The Power Podcast with Sacha Power

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The Power Podcast is BACK for it's fifth episode to see in 2020 - and what a guest we have for you. I'm delighted to welcome Shahzad Younas, the CEO and founder of Muzmatch, the first global Muslim dating app.

After quitting his job in investment banking when he was 29 years old, Shahzad went about completely disrupting the traditional methods that Muslims use to find a spouse by setting up his app, Muzmatch. That's not to say that the app ignores these methods - quite the contrary. Muzmatch has multiple different functions and settings that are considerate to these traditions, and as such the app has been very well received in the community.

Shahzad relied mainly on word of mouth to spread the word initially, although I'm sure many people remember the funny adverts on tubes and buses featuring captions like, 'Halah from the other side' and 'Halah, is it me your looking for'. 

The app has grown to be incredibly successful, now boasting nearly two million members and over 40,000 marriages. In the knowledge that there are roughly 400 million single Muslims across the world - it feels like Shahzad is just getting started.

We speak about what it's like to quit your job to pursue your ambition, how to set up a successful app, what his aims are for Muzmatch, his best marriage match stories and much more! I really hope you enjoy listening to Shahzad as much as I enjoyed chatting to him! 

Thanks so much for listening - and if you like what you hear, please rate, review and subscribe. Please do catch up on any missed episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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The fourth episode of The Power Podcast with Sacha Power welcomes the fascinating Dolly Theis - a social and political activist, an academic and one of the Evening Standard's most influential people in London this year.

There are so many interesting things about Dolly, I'm not sure my short summary below could really do her justice.

She was inspired to get into politics at just 14 years old - her primary concern at that time being the environment, with politics presenting an opportunity for her to campaign for and influence change on the issues she believed in.

This concept of striving for change is a mantra that Dolly has applied throughout her whole life - whether that be to her work in Parliament on encouraging women to stand as MPs, her time standing as a Conservative Party candidate herself, her charity work or, most recently, her PhD studies at Cambridge University. 

As a strong advocate for social justice, Dolly has launched hugely influential projects, one being the Cube Movement, the first social network against modern-day slavery which ultimately played a part in the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. She has also launched a festival called 'The Big Tent Ideas' festival, which is all about bringing people together in a non-party political forum to constructively come up with policy solutions. A framework that feels more important now than ever.

It was a great to chat to Dolly at this time, with the general election fast approaching, about why she thinks we do have reason to be optimistic about the future at a time when politics and our country feels fraught with division.

I hope you enjoy our chat! If you do like what you hear, please rate, review and subscribe.

Thank you so much for listening!

SP X

The third episode of The Power Podcast with Sacha Power welcomes the lovely Leanne Maskell, former model, law graduate, activist and the author of The Model Manifesto - an A-Z anti-exploitation manual for the fashion industry.

Leanne started modelling when she was just 13 years old and found herself in Vogue almost immediately. A start that most models could only dream of. But as the years went on, she was to experience the darker side of modelling, comparing it to how an addict would feel about drugs. Craving the highs but hitting rock bottom during the lows - suffering with mental health issues, debt and exploitation. 

After leaving modelling behind her to pursue a career in law at 26, she wrote a book, the Model Manifesto exposing all aspects of being a model - from the good to the bad - in an attempt to try to disrupt and transform the fashion industry for the better.

As someone who has had no experience of modelling, it was truly eye-opening to speak to Leanne about the brutal reality of the industry which left her depressed. We chat about the 'ideal body', mental health issues, sexual and financial exploitation - and the moment she realised she had a voice and that she was no longer afraid to use it.

I hope you enjoy this episode! Thanks so much for listening - and if you like what you hear, please rate, review and subscribe.

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The second episode of The Power Podcast with Sacha Power welcomes Ben Lebus, the founder of the sensational cooking platform Mob Kitchen.

As an entrepreneur, author and chef, Ben has achieved so much and, at only 27 years old, it seems like he's just getting started. Totally disrupting the student and young professional cooking scene, he launched his platform, @mobkitchenuk, by posting videos of delicious recipes that feed four people for under a tenner. Three years on and it's becoming the go-to food destination for the youth.

I went to see Ben in his studio and you'll notice that the audio is a bit echoey - but hopefully you'll be so interested in what Ben is saying that you won't notice too much! We talk brand building, imposter syndrome, milestone moments and what the future holds of Mob.

As someone who knows nothing about building a brand, I learnt a lot and I hope you will too! If you enjoy the episode, please rate, review and subscribe. Thank you so much for listening! 

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Hello and welcome to The Power Podcast with me, your host and journalist Sacha Power. 

A few months ago I couldn't stop thinking about just how inspiring this generation's young people are. I kept hearing stories of success but also of integrity, inclusivity and empowerment - and felt like I wanted to share these stories. That's why in each episode of this series, I chat to a new fascinating interviewee, each from a whole different range of fields (from art to food to tech), and ask them (hopefully) all the questions you would want to ask. We explore their motivations and ambitions, celebrate their successes and reflect on what it means to be a young person today. 

I hope you finish each episode feeling positive about the future with these brilliant people at the helm! 

You can listen to the first episode now, and if you like what you hear - please rate, review and subscribe! 

The debut episode of The Power Podcast with Sacha Power is delighted to welcome Katy Hessel, the founder of the Instagram account @thegreatwomenartists. 

Not only is Katy a successful blogger, she is also an art historian, a writer, a curator, a speaker, a presenter and most recently a podcaster. There isn't really anything she can't do.

She joins me to talk about art, Instagram, Victoria Beckham and her love for her generation.

I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did! Thanks so much for listening - and if you like what you hear, please rate, review and subscribe.

SP X

Please note - since the recording of this podcast, The Great Women Artists and Victoria Miro summer exhibition has ended.