What happens when a founder exits multiple startups and then builds a start-up focused Investment Banking platform from scratch?

In this episode, Rory and Ken sit down with Jason Kirby — founder of Thunder VC, ex-founder of LiquidSky (acquired for $40M+), and an advisor on over $200M in startup transactions.

Jason shares the raw truths about venture capital, selling companies, the AI investment bubble, and how founders can protect themselves during M&A deals.

Key topics we cover:

• The real story behind his $40M+ startup exit (and how a CEO going to prison almost ruined it)
• Why most VCs stop calling when you’re no longer a fund returner
• The biggest mistakes founders make during fundraising and M&A
• What Thunder VC actually does — and how they unlock growth through acquisition
• The rise of AI secondaries, and why Jason thinks we’re in a bubble
• “Breakup clauses”, phantom leverage, and the dirty secrets of dealmaking

This is a must-listen for any founder thinking about venture capital, raising a round, or navigating exit options.

Disclaimer: This episode of The Mergers Podcast is sponsored by Cadro Technologies Limited, an FCA-regulated investment firm. Sponsorship does not imply endorsement of any views expressed in this podcast. The information discussed is provided for general informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute investment advice, and should not be relied upon as a basis for making investment decisions. The hosts and guests speak in a personal capacity. If you are considering investing, you should obtain independent financial advice tailored to your individual circumstances.

Rob Cossins (Co-founder & CEO, Scribe) on the real founder journey: why entrepreneurship is not for everyone, the seven-year build-up from Barclays to AI/data, and how to decide when to raise (and when not to). We get into failing his very first interview (PE at BlackRock), why the jobs are still there (it's just more competitive) and why your founder network is your unfair advantage.

Rob explains what Scribe does (AI data extraction for private markets), what incumbents miss about adoption, and why the best founders sell the vision before the product is perfect.

You’ll learn:
• How to test founder fit before quitting your job
• Timing a fundraise v shipping product
• The “de institutionalising” every banker-turned-founder must do
• How to build a useful network that compounds over your career

Disclaimer
This episode of The Mergers Podcast is sponsored by Cadro Technologies Limited, an FCA-regulated investment firm. Sponsorship does not imply endorsement of any views expressed in this podcast. The information discussed is provided for general informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute investment advice, and should not be relied upon as a basis for making investment decisions. The hosts and guests speak in a personal capacity. If you are considering investing, you should obtain independent financial advice tailored to your individual circumstances.

Tom Hughes’ career has been anything but normal.

He started out as a Dublin kid tracking stock prices on BBC Ceefax, went into equity research before the ’08 crash, and then got 'super-fired' like thousands of others.

From there he somehow blagged his way into Bloomberg with a bold doorstep pitch. He’s moved through private capital research (Gartner), relationship intelligence (Affinity), commercial leadership roles, and now into the world of AI and enterprise upskilling at Workera - where an “AI mentor” isn’t just hype, it’s the actual product.

In this episode we talk about bouncing back from setbacks, breaking into tech from finance, why not every conversation needs to have an immediate outcome, and what AI is really changing inside big organisations.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to recover from losing your job in a downturn (and why persistence matters most).
• The “just show up” story: how Tom literally forced his way into a Bloomberg interview and walked out with a job.
• What shifted after the financial crisis: moving from gut feel to data, risk, and tooling in banking, PE & VC.
• Inside AI transformation: why skills benchmarking and agentic assessment matter... and why most teams are miles behind!
• A masterclass on sales and partnerships at scale
• Networking that lasts: why being useful first (not transactional) is the key to compounding relationships.

Chapters
00:00 — Sponsor & disclaimer (Cadro, FCA-regulated)
01:27 — Live at The Bottle Cocktail Shop; meet Tom Hughes
02:17 — Dublin roots, Ceefax and learning markets at age 8
08:46 — Getting fired in ’08; the empty trading floors moment
10:58 — A year of rejections & café CVs → the pivot into tech
20:43 — Newspaper ad → Bloomberg: calling reception, finding the hiring lead, and turning up without an invite
24:10 — Why AI won’t replace hustle; what hiring managers really value in salespeople
25:27 — From Bloomberg’s “no negotiation” culture to startup chaos; Gartner → Affinity → VC ecosystem
30:11 — AI readiness vs reality: assessing skills at massive scale; agentic assessments
35:22 — Coaching at scale with Gong/Clari; fewer blind spots, better forecasts
37:57 — Networking that works: why long-term compounding beats short-term transactions

Disclaimer
This episode of The Mergers Podcast is sponsored by Cadro Technologies Limited, an FCA-regulated investment firm. Sponsorship does not imply endorsement of any views expressed in this podcast. The information discussed is provided for general informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute investment advice, and should not be relied upon as a basis for making investment decisions. The hosts and guests speak in a personal capacity. If you are considering investing, you should obtain independent financial advice tailored to your individual circumstances.

In this episode of The Mergers, we sit down with Hanna Lewis, investor at Blue Wire Capital and former operator turned founder with unrivaled experience across all aspects of Entrepreneurship and VC.

From making burritos in San Diego to becoming Chief of Staff at a hyperscaling tech company, Hanna's path into venture capital was anything but linear. She shares candid reflections on her journey including building a startup automating HR with AI agents, to pitching over 100 VCs (and why it ultimately fell apart), to her current role backing the next generation of European tech founders.

This episode covers:

• What it really takes to fundraise in a down market and how storytelling can make or break a round
• The surprising gap between European and US investors
• Lessons learned from being too early in the right market (as well as selling to the wrong buyer persona)
• Why startup culture can rise or fall based on the founder’s personality
• How she broke into VC, and what she looks for now in early-stage founders

It’s honest, funny, and full of insight for anyone thinking about joining, founding, or funding startups.

In this episode of The Mergers, Rory and Ken sit down with Jonathan Palmer (JP) — a cybersecurity pioneer who’s worked with elite intelligence units, Fortune 500 firms, and accidentally acquired the patent for secure internet transactions.

With a journey spanning decades — from setting up his first tech company on a pasting table in Putney to running global encryption deals across most of the world — JP unpacks the gritty reality of cyber risk, organised crime, AI threats, and why so many CEOs are still flying blind.

🔐 What we cover:

• How JP found his way into encryption and sold it back to the US wholesale
• The untold story of acquiring a global internet security patent… by accident
• Why cybercrime is now the 3rd largest economy in the world
• How Russia and North Korea are weaponising organised crime for cyber disruption
• Why cyber due diligence is the next blind spot in PE and M&A
• How AI is accelerating fraud, impersonation, and vulnerability at scale
• What it takes to keep UHNW individuals and leadership teams physically and digitally secure

From dark web intel to Hereford kidnap training, this is one of our most gripping episodes yet.

From £3,000 to a $30 million hedge fund by age 21.

In this explosive episode of The Mergers, we sit down with Marceau Dova, the 21-year-old founder of MCD Capital. He takes us through the wild journey of building a hedge fund from scratch at university - starting with £3,000, bootstrapping with student researchers, selling newsletters to prop firms, and ultimately landing institutional backing.

We cover:

• His first 250K of trading capital and how they convinced early investors
• What happened during their first major drawdown and attempted hostile takeover
• The software that powers their quant trading engine—and why a Swiss firm tried to buy it (and poach the team)
• Building conviction, navigating compliance, and maturing into an FCA-regulated fund manager
• How they're scaling, avoiding burnout, and staying focused in a “do or die” year
• The importance of loyalty, mentorship, and the art of real relationship-building in finance

Whether you’re a young trader, aspiring fund manager, or just curious how someone turns a side hustle into an institution, this one’s packed with real insights, hard lessons, and no-nonsense advice.

Disclaimer: This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

From investigating corruption in the prison system to identifying the next decade’s biggest investment opportunities, Eric Markowitz has built a career on deep research, contrarian thinking, and long-term conviction.

In this episode of The Mergers Podcast, Ken and Rory sit down with Eric - Managing Partner & Director of Research at Nightview Capital - to discuss:

• Investigative Journalism & Investing: How Eric’s award-winning journalism sharpened his ability to spot hidden market opportunities.

• The Nightview Strategy: How they’ve returned 25% per annum by focusing on AI, robotics, and long-term structural winners.

• Tesla, Amazon & Investing in AI: Why Tesla is not just a car company, and how Amazon’s fulfilment innovations could reshape e-commerce.

• The AI Dilemma: Why using AI in investing can be a trap, and why real conviction still comes from human intuition and proprietary research.

• Career Lessons: How to break into finance or journalism, and why the best opportunities come from following curiosity, taking risks, and making mistakes early.

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in investing, AI, deep research, and building an unconventional career path.

From a small bedsit in South London to Managing Director at BlackRock - Henry Odogwu’s journey is nothing short of remarkable. In this episode of The Mergers Podcast, Rory and Ken sit down with Henry to discuss:

• Growing up in a Nigerian immigrant household: How his father's journey from bank manager in Nigeria to security guard in London shaped his work ethic.
• Breaking into finance with no traditional background: How he pivoted from mechanical engineering to high finance.
• The reality of being the only Black graduate in his cohort: Navigating a world where few people looked like him.
• Mastering the art of networking and career growth: Going from being overlooked for promotion to a shoo-in in just one year.
• Sales, resilience, and deal-making: Henry’s frameworks for closing deals, staying top of mind, and making the right career moves.
• The importance of mentorship and social mobility: Why Henry is giving back and what you can do to succeed in finance without the ‘insider knowledge.’

Packed with practical career advice and hard-earned lessons, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to break into finance, grow their career, or understand the mindset required to succeed at the highest levels.

In this episode of The Mergers Podcast, Rory and Ken welcome Laila, a trailblazer in fund finance with an inspiring journey. Now at Validus Risk Management, a boutique firm facilitating over half a trillion dollars in trades, Laila shares her unique insights into the world of private capital management.

Starting her career at PNC Financial Services (a $75 billion market cap bank), Laila ascended from intern to Associate Director in under five years - a meteoric rise in the corporate world. But her path took an unexpected twist when she stepped away to pursue a passion for cooking, studying at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in London before returning to finance with renewed purpose.

This episode dives into the intricacies of fund finance, including capital call lines, NAV facilities, and bespoke solutions for private equity and venture capital managers. Laila breaks down complex concepts like how private funds leverage external capital to optimize IRR and DPI trade-offs. She also reflects on the rise of private credit in an era where banks are retreating from traditional lending.

Beyond finance, the conversation explores resilience, career pivots, and finding balance in high-pressure environments. Whether you're navigating your first job, striving for career growth, or simply curious about the evolving finance landscape, this episode offers actionable insights and a touch of humour.

Tune in to hear the full story from soup to nuts!

In this episode of The Mergers Podcast, Ken and I sit down with Mahim Husnain, Investment Associate at ITV Adventures, to dive into the relatively new media-for-equity model reshaping venture capital. Discover how ITV leverages its reach-over 70% of UK households-to empower startups, scale brands, and disrupt traditional VC approaches.

Key topics include:
📺 The power of TV advertising in building trust and brand recognition
🤝 How media-for-equity works and why it’s changing the game for startups
🐶 Unique trends in consumer tech: From health and fem tech to pet tech
🌍 Mahim’s journey through KPMG, private equity, and ITV Adventures

This episode is packed with actionable insights for founders, VCs, and anyone navigating the ever-evolving consumer venture landscape.

Listen now to learn how media can be a catalyst for growth and why ITV’s approach is one to watch.