Secret Leaders

Clara Brenner is co-founder and Managing Partner of the Urban Innovation Fund, a venture capital firm she established to invest in the future of cities. She had a vision to empower entrepreneurs keen to solve urban problems, and so with business partner Julie Lein, she is helping grow tomorrow’s most valued companies. The UIF provides seed capital and regulatory support to social entrepreneurs looking to create solutions to tough urban challenges, such as transportation, work force, housing in the built environment and education, amongst others. Clara’s journey began in Washington DC where the two biggest industries are government and real estate, and whilst she has no desire to get involved with GovTech just yet, she did enjoy working in real estate, cutting her teeth at Fundrise, a social impact company. From there Clara went on to co-found Tumml, a startup hub for urban tech before establishing the Urban Innovation Fund, which closed a $24.5m seed stage fund last June. And now, with a diverse portfolio of

Tim Draper is the world’s most famous venture capital investor who’s backed many companies like Hotmail, Twitter or Tesla. He is a ridiculously nice and charming guy (it might be all that Bitcoin he owns, who knows?), he’s full of amazing advice and has a voice like chocolate silk - which, if it did exist, he could probably afford to buy. Tim founded DJF, Draper Associates and Draper University. All you need to know if you’re listening outside the Valley is that Tim is one of the great legacy names known best for a warm smile, a suit and a firm handshake. His unique ability to pick out opportunities explains why you might have heard of him as one of the world’s most prolific Bitcoin supporters and owners. We chat with Tim about: A family of venture capitalists What it means to be a hero Why he disagrees with Elon Musk about AI The benefits of Bitcoin His book, “How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs” What Draper University is all about Links: How

Tim Brown is an ex-professional New Zealand footballer turned American shoemaker entrepreneur. After a successful football career, Tim got injured. This caused a career turning point and he looked outside the sporting world at a business future. He first obtained a master’s from LSC, and then he entered into a partnership with Joey Zwillinger. The result? Allbirds, a sustainable tech and science-led footwear that has a huge A-list Hollywood following and that’s creating massive waves in the funding community as a direct to consumer brand. We’re here to delve deeper into this exciting brand as it launches its first UK shop within Covent Garden (as well as an online UK store). We chat with Tim about: The difference in the attitude towards entrepreneurship between London and San Francisco How he saw an opportunity in making shoes out of different materials Why and how they became a B Corp Living his boyhood dream of playing soccer in the A-League in Australia The Allbirds funding journey His best piece of

Described as one of the world’s most influential women and CEOs, Justine Roberts is at the helm of one of the world’s most talked about forums, Mumsnet. Loved by many and the cause of many heated discussions, Justine has created a place for open and frank conversations for a wide sector of the public. As a wife and mother of four, including twins, Justine has had the exact experience of how hard it is to be a working mum. Recognized for her impact on the economy and ultimately being awarded a CBE in 2017, the Oxford-educated ex-journalist takes time from her busy schedule to discuss all things Mumsnet and Gransnet. We chat with Justine about: The disastrous holiday that started everything Growing the Mumsnet community organically, by word-of-mouth The picture of the first years: a very quiet start (2000) and then a very accelerated growth period from 2006 onwards Getting sued memorably and other hard moments Advocating for many good causes via Mumsnet What a typical day looks like for Justine Links: Mu

Growing up in Swansea with two hard-working parents, Anne Boden couldn’t have dreamt of the future ahead of her. After going on to study Chemistry and Computer Sciences at Swansea University, she made the big move to London to work for Lloyds Bank. Jump forward 35 years and positions at UBS, RBS and ABN AMRO, Anne has put herself out there as a forward-thinking banker who has spotted huge potential in the world of digital banking. Unable to have her vision realized as Allied Irish Banks’ Chief Operating Officer, Anne broke away and developed Starling, an innovative and exciting new way for customers to bank. We chat to Anne about: Quitting her job in traditional banking, moving to London and deciding to start her own bank Raising money as a female founder for her unusual initiative The type of culture and ethos they are trying to build Her ambitions with Starling in the future A typical day for Anne Her advice to entrepreneurs Links: Starling Bank -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorb

WeTransfer started in late 2009 and today it has over 45 million active monthly users. It’s one of the world’s most trusted online brands, helping people to discover and share in every country around the globe. Damian Bradfield, an advertising and marketing specialist who cut his teeth at various agencies, teamed up with Nalden, a famous Dutch design and media blogger. From creating the disarmingly straightforward file transfer service WeTransfer to curating an interactive art installation at Amsterdam’s art’otel, the duo has been behind a series of truly forward-thinking projects. Nowadays WeTransfer helps share 1 billion files every week. In 2015 it took its first round of investment, a series A of $25 million, and Damian moved to LA the following year to spearhead the company’s US operations. Managing a dual role - heading the American office and leading the brand’s marketing growth and content departments - Damian personifies WeTransfer’s commitment to supporting and showcasing the best creative talent. T

Today’s Secret Leader is Jo Malone CBE, founder of her namesake and more recently Jo Loves. Of all the guests we’ve had the wonderful fortune of interviewing, Jo has one of the biggest reputations preceding her, but worry not, it’s an entirely positive one. From battles with dyslexia to cancer Jo is well known for being authentic, inspiring, and a true hero to young entrepreneurs everywhere. We chat about: Growing up in a council house, looking after her mother, and putting her sister through school Leaving school at 14 and going over to London to sell face creams in order to pay the family bills Moving to London and doing all sorts of odd jobs Putting her astounding sense of smell into an actual business Opening the first Jo Malone shop in 1994 with her husband Receiving an offer to sell to Estée Lauder after three years Facing the greatest challenge of her life and starting a new business after five years Links: Jo Malone Jo Loves -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/sec

Vijay Eswaran is the Executive Chairman of the QI Group of Companies. Born in Penang, Malaysia, in 1960, to hardworking parents, Vijay had a childhood filled with moves around his native country. His education brought him to the UK, and in 1984, Eswaran graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Socioeconomics. In 1998, Eswaran returned to Malaysia after several years of work that stretched globally, and he co-founded the multilevel marketing company that has grown into what we now know as the QI Group. The QI Group of Companies describe themselves as a diversified multinational entity catering to varied businesses that include education, hospitality, direct selling, financial services, and retail. Vijay would be forgiven for stopping once achieving this conglomerate, however, he has also gone on to establish the RYTHM Foundation and the Vijayaratnam Foundation (named after his father), and has written several books. We chat about: Why getting a degree today is no longer completely necess

From a business desk at the Birmingham Post to the world’s fastest-growing tech-for-good platform, Belgium-born Anne-Marie Huby is one of UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs, creating the first online fundraising platform in the UK in 2000. She started her career in journalism in Belgium, and later joined the UK arm of Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières), where she worked for ten years. In 1994, Anne-Marie was in Congo with MSF, not long after the genocide which saw Rwandan soldiers and Hutu gangs claim the lives of more than half a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. MSF received a Nobel prize just one year before Anne-Marie transformed the humanitarian landscape by launching JustGiving with co-founder Zarine Kharas. The company became profitable in just five years. Defying the odds, JustGiving has helped raise over £3.5 billion to date and has improved the lives of over 28 million people in 164 countries. We chat about: Meeting Zarine Kharas and creating a sustainable business model For-p

Rankin is arguably Britain’s most successful export to the fashion industry, and one of the world’s leading portrait photographers. He is also well known for his phenomenal work ethic, his charitable pursuits within fashion and his fearlessness when creating art. Rankin made his name in publishing by founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1991. Dazed & Confused has now progressed into Dazed Media, which in itself is a brand synonymous with leading fashion. With more than 40 books published and exhibitions all over the world, as well as still creating work for his own London gallery, it’s a wonder that Rankin has time to devote himself to any other project, let alone sit down with us today. He is also known for his affiliations with charities, and he travels the world creating campaigns for the likes of Comic Relief, Women’s Aid, and Macmillan Cancer Support. Rankin has captured icons and is respected worldwide for being the ultimate visionary. However, he is not just a c

From the pages of a wine magazine to the UK’s largest certified organic haven of delicious produce, Mississippi-born Renée Elliott moved to the UK in 1986. Nine years later, Renée launched Planet Organic having followed her heart. Planet Organic became the first store certified by the Soil Association, and now it has seven outlets. Inspired by the tutelage of Craig Sams, founder of Whole Earth Foods and Green & Black’s, Renée absorbed a wealth of knowledge of fuelled nutrition and everything organic. Walking into the Planet Organic is like walking into the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory but for organic and healthy food. Ever-flowing food and vegetables, bread from artisan London bakeries, sustainable fish from British water, gluten-free, dairy-free raw food and dairy options. Limitless goodness. Speaking of limitless, Renée’s ventures don’t stop there. Beluga Bean, a life and business skills academy for women is another fantastic enterprise that is inspirational and genius in even strokes. -- Sponsors Vorboss

Our esteemed guest this week is Dhiraj Mukerjee, co-founder of Shazam, the app that has literally put more songs on the record than anyone else in the world. Dhiraj is not a fan of being praised or of receiving any kind of popular commendations of his AMAZING efforts, so we won’t do any of that today. Today we offer you the story that led four people to build one of the world’s most innovative products of all time. Long story short: Shazam was created in 1999 by co-founders Chris Barton, Philip Inghelbrecht, Avery Wang, and Dhiraj Mukherjee. Since its launch, over 30 billion shazams have been sent via their app, which has been downloaded over 1 billion times. 18 years after it was founded, it sees 100 million users flock to its surface every single month. Join us for a crisp dose of inspiration from someone who really knows what he’s talking about. We chat about: Building Shazam and getting people to use it Getting a lot of nos from investors Disguising the product so that someone else didn’t steal their i

Our guest this week is the very inspirational Ali Parsa, founder and CEO of Babylon Health. Babylon is the world’s largest healthcare app successfully changing the way we as humans are getting access to healthcare. Their mission? To provide affordable healthcare to the world and to be, in Ali’s own words, “the Google of healthcare”. We don’t say this often, but get ready to have your mind blown at the scale of his ambition and, even more importantly, his execution. So tune in or you’ll miss out! We chat about: Coming to the UK as a refugee and steering clear of negativity Building Circle and, later on, Babylon Thinking big, acting big, staying human Links: Babylon Health -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleaders Vertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders -- Newsletter Sign u

Left work on a Friday and gave birth on a Saturday: already our guest this week is pretty much a rockstar. 2014 Tech City’s Entrepreneur of the Year Alex Depledge is a straight-talking British businesswoman best known for being the driving force behind hassle.com. Alex launched her career in the US after completing her master’s degree at the Uni of Chicago, working on the campaign team of a major US politician. In 2006 she returned to the UK to become a consultant for Accenture, where she advised Footsie 100 clients on their customer and channel execution. In 2012 she bravely entered the world of entrepreneurship. In 2011 Alex and her best friend, Jules Coleman, conceived the idea behind hassle.com when they discovered how hard it was to find a piano teacher online. They realized that service providers found it hard to market themselves, as they weren’t always as tech-savvy as other entrepreneurs, and they needed to rely on word-of-mouth. Alongside co-founders Tom Nimmo and Jules Coleman, they started Teddle

Here to share with us his journey from owning an Aston Martin to owning a multi-million-pound shirt company is Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler, one of UK’s most successful entrepreneurs. After being left £8,000 from a great aunt, Nick used the money to purchase the English dream: an Aston Martin DB1. One year later he sold the same car for an eye-watering £75,000 profit. This profit became the funding that set Nick up to become the powerhouse he is now. Nick founded Charles Tyrwhitt as an undergraduate in 1986, after being frustrated that shirts were too expensive. For several years the company was just a hobby alongside Nick’s full-time job. However, by 2002, Charles Tyrwhitt had stores in London, Paris, and NY, and is now on its way to achieve global domination. We chat about: Nick’s previous ventures and how he started and grew Charles Tyrwhitt Nick’s infatuation for learning from mistakes, over and over and over again The do’s and don’ts of hiring when you’re a small company His advice to entreprene

Today we are delighted to bring you Holly Tucker, the co-founder of the first marketplace of its kind, notonthehighstreet.com, the place to pick up fantastic inspiration and bespoke gifts. Side note: notonthehighstreet.com is also very helpful when you’re trying to get back into your mum’s good books and make her happy with a thoughtful hand-designed gift. Just saying! Since stepping away from day to day operations she's now championing creative business owners through her new venture - Holly & Co. Like so many businesses, it was set up around a kitchen table shared by her co-founder Sophie Cornish. We dare say this was the inspiration behind her bestselling book, “Build a Business from Your Kitchen Table”, but you know, that’s just a guess! Hear more about Holly’s inspirational story, as she shares the highs and lows of building one of Britain’s best-loved online marketplaces. We chat about: Working from the age of 13 Creating notonthehighstreet.com together with Sophie Cornish at their respective kitchen

Our guest today is on the more unconventional side. For starters, he wouldn’t necessarily choose to call himself a “leader”, so what better set-up for a secret leader? Mills, aka Matt Miller, is the co-founder of the fampany (read: family company) ustwo, a design studio occupying the ground floor of the Tea Building in Shoreditch, famous for hosting many of UK’s most creative brands. Mills started his career at design studio Animal, where his first and only ever boss demonstrated to him just how leadership can be: a friendship based on trust and shared values. After experiencing that, Mills and ustwo co-founder John Sinclair, aka Sinx, decided to replicate it to create a fizzing company culture of their own. Today we talk about doing things differently and putting values at the heart of an organization that really tries to keep its creativity in full flow, full-time employed. Mills and Sinx have zero intention to ever sell ustwo, and are on a mission to create the best working environment you can imagine. We

Today we have an audio feast for you as our guest is Karen Jones, most well-known as the co-founder of the Café Rouge chain of restaurants. Her career is a textbook story of entrepreneurship. Karen was born in Lancashire, in northern England, and raised in Yorkshire, London, and Switzerland, before studying English and American Literature at the University of East Anglia, where she has now come full circle to serve as their Chancellor. As the Café Rouge brand grew, Karen and her co-founder Roger Myers formed the Pelican Group, which was eventually acquired in 1996 by Whitbread for a reported £133 million. Karen couldn’t stay away from the table for too long and became the CEO of the Spirit Pub Group. She is definitely not the kind of person to sit back and put her feet up, so she also joined the board of the London Gastropub Company among many others. We chat about: How the first Café Rouge came to be Selling Café Rouge and creating Punch Taverns What makes a brand a winner Karen’s advice to entrepreneurs

Today you are going to hear the story of Songkick led by Pete Finlay, formerly known as Pete Smith. You’re going to learn about the ups and downs of a very brutal story. Songkick was once one of the startup darlings of the UK, they raised a ton of cash, grew exponentially quickly, and, as Pete will share in today’s episode, really grew too fast for them to really understand how to manage this beast properly. Pete ended up leaving Songkick and starting Silicon Milkroundabout. This had its own challenges, which again he shares in brutally honest fashion. Like any great leader, he owns his mistakes and shares how others could avoid them in the future. We chat about: Songkick’s birth, infancy and later years What made Songkick different from other online concert discovery tools Pete’s experience with burnout and his advice to first-time founders Links: Songkick Silicon Milkroundabout -- Sponsors Vorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleaders Vanta - get 20% off security certifications lik

If you are the type of person who is into sustainability, philanthropy, giving back, purpose, any of these things, our guest today is the crème de la crème. Meet Gail Gallie, co-founder of Project Everyone. Today we go through Gail’s entire story from when she was a producer at Radio 1, to becoming CEO of ad agency Fallon, and eventually working with Kate Garvey and Richard Curtis of Four Weddings and Notting Hill fame on Project Everyone, a communications house for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The UN has committed globally to creating a fairer world by creating 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development that we can all commit to. Ironically, the UN is also not unbelievably good at marketing. Fortunately, world-class British filmmaker Richard Curtis and two brilliant marketeers came to the rescue. We chat about: Working as a producer for Radio 1 The challenges of being the CEO of an ad agency Driving awareness towards a sustainable future Links: Project Everyone The Sustainable Development Goa