40 Minute Mentor
JBM, James Mitra
40 Minute Mentor is on a mission to raise aspirations and inspire the next generation of category-defining Founders, through powerful career stories and inspirational mentorship. From purpose-led Founders to Olympic champions; learn first-hand from today’s successful leaders on what it takes to be brilliant, all in just 40 minutes. 40 Minute Mentor is one of the UK’s top Business and Careers podcasts and can be found on all popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.
Replay: Building Your Founder Craft & Investing In Impact with Ian Hogarth, Co-Founder of Plural Platform
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re revisiting our popular episode with Ian Hogarth, Co-Founder and former CEO of Songkick, Partner at Plural Platform and Chair of the UK AI Safety Institute. In this episode, we talk about his rollercoaster ride with Songkick and how mentorship got him through the worst days, and what led him to building Plural, an early-stage platform dedicated to investing in Europe’s next-generation of tech companies with global ambitions.📚 Episode Chapters: ➡️ Lesson
Replay: Challenging Cultural Norms with Alice Bentinck MBE
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re revisiting our popular episode with the brilliant Alice Bentinck MBE, Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First and author of “How to be a Founder”. Frustrated by a business landscape that found latent talent shackled by predetermined career paths, Alice set out to challenge cultural norms when she co-founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 – an accelerator that celebrates and invests in talented, ambitious individuals and looks to match-make Co-Founders to launch su
2025 Hiring & Talent Trends
The hiring market has seen some major shifts over the past few years, and as businesses continue to navigate economic changes, evolving workplace trends, and shifting candidate expectations, staying ahead of these trends has never been more important, than in 2025. In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re diving deep into the key hiring and talent trends for the year ahead. You’ll hear from some of the JBM and the wider Amplified People Group teams who share their insights on how the Hiring an
Building Healthier Habits in 2025 with Dr Rupy Aujla, Rhiannon Lambert, Nikki Wicks and Lottie Whyte
How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? Research shows that most of us drop our New Year’s resolutions by the second Friday in January. As we’re approaching the end of January, we’re resharing some of the best wellbeing and healthy habits advice we’ve received on the podcast from subject matter experts:
Dr Rupy Aujla, Founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen
Rhiannon Lambert, leading Nutritionist and best-selling author
Nikki Wicks, CEO of global fitness brand, The Body Coach
Lottie Whyte,
Where Are They Now: A Lesson in Resilience & Pivoting with James Lo, Co-Founder of Ethos
James Lo, one of our most popular 40 Minute Mentors and Co-Founder of Ethos, joins us for today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Where Are They Now feature. A lot has happened since the last time James came on the podcast. In today’s episode, we dive into every twist and turn in his journey since building and eventually exiting education platform, Mana, all the way through his latest venture - Ethos, the opportunity engine for humanity, currently in stealth. 📚 Episode Chapters: ➡️ Pivoting & exiting Mana [0
Where Are They Now: Tom Elvidge on building a solar-powered future
Tom Elvidge, Co-Founder of UK-focused solar energy company, Synth Solar, joins us for today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Where Are They Now feature. In today’s episode, Tom shares the ins and outs of his transition from being an Operator to founding Synth Solar, and all the key lessons he’s learned on that journey. Plus, Tom gives us an exclusive sneak peek into what’s to come and why now is a great time to get into the energy sector. 📚 Episode Chapters: ➡️ Transitioning from Operator to Founder [01:25]
Where Are They Now: Anouk Agussol on how to build high-performing teams in 2025
Anouk Agussol, Founder of Unleashed, an Amplified People Group business, joins us on today’s 40 Minute Mentor Where Are They Now series. Following her initial appearance on the show, in Season 9, Anouk joins us today to share how Unleashed has evolved since almost going into administration and being acquired by Amplified People Group. Plus, she shares actionable advice on building high-performing teams in 2025, and beyond. 📚 Episode Chapters: ➡️ The Evolution of Unleashed - [01:50] ➡️ Joining A
Best of 2024 - Your 40 Minute Mentor of the Year
Happy New Year and welcome back to 40 Minute Mentor!For our first episode of 2025 we’re taking one last chance to look back on the fantastic year of pocket-sized mentorship we’ve had.At the end of last year, we asked YOU to vote for your favourite 40 Minute Mentor of 2024. 🌟For the first time ever, we collected votes across three categories:🏆 Top VC of the year🏆 Best topic covered🏆 Best 40 Minute Mentor of the yearTune in to find out who the big winners are for each of the categories.⛳ Helpf
Happy Holidays from your Host, James Mitra
Before the 40 Minute Mentor team heads into hibernation until 2025, your Host, James Mitra shares a short festive message with you. Tune in to hear some of James’s favourite moments on the podcast this year and some of the biggest milestones the JBM team have achieved this year. 🥂 Happy Holidays from all of us at 40 Minute Mentor, JBM, and Amplified People Group! 🥂 See you for more pocket-sized mentorship in the New Year! ⛳ Helpful links:➡️ Listen through 260+ episodes in our archives: https:/
Best of Season 12: A Mentorship Roundup
For the final episode of Season 12 of 40 Minute Mentor, we are looking back on the last 10 weeks of pocket-sized mentorship and revisiting some of James’s favourite moments. If you haven’t fully caught up on this season yet, or you’re a brand new listener, make sure you check out each of the episodes after this roundup episode and our 40 Minute Mentor archives of 260+ episodes. ⛳ Helpful links:➡️ Listen back to all of Season 12: https://jbmc.co.uk/40-minute-mentor/ ➡️ Follow JBM on LinkedIn: htt
Jas Schembri-Stothart: Building the fastest-growing health and wellbeing startup for teenage girls
“[We’re] actually using TikTok in a positive way. The whole reason we exist is to combat misinformation, which there is a lot of on TikTok, but it can be used positively.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Jas Schembri-Stothart, Co-Founder of luna, the world’s first digital health companion for teenage girls. Working with leading health and education institutions, Jas and her Co-Founder Jo Goodall are building a digital companion enabling teenage girls to have a healthier and
Dr Dupe Burgess: From NHS Doctor to Tech Founder closing the gender health gap with Bloomful
“If you’re not learning something new every day, even if it’s the smallest thing, you can start to almost become stationary. Find ways to push yourself out of the limits of what you feel comfortable with.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Dr Dupe Burgess, Founder & CEO of Bloomful. Launched in 2021, Bloomful is a HealthTech on a mission to close the gender health gap and improve access to gynae care for women, globally. Dupe and her team have been on an incredibly successful
Mary Bonsor: Founding, Scaling & Exiting a purpose-driven LegalTech with Flex Legal
“It’s really important to sell your business when there’s still a lot of growth left. You really shouldn’t be looking to sell it at its absolute peak.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Mary Bonsor, Founder of Flex Legal, a bespoke online platform created to connect law students with law firms and in-house legal teams on a flexible on-demand basis. Mary has been on an incredible journey from Lawyer to LegalTech Entrepreneur, driving diversity and social mobility with Flex Lega
Andrew Richardson: Building high-performing businesses & leadership teams with Amplified Group
“Feedback is the only way you will develop as a Leader. It is the only way people develop, full stop.” If you’ve been following JBM’s journey or been listening to 40 Minute Mentor for a while now, you will know that we’ve recently joined forces with Amplified People Group - the people services supergroup, supporting tech companies from inception to IPO. That’s what makes today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode so special. In this episode, we are joined by Andrew Richardson, Amplified People Group’s Co-
Charlotte Van Reyk (Lightspeed) & Leah Sutton (Balderton Capital): The Impact & Value of VC Platform Roles
“People think VC is about chasing the next big thing…but actually, it’s not about making quick money. It’s about the long game and deep relationships.” We often talk to Investors on 40 Minute Mentor, but today we’re taking a deep dive into an increasingly important role within VC, the Platform role. To help us explore what a Platform role can look like, why it’s so important and how you can get into the role, we’re joined by Leah Sutton, Chief Portfolio Talent Officer at Balderton and Charlotte
Eshita Kabra-Davies: Building By Rotation, the Instagram for Fashion Rental saving textile waste from landfill
“I have more than 70% of equity in the business. Unfortunately, female Founders are actually encouraged to give up more equity in the early stages, which I would have never agreed with…” The fashion industry is the third most polluting industry in the world. Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is on a mission to change that. We are joined by Eshita Kabra, Forbes 30 Under 30 and Founder and CEO of By Rotation. Often dubbed as the Instagram for fashion rental, By Rotation has achieved amazing milestones to d
Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen: From the verge of bankruptcy to Forbes 30 Under 30 with Female Invest
“Something that’s often quite misunderstood in mission-driven companies is that you don’t change the world between 9 and 5.” Today’s 40-Minute Mentor is Anna-Sophie Hartvigsen, a Sunday Times Best-Selling Author, the first Nordic woman named a Forbes 30 Under 30, and Co-Founder of Female Invest. Female Invest is a global edTech platform on a mission to close the financial gender gap and smash glass ceilings. To date, Female Invest has raised $23m in funding and is serving over 450,000 paying mem
Mary Bekhait: Breaking down barriers as CEO of YMU & working with stars like Simon Cowell & Davina McCall
“There are so many limitations put on women in this industry and you have to adopt a mindset where you’re going to challenge that as you move forward.” Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Mary Bekhait, Group CEO of YMU. YMU is a global talent agency representing some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry and beyond, including Fearne Cotton, Clare Balding, Davina McCall, Graham Norton and Simon Cowell, to name a few. Mary has had an amazing career and has risen through the rank
Clare Jones: From scaling what3words to Series C and taking over as CEO at TravelTech, Polarsteps
“It’s easy to look from the outside in and think ‘wow, what an adventure’ and it is an adventure, but if you’re thinking about going on a startup joinery you need to ask yourself: am I okay if this fails?” For episode 1 in our brand new 40 Minute Mentor season, we’re joined by Clare Jones, ex CCO of what3words and CEO of Polarsteps. Clare has had an impressive career so far, including joining what3words in its very early days as a startup and helping them scale to post-Series C in 8 years. Earli
Season 12 Trailer
We’re officially DAYS away from launching Season 12 of our 40 Minute Mentor podcast. And this might be one of our best seasons yet. We have an amazing line-up of 40 Minute Mentors sharing the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journey - all the way from that initial idea to launching and breaking world records along the way. For a preview of some of the amazing pocket-sized mentorship that will land in a set of headphones near you starting this Wednesday, check out our season trailer. If yo
Replay: LIVE at Sifted Summit with Nikki Wicks (The Body Coach), Emma Steele (Ascension) and Amali De Alwis (ex Subak)
“Everyone needs different things, but if we’re going to spend so much time going to work, at least do something where you feel that you matter and that you make a difference here.” As we’re approaching this year’s Sifted Summit in London, we thought we’d use our final Replay episode as a throwback to our live podcast recording at the Summit two years ago. In this episode, we’re joined by Nikki Wicks (The Body Coach), Emma Steele (Ascension) and Amali De Alwis (ex Subak), to discuss putting purpo
Replay: Claire Valoti on becoming one of Business Insider’s most powerful women in Tech
“Being a mum is my superpower. If a company doesn’t want my superpower, then I don’t want to be in that company.” Whether you’re an aspiring GM, leader in Tech or are navigating the workplace after becoming a parent - you won’t want to miss today’s 40 Minute Mentor. In today’s Replay episode, we’re revisiting our conversation with the brilliant Claire Valoti, prolific angel investor and Founding Partner of Haylo Ventures. When we had Claire on the podcast, she was VP at Snapchat, where she grew
Replay: Levelling the playing field - a social mobility special
“Ability is equally distributed but opportunity isn’t. It’s about giving people the freedom to fail and the right and opportunity to fully participate in all levels of the society we live in today.” Social Mobility has always been an important topic for us on 40 Minute Mentor. Not just as a topic to openly discuss on the podcast, but as a production team to continue to find underrepresented stories to share with you every week. Although a lot of progress has been made across industries in the la
Replay: Will Greenwood MBE on building a World Cup winning team culture
“The great differentiator of that England team was our ability to never allow ourselves to be consigned to fate. We always believed it was in our hands.” Over the years, we’ve had some absolute legends of the sporting world on 40 Minute Mentor. One of them is England Rugby legend, Broadcaster and Journalist, Will Greenwood MBE. Will is one of the greatest English Rugby players of all time, playing 55 times for his country, representing the British and Irish Lions on multiple tours and including
Replay: Helen Tupper on building a Squiggly Career
“We are not expected to all develop in the same direction. Success isn’t the same for all of us and we can’t plan our way to some kind of predictable future.” 40 Minute Mentor is fast approaching its 12th season. With over 250 episodes published, we know that not every single one of our listeners will have been around from the beginning. To share some of our earlier mentorship with you, we’re running another one of our Replay feature seasons. In today’s Replay episode, we’re revisiting our 40 mi
Ruari Bell: Building the UK's first athlete led VC firm with The Players Fund
“There’s a competitive drive and edge that you see in sport that is really important in business. And Teamwork. Dealing with individuals, knowing what helps make an individual tick is really important.” For the final episode in this season of our VC feature, we’re joined by Ruari Bell, Founding Partner at The Players Fund, the UK’s first athlete-led firm, founded to empower the athlete community as investors. The Players Fund brings together a collective of renowned athlete investors, including
Fundraising Advice from Seed to Unicorn Founders
“When a VC gives you a low valuation, it isn’t the fact that your company is worth that much, it might just be because you didn’t pitch it in the right way.” Fundraising can be a lonely process at times. And an endless emotional rollercoaster throughout. In today’s episode, we collated some of the best fundraising advice from Founders who have been in your position and raised some impressive rounds over the years. You’ll hear from: 🌟 Avion Gray, Co-Founder & CEO of Belong🌟 Alice Pelton, Co-Fou
A VC Roundup - Raising from VCs & getting into the industry
“This is a long partnership. We’re here to return money to our investors, but we are also here to experience a very unique journey together. So, trust is very important, on both sides.” We’ve been so lucky to have some of the best VCs in the industry, come on 40 Minute Mentor over the years. For today’s episode, we thought we’d collate some of the best VC advice we received on the podcast to date. You’ll hear from: 🌟 Leila Rastegar-Zegna, Founding General Partner of Kindred Capital 🌟 Hannah Se
Gideon Valkin: From ClearScore & Monzo to building a $12m solo GP fund
“Founders deserve Investors that have relevant operating experience, time to help them and can be impartial and objective in the advice they give.” Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gideon Valkin, former Monzo and ClearScore Commercial Leader, Investor and Entrepreneur. Following 15 years as a Founder, Operator and Investor, Gideon is now combining being a Founder and Investor in the launch of Andrena Ventures - a $12m solo GP fund. Andrena is investing $100k-$400k tickets at pre-seed and seed into te
Ash Arora: Investing in Web3 as the youngest Partner at LocalGlobe
“If you eventually want to do investing, become an Operator or Founder, don’t go into banking.” We are back with another season of our popular VC Feature series, where we hear from some of the best Investors in the space. Today, we’re joined by Ash Arora, the youngest Partner at LocalGlobe. Before joining LocalGlobe in 2022, Ash was the Investment Lead for Crypto Unicorn, Polygon’s venture arm, with LPs such as Sequoia, Lightspeed, Softbank, Tiger, etc. In this episode, we discuss Ash’s career j
Onyinye Udokporo - From starting a business at the age of 12 to being a neurodiversity consultant for Google
“Dyslexia is a learning difference. There’s nothing difficult about it. You have challenges, but you’re not a difficult individual.” In our final episode in this specialist advice series, we’re joined by Onyinye Udokporo, one of the UK’s youngest education experts, entrepreneur, dyslexic author, neurodiversity consultant and content creator. Onyinye’s entrepreneurial journey started when she was only 12 years old, when she began tutoring children and young people from her local community in her
The Do’s & Don’ts of Public Relations for Startups
“It very often feels uncomfortable for Founders to put themselves out there in that way. But the more you do it, the easier it will get.” In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re covering a topic critical for every early-stage Founder - the power of Public Relations. To help us discover the do’s and don’ts and share some of the biggest advice for Founders and Communication teams, we’re joined by Rhiannon Evans-Young, Founder & Director of Crest, Isabella Cookson, Director at Milltown Partners and
The power of networking & changing lives through careers - James Mitra in conversation with Alembic Strategy
“Make networking a daily occurrence. It’s everyday interactions. It’s making a good impression early doors and really taking the time to build meaningful relationships and connections.” In today’s episode, we’ve put our host, James Mitra, into the interviewee seat. James was recently invited on Alembic Strategy’s Strategy Café, hosted by Founder and MD, Nick Mayhew. If you haven’t heard of Alembic before, they’re a team of facilitators and coaches working at board level with family businesses, f
Scarlett McCabe & Lewis Iwu: The power of debating & disagreeing
“[Debating] teaches you to listen, to challenge well, and it teaches you all the skills that you need to be able to be in any room at any time, with anyone.” The world seems more divided than ever before. But is it actually or are we simply shying away from debating and leaning into disagreeing with each other? This is exactly what we’ll explore in today’s episode - the power of debating and the benefits of disagreeing, in business and beyond. To help us unpack this important topic, we’re joined
Neda Sahebelm & Carla Hoppe: How to make fractional hiring & careers work
“The most difficult part [of going fractional] is starting a business. It’s having to wear every hat yourself, from selling, marketing, relationship building, finances, ops and admin. You are everything.” Fractional careers have been on the rise over the last few years. Both, for experienced Operators making the move into fractional work and for Founders who are looking to hire highly experienced Operators, at the fraction of the cost of full-time hires. To discuss how you make the move into fra
Amy Gallo: Conflict Management & How to get along with your colleagues
“If you’re in a situation where you’re dealing with [a difficult boss], I think the question is - am I actually getting something from this? And if the answer is ‘no, I’m getting nothing’, then it’s time to really think about what could be your next step.” To kick off our brand new ‘Specialist Advice’ series, we’re joined by workplace expert and long-time contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, Amy Gallo. You may have come across Amy on her own co-hosted podcast ‘Women at Work’ or have r
The Best Bits of Season 11 - A Mentorship Roundup
That’s a wrap on Season 11 of 40 Minute Mentor and 12 weeks of non-stop pocket-sized mentorship. Our guests over the last 12 weeks have candidly shared the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and shared the advice they wish they would have received when they started out. We also celebrated some 40 Minute Mentor firsts this season, including hitting 1 million+ downloads and welcoming our very first Hollywood actor to the podcast. Although we had such a diverse spread of 40 Minute Mentors joining us
Jason Flemyng: From ‘Lock Stock’ to Brad Pitt, the inside scoop on life as a Hollywood Actor
“80% of your work, no matter what it is, is confidence. It’s the confidence to know that when you go to a door handle, when you turn it, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know whether you pull or push. You just have to see which way it goes and then go with that.” Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is a podcast first. We’re joined by Hollywood actor and producer Jason Flemyng, known for ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Deep Rising’. In this episode, we don’t j
Dr Rupy Aujla: The accidental business that helps millions of people eat healthier every day
“Had I continued along my path, I could have a very successful private and NHS GP practice. I could be earning multiples of what I’m allowing myself to earn right now. The stability that I can provide for my family is, quite frankly, limited.” Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Dr Rupy Aujla, Founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen and best selling cookbook author. Rupy is a trained medical doctor turned startup Founder - a path that was never really part of his plan. If you haven’t come across The Doctor’s Ki
Avion Gray: Raising the largest pre-seed round as a female Founder in Europe
“Fundraising can be exhausting, so it’s really important to spend time with the right people who just won’t waste your time [...], pay attention and ask the right questions.” Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Avion Gray, Co-Founder and CEO of Belong, a new wealth-building platform. Avion started her career in investment banking, before working as Head of Product & Commercialisation at industry-leading POS systems and merchant service provider Clover, where she oversaw the launch and expansion of the b
Gurinder Dhillon: From 1 black cab to bootstrapping one of the fastest growing Startups in Europe with Otto Car
“[Having bootstrapped] we get to control our destiny, we can move as quickly as we want and we can go where we want and don’t have to be accountable.”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gurinder Dhillon, Founder of Otto Car, London’s largest community of PCO drivers and Europe’s largest provider of electric vehicles to private-hire drivers.
Having recently partnered with Gurinder and Otto Car to deliver a very exciting search for them, it was extra special to sit down with Gurinder and find out more
Greg Marsh: A $200m+ exit with onefinestay to helping you save on household bills with Nous
“There are days when you wake up and think ‘this is it - we’re going to be the next Google’ and then you wake up the next morning and feel like it’s all over and you’re going to fail.”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is former VC investor turned serial entrepreneur, Greg Marsh.
Following his time as an investor with Index Ventures, Greg went to build pioneering luxury accommodation marketplace, onefinestay, which became a global success with over 700 people and an exit via acquisition by Accor Hote
Deirdre O’Neill: Breaking taboos and transforming women’s health with Hertility
“Entrepreneurship feels like a process of torture sometimes because no matter how hard you try and how much you work and how many evenings or weekends that you sacrifice, you’re still only at the very bottom of the hill.”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Deirdre O’Neill, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial & Legal Officer at women’s health startup, Hertility.
With a background in corporate law and VC law, Deirdre took the leap into entrepreneurship in 2019, alongside twin sister Dr Helen O’Neill and
Natasha Ratanshi-Stein: From Chief of Staff at Bulb to Founder of Surfboard
“If we’re not seeing outcomes, we need more visibility. Does visibility mean someone being physically in front of you? Probably not.”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, the Founder of Surfboard - the next generation planning tools for customer service teams.
Before building Surfboard, Natasha spent several years as an Operator and Investor, including her roles as Principal at Piton Capital and Chief of Staff at Bulb.
We had a fascinating chat with Natasha, exploring her un
Gary Izunwa: Driving Social Mobility through referrals with Tangent
“I think we over index on the significance of education at the cost of other important parts of the social mobility conversation.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gary Izunwa, Co-Founder and CEO of Tangent.
Tangent is an employee referral platform that makes referrals accessible to everyone and NOT just the privileged few with the best networks.
Prior to Tangent, Gary worked at LinkedIn and the British Council leading programmes for ‘Generation UK’, a multimillion pound campaign, committed
Lottie Whyte: From the kitchen table to £100k investment on Dragons Den with MyoMaster
“You work so hard for something you’ve dreamt of for so long and then you achieve it and it’s nothing like you imagined it would be…”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Lottie Whyte, Co-Founder and CEO of MyoMaster, the home of sports recovery and a brand on a mission to unlock every athlete’s greatest performance.
If you’re an avid BBC Dragons Den watcher, then you’ll have seen Lottie and her Co-Founder and husband, Joe, on the most recent series, where they won an incredible £100,000 investme
Morgan Fowles: Scaling sustainable activewear brand TALA as CEO, alongside Grace Beverley
“It’s never felt easy. There’s never been a single day where it’s felt easy. The winds are always hardwired for various reasons, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Morgan Fowles, CEO of popular sustainable activewear and athleisure brand, TALA.
If you’ve been listening to 40 Minute Mentor for a while, you would have already come across TALA, when we caught up with Founder, Grace Beverley in Season 5.
In this episode, we find out more about Morgan’
Radha Vyas: From £20m revenues to bankruptcy & rebuilding Flash Pack 2.0
“They say all the best businesses in the world have nearly died three times. It’s an inevitable journey you go on when you're creating a high growth business.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Radha Vyas, Co-Founder and CEO of adventure travel startup, Flash Pack.
Flash Pack is on a mission to create 1 million friendships through connecting solo travellers in their 30s and 40s to go on adventure trips they'll never forget.
Since inception, Flash Pack has been on an incredible journey - reach
Richard Robinson: Disrupting the legal sector & raising $32 million with Robin AI
“Sometimes entrepreneurship is about bending the odds of success and being willing to take on the risk even though it doesn’t make much sense. It’s about going ahead anyway and changing the odds yourself.”
In our first episode of Series 11 of 40 Minute Mentor, we’re joined by Richard Robinson, Founder and CEO of Robin AI.
Robin AI is a leader in legal AI and empowers legal teams and lawyers all over the world to make contract processes effortless.
In today’s episode you’ll find out how Ric
Coming soon: Series 11 of pocket-sized mentorship
“Sometimes entrepreneurship is about bending the odds of success, and just being willing to take on the risks…”
Welcome back to Series 11 of 40 Minute Mentor - your pocket-sized career mentor.
We’ve got 13 weeks of non-stop mentorship from some of the best in the industry, coming up for you.
Before we kick off the series with our first 40 Minute Mentor next week, we thought we’d share a few soundbites with you of what’s to come…
In this series trailer, you’ll hear from:
⭐ Gary Izunwa, Co
Peter Specht: Spotting Unicorn investments & navigating global markets with Creandum
“We scaled way too fast…and the result was that we mis-hired quite a lot. It was not a sustainable way to scale.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Peter Specht, General Partner at Creandum, one of the leading early stage VCs that have invested in over 120 companies, of which 20 are unicorns today.
Following career chapters at Rocket Internet Group, Google and Bain, Peter joined the firm as Investment Manager in 2017, as one of the firm’s first hires in the DACH region, building out its Berlin
Davor Hebel: Making VC more empathetic & the future of European Startups
“Team sports are a great proxy for working in companies, where often the power of the collective is way stronger than any individual.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Davor Hebel, Managing Partner at Eight Roads Ventures, the global VC firm backed by Fidelity.
Eight Roads backs and partners with game-changing tech and healthcare companies across Europe, Asia, Israel and the US. The platform has 50+ years of venture investing experience, $11bn in AUM, over 300 portfolio companies and they’ve
Masha Bucher: Harnessing the power of storytelling in VC with Day One Ventures
“If you’re not ready to commit to VC for at least 10 years, it’s just not worth trying…”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Masha Bucher, Founder & General Partner at Day One Ventures.
The firm backs Founders from AI and Climate, to future of work and Deeptech, helping customer obsessed and mission-driven Founders win, by harnessing the power of storytelling.
With a background in communications and PR, Masha is pioneering a new model in VC by spearheading public relations in Day One Ventures
Sandra Schwarzer: Transitioning careers & putting people first at Index Ventures
“You need to figure out what you really need. Not just the role now, but looking at the future and at the competencies you need in your organisation. Figure out how you build a very complementary team, rather than having people who are all the same.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Sandra Schwarzer, VP C-Suite/Board & EU Talent/Community & Insights Team leader at Index Ventures.
Sandra works with Founders and executive teams on people related issues, including talent strategy, culture and DE
Abhishek Lahoti: From Dropbox to Head of Platform at Highland Europe & how to navigate the US market as a Founder
“This is not necessarily a one-way transaction. Look at fundraising like it’s dating. The VC you’re going to choose, you’ll be stuck with for quite some time, so don’t play games and be honest, the whole way through…”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Abhishek Lahoti, Head of Platform at Highland Europe, a growth stage Venture Capital firm based in Geneva and London.
Within his role at Highland Europe, Abhishek’s focus is to build a strong network of advisors and experts to help
Hannah Leach: An unconventional route into VC & driving ESG across portfolios
“The whole industry is full of very successful people who have had this very standard path. It’s hard to look at your own [different] background and put yourself on an even level with them.”
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Hannah Leach, Partner at Houghton Street Ventures and Co-Founder of VentureESG.
Hannah moved into the venture space after a squiggly career in and around the venture and entrepreneurship ecosystems, including building accelerator programs, teams within Scaleup
Eileen Burbidge MBE - From early Skype employee to becoming the Queen of British VC
“I think 2024 is a great opportunity to back fantastic people and get more attention on things that are undervalued or don’t get enough attention to invest in.”
Described as the ‘Queen of British VC’ by Fortune magazine, we are kicking off our new VC feature series with the brilliant Eileen Burbidge MBE.
Eileen is a Founding Partner at Passion Capital, the pre-eminent early-stage technology venture fund based in London, where she backed some of the most successful Tech businesses, including M
Career Spotlight: The Advisory Role - everything you need to know
“Founders often don’t have someone outside of the business that they can be really vulnerable with…that’s where an advisor can help.”
For our final episode in our career spotlight feature series, we’re taking a deep dive into an increasingly popular, yet often unspoken about role - the advisory role.
To help us cover the ins and outs of the role, how you can land your first gig and the benefits to Founders, we’re joined by JBM Principal, Marina Maxwell and Chris Seigal, Advisor to D2C brands.
Career Spotlight: How to nail the interview stage to secure your next role
“You need to be able to own what you do have, but even more so, what you don’t have.”
Following last week’s episode on building a stand-out CV and personal brand on LinkedIn, we’re now focusing on the next crucial stage in the recruitment process - the interview.
Very often, the interview stage can feel quite daunting, but a lot of it comes down to preparation and doing the work upfront.
In today’s episode, we’ll hear from our wonderful JBM team who lift the curtain on the secret to nailing the
Career Spotlight: Building a standout CV and personal brand on LinkedIn
“The CV is not the one thing that will or will not get you hired, there is a whole interview process…”
New year, new job?
January is a month of reset, refresh and for many, the time to scope out a new opportunity…
No matter whether you’re in the middle of hunting for a new role, are just starting to think about it or are looking to hire into your team in 2024, our ‘Career Spotlight’ feature series has something for everyone.
For our first episode, we sat down with JBM's team to share their
Best of 2023 - A year of mentorship in review
Just like that we’re closing another year of 40 Minute Mentor.
This year, we surpassed our 200 published episodes mark and are fast approaching 1 million downloads.
Before we kick off a brand new feature series in the new year, we asked some of our biggest 40 Minute Mentor fans for their nominations for the best episode of 2023.
From scaling teams to Founder mistakes and investment advice, our guests may range across industries but they all align on one thing - sharing pocket-sized career ment
Happy Holidays from 40 Minute Mentor!
As we’re nearing the end of the year, your 40 Minute Mentor Host, James Mitra, takes a moment to reflect on the last 12 months of podcasting and what the year ahead may have in store.
A huge thank you for all your support over the last 12 months - we wouldn’t be where we are without you!
If you have any feedback, topic or guest ideas for 2024, please get in touch on hannah@jbmc.co.uk - we always love hearing from you!
For now, all that’s left to say is - Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas (if yo
Replay: Sharmadean Reid MBE - Empowering Women in Business with The Stack World
“The thing I love a lot about startups, it’s like a personal self-development course at a rapid rate.”
For our final episode in our Replay series, we’re joined by Sharmadean Reid MBE, Founder of The Stack World, a platform for the women’s creator economy to buy and sell from each other.
In this candid episode, we chat about Sharmadean’s Founder journey from a nail salon to a global mecca for aspiring entrepreneurs, and ultimately starting The Stack World.
We discuss the lessons she learned, th
Replay: Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill - From Multi-Gold Medallist to FemTech Founder
“The importance of the team around you, having focus and discipline and the awareness of facing setbacks… it’s been great to bring the things I’ve learned from sport into the business world.”
From the 2012 Olympic poster girl to Founder of FemTech brand, Jennis… today’s 40 Minute Mentor Replay episode is with none other than Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill.
In this episode we talked about the ins and outs of Jess’s phenomenal sporting career and her pivot into the business world with Jennis - a women’s
Replay: Mo Gawdat - Turning heartbreak into purpose and cultivating happiness in your career
“I was most unhappy at work when I was making the most money and the biggest amount of success.”
From a successful career at Google, to the journey of making 1 billion people happy.That is the story of Mo Gawdat, the former Chief Business Officer of Google X, author of Solve for Happy and Founder of One Billion Happy.
It’s an episode full of wisdom, honesty and candid reflections.
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor Replay, Mo shares his incredible story, including spending 25 years in tech and the d
Replay: Tessa Clarke - Sharing more and wasting less with Olio
“Globally, a third of all the food we produce each year gets thrown away. Meanwhile, 800 million people go to bed hungry, who could be fed with a quarter of the food we waste in the Western world.”
Did you know that roughly one third of the world's food is wasted?
Meanwhile, 1 in 9 people on our planet are either starving or malnourished...
This is something today’s 40 Minute Mentor is on a mission to change.
In today’s replay episode, we’re joined by Tessa Clarke, the Co-Founder and CEO of th
Replay: Sir Clive Woodward - Coaching Champions from the Rugby World Cup to the Boardroom
“People often say to me, sport is different from business, it's not. Business is about delivering results through people.”
In our first episode of our 40 Minute Mentor Replay series, we’re re-visiting our episode with the brilliant Sir Clive Woodward, World Cup winning England Rugby coach and former Director of Sport for the London 2012 Olympics.
After spending his childhood with big dreams of becoming a professional footballer, it was playing rugby at his local club as a kid that started Sir
An end of series message from JBM Founder and 40 Minute Mentor Host, James Mitra
That's a wrap on Series 10! And what a 12 weeks it has been.
We have been joined by some incredible Founders and leaders, who have been refreshingly vulnerable, sharing the highs and lows of their entrepreneurial journeys, with lots of wisdom and mentorship shared along the way.
From building the Uber of volunteering, to changing the world with ethical AI, we have covered SO much in our tenth series and hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have.
Thank you so much for all your support along
From selling scrunchies at school to exiting multiple Startups, with Debbie Wosskow OBE, Co-Founder of AllBright & The Better Menopause
“Every business that I’ve founded has been on the brink of disaster, and one of the big lessons is that the business you started is never the business you end up with.”And just like that, we have made it to the final episode of Series 10 of 40 Minute Mentor.For our series finale, we’re joined by multi-exit Founder, Investor, board advisor and author - the brilliant Debbie Wosskow OBE. We cover a range of topics with Debbie, including her whirlwind journey as an entrepreneur - building and exitin
From building a smarter way to find parking to personalised offices made simple, with Steve Coulson, Co-Founder & CEO of Kitt
“Paying people well and giving them lunches when they come to the office can be really good… but the best people are motivated by their growth and development.”
For the final Monday episode of Series 10, we're joined by Steve Coulson, Founder and CEO of Kitt - the business that creates and manages custom HQs for the world’s most vibrant brands. Before Kitt, Steve built B2B parking platform and B2C app, JustPark, to 50,000+ locations and 5m+ drivers.
Today, we discuss Steve’s entrepreneurial jou
Building the NASA of the Ocean in Stealth with Steve Etherton, President EMEA of DEEP
“We live on an ocean planet, and we have this strange relationship where we assume it’s all been discovered, but it actually hasn’t…”
For the penultimate week of this Series of 40 Minute Mentor, we’re joined by Steve Etherton, President EMEA of DEEP - an international research and development organisation who aim to become the NASA of the ocean.
Having placed Steve Etherton with DEEP, when they were still in stealth mode, we’re so excited to finally be able to welcome him to the podcast and fi
Breaking down barriers & building a sustainable fashion label, with Samuel Tholley of Hidden Pages and Rosette Ale, Founder of Revival
“I want to create my own space. I don't want to have to fit into someone else's whitewashed marketing… I want to create fashion that shows people like me.”
In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor takeover, Samuel Tholley. Founder of Hidden Pages, is joined by Rosette Ale, Founder of Revival - a sustainable fashion label redesigning discarded clothes into contemporary designs for a cleaner and cooler planet. Samuel and Rosette know each other from university and have a really insightful and refreshing c
The Rollercoaster Ride to Scaling a Unicorn, with Nicolas Brusson, Co-Founder and CEO of BlaBlaCar
“You’ll make mistakes but that doesn’t matter - it’s all about speed and growth, but at some point you’ll have to go and clean up the room.”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Nicolas Brusson, Co-Founder & CEO of BlaBlaCar - the world’s leading community-based travel app enabling 26 million active members a year to share a ride in 21 countries.
BlaBlaCar’s environmentally and human-friendly mobility network saves 1.6M tons of CO2 and enables 120M human connections every year.
On top of leading BlaBlaC
Inspiring Elevating and Developing Black Talent with Samuel Tholley of Hidden Pages and Faith Locken, Founder of We Rise In
"I'm not surrendering to the peaks and troughs of social ways, acceptance and rejection. I'm standing firm in my core principles.”
Today's podcast episode is a special one - it's a Hidden Pages' takeover.
In this episode, Samuel Tholley, Founder of Hidden Pages is joined by Faith Locken, Founder and CEO of We Rise In - an award-winning business network with the mission to inspire, elevate and develop the careers of black professionals. Tune in to discover:
➡️ We Rise In: on a mission to improv
How ethical AI will change the world with Raj Kaur Khaira, Co-Founder and COO of AutogenAI
“I think we are scared of AI in the same way that we’ve been scared of many technological inventions when we’ve been on the forefront of something big.”
Today's 40 Minute Mentor is the incredibly inspiring Raj Kaur Khaira, Co-Founder and COO of AutogenAI, a business that is leveraging large language models and text generating AI to combat the expensive business problem of writing and answering bids, tenders and proposals.
Raj is also an acclaimed author, lawyer and campaigner and Founder of the
Black History Month 2023: Celebrating our Sisters & Honouring Matriarchs of Movements
“What the murder of George Floyd taught me is that if you don't spend time changing how the people within the system think, you'll never fundamentally change the system.”
To recognise and celebrate this year’s Black History Month, we are kicking off a special three-part series, where we once again partner up with Samuel Tholley, Founder of Hidden Pages.
If you're a loyal 40 Minute Mentor listener, you will have come across Samuel already and there will be plenty more from him over the next thre
Bringing Familiar Financial Services to Migrant Communities, with Nina Mohanty, Co-Founder of Bloom Money
“Immigrants start businesses that add to the local economy and we are very excited to be a growth engine for that.”
Today's 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Nina Mohanty, Co-Founder of Bloom Money, a FinTech bringing familiar financial services to migrant communities.
Nina created Bloom Money based on her own lived experiences, as a child of immigrants and having relocated to multiple countries herself.
Today, we’ll discover what led her to entrepreneurship, riding the ups and downs of an ear
40 Minute Mentor’s Origin Story & Learnings, with JBM’s James Mitra & Hannah Urbanek
“It doesn't matter where you come from or what school you went to, or whether you went to university. There are Founders out there, building incredible businesses, no matter what their backgrounds.”
In celebration of International Podcast Day, (and our 200th podcast episode!) JBM Founder , James Mitra, and Head of Marketing and 40 Minute Mentor Producer, Hannah Urbanek, chat all things 40 Minute Mentor…
From the early days of building the podcast, to shining a light on the biggest lessons alon
Bootstrapping to Exit & Disrupting B2B Sales, with Nick Telson, Co-Founder of Trumpet
“Becoming financially free but not being a Unicorn, is still success.”
Today's 40 Minute Mentor is Nick Telson, exited Founder of DesignMyNight, Co-Founder of Trumpet, Angel Investor and Podcast Host of the popular Pitch Deck show.
With so many hats to wear, we loved diving into Nick’s story and career from starting at L’Oreal to scratching that entrepreneurial itch by building DesignMyNight to 100+ employees with minimal angel funding and finally returning to the Founder seat to disrupt B2B sa
Inspiring and Connecting the Next Generation of British Asian Entrepreneurs, with Amardeep Parmar, Co-Founder of The BAE HQ
“Never underestimate the power of a rant, if you’re going to do something about it.”
In today’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by fellow podcaster and good friend of JBM, Amardeep Parmar, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BAE HQ.
Amardeep has been on an incredible journey - from being a Tech consultant in 2020, to setting a New Year’s resolution which made him the second fastest writer to gain 50,000 followers on Medium.com.
Now, he’s inspiring, connecting and guiding British Asian E
The Future of Collaborative Healthcare with Dr Sonia Szamocki, Founder & CEO of 32Co
"You can have the best idea in the world with a bad team and you get nowhere, and you can have a really good team with a bad idea and you’ll probably make it into a good idea.”
Doctor to Startup Founder... That’s not something we get to say a lot, so buckle in for today's episode!
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Dr Sonia Szamocki, Founder and CEO of 32Co, the HealthTech revolutionising access to specialised healthcare services, by connecting general clinicians with a network of specialists.
S
Inside The COO Role: A Deep Dive with Charlene Chen, Co-Founder of Operations Nation
"When you’re aligned on vision, values and strategic direction, you can achieve anything…”
In this week’s bite-sized startup mentorship episode, we’re joined by Charlene Chen, JBM Board Advisor, COO of AZA Finance and Co-Founder of Operations Nation.
Charlene is not only a brilliant COO, but also happens to be our very first 40 Minute Mentor guest, back when we started the podcast in 2019.
In today’s episode, you’ll learn more about:
➡️ Charlene’s squiggly career to COO [01:06]
➡️ A full ove
Building The Uber of Volunteering & Starring on Dragons’ Den with Sanjay Lobo MBE, Founder & CEO of OnHand
"There's some horrible sacrifices in the first few years to get it to a place where it's got to survive..."
Today's 40 Minute Mentor epitomises what it means to be Tech for Good.
We’re joined by Sanjay Lobo MBE, the Founder & CEO of OnHand - the all-in-one tool to engage your team in volunteering and environmental action.
Dubbed the ‘Uber of volunteering’, OnHand lets employees learn and take action on the issues that matter. You may even recognise Sanjay from his recent appearance on BBC's Dr
World Suicide Prevention Day Special with Clarke Carlisle
⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains topics of mental health and suicide attempts, that may be harmful or traumatising to some audiences. If you’re affected by any of the topics discussed, please make sure you reach out to the helplines listed below. ⚠️
Suicide is a major public health problem, with far-reaching social, emotional and economic consequences. According to the World Health Organisation, there are currently more than 700,000 suicides per year worldwide.
Following yesterday’s
From Being The First Female Managing Partner at SoftBank to Building a Portfolio Career with Catherine Lenson, Angel Investor, Founder and Venture Partner at LocalGlobe
“Everything I have done has centred around teams and individuals, and how do you get the most out of them…”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Catherine Lenson, Angel Investor, Founder, Venture Partner at LocalGlobe and CEO of Andante Advisory.
Catherine has had a hugely successful career, having spent her formative years at UBS and becoming the first female Managing Partner at SoftBank.
Today, Catherine is the Founder and CEO of Andante Advisory, a boutique consultancy firm which oper
Building A Robust Go-To-Market Strategy with Tarun Gidoomal
“The most impactful piece of advice I got early on in my career was - You need to grow where you're planted.”
In today’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we take a deep dive into a core component of any successful startup - the Go-To-Market (GTM) Strategy.
To guide us through the essential components of building and executing a GTM strategy, we’re joined by Tarun Gidoomal.
Tarun has led some of Europe’s most notable tech Scaleups, including Next Jump, where he led its international expansi
Limiting The Stress Of Debt with Tim Chong, Co-Founder & CEO of Yonder
"Founders are made to look like superheroes. They get up at 4am, meditate, take ice baths, work 100 hours a week… I think it's a super unhealthy culture."
Today's 40 Minute Mentor shines a light on the realities of Founder life, and his passion for reframing how the world sees and perceives credit. We are excited to welcome Tim Chong, Co-Founder and CEO of Yonder, to the podcast.
Yonder is on a mission to build a credit experience that empowers young people to live their best lives and build re
The Rise of The Generalist, with Milly Tamati, Founder of Generalist World
“The traditional definition (of a Generalist) has been a ‘Jack of all trades’, which often comes with a negative connotation.”
In today’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Milly Tamati to explore the rise of the Generalist.
Milly is not only a Generalist, but a Community builder and Founder of Generalist World.
Before leaning into all things Generalist, Milly built businesses all over the world, including co-owning a hostel in Thailand, a wine tour in Australia and an illust
Lessons Of Resilience: Scaling Love Koffee To Exit and Living Through Made.com’s Collapse with Dimple Patel, CEO of Trouva
“We had one month to refinance the business, or lose our home….”
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Dimple Patel, exited Founder, Advisor and CEO of Trouva - the leading global marketplace for independent boutiques.
With roots at Goldman Sachs, Dimple’s story is one of endless resilience, having navigated recessions, a major re-brand that almost cost her her home, a global pandemic and multiple acquisitions, including Made.com’s collapse.
In today’s episode, we dive into all of the above, plus:
➡️ G
A Deep Dive Into The CPO Role with James Routledge, VP of Product at Converge
“If you don't work well with other teams, everyone else's problem will become a product problem.”
In today's episode, we’re taking a deep dive into the world of Product…
To do so, we’re joined by Product legend, James Routledge, VP of Product at Converge.
James has tons of experience, including helping a NASDAQ business go from 100 million to $250 million revenues and working with 400 person Series B businesses.
The role of the CPO has evolved significantly over the last few years, so we love
Demystifying Angel Investing with Andy Ayim MBE, Founder of Angel Investing School
“So many people are suffering from a lack of knowing who they are and what their worth is, so they downplay and restrict it to a job role.”
Welcome back to 40 Minute Mentor, and a brand new series…
Kicking off Series 10, we’re joined by one of the most requested guests on the podcast - the brilliant Andy Ayim, MBE.
You may have come across Andy through his DE&I work in tech, or his angel investing training programs at the Angel Investing School, which empowered over 350 new angels.
Andy has a
Saving The Planet Through Carbon Removal, with Marta Krupinska, Co-Founder & CEO of CUR8
"One doesn't leave the best job in the world for anything less than an opportunity that can genuinely, if we're lucky, save the planet."
As we’re kicking off Series 10, we’re also introducing our Monday Startup spotlight series.
In our first instalment, we’re joined by a familiar face - Marta Krupinska, Co-Founder and CEO of carbon removal startup, CUR8.
Marta has previously come on the podcast, in Series 7, when we talked about her Founder journey and her role with Google for Startups - find
Series 10 Trailer
Successes, mistakes and lessons learned…
We cover all of the above and more in our BRAND NEW series of 40 Minute Mentor…coming to a set of headphones near you, next week!
Inspiring conversations with category-defining Founders, CxOs and Investors, who have been through it all…the good, the bad and the in between, along the way.
Resilience. Angel Investing. Burnout. Saving the planet. Plus, SO much more....
Get a little taster of what's to come this series, in today's trailer.
Series 10, we are r
From Uni Friends to Mentorship - A Lesson In Boundaries with Béa Fertility Founder, Tess Cosad and Executive Coach, Chloé HC
"She comes to the table with no judgement and all curiosity and allows me to explore in a way that I do my best thinking because I feel safe to do it.”
This week is the final episode in our mentorship feature series, and what a four weeks it has been!
In this series finale, James and Hannah are joined by the dynamic duo of Tess Cosad and Chloé HC.
Tess is the Co-Founder and CEO of Béa Fertility, the ambitious FertilityTech startup, focused on democratising access to safe, affordable fertility tr
The Power of Community & Mentorship with Startup OG Peter Nixey & AJ, CEO of Foundrs
"What I try to do is listen to the problem, understand how it fits stuff I've seen before, then relate how I think it'll play out…”
In this week's 40 Minute Mentor episode, we're joined by a mentorship duo connected by their love and passion for the startup world.
Peter Nixey - serial entrepreneur and OG of the UK Startup scene, joins us together with his mentee, AJ, who has been the CEO of the invite-only community, Foundrs.
Peter founded Clcikpass.com which raised investment from YC and sever
Mentorship vs Coaching, with Ashleigh Tennent, Founder of More Happi & Lisa Rodwell, CEO at Daye
“You want someone who's lived that same experience, and hopefully they can pass on what worked for them, but also what didn't work for them.”
The golden mentorship moments keep on coming as we head into episode two of our new mentorship feature series.
This week, James and Hannah are joined by Ashleigh Tennent, Founder of the coaching platform, More Happi and Lisa Rodwell, the CEO of Daye, the company bridging the gender gap in medical research and innovation.
Together, the four discuss how to
From Line-Manager To Mentor. A Mentorship Deep Dive with Freddie Fforde & Varun Vassanth from Patch
“Do it because you care. Find out who you are, where you can be most useful, and how you want to go about it, but only do it if you care.”Mentorship can truly change people’s careers and lives.
We’re big believers in the power of mentorship, it’s why we started this podcast!
In this brand new feature series, we’ll take a deep dive into the different forms and shapes of mentorship and answer some of your most common questions, e.g. How do you approach a mentor? How do you manage the day to day?
Building Lasting Founder-Investor Relationships with Yvonne Bajela, Partner at LocalGlobe & Venture Partner at Impact X
“If you can be very clear in articulating what you are trying to do, why the world needs it and why you are the best person to work on it, the money will follow.”
And just like that, we come to the end of our 40 Minute Mentor VC feature series.
BUT, before we kick off our next series, we have one more VC mentorship packed episode in store for you….
Today, we’re joined by Yvonne Bajela, Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude, and Venture Partner at Impact X Capital.
Yvonne talks about her journey
From Operator To VC - Navigating A Challenging Market with Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures
“It’s a really great time if you want to learn how to be a disciplined Investor and to really be able to hunt down the best Founders and best opportunities.”
In the final part of our bite-sized VC feature series, Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures, talks to us about navigating the current landscape and shares tangible advice for any Founders, looking to fundraise.
This episode is jam packed with advice - no matter, if you’re a Founder looking for investment or an aspiring VC, looking t
From Building A Unicorn To Investing In Them with Suranga Chandratillake OBE, General Partner at Balderton Capital
“If you think there’s something that needs to be changed in the world, I think that starting a company is the best and easiest way to achieve that change.”
For our penultimate episode in this VC feature, we’re joined by Suranga Chandratillake OBE, former engineer and entrepreneur, now General Partner at Balderton Capital, one of Europe's leading early stage technology venture capital firms.
Before joining the world of VC, Suranga founded blinkx, an intelligent video search engine, which he took
From Operator To VC - Adapting To The Industry with Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures
“Spend some time with the team to shadow and see what they actually do day to day, before you join. It’s invaluable because it gives you an opportunity to try before you buy.”
In part 3 of our bite-sized ‘Operator to VC’ feature, Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures, talks to us about making the transition to VC.
We hear the criteria Rosie looked at when deciding which VC to join and the crucial steps she took to adapt to the new industry.
She also shares some of the great communities s
Investing In FinTech, Crypto & Emerging Markets with Zeynep Yavuz, Partner at General Catalyst
“If you have the passion to solve a problem, you will find a way to solve it, no matter what comes in your way.”Next up in our VC feature series, we’re joined by Zeynep Yavuz, Partner at General Catalyst.
General Catalyst is a top-tier VC that invests from early stage through to growth equity stages, having backed some of the world's biggest tech companies, including Airbnb, Warby Parker and Stripe.
Having grown up in Turkey with entrepreneur parents, Zeynep saw first-hand that a more mature V
From Operator To VC - Skills & Resources For Your Move Into VC with Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures
“Founders want to work with investors who can understand what they are going through.”
Welcome back to week two of our popular VC feature, where we’re joined by the biggest movers and shakers in the industry, with stellar mentorship for anyone looking to get into VC and guidance for any Founders currently fundraising.
We’re back today with another bite-sized episode with Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures.
In today’s episode, we’re focusing on practical advice for Operators transitionin
Quantum Physicist Turned VC Partner, with Sasha Vidiborskiy, Partner at Atomico
“The most successful companies are the ones that went against what is considered the status quo.”In our inaugural episode of our latest VC feature series, we’re joined by someone who is inspired by Founders that don't see limits in what could be achieved with the help of technology…Today, we’re joined by Sasha Vidiborskiy, a quantum physicist turned VC Partner at Atomico. Atomico is a $5bn+ AUM VC fund, investing in ambitious tech Founders at Series A and beyond, with a particular focus on Europ
From Operator To VC - Busting Industry Myths with Rosie Barnett, Principal at Delin Ventures
“You can still have an incredibly successful business, without it being a triple decker Unicorn.”
This week we’re launching another series of our popular VC feature, where we’re joined by the biggest movers and shakers in the industry, sharing exclusive market insights, mentorship for anyone looking to get into VC and guidance for any Founders currently fundraising.
Alongside our Wednesday episodes, we are also launching four bite-sized episodes on Monday, taking a deep dive into one of the bi
Community & Purpose - A Series 9 Roundup
"Community for me has always been - What is our purpose? Why do we exist? What's it all for? Why does it even matter?”There are two popular topics that come up time and time again when we interview our 40 Minute Mentors and when we speak to JBM clients and candidates. These topics are: Building communities and sticking to your purpose. In this week’s episode, we’ve rounded up some of the best advice from our most recent Series, including: ➡️ Vanity metrics vs Impact - Nikki Wicks, CEO of The Bo
The Truth About Diets & Nutrition Advice For Busy Execs with Rhiannon Lambert
TW: This episode includes conversations around eating disorders and extreme quick fixes that are not recommended or endorsed. If you are struggling with the topics covered, please seek professional help. "A Mediterranean style diet can be more effective than anti-depressants."The nation's health is arguably the worst it's been in generations, and that predominantly comes down to our relationship with food….What if everyone knew the truth about fad diets? Are calories actually to blame? Is plant-
Boosting Your Financial Wellbeing with Vivi Friedgut, Founder of Blackbullion
“Most people listening need to understand that the government is not coming to save us. There is not going to be a huge pension when we retire. What you have is what you will have.”With interest rates on the rise, and the cost of living higher than ever, all of us are feeling the strain of financial stress… To help us get money smart and enhance our financial wellbeing, we’re joined by Vivi Friedgut, the Founder of Blackbullion - a financial wellbeing platform that equips young people with finan
From Burnout To Improving Team’s Mental Health with Sançar Sahin, Co-Founder of Oliva
“Everybody has something, everybody is travelling through this thing called life, and life is not all sunshine and rainbows.”Did you know, around 12 billion working days globally, are lost every year to depression and anxiety? These staggering stats find us amidst a mental health crisis, and a huge demand for increased support for employee wellbeing…What gives you energy? And what takes it away? What boundaries do you set?Figuring this out is at the heart of wellbeing for this week’s 40 Minute M
The Power Of Digital Detox with Hector Hughes, Co-Founder of Unplugged
“When people and companies are on the verge of burnout, then it’s just this busyness epidemic.”
You’re in a cabin, in the middle of no-where, for 3 nights. And your phone has been locked away, until you leave.
It’s just you, nature, and your mind.
This is not the start of a horror movie script. Although being without our phones can be a super scary thought…
Today, we’re kicking off our new wellbeing feature series with Hector Hughes, the Co-Founder of Unplugged.
Unplugged are solving the busy
Series 9 Roundup: Tech Layoffs, Building Category-Defining Businesses & Founder's Mental Health
As we approach 1 million downloads and wrap up Series 9 of our 40 Minute Mentor podcast, we wanted to reflect on the brilliant career mentorship we received over the last 12 weeks.
From building a bootstrapped global fitness brand, to the end of HR, a CBD drink phenomenon to mental health and football, we really covered a spectrum of golden nuggets in the world of startups and scaleups. Not to mention some candid life lessons along the way.
In today’s episode, we hear the very best moments from
Putting Women In Control Of Their Reproductive Health with Alice Pelton, Founder of The Lowdown
“Hiring the wrong people teaches you more about your culture than hiring the right people...”Did you know a third of women in the UK do not have easy access to contraception?And 80% of those who are using contraception have reported side effects…Following her own experience of having devastating side effects of being put on the wrong contraception, today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Alice Pelton, decided to take matters into her own hands. That’s why she started The Lowdown - the UK’s leading s
Behind The Scenes Of SVB’s Collapse with Dom Hallas, Executive Director of Coadec
There won’t be many Founders out there who weren’t affected by the roller coaster weekend of the SVB collapse.
Even if you weren’t banking with SVB yourself, the chances are high that your clients, investors or suppliers were. Although we all got to breathe a sigh of relief with HSBC acquiring SVB, many questions remain:
Why did SVB collapse?
How did we get to this outcome and who was behind it all?
What happened behind the scenes during this weekend?
To answer all of this and more, we’re join
From Professional Poker To Making Sustainable Living Easy with James Mishreki, Founder of Skin+Me and Life Supplies
“Poker teaches you resilience, because it’s a complete rollercoaster. It is very humbling, it’s a bit like running a startup. Experience outweighs theory, just like being a Founder.”
From wanting to be an entrepreneur since the school yard days, to a self-set mission of building two billion pound brands in his 30’s, today’s guest is no stranger to the rollercoaster life of startups. And he’s never had a job.
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is James Mishreki, Founder of popular skincare brand Skin
Becoming A More Confident Negotiator with Selena Rezvani
No matter whether you’re negotiating your salary, promotion, a new project or a deal with a client or investor - today’s episode will help you get it across the line. For this 40 Minute Mentor bite-sized episode, we’re joined by Selena Rezvani, award-winning journalist, coach, speaker and author of ‘Quick Confidence’. Ahead of her book launching on May, 9th 2023, Selena shares with us some easy to follow mentorship on: ➡️ The fundamental pillars of building your confidence ➡️ What makes
From The Premier League To Mental Health Advocate with Clarke Carlisle
⚠️ Content Warning: This episode contains topics of mental health and suicide attempts, that may be harmful or traumatising to some audiences. If you’re affected by any of the topics discussed, please make sure you reach out to the helplines listed below. ⚠️
“Nothing prepared me for that loss of identity that I had without football.”
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a professional footballer in England?
And what life looks like once you decide to retire from your career in sport?
Building Lasting Human Connections with Simone Heng
If there’s one thing that became obvious during the pandemic and the various different lockdowns, it’s the importance of human connection. But what happens to us when we get disconnected from our peers? How do we build actually lasting connections? And what are the best ways for team leaders to facilitate and create opportunities for human connection in an increasingly hybrid world? To answer all of these questions, we’re joined by Simone Heng, a human connection specialist and author o
Building The UK’s Fastest Growing Soft Drinks Brand with Olivia Ferdi, Co-Founder of TRIP
“You need to recognise that your mental health is a muscle and it’s not a case of doing a 30 day cleanse and mediations and you’re all good. That’s not how it works.”
What started off as a new way to eliminate the daily stresses of life in the city, turned into the UK’s favourite soft drinks brand.
This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Olivia Ferdi, the Co-Founder of popular CBD brand, TRIP.
Coming from a law background, there were plenty of early stage challenges Olivia and her Co-Founder and husb
The Do’s And Don’ts Of Public Speaking with Alex Merry
Public speaking - an instrumental skill to perfect for any Founder and executive.
It’s also one of the most dreaded aspects of being a business leader.
To help make your next presentation a less stressful experience, we’re joined by Alex Merry, former COO, turned public speaking coach.
Alex doesn’t only help leaders deliver high-stakes presentations at work and globally recognised conferences, through his coaching and online speaking club, MicDrop, but he’s also published his advice in his
Building The World’s First IVF Insurance with Nader AlSalim, Founder & CEO of Gaia
“I don’t want Gaia to be seen as a women’s health business. 50% of the cases that we see are male factor infertility. This is a family building problem that affects men and women equally.” 1 in 6 couples are affected by fertility issues, but with aspiring parents spending over £14k on average on their treatment, only 1 in 7 people in the UK who require IVF, end up accessing it. One Founder on a mission to change that and make fertility treatment more accessible is today’s 40 Minute Ment
How To Successfully Build A Fractional Career with Ben Sanders
One of the biggest trends we’ve seen in hiring over the last year has been the rise of fractional careers. It doesn’t just give talent more flexibility and freedom, but also gives Founders the opportunity to hire highly experienced operators at a fraction of the cost, and even try before they buy. To discuss how you actually build a fractional career, the benefits to both talent and employers, plus the downfalls you might want to consider before pursuing a portfolio career, we’ve invite
Tackling The Energy Crisis with Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation & Octopus Energy for Business
“If I’m doing exactly the same things this year, in exactly the same ways that I did last year, then I’m failing.”It’s been a turbulent year for the energy sector and many of us have seen the aftermath in our energy bills.To get first-hand insights into the energy crisis and the movement towards greener and more sustainable energy sources, we’re joined by Zoisa North-Bond, the CEO of Octopus Energy Generation and Octopus Energy for Business.In today’s episode, Zoisa shares with us:➡️ He
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition with Amir Nooriala, Managing Partner at Aurias
For this week’s bit-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Amir Nooriala, the Managing Partner of Aurias. Amir has previously joined us on the podcast, sharing his experience as COO of Callsign and OakNorth Bank. This time, he’s telling us more about his new venture, Aurias, offering business owners a retirement pathway that ensures the legacy of their company and employees. In today’s episode, you’ll find out: ➡️ Amir’s career journey to COO and angel investor➡️ How this exper
Making Packaging Disappear with Earthshot Prize Winner Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder of Notpla
“Plastic has its use cases. In the medical industry, it saves lives every day. But for takeaway uses, where it’s used for a short amount of time, that’s where it’s a real issue.” For today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Pierre Paslier, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Notpla, a sustainable packaging startup. To this day, Notpla have partnered with the likes of Lucozade, to replace single use plastic cups and bottles at the London Marathon, and JustEat, to launch a food contain
Making Packaging Disappear with Earthshot Prize Winner Pierre Paslier, Co-Founder of Notpla
“Plastic has its use cases. In the medical industry, it saves lives every day. But for takeaway uses, where it’s used for a short amount of time, that’s where it’s a real issue.” For today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Pierre Paslier, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Notpla, a sustainable packaging startup. To this day, Notpla have partnered with the likes of Lucozade, to replace single use plastic cups and bottles at the London Marathon, and JustEat, to launch a food container coated
History’s Leading Female Black Voices, presented by Samuel Tholley
Following on from our pledge last year to continue shining a light on History’s influential black voices, beyond Black History Month, we welcome back Samuel Tholley, the Founder of Hidden Pages - a zine discovering hidden Melanated history & lists of sources exploring the Melanated/"Black" experience. Today, and in continuation of celebrating International Women’s Day, beyond March 8th, Samuel shares two stories of female trailblazers with us, who have significantly shaped the world
Social Media For A Better World with Sue Fennessy, Founder & CEO of WeAre8
“The only way that the world will see women and diversity differently, is when we create something that is so big and transformational that people will never underestimate women again.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, and to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, we’re joined by Sue Fennessy, the Founder & CEO of WeAre8. WeAre8 is a hate-free community that is built upon the idea that collective change and daily actions can make the world a better place. The team have been
Embracing Equity - International Women's Day 2023
Recruitment and Tech are both not industries with the best reputation when it comes to Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity. That’s why JBM and 40 Minute Mentor are on a mission to change that. With our podcast specifically, we’re always looking to feature unique and inspiring stories, especially giving underrepresented voices a platform to share theirs. We’re very much still a work in progress and are always looking to improve series on series and year on year. With that in mind, we have
Why HR Is Dead with Anouk Agussol, Founder of Unleashed
“The best way of treating people is not as if they're a resource, but by working with them to create something amazing.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Anouk Agussol, the Founder and CEO of Unleashed. Unleashed are on a mission to gear up early stage and scaling companies for speedy and sustainable success, through people and culture. They help create thriving businesses and great places to work, through leadership programmes, coaching, bespoke people projects and
Celebrating World Book Day with our 40 Minute Mentor Authors
In today’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re taking a look back on some of our most popular 40 Minute Mentor author episodes.Just in time for World Book Day, later this week, we’re going to hear about the journeys our 40 Minute Mentor authors have been on and how they’ve taken their best-selling books from ideation to launch, and all the ups and downs in between.Whether you’re thinking about writing your own book yourself, or you’re simply looking for some new books packed with
From Google To Building The Fastest Growing Healthy Meal Subscription Business with Simmy Dhillon, Founder of Simmer
“I was finally getting all of these jobs that I always wanted, but I was always more passionate about my own business and would keep working on it outside of my normal hours.” Landing a role at Google as a graduate will make most people put thoughts about their next moves on hold. Not for today’s 40 Minute Mentor. We’re joined by the brilliant Simmy Dhillon, Founder of Simmer, the meal subscription service on a mission to nourish and delight through food by making eating well everyday e
Becoming a Chief of Staff, with Emily Good, Libby Dangoor and Simon Rodrigues
In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re looking at a role which has gained increasing popularity within the Startup and Scaleup world over the last 12 months - the Chief of Staff role. To help us explore more of the day to day and the skills any aspiring CoS needs, we’re joined by: 📌 Emily Good, Chief of Staff at Lantum. 📌 Libby Dangoor, Chief of Staff at Multiverse. 📌 Simon Rodrigues, former Chief of Staff at Curio, now Founder & CEO at Saber Works. They share
“From Layoffs To Lemonade” with Abadesi Osunsade, DE&I Leader and Founder & CEO of Hustle Crew
“It’s sad when you go into something with the idea of building a legacy and then that gets cut off. You have to realise, this is happening because you take risks, and that’s a good thing.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Abadesi Osunsade, DE&I leader and Founder & CEO of Hustle Crew, a inclusion education provider on a mission to create a world in which businesses are centred on inclusion, belonging and redistributing power. Before building Hustle Crew,
Getting Into STEM with Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon & Amali de Alwis
Following International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re looking back on two 40 Minute Mentor episodes with two absolute trailblazers - Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon and Amali de Alwis. Anne-Marie is the Co-Founder and CEO of Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise working to inspire and support girls, young women and non-binary people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths careers. You may also know Anne-Marie from the popular Channel 4 show Countdown, or have come
Building An Accidental Global Fitness Brand with Nikki Wicks, CEO of The Body Coach
“A lot of people expected me and Joe to go off the rails. We almost had permission because of our childhood. Because of that, there was always a part of me that wanted to prove people wrong.”
In this inaugural episode of 40 Minute Mentor’s 9th Series, we’re joined by Nikki Wicks, the CEO of the legendary global fitness brand, The Body Coach.
There won’t be a lot of you who haven’t heard of Joe Wicks and The Body Coach, but today, we get a real inside scoop into how the brand grew to what it is
World Cancer Day: Remembering The Late Catherine Wines
To commemorate this year’s World Cancer Day, we’re looking back on one of our all-time favourite episodes, featuring the late Catherine Wines. Catherine was the Co-Founder of WorldRemit, one of the fastest growing FinTechs in the UK, allowing people to send money to friends and family living abroad.Catherine was one of the most high-profile female leaders in FinTech and it came as a real shock to the industry when she lost her battle to stage 3 pancreatic cancer in 2020. We have benefit
Trailer: More Pocket-Sized Career Mentorship In Series 9
Your pocket-sized career mentor is back with a brand new Series. 40 Minute Mentor was created to make business mentorship more accessible and raise aspirations. We do this, by interviewing the most brilliant leaders who are building exceptional, category-defining businesses. Our guests have ranged from Tech CEO’s to Sustainability Entrepreneurs and from Investors to Olympic Gold Medallists. And this Series will be no different. For a little preview of what’s to come, check out our brand
The Hidden Pages Of Black History with Samuel Tholley
“Why is there a need to prove ourselves? Why are we in a situation where we’re not being treated equally as smart as any other ethnicity, especially when we’ve done all this great stuff throughout history?” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor feature episode, we’re joined by Samuel Tholley, a History Teacher and Founder of Hidden Pages - a zine discovering hidden Melanated history & lists of sources exploring the Melanated/"Black" experience.In today’s episode, we find out: ➡️ Why Samuel se
Where Are They Now: James McClure On Angel Investing And Advice For Solopreneurs
“The key is to be niche on an audience, but fairly liberal in what’s the best way for you to interact with them. And particularly with how to monetise that audience.” In this week’s ‘Where Are They Now’ feature episode, we’re joined by James McClure - experienced C-level Tech Exec, Angel Investor, Advisor and Executive Coach. James has grown big names, like Airbnb and Google, internationally and scaled up VC-backed businesses, like SeatGeek and Adzuna, running the commercial operations
Where Are They Now: Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon On Her Book, ‘She’s In CTRL’ - A Practical Guide To Using Tech To Improve Women’s Lives
“This idea of a lone genius that has all the answers does not solve anything, it only makes things worse.”
We’re back with a fresh episode of our ‘Where Are They Now’ feature Series, where we invite some of our most popular 40 Minute Mentors back on the podcast to discuss their latest news and insights.
This time, we’re joined by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, Co-Founder and CEO of Stemettes, Author, Podcast Host and Arithmetician on the popular Channel 4 show, Countdown.
In this episode, we find ou
Series 8 Roundup: Navigating The Economic Downturn & Fundraising In 2023
“The recession period felt awful, but actually during that time, even as a small business, we got to be the UK market leader, and all that with only five people working for us, at the time.”
To kick off 2023, we’re looking back on the latest Series of 40 Minute Mentor and hand pick some of the great advice our mentors shared with us, this time focused on the economic downturn and fundraising.
There’s still a lot of uncertainty and instability in the world and it’s hard to predict what 2023 wil
Best Of 2022 - A Year Of Mentorship In Review
As 2022 is coming to an end, we take the chance to look back and reflect on the last 12 months of 40 Minute Mentor. We did this, by asking some of the JBM team, our series sponsors and 40 Minute Mentor ambassadors for their favourite episodes of the year. To listen back to the episodes mentioned in today’s episode, click through the list below: 🎧 Amali de Alwis:https://jbmc.co.uk/insights/40-minute-mentor/series-8-amali-de-alwis-subak/🎧 Dan Garrett:https://jbmc.co.uk/insights/40-minut
Part 2: 10 Lessons From 10 Years Of Scaling JBM, with James Mitra, Founder & CEO of JBM
“Where it does become an issue for you, the people around you, your team and your family, is when you are burning out, getting stressed and ill, because you’re not finding any balance at all.” In this second part of our new 40 Minute Mentor mini-series, we learn more about the lessons our Founder, CEO and host of this podcast, James Mitra, learned over the last 10 years of building and scaling JBM. If you haven’t caught up with the first part of the series, yet, make sure you check it o
Part 1: 10 Lessons From 10 Years Of Scaling JBM, with James Mitra, Founder & CEO of JB
“I’m ashamed to say I was a bit embarrassed at times when I went to dinner parties and told people what I did for a living. There was always this reputation of sharky, dishonest recruiters.” This week, we’re launching the first of a special two-part Series on 40 Minute Mentor. JBM turned 10 years old this year and we’re officially turning the microphone and sharing our own Startup story. In today’s episode, our Founder, CEO and Host of this podcast, James Mitra, will share how JBM was s
Sponsor Spotlight: Building Human-Centred Learning Experiences, with Stuart Packham, CEO of Alchemist
“I realised that for the first time in my career, I reported to a board and investors, but the decisions were on me. It was all on me.”
In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Stuart Packham, CEO of our Series Sponsor’s Alchemist, JBM board advisor and longtime mentor and friend of team JBM.
Our host, James Mitra, and Stu have known each other for years, dating back to their days at Michael Page, so it was extra special to have Alchemist as our Series sponsor and Stu joining u
End of Series 8 Message from your Host, James Mitra
Series 8 of 40 Minute Mentor has officially come to a close. It’s been 12 weeks of brilliant mentorship from some of the best in the industry, including:➡️ Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain's greatest Paralympian and Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords ➡️ Graham Hobson, Founder of Photobox➡️ Molly Johnson-Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexa➡️ Sho Sugihara, Founder and CEO of Pave➡️ Amali de Alwis, CEO of Subak➡️ Ian Hogarth, Co-Founder of Plural Platform➡️ Emma Steele, Partner at Ascension
Bouncing Back From Redundancy And Depression To Build A Multi-Million-Pound Property Portfolio, with Ellie McKay
“When people say that money doesn't make you happy, they've often not experienced both extremes."For our final 40 Minute Mentor episode of this Series, we’re joined by Ellie McKay, property entrepreneur and host of the popular ‘On A Mission’ Podcast. Not long ago, Ellie’s life was barely recognisable - raising three children under the age of five, battling postnatal depression and facing redundancy. Fast forward to today, Ellie is a serial entrepreneur, building a multi-million-pound property po
Making VC More Accessible, with Eleanor Kaye, Executive Director at Newton Venture Program
“Don't think because you perhaps don't have a typical background for VC, that you're not welcomed. That's actually far from the truth.”In our penultimate episode of this 40 Minute Mentor series, we’re joined by Eleanor Kaye, Executive Director at Newton Venture Program. Newton is a joint venture between London Business School and Local Globe VC, on a mission to ensure the next generation of VCs represents the world we all live in, by running programmes for people from overlooked or under-estimat
How The Metaverse Is Changing Defence, with Joe Robinson, CEO of Improbable Defence
“It’s okay not to know. It’s not okay not to learn.” The Metaverse often makes headlines, but what does it really mean? In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Joe Robinson, the CEO of Improbable Defence.Improbable is a British Metaverse technology Scaleup and Unicorn, that partners with video game developers, entertainment companies and defence institutions to help them bring to life rich, powerful, virtual worlds of unprecedented size, scale, ambition and usefulness. We’ve had the
How To Get Hiring Right
“We don’t just recruit for mission alignment, but for mission obsession. You can spot a mission obsessed person from a mile away - they almost can’t contain it within them.” In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we talk about all things hiring - the importance of getting hiring right and how hiring for values can help with that. In almost every conversation we have with Founders, hiring is referenced as a real pain point and something that’s difficult to get right but can be detrim
Building The Headspace For Journaling with Elizabeth Uviebinené, Author & Founder of Storia
“Write what you know. Two black girls from South London wrote a book that resonates with 1000s of people around the world.”In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Elizabeth Uviebinené, the multi-award-winning author, columnist at The Financial Times, and Founder of Storia. After starting her career in marketing, Elizabeth went on to publish five books, including her debut Bestseller ‘Slay In Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible’ which won many awards and was critically acclaimed. Now, El
How To Build A Portfolio Career, with James Mitra
“The beauty of a portfolio career is that it gives you lots of flexibility and variety. And that’s been the number one reason a lot of people are choosing this path.” In this bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we discuss a topic which has increasingly become more popular amongst our candidates - portfolio careers. You’ll find out: ➡️ Why this has become such an interesting option for high-performing talent and an attractive solution for clients alike ➡️ The factors to keep in mind before you s
From Protesting On The Streets Of Hong Kong To Raising £1.5m Pre-Seed, with James Lo, Co-Founder & CEO of Mana
“I’ve been rejected by every ideal university I imagined I wanted to go to, at least 50 jobs I interviewed for and by 130 VC funds in fundraising so far.”In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by James Lo, Co-Founder and CEO of Mana - the app designed to help everyone make a living by sharing their passion. James started his entrepreneurial journey early, founding an educational social enterprise at the age of 16, before following a more traditional Founder path of consulting at McKinsey
The Pivot That Changed JBM Forever, with James Mitra
“Within 24 hours, we said goodbye to all our corporate partners and set off on a new path.” In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we chat more about the pivot that turned JBM into the search firm it is today. James Mitra, Founder of JBM and Host of 40 Minute Mentor, talks us through why he decided to pivot the business, the drastic decision he had to make and why transparency, empathy and mentorship were so crucial to the success of the pivot. ⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️Keep up to da
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & The Future Of Crypto, with Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic
“Even CEOs have those moments of doubt and vulnerability. I continually have to work on making sure that I'm balancing the journey with enjoying the journey.” This week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode features Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic, a FinTech helping businesses make the crypto economy a safe place to transact and invest by managing financial crime in crypto. Having had the pleasure of working with Elliptic and Simone on some key senior hires into their growing team, we’ve seen firsthand what
How To Overcome Imposter Syndrome with James Mitra
“There is nothing wrong with doubting yourself. Having a bit of self doubt is good, because it means you’re constantly trying to improve, grow and evolve.” In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we tackle a topic that is often discussed amongst Founders and leaders - imposter syndrome. Having experienced imposter syndrome on many occasions over the last 10 years of leading JBM, our host James Mitra shares some of the advice that has helped him to push through self doubt. Plus, we he
From GitLab To Building A Global Remote Workforce, with Job van der Voort, Co-Founder & CEO of Remote
“If you're not in a situation where you can safely take a year or two to start your own business, you probably shouldn't do it.”In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Job van der Voort, Co-Founder and CEO of Remote, the FinTech empowering companies of all sizes to pay and manage workers in 50+ countries all over the world. Having always had a desire to start his own business, Job joined GitLab early on in their journey and spent 5 years with them growing the busin
LIVE at Sifted Summit: Purpose v Profit with Nikki Wicks (The Body Coach), Emma Steele (Ascension) & Amali De Alwis (Subak)
“When your values are so set and embedded in what you do, then anything that doesn’t line up with them, is a ‘No’.” This 40 Minute Mentor episode, is the live recording we were honoured to host at this year’s Sifted Summit in London. Our panel discussion was all about putting purpose over profit and accelerating impact - a topic that has gained a lot of traction over the last years. Gone are the days in which top talent are looking to go into Banking, Consulting or Investing. Now the best of the
Building Your Founder Craft & Investing In Impact with Ian Hogarth, Co-Founder of Plural Platform
“There's a very long list of these iconic companies that actually weren't started by first time Founders.”In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Ian Hogarth, a hugely accomplished Entrepreneur, Angel Investor and Co-Founder of Plural Platform, an exciting new early-stage platform dedicated to investing in Europe’s next generation of tech companies with global ambitions. If you’ve been listening to 40 Minute Mentor for a while, you may recognise Ian’s name from a p
World Mental Health Day: Opening Up About Mental Health As A Founder with James Mitra
“The more we talk about mental health, the more we normalise it and hopefully help save lives.”
This year’s World Mental Health Day theme is ‘making mental health and wellbeing a global priority for all’ - something we’ve spoken about a lot on 40 Minute Mentor over the years.
Whether it’s our mental health panel discussions, the day to day lived experience of mental health of the Founders we chat to, or purpose-driven Founders like James Routlegde, who is empowering people to connect with the
Embracing A Non-Linear Career: From Shoe Design To Tackling Climate Change with Amali de Alwis, CEO of Subak
“If we’re trying to say that the only way to find answers and the only way to fund climate issues is through equity based investment, it’s just not going to work. It doesn’t suit every type of business.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Amali de Alwis, CEO of Subak, the world’s first not-for-profit accelerator that scales climate impact through data, policy and behaviour change. Prior to joining the team at Subak, Amali was Managing Director of Microsoft for
How To Navigate An Economic Downturn
“Sometimes you can use difficult times to come up with incredible new ideas. It’s a great opportunity to get your team to think creatively and empower them to come to you with suggestions and try new things. It's probably going to be pretty scrappy, but you never know, it might just be the making of your business.”
In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we talk about navigating challenging times, as a Founder and business leader.
James reflects on the pandemic and shares some of t
Financial Inclusion & Finding Your Purpose As A Founder with Sho Sugihara, Founder & CEO of Pave
“It's really demotivating in the early days to keep building, keep building but nothing seems to happen. You need tenacity and planning skills to get you through that.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Sho Sugihara, Founder and CEO of Pave, the FinTech-for-good helping customers improve their credit score and history with bill monitoring and credit building. Sho started his career working with NGOs around the world, driven by the desire to build a world free
Purpose Over Profit At Sifted Summit - October 6th
40 Minute Mentor LIVE and in person!
We’re attending Sifted Summit on Thursday, October 6th, to record a live panel discussion with some of the most inspiring purpose-driven Founders and Investors.
If you haven’t heard of Sifted Summit before, it’s the Startup event of the year, bringing startup Europe under one roof with new perspectives, new opportunities and new chances to collaborate.
Our 40 Minute Mentor session at 2pm on the Thursday will be all about ‘Purpose Over Profit’ and will feat
The Future Of Flexible Working with Molly Johnson-Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexa
“The biggest shift in the candidate market is that people care just as much about how they work as what they do.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the brilliant Molly Johnson-Jones, Co-Founder and CEO of Flexa. Flexa is a global directory of verified flexible companies that lists companies by vacancies and flexibility percentage scores, benchmarked against thousands of data points. We’re proud partners of Flexa and were ‘flexified’ earlier in 2022. That’s why we were so e
How To Embrace Flexible Working, with James Mitra
“We’ve really found that added flexibility has been an amazing way to attract talent, retain talent, and give everybody a chance to work in a way they want to work.” In this week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, we talk about all things flexible working and the way in which we’ve implemented more flexible ways of working here at JBM. We touch on the various benefits we introduced to the JBM team over the past 12 months, what’s been working the best and the lessons we learned along the way.
Why The Wealthy Should Be Paying More Tax with Photobox Founder, Graham Hobson
“Entrepreneurship is a process of natural selection. You can't ever guarantee that the playbook you're going to follow is going to guarantee success.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Graham Hobson, the Founder of Photobox, a photo printing company that acquired Moonpig and was later sold for a reported £400 million.Today, Graham is an angel investor, mentor and advisor, working to support climate change initiatives, fairer tax and social impact. In this episode, Graham s
How To Know When To Move On As A Founder, with James Mitra
“There are so many opportunities out there for Founders. If you decide to step away, I can promise you there will be lots of people that will want to hire you.” This week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, is all about knowing when to stay as a Founder and when to exit - something we talk a lot about with Founders, including in our upcoming episode with Graham Hobson. Over the next 4 minutes, James shares his insights on what Founders need to think about when deciding whether to transition t
From Paralympic Golds To The House Of Lords with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
“In the whole of my career, I lost more races than I won. I think people like to look at the medals, but don’t necessarily look at the other side of it.” 40 Minute Mentor is officially back for Series 8! We’re kicking off this new series with the amazing Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s greatest Paralympic athlete, who has won 11 Gold medals and broke 30 world records throughout her career. Following her competing years, Tanni was created a life peer and is a Crossbench Peer in the House
How To Build Resilience with James Mitra
“If you feel that you can be your vulnerable self, and you can bring your true self to work, you’re going to push yourself outside your comfort zone and achieve more.”In addition to our usual 40 Minute Mentor episode on Wednesdays, we’re launching a brand new bite-sized mentorship format. Starting today, every Monday, you can tune in and spend 4 minutes with JBM Founder and 40 Minute Mentor host, James Mitra. We’ll be covering some of the most popular topics we get asked about, share first-hand
Series 8 Trailer
40 Minute Mentor, your pocket-sized career mentor, is back with a brand new series!From purpose-led Founders to Olympic champions; learn first-hand from today’s successful leaders on what it takes to be brilliant, all in just 40 minutes.To get a little preview of what's coming your way over the coming months, hit play on our Series 8 trailer. ⭐Enjoying 40 Minute Mentor?⭐️Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any
The Reality Of Founder Life with Foundr’s Nathan Chan
“Every single problem that you’re experiencing in your business today, there’s somebody out there that has solved it.” To round off our 40 Minute Mentor ‘Early Stage Founders’ Feature Series, we’re joined by Nathan Chan, Founder and CEO of global media and education company, Foundr. Foundr provide training from the world’s greatest entrepreneurs through magazines, podcasts, videos, articles and online courses, to inspire their worldwide community of entrepreneurs. As a seasoned 40 Minute Mentor
Putting Purpose Over Profit with Afrocenchix’s Rachael Twumasi-Corson
“This is an industry where 78% of products that are targeted to black women contain horrible toxic ingredients. There was a paper that came out that linked parabens in black hair care products to breast cancer growth in black women. Nothing you use to groom yourself should be making you sick.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor ‘Early Stage Founder’ feature series episode, we’re joined by Rachael Twumasi-Corson, the Founder and CEO of black-owned haircare business, Afrocenchix. Afrocenchix are on a
Building A Multi-Award Winning Bootstrapped Business with Mags Creative’s Hannah Russell
“There are a lot of cases where I think raising capital can actually ruin a perfectly good business model.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor 'Early Stage Founders' Feature Series episode, we’re joined by Hannah Russell, the Co-Founder of multi-award-winning podcasting company, Mags Creative. Mags Creative aren’t just the brilliant team behind our 40 Minute Mentor podcast, but are also the brains and creative power behind some of the best podcasts in the industry. The team helps brands and individ
Work Near Home - The Future of Work with Patch’s Freddie Fforde
“What matters to me about the people in our cap table is that they’re people who really care about what we’re trying to achieve and our values, and fundamentally believe and support me as the Founder.” To kick off our brand new 40 Minute Mentor ‘Early Stage Founders’ feature series, we’re joined by the brilliant Freddie Fforde, Founder of Patch. Patch creates dynamic work clubs and community venues for local highstreets. Open and available to everyone, Patch are looking to redefine what the futu
VC Feature: “Many generational companies were born out of downturns, so these are times for big opportunities”, with Index Venture’s Hannah Seal
“VC should be a great career for people from diverse backgrounds, because it’s really a role where you’re judged on your output. At the end of a fund cycle, it’s pretty clear to see whether you’re a good investor or not.” In our final 40 Minute Mentor VC Feature series episode, we’re joined by Hannah Seal, Partner at one of the most prestigious VCs in the world and one of JBM’s favourite clients, Index Ventures. Index Ventures is an international multi-stage venture capital firm, investing in te
VC Feature: “The common trait we see amongst successful entrepreneurs is that they’re sacrificing a lot of life into this journey but they want to do it for something that matters”, with Felix Capital’s Antoine Nussenbaum
“One of the biggest misconceptions in VC is that it’s an easy way to be successful, or a quick shortcut to something - that’s absolutely wrong. It’s a really long journey.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor VC Feature series episode, we’re joined by Antoine Nussenbaum, the Co-Founder of Felix Capital. Felix is a venture capital firm for the creative class, at the intersection of technology and creativity, focusing on opportunities in digital lifestyle. They’re on a mission to support ambitious Founder
VC Feature: “Founders in Europe were so underserved relative to what I experienced raising money in Silicon Valley”, with Kindred Capital’s Leila Zegna
“Create an anxiety balance sheet with the things you have control over and the things you don’t have control over. Put the things that give you anxiety into these credits and debits and you’ll realise that actually there’s a lot more that’s in your control than you think.” Kicking off our VC feature series, we’re joined by Leila Zegna, the Founding General Partner of Kindred Capital. Kindred are building a new model for Venture Capital where every Founder they back becomes a co-owner of the fund
Where Are They Now: Timothy Armoo On Scaling & Selling Fanbytes To A Global Media Agency
“The moment you start seeing yourself as a black Founder, you end up almost acting with all the facts that impact black Founders. So, you end up going into conversations with investors expecting not to raise money, or you don’t even approach VCs because you think they won’t give you money, etc.” In this final episode of our 40 Minute Mentor ‘Where Are They Now’ feature series, we’re joined by the brilliant Timothy Armoo, Forbes 30 Under 30, Co-Founder and exited CEO of the recently acquired infl
Where Are They Now: Tessa Clarke On Scaling OLIO & Investing In Diverse Founders
“If we were to see truly representative investment committees and truly diverse representation amongst the gatekeepers of power and capital, then we would solve this problem pretty much overnight.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor instalment of our ‘Where Are They Now’ feature series, we’re joined by Tessa Clarke, Co-Founder and CEO of OLIO. OLIO is the number one sharing app, connecting neighbours with each other and local businesses, so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. Over 6 million pe
Where Are They Now: Fred Jones On Parental Leave & Changing Mobility For Good
“When you’re 60 and you look back on your career, you’re never going to look back and think - I wish I worked for the two months more, I didn’t spend with my daughter.” In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor, ‘Where Are They Now’ feature, we welcome back one of our very first guests on the podcast and JBM Board Advisor, the incredible Fred Jones, VP and Regional Manager of Northern Europe at TIER Mobility. TIER is Europe’s leading shared micro-mobility provider. Their international team of serial entre
Where Are They Now: Roberta Lucca On Becoming A Multi-Entrepreneur
“Don’t be trapped by your job title. You can do more things. And by doing more things, by exploring all the sides of your identity and hidden talents, you’ll discover a completely different future than you can see right now.” Up next in our 40 Minute Mentor, ‘Where Are They Now’ feature series, we’re joined by the Co-Founder of BAFTA-winning gaming studio, Bossa Studios, and multi-creative entrepreneur, the incredible Roberta Lucca. Having transitioned from Co-Founder and CMO to Non-Executive D
Where Are They Now: Alex Stephany On Scaling The World’s First Crowdfunding Platform For Homeless People
“Just a single conversation can actually change the direction of someone’s life.” To kick off Series 2 of our popular 40 Minute Mentor, ‘Where Are They Now’ mini-series, we’re joined by Alex Stephany, Co-Founder and CEO of Beam - the world’s first crowdfunding platform for homeless people. When Alex last joined us in Series 2 of 40 Minute Mentor, we talked about the early days of Beam, the inspiring story behind why the business exists and some brilliant actionable mentorship on providing a long
Disrupting Industries: Series 7 Roundup
“One of the biggest challenges that we’re facing is that we have a category defining product and nothing like it has existed before, so we have to do a lot of consumer education.”To celebrate the completion of 40 Minute Mentor Series 7, we’ve put together a fascinating roundup episode spotlighting industry disrupting business leaders. We hear from category defining businesses, including Dan Garrett from Farewill, Margot & Alexia de Broglie from Your Juno, Nicolas d’Audiffret from Ankorstore and
Our Favourite Moments Of Series 7 with Host James Mitra & Producer Hannah Urbanek
For the end of Series 7, we have a special roundup episode in store for you, in which our Host James Mitra sits down with 40 Minute Mentor Producer and JBM Head of Marketing & Partnerships, Hannah Urbanek. Together, they reflect on their favourite moments of Series 7 and tell us a bit more about the upcoming episodes, including the comeback of a very popular mini series. ➡️ If you’re not all caught up on Series 7 yet, make sure you have a look through the episode archives at https://podcasts.app
Mental Health Spotlight with Dan Murray-Serter, Co-Founder of Heights
“A healthier brain leads to a happier life. If you have more healthy habits than bad ones, you will ultimately be healthier and happier. But having healthy habits is hard….” For our final episode of our Mental Health mini-series, we look back on our conversation with the brilliant Dan Murray-Serter, serial entrepreneur, Co-Founder of Heights and host of the popular Secret Leaders podcast. In today’s episode, Dan shares some candid insights into Heights, including: How struggling with Insomnia le
Mental Health Spotlight with Reeva Misra, Founder of Walking On Earth
“I really think now is the time for business leaders to step up, act boldly and put in some of the changes that have been needed for a while.” In today’s Mental Health feature episode, we look back on our episode with Reeva Misra, the Founder and CEO of Walking on Earth - a holistic health platform on a mission to elevate human happiness. Reeva shares her candid insights from blending technology and holistic health, including: How she’s scaling Walking on Earth while still prioritising her own w
Mental Health Spotlight with James Routledge, Founder of Sanctus
“Getting out of bed was hard. Every day felt like a chore - it felt like the grind. And one night in bed, I just thought to myself, if I feel the same way again tomorrow morning, I honestly don’t want to wake up…” Continuing our Mental Health mini-series, we look back on our discussion with James Routledge, Founder and former CEO of Sanctus - a purpose-driven mental health organisation focused on providing support in the workplace. In today’s episode we hear about James’s mental health journey a
Mental Health Spotlight with Carrie Carlisle, Sophie Scott and Rohan Kallicharan
“Silence is the oxygen [this illness] needs, it thrives on it. So the more insular that we become, the more we don’t talk, the more illogical and irrational our belief system gets.” In episode 2 of our Mental Health Spotlight mini-series, we cover segments from our roundtable discussion featuring Psychotherapist and Wellness Expert, Sophie Scott, HR Director and Mind Ambassador, Rohan Kallicharan and mental health campaigner and author, Carrie Carlisle. This inspiring panel of guests brings many
Mental Health Spotlight with Mo Gawdat, author and Founder of One Billion Happy
“If you imagine that life is just about now, then the purpose of cleaning the dishes is to do it as best as you can and enjoy yourself. You can find micro purpose and joy in everything you do.” To continue shining the light on the importance of mental health, we’re launching a special feature mini-series this week. Every day of this week we’ll be taking a look back on some of our mental health conversations from our 40 Minute Mentor archives. To kick off the series, we take a look back on some o
Downing Street, Death Threats and DE&I with Baroness Oona King
“When I lost my seat in parliament, as devastating as it was, I genuinely felt relieved that I got out with my life.” We’ve officially reached our final episode of Series 7, but we’re definitely finishing on a high with today’s 40 Minute Mentor - it’s none other than Baroness Oona King. Oona has worn many hats throughout her career - from becoming the second black woman elected into British Parliament, becoming a Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister on Equalities, to ultimately pivoting into tec
Finding Purpose After Exiting Moonpig with Nick Jenkins
“If the product is good enough, ultimately the business will succeed.” In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Nick Jenkins, Founder of Moonpig, former Dragon on BBC hit show Dragons' Den and angel investor. Due to its incredible success story, greeting card business Moonpig probably doesn’t need much of an introduction, but we don’t often hear about the challenges it took to overcome to eventually sell Moonpig for £120 million to Photobox Group in 2011. In today’s episode, Nick sha
How To Build A $2 Billion Unicorn In Under 3 Years with Ankorstore’s Nicolas d'Audiffret
“Before you scale, you need to make sure you are solving big pains with a great value proposition.” It’s not every day you get to speak to someone who turned their Startup into a Double-Unicorn with over 500 employees in just 3 years. Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Nicolas d'Audiffret, one of the Co-Founders of Ankorstore - the marketplace taking on e-Commerce giants like Amazon. Ankorstore was founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and is a partner to more than 200,000 retailers, florists, cof
From Exiting Songkick To Tackling The Climate Crisis with Supercritical’s Michelle You
“Even if we electrify everything and switch to renewables and decarbonise - we still need to remove billions of tonnes of carbon from the sky because we have polluted so much.” Ahead of World Earth Day this week, we’re really excited to welcome Michelle You, Co-Founder of Songkick and Co-Founder and CEO of Supercritical, to 40 Minute Mentor. You might have heard of the popular concert ticket app Songkick before, which Michelle and her Co-Founders built to one of the most popular apps on
Building Purpose-Led Brands With Natalie Graeme (Uncommon) & Orr Vinegold (Unrest)
“There’s a general recognition that doing good is good for business - and that applies at all levels of business.” This week we have the pleasure of welcoming not one, but two amazing mentors to 40 Minute Mentor - Natalie Graeme, Co-Founder of Uncommon Creative and Orr Vinegold, Co-Founder of Unrest. Uncommon Creative is an award-winning creative studio building brands that matter, make a difference and brands that people in the real world actually wish existed. And Unrest is an accelerator prog
Destigmatising Death with Farewill’s Dan Garrett
“I thought burnout was just the equivalent of meaning you hadn’t got it - you couldn’t keep going. Then one day at work, I came out of a meeting and collapsed in the streets.” In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by industry-disrupter Dan Garrett, Co-Founder and CEO of Farewill - the multi-award-winning wills, probate and funerals company on a mission to change the way the world deals with death. In today’s episode, Dan shares thought-provoking mentorship, including:
His cand
The Power Of Personal Branding with Amelia Sordell, Founder of Klowt
“When people say that you can’t do something, it’s really because they can’t do it. Don’t stop doing what you want to do because someone told you you can’t, because you can.” To ring in the halfway point of Series 7, we had the pleasure of interviewing an absolute icon in personal branding: Amelia Sordell, the Founder of Klowt.Klowt is THE personal branding agency on a mission to build entirely authentic personal brands that drive real results - something we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing f
Closing The Financial Literacy Gap With Your Juno Founders Margot & Alexia de Broglie
In this episode we’re joined by sisters, Margot and Alexia de Broglie, Co-Founders of Your Juno - an app widely referred to as ‘the Duolingo of Finance’ and on a mission to empower women and non-binary people through financial education. The de Broglie sisters give us an exclusive insight into Your Juno’s amazing journey from conception to over 10k downloads and raising £1.6 million. 💙A big thank you to our Sponsors: Chipper Cash - an African cross-border payments company trusted by over 4 mill
Making Business More Sustainable And Developing Talent With Wing Chan, Co-Founder & CEO of Sourceful
In this episode, we had the pleasure of welcoming Wing Chan, the Co-Founder and CEO of Sourceful - the Index Ventures backed all-in-one platform bringing together tools, data and products companies need to make their supply chains more sustainable. In today’s episode, Wing recounts his experiences of quickly climbing the ranks at The Hut Group to become CMO at 25 and CTO at 28, what has led him to start Sourceful and he shares some excellent mentorship on the importance of seeing the potential i
From Olympic Gold To FemTech Founder with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill
In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we speak to one of Britain’s most decorated Olympians and Founder of FemTech Startup, Jennis, the incredible Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. Jess shares the ups and downs of her athletics career, including how setbacks early on in her sporting career turned her into the successful athlete she became and how she dealt with the pressures of Super Saturday. We also hear more about her FemTech business, Jennis, which is on a mission to change women’s lives by helping them
Scaling Lessons with Google For Startups UK’s Marta Krupinska
In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we chat to the inspiring Marta Krupinska, serial entrepreneur and Head of Google for Startups UK - a programme run to support thriving, diverse and inclusive Startup communities around the world.
Marta shares some brilliant mentorship in this episode, including the lessons learned from her first Startup, her candid take on the progress made in DE&I in the Tech sector and the crucial skills Founders should really be focusing on.
💙A big thank you to our Spons
Securing Series A Funding with AudioMob’s Christian Facey
To kick off Series 7, we had the pleasure of welcoming a real rising star in the UK Tech scene, Christian Facey, the Co-Founder and CEO of AudioMob. AudioMob allows brands to connect with gamers without interrupting their gaming experience, using in-game audio ads. In today’s episode, Christian gives us an exclusive insight into AudioMob’s fascinating journey to date and shares some great mentorship for any fellow Founders and aspiring entrepreneurs - including his advice following their impress
Series 7 Trailer
40 Minute Mentor is back with a brand new series, filled with mentorship from Founders of some of the world’s fastest growing businesses and future unicorns as well as a number of world class leaders from other industries.
To get a little preview of what's coming your way, hit play on our trailer.
And if you've enjoyed the past 6 series, please leave us a review over on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm - we absolutely love hearing your feedback and really appreciate all the support we get f
Where Are They Now: Ezechi Britton On His MBE & Advancing Social Mobility
Today’s ‘Where Are They Now’ episode is our last one before we launch Series 7 - and we’re definitely finishing on a high, as we catch up with the amazing Ezechi Britton MBE, Co-Founder of Code Untapped and Founding Member and Principal at Impact X. 2 years after his appearance on our 40 Minute Mentor social mobility special, Ez tells us about what it felt like to find out he received an MBE at the start of 2022 and we talk about the progress he’s seen in social mobility in Tech and VC, and what
Where Are They Now: Juliet Davenport OBE On Transitioning from CEO To A Portfolio Career
In this ‘Where Are They Now’ feature mini episode, we catch up with the brilliant Juliet Davenport OBE, Founder and former CEO of Good Energy Group. A year after coming onto 40 Minute Mentor, Juliet chats to us about her decision to step down as CEO of Good Energy, what she wishes she had known before her switch to a portfolio career, and she tells us what she’s been up to since. Plus, Juliet shares some candid insights into the changing energy market and how we can all play our part in moving t
Where Are They Now: Sophie Adelman On Building A Community For The Curious
In this ‘Where Are They Now’ feature mini episode, we catch up with the brilliant Sophie Adelman, Co-Founder and CEO of The Garden and Co-Founder and former President of Multiverse. 2 years after coming onto 40 Minute Mentor, we chat to Sophie about her decision to leave hypergrowth EdTech Scaleup, Multiverse and we find out more about her exciting new venture, The Garden. Plus, Sophie shares some brilliant advice for anyone looking to make a career pivot or start their own business. Helpful lin
Where Are They Now: Kresse Wesling CBE On Building A Regenerative Farm
In this special ‘Where Are They Now’ feature mini episode, we catch up with one of our very first 40 Minute Mentors we welcomed onto the podcast, the brilliant Kresse Wesling CBE. We talk about her journey with Kresse & Elvis since 2019, why they’re building a one-of-a-kind regenerative farm in Kent, and why now is the time for all of us to be environmentally focused and help reduce waste.
Helpful links:
For Kresse’s full 40 Minute Mentor episode on building an award-winning business from
VC & Fundraising Advice – Series 6 Best Bits
Series 6 of 40 Minute Mentor might have come to a close earlier this month, but with another Series filled to the brim with advice and Scaleup insights, we thought we’d add a little something to your pre-Holiday playlist.
In this special roundup episode, we focus on a topic we often get asked about here at JBM - VC and Fundraising. Whether you’re wondering how to get into the industry or you’re a fellow Founder about to embark on your next fundraising journey, this episode features some of the m
Scaling Social Chain To IPO with Dominic McGregor
In this final 40 Minute Mentor episode of Series 6, we’re joined by the Founder and former COO of Social Chain, and now a Founding Partner of Fearless Adventures, the brilliant Dominic McGregor.
A lot of you will be familiar with the incredible journey Social Chain and their team have been on. At a very young age, both Dominic and his Co-Founder Steven Bartlett, have built a unique company culture, based on the drive to make it work for their team, even if that meant ripping up the corporate rul
Building The Monzo Of Supermarkets With Tom Foster-Carter
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by former COO of Monzo and Founder and CEO of Lollipop, Tom Foster-Carter.
Tom started his career in consulting before embarking on his Operations journey - first as Founder of both Osper and Curve, and then as Monzo’s COO where he scaled the business to 4 million customers and the team from 30 to 1,000, in just 2 years.
In May 2020, Tom decided to take yet another entrepreneurial leap and launched his latest venture Lollipop – a grocery Startup
The Road To Olympic Gold with Kate & Helen Richardson-Walsh
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Team GB hockey legends and Olympic Gold Medallists Kate & Helen Richardson-Walsh.
Kate and Helen have been on an incredible journey, playing Hockey when it wasn’t really a viable career choice and continuing to represent Team GB at the Olympics, resulting in winning Gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016. While being teammates, Kate and Helen’s win on the Olympic podium also represented a big step in sporting history, as they became the first sa
From Operator To VC with Cleo Sham
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by our very own JBM SOS Board Advisor, Partner at Stride.VC and former Director of Operations at Uber, Cleo Sham.
Cleo has had an incredible career, spanning from building Uber’s Guangzhou city business and team from the ground up to becoming Uber’s largest city business globally and the first city to reach 1 million weekly trips, to leading the sales, operations, strategy and marketing functions as Spotahome’s COO, and transitioning into VC as
Building A Squiggly Career with Helen Tupper
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Co-Founder and CEO of Amazing If, Co-Author of best-seller ‘The Squiggly Career’, and Co-Host of the popular Squiggly Careers podcast (a JBM favourite!), Helen Tupper.
Helen has enjoyed a hugely successful career at some of the biggest companies in the world – Virgin, Microsoft, BP and Capital One, to name a few – but decided to take the leap into the world of entrepreneurship together with her friend Sarah Ellis and start Amazing If – an awar
Building A Remote-First Startup Disrupting Travel with Ben Stephenson
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Ben Stephenson, the Founder and CEO of the ground-breaking travel platform Impala.
Ben has raised millions in funding for Impala over the last five years from some of the best VCs out there, including Lakestar which previously invested in Airbnb. He’s seen his staff mushroom to over 100 people, and he made the company remote-first way back in 2017, when having remote teams wasn’t something people looked too favourably upon.
A true problem-solv
How To Succeed At Working Solo with Rebecca Seal
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by journalist, broadcaster, TV presenter, Podcast host of ‘The Solo Collective’ and author, Rebecca Seal.
Rebecca’s had a hugely varied career so far, including working as a journalist at The Observer, featuring as a Food and Drink expert on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, writing and publishing multiple books, including her latest best seller: “Solo: How to Work Alone(and Not Lose Your Mind)” and working as a Freelance journalist and author for over
Changing The Face Of STEM with Dr Anne - Marie Imafidon MBE
In this 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by a real-life child prodigy, Co-Founder and CEO of Stemettes, and Host of the Evening Standard’s Women Tech Charge podcast, Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE.
Anne-Marie was one of the youngest to pass two GCEs in two different subjects while in primary school and completed her master’s degree from the University of Oxford by the age of 20.
Since those days, she’s been knocking down walls and inspiring the next generation of women in STEM, through her wo
Revolutionising Holistic Health with Reeva Misra
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Founder and CEO of Walking on Earth, Reeva Misra.
Reeva has made it her mission to tackle the epidemic of stress in the modern world – with Walking on Earth taking a holistic approach to health, focusing on the interaction between mind, body, and the environment to elevate happiness, particularly at work.
It’s certainly been a fascinating journey for the business so far, not least because it was launched just two months before the glo
Unlocking Global Opportunities with Chipper Cash’s Ham Serunjogi
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Co-founder and CEO of Chipper Cash, Ham Serunjogi.
Chipper Cash aren’t just our Sponsors for this 40 Minute Mentor Series but are also widely considered to be Africa’s most valuable Startup. The team have been on an incredible journey, having launched their borderless way to send money across Africa and beyond, in 8 countries so far, with many more coming soon.
Ham’s success is testament to the power of taking the road less travelled and despi
Cultivating a Community of Purpose with Daisy Onubogu
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the Head of Network & Community at BACKED VC, and the recently appointed COO of Diversity VC, the brilliant Daisy Onubogu.
So much of Daisy’s career has been driven by a clear fascination with human behaviour, figuring out what makes us tick individually, and how to match that personal ambition with making the world a better place. In recent years, she’s also been at the forefront of driving change in DE&I, recognising that it’s less a
Empowering women in business with Sharmadean Reid MBE
To kick off Series 6 of our 40 Minute Mentor podcast, we’re joined by serial entrepreneur and Founder of The Stack World, Sharmadean Reid MBE.
From WAH London – a nail salon that mushroomed into a global mecca for aspiring entrepreneurs – to her latest venture, The Stack World, which combines leading editorial and beauty content with a marketplace for mission-driven women, Sharmadean has always placed female empowerment at the forefront of her work.
In today’s episode, Sharmadean speaks candidly
Introducing Series 6 of 40 Minute Mentor
40 Minute Mentor is back with a brand new series, filled with exclusive insights from CEOs, world class investors, purpose driven entrepreneurs and Olympic gold medallists.
To get a little preview of what's coming your way over the coming weeks, have a listen to this trailer.
And if you've enjoyed the past 5 series, please leave us a review on whichever podcast platform you listen to 40 Minute Mentor on or over at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm - we absolutely love hearing your feedback and r
The Power of Mentorship
Ahead of launching Series 6 of the 40 Minute Mentor in September, we take another look back on some of our favourite episodes across all series so far.
If you’ve been listening to 40 Minute Mentor for a while, you’ll notice that we like to wrap up each episode with a couple of questions focused on mentorship – why it’s important and who some of our successful guests lean to when they’re looking for advice.
The answers are always beyond inspiring, so we’ve compiled our favourite ones in today’s r
People Powered By Purpose – A Collection Of Conversations with Mission Driven Leaders
Since we started the 40 Minute Mentor podcast, we had the honour of speaking to so many mission-driven founders who have shown that business can be a force for good.
They’ve been full of insights and inspiration, which is why we’re excited to bring you this compilation of our favourite moments from our conversations.
You’ll hear from 11 amazing people who are all making a positive difference in a variety of ways:
Alex Stephany, on what inspired him to start Beam, the world’s first online pl
Series 5 Best Bits Roundup - Part 2 - First Hand Insights From Business Pioneers
In the second part of our 40 Minute Mentor Series Five compilation, we delve a little deeper into the inner workings of some of the most successful businesses.
In this episode we hear from Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google X and Founder of One Billion Happy, Andy Davis, Founder of 10x10, Roberta Lucca, Co-Founder of Bossa Studios, Grace Beverley, CEO of SHREDDY and TALA, Brett Wigdortz, Founder of Teach First and Co-Founder and CEO of Tiney, Juliet Davenport CEO of Good Energy a
Series 5 Best Bits Roundup - Part 1 - Career Advice From Industry Legends
Our 40 Minute Mentor Series 5 was packed to the brim with candid advice and insights from some of the most inspirational leaders across industries. To relieve some of our favourite parts, we’ve decided to release a special 2-part ‘best bits’ compilation episode.
In part one you’ll hear from:
Sir Clive Woodward and the importance of creating an environment where your whole team feel comfortable enough to speak up and disagree
Andy Davis, Co-Founder of 10x10 and his journey to becoming an entr
Coaching Champions From The Rugby World Cup To The Boardroom with Sir Clive Woodward
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the World Cup winning England Rugby coach and former Director of Sport for the London 2012 Olympics, Sir Clive Woodward.
After spending his childhood with big dreams of becoming a professional footballer, it was playing rugby at his local club as a kid that started Sir Clive down the path to becoming the first England Coach to lift the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
What people don’t always know is that rugby only went professional in the late 90s.
Building a Multimillion Dollar Games Empire with Roberta Lucca
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Co-founder of Bossa Studios and Host of the Hyper Curious Podcast, Roberta Lucca.
As her podcast title suggests, Roberta has built a career on her curiosity and it’s paid off in spades. Bossa Studios is a huge multimillion-dollar Games business, which won a BAFTA in 2012, and resulted in Roberta being named on the Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech in 2018.
Roberta’s success is testament to her drive and commitment, but as every entrepreneur will be
Building The UK’s First 100% Renewable Electricity Company with Juliet Davenport
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the CEO and Founder of Good Energy, Juliet Davenport OBE.
From childhood dreams of being a racing driver, to becoming one of the leading voices in tackling climate change, Juliet’s been on an incredible journey and we’re so excited for her to share it with us in today’s episode.
Juliet launched Good Energy in 2002, and almost 20 years later, Good Energy now supports over 73,000 homes, businesses and communities, which has led to Juliet being
Creating Equal Opportunities And Securing Investment with Andy Davis
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Angel Investor and Co-Founder of 10x10, Andy Davis.
From early employment as a presenter on Nickelodeon to being named one of Business Insider’s 100 People Transforming Business, Andy’s career is a truly inspirational one, which has found him enjoying success as both a founder and an investor.
Interestingly, Andy doesn’t see himself as an entrepreneur, but as a “problem solver” – whether that be in the form of his own startups or in helping fi
Scaling A Purpose-Driven Business Whilst Creating Balance with Grace Beverley
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Grace Beverley, the CEO and Founder of sports tech brand, SHREDDY and TALA, a clothing brand specializing in sustainable sports fashion.
At just 24, Grace has achieved so much already, from founding her two massively successful businesses to writing her book “Working Hard, Hardly Working”, which was subject of a nine-way auction with publishers champing at the bit to get their hands on it.
And it’s easy to see why. Grace is the epitome of the
Challenging Cultural Norms with Alice Bentinck MBE
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First and Code First: Girls, Alice Bentinck MBE.
Frustrated by a business landscape that found latent talent shackled by predetermined career paths, Alice set out to challenge cultural norms when she co-founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 – an accelerator that celebrates and invests in talented, ambitious individuals, and looks to match-make Co-Founders to launch successful businesses.
Almost 10 years later, Ent
Enabling the Next Generation of Early Years Educators with Brett Wigdortz
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the founder of Teach First, and co-founder and CEO of Tiney, Brett Wigdortz OBE.
Driven by a sense of fairness, and a belief that all children should have access to the best education possible, Brett launched Teach First in 2002, convinced that it would ultimately become one of the biggest graduate recruiters and charities in the UK. His instincts were right.
After 15 hugely successful years, he stepped down as CEO in 2017 and went on to set u
Levelling the Entrepreneurial Playing Field with Gary Stewart
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the founder and CEO of FounderTribes, Gary Stewart.
Gary has had such a varied life and career. Born in Jamaica, raised in the Bronx, educated at Yale. He started his career in law, before moving to the UK to pursue his passion for startups.
Through his work at Wayra UK he helped to launch 185 start-ups, and he has since launched FounderTribes, an app designed to democratise entrepreneurship by providing founders with the right advice, network
The Power of Creating a Positive Working Environment with Rachel Carrell
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the Founder and CEO of Koru Kids, Rachel Carrell.
After a successful career in strategy and innovation, including working at McKinsey and growing the healthcare company DrThom to 1.3 million paying users in 3 countries, Rachel took the leap and launched her own business, Koru Kids.
The idea for Koru Kids was born out of her own frustration with the lack of affordable childcare options for working parents and is now London’s fastest growing chi
Cultivating Happiness In Your Career with Mo Gawdat
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the infectiously optimistic and inspiring former Chief Business Officer of Google X, author of Solve for Happy and Founder of One Billion Happy, Mo Gawdat.
There’s no doubting Mo’s pedigree when you look at his career in tech – he made giant leaps up the ladder at IBM, BAT, Microsoft, and Google – but his real passion lies in spreading happiness around the world and promoting purpose-driven careers.
Following the tragic death of his son Ali in
Bonus Feature: The Future of Work
JBM SOS and Spring Partners are proud to be launching this bonus feature of the 40 Minute Mentor podcast.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives, including the way we work and how we collaborate with our teams.
To help us answer some of the most burning questions about improving WFH set ups, managing global teams remotely and what the future of offices will look like, we’re joined by an incredible panel in today’s episode, including Nicki Lynch and Joanne Thompson, Founding
Building A Disruptive Business Fueled By Kindness with Aron Gelbard
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we're joined by the incredible Aron Gelbard, founder of the rocket ship flower delivery Scale Up, Bloom & Wild.
Founded in 2013 Bloom & Wild has reinvented the flower delivery and gifting industry – using cutting edge technology and predictive analytics, innovative design (their flowers fit through a letterbox!) and guaranteeing the best quality and value for money as their flowers are sourced directly from growers.
Their success has led to them rece
Leadership Lessons From Working At 3 Unicorns with Tom Elvidge
It takes a certain type of person to trade being in a plush skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan for a trading estate on the outskirts of Leeds.
But that’s exactly what today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Tom Elvidge, did when he moved from Goldman Sachs to Uber at the time when it was a little-known new entrant to the UK market.
Tom played a fundamental role in taking it from a 3 person operation in a windowless room, to becoming one of the most recognisable companies in the UK.
There were a few high-p
Revolutionising Home Care with Rachael Crook
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the incredibly inspiring CEO of Lifted, Rachael Crook.
From early internships working to improve conditions for sex workers in Bangladeshi brothels and campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights in Uganda, to her job advising the Prime Minister on youth unemployment, Rachael has spent her career striving to help people who really need it.
In 2019 following her mother’s dementia diagnosis, Rachael was inspired to co-found Lifted – a company looking to revol
Fundraising & Scaling As A First Time Founder with James Hind
Happy New Year everyone! We're very excited to be starting 2021 with a brand-new episode of the 40 Minute Mentor. With the recent announcement of Lockdown 3.0 in England, we can all do with some extra inspiration and motivation and that’s exactly what today’s 40 Minute Mentor is here to do.
Just over a decade ago, today’s guest, James Hind, took his passion for cars and turned it into a business that has since grown into one of the Europe’s most popular car buying and reviewing platforms, Carwow
Encouraging Conversations About Mental Health
As we’re heading into a very different holiday season this year, today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode on mental health couldn’t be timelier, and we're so pleased to have gathered such an inspiring panel to discuss a topic that touches so many lives.
Although so much progress has been made over the last years, mental health is still a topic that comes with many stigmas, misconceptions, and a discomfort to openly talk about. That’s why it’s so important to actively encourage dialogue, which is somethi
From Working For Steve Jobs To Running A Sustainable Restaurant Group with Martin Morales
Your Mentor for the next 40 Minutes has had probably the most diverse and interesting career journeys of anyone we’ve ever met.
He’s gone from launching some of the most successful bands in the world like the Jonas Brothers in his early music career, to working with Steve Jobs as part of the team that launched iTunes in Europe taking it from revenues of zero to £500m in three years and in more recent times he is best know as a world renown chef and restaurateur, responsible for Cerviche - a busi
The Power Of Crowdfunding with Jeff Lynn
Your 40 Minute Mentor today is the fantastic, Jeff Lynn, co-founder of the hugely successful crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
Since recording this episode it was also announced that Seedrs will be merging with their biggest competitor Crowdcube to create the worlds largest PE marketplace – an incredibly exciting proposition!
Jeff started his career as a lawyer but while doing his MBA at Said Business School he got the entrepreneurial bug and with his co-founder Carlos Silva, created Seedrs
11 years
Supporting Underrepresented Founders with Check Warner
Your mentor for the next 40 minutes is the incredible Check Warner, Co-Founder of non-profit organisation Diversity VC and Ada Ventures, a venture capital firm, committed to investing in overlooked founders and markets.
It took around 18 months, 67 flights and 300 pitches to raise their first fund and Check shares her learnings through this process in today’s episode.
She also shares brilliant insights into what it takes to succeed in the VC sector, including:
How her graduate job in advertisi
Tackling The Food Waste Crisis with Tessa Clarke
Your 40 Minute Mentor today is Tessa Clarke Co-Founder and CEO of the food-sharing app Olio.
We throw away around one third of the food we buy, while 800 million people go to bed hungry every night. That’s 1 in 9 people on the planet who are starving or malnourished. Every one of them could be sufficiently fed on less than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the USA, UK and Europe each year. Tessa is on a mission to to change this.
In just 5 years Olio has built up almost 2.5 million users i
The Benefits Of A Portfolio Career with Ben Legg
It’s not every day you get to chat to a former COO of Google, but Ben Legg, your 40 Minute Mentor today, is exactly that!
Ben spent the first 10 years of his career in the British Army building bomb-proof structures and, occasionally, arm-wrestling members of the French Foreign Legion….
He successfully transitioned into business, working for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca Cola and Google as well as the high growth mobility Scale Up Ola and Adknowledge which he grew into one o
Navigating Covid-19 As A Start Up CEO with Dan Ziv
Today’s guest and your mentor for the next 40 minutes is Dan Ziv, CEO at TouchNote, the world’s most popular postcard sending app.
Since joining the company in 2016 as Chief Product Officer, they’ve gone from strength to strength and Dan quickly climbed the ladder to CEO.
But Dan’s career hasn’t always been plain sailing. A previous tech start up he founded with a friend failed to take off, but with his infectious optimism, he saw the shortcomings as a good way to learn and move forward with his
Levelling The Playing Field: A Social Mobility Special
Social mobility is a subject that’s very close to our heart which is why we're so excited to bring you this extra special roundtable episode of the 40 Minute Mentor.
In today’s episode you’ll hear from an expert panel, who are all committed to advancing social mobility
They are: Mandy Nyarko, Co-founder of Startup Discovery School; Lucy McCarthy-Christofides, Head of Proposition and Range at Tails.com; Ezechi Britton, Co-Founder of digital skills academy Code Untapped and Founding Member and Pri
Leadership Lessons From Google And Just Eat with Adrian Blair
Today’s inspiring guest and your mentor for the next 40 minutes is Adrian Blair, CEO of the digital bookkeeping platform Receipt Bank.
Receipt Bank helps make accounting easier for over 400,000 small businesses around the world and recently raised $75 million Series C funding for the next chapter in their growth journey.
Before joining Receipt Bank, Adrian led the development of the eCommerce partnership strategy at Google and helped grow Just Eat from a small scale start up to the FTSE 100 comp
The Importance Of Recruiting The Right Talent with Zoe Jervier Hewitt
People are at the heart of every startup’s success and nobody knows the importance of recruiting the right talent more than today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Zoe Jervier Hewitt, Operating Partner for Talent at venture capitalists EQT Ventures.
Zoe’s career started in HR and Talent at Apple before transitioning into Tech at the high growth Start Up Mind Candy. She then became one of the first employees at Entrepreneur First, where she built a global, talent acquisition and assessment function from scrat
Harnessing The Power Of Open Banking with Stefano Vaccino
It’s not every day you close a $13m Series A funding round, but to do it in a global pandemic is really quite an achievement.
That’s what today's 40 Minute Mentor Stefano Vaccino successfully did with his FinTech Yapily. A feat that is even more impressive, given the fact that he also contracted Covid-19 during the raise – he is truly made of tough stuff.
Stefano has an impressive and diverse career, pivoting from academia to Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs, then into product leadership role
Leading a Business Away From HQ with James McClure
After eight successful years at Google, James joined what was at the time a little known travel tech firm called Airbnb to lead their business in the UK and Northern Europe. Over 3.5 years he had significant successes, as well as having to overcome a fair few challenges, before he moved to another US Headquartered Scale Up SeatGeek as their International GM
Never shying away from a challenge, James joined the job search engine Adzuna, as their CCO, right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic
Black Lives Matter And How To Be An Ally To The Cause with Tara Lajumoke
Our 40 Minute Mentor in this episode is the brilliant Tara Lajumoke, Managing Director of FT Strategies’, the Financial Times consulting arm.
After starting her career at Goldman Sachs, Tara moved in to consulting at McKinsey where she progressed to Junior Partner before taking the bold and entrepreneurial move in March 2020 to move to FTS.
As you’d probably expect, it’s been a roller coaster few months for Tara, walking into a new senior role right at the beginning of a global pandemic and ha
Building A World Cup Winning Team Culture with Will Greenwood
Today’s guest and your Mentor for the next 40 minutes is an England Rugby legend, a hugely popular broadcaster and journalist and a successful business owner – Will Greenwood MBE.
If you’re a Rugby fan Will needs no introduction, but for those of you who may not follow the sport, Will is one of the greatest English rugby players of all time, playing 55 times for his country, representing the British and Irish Lions on multiple tours and most famously, playing a fundamental role in England’s 2003
Becoming One Of Business Insider’s Most Powerful Women in Tech with Claire Valoti
Today’s guest and your Mentor for the next 40 minutes is the incredible Claire Valoti from Snapchat.
Having completed a degree in politics, Claire quickly realised that this wasn’t going to be the career for her and pivoted into marketing and advertising, spending a number of years at Mindshare before making the move into Tech with Facebook. In 2016 she was headhunted to become the GM responsible for launching and growing Snapchat in Europe and she has since progressed to VP of International.
It
The Ups And Downs In The Life Of An Entrepreneur with Dan Murray-Serter
In today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, we had the pleasure of interviewing fellow podcast host and serial-entrepreneur, Dan Murray-Serter.
Dan is Co-Founder of Heights, the holistic brand for the brain, and Co-Founder and Host of the UK’s number 1 business podcasts, Secret Leaders – one of my personal favourites.
Despite initially wanting to be a Football coach, he started his career in the world of advertising before co-founding his first business at the age of 24. Since then, Dan has bee
Shaking Up Macho Culture with Ina Kjaer & Maggie Brereton
In today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, we get the privilege of speaking to not one, but two inspiring mentors – Ina Kjaer and Maggie Brereton from EOS Deal Advisory.
Following successful careers as senior Partners within KPMG’s deal advisory business, Ina and Maggie took the bold decision to leave with a determination to shake up an industry known for it’s macho culture, long hours and a shocking gender pay gap.
To do this they launched EOS Deal Advisory– a diverse, tech driven deal adviso
Behind The Doors Of Number 10 Downing Street with Sam Gyimah
I have always found the world of politics intriguing, so I was especially excited when Sam Gyimah, the Former UK Minister for Science, Technology, Universities, and Innovation, agreed to be on the 40 Minute Mentor.
Sam was born in the UK but raised in Ghana before returning to study PPE at Oxford University, where he was elected the first Black British President of the Oxford Union Society - one of the world’s most prestigious debating societies.
After starting out in investment banking at Goldm
Building Resilience And Perseverance with Amir Nooriala
In recent weeks we have been having lots of conversations with candidates who are concerned about the impact the current economic climate will have had on their careers. If this has been on your mind too, then today’s episode is perfect for you.
That’s because our 40 Minute Mentor today is Amir Nooriala, whose story will both inspire and reassure you.
He has proved through his career that no matter what the circumstances are, there are always opportunities, if you’re willing to put in the work.
Embracing Career Changes with Shefali Roy
Today’s episode features the incredible Shefali Roy, COO and CCO at TrueLayer.
Shefali started her career in financial services, working across the Australasian market, before moving to London to get her Master’s degree in Economic History at LSE.
Shefali decided to stay in London and joined Goldman Sachs before moving out of Financial Services and into the world of Tech.
Since then she’s gone on to work for a whole range of leading Tech companies including global tech giant Apple, FinTech trail
From TopGun to Boardroom with Chris Severson
Moving on to a different career path will always be a daunting prospect and it can be difficult to know how best to approach it. We regularly hear from candidates who are looking to make the shift and aren’t always sure where to start. And equally, from clients, unsure about taking a risk on someone with a different or out of the ordinary background.
If you’re in this position, then you’re going to love today’s episode as our guest tells you all about his remarkable career change.
Chris Severson
Creating Access To Opportunities For Everyone with Sophie Adelman
When it comes to careers, there’s so many more options out there than there used to be even 5 years ago. Speaking to clients and candidates day in and out, we hear so many different stories of how people have got to where they are, the route they took and the different paths that people follow. The days of getting a university degree, joining a graduate scheme and staying with one company for 10-15 years are long gone. With rising university fees and increasing opportunity we’re seeing many comp
Building High-Performing Teams with David M. Brear
We're really excited to bring you this special bonus episode of the 40 Minute Mentor with one of the most well-known figures in FinTech – the awesome David M. Brear, CEO of 11:FS.
11:FS are made up of some of the greatest minds in FinTech who are working to build and launch next-generation digital propositions for some of the biggest financial institutions in the world.
In just 4 years they have achieved some incredible results as a challenger consultancy, whilst also launching one of the top bu
Living Life To The Fullest Without Regret with Catherine Wines
The word ‘inspiring’ gets thrown around a lot when discussing entrepreneurs and business owners. However, with today’s guest, we can’t think of a more accurate or deserving description.
Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is the incredible Catherine Wines, co-founder of WorldRemit. WorldRemit is a mission-driven online money transfer service that allows people to send money to friends and family living abroad.
WorldRemit is one of the most successful and fastest growing Fintechs in the UK, with a worth of
Leadership Lessons from Scaling a Rocket Ship Scale Up with Ben Sanders
Today’s guest and our first 40 Minute Mentor of 2020 is the brilliant Ben Sanders, who is the MD for Europe at the Tech Scale Up Pollen.
Pollen, formerly known as Verve, is one of the top 10 fastest growing UK scale-ups and a global leader in word-of-mouth sales in the live entertainment and travel industries.
As MD for Europe, Ben leads a team of over 100 people, and he has played a key role in the growth of their marketplace, which has been turbo charged by a recent £70m Series C Funding round
Building A Multi Million Pound Agency for Gen Z with Timothy Armoo
In today’s episode I get to talk to a guest who has been described as “one of the UK’s most hotly-tipped young entrepreneurs”: co-founder and CEO of Fanbytes, Timothy Armoo.
Timothy started his first ever business at the tender age of 14 and sold his second business at just 17. In 2017 Timothy and his co-founder, Ambrose, started the ‘Gen Z’ focused advertising agency, Fanbytes.
Fanbytes specialises in helping brands reach the ‘Gen Z’ audience through popular social media channels like Snapchat
Long-Term Solutions For Homelessness with Alex Stephany
Today’s guest and your Mentor for the next 40 minutes is the ever so inspiring author of “The Business of Sharing” and Founder and CEO of Beam – Alex Stephany.
Having started his career as a lawyer, living and working all over the world, Alex decided to join the tech startup JustPark as their COO in 2011. Alex was promoted to CEO at the end of 2012 and let the business to close the largest start up equity crowdfunding raise in history.
Following his success with JustPark, where he remains a boar
How I Ended Up In VC with Pippa Lamb
Today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor is another bonus episode which was recorded live at our JBM drinks event in September.
We run these events every quarter, to bring together clients and candidates who have helped us spread the word about JBM and to thank them for all their help and support. These events are always great fun and give our network a chance to get to know some of the great business leaders that we get to work with.
Our special guest on the night and your 40 Minute Mentor today
Beating The Odds: Becoming An International Footballer & Cancer Survivor with Stilyan Petrov
In today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, I’m joined by the former Bulgarian football international and Aston Villa captain, Stiliyan Petrov.
Having started his professional football career in Bulgaria, Stiliyan joined Celtic, in 1999, where he went on to win ten trophies, including four Scottish Premier League titles. Following his success with Celtic, he moved to Aston Villa, ultimately becoming the club’s captain in 2009, leading the team to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the final of th
Building The UK’s Leading ‘Anti Food Waste’ Brand with Jenny Costa
In today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, I’m joined by founder and CEO of Rubies in the Rubble, Jenny Costa.
Having started her career in finance, Jenny soon realised there was a bigger cause she felt passionate about.
After reading that one third of all food produced globally is wasted, she knew she had to see it with her own eyes. So, one morning she decided to visit the New Covent Garden wholesale fruit and veg market. Her visit ended with her cycling back with baskets full of perfectly go
Leadership Lessons From Building Uber In The UK with Fred Jones
In today’s episode of the 40 Minute Mentor, I’m joined by my first guest from a tech Unicorn, as I speak with Fred Jones, Board Director and Head of New Mobility for Uber UK and Ireland.
Uber need no introduction, they’re one of the world’s biggest tech businesses and have grown from a small scale start up in 2009 to one of the world’s most valuable companies, with a market cap of over $56 billion.
Having started his career on Consulting, Fred joined Uber in 2015 and climbed rapidly through the
Giving Children The Best Possible Start In Life with Henry Faber & Walter Kerr
In today’s episode you get to hear from not one, but two brilliant guests as I chat with Henry Faber and Walter Kerr, founders of Oppidan.
Frustrated by shortcomings that they saw in the tuition sector, Henry and Walter set up Oppidan to tackle the pressurised, anxiety-driven education market in the U.K.
Their goal was to disrupt the tuition sector by focusing on mentoring children - not simply teaching them fact. Their services help children develop critical life skills like empathy and emotion
To Move from Consulting into Fintech with Caroline Murphree
Today’s episode is a special bonus episode which was recorded live at our JBM drinks event last month.
We run these events for a mix of clients and candidates who have helped us spread the word about JBM over the years, and without whom we wouldn’t be where we are today.
The goal for these evenings is to bring together a mix of talented people from diverse backgrounds to get to know each other better, make new connections and to learn from some of the best and most inspiring mentors in our net
Creating Cultures That Enable Individuals To Be Their True Self with Ruth Penfold
Today’s guest is the brilliant Ruth Penfold, People VP at Onfido.
Onfido uses machine learning to help companies verify the identity of their users online.
Founded in 2012 the business has gone from strength to strength and earlier this year raised $50 million in a funding round led by SoftBank Investments and Salesforce ventures.
Ruth is a phenomenal leader in the people and talent space and as People VP and part of the executive team at Onfido she is responsible for all aspects of their people
Putting The First Mental Health Gym On The High street with James Routledge
Today’s guest is James Routledge, Founder of Sanctus.
Sanctus is a mental wellness start up that is on a mission to inspire people to work on their mental health just like we do our physical health.
They have a bold vision to put the world’s first mental health gym on the high street, and I for one hope that they can achieve this.
James’s passion to help others improve their mental health came from his own experience having suffered mental health issues, following the failure of his first busine
Building An Award Winning Business From Waste with Kresse Wesling
Today’s guest is the environmental entrepreneur, Kresse Wesling MBE, who is quite simply, one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met.
Kresse is the co-founder of the award-winning business Elvis and Kresse, who turn industrial waste into innovative, luxury products and return 50% of their profits to charities related to the waste that they use.
It was a chance meeting with the London Fire Brigade in 2005 that gave Kresse the idea that ultimately become the business she runs today.
At the
Scaling Moonpig To Exit with Iain Martin
Today’s guest is Iain Martin, former Managing Director of Moonpig and the recently announced, new CEO of Mahabis.
I was introduced to Iain by a client who thought we’d really get on and he was completely right. Iain’s a great guy and was kind enough to come and talk at one of our recent JBM Ambassador networking events which is where this interview was recorded.
Now, Most of you will have used Moonpig at some point in your life but for those who haven’t heard of them, Moonpig are the UK’s larges
Following The Less Travelled Path with Charlene Chen
Today’s guest and our first mentor is Charlene Chen, COO at BitPesa.
BitPesa is an online payment platform that leverages Blockchain technology to significantly lower the cost and increase the speed of business payments to, from and within sub-Saharan Africa.
I sat next to Charlene at an Innovate Finance dinner a couple of years ago and we instantly hit it off, sharing very similar views on the importance of people, culture and mentorship. She had a fantastic energy and I found her passion for B