Awards, Adweek, IPA Effectiveness Accreditation, Financial Times 1000, Global Influencer Marketing Awards, South by Southwest, Cannes, Meta, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Vine

What if everything we currently know about computing, intelligence, and the nature of the universe is just the tip of the iceberg — and we're about to go much, much deeper?

Daniel Doll-Steinberg is a tech entrepreneur, investor, and one of the most prescient minds working at the intersection of quantum computing, AI, and the future of humanity. He has spent nearly three decades riding — and calling — the biggest waves in technology: from the early internet to blockchain, from AI to quantum. He created one of the first global standards for digital rights management, transforming the software and gaming industries. He was the first co-founder of the Atari Token Project — a groundbreaking metaverse project built with Atari, an Ethereum founder, and gaming legends. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as the British government's representative to the European Commission alongside the Chairman of Rolls-Royce.

He is now co-founder of Eden Base and Q Base, an ecosystem and fund investing in quantum technology, and the author of Unsupervised — ranked one of the best books of 2023 by Bloomberg. His latest investment: Quantinuum, one of the most significant players in the quantum computing space.

We cover:

⚛️ What quantum computing actually is — and why it's not a faster computer but an entirely different kind of machine 🌊 The tech investment cycle — how Daniel timed the internet, blockchain, AI, and now quantum, and why 2026–2032 is the window 🤖 Why AI is not intelligent — it's a tractor, not a horse, and what that really means for the jobs it will replace 💼 The coming collapse of the professional job market — lawyers, doctors, accountants, consultants — and why nobody in power is preparing for it 🎓 Why the education system is dangerously unfit for the world being built right now 🔬 What quantum unlocks for humanity — personalised medicine, materials science, drug discovery, and weather modelling 🌌 The deepest question: what quantum plus AI might tell us about consciousness, sentience, energy, and the true nature of the universe 💰 How Eden Base invests — the six-year fund, bottleneck strategy, and why the National Wealth Fund of the UK uses their thesis map

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This episode is proudly sponsored by Audrey's Chocolates — use code thekollective10 for a discount on your order.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review — it means everything to independent podcasts like ours. 🙏

❤️‍🔥 Support Pitching Passion on Patreon Get early access to episodes, exclusive content, and help us keep the show going: patreon.com/TheKollective828

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Mentions: Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Eden Base, Q Base, Quantinuum, Cambridge Quantum, Atari Token Project, Atari, Ethereum, Unsupervised (book, Bloomberg 2023), Richard Feynman, IBM, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Level 39, Tech Nation, Rolls-Royce, European Commission, National Wealth Fund (UK), Volkswagen, Microsoft, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, Eric (Edenbase partner), Ptolemy, Newton, Einstein, Vermeer / FrontPage, My Chemical Romance, Oasis, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, Google, Facebook, Meta, Anthropic, Venture Capital, Tech, Investing

What does it actually feel like to become the most searched name in a country of 1.4 billion people? 🔍✨

We sit down with Anveshi Jain — actress, entrepreneur, and one of the most recognisable names in Indian entertainment — for a conversation about fame, self-belief, and what happens after the world starts watching. In 2019, Anveshi became the most Googled woman in India after her breakout role in Alt Balaji's hit web series Gandii Baat (Season 2) sent her into overnight, nationwide stardom. But it took 720 failed auditions to get there, and she's spent every year since figuring out what to build on top of that recognition.

📚 Anveshi trained as an engineer and holds an MBA before pivoting fully into acting, music, and content. She's delivered close to five TED Talks, including one on sex education for young people and a widely resonant talk on touch starvation in men titled "We Don't Really Know The Men We Love." Beyond acting, she's a recording artist, is currently writing a book, developing a new TV series, and created the mobile-shot narrative series Main To Museebat Hu — nine episodes, 70 million views, no crew, no tripod. She talks candidly about what fame actually gave her (and what it didn't), the cultural pressure to "underplay" her success to stay marriageable, and how she rebuilt her own sense of self-trust from the ground up.

We cover:

🎬 720 rejections before Gandii Baat changed everything overnight🔍 What it's really like to become the most searched woman in India — and why it didn't fix what she expected it to🗣️ Her TED Talk on touch starvation in men, and what she learned making it✍️ Why she's writing a book mid-heartbreak, against everyone's advice🌍 Meeting Drake (Champagne Papi) and what he told her about self-worth🧘 Her three go-to meditation practices — six-phase meditation, EFT tapping, and heart-focused stillness💍 The cultural pressure to "underplay" success so she stays marriageable🎭 Building a character from childhood memory, using acting techniques inspired by Money Heist🩺 Living with a health condition that requires check-ups every six months — and what she's learned about resilience because of it

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Mentions: Anveshi Jain · Alt Balaji · Gandii Baat · Oprah Winfrey · Drake (Champagne Papi) · Jay Shetty · Money Heist · NSD Pune (National School of Drama) · Main To Museebat Hu · Jeremy Clarkson · Pranjal (brother) · Martin · Commitment · Ramar on Duty · Dragon · Tera Chalava · Who's Your Daddy · Judaa · Gudiya Ki Chaali · Boss · Mumbai · Birmingham · France

What does it take to turn a dying craft into a global art movement? 🔨✨

We're in New Delhi, inside the studio of one of the most extraordinary creative minds working today — a man who walked away from the world of finance to revive ancient Indian metalwork techniques, and ended up showing his pieces in the garden of Karl Lagerfeld's former home in Paris, on the cover of Vanity Fair, and at the world's most prestigious design fairs. We sit down with Vikram Goyal — Princeton-educated engineer, former Morgan Stanley banker, co-founder of Kama Ayurveda, Yiva and now India's most celebrated collectible design artist. 🏛️🌿

This isn't a conversation about design. It's a conversation about following what was always there — and what happens when you apply the rigour of Wall Street to the world's oldest craft traditions.

🔩 Vikram Goyal studied engineering and development economics at Princeton University before building a career in finance at Morgan Stanley across the US and Hong Kong. His return to India in 2000 marked everything changing — he co-founded Kama Ayurveda, one of India's most celebrated luxury wellness brands, later sold to a Spanish conglomerate, before pivoting fully into his true calling: design. Today, Vikram Goyal Studio is internationally recognised for its mastery of ancient metalwork techniques — particularly repoussé and pietra dura — creating large-scale handcrafted brass objects that blur the line between furniture, sculpture and fine art. He is represented by the prestigious Nilufar Gallery in Milan, collaborates with De Gournay, and has exhibited at Design Miami, PAD Londonand the India Art Fair. He is a recipient of the Elle Decor India Designer of the Year award and features in Architectural Digest India's list of the 100 most influential designers. Design critic Glenn Adamson described his work as offering "a truly global vision, in which diverse traditions of craft and belief are combined into a single harmonious whole."

We cover:

🔨 How a Princeton engineer and Morgan Stanley banker followed what was always inside him — and built one of India's most celebrated design studios without a single day of formal art training

🏛️ Ancient techniques meeting global galleries — from chiselling repoussé brass in a New Delhi workshop to showing life-sized Panchatantra animals in Karl Lagerfeld's Paris garden and a Ramayana-inspired salon at Frieze London

🌍 What inspires Vikram's work — flea markets, unexpected art deco palaces in Tokyo, conversations over dinner, India's visual heritage, and a lifelong belief that water always finds its level

🧘 The philosophy of creating without needing validation — why the most confident work comes when you stop making for others, and what it means to be the storyteller of a civilisation's craft rather than just a designer

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Mentions: Vikram Goyal · Rameshji · Glenn Adamson · Karl Lagerfeld · Lucio Fontana · · Princeton University · Morgan Stanley · Kama Ayurveda · Nilufar Gallery · De Gournay · · Viya · Elephant Family · Design Miami · PAD London · India Art Fair ·· Rome · London · Milan · Tokyo · Noida · Panchatantra · Ramayana · Financial Times · Architectural Digest · Wallpaper · Vogue · Harper's Bazaar · Elle Decor · Robb Report · Vanity Fair · WWD · Designboom · Mint Lounge · The Economic Times · Conde Nast Traveller · The Hindu · ICON · Cabana · Yatzer · First Post · Commercial Interior Design · Good Homes · Outlook Luxe · Platform · a+ Magazine · Stir Pad · Lifestyle Asia · The Voice of Fashion · New Indian Express ·

What if your dentist could add years to your life? 🦷✨

We're in Tribeca, New York, inside one of the most extraordinary clinics in the world — a place where dentistry meets longevity science, and where a visit isn't only about drilling and filling, it's about uncovering the root cause of everything from brain fog and fatigue to snoring and cardiovascular disease. We sit down with Cody Levine, co-founder of Smile House Tribeca — the dental longevity centre rewriting what it means to take care of your mouth, and your life. 🧬🌿

This isn't a conversation about teeth. It's a conversation about health span, longevity, confidence, and what happens when a family decides to put the mouth back in the body.

🦷 Cody Levine grew up watching his father, the legendary Dr. Jonathan Levine — one of the first doctors in America to perform porcelain veneers in the early '80s — build a career at the intersection of aesthetics, function, and whole-body health. Together they founded Smile House Tribeca, a next-generation dental longevity centre where biomarker testing, airway and sleep diagnostics, saliva analysis and world-class aesthetic dentistry all live under one roof. Cody also co-founded Twice — a premium oral care brand now sold in Walmart, reaching 95% of America, with millions of tubes sold and hundreds of thousands of homes impacted. And through the Glo Good Foundation, the Levine family delivers millions of dollars of free dentistry every year to communities around the world.

We cover:

🧬 Why the mouth is the gateway to your whole body — and why your dentist should care about your heart, brain, and sleep😴 Sleep-disordered breathing: why you can sleep 8 hours and still feel like you slept 2💰 What a full mouth reconstruction actually costs — and why the best cases run six figures🇮🇹 Handmade Italian ceramics, 30-year veneers, and the art of matching a smile to a face🪥 Why 100 million Americans don't brush twice a day — and what that costs them long-term🏒 Fixing Jack Hughes' teeth after the gold medal game🦷 The terrifying link between oral bacteria and dementia, heart disease, and diabetes💊 Why Western medicine treats symptoms while functional dentistry finds causes🌍 The Glo Good Foundation: giving smiles back to thousands of people who had lost them🕺 Fred Again, dancing, and why movement might be the most underrated tool for self-worth📖 Hungry, humble, and what Dr. Jonathan Levine taught his son about how to live

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Mentions: Cody Levine · Dr. Jonathan Levine · Jack Hughes · Fred Again · Robin Sharma · Will Guidara · Picasso · Smile House Tribeca · Twice · Glo Good Foundation · Walmart · Erewhon · Henry Schein · SprintRay · Crest · Colgate · Sensodyne · Tribeca · New York · Unreasonable Hospitality · The 5 AM Club · How We Breathe Is Killing Us

What happens when you take Hollywood-level talent management — the contracts, the standards, the deal-making — and drop it into the fastest-growing, most chaotic corner of the entertainment industry?

Thomas Drachkovich has lived both worlds. After seven years at Amazon Studios across LA, Mumbai, and London — helping launch The Family Man, Four More Shots Please, and developing UK series including Ten Percent and Wilderness — and training as an agent at United Talent Agency, he walked away from one of the most prestigious seats in global entertainment to build something entirely new.

Dream Bay Group, which he founded in 2023, represents creators including Sabrina Bassoon (#TubeGirl), operates as an official TikTok Shop agency partner, and delivered over 300 brand deals across 200 brand partners in a single year — crossing seven figures in revenue. Thomas also runs a media advisory and IP deal-making practice, with recent work including a five-book studio deal for Jeffrey Archer's estate and a partnership with SuperBooks, backed by all five Dragons from BBC Dragon's Den. He sits on the committee for the ITVX Creator Awards and the Digital Broadcast Awards. And he is, by his own admission, living his dream job.

We cover:

🎬 Why the creator economy is the Wild West — and the film & TV standards Thomas is bringing in to fix it📱 What the creator economy actually is — and how Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon are now chasing creators to build their audiences💰 The creator business model explained — brand deals, direct monetisation, licensing, and what brands are really paying for🌍 From Amazon Studios in Mumbai to TikTok Shop in London — how Thomas's global career shaped the way Dream Bay operates🤝 Why anyone can start a talent agency tomorrow — and why that's both the beauty and the danger of the industry⭐ What it takes to hit seven figures in brand deals in a single year — and what separates the best creator managers from the rest🎯 Bringing Hollywood-level deal-making, contracting, and professional standards to a world that has almost none📺 The collision of traditional entertainment and the creator economy — and why it's only just beginning

Those little moments that lift your day — a smile, the sun coming out, or a piece of chocolate? Audrey's Chocolates have been handcrafting chocolate for over 70 years. Chocolate to die for, in beautiful boxes that make the perfect gift. Discover your moment of joy at audreysChocolates.co.uk and treat yourself to 10% off using the code thekollective10

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Thomas Drachkovich, Sabrina Bassoon (#TubeGirl), Jeffrey Archer, The Sidemen, Molly-Mae Hague, Dan Shrigley, Tom (co-founder, Shoulder to Shoulder), Mia McGrath, Idris Elba, Ollie Marlowe-Thomas, Sienna Santer, MrBeast, Karishma Vijay, Lord Sugar, IShowSpeed, Kaner (Urban Decay), Reverend T.D. Jakes, Dream Bay Group (dreambaygroup.com), Amazon Studios, United Talent Agency, TikTok Shop, Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, Applause Entertainment, SuperBooks, BBC Dragon's Den, ITVX Creator Awards, Digital Broadcast Awards, L'Oréal, Nivea, MAC, The Ordinary, Shoulder to Shoulder, Creator Fest, Audi, Revolut, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Kick, Urban Decay, Duolingo, LinkedIn, Instagram, The Family Man, Four More Shots Please, Ten Percent, Wilderness, The Wire, The Mailroom,

What does it actually take to throw a legendary party? 🎉✨

We sit down with William Bartholomew — one of Britain's most celebrated party organisers, with nearly five decades of experience and a client list that reads like a who's who of royalty, rock stars, and the world's most powerful institutions. He's the man you call when a marquee, a Michelin-starred caterer, and Elton John. And he's the man who will very calmly tell you that none of it matters if the people in the room aren't right. 🎶👑

This isn't a conversation about canapés. It's a conversation about what makes people truly connect — and why the best parties in the world are never really about the budget.

🎪 William Bartholomew started as a DJ at the legendary Annabel's nightclub in 1977, went on to spend 15 years with Juliana's Sound Services, and founded William Bartholomew Party Organising (WBPO) in the 1980s. In the decades since, he has orchestrated extraordinary events for the Royal Family, embassies, private clients, hotel groups, and global corporations across the world — from Scottish lochs to the south of France to Venice. His parties are, as they say, legendary.

We cover:

🎶 Why a party is made by its people — not its budget, its flowers, or its celebrity band🎤 The rider contract nightmare: what happens when you book a rock star (and why William quietly passes the buck)💸 The real cost of a great party — from £5 chairs to £1,000,000 bands and £10,000 fireworks per minute🪄 The secret icebreakers that actually work: roving bands, table mixing, and the art of the welcome drink👑 Organising for the Royal Family, Forbes, Microsoft, Sotheby's, and JP Morgan — what changes and what doesn't🎆 A firework display on a Scottish loch, a custard pie fight in a warehouse, and the parties you couldn't make up🚽 The surprisingly serious world of luxury portaloos — and why William is always first in when something goes wrong💐 How weddings went from coronation chicken and frilly marquees to full productions with mood boards and cocktail bars⚠️ Why dietary requirements have quietly become one of the most complex parts of catering for 200 people

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🔥 Fireside Chat 🔥

🌟 A few quirky things that give you joy: [FILL IN]

🧠 A mantra you want to embrace now: [FILL IN]

🎬 A favourite artist that isn't obvious: [FILL IN]

💡 Something you wish you knew when you were younger: [FILL IN]

✅ Two things IN for you right now: [FILL IN]

❌ Two things OUT: [FILL IN]

❤️‍🔥 Loved this episode? ✨ Like, Share, and Subscribe to support bold, heart-led conversations.

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: William Bartholomew, Madonna, Guy Ritchie, Princess Margaret, King Charles, Phil Collins, Shirley Bassey, Lionel Richie, Elton John, Belinda Carlisle, Boy George, Bonnie Tyler, Gloria Gaynor, Robbie Williams, Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, Avicii, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond, Queen, ABBA, Annabel's, Skibo Castle, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Hertford Street, Venice, St. Moritz, Scotland, South of France, Beirut, Washington, Regent's Park, Rutland, Jersey, Dubai, WBPO, Juliana's Sound Services, Royal Family, Dubai Royal Family, Saudi Royal Family, Microsoft, Sotheby's, Forbes, JP Morgan, Tesco, Modifax, James Bond, Jaws, Oddjob, New Orleans Band, Bedouin Tent, Coronation Chicken, Béarnaise Sauce, Belvedere Vodka, Mojito, Paloma, Babycham, COVID

What does it really take to build a restaurant people choose as their favourite — not just the best they've ever been to? And what happens to a chef's world when the place he's poured 11 years into catches fire at 2am?

Jun Tanaka is the Michelin-starred chef and owner of The Ninth on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, London — one of the city's most beloved neighbourhood restaurants and a 2026 Sunday Times Best Places to Work recipient. His story begins at 19 years old, when — with no kitchen experience and freshly asked to leave his hotel management course — he wrote to the three best restaurants in London on a whim. Le Gavroche wrote back.

What followed was a career forged in some of the most demanding kitchens in the country: an apprenticeship under the Roux brothers at Le Gavroche, stints with Nico Ladenis at Chez Nico and Phil Howard at The Square, and time working under Marco Pierre White — a man Jun describes as running the SAS of the culinary world. In 2015, Jun opened The Ninth, earning a Michelin star in its opening year and keeping it ever since. Then, at 2am one morning, the fire brigade called.

We cover:

🔥 Why Jun would choose to have had the fire in hindsight — and what 8 months of closure did for his team ⭐ Earning a Michelin star in the year of opening,🍽️ The difference between the best restaurant you've ever been to and your favourite — 👨‍🍳 Training under Marco Pierre White and why the hardest kitchen of his life was also the most important 🧠 Why culture doesn't just happen — and the intentional work behind The Ninth's 🤝 Hiring for personality over CV🌿 Seasonal cooking, classic flavour combinations, and what it means to create food people crave on a regular basis

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This episode is proudly sponsored by Audrey's Chocolates — use code thekollective10 for a discount on your order.

🔥 Fireside Chat with Jun Tanaka

Five cheeses to eat before you die? Brie de Meaux, Coulommiers, Époisses, Saint-Marcellin, and Comté. 

Three London restaurants people should hit up right now? Camille in Borough Market — Parilla — Plonk —

Three ingredients to bring to a desert island? Soy sauce. Lemon and anchovies.

How do you cook at home when friends are coming over? I keep it extremely simple. I always do a barbecue —whole fish mostly One tip: leave the whole fish uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours before grilling to dry out the skin completely. It won't stick and you'll get properly crispy skin.

Do you find cooking therapeutic? Honestly, no. I've been doing it for 35 years — it doesn't stress me, but it doesn't quite switch me off either.

What do you notice walking into a restaurant that others might miss? The greeting - Seasoning and the bathroom. Always the bathroom.

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review — it means everything to independent podcasts like ours. 🙏

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Mentions: @juntanaka, The Ninth (Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London), Le Gavroche, The Roux Brothers, Chez Nico, Nico Ladenis, Phil Howard, The Square, Marco Pierre White, Cooking It (Channel 4, 2006), Saturday Kitchen, MasterChef: The Professionals, Simple to Sensational (cookbook), Filippo (Business Partner & Executive Chef, The Ninth), Erica (Head Chef, The Ninth), Jada (GM, The Ninth), Dale / Rosendale Design (interior designer), Andy (first head chef, The Ninth), Kevin Burke The Ninth), Ewan Golcher (former sous chef, The Ninth), Library Street (Dublin), Camille (Borough Market), Elliot (chef-owner, Camille), Parilla, Ben (chef, Parilla), Plonk, Seb (chef-owner, Plonk), Noma, Gambara (San Sebastian), Flying Fish (Cornwall), Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026, Irish Sunday Times

What does it really take to build a business from scratch, sell it for over $100 million, and then look the future of your entire industry in the eye? 

Oli Marlow-Thomas founded Ad-Lib.io in 2017 as a sole founder, grew it into a leading Google-certified creative optimisation platform, and exited to Smartly in January 2022 — in just over five years. He's now Chief Innovation Officer at Smartly, one of the world's most advanced AI-powered advertising platforms, working with brands like Spotify, Samsung, Uber, and Warner Brothers.

In this episode, Oli opens up about the unglamorous reality of founding a business — the unattractive character traits you have to dial up, the team decisions that keep you up at night, and why getting shit done is the most underrated skill in business. He also shares one of the most compelling visions of where advertising and AI are heading that we've had on the show — and it will change how you think about the internet entirely.

We cover:🔥 Why great founders have to become slightly difficult people🔥 The time management rule that kept Adlib growing (9-5 = revenue only, everything else is out of hours)🔥 How to hire people better than you — and actually let them take over🔥 What makes an ad memorable, attention-grabbing, and worth clicking🔥 Why advertising is shifting from targeting humans to targeting AI agents🔥 Why Oli believes the website will be dead sooner than you think🔥 What a $100M exit actually gives you — and the hunger that never goes away🔥 The AI governance crisis and why governments aren't ready

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Mentions:

Ad-Lib.io, Smartly, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Gemini, Facebook, Meta, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, Amazon Prime, App Store, Adobe, Foot Locker, Spotify, Samsung, Warner Brothers, Disney, Uber, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Rightmove, Coca-Cola, Guinness, Tango, Café Nero, Big Boat Week, iTaxishare, Barack Obama, The Second Mountain, Silicon Valley

What if everything you believed about death, consciousness, and the meaning of life was wrong — and a brain surgeon could prove it?

Dr Eben Alexander is one of the world's most credentialled neurosurgeons who spent over two decades training and practising at some of the world's top academic medical centres, including Harvard Medical School. In 2008, he fell into a seven-day coma caused by bacterial meningitis — a condition so severe his doctors gave him little chance of survival. What happened during those seven days didn't just change his life. It dismantled everything he thought he knew about the brain, the mind, and what comes after death.

His book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife has sold over 2 million copies. After his recovery, Dr Alexander dedicated himself to bridging science and spirituality — exploring near-death experiences, consciousness, meditation, quantum physics, and the nature of the soul. He has since co-authored Map of Heaven and Living in a Mindful Universe with his wife Karen Newell, and runs workshops through Sacred Acoustics helping thousands access deeper states of awareness through binaural beats.

In this episode we cover:

🧠 What Dr Alexander experienced during his seven-day coma — the three phases of his near-death experience and what he encountered beyond the brain ☀️ Why materialism is dead — and how the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics (quantum entanglement) proves consciousness cannot be reduced to brain activity 🌌 Millions of people have had near-death experiences — what the science really says about the afterlife and reincarnation 🧘 How meditation and binaural beats can connect you to the universe — and why your ego is the biggest obstacle to your own soul 💡 The hypnagogic state used by Einstein, Edison, Salvador Dali and Robert Louis Stevenson to access their greatest breakthroughs 🍄 Psychedelics, psilocybin and what happens to the brain under magic mushrooms — and why meditation is still the better path 🤖 AI, consciousness and why no digital computer can ever be truly self-aware ❤️ The purpose of life, the life review, and why love is written into the very fabric of the universe

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Mentions: Dr Eben Alexander, Karen Newell, Oprah Winfrey, Guy Lyon Playfair, Robin Carhart-Harris, Dr Roland Griffiths, Dr Anna Yusim, Dr Wilder Penfield, William James, Gerald Oster, Thomas Keating, Thomas Merton, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Robert Louis Stevenson, Salvador Dali, John Clauser, Alain Aspect, Anton Zeilinger, University of Virginia Division of Perceptual Studies, Bigelow Institute, Sacred Acoustics, Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, General Electric, Scientific American, Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases, Proof of Heaven, Map of Heaven, Living in a Mindful Universe, Twin Telepathy, The Mystery of the Mind