Today’s guest joined the digital assets firm Gemini in 2020, when they expanded to the UK. As the Head of UK, and former Chief Compliance Officer for Europe, I’m excited to hear what Blair has learnt from the expansion, and how the digital assets market has changed over the past year. Gemini builds crypto products for both individuals and institutions to help buy, sell and store cryptocurrency. It was founded in 2014, by brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, to build a bridge to the future of money.

Tune in to this conversation as we explore the role of compliance, the power of perseverance, investing in digital assets, the energy consumption of mining crypto, how Gemini are developing their work culture – and what we can learn from the All Blacks. 

Talking Points

• Blair’s career at RBS (10:55)
• The compliance mindset within an entrepreneurial organisation (15:18)
• Cultural differences between large financial institutions and small startups (19:00)
• Working with Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (27:38)
• Getting institutions to invest in crypto (31:13)
• Why the crypto market exploded in 2020 (35:29)
• The corporate interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (39:46)
• Energy consumption and the future of green mining (40:53)
• The impact of remote-first work (55:37)

Links

• Insights Discovery
• Peter McCormack, Podcaster and Journalist - Bitcoin Special
• Cameron & Tyler Winklevoss on What Bitcoin Did
• MicroStrategy
• ‘Legacy’ by James Kerr
• Nifty Gateway

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Having worked in three countries, Didem has more than 20 years experience in the global technology industry, spanning Enterprise Software and SaaS, Big Data and AI, Managed Services and Cloud business models. Under her current role as General Manager, Data & AI Acceleration at EMEA Microsoft, she’s responsible for the Data & AI customer success strategy, readiness, and execution.

Didem’s energy is infectious. I was so excited to speak with her to learn more about her mission to empower more female leaders in technology, and what she’s doing to help combat domestic violence through technology. Tune in as we also discuss Satya Nadella’s leadership style, Microsoft’s work culture, some inspiring use cases for AI, how we can strive for more diversity and inclusion in the workplace  – and bumping into Bill Gates in the office.

Talking Points

• The cultural transition moving from Turkey to USA (05:22)
• Lessons from the consultancy world when working for Capgemini (10:50)
• Cultural differences between UK and US (17:10)
• Satya Nadella's "growth mindset" and Microsoft’s transformation over the last decade (18:149)
• Didem’s role and mission at Microsoft (27:35)
• Striving for more diversity and inclusion in technology (28:34)
• What technology leaders can do to foster diversity and inclusion in their teams  (36:18)
• How AI can help solve domestic violence (38:15)
• Microsoft’s remote working policy (47:33)
• Advice for young female engineers who want to pursue a career path like Didem’s (48:53)

Links

• ‘Hit Refresh’ by Satya Nadella, Greg Shaw and Jill Tracie Nichols
• ‘Brotopia’ by Emily Chang
• The RSA Fellowship
• Didem’s LinkedIn
• Didem’s Twitter

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

80% of under 8s have their own tablets – there’s no doubt that the impact of technology on the next generation will be huge. The Chairman of UK Finance and author of ‘Born Digital’ joins the show to distil his research on why we need to alter our relationship with technology.

Robert Wigley backs young entrepreneurs in cutting edge technology businesses and Chairs UK Finance. He spent 25 years as a banker, rising to be EMEA Chairman of Merrill Lynch and a member of the board of the Bank of England during the 2008 financial crisis. 

Tune in as we discuss the impact of technology on empathy, Generation Z’s values, UK vs UK banking cultures, concorde flights – and Margaret Thatcher’s attention span.

Talking Points

• Meeting Margaret Thatcher when as a teenager (5:44)
• Lessons learnt from working at Merrill Lynch (8:22)
• Cultural differences between Wall Street and the City of London (10:43)
• Navigating through the 2007 - 2008 financial crisis (12:40)
• The stages of a digital detox (14:16)
• Research findings from his book (16:40)
• The rise of the ‘nones’ (21:22)
• What parents can do about digital overload with their children (27:19)
• What we can learn from Gen Z (33:04)
• The post-covid economy (37:58)
• The development of central bank digital currencies (39:59)

Links

• ‘Born Digital’ by Robert Wigley
• ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport
• ‘The Madness of Crowds’ by Douglas Murray
• MaPS
• Elon Musk: why we are cyborgs
• The Good Childhood Report
• Blockchain.com
• ‘Birdsong’ by Sebastian Faulks
• RobertWigley.uk

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

As a self-confessed former frustrated civil servant, James Herbert set himself on a mission to help scale the public sector’s digital transformation. It’s a big feat, but he launched Foundry4 to do just that. They provide teams of experts to solve complex problems for large organisations through end to end solutions across insights, strategy and delivery.

James has worked with Cabinet Office teams designing the G-Cloud procurement framework, the foundations of the Digital Marketplace and the world’s first government Cloud-First technology strategy. In this discussion we explore digital identity, working for both private and public sectors, and how to productise a service-based business.

Talking Points

• The Government’s investment in suppliers (10:44)
• The impact of the Digital Services Marketplace (16:03)
• Stress-testing an IR35 conspiracy theory (19:53)
• The digital transformation (25:44) 
• The story behind Foundry4 (31:14)
• Preparing a business for IPO from day one (38:28)
• Advice for launching a service-based business (42:53)

Links

• The Digital Services Marketplace
• Tom Loosemore
• ‘Man's Search for Meaning’ by Viktor Frankl
• Ryan Prince - VC Investor and Chairman, Realstar Group
• Foundry4
• Panoply

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

As an ex-contractor himself, Dave Chaplin wrote and published the first ever interactive online IR35 tax calculator. IR35 refers to the UK's anti-avoidance tax legislation designed to tax 'disguised' employment at a rate similar to employment. And as it sounds, it can get messy. I’m super excited to catch up with Dave again to hear more about how IR35 may affect you this year. 

Dave is the Founder and CEO of ContractorCalculator and CEO of IR35 Shield. He assists with IR35 tax tribunals, and regularly attends those he’s not involved with to increase his knowledge. Tune in as we discuss Dave’s former campaigns, the delays from the pandemic, and working on high profile cases such as Kay Adams. It’s about having the right processes in place, so enjoy this episode as Dave shares lots of helpful resources. 

Talking Points

• Dave’s key milestones and campaigns over the last 12 months (4:10)
• Lobbying in parliament in front of 30 MPs (5:48)
• The impact of blanket bans and determinations (9:03)
• The problem with the tool for checking employment status for tax (11:38)
• Lessons from high profiles cases (13:26)
• Working with agencies (19:15)
• Demystifying VAT when working inside (22:01)
• The firms that HMRC are likely to be ‘going after’ (28:07)
• The future of the Small Company Exemption Clause (35:10)

Links

• Dave Chaplin - IR35 Special
• ContractorCalculator.co.uk
• IR35Shield.co.uk
• BBC Radio 4 Money Box
• Umbrella Reclaim

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Today’s guest is a serial entrepreneur focused on sustainability in the food and energy sectors. Huw Thomas is the Cofounder, President and COO at Counterfactual Ventures, a venture studio focused on filling gaps in the alt-protein industry to accelerate the 'protein transition'.

With a background in computer engineering and renewable energy, it’s been a fascinating journey for Huw. He was the COO of cultivated meat startup New Age Meats, co-founder of renewable energy consultancy SCENE, and CEO of sports nutrition startup Fuelit. 

Tune in to learn more about dealing with the colossal global meat industry, how to best name the ‘meat alternative’ industry, dealing with regulations, and the need for more curiosity as leaders.

Talking Points

• Huw’s training in computer engineering (3:22)
• The stage we’re at in the mass production of alternative protein sources (12:50)
• When we can expect viable alternatives to meat on a global scale (16:09)
• Naming the industry for meat alternatives (22:25)
• The story and mission behind Counterfactual Ventures (31:50)
• Seeking outcome driven entrepreneurs (36:46)
• The role of curiosity in leadership (47:00)

Links

• ‘Doing Good Better’ by William MacAskill
• This
• The Good Food Institute
• Eat Just
• Counterfactual Ventures
• ‘The Precipice’ by Toby Ord
• Joe Rogan Experience #1169​ - Elon Musk
• ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Embracing your uniqueness and authentic voice has been the driving force behind today’s guest success as a leader. Yamini Rangan is the Chief Customer Officer at HubSpot and is working on some ambitious goals for the leading CRM provider. Driven by the motto “helping is the new selling”, I loved learning more about Yamini’s insights into sales and marketing.

Coming from an engineering background, Yamini has learnt how sales goes hand-in-hand with technology. With over 24 years experience across sales, marketing, operations, and strategy, she has also worked at Workday and Dropbox. In 2019, Yamini was recognised as one of the Most Influential Women in Business by San Francisco Business Times. 

Join our conversation as we discuss decision-making patterns, hyper-growth, gender diversity – and booking her one-way ticket from India to Atlanta in her early 20s. 

Talking Points

• Her passion for technology when growing up in a small Indian town (4:49)
• The technology changes Yamini has seen in India (12:15)
• Establishing her career in the US (14:12)
• Key milestones in Yamini’s career (25:46)
• Joining Hubspot and her ambitious goals (31:05)
• The fundamentals of sales and marketing (33:56)
• Making the entire customer journey digital (36:41)
• How to get noticed as a small business online (38:57)
• Getting more women into STEM (42:07)

Links

• Hubspot Certified Training
• ‘Principles’ by Ray Dalio
• ‘Trillion Dollar Coach’ by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle
• Project Potential

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Bitcoin has been in the news recently, the price has hit an all-time high but opinion remains divided. Enthusiasts call it the perfect modern money system yet critics dismiss it as a bubble that resembles a Ponzi scheme. My guest today is the host of the world's #1 bitcoin podcast, "What Bitcoin Did". He isn't a software engineer or monetary economist, he is just a regular guy from Bedford who isn't afraid to ask basic fundamental questions as to why this technology is potentially going to change everybody's lives. For this reason, his content is very accessible to the average person who is looking to learn more about cryptocurrencies.  He also has an incredible story to tell. His career has been full of ups and downs, which Peter reflects upon candidly. Peter talks about building a business and also speaks about a very dark period in his life where his marriage collapsed and he fought drug addiction. They also cover what bitcoin really is and what that means for the average person. A thought-provoking and value-filled conversation. 

1. Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3sS4Lyv
2. Subscribe at:
    - iTunes: https://apple.co/3ocDymB
    - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3qyR2KK
3. YouTube: https://bit.ly/3qyQLHI
4. Twitter: https://twitter.com/TechLPodcast

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

Sina left university prematurely to pursue entrepreneurial endeavours. “.. in the right place at the right time”.  His company Yoello has achieved incredible growth in 2020.  The app-less mobile ordering and payment solution is now used by thousands of high street restaurant and hospitality businesses, including Burger King, Subway, and The Grand, York, allowing them to serve their customers securely, efficiently and rapidly.  In this Tech Leaders’ Podcast, Gareth talks to Sina about the path to meteoric success, from his arrival in the UK aged 8 knowing little more than two words of English, his early entrepreneurial projects through to being the owner and CEO of a company that is revolutionising payment systems. Not adverse to risk-taking, Sina talks about his early foray into Bitcoin, leaving university during his final year to start his business (much to his mother’s upset) finding investors, and setting up an experienced board of advisors from the global financial sector. He discusses setbacks, the milestones in Yoello’s growth, his own personal motivation, and how he built the corporate structure. Gareth quizzes him on future plans, the challenges of working remotely when building a new business, on-boarding new employees in such conditions and what he looks for when hiring talent. The future looks very bright for Yoello with expansion into Europe an imminent prospect. 

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/

The pandemic has forced thousands of Brits to overcome their fear of technology, to embrace this digital world and develop skills to stay connected, both on a personal and professional level. Gareth talks to Kerensa Jennings, BT Group Director of Digital Impact. They discuss her amazing career, working with the likes of legendary broadcasters like David Frost and David Attenborough through to the amazing work she is currently involved with at BT. Kerensa’s career path has been far from linear, holding various roles in the production of television news and documentary programmes, including writing “the Slug’ for the Big Breakfast. Five years within the Royal Household forming strategy and delivery for IDEA CIC award to inspire digital enterprise pre-empted her appointment to her current role. Kerensa and her team are on a mission to provide digital skill acquisition to the masses and upskill those seeking employment. Specific programmes targeted to primary school children, school leavers, small businesses provide the opportunity for users to develop a problem-solving mindset, a crucial skill in today’s rapid, ever-changing world, together with inspiring confidence and adaptability. Find out how Kerensa views the impact of AI and the irreversible technological legacy of Covid-19.

https://www.bedigitaluk.com/