Key Topics Covered:

• The Self Storage Business Model: Guy explains his freehold property approach, inspired by companies like Big Yellow and the McDonald's model featured in "The Founder" film. Also attractive features of the self storage business: long lifetime value of clients, custom inertia, counter-cyclical demand so the business performs well across the business cycle.
  Cambridge University Value of a first-class education.

• The Why question: How Guy never worried about social status, and simply doing what it takes to build a life, do something of value.

• Entrepreneurial Philosophy: Discussion of motivation and work ethic, referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger's YouTube talks and Gary Vaynerchuk's "I will outwork you" mentality.

• Economic Principles: Insights on loss aversion from Daniel Kahneman's research and lessons from Cambridge professor Michael Kuczynski.

• Life as a British Expat: Guy shares his experience living abroad and his documentary project "Should Brits Come Home?" made with Patrick Ney, exploring whether British expats should return to the UK.

• Documentary Filmmaking: Behind-the-scenes stories from filming at the Notting Hill Carnival, agricultural shows, and conducting street interviews.

• Political Commentary: Reflections on Britain's direction, post-nationalism, and concerns about current UK leadership.

About Guy Pinsent

Guy is a British real estate entrepreneur and the Founder & CEO of Less Mess Storage, a leading self‑storage company operating across Central Europe.

Born in London and raised in the English countryside, he studied at Eton College and Cambridge University before starting his career in investment banking at Citibank. He later served at the British Embassy in Poland to strengthen UK–Poland business relations, then moved into commercial real estate with Colliers, and in 2014 founded Less Mess Storage, which he has since built into a benchmark player in the Central European self storage sector.

Guy’s Linkedin

Links

• Arnold Schwarzenegger - Guy referenced a 4-minute motivational talk on YouTube about entrepreneurship principles YouTube: Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success
• Gary Vaynerchuk - Richard mentioned him as an American entrepreneur from Belarus known for saying "I will outwork you" as part of his pathway to success example here
• Daniel Kahneman - Guy referenced his work on loss aversion (people feel $100 loss twice as painfully as the good feeling of a $100 gain) Wikipedia: Loss Aversion
• Michael Kuczynski - Economics professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge who taught both Richard and Guy; passed away in 2025 at age 84 Pembroke College: Michael Kuczynski (1941–2025)
• Pedro Pablo Kuczynski - Michael's brother, became President of Peru Wikipedia: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
• Less Mess Storage - Guy's self-storage company operating in Poland and Czech Republic with 18 locations lessmess.storage
• Pembroke College, Cambridge - Where both Richard and Guy studied economics pem.cam.ac.uk
• Big Yellow - UK self-storage company mentioned as reference for freehold approach bigyellow.co.uk
• "The Founder" - Film about Ray Kroc and McDonald's history, illustrating property-based business model Wikipedia: The Founder (film)
• Richard’s TED-ED lesson based on The Founder link
• "Should Brits Come Home?" - Documentary Guy made with Patrick Ney about whether British expats should return to the UK especially from a Polish perspective. Here
• Patrick Ney was a guest on this NBN channel here, And gave one of the most popular TEDxKazimierz talks of all time with over 375,000 downloads here
• Center for Policy Studies - UK centre-right think tank Guy mentioned link
• Extra Space - Major US self-storage operator link
• Metric Capital Partners - Private equity investor in Less Mess since 2015 link1

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Normally on this channel, you hear Richard Lucas interviewing interesting guests. In this one, you'll hear Richard being interviewed on another podcast about community management and leadership, a topic close to his heart. Many thanks to Alexander Goldman for giving permission to share his podcast here on the NBN

Find his podcast, Connecting Beyond the Apps and AI and Substack newsletter here.

Connecting Beyond Apps & AI is a research-backed, optimistic podcast about social thriving in our age of digital communication. Through interviews with experts we explore the art, science, and best practices of bringing people together to promote lives of purpose and contentment.

Links from the original podcast show notes are below.

• Open Coffee Lisbon
• Open Coffee Krakow
• Open Coffee Warsaw
• Open Coffee Tirana
• Lisbon Community Connections Group
• Open Coffee Sydney.
• Krakow Newcomers Welcome Club
• Open Coffee Cambridge
• Lisbon Community Newsletter
• CAMentrepreneurs
• Sunday Assembly
• How to organise a TEDx
• How to make your event “buzz” - TEDx Training video.
• Why do pre-events: events before events
• Derek Sivers on how to start a movement
• Priya Parker on transformative gatherings.

Richard Lucas links

• TED.com profile
• About Richard
• Linkedin
• Quora profile
• TEDx Talk on Opportunity Readiness
• TEDx talk on why you should show up early

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Join us for a uniquely provocative conversation between our host, Richard Lucas, and renowned entrepreneur and "Lean Startup" author Eric Ries on his new book, Incorruptible. Moving beyond the surface-level summary, Richard intentionally focuses on the book's deep ethical and moral core, giving Ries the space to clarify and elaborate on his most challenging ideas.1

This is not your typical book tour stop. Richard dives into what he finds "particularly interesting," exploring why founders must prioritize building an enterprise "worth protecting" from the start—a business whose mission is protected by structural guardrails. Richard highlights memorable quotes from Eric's book, including:1

• "Not every form of making money is equally good."1

• "The more golden the goose, the stronger the temptation to butcher it."1

Ries explains that without these defenses, a universal, systemic force he calls "financial gravity" will inevitably pull the organization toward short-term profit maximization over "human flourishing". He argues that waiting until a business is successful to put in guardrails is "too late" because success attracts predators. Taking the principled path, though harder, Ries believes, unlocks "almost unbelievable superpowers". The discussion drills down into practical, yet philosophical questions: Can any system resist a corrupt leader? Richard challenges Ries on the possibility of an ethical defense military technology company (like those defending Ukraine), leading Ries to clarify that technology is neutral; the danger lies in who controls it. They also explore the failure of modern management practices, discussing how reliance on metrics like average hold time can create "false proxies" that actively make customer service worse. Finally, Ries advocates for a powerful solution for corporate governance: a universal director's oath, similar to the Hippocratic Oath, to bind corporate leadership to a commitment to the mission.1

Tune in to hear Ries’s candid reflections, including his personal belief that integrity is not merely ethical, but a competitive advantage—the true foundation for economic success, while emphasizing the first step for every founder and entrepreneur: "First, create something worth protecting

Links & References

• Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad…and How Great Companies Stay Great
• Book release date is May 26 in the US, May 28 worldwide Amazon listing
• Website: here
• Seth Godin on false metrics
• Frankenstein, Incorporated by I Maurice Wormser

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With over 27 years in the industry, from expanding Holmes Place across Europe to founding Fitness Hut — Portugal’s largest low‑cost gym chain — Nick brings a deep understanding of what drives customer loyalty and business success. He believes great fitness businesses are built not just on equipment or branding, but on people. Every Fitness Hut manager has hands‑on experience as a fitness coach, ensuring real insight into what members need and how to deliver it.

Nick shares how attention to detail — from gym cleanliness to staff engagement — defines the member experience. In his view, every “hello” from staff counts, and every ignored client is a missed opportunity. He also stresses the power of a well‑executed pre‑sales strategy: generating momentum and revenue before opening the doors is the key to sustainable growth.

Looking ahead, Nick reveals plans for a new disruptive gym model in Portugal — affordable, convenient, and committed to a people‑first culture and how he plans to open 30/year & exit @ 100… leaving “meat on the bone” for the buyer to continue growing towards the 300 capacity that’s identified

His approach is a reminder that true leadership means investing in talent, empowering teams, and never losing sight of the customer.

Links

• Nick’s Linkedin
• Holmes Place
• Fitness Hub exit to Viva Gym

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Jeremy shares how the company continues to expand and refine its business model and how they have built a scalable platform capable of handling complex, multi‑asset portfolios. He also dives into Cambridge’s vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, highlighting how networking, community engagement, and thematic WhatsApp groups have created unexpected opportunities and collaborations.

The episode is packed with insights for innovators, investors, and curious listeners. If you want to hear how behavioral science meets financial returns — and how an entrepreneur builds momentum through community — this conversation is absolutely worth your time.

Links:

• CUE Cambridge University Entrepreneurs
• AlgoDyamix
• Jeremy Sosabowski Linkedin
• Richard Lucas TEDxTarnow on “Opportunity Readiness”
• Jeremy Sosabowski at CAMentrepreneurs Open Coffee Cambridge
• OptiSynx clock project

About Jeremy Sosabowski CEO, AlgoDynamix:

Dr. Jeremy Sosabowski is Co-founder & CEO at AlgoDynamix, an AI-based financial price forecasting analytics company. Their products are used by asset managers, including CTAs, hedge funds, and family offices.

Jeremy has over a decade of business and technology commercialisation experience. His previous roles include CTO at an instrumentation company (technology acquired) and data analyst within the online transaction space. His 'IP portfolio' includes several granted patents and more than 10 peer-reviewed publications.

Jeremy has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in engineering and signal processing including an Engineering Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.

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Listen in on a remarkable conversation between host Richard Lucas and Kola Tytler, now a qualified doctor who taught himself to code.

We explore

• the roots of his entrepreneurial activity, despite knowing he wanted to be a doctor from a young age.

• the influence and opportunities of being an immigrant from a different background as he went to medical school in London.

• his first venture selling event tickets via a Facebook platform, scaling a fashion blog with millions of followers, and launching and exiting the successful Dropout retail business in Milan

• Lessons of having investors who were not always aligned

• How he dealt with realising that he might have a bigger financial opportunity through dropping out of his studies.

• The benefits and limitations of bootstrapping when you have the resources to put together a great team

• The impact of both his formal business school education and self tuition via online resources like Y Combinator, and prominent SV figures like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

• The ambition and vision for his self funded AI platform for doctors iatroX which provides clinical guidance to over 20,000 users.

Kola's journey is a masterclass in calculated risk and relentless drive, Kola shares the critical lessons he has learned from his triumphs and challenges. Through insightful questions, Richard draws out the key takeaways on finding balance, the importance of a strong team, understanding domain expertise, and the necessity of continuous business education. This episode is packed with inspiration for anyone looking to bridge diverse passions and build a high-impact venture.

About Kola

Dr Kola Tytler – Doctor/MBA & full-stack developer

MBBS @ King’s College London

Certificates in Law & Business (LSE & Imperial)

MBA (with merit) @ University of Birmingham

MSt Entrepreneurship @ University of Cambridge ‘26

Forbes 30 under 30 Europe, Forbes 100 under 30 Italy

IBM-certified AI Engineer & MENSA member

Founder of YEEZY Mafia, dropout, & HypeAnalyzer

Links

iatroX is a UKCA-marked, MHRA-registered medical device. It acts as an AI‑driven assistant that centralizes clinical guidelines offering: 1 quick Q&A, 2 structured brainstorming, and 3 an adaptive quiz engine for medical students.

Kola Tytler's Linkedin

Kola Tytler's personal website
Drop Out Milano
Hype Analyzer

CAMentrepreneurs

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In this insightful podcast, Richard and David dive into Cleevely’s book, 'Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen by Accident,' exploring how environments can be engineered to foster luck. Richard guides the conversation as David explains the puzzle that inspired the book: why significant entrepreneurial ventures repeatedly emerge from seemingly chance encounters in hubs like Cambridge. They discuss the characteristics, systems, and culture—including the crucial role of values of generosity and kindness—that enhance the likelihood of serendipitous, high-impact collaborations.

David Cleevely's book, 'Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen by Accident,' explores the idea that environments can be engineered to foster luck, leading to entrepreneurial success through serendipitous, high-impact collaborations.

Links
His book 'Serendipity: It Doesn't Happen by Accident” is available here and from all major booksellers,
David Cleevely CBE FREng, FIET is the Chairman of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. He is the founder of telecoms consultancy Analysys (acquired by Datatec International in 2004). co-founded the web based antibody company Abcam (ABC.L) with Jonathan Milner and was Chairman until November 2009 which was acquired by Danaher for US$5.7 billion in 2023. He has co-founded several other companies and is Chairman of two of them..He has been active in promoting Cambridge. He was a prime mover behind Cambridge Network, co-founder of Cambridge Wireless, co-founder and Chairman of Cambridge Angels, Founding Director of the Centre for Science and Policy at the University of Cambridge and Vice Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Commission. Other policy work has included membership of the IET Communications Policy Panel, the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board and the Enterprise Committee and the National Engineering Policy Group at the Royal Academy of Engineering. From 2001 to 2008, he was a member of the Ministry of Defence Board overseeing information systems and services (DES-ISS, formerly the Defence Communications Services Agency). In addition to Raspberry Pi, his charitable work includes the Cambridge Science Centre, which he helped set up and fund in 2013 and continues as Chair.

Richard Lucas, the host of this NBN channel, is founder of CAMentrepreneurs—a network supporting entrepreneurship globally among Cambridge University Alumni and others through locally led chapters.

CAMentrepreneurs - Peter Cowley legacy 

Books and articles mentioned in the podcast

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by James H. Fowler PhD (Author), Nicholas A. Christakis

The Strength of Weak Ties Mark S. Granovetter

Gov. Pritzker Commencement Address: Kindness is intelligence

Cambridge Angels

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But finding the right business to buy and closing the deal isn't always easy. In the HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company (Harvard Business Review Press, 2017), Harvard Business School professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff help you:

• Determine if this path is right for you
• Raise capital for your acquisition
• Find and evaluate the right prospects
• Avoid the pitfalls that could derail your search
• Understand why a "dull" business might be the best investment
• Negotiate a potential deal with the seller
• Avoid deals that fall through at the last minute

Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.

Listen to the Think Big, Buy Small podcast.

Richard S. Ruback is the Willard Prescott Smith Professor of Corporate Finance at Harvard Business School.

Royce Yudkoff is a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. Yudkoff cofounded and served for over 20 years as Managing Partner of ABRY Partners, a leading private equity investment firm.

Caleb Zakarin is editor of the New Books Network.

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We hear about the impact of having worked on the Tim Ferriss podcast if only in a minor role, impacted his later business, and he shares lessons learned along the way.

We hear how and why Jonathan set up the Jackson Heights Insider newsletter
• a “new in-town meetup for newcomers in Jackson Heights”,

his focus on community engagement and local events.

experimental communal dinners using the Dnnr platform, and how he explores potential collaborations with local businesses and community leaders to enhance the newsletter's reach and impact.
He tells us about his agency, Spotlight Podcasting, which focuses on business podcasting for mission-driven organizations.
• He emphasizes the importance of strategy in podcast production, differentiating from competitors who focus solely on execution.
• Jonathan shares insights on client acquisition, including cold outreach and the Dream 100 client approach.

Jonathan closes with words of appreciation to his family, and reflects on the importance and value of getting involved in community events,
He is not just benefiting from other community activities but building and contributing. He is a living example of someone who is enjoying the journey of entrepreneurship.
Jonathan Baillie Strong https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbstrong

Spotlight Podcasting http://www.spotlightpodcasting.com

Jackson Heights Insider https://jacksonheightsinsider.com

“New in the hood” coffee meetups https://luma.com/trkl4j1f?tk=4MKuBC

Jackson Heights Insider Dinner Club https://jacksonheightsinsider.dnnr.io

Adrian Cepeda https://www.theworldsboroughbookshop.com/

Rob Simmelkjaer New York Runners https://www.nyrr.org/
Jonathan Forgash http://queenstogether.org
Louis Howes School of Greatness podcast https://lewishowes.com/
Charlie Hoehn ... Recession-Proof Graduate https://www.charliehoehn.com/

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As the host found himself agreeing with everything Tina said, he asked for examples of people who disagreed with her. First, they discussed the value of respectful disagreement, and the fact that Richard’s father, the late Oxford philosopher JR Lucas routinely took the opportunity to disagree with his son, no matter what point of view was being put forward. Tina shared that her father, aged 99, still thinks that good things just happened to him over the course of his life, whereas she outlines all the actions he took to create that good luck. Tina dismantles the myth that luck is purely random. She distinguishes fortune (things that happen to you) from luck (something you can actively cultivate), and explains why clichés such as “the harder I work, the luckier I get” or “fortune favors the prepared mind” are true but incomplete. What is the “hard work” required to create luck? What exactly is a “prepared mind”?

Key highlights:

• Why entrepreneurship and creativity are teachable skills that everyone can improve, just like sports, music, art, math, or science.

• The value of keeping a “failure résumé” and viewing failure as a trampoline rather than a lava pit.

• Real stories of ethical dilemmas early and late in her career. Full details in the book and podcast.

• Why showing genuine appreciation (especially thank-you notes) is one of the highest-ROI habits for creating luck. A thank you note she wrote was read out at a funeral 20 years later.

• How to build trust, have difficult conversations, and surround yourself with the right “crew”

• The foundational role of self-awareness, values, resilience, risk-taking, and patience in manufacturing your own luck

Tina also shares the inspiring origin of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program (co-founded by John Hennessy, former Stanford President, and Phil Knight, founder of Nike) and reflects on teaching leadership to some of the world’s most promising graduate students across all disciplines at Stanford University.

Show Notes & Sources

Pre-order “What I Wish I Knew About Luck” by Tina Seelig

• Tina’s earlier books: “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20”, “inGenius”, “Creativity Rules”

• Tina’s LinkedIn

• Tina’s Bio, Books, Talks

• Knight-Hennessy Scholars

• KHS LinkedIn

• Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP)

• Tina Seelig’s famous TED Talk and the legendary “$5 entrepreneurship challenge”
  

• Books mentioned: “The No Asshole Rule” – Robert Sutton; “The Course of Love” – Alain de Botton; “Radical Candor” – Kim Scott

• Tina Seelig’s Stanford Profile

Essential listening for anyone who wants to stop waiting for luck and start building it.

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Richard and Ben explore the operational aspects of the business, highlighting its growth, revenue model, and the implementation of a management structure to address coordination challenges across multiple chapters, and work on efficiency and processes. We learn about their use of the Clifton Strengths assessment process, their rigorous and demanding approach to taking on and supporting new Group leaders and Ambassadors, and discuss similarities between Reading Rhythms, the TED-TEDx network and the NBN.

The NBN as an organisation and Richard as the host of this channel, and very aligned with what RR is doing, and their enthusiasm is clear for the tone of the podcast

Links:

• 3 steps to turn everyday get-togethers into transformative gatherings - Priya Parker
• Mark McKergow
• Host Leadership - book
• Host Leadership - why "hosting" is an important type of leadership | Mark McKergow 
• How Village-in-the-City builds micro-local communities worldwide | Mark McKergow

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While his book The Stoic Capitalist (Bloomsbury, 2025) – has the tag line “advice for the exceptionally ambitious” there are powerful lessons that anyone can take from his story.

In the podcast, we hear about the power and impact of the negative role models his unemployed father and communist mother played, leading to intense financial stress Robert wanted to avoid in his own life.

Robert shares many aspects of how a stoic philosophy guided him and can guide others.

--The positive influence of his extensive reading of the biographies of those who succeeded

--The important of regarding obstacles as opportunities for growth

--The value of focussing on areas we have control over

--The value of time

--The importance of reason over emotion, without ignoring the importance and impact of emotions on decision making processes

--When and how to take risk and go “all in”

--How to interview people

--The important of selecting the right partners in life and business

--His own approach to philanthropy, including his work supporting research into Longevity, modern art, and the debate of ideas

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Links relevant to the interview.

Matthew’s books Death Force series

Lume Books 

Joffe Books - acquired by Lume Books

Matthew’s Bio

• Daily Telegraph - columnist - 2013-2024
• Money Week - columnist - 2008-2024
• Bloomberg - columnist - 1999-2012
• The Sunday Times - Reporter and columnist - 1992-2000
• Business magazine - reported - 1988-1991
• Asiaweek, Hong Kong - 1986-1988
• Financial Adviser magazine - 1985-1986
• Founder - Lume Books - 2013- 2023

Author

• Death Force - Hodder Headline - 2010
• Fireforce - Hodder Headline - 2011
• Shadow Force - Hodder Headline - 2012
• Ice Force - Hodder Headline - 2013
• Insecurity - Random House - 1997
• The Watchmen - Random House - 1999

Education:

• Balliol College, Oxford. Politics, Philosophy & Economics.

Richard Lucas’s TEDx talk on Opportunity Readiness and on Why everyone should embrace rejection

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When Dougal first began as a business journalist at BBC, he wasn’t particularly interested in the topic. Prior to his new career, he was training for doctorate in history. He began creating content for social media, interviewing CEOs who found themselves in the BBC offices. He then shifted to producing miniseries, talking to different CEOs every single week.

Dougal has taken years of interviews and analyzed them for patterns in the lives and behaviors of CEOs. The pattern that stood out most was the difference between CEOs who founded their own company, and CEOs who hadn’t, what Dougal refers to as “corporate climbers.”

The founders were brasher, more prone to extemporaneous speech, and sometimes quite eccentric. Meanwhile, the corporate climbers were highly-prepared and behaved like participants in a job interview.

He also noticed certain traits among the younger founders. Many of them, reassuringly, appeared to be wise beyond their years. This early maturity was frequently catalyzed by a traumatic event in their family like divorce or death. Entrepreneurship for some became like a coping strategy. It was something they could throw themselves into at an early age.

Dougal also discusses the challenges of interviewing CEOs, especially when they bring along their PR teams to coach them. Getting past the censors is one his goals, especially when his agenda differs from the CEO’s. Dougal views himself as somewhat of a psychologist, attempting to coax real and authentic answers out of his interviewees. The best answers for the audience are ones that surprise, not boilerplate jargon. 

As well as focussing on ideas in the book they discuss who he would have liked to interview, and what Dougal is going to do next. They were introduced by Peter Cowley, whose extraordinary story was featured on the NBN a few months ago here, or go to to the Public Success Private Grief website here 

Listeners can get get a 25% discount if they use the code ‘CEO25’ on the Bloomsbury website here

Get the latest on the CEO Secrets series by subscribing to the newsletter

CEO Secrets is now out as a book!

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Michael Dembinski, born in London to Polish émigré parents, studied at Warwick University and The City University London; worked at the CBI, for nine years as editor of monthly magazine CBI News, before moving to Poland with his young family in 1997. In Poland he worked on several publishing projects before setting down with the British Polish Chamber of Commerce, where he’s been for over 20 years. Since 2007, Michael has been blogging about Poland and matters metaphysical on his blog, W-wa Jeziorki.

Linkedin 

British Polish Chamber of Commerce

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With typical business or party catering, companies and planners will order communal trays from a single restaurant. This is often unsanitary and inconvenient, especially for those with dietary restrictions and allergies. With hungerhub, each attendee receives a log-in ahead of time where they can select customized meals from restaurants of their choice. Hungerhub compiles these orders together and handles delivery and logistics. 

Founded in 2018, hungerhub has grown considerably, generating over $10 million CAD in revenue this past year with 30 employees. Part of what makes hungerhub different than UberEats or other delivery services, is the ability to plan ahead to minimize the number of drivers required to complete a delivery. Instead of needing 100 drivers for 100 different meals, hungerhub is able to serve 100 meals with just a few drivers. 

Currently available only in the English-speaking parts of Canada, hungerhub is looking to expand internationally. Faisal discusses the challenges of international expansion, especially into the United States. He highlights the competitive nature of American market and the significant amount of research required to launch there.

Faisal speaks on balancing growth versus stability. He wants hungerhub to grow, but most importantly, he wants it to grow in a way that maintains quality. 

Also in the interview, Faisal describes how he met his co-founder, Sari Abdo, on Angel List. Sari already had the idea and was looking for a partner to help implement. Part of the idea arose from seeing the common practice of free lunches offered by tech companies. In Toronto, most tech companies did not offer this perk, so Faisal and Sari saw an opportunity to find an affordable solution. 

Faisal also talks about the importance of their first client. This client provided significant and “tough” feedback, which helped them improve their methods and rethink issues quickly. Great clients that are willing to constructively criticize can be essential for businesses as they try to grow and solve issues that might not be obvious.

To find their first clients, Faisal and Sari went about cold-calling and showing up in person to pitch their product to companies. Once they started getting clients to agree to trial periods, they ensured that they were generating efficiencies beyond how companies were already going about lunch catering. 

Faisal’s journey to running hungerhub was years in the making. At an early age, he worked in restaurants. When he turned 18, he got his real estate license and began selling. He then opened and ran a coffee distribution business, which taught him many of the lessons he would need to run hungerhub.

Towards the end of the conversation, Faisal talks about his competitive nature and how he stays motivated. He’s a true entrepreneur in both spirit and deed.

Faisal Kanji is co-founder of hungerhub, a Canadian-based catering solutions business.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

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Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Gonçalo worked as a consultant, adapting to the corporate structure. However, driven by a desire for a new path, he left Deloitte to establish his first company in Portugal. Facing a less robust entrepreneurial community initially, Gonçalo witnessed its growth over time.

Notably, Gonçalo and his co-founders faced the setback of a failed first company. Undeterred, they chose to persevere as business partners, leveraging the lessons learned for a second attempt. Gonçalo attributes part of their success to a shared passion for the same soccer team and the resilience gained from previous defeats.

Mostly boot-strapped, Visor.ai also secured small rounds of investment from public sources in the EU and various startup incubators. The company, now with around 30 business clients, serves major entities such as the largest private bank in Portugal and a significant insurance company. Visor.ai specializes in creating automated chat tools, both utilizing existing market tools and developing proprietary ones.

While currently focused on the Portuguese market, Visor.ai aims to expand into the Spanish market in the coming year, emphasizing growth and investing in operational expansion.

In the interview, Gonçalo shares insights into his childhood, highlighting his entrepreneurial grandfather as a major inspiration. Despite success in consulting, Gonçalo felt the importance of carving his own path.

As an executive of a company with approximately 60 employees, Gonçalo emphasizes the challenges of ensuring alignment. Delegating responsibility and offering stock options to high-performing employees are crucial aspects of his management strategy. He discusses the enjoyable and challenging aspects of executive roles.

Offering advice on finding investors, Gonçalo suggests avoiding "make or break" funding situations. He values investors who contribute not just financially but also help connect Visor.ai with new customers and experienced business professionals. Knowledgeable investors play a crucial role, especially when expanding into new markets like Brazil.

Gonçalo advocates for embracing failure, viewing it as a valuable lesson. He stresses that solving problems is the key to entrepreneurial success, emphasizing the importance of humility in the face of challenges.

Gonçalo Consiglieri is the COO and co-founder of Visor.ai, bringing over a decade of expertise to the team. Holding an MBA from Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, he previously worked as a Management Consultant at Deloitte and KPMG, specializing in Banking and Insurance where he also had an active role in launching two new banks in Africa. For the past six years, he has been overseeing the financial and operational aspects of the venture initiated with co-founders Gianluca Pereyra and Bruno Matias.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

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Now 68, Peter was recently diagnosed with a type of lung cancer that affects non-smokers and is difficult to detect. Peter does not expect that current treatment will be effective, and is dedicating much of his remaining time to passing on the life lessons he’s learned. Peter’s bravery in the face of terrible illness is most visible in vulnerability talking about the challenges he’s faced in life. 

Too often in the world of entrepreneurship and business, people downplay their struggles. Peter is an example of a business person with a holistic worldview, recognizing that there is more to life than mere monetary rewards. 

Through Project Cancer, Peter documents his own experience with cancer. He’s featured interviews with researchers, and his personal oncologist, and examined the UK’s healthcare system, the NHS. 

In Public Success, Private Grief, Peter opens up about more than just his ongoing struggle with cancer. He also discusses his family life, including bravely sharing his experience of losing two children. Peter is also a recovering alcoholic, having a family history of addiction. 

Along with his wife, Peter wrote Public Success, Private Grief to show how people can process experiences of extreme tragedy and still maintain love and a sense of optimism about the positive aspects of life. 

Peter has created a 350-day plan of the things he wants to do while he is still able. Public Success, Private Grief is slated for publication on April 17, 2024. Much of his time will serve in the release and promotion of this deeply personal self-help memoir. 

In addition, Peter is planning a trip to Antarctica and has begun arranging short one-on-ones with various close friends. Some of his plans include taking a stand-up comedy course and eating at Michelin-star restaurants. 

Peter describes the medical regimes he’s undertaken, highlighting how through his treatment, he’s remained active. Peter has run and half marathon and gotten married in the Galapagos. While many people suffering from a terminal illness might become less active, Peter credits his entrepreneurial taste for measured risk as an inspiration to keep living life fully. 

Truly a one of a kind, Peter is unlike any guest Richard and Kimon have ever had on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast. He has managed to turn his adversities into strengths, portraying the messy realities of life to contribute more value to others. 

Preorder Public Success, Private Grief

About Peter Cowley

Invested Investor

Invested Investor on the New Books Network

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 In 2017, Philipp founded Mathigon, which was acquired by Amplify in 2021. Philipp continues to run Mathigon under the aegis of Amplify. 

Mathigon has developed several educational products. The overarching experience that ties them together is an interactive one. As students engage with different problems, they are prompted to explore different avenues. The courses are intended to be fun and interesting, and to engage students as much as possible. 

All of the content on Mathigon is completely free to use. One of the main throughlines is to make math exploration visual and creatively engaging. In addition to Philipp’s insights into education, he has worked with educators to develop different aspects of the curriculum offered by Mathigon. Mathigon seeks to educate based on students’ interests. So, if a student is interested in sports, questions will use sports examples. 

Because Mathigon is free to use, its primary source of revenue comes from licensing content to other educational companies. IBM, for example, licensed Mathigon. Part of the business plan, which Philipp successively executed, was to build the product as an acquisition target for a larger educational company. 

While Philipp loves education, technology, and building products, he does not love running a business. This was part of the main motivation for selling his company to Amplify. His only condition for the sale was Mathigon, as it existed at the time of signing, would remain free forever. 

Philipp Legner is VP at Amplify and Founder of Mathigon.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

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Prior to starting Aspects of History, Oliver had a varied career as an archaeologist and a banker. As a young man, Oliver worked at a dig site in Belize for six months, which helped shape his interest in the past. 

In 2002, just after graduate school, Oliver got a job working in IT at JP Morgan. He loved IT and worked in this department until 2010. He moved into change management, helping intra-company contract negotiations. After, he worked in controls management, an important compliance department. He never worked in trading, but had significant experience in many parts of banking world. 

In 2010, he started taking night classes, learning Ancient Greek. Oliver found himself growing disinterested in his day job, regularly waking up at 3am unable to get back to sleep. After a few more years, Oliver began to explore other ideas for work. 

As a fan of history, Oliver saw that authors had difficulty promoting their works beyond initial book launches. He points out that publishers are increasingly less interested in promoting their authors. To help with this problem, Oliver co-founded Aspects of History.

Aspects of History is subscription-based, and the main purpose is to introduce readers to great historians and their new books. Every year, Aspects of History publishes 6 issues with articles, interviews, and reviews. 

Oliver also discusses the challenges that came with quitting a stable, well-paying job to pursue his passion. He discusses his wife’s support, and how this was integral to making the entrepreneurial leap.

At the end of the interview, Oliver talks about the future for Aspects of History and plans for growth.

Oliver Webb-Carter is co-founder and editor of Aspects of History.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

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During his earlier years, James didn't show much interest in business; his passions lay in art and writing. However, as he got older, he realized that entrepreneurship was a fantastic way to express his creativity.

Following his college education, he rose to the role of managing director at a creative agency in the UK. However, in 2009, at the age of 33, he decided to become an angel investor. While he did have some successful investments, he gained his most valuable lessons from a failed venture that cost him $2 million. This setback taught him crucial insights about what not to do in business.

James now advises against three key pitfalls: (1) getting carried away with one's own success, (2) building a product before understanding the market demand, and (3) failing to network and learn from others in the industry. Overcoming these challenges made James a more thoughtful investor and entrepreneur.

With DQ Ventures, James and his partners follow a strategic approach to launching new businesses. They start by identifying a product that people want to buy before creating it. Once they find the right partner, they work together to refine a compelling business idea.

Once the entrepreneurial journey begins, they develop a solid business plan based on thorough market research and other methods. James emphasizes the importance of scrutinizing the idea and pinpointing the first ten potential customers. They then seek out these customers, gather feedback, and integrate it into the product development process.

During the initial year of supporting the entrepreneur, DQ Ventures provides starting capital and incubation services. If the business shows promise after this period, DQ leads a seed funding round, and the entrepreneurial partner is expected to leave their current job and work on the venture full-time. At the moment, DQ Ventures is involved with 13 companies, six of which have secured seed funding.

In his day-to-day role, James serves as the co-founder for around a dozen companies, taking on various tasks, from conducting user interviews to raising funds. Additionally, DQ Ventures has developed educational modules to guide founders through the entrepreneurial journey.

Towards the end of the interview, James, Kimon, and Richard emphasize the significance of finding excellent mentors and connecting with individuals who can provide valuable insights on running a successful business.

James Green is co-founder of DQ Ventures.

DQventures de-risks entrepreneurship for professionals who want to start their own business.

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Simon's early exposure to entrepreneurship came from his family's small businesses in the Polish mountains, with his uncle serving as a significant source of inspiration due to his tenacity and commitment to education. At just 16, Simon began assisting his uncle at trade show stands, igniting his passion for business.

His initial work experience involved selling educational books and website subscriptions door-to-door in the United States, covering the American Midwest and South. This experience honed his sales skills as he had to quickly gain the trust of strangers to make successful pitches.

Simon also delves into his decision to pursue consulting over a traditional sales career. Consulting allowed him to concentrate solely on maximizing sales, without the need to split his attention between sales and product delivery. After exploring various roles in different companies, he found that consulting was the most lucrative path.

Once he established a stable revenue stream through his sales consulting company, Simon found himself with spare time for other ventures. A friend approached him with the idea of starting the Hearty Foundation, aimed at providing mentorship, particularly in the IT field, to at-risk youth in foster care. Simon applied his sales expertise to gain support from orphanages and youth support organizations for this initiative.

Simon also addresses the intricacies of funding a foundation and offers valuable insights for those interested in creating a sustainable funding base without relying solely on grants. He illustrates how the Hearty Foundation attracted support from companies eager to assist at-risk youth through IT training.

With a diverse career spanning various aspects of sales, Simon's story will appeal to individuals interested in pitching and applying business acumen to the non-profit sector.

Northstar Consulting

Hearty Foundation

Social Movers Hub

Open Rate

Digital Scope

Przemyslaw Simon Stanisz is the founder of NorthStar Consulting Group.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

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Starting off the conversation, Richard asks Kimon for his views on leadership. Kimon begins by addressing the role of trust. Trust operates in two directions: employees must trust that the CEO is the right person for the job, and the CEO must trust their employees. This is especially crucial in today's business landscape, which increasingly accommodates remote work.

However, trust isn't easy to scale. As a company grows, the significance of time-tracking tools and productivity verification systems increases. For smaller companies, these tools can be costly and awkward. In such cases, fostering trust between employees and management becomes paramount. The CEO shouldn't need to constantly verify that employees are fulfilling their commitments. Trust establishes a solid company culture where everyone relies on each other, without excessive and bureaucratic surveillance.

If a CEO focuses on controlling and constantly checking employee productivity, the company will incur opportunity costs. Kimon shares that during his time at Argos Multilingual, he prioritized trust over surveillance. Although he encountered setbacks, he believes the overall benefits to company culture outweighed these negative experiences.

Richard adds that while employee processes should be "checkable," they don't need to be constantly "checked." If an issue arises, it can be easily identified without management wasting time playing the role of productivity police.

Both Richard and Kimon lean towards trust over distrust. Acknowledging their moments of naivety, they still assert that an atmosphere of trust is more advantageous to create than one of suspicion. Clear guidelines and well-defined roles remain crucial. Richard straightforwardly expresses it as: "trust goes with high expectations."

Kimon suggests that granting employees leeway "allows the best to stand out." Over time, it becomes evident which employees are engaged, self-motivated, and poised for leadership roles. For this trust-based leadership approach to succeed, the CEO must also be engaged and self-disciplined. Otherwise, employees will follow suit and lose motivation.

Later in the discussion, Kimon introduces the concept of the "bank of goodwill." In prosperous times, CEOs should provide raises without employees needing to ask. This demonstrates appreciation for their hard work and eases any stress related to seeking better compensation. During challenging times, CEOs can request employees to forgo raises with the understanding that adjustments will be made when conditions improve.

Commenting on the "bank of goodwill," Richard emphasizes communication's significance. The CEO should be accessible and open to employees. Regular communication keeps employees informed about business fluctuations, preventing blindsiding when tough decisions are necessary.

In closing, Richard and Kimon summarize their thoughts on trust in leadership. Kimon stresses that for a CEO starting a company, treating everyone equally and cultivating a culture of hard work are paramount. Richard advises potential CEOs to not only trust their employees but also to be candid when facing challenges or difficulties as leaders.

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We also learn about how CMX became part of Bevy and multiple other ups and downs in David’s life so far.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About our guest

David Spinks launched his first online community at 14 years old for his favorite video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Today he's become a prominent leader in the community-driven business movement and has trained and advised community teams at companies like Google, Facebook, Udemy, Waze, and Airbnb. Spinks has long believed that community is the future of business and has made it his life's purpose to help others learn how to build thriving, meaningful communities. He is the cofounder of CMX, where over 20,000 community professionals gather to learn and support each other and is the host of CMX Summit, the largest conference in the community industry. In 2019, CMX was acquired by Bevy, where Spinks now serves as the VP of Community, helping companies launch and scale event-driven community programs.

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

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B2B sales are generally bigger in scale compared to consumer sales (B2C), requiring more investment per transaction. It's crucial to understand your clients not only on a personal level but also when it comes to their current and potential future needs within the broader market. 

Large B2B transactions almost always involve a lengthy onboarding process. It's essential to have at least three strong references from current or former clients. Without a positive track record with past clients, it becomes nearly impossible to attract new clients. If your company is new and lacks a client base, you may need to offer services at a significant discount or even for free. This can create goodwill that will pay off in the long run.

Even if your company doesn't secure the contract, it's still valuable to have your name considered. The company chosen by the enterprise client may not endure in the long term. Being proactive in pursuing these opportunities and maintaining a cordial attitude when a deal doesn't go through is the best approach. As Kimon consistently emphasizes: "We're always playing the long game."

Later in their discussion, Richard and Kimon delve into the process of comprehensively understanding a client. Having a thorough grasp of a client's needs and their relationships with other companies can lead to new potential clients. Mapping out these details can also uncover new efficiencies. When mapping, it's important to consider the lifetime value of a client, including potential renewals, service expansions, and referrals to other companies. Satisfied clients often bring more clients.

The role of the founder/CEO in selling to enterprise clients is another topic explored by Kimon and Richard. Especially in the early stages of a company, before establishing a reputation, the active involvement of the founder and/or CEO is crucial in the sales process. Their presence demonstrates a commitment to transparency and client support.

Some people believe that a large sales team is necessary to win clients, but as Kimon points out, "bigger sales team = bigger headache." Having a few exceptional salespeople is more important than the team's size. In the B2B context, where there are fewer sales opportunities, a smaller team can be just as effective.

Towards the end of their conversation, Richard and Kimon discuss what makes a sales call effective. Richard advises immediately asking potential clients about their specific needs. This enables tailoring the sales pitch directly to their requirements, avoiding lengthy presentations filled with irrelevant information.

In conclusion, a valuable approach to improving enterprise sales is studying the histories of other companies. By examining who their first client was, how they secured major business deals, and what innovative strategies they employed, valuable insights can be gained.

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A leader with an inflated ego who believes that nobody else's opinions matter can create a dangerous environment. By not giving others a chance to contribute, such an egotistical CEO (who may not possess the brilliance of Steve Jobs) can harm the very business they are trying to build. As Kimon puts it, "the real entrepreneur is the one that’s super talented at getting way smarter people than themselves."

An entrepreneur with a toxic ego is primarily focused on being right. They fail to ask the most important question: "What is best for the company?" It shouldn't matter whether the best idea comes from the leader or the employees; what matters is the end result.

In addition to discussing the leader's ego, Kimon and Richard delve into managing the egos of others within the business. Employees often worry about their titles and their place within the organizational structure. Understanding and being sensitive to people's egos, particularly considering the diversity of personalities, is crucial. One effective approach is offering personality tests to both employees and leaders, enabling better understanding of how to interact with one another.

Kimon and Richard also touch upon the egos of clients and how big egos can be advantageous. Praising and congratulating clients with large egos can encourage repeat business.

In essence, ego is necessary but must be kept in check within the business context. There is a positive aspect that fosters confidence and perseverance and a toxic aspect that restricts growth by suppressing the potential of exceptional employees.

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Starting in 2010, James Hyde and James Strachan, began working on their fulfillment company. One of the first customers they ever had wanted James and James to help them sell home brew coffee equipment. They implemented a fulfillment software and management system, effectively allowing the owners of the home brew equipment to retire. Initially, James and the company adjusted to this model, even though, at first, they only wanted to create a software company, not a software and fulfillment operation.

Part of what makes James’ story as an entrepreneur especially compelling is that he started with almost no outside capital. By the time that James and James Fulfilment had their fourth customer, they were able to support minimum wage salaries for themselves. James talks about how they deliberately turned downed certain jobs and tasks at this time so they could focus on a scalable, core fulfillment solution.

It was at this time that James and his co-founder realized that expanding the service side of the business would allow them to sell more software. The expanded services would be the proof-of-concept that fed the other sales.

James also discusses how and why James and James was able to and continues to expand, even when the service they offer, on its face, resembles that provided by the behemoth, Amazon. James and James focuses on direct-to-consumer, i.e. they work with companies that want their own branding and a “direct” relationship with the buyer. Amazon uses it’s own branding and doesn’t allow their sellers the same access to their end consumers.

When James and James first began, they had a significant first-mover advantage as their were very few fulfillment companies of any kind offering cloud-based solutions. James ponders a road not taken where they would have taken more outside capital to scale, instead of the more conservative approach they took instead. He compares his company to the commonly found Silicon Valley-style SaaS company. As James remarks, these companies’ software is often far less complicated than the software necessary for accurate shipping and fulfillment.

Since the founding and initial success of the company, James retains a position and is an owner. James and James has matured from a start-up into a fully-fledged company with many shareholders. The transformation of the company has changed the culture slightly according to James, especially in its treatment of external threats such as cybersecurity attacks.

Towards the end of the interview, James talks about how he sought out advice from seasoned businesspeople with “gray hair.” He offered them a tiny bit of equity in exchange for a nominal amount of capital so that he could comfortably seek their counsel.

Nowadays, James works at James and James one day out of the week. His next move is to look for small companies that are looking to scale up.

Find James Hyde's profile here

James and James Fulfilment

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The lessons that he shares from his journey about saving, adaptation, learning by doing, the power of asking questions, accountability, and responsibility can benefit entrepreneurs and leaders the world over. McCormick’s book I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Achieve the American Dream tells his story.

About our guest JeVon McCormick is the son of a black pimp and a white mother, and was raised in the most dreadful conditions, three times jailed before he was an adult. His book, I Got There, tells the harrowing story of his struggle to succeed despite the over whelming odds stacked against him Today, he’s the CEO of a multi-million dollar publishing company that was recently ranked the #1 Top Company Culture inAmerica by Entrepreneur Magazine. JeVon is the President and CEO of Scribe Media, a publishing company that helps individuals from a variety of backgrounds write, publish, and market their books. Scribe Media has worked with more than 1700 authors, including members of The Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Nassim Taleb and David Goggins, whose blockbuster book Can’t Hurt Me has sold over 2 million copies. JeVon is an author and highly sought after keynote speaker, delivering the message that “Everyone Has A Story” to enthusiastic audiences across the country. JeVon is passionate about conscious entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for at-risk youth. He has mentored young men and women in the juvenile justice system, as well as those in lower economic communities. JeVon currently serves as a board member for Conscious Capitalism and the StartEdUp Foundation. His story and work have been featured on CNBC, and in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Inc. magazines.https://scribemedia.com/https:... 

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. Follow our channels on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

View the episode on Youtube here. You can listen to the episode on the NBN here.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Szymon is an entrepreneur with a strong technology background in IT and Electronics. Szymon is a CTO at Silvair, the company he co-founded in 2011. Szymon is also chairing the Mesh Working Group at Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Silvair develops technology for low power wireless device networks based on the Bluetooth mesh standard. The company has been the key contributor to the standard itself, driving it since

inception in 2014 to formal adoption of version 1 in 2017, as well as the evolution of future releases. SIlvair is a Delaware company, publicly traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE:SVRS). Szymon’s previous companies were CDN (acquired by Comarch in 2004) and Wind Mobile (acquired by Ailleron in 2009). At Silvair Szymon is focused on long term projects which aim at solving difficult problems, contribute to improved quality of life and deliver lasting value. He strongly believes Bluetooth mesh is the winning standard for the Internet of Things and will enable significant energy savings globally as well as proliferation of modern food production technologies such as vertical farms.

Since 2005 Szymon has been running a weekly blog at https://headworx.slupik.com He can also be reached on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/slupik. https://silvair.com/

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and inform, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

Follow our channels on Facebook Linkedin Twitter and watch the interview on Youtube here

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. Watch this episode on Youtube here. 

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Based in Buffalo, New York, Jonathan has been an integral part of the start-up scene. He specializes in UX (user experience) and helps early-stage ventures with new products. Through Helm Experience & Design, he has transitioned from supporting early-stage companies to helping larger companies looking for a product refresh or redesign.

When working with smaller companies, Jonathan uses cost-effective methods instead of full consultation projects. He seeks out driven founders who are committed to creating a great product and are open to flexibility. Familiarity with the company, its culture, and its people is essential to helping them develop something new.

One of the first companies that Helm worked with is now a publicly traded company, ACV Auctions. Jonathan first saw the idea as a sketch and saw the entire project through until it existed, with over 1,000 employees.

Jonathan emphasizes that part of finding success in this line of work is sticking through the good and the bad times with founders. As he puts it, “success is not a straight line.” What concerns him most is when founders become difficult to contact. Jonathan warns that “silence is a red flag.”

Through Mentor Deck, Jonathan and his team connect with entrepreneurs and invest in companies based in Buffalo. Mentor Deck investors help ensure accountability for entrepreneurs and bring expertise in critical product design areas. Though still very small in scale, Jonathan is looking to expand into different cities.

Kimon and Richard share their own struggles with finding good mentors and the right people for different companies. Jonathan remarks that what spurs him most to connect the right investors with the right founders comes from the excitement of turning nothing into something. He is obsessed with the scale of it and the number of jobs that can be created through entrepreneurship.

Jonathan's LinkedIn

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Nick began his career as a high-frequency trader. He learned to build algorithms to trade stocks, which allowed him to build a nest egg over the course of eight years. At this point, he became interested in start-ups. He left his job as a trader, and created an app that helped with organizational and scheduling issues.

The company faced severe financial struggles, which also took a significant toll on Nick. He worked hard to push through the difficulties and learned a great deal about organizational management and efficiency. From this experience, he began consulting with the likes of Tony Robbins, the Ethereum Foundation, and consumer goods companies.

This period of struggle saw Leverage decline in headcount from 150 to 50 employees. Losing more than 40% of revenue per month, Nick knew that serious changes would be necessary for the company to survive. Leverage stopped focusing entirely on attracting and converting new customers. Instead, Leverage went all in on customer retention.

Leverage’s focus is on teaching founders, executives, and employees how to most effectively use every organizational tool available to companies. These tools include email, Asana, Slack, Teams, and others. Leverage’s specialty is in conducting a broad overview of organizational efficiency. Then, they gave advice and education using a fully-designed framework. The focus is not on individual productivity but rather ‘productivity at scale.’

Instagram: @NicholasSonnenberg

Twitter: @Nick_Sonnenberg

LinkedIn

Link to the book

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

His first ever venture was at the age of 13 when he and several friends started writing and drawing comic books. They used the school Xerox and sold copies to other students. Eventually, his parents became worried about the operation distracting Sameer from his schoolwork. Like most childhood pursuits, this project fizzled out.

Sameer describes August Ones as akin to a family office. His family, along with four others, jointly pursue investments together for a multitude of objectives. He has known the other families for decades, and in some cases, his family has known the others for generations. In addition to these family offices, they also work with government funds and other investors. 

The nature of each investment varies, though Sameer and his main partners are as hands-on as possible. In one venture, August One is investing in carbon-neutral, real estate development in rural Europe. Sameer works directly with the architects and visits the building sites. In another–– a brewery–– Sameer has personally delivered barrels of beer.

The three main areas that they focus on are real estate, energy, and food. Growing up in New Delhi, Sameer experienced firsthand the pollution that comes from these three areas. As a result, he is driven to invest in companies and projects that seek to reduce their carbon footprint. 

Sameer also discusses the promises and perils of working with governments. As he describes, working with Portugal has been a pleasure and Singapore is more efficient than any company or government he’s ever seen.

Later in the interview, Sameer describes some of the challenges he’s faced as an entrepreneur and investor. He cautions that investors should fear zombie companies more than companies that try and fail. A company that fails allows you to cut your losses, whereas a zombie company can drain capital over a long period of time.

Sameer also discusses the personal values necessary to succeed in the business world. He talks about the importance of working with people you trust. Values matter in addition to grit.

Currently, Sameer splits his time between Helsinki, Lisbon, and Singapore. His reasons are both business-related and personal. All three are international, port cities. In Sameer’s view, all three are poised for growth and many of his clients operate in those regions.

Sameer's LinkedIn

August One

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. 

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

After school, he initially worked in consulting and then in banking. Val’s work at investment banks led him to Singapore, where he worked and lived for seven years.

In 2015, Val decided to move back to his birthplace to explore a career outside of investment banks. He began running a commercial lighting company, which was the largest in all of Poland. In 2019, the company was sold to a Norwegian industrial group.

After this experience, Val decided that he wanted to try his hand at entrepreneurship. He even cites a conversation with Richard in 2020 as part of the inspiration for going down a new path! Val decided to go about entrepreneurship via acquisition. As of the publication of this video, he has been CEO and owner of ForMeds for about three months.

Val shares plenty of useful wisdom throughout the interview. He discusses the importance of focus. In a company with many moving parts, it’s easy to spiral out into all sorts of avenues. According to Val, it is best to hyper-fixate on the most important issues and execute those perfectly.

-Val's LinkedIn

-ForMeds 

-Novastone Capital Advisors 

-Stanford Search Fund

-Jack Lancaster: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

As a young child growing up in Aberdeen, Christian was interested in pursuing entrepreneurship. His first venture was in comic book sales, and his first clients were his parents and schoolmates on the bus. When his father learned more about the finances of Christian’s venture, he shut the enterprise down, an early lesson in “regulation.”

For university, Christian attended Oxford, where he studied languages. At around this time, the Dotcom boom began, and Christian created a website advertising translation services. He began to receive customer inquiries, and soon enough, was able to establish a revenue stream from recurrent clients.

The most important thing that Christian learned while building Lingo24 was how to take advantage of SEO (search engine optimization). Christian was able to land bigger companies despite a lack of experience. Searchers would find his professionally-created website, purchase services, eventually leading Christian to start hiring employees to accommodate the growing demand.

In the 20 years of running the company before exiting, Christian was able to grow Lingo24 to a maximum size of 230 people with a peak revenue of around $50 million in a year. Despite this success, Christian felt it was time to move on to another venture.

In the mid-2010s, Christian’s father, formerly an oil and gas entrepreneur, reversed course and became a climate activist with Extinction Rebellion. Through conversations with his father, Christian came to believe that the second act of his career should attempt to address the environmental issues that threaten him, his father, and billions around the world.

Christian’s new company is a software platform, Pawprint, that educates, motivates, and aligns employees of companies around sustainable development goals. The CEO of a company signs up, creating accounts for employees. The employees are placed into teams where they compete to reduce their CO2 emissions. The CEO is able to set various financial or non-financial awards for the best-performing employees.

Pawprint doesn’t just track the results. It also gives employees various actions and pieces of advice, over 500 in total, to improve their environmental impact.

Christian talks about his passion for Pawprint and the excitement of working on project with social impact. His big piece of advice for entrepreneurs: Start doing what you care about as early possible. Don’t wait!

Links

• UN SDGs
• BCorp movement
• Unbabel Buys Lingo24
• Pawprint

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Before he began his work as a community organizer and developer, Cormac wanted to become a psychologist. He worked in childcare, helping kids with mental health issues. Many of the issues he saw that these kids faced became most prominent as they were transitioning from the hospital setting back into their local communities. Cormac realized that the old adage: “it takes a village” rang very true.

Cormac soon discovered the work and ideas of John L. McKnight, co-founder of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University. John has since become a mentor and a co-author with Cormac, focusing on the core issues facing local communities. Their approach is bottom-up and people-centered with an emphasis on localism.

Cormac was driven to help start Nurture Development, which focused on community development from the inside out. He has grown the company today to the point where it now has a footprint in 36 countries.

In his current work, Cormac argues that organizations operating in a particular area should pay attention to more than just its straightforward objective. For example, he discusses how police departments tasked with arresting people should also care about the root causes that lead to crime in the first place. If the goal of a police department is to produce less crime, it should redirect some of its resources toward community-building instead of just boosting enforcement.

Cormac emphasizes that many problems faced by organizations are not ones of leadership. Rather, there are not enough people who are focused on connecting or convening those in the broader community. With more people out there whose role it is to connect, the job of the leaders is made much easier. Connectors, like Cormac, offer a more local and granular perspective than a typical leader who is focused on a birds-eye-view of any issue.

Cormac makes a case for “thinking like a social movement” while “behaving like an entrepreneur.” He gives the example of a neighborhood in Birmingham, UK. Cormac worked with locals from the neighborhood to embark on a listening campaign to hear directly from the people. In the course of the listening campaign, they found 93 people in the neighborhood who were identified as connectors. These connectors were then brought together and given access to training and community-development materials to help them directly address the problems they saw themselves. 

Cormac discusses other examples in the interview of how to bring together communities using a bottom-up and inside-out approach. He is not your standard entrepreneur focused on the bottom line. Rather, Cormac uses entrepreneurial tools to address social issues. The ultimate measure of success is in the long-term growth and development of the community.

Cormac Russell is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis

Richard Lucas

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Rudradeb saw that there were many issues in the AI community and tech world, including biases in hiring and general social networking problems. As he explains, when a company is looking to hire, they focus on certain characteristics, backgrounds, and experiences that may overlook plenty of smart and talented engineers.

The main idea behind Omdena was to create a collaborative platform where AI researchers and engineers could crowdsource problem-solving and demonstrate their skills. In nearly four years of operation, Omdena has run over 320 projects with 120 start-ups and non-profit organizations. More than 10,000 people from 105 countries have worked on these projects, participating in local Omdena chapters in over 60 countries. Every month, around 2,000 people apply to work on approximately 20-25 new projects .

Omdena helps pair people to particular programs, keeps track of the best performers, and then helps the top-tier talent find paid work. When a person first signs up for Omdena, they are first given access to educational resources and projects that will help them learn. After completion, they can begin participating in new projects. Success in these projects will then lead to paid work projects with start-ups.

Omdena is unlike many organizations, and it is perhaps best to think of it as a mix between a business and a school. Many people who are members are using it as a resource to gain practical experience, the type of education that is not often emphasized at universities. This practice work is usually to support non-profits or other charitable projects. Outcomes from these projects can then be used to get paid work for a large, for-profit company or a start-up.

Throughout the interview, Rudradeb talks about the ideas, both philosophical and practical, that have influenced him in his endeavors. At the end of the interview, he describes the importance of focus, building a strong and unified culture, and travel.

Rudradeb Mitra is founder and CEO of Omdena.

Omdena is a collaborative platform with over 10,000 data scientists, data engineers, and domain experts from 105 countries. Large development organizations (non-corporations) like the UN, UNHCR, WRI, World Energy Council, and the World Food Program, as well as impact startups from 60+ countries have worked with Omdena.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where he continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Growing up in a middle-class family, David got his first job at age 14. He worked at a grocery store, starting as a bagger, before quickly being promoted to run the in-store bakery. He worked in the bakery for five years, growing its weekly revenue from $300 to $3,000 a week. He left the grocery store once he started college, and after an internship, David realized that he didn’t want to work for someone else or a big corporation. Instead, he opted for the more challenging path of entrepreneurship.

Along, with his best friend Jason Brennan, David began doing independent marketing consulting for small companies owned by friends. This was in the mid-90s when many small businesses did not have any presence on the internet. At first, they helped small business owners like landscapers and physicians produce and distribute brochures.

David humorously describes how the first advertisement he ever took out was in the Yellow Pages phone book. Stream Companies had a phone number, but they used David’s mother’s home as their business address. From this ad, they got their first significant client. The marketing deck they produced made its way to a VP at Motorola, who reached out to David and Jason about additional marketing work.

One of their first significant clients was a small gym franchise of five locations owned by his brother. Over the course of the partnership, the franchise added an additional seven locations. This experience helped their company learn more about retail and how to work effectively with smaller owners. 

Over the course of the interview, David continues to emphasize the importance of developing and maintaining relationships with clients over time. Many of David’s clients have worked with him for 20+ years. As these companies have grown, so has Stream Companies.

David also discusses cultivating and developing talent. He says that any boss and business owner should think about how to adequately care for employees, seeing them holistically instead of as just cogs. In the lead-up to the shutdowns from the pandemic, David and his executive board took pay cuts to ensure that as few employees as possible would be hurt by any declines in revenue. As David says, you have to “put people before profits.”

At the end of the interview, David talks about more recent developments, including recently selling a majority share of the company. This has given the company more room to grow. 

Jason concludes with some advice on what entrepreneurs need to succeed:

1. Grit

2. Positive attitude

3. Be passionate about work

In 1996, David Regn and his lifelong friend and business partner, Jason Brennan, founded Stream Companies. In only a few short years, Stream Companies was recognized and awarded as one of the fastest growing, privately held entrepreneurial companies in Philadelphia and has continued to win awards like Inc. 5000, fastest-growing private companies and Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania multiple times over.

Find links to past episodes here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Evolution Surgical owns the full value-chain from end-to-end, meaning they are a manufacturer and a distributor. This allows them to more sensitively listen to customer feedback, which allows them, as as smaller company, to compete with big, multinational corporations.

Founded in 2014, Evolution Surgical was never meant to grow to the size it is today. The original founder, intending to work with just a few clients, quickly found that there was significant demand for the products Evolution Surgical designed. This rapid growth is what lead Jack to be able to come in as the new owner and CEO. The founder is able to focus on working directly with surgeons, allowing Jack to focus on management.

Evolution Surgical makes tools for spinal fusion, customizing devices to the exact specifications as requested by surgeons in Australia.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Richard and Kimon explore what it takes to run a company that makes critical devices for people in need. Jack is insightful, modest, and an example of a great entrepreneur.

Jack Lancaster is a highly experienced healthcare leader with a broad background across the sector globally. He is currently CEO Evolution Surgical, an Australian manufacturer and distributor of spinal devices. He is passionate about the role private sector organisations can play in improving outcomes and value for Australian patients.

Evolution Surgical uniquely works across the full device value chain in Australia of design, manufacture, regulate, and distribute; and is very closely involved with the Australian clinical, academic, and manufacturing sectors to enable this success.

Jack spent the early parts of his career working with the NHS deploying efficiency initiatives as well as in developing countries setting up programmes for large-scale disease elimination. Prior to

Evolution Surgical he worked in the Sydney office of Boston Consulting Group in the healthcare practice. Jack has an undergraduate degree with Honours from St Andrews, and an MBA with a concentration in health strategies from Cambridge University.

www.evolutinosurgical.com.au

Stanford Resources on Search Funds

Buying your way into entrepreneurship

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. 

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. 

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

From there, she saw a job offer as an English-to-French translator for a computer company, a subject she knew nothing about. To her surprise she was hired, only to be let go three months later, along with all of the other translators at the company. The company asked Véronique and the others to stay on for an additional three months, but Véronique organized her co-workers to all resign simultaneously and negotiate for higher pay as outside contractors.

Afterward, Véronique was promoted from translation work to project management, overseeing all French translation for nearly seven years at Lionbridge. She began to develop a frustration with salespeople, particularly their propensity for a lack of understanding of the core activities of the translators and the project managers. This caused Véronique to move into sales herself. She took a job at a new company, only to get an offer to stay at her current company working in sales. Véronique quickly became the top salesperson at Lionbridge, which proved to be a personal boon once the company went public.

Véronique talks about the challenges of being a woman in business. She describes the different work environments she experienced, some that were models of inclusion and others which were more like old boys' clubs. Véronique discusses some of the personal challenges and difficulties she faced, which eventually led her to work at a new company. At this new company, she quickly became CEO. It was soon after purchased, where Véronique encountered similar issues with gender parity. 

Véronique also describes her work at Argos Multilingual as the CEO. Argos’ translation work differs from that of a standard translator, focusing on enterprise and specialized translation services as opposed to person-to-person. As CEO, Véronique is also a shareholder with a vested interest in the long-term strategy of Argos. Her goal is to grow the company and turn it into the most reputable translation company.

Veronique is a seasoned international leader with experience building and strengthening the sales and marketing functions for organizations with high growth ambitions. Extensive experience in Localization – helping industry leaders grow market share in international markets with services such as translation, internationalization, software development, engineering, and testing. Fluent in French, English, Turkish, and functional in German. Your hosts, Kimon and Richard, together with Veronique, are all shareholders in 

A

rgos Multilingual

, the company which Veronique leads.

Veronique on Linkedin

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Krzysztof studied applied linguistics in college, which helped lay the groundwork for his initial career as an interpreter. He first worked night shifts at a steel plant in Krakow. The factory had workers from different backgrounds, giving Krzysztof experience translating between workers and the international managers. Not long after, Krzysztof was fired from his job, which gave him the perfect opportunity to explore starting his own business.

Krzysztof created a translation company and experienced several challenges in the effort to find the perfect business partner. He describes the important lessons he learned in these initial struggles. For Krzysztof, the most important things when it comes to a business partner are a "match in values" and complementary skills. 

Krzysztof also discusses the role of luck in creating a business. As he states, in the early days, he gave away half his business, only to buy it back shortly after. Krzysztof also experienced personal setbacks, dealing with a severe illness that left him partially paralyzed and in and out of the hospital for several years. He finally began to recover after a series of treatments in 2015, which allowed him to refocus on growing the business. 

That year, the company went public on an alternative stock exchange in Poland and made its first acquisition of a translation company based in India. At this point in time, the company's yearly revenue was $1 million a year. Summa Linguae was able to more than 30x by acquiring other companies. For Krzysztof, this period was filled with stress. To fund these acquisitions, he had to spend a significant amount of time raising money and hiring talent to grow the company.

This period of "crazy growth," from 2016 to 2019, was the "death valley" for Summa Linguae. In 2019, Summa Linguae sold a portion of its equity, giving both the company and Krzysztof breathing room. 

In recent years, Summa Linguae has begun pivoting from translation to data services. Specifically, they use their data built up from many languages to help train AI voice assistants and other language assistant tools. 

Krzysztof spends much of his free time helping to build the entrepreneurship scene in Poland through the Entrepreneurs' Organization. 

Krzysztof Zdanowski is an entrepreneur. As CEO of Summa Linguae Technologies, he has built a language and technology company with revenue of more than $35 million per year.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

How important it is to “get out there and show up”, to network and meet people.

How she learned the importance of self belief, without which one can lose the battle before even starting to try to fight.

She shares the hard side of the entrepreneurial journey, how it can be lonely, how she had to take responsibility for tough decisions. She very much underlined how the process of running a business forces one to get to know yourself.

When sharing the Chillistore story, the podcast moves into epic mode. She describes how she became aware of there being something profoundly wrong with the way quality control worked in the translation industry, and created an entirely new approach, not just recording errors, but developing feedback loops and process changes in a complex adaptive system. She wanted Chillistore to “right a wrong”, as Guy Kawasaki put it in “The art of the start”. The validation that the market gave her confirmed her that her vision was correct, though there is a long way to go. She reflects on the process of selling her company and becoming part of Argos Multilingual - how the time may come for an entrepreneur to “get out of the way”, and that in Argos, she felt she had found her tribe - an organisation with similar values of quality and innovation. And finally she encourages entrepreneurs to be aware of ego and reflect on their relationship with money.

The hosts of the E&L channel, Kimon and Richard are shareholders in Argos, the company that acquired Chillistore.

About our guest

Anna Woodward Kennedy is a proactive, entrepreneurially-driven and highly accomplished localization specialist with 20+ years of experience in the localization service industry. She is the Founder & Managing Director of ChilliStore Technologies (CT) – a Software, Localization & Globalization Service company specializing in driving Language Quality Assurance (LQA). Linkedin. More about Chillistore here https://www.chillistore.com 

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. 

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Soon after, in the early 90s, Bryan began designing customer relations software to expand his business and sell to other companies. His company was acquired by Symbol Technologies, which Bryan describes as akin to being adopted by a dysfunctional family. After an accounting fraud scandal at Symbol in the early 2000s, Bryan purchased his company back and created Retaligent Solutions, Inc. 

Soon after reacquiring his company, the 2008 financial crisis hit. Bryan was able to weather the storm by "doing more with less," recapitalizing and partnering with Microsoft. Just three years later, his partners sold the company to another Microsoft partner.

At this point, having had over 20 years of experience in retail technology and strategy, Bryan founded a consulting company, Clientricity. Clientricity helps retailers develop and grow, much in the way that Bryan first grew his menswear company nearly 30 years ago.

Bryan also discusses the soft skills he learned along the way. He emphasizes the importance of company culture, finding the right people, and investing in the education of his employees to advance and succeed in different roles. As Bryan states, "I loved using the organization as a vehicle for people to live out their potential." Bryan's podcast is here. Bryan on Twitter here. Bryan on LinkedIn here. 

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where he continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

In this episode of the Entrepreneurship and Leadership Podcast, Jonathan Little explains how he was able to parlay his poker hobby into a profession by keeping his expenses low and saving his winnings. This frugality allowed Jonathan to play in bigger games and maintain a margin of safety that has lasted his entire career. 

Now 37 years old, Jonathan continues to play poker professionally, recently ranking as high as the 24th best player in the world. He has written several books on poker strategy and teaches at https://pokercoaching.com. 

At first glance, poker and entrepreneurship might appear to be very different activities; however, seasoned pros like Jonathan show how poker at its highest level is akin to investing. Each hand is like an investment opportunity. Playing a great hand is like finding an asymmetric investment opportunity. With each win, you can choose to reinvest or take the profits. Both activities rely on the power of compounding and risk mitigation. And, perhaps most significantly, both poker and entrepreneurship require humility and patience in the face of constant uncertainty.

Follow Jonathan Little at:

https://twitter.com/PokerCoaching_

https://twitter.com/JonathanLittle

https://pokercoaching.com/home

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Sören Stamer wears a lot of hats, and it’s one of the main reasons he wears the CEO hat at CoreMedia so successfully.

CoreMedia markets an open, best-of-breed, API-driven solution that combines a headless content repository with an advanced web-based UI. It allows editors to access content from any source and preview front-end customer experience in real-time.

From the very beginning, Sören has played multiple roles in the company’s growth. As one of CoreMedia’s co-founders, he did everything it took to build the company’s CMS from a great idea into what has become a multimillion Euro business today.

His entrepreneurial journey, however, didn’t start in the technology sector. It began on his family’s farm. Growing up on a farm exposed Sören to entrepreneurship ever since he can remember—the good side and the challenges—in addition to the hard and dedicated work it takes to succeed.

Sören’s story is a fascinating lesson for anyone who not only wants to become an entrepreneur, but also wants to live a full and satisfying life.

As he says, “I never regret things I did. I regret things I don’t do.” Tune into our episode to learn more.

About our guest:

Sören Stamer is CEO and Co-founder of CoreMedia, a strategic digital experience platform used many iconic online brands. He is also an award-winning author and speaker.

Sören's primary interest is in the power of massive networks to bring about enormous change. A pioneering social media advocate, he is a recognized thought leader on web content strategy, digital rights management, and enterprise 2.0.

He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hamburg, and ahs extensive startup and leadership experience In addition, he is passionate about early childhood education and solutions for society’s challenges in the age of A.I.

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Everything.

As the founder of AI Proteins, Chris Bahl leads a company focused on building proteins completely from scratch. The research and subject matter itself are nothing new to Chris, but the entrepreneurial side of his work certainly is.

From October 2017 to October 2021, Chris served as the head of protein design for the Institute of Protein Innovation, a Boston-based research institution. One month later, however, he and his team opted to leave the research world and launch a new biotech company, AI Proteins.

While the primary purpose of academic research in protein design is to learn more about the nature of proteins as they relate to disease, Chris believes the main mission of biotechnology is to cure it—and he definitely wanted to be on the “curing” side.

AI Proteins is expanding the possibilities of protein therapeutics by rationally designing entirely new proteins, or as they’re officially called, de novo proteins. Using AI-based design and a high-throughput drug-discovery platform, the company creates synthetic proteins from scratch and seeks to optimize a specific protein’s activity for a variety of therapeutic applications.

The objective is to enable the development of proteins that are inexpensive, durable, highly specific, and can be optimized for oral delivery. Such a lofty goal is what entrepreneurship in its truest sense is really about.

It’s also a fascinating story to hear in the founder’s own words.

About our guest:

Chris Stahl is the founder and Chief Scientific Officer of AI Proteins, an Andover, Massachusetts-based company focused on ways to harness the power of synthetically designed proteins to cure diseases.

The former head of protein design at the Institute for Protein Innovation, Chris is also a lecturer at both the Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as a TED Fellow. His areas of expertise include computational protein design, structural biology, biochemistry, and in particular, he is credited for inventing the de novo design of synthetic miniproteins. He holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

It was a lesson John has lived by ever since.

His path to becoming an entrepreneur, however, wasn’t a typical one. Very early in his career, he served as the president of The Thompson Companies, the family who founded the 7-11 chain of convenience stores. Not bad for someone still in his 30s.

Later, he left the corporate world to test his entrepreneurial skills. After a brief stint investing in IT companies during the Internet bubble, he realized Internet companies weren’t for him. As a result, he focused on companies others weren’t interested in at the time—businesses he refers to as “your average well-run firms with good management, real value, and strong growth potential.”

The decision proved to be a smart one. Today, John runs John Sloan & Co., a boutique investment firm in Dallas. He is also president of GlobalScope, a worldwide network of 55 independent firms with over 10,000 completed private company deals to date.

Don’t miss this exciting podcast. John’s story is an inspiration to anyone who wants to succeed.

About our guest:

John Sloan has worked in the financial sector for more than three decades. From the very beginning, he has been passionate about helping people succeed by finding smart financial solutions for everyone involved.

John has worked with some of the world’s largest public companies, sophisticated private equity investors, talented colleagues, and many valued relationships on both a domestic and international basis.

Today, he also serves as the President of GlobalScope, an international network of 55 independent M&A firms serving over 1000 clients in 48 countries.

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Robin is a British entrepreneur, writer, and documentary producer. He is also the founder of The Bennett Group, a consortium of companies that primarily provide professional communication products and services.

One of the companies, The Aktuel Translation Group, serves businesses that need to communicate globally; Quarto Translations specialises in translations for the publishing industry; PTI is a specialist in patent translations; and Monster Books is a publishing house that focuses on children’s books.

All of these (and more) are thriving businesses today that belie Robin’s modest beginnings. In fact, when he first got started, Robin had virtually nothing more than a beaten-up moped and a single desk to his name.

But luck had nothing to do with Robin’s successful outcomes. His story is one of how a single entrepreneur used his own determination and perseverance to launch, experiment, and build upon highly successful initiatives.

Join us for a captivating hour of candid insights into a highly determined entrepreneur’s path to success and personal fulfillment.

About our guest:

Robin Bennett is Chairman at The Aktuel Translations Group; Commercial Director at Firefly Press; and the author of several publications, from top-selling business publications to widely read children’s books.

Like his businesses, Robin’s writings span a wide range of topics—from educational books, like Start-Up Smart: How to Start and Build a Successful Business on a Budget, to popular children’s publications, like Go Be the Light!, the story of a firefly who loses his glow and does what it takes to get it back.

Visit The Bennett Group’s website to learn more about Robin’s businesses and writings, as well as his personal motto for both living and working, which is— Life’s a Banquet!

Selected Businesses:

• www.bennettgroup.org
• www.aktueltranslations.com
• www.quartotranslations.com
• www.patenttranslationsinternational.com
• fireflypress.co.uk

Selected Writings:

• www.harriman-house.com/how-to-make-a-good-living-running-your-own-business
• www.harriman-house.com/kicking-the-property-ladder

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Nor did he know that, working from his rented flat and with no outside funding, in a few years Forbes would recognize him as one of the top 30 under 30 business leaders in Europe.

The story of how Denys and his co-founders launched and grew Readdle into a top global player is a living example of how, in Denys’s words, “Dedication, hard work, brilliant people all around, and the insane desire to make this world a better place pays off.”

It’s also of example of how having a larger goal than making money alone adds significance and meaning to the entrepreneurial journey. And success.

www.readdle.com

www.pdfexpert.com

www.sparkmailapp.com

www.readdle.com/scannerpro

About our guest:

Denys Zhadanov is a 33-year-old Ukrainian entrepreneur and board member at Readdle. Founded in 2007, Readdle markets best-in-class apps with comprehensive UI and powerful features designed to increase productivity and shape the future of work.

A frequent speaker and advisor between Ukraine and Silicon Valley, Denys was included in the 2018 Forbes List of 30 under 30 Tech Entrepreneurs in Europe. He has also been quoted on the app economy and marketing in many of the world’s top media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, The Verge, USA Today, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Wired, TheNextWeb, Fast Company and Mashable.

His business success and ongoing pursuits are driven by his three most important passions: technology, entrepreneurship, and happiness.

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

His hunch more than paid off. Slator is a business news, research, and advisory service for the language services and technology industry. Unlike most business segments, however, providers of translation, localization and globalization services had virtually no trade media to keep them informed at the time of Slator’s founding.

Andrew Smart, and his Slator co-founder, Florian Faes, believed there was an opportunity, not only to provide the $multi-billion language services industry with a reliable source of industry news, but also to monitor and report language-industry trends to a much broader business audience.

Today, Slator’s newsletter has thousands of subscribers as well as multiple platforms for promoting, researching, informing and advising language industry providers on ways to elevate their business.

Slator’s story is a fascinating example of how two people formed a company to serve an unmet need and succeeded by offering a higher level of journalism than the industry had ever seen before.

About our guest:

Andrew Smart is co-founder and Commercial Director at Slator, which provides news and research on the people, companies and deals that impact the language services and technology industry.

Andrew has years of experience as a senior executive with P&L responsibilities at both start-ups and multinational corporations across the media, internet, education and financial services industries. He lives in Bangkok and serves a broad range of clients globally. 

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Not many people would have thought the same way in his position. At the time he was a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft, and he headed the company’s global sales operation. Not only would he be leaving a highly prestigious organisation, he would also be putting everything on the line in terms of his personal performance and financial risk.

And that’s just what he did. In 2007, Austen used his past experience in retail technology, software development and sales management to serve as a founding board member, President and CEO of Ziosk, a tablet that allows diners at casual dining restaurants to order directly from their tables.

Today, Ziosk is the leading restaurant customer tablet provider in the world and processes more than $8 billion in transactions. Join us to hear how Austen became a highly successful serial entrepreneur, and what he believes anyone can do to achieve success.

About our guest:

Austen Mulinder is a serial entrepreneur and former CEO of Ziosk, the world’s leading restaurant customer table-top tablet. He is also the chairman and co-founder of 501 Fun, the global leader in social entertainment systems, as well as the chairman of Forrit, a next-generation enterprise Content Management System.

He currently serves as chairman and co-founder of two additional companies, Matilda Cloud Solutions, based in Dallas, and Iiwari, based in Finland. Austen also spends a great deal of time advising and coaching up-and-coming business leaders.

501 Fun, headquartered in London - www.501fun.com

Forrit, headquartered in Edinburgh - www.forrit.com

Matilda Cloud Solutions, headquartered in Dallas - www.matildacloud.com

Iiwari, headquartered in Finland - www.iiwari.com

Ziosk, headquartered in Dallas - www.ziosk.com

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Early in her career, Rita Clifton didn’t think she had what it takes to be a CEO, an entrepreneur, a best-selling author, or any other leadership roles she has played throughout her career. But from her very first days working for the advertising giant, Saatchi & Saatchi, to the release of her recent best-seller, Rita’s work history reads like a collection of personal success stories.

Her award-winning book—Love Your Imposter: Be Your Best Self, Flaws and All—gives some great insights into why she was able to overcome her doubts and pre-conceived limitations, and why you can, too.

Roughly 70% of people say they feel like an imposter at times in their professional careers. Rita’s story shows how one person learned to work—and succeed—by facing and embracing her own self-limiting beliefs, rather than trying to cover them up.

Join us for an intimate discussion as one of the world’s leading brand strategists shares her personal struggles, achievements, and life-changing lessons.

About our guest:

Rita Clifton CBE is a global brand strategist, chair, portfolio non-executive director, writer, and keynote speaker based in London.

She is a regular columnist and commentator for CNN, BBC, Sky, and social channels, and was a business mentor on the CNBC award-winning TV series ‘Pop Up Start Up’.

Her writings include the best-selling book ‘The Future of Brands’, and two editions of The Economist book, ‘Brands and Branding’. Her most recent release 'Love Your Imposter' explores new types of business leadership and why they are increasingly important today. She regularly gives keynote speeches, chairs panel discussions, and leads workshops around the world.

Love Your Imposter: Be Your Best Self, Flaws and All

How to Get Rich

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR.

He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors.

Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Sophie’s path to success began with no clear entrepreneurial role model, nor a precise idea of what she wanted to do with her professional life. After studies at Cambridge, Harvard, and Stanford Business School, she worked in a variety of positions in the corporate world, including stints in headhunting, banking, and finance.

But along the way, Sophie knew one thing for certain—she wanted to change the world, and she believed that meaningful change could begin at the organisational level. Today, her innovative learning models are levelling the playing field for people and businesses that want access to top-tier educational opportunities. Tune in and find out for yourself how it works.

About our guest:

As co-founder of Multiverse and The Garden, Sophie Adelman is on her way to pursuing her overriding dream—which is nothing less than trying to make the world a better place for everyone. How does she plan to do it? By levelling the playing field between those who can and those who traditionally didn’t have access to equal educational opportunities.

Sophie’s passion for driving change doesn’t stop there. She is also co-founder and president of WhiteHat, a tech scale-up committed to creating a whole new generation of leaders. In many ways, she is just getting started. Who knows where her passion for leadership and change will eventually lead her?

About NBN:

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts.

Find links to past episodes here.

About our Hosts:

Kimon Fountoukidis:

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here. 

Richard Lucas:

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network.

Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Michael Sliwinski is a productivity guy - he’s the founder and CEO of Nozbe - a project management and collaboration tool for busy professionals and their teams.

Nozbe is a web-based tool with apps for all the major platforms. Michael is also a speaker, author of best-selling books, a podcaster and a blogger. He is happily married to his wife Ewelina and they have three daughters. Michael is known for his un-orthodox way of running Nozbe - our company doesn’t have any physical office (#NoOffice) and we dedicate Fridays to weekly reviews and personal development (#TGIF).

Links

• Tools
• 2018 Mobiconf presentation in Krakow
• MichaelSliwinski.com
• @MSliwinski on Twitter
• Nozbe.com - a productivity app for busy professionals
• ProductiveMag.com
• Co-author of the first post-PC book: iPadOnlyBook.com
• Tooth Brush Test" in "To change the world - start with yourself | Richard Lucas | TEDxTarnow
• 91year old Wojciech Narębski at TEDxKazimierz
• 8 Year Old Marianna Pazhik on the TEDxKazimierz stage
• Lessons from when 52 year old Ray Croc sees the first Mcdonald's and meets the brothers
• Michael’s Linkedin
• Time Management from Piotr Nabielec
• and his TEDxKazimierz talk in Polish… Czas to nie pieniądz - dlaczego warto zarządzać swoim czasem
• How to organise communication
• Summary of Hyram Smith’s book about time and life Management
• About Michael



About your host Richard Lucas

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses, Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre-schools to leading business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here, watch is autobiographical TEDxTarnow talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

• Will Bunker LinkedIn
• GrowthX
• Borrow my doggy
• Innovation Nest
• Open Coffee Krakow

About your host - Richard Lucas

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses, Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre-schools to leading business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here, watch is autobiographical TEDxTarnow talk here.

Sam Cook was the co-host of the Project Kazimierz podcast from 2015-2017

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Richard Millington is both an entrepreneur and a world expert in online community management. FeverBee uses proven social science to develop successful online and offline communities for B2B organisations around the world. Over the past 13 years, Richard has helped to develop over 250+ successful communities, including those for Facebook, Google, The World Bank, Oracle, Amazon, Autodesk, Lego, The United Nations, Novartis, and many more. Richard is the author of the world’s most popular online communities blog and Buzzing Communities. Buzzing Communities has been widely cited as introducing best practice into developing successful online communities. Richard has delivered keynote talks in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, Romania, Lithuania, and several others. Richard focuses obsessively behind cracking the ‘social code’ driving successful social groups. FeverBee’s approaches combines cutting edge social psychology with advanced data insights and a library of repeatable case studies. FeverBee shows organizations how to foster hosted online communities (not the social media kind) which can be used to identify and generate leads, increase repeat purchases, improve search rankings, drive a research agenda and resolve customer questions quicker than any customer service line. Since this podcast was originally recorded, Richard wrote a follow up book Build Your Community: Turn Your Connections Into a Powerful Online Community

Our NBN interview with David Spinks who wrote “The Business of Community” is clearly relevant to those interested in the topic.

Mentions and links:

• Derek Sivers review of So Good They Can’t Ignore You – by Cal Newport
• feverbee
• feverbee ROI
• Buzzing-Communities-Bigger-Better-Active
• feverbee compare platforms
• Wojtek the Solider Bear group on Facebook
• 2010 TEDxKrakow talk about the group
• TED and TEDx Fans in Poland Group
• backpacking light
• Community Building at events

This podcast was originally recorded in 2017 for Project Kazimierz.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Relevant links

• Personal Website 
• Dangerously Persistent
• TEDxYouth@Columbia
• TED’s TEDxYouth description
• TEDFest How TEDxKazimierz chooses its speakers
• TEDFest Pre-event

This podcast was recorded in 2017 for Project Kazimierz. The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

This podcast was recorded in 2019 for Project Kazimierz.

Dave is CEO and product architect at 410 Labs, maker of the popular e-mail management tools Mailstrom.co and Chuck. He has been acknowledged by the founding team at Twitter as the first developer to utilize the Twitter API, with his project “Twittervision,” which was featured in the 2008 MoMA exhibition “Design and the Elastic Mind,” curated by Paola Antonelli. He uses social network data to map cities. He is also organizer of TEDxMidAtlantic in Washington, DC and is passionate about data, disinformation, elections, cities, and entrepreneurship. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and two children.

• David Troy Situation Report
• Dave’s 53,000 strong Twitter feed
• Dave’s website
• Dave’s TED talk
• TEDx Midatlantic
• Notes from Poland
• Geeks on a Plane
• 500 Startups
• Be More Us Video/Campaign to End Loneliness
• The Chatty Cafe Scheme
• Alex Hoskyns – Founder of the Chatty Cafe Scheme
• TEDSummit 2019
• The Pre -TED Summit Social Gathering

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

In his book Create and Orchestrate: The Path to Claiming Your Creative Power from an Unlikely Entrepreneur, as well as sharing the learnings from his entrepreneurial journey he sets out a framework of eight core concepts he argues that every entrepreneur needs when building their business. Four internal: Leadership, Finance, Operations, and Growth and four external, Product, Service, Sales and Marketing. They make sense for both a seasoned entrepreneur and are very useful for someone who hasn’t yet started out on their journey.

About our guest

MARCUS WHITNEY is CEO and founder of Health: Further, a strategic advisory firm working with leading healthcare organizations, as well as founding partner of Jumpstart Health Investors, the most active venture capital firm in America focused on innovative healthcare companies. Marcus is also a co-founder and minority owner of Nashville Soccer Club, Nashville’s Major League Soccer team. He is an in-demand speaker who hosts a podcast called Marcus Whitney’s Audio Universe and sends out a weekly newsletter called Two Worlds. Marcus has been listed in the Upstart 100 by Upstart Business Journal, Power 100 by Nashville Business Journal, and has been featured in Inc., Fast Company, and The Atlantic.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

One of these entrepreneurs was Xavier Naville, who moved to China in 1997 where he built Creative Food. Unlike many others, his venture was a success. It's now a key supplier to major restaurant chains across the country including McDonald's, KFC and Starbucks.

The Lettuce Diaries: How A Frenchman Found Gold Growing Vegetables In China tells Xavier’s story growing Creative Foods: managing a Chinese team as a foreign manager, trying to work with farmers to improve how they conducted agriculture, and navigating investor demands. 

In this interview, Xavier and I talk about his time in China, what he learned about starting a business, and whether things are different in a more developed, more advanced economy.

You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Lettuce Diaries. Follow on Facebook or on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia.

Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

David Finegold is the president of Chatham University.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Sennder took an innovative approach on delivery business, allowing customers to get the package faster and cheaper than with current alternative, by using spare capacity on buses. This interview was recorded in 2016, way before the company achieved its stellar valuation. When we were recording the interview the valuation range was in range of three to five million Euros.

See if you can spot the characteristics that led this company to become a European success story.

This podcast was originally published as part of Project Kazimierz podcast recorded with Sam Cooke that was migrated onto the NBN in 2020. Some of the content reflects this fact.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

About our guest

Developing smarter, tech-driven online education. Serial entrepreneur running multiple online ventures. A great proponent of automation and no-code movement using robots to help grow online businesses. Fortune 500 companies consultant, author of over a hundred courses, books and articles. Goal oriented and always learning. Some of his projects:

• eduweb.pl - skillshare for Poland, 200k+ customers, 500+ courses, recording them in-house
• learnux.io - my ui/ux trainings in EN, 3 years running on automations alone
• systemflow.co - framework for Webflow
• zautomatyzowani.pl - automation project (automatify.io) with programme + automation house
• easycart.pl - 1-click checkout based on Stripe
• niekoduj.pl - no-code and webflow programme
• codeless.how - infoproduct - badass video tutorials on automating your business EN
• easytools.pl - tools for creators (just starting, few tools in private beta)
• ahoy.so - polish tech communities (2000+ people), for now UI/UX and nocode/automation

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. 

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

We hear about the personal tragedy that led her to winding up her business, and then making a radical change into both reinventing herself and giving advice and coaching to women to help them find their purpose in life.

About our guest

An entrepreneur for more than 30 years, Dori was the founder and CEO of WomanWise® specializing in uncovering women’s subconscious needs and aspirations. a featured speaker on multiple stages, including a TEDx Talk. Her opinions and articles have been featured in the New York Times, USA Today, Forbes and other leading publications. Dori thought she had it all – an influential voice, a successful career she was proud of, a loving family, and a wonderful lifestyle. And then, a tragic life-changing event woke her up to the fact that helping corporations market to women no longer gave her life the meaning it once did. Dori’s personal wake-up call led to a transformational journey of self-discovery and learning. She now inspires women to take ownership of their own voice, step into their power, and live the life they were called to live. At the age of 62, she launched a business devoted to guiding women to live a purposeful life that brings them happiness and fulfillment.

Dori’s TEDxTC talk Women Are Re-calibrating the American Dream.

Learn more about Dori’s training and coaching: Unlock Your Purpose™ transformational experience; Aging with Power™ series for women 

Connect on LinkedIn.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

He co-founded Howies which was acquired by Timberland, later The Hiut Denim Co, whose mission was and is to bring jeans making back to his hometown in Wales, and a popular & unique event called "The Do Lectures" which attendees say is better than TED and/or Burning Man.

While taking us through some of the big moments in his life, he shares how his interest in brands got him into advertising, how he managed to position himself as an expert in marketing sports brands to young consumers at the age of 13, and to lose half his father's savings when he was 16.

We hear about the power of persistence, doing things that other people don't do, and counter intuitive episodes in his life. We hear how half the people in his company were happy when he sold Howies to Timberland because he drove things too hard, and the exit made him unhappy. How he showed up with his friend for job interviews and was rejected 150 times and moved from living on "beans on toast" to a senior position in a global advertising agency through working all hours, studying hard, and taking the jobs that nobody else wanted. We get some insights into the "Mad Men" alcohol fuelled culture of "chaos with bright people". He asks an important question for any entrepreneur "Why would you sell something you love for money?".

We learn how a good entrepreneur who wants to build a brand needs to have two factories: one producing the product, the other producing the stories.

If you listen to this episode you may learn where you should never ever underestimate the power of a sticker.

We hear about the challenges of success associated with the Do lectures event which, despite being expensive, sell out, and from which amazing people have to be turned away. Perhaps in 2022 they will have randomised selection.

About David Hieatt and other links

Read interviews with David life here and here

David’s Linkedin

The Do Lectures "The idea is a simple one: To gather together the world’s DOers, disruptors and change makers, experts and pioneers, to share their stories, and encourage others to go and DO."

The Hiiutt Denim Company "We make jeans. Nothing else. No distractions. No bobble caps. No perfumes. We focus on doing one thing well."

To compare Do Lectures events with TEDx- check the global TEDx or look at articles about how TEDxKazimierz is organised by Richard Lucas Getting a ticket to TEDxKazimierz ,

Getting to speak at TEDxKazimierz and How to build community at events

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR https://www.pmrmarketexperts.com/en and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

He shares stories of a highly entrepreneurial childhood, cleaning out the yard, mowing lawns, selling goods at the side of the road, and the strong competitive ethic that stays with him even through the 2020/21 pandemic.

He takes us through the “Welocalize” story, how is first client just wanted one word translated, and how his early insight into the potential of the internet, led him to set up an online marketplace which he was able to sell just before the first bubble burst, giving him to capital to make the first of many acquisitions. Thanks to translation memory technology he was able to be faster and lower cost than competitors, winning big contracts. The four pillars of the company are and were innovation, global teamwork, quality and customer service. Final advice was to always aim to work yourself out of a job, and at some stage, just “do it”, or as Smith puts it, at some stage you have to “Jump in the pool”.

About Smith Yewell

Smith Yewell is CEO of Welocalize, which he co-founded with Julia Yewell in 1997. Prior to establishing the company, Smith served as a Field Artillery Officer in the US Army and received a Bronze Star for service in Operation Desert Storm. Smith serves on the board of The Aslan Foundation and Color Me A Cure Foundation. He’s also the lead guitarist in a band called Fuzzy Match, a nod to the industry

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

Find links to past episodes here

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. See this episode here.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE 

Martin is CEO and one of the founders of CMR Surgical, the British medical devices company that recently revealed the new surgical robotic platform, Versius, which it aims to bring to the market shortly. Versius has been designed to extend the benefits of minimal access surgery to millions of people worldwide and to transform the way we think about surgery. In June CMR Surgical announced the completion of the largest ever Series B financing of a private European devices start-up. The company has doubled in size in the past year, employing over 250 people, and continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. Prior to CMR, Martin was Group CEO at Sagentia. Over the last 20 years and prior to CMR Martin has been involved in numerous start-ups, both spun out of Sagentia and on his own account. Martin graduated from Cambridge University and is a trustee of the Peek Vision Foundation. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter. Podcast links: LinkedIn

CMR Surgical Peek Vision Foundation

Martin Frost, CEO at CMR Surgical, talks about the Versius surgical robotic system and how it will help deliver greater access to minimal access surgery to more patients around the world.

CMR Surgical News

Martin Frost named CEO of the year at Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards CMR Surgical CEO Martin Frost wins Disruptor award at regional EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2019 

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the stories of carefully selected guests - entrepreneurs and leaders - in the atmosphere of an informal conversation. 

About Peter Cowley 

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups. In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities. With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Linkedin Peter’s webpage.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Jonathan, co-Founder and currently Deputy Chairman of Abcam plc, is an entrepreneur and investor and is passionate about supporting UK life science and high-tech start-ups. He has provided considerable investment and support to over 40 companies and has assisted three technology companies to IPO on the London AIM Stock exchange. Jonathan gained his doctorate in Molecular Genetics at Leicester University after graduating in Applied Biology at Bath. From 1992–95, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Bath, following which he worked at the University of Cambridge in the lab of Professor Tony Kouzarides researching the molecular basis of breast cancer. He identified the market opportunity for supplying high-quality antibodies to support protein interaction studies, and in 1998, founded Abcam with David Cleevely and Professor Tony Kouzarides. Jonathan is also a non-executive director of Repositive, HealX and Syndicate Room. He is also Chairman of Axol Bioscience, Cambridge Allergy Therapy, and PhoreMost. In 2015 Jonathan, with Professor Tony Kouzarides, co-founded the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge. Also in 2015 he co-founded, with Professor Laurence Hurst, the Milner Institute for Evolution at the University of Bath. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Podcast links:

Cambridge Angels - a leading UK business angel network with international connections.

Abcam - assay kits, reagents, and antibodies. An innovator in reagents and tools, they provide the research and clinical communities with tools and scientific support.

SyndicateRoom - connecting ambitious investors with the country’s most trailblazing companies.

The Milner Therapeutics Institute - at the University of Cambridge is dedicated to the conversion of groundbreaking science into therapies.

Milner Centre for Evolution - a unique, cross-faculty research centre atthe University of Bath bridging biology, health, and education.

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Linkedin Peter’s webpage.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Jonathan, co-Founder and currently Deputy Chairman of Abcam plc, is an entrepreneur and investor and is passionate about supporting UK life science and high-tech start-ups. He has provided considerable investment and support to over 40 companies and has assisted three technology companies to IPO on the London AIM Stock exchange. Jonathan gained his doctorate in Molecular Genetics at Leicester University after graduating in Applied Biology at Bath. From 1992–95, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Bath, following which he worked at the University of Cambridge in the lab of Professor Tony Kouzarides researching the molecular basis of breast cancer. He identified the market opportunity for supplying high-quality antibodies to support protein interaction studies, and in 1998, founded Abcam with David Cleevely and Professor Tony Kouzarides. Jonathan is also a non-executive director of Repositive, HealX and Syndicate Room. He is also Chairman of Axol Bioscience, Cambridge Allergy Therapy, and PhoreMost. In 2015 Jonathan, with Professor Tony Kouzarides, co-founded the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge. Also in 2015 he co-founded, with Professor Laurence Hurst, the Milner Institute for Evolution at the University of Bath. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Podcast links:

Abcam - assay

kits, reagents, and antibodies. An innovator in reagents and tools, they

provide the research and clinical communities with tools and scientific support.

The Milner Therapeutics Institute - at the University of Cambridge is dedicated to the conversion of groundbreaking science into therapies. 18 JULY 2018COMMENT

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the stories of carefully selected guests - entrepreneurs and leaders - in the atmosphere of an informal conversation.

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Linkedin Peter’s webpage.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Shirin founded, expanded and subsequently sold mobile communications business Arieso. A University of Southampton Engineering alumna, she has over 20 years’ experience in the software and mobile communications industry. She is a senior partner at Frog Capital where she sits on the board of Skimlinks. She is also the Non-exec Chairwoman of Opensignal, a UK based company that sets the gold standard for mobile experience globally.She is a passionate advisor and board member to companies wishing to transform their business. As CEO, Chairwoman and Investor leading start-up, medium size as well as blue chip companies to create new markets and build winning teams to bring disruptive products to the mobile industry. Taking a partnership approach with key stakeholders at board level, cultivating many close relationships to help deliver real value to customers. Shirin is the winner of numerous awards including Blackberry Woman in Technology, Best Woman in Mobile, Business Woman of the year 2013, and European Entrepreneur of the year 2013. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Podcast links:

Shirin Dehghan

Arieso - UK-based startup that makes location-aware networking software to improve mobile carriers’ network performance.

OpenSignal - is the global standard for mobile experience trusted by consumers, and industry stakeholders. They offer a modern and proven way to measure mobile network performance.

Frog Capital - invests in software enabled scale-up stage tech companies in Europe.

SceneSkope - personalise Brand and Visitor Engagement across every digital experience. Making interactions unique and personal.

Rovco - Use 3D to gain complete Ocean Insight. Our high-res MBES, 4K video and live 3D vision systems provide you with unmatched levels of measurable information, accuracy and clarity.

19 SEPTEMBER 2018COMMENT

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

Linkedin Peter’s webpage.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Priya, former libel barrister, university law lecturer and founder of FMCG business Masala Masala, launchedCENTURY Tech in 2015. CENTURY utilises artificial intelligence, big data technology and cognitive neuroscience to learn how every brain learns, personalise learning for every student and provide real-time data insights to educators. Priya has been a member of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Entrepreneurs’ Forum and an advisory board member to several educational/skills organisations. Priya was awarded Business Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009, The Mayor of London Fund’s Special Recognition Award 2016 and Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2014. Priya now also presents on BBC World News as a commentator on world news, politics, business and technology on a bi-monthly basis.

Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Podcast links:

Century - AI platform for school improvement

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Andy Phillipps is a serial entrepreneur and an early stage investor in startups. He co-founded Active Hotels with Adrian Critchlow, which their team grew to be the largest online hotel booking company in Europe before sale to Priceline. Andy became CEO of priceline.com’s non US business where he initiated the purchase of Bookings BV and subsequent merger with Active to form Booking.com. He subsequently bought into, and was chairman of, Toptable.com.

He has also co-founded Reevoo, which provides social content solutions to brands in approx 90 countries. In addition, he lectures in entrepreneurship at London Business School and INSEAD and makes seed investments in early stage tech or market place businesses. He is an Ashoka Support Network member, fellow of the Judge business school at Cambridge University, board member of Cambridge angels, proud father of three monstrous children and has a PhD from Cambridge in mixed mode interfacial fracture of biomimetic ceramic laminates. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Peter Cowley is a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Here's Peter on Linkedin.

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Andy Phillipps - Serial entrepreneur and accomplished Angel Investor Booking.com - a travel fare aggregator website and travel metasearch engine for lodging reservations. OpenTable - an online restaurant-reservation service company. Reevoo - helps shoppers make better buying decisions in their everyday lives Cambridge Angels - a leading UK business angel network with international connections

Peter Cowley is a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Here's Peter on Linkedin.

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

podcast.

About William Tunstall-Pedoe

William Tunstall-Pedoe is a British entrepreneur focused on Artificial Intelligence and other deep technology. He is based in Cambridge, UK and London but also frequently in Toronto and both coasts of the US. (LinkedIn) His biggest recent achievement was founding the British company Evi (formerly True Knowledge) in 2005. After seven years running the business as a venture capital backed start-up, Amazon acquired it in 2012 and its AI technology, platform and team were used to create Alexa. For more than three years he had a senior role in the team that defined, built and launched Amazon Alexa and the Amazon Echo product (the initial Alexa device). Evi is now a subsidiary of Amazon and a large development centre employing many hundreds of scientists and engineers. After a decade since founding the company and with everything he hoped to achieve delivered successfully, he made the difficult decision to leave Amazon in February 2016.

William now spends much of his time helping and investing in other AI startups. He has personally invested in more than 60 such businesses (see his angellistprofile.) . He is a full member of Cambridge Angels and a fellow of the Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto. He is also thinking gently about what to do next – which will likely be founding another AI-based startup.

Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the stories of carefully selected guests - entrepreneurs and leaders - in the atmosphere of an informal conversation.

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Here's Peter on Linkedin.

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

About William Tunstall-Pedoe

William Tunstall-Pedoe is a British entrepreneur focused on Artificial Intelligence and other deep technology. He is based in Cambridge, UK and London but also frequently in Toronto and both coasts of the US. (LinkedIn) His biggest recent achievement was founding the British company Evi (formerly True Knowledge) in 2005. After seven years running the business as a venture capital backed start-up, Amazon acquired it in 2012 and its AI technology, platform and team were used to create Alexa. For more than three years he had a senior role in the team that defined, built and launched Amazon Alexa and the Amazon Echo product (the initial Alexa device). Evi is now a subsidiary of Amazon and a large development centre employing many hundreds of scientists and engineers. After a decade since founding the company and with everything he hoped to achieve delivered successfully, he made the difficult decision to leave Amazon in February 2016.

William now spends much of his time helping and investing in other AI startups. He has personally invested in more than 60 such businesses (see his angellistprofile.) . He is a full member of Cambridge Angels and a fellow of the Creative Destruction Lab in Toronto. He is also thinking gently about what to do next – which will likely be founding another AI-based startup.

Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the stories of carefully selected guests - entrepreneurs and leaders - in the atmosphere of an informal conversation.

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Here's Peter on Linkedin.

To read the podcast transcription please CLICK HERE - Powered by Speechmatics

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

About Hermann Hauser 

In 2015 Hermann was awarded an KBE for services to Engineering and Industry. Serial Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, Dr Hermann Hauser KBE has wide experience in developing and financing companies in the information technology sector. He co-founded a number of high-tech companies including Acorn Computers which spun out ARM, E-trade UK, Virata and Cambridge Network. Subsequently Hermann became vice president of research at Olivetti. During his tenure at Olivetti, he established a global network of research laboratories. Since leaving Olivetti, Hermann has founded over 20 technology companies. In 1997, he co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners. At Amadeus he invested in CSR, Solexa, Icera, Xmos and Cambridge Broadband. Hermann is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary CBE for ‘innovative service to the UK enterprise sector’. In 2004 he was made a member of the Government’s Council for Science and Technology and in 2013 he was made a Distinguished Fellow of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. Hermann has honorary doctorates from the Universities of Loughborough, Bath, Anglia Ruskin, Strathclyde, Glasgow and York. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Podcast links:

LinkedIn

Co-founder and venture partner at Amadeus Capital PartnersWikipedia

The Royal Society

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Honorary Fellow at Hughes Hall University of Cambridge

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Linkedin Peter’s webpage.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

About Hermann Hauser

In 2015 Hermann was awarded an KBE for services to Engineering and Industry. Serial Entrepreneur and Co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, Dr Hermann Hauser KBE has wide experience in developing and financing companies in the information technology sector. He co-founded a number of high-tech companies including Acorn Computers which spun out ARM, E-trade UK, Virata and Cambridge Network. Subsequently Hermann became vice president of research at Olivetti. During his tenure at Olivetti, he established a global network of research laboratories. Since leaving Olivetti, Hermann has founded over 20 technology companies. In 1997, he co-founded Amadeus Capital Partners. At Amadeus he invested in CSR, Solexa, Icera, Xmos and Cambridge Broadband. Hermann is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, as well as an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary CBE for ‘innovative service to the UK enterprise sector’. In 2004 he was made a member of the Government’s Council for Science and Technology and in 2013 he was made a Distinguished Fellow of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT. Hermann has honorary doctorates from the Universities of Loughborough, Bath, Anglia Ruskin, Strathclyde, Glasgow and York. Produced by Mark Cotton, Twitter.

Podcast links: LinkedIn

Co-founder and venture partner at Amadeus Capital Partners

Wikipedia

The Royal Society

UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose

Honorary Fellow at Hughes Hall University of Cambridge

About Peter Cowley

Peter Cowley, a Cambridge university technology graduate, founded and ran over a dozen businesses in technology and property over the last 40 years. He has built up a portfolio of 75 angel investments with nine good exits (including one that is 107X his investment and returned all the cash he has invested) and thirteen failures. He is a board member of the Global Business Angel Network (GBAN), President Emeritus of the European Business Angel Network (EBAN), former chair of the Cambridge Business Angels and was UK Angel of the Year 2014. He has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and is on the board of nine startups.

In 2011, he founded and ran Martlet: a Corporate VC, investing (currently £10M) from the balance sheet of Marshall, a £2.5bn revenue Cambridge engineering company. He is a fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School and is on the investment committee of the UK Angel Co-fund. He has also had 16 years’ experience as chair, treasurer and trustee of the boards of seven charities.

With his son, Alan, Peter is sharing his and others’ experience and anecdotes in order to educate angels and entrepreneurs via The Invested Investor which publishes two books and 75+ podcasts. A selection of Invested Investor podcasts are republished here on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership channel on the NBN. This is one of them. Peter is a public speaker on entrepreneurship and angel investing throughout the world. Linkedin Peter’s webpage.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

In this episode we review Season 1, the lessons learned and share reflections on some highlights from our many guests. Find links to all the episodes and guests here.

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. Watch this episode here

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business (Portfolio, 2020) by John Mackey, Steve McIntosh and Carter Phipps pulls back the veil on the strategies that have helped Mackey shepherd Whole Foods through four decades of incredible growth and innovation, including its recent sale to Amazon. Through time-tested virtues, from Passion for Purpose to Seek Win-Win-Win Solutions, each chapter will challenge you to rethink conventional business wisdom. The book weaves together anecdotes and case studies, profiles of other conscious leaders and innovative techniques for self-development -- culminating in an empowering call to action.

In this episode host Mark McKergow talks to Carter Phipps about Conscious Leadership, how being 'conscious' (aware, learning, flexible, not asleep!) is ever more important for leaders in businesses and elsewhere. The book is a rich collection of ideas and examples - a few well-known, others less familiar - which take forward the ideas of purpose-driven businesses with wider ambitions than simply making money. Carter is also refreshingly up-front about the need for businesses to make money as well!  

In the conversation Carter explores how purpose and effectively co-exist for successful businesses, how leadership has become a crucial factor in talent engagement and retention, and how long-term thinking becomes ever more important as the range of stakeholders grows. He also mentions 'Cultural Intelligence', a way to look at different world views and seek to help people understand where others are coming from so they can work together and not simply slug it out. 

Mark McKergow is an author, speaker, facilitator and coach specialising in solution-focused and post-heroic leadership approaches in organisations. He is the author of six books including The Solution Focus (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2007) and Host: Six new roles of engagement (Solutions Books, 2014), and is currently building the Village In The City project.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

In this episode we do go a little further into Tom’s background that normal, and give an entrepreneurial take on his ideas.

He does a great job of explaining his ideas, and there is much for any entrepreneur to learn.

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn't answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail: A New Roadmap for Entrepreneurial Success (Currency, 2021), Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures.

* Bad Bedfellows. Startup success is thought to rest largely on the founder's talents and instincts. But the wrong team, investors, or partners can sink a venture just as quickly.

* False Starts. In following the oft-cited advice to "fail fast" and to "launch before you're ready," founders risk wasting time and capital on the wrong solutions.

* False Promises. Success with early adopters can be misleading and give founders unwarranted confidence to expand.

* Speed Traps. Despite the pressure to "get big fast," hypergrowth can spell disaster for even the most promising ventures.

* Help Wanted. Rapidly scaling startups need lots of capital and talent, but they can make mistakes that leave them suddenly in short supply of both.

* Cascading Miracles. Silicon Valley exhorts entrepreneurs to dream big. But the bigger the vision, the more things that can go wrong.

About our guest

Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS) and the faculty co-chair of the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. Since joining the HBS faculty in 1997, he’s led The Entrepreneurial Manager, an introductory course taught to all first-year MBAs, and launched fourteen electives on all aspects of entrepreneurship, including one on startup failure. Eisenmann has authored more than one hundred HBS case studies and his writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Greg Rosner is the CEO of Pitch Kitchen and author of Road Warrior Survival Guide. In this discussion, Greg reveals how his extensive history with sales presentations led him to break away from the corporate world and start Pitch Kitchen. Pitch Kitchen helps B2B companies turn bad presentations into a great conversation. You can learn more about Greg Rosner (PitchKitchen) on Linktree,  Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, Crunchbase, and the Pitch Kitchen website. 

Books he recommended in this episode include, Never Split The Difference, Building a Storybrand and GAP Selling.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. This episode can be viewed here https://youtu.be/j_5n4m1sN8g

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About our guest

Andrzej Nedoma is the Co-founder and CEO of XTRF Management Systems (www.xtrf.eu), a global translation management platform provider for translation companies of every size, in-house corporate language departments, and public organizations. His company helped hundreds of translation and localization agencies in over 30 countries to leverage their potential.

He has been building his translation industry expertise since 1996 as a co-owner, business development manager and later Managing Director of a leading Central European translation company LIDO-LANG Technical Translations which was eventually sold to Sepro Group from Spain. In his professional career Andrzej was awarded the Polish Entrepreneur of the Year title in the „Services” category.

Apart from work in XTRF, Andrzej also works as executive advisor (www.nedoma.io) to various companies worldwide and is an engaged triathlete, competing in IronMan triathlon races

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About our guest

Vasco is the CEO of Unbabel, we are eliminating language barriers by combining machine translation and human post editing. He has a PhD in Language Technologies from Carnegie Mellon. Unbabel enables modern enterprises to serve customers in their native languages, with always-on, scalable translation across digital channels. Powered by AI and refined by a global community of translators, Unbabel combines the speed and scale of machine translation with the authenticity that can come only from a native speaker. Unbabel has raised $91M in funding and has over 260 employees across its Lisbon headquarters and offices in San Francisco, New York, and Pittsburgh. Leading brands like Facebook, Microsoft, Booking.com, and easyJet use Unbabel to make their customers happier and their support operations vastly more efficient.

Unbabel’s website https://unbabel.com/press-and-media

Vasco’s Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/vascopedro

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. See this episode here https://youtu.be/qmN-mmwZ-L0

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

About Michael Blakey

Michael’s entrepreneurial journey started when he was young. He supported his way through college, in the US, by running a number of events in the city. Michael loves buildingthings – including companies. Michael attributes his atypical journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur-turned-investor to having struggled for years in school, owing to his dyslexia. As a result, he was always on the lookout for ways to succeed outside of school. In turn, it is exactly this kind of differentiation and drive that he looks for in Founders as an investor today.

In 2000 he founded Avonmore Developments, with his brother Simon, to invest in early-stage companies across UK. Since then, they have invested in over 40 companies and have achieved 11 successful exits to date.

In 2013 he moved to SE Asia and set-up Cub Capital that has invested in 12 early-stage companies across the region including Anchanto, Quincus and MyDoc. He has already achieved 1 exit with Crème Simon. Most recently, Michael co-founded Cocoon Capital, an early-stage VC fund, which is looking to invest in enterprise and deep tech companies throughout SE Asia. To date Cocoon has invested in 20 companies including Sensorflow, See-Mode and Buymed. As is his want the structure of Cocoon is very different than your typical fund, as his entrepreneurial spirit always wants him to challenge the status quo.

During Michael’s career he’s been named ‘UK Angel Investor of the Year 2015’ by the UK Business Angel Association, selected as one of the ‘Maserati 100’ and voted by AngelsNews into the list of ‘Business Angels You Should Know’. These accolades were not attributed to

Michael only in recognition of his successful investments, but for the relentless support he gives to the founding and management teams of the companies he invests in as well as his generous contributions over the years towards building the start-up and investor ecosystems in the UK and now SE Asia.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and inform, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

About our guest

Renato Beninatto is recognized as an expert in the translation, localization, interpretation, and language services industry. Renato has served on the executive teams for some of the localization industry’s most prominent companies and founded two market research and consulting companies in the language services space. Renato is the author of three books on global business and founded Nimdzi to provide insights to investors, analysts, buyers and suppliers of Language Services.

Nimdzi’s website https://www.nimdzi.com

Renato’s Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/renatob

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of our carefully selected guests in the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. See this episode on Youtube here https://youtu.be/FwlNrcXoKd4

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About our guest

Mungo Keulemans is the CEO of PMR - the leading market research provider, industry event organiser and dedicated market research consultancy for the Construction/Pharma/Retail/ICT markets in Poland and Central Europe. Previously an entrepreneur, Innovator, business development, product manager, marketing manager, sales manager, business development director. Strong knowledge of complete value chains for Automation and manufacturing processes in Automotive, FPD, EMS, F&B/CPG, Life Science, infrastructure. As an Industrial engineer built experience with advanced industrial automation, process design and project management/execution. Believer in corporate commitment to improving the environment, responsibility towards fostering ethical practices & development of human capital.

Useful links PMR Watch on Youtube here 

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Florian Faes is the Managing Director of Slator, a business media and advisory firm for the global language industry he co-founded in 2015. Prior to Slator, Florian spent nearly a decade in Asia, heading regional operations for a Swiss headquartered language service provider. Florian is the co-host of the SlatorPod podcast and publisher of LocJobs.com, a job board for the translation and localization industry. Florian likes to spend time on Switzerland's slopes and mountain trails.

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and inform, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About our guest

Florian Faes is the Managing Director of Slator, a business media and advisory firm for the global language industry he co-founded in 2015. Prior to Slator, Florian spent nearly a decade in Asia, heading regional operations for a Swiss headquartered language service provider. Florian is the co-host of the SlatorPod podcast and publisher of LocJobs.com, a job board for the translation and localization industry. Florian likes to spend time on Switzerland's slopes and mountain trails.

See this episode on Youtube here https://youtu.be/4AudyTHg6Zg

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

This episode can be viewed on Youtube here.

About our guest

Ashutosh hosts the very successful video and podcast series titled “The Brand Called You – Converse with the Future” (www.tbcy.in) bringing the stories of successful entrepreneurs, professionals and senior corporate leaders to thousands of listeners.

He is a certified Business Coach and coaches / mentors several CEOs in India on business matters, governance, strategic planning, succession planning, personal accountability, people and culture issues. (www.equationcoaching.com).

A published author of 6 best-selling books, he has written on Startups, Entrepreneurship, Retirement in the 21st Century, Personal Branding, Work Life Balance and Fiction. His latest book on personal branding is titled “The Brand Called You”.

He writes regularly for Times of India and can often be seen on National Television panel discussions on political affairs.

Ashutosh founded Guardian Pharmacy in India in 2003 and built it into India's second largest Pharmacy Chain. He exited from the business in 2016.

Prior to that he worked for ITC Limited for 17 years leaving in 1996 and thereafter with US Aerospace companies for 8 years as their Head of Asia.

Ashutosh served on the board of GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance (www.gavi.org) for 8 years. He sits on several boards and advises companies on strategy and governance matters. He was the Chairman of Bizdome, the Startup Incubator of IIM Rohtak till 2018.

He is a YPO member and was Chairman of YPO South Asia Gold (2017-19). He was recognised as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in 1994.

His wife Vera is a Historian and teaches at the American Embassy School, New Delhi. His older son, Varun works for American Express in Singapore as their Director Marketing and his younger son Ashwin works for Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati as their Director Sales.

A keen golfer, he plays the Indian flute, enjoys reading and listening to Indian classical music

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

That's what the publishers say about Elemental Change: Making Stuff Happen When Nothing Stands Still by Neil Usher (Lid Publishing, 2020). And it's more than justified. I have been talking to Neil about how he came to write this book, from his experiences in property and real estate management for large corporations through to his linkage in his previous book The Elemental Workplace about the key connection connection between workplaces and the work that goes on within and around them.  

Neil writes and speaks about complex topics with directness and awareness. In Elemental Change he takes on many myths about change, things that we comfortingly tell ourselves but which provide cover for inaction rather than encouragement to step forwards. The book is in three main parts, each of which has a structure and logic which helps the reader toward thinking clearly. The 'change operating system' and Neil's signature 'periodic table of nine elements of change' are helpful starting points, which he then explains and expands with his characteristic blend of concise language, personal stories and wise connectedness. 

Listen to Neil speak both about this book, how he came to write it, the key elements and how his current life goals involve a Tube train.  

Mark McKergow is an author, speaker, facilitator and coach specialising in solution-focused and post-heroic leadership approaches in organisations. He is the author of six books including The Solution Focus (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2007) and Host: Six new roles of engagement (Solutions Books, 2014), and is currently building the Village In The City project. 

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

Tessa Clarke is the Co Founder & CEO of Olio Linkedin Olio is a free app that connects users with unwanted food (households or local businesses) with neighbours living nearby who would like it. OLIO has over 2.5 million users who have together shared 7 million portions of food. 50,000 volunteers who are spreading the word in their local communities.

Download the App and more information here https://olioex.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/olio_ex

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/olioapp/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/olio.app/

Linked https://www.linkedin.com/company/olio-the-food-sharing-revolution

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of our carefully selected guests in the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee.

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here,

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here,

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership

The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. Follow our channels on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

View the episode on Youtube here. You can listen to the episode on the NBN here.  

About the NBN

The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube.

About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin

Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.

About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin

Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here.

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership