Startup Dads

Energy vs time management, internal psychological conflicts and the 4 rules to being a dad are just a few of this episode’s highlights. Amrit is joined by Ross Shiel - currently SVP of Global Revenue at Infogrid, he formerly worked at Twitter and Stride. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/ Check out Infogrid: https://www.infogrid.io/ This week’s Startup Shout-Outs: Butter.us - software platform for engaging online workshops and meetings A Fascinate Production.

After a successful career in digital media, Jacob Waern became the CEO and founder of eduMe, a groundbreaking platform offering mobile training for desk-less workforces.Tune in to listen to Jacob’s fascinating takes on the importance of staying present with your team and family, the transition from corporate CEO to startup founder and how quick decision-making and transparency are vital when taking a company through prolonged crises.   Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/Check out eduMe: https://www.edume.com/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:Spill - mental health support for employees via SlackJuno - workplace health and wellbeing programmes for employeesA Fascinate Production.

“One of the biggest differentials in success is the combination of curiosity and mental toughness.”  Welcome Piers Ridyard; the first crypto guest on Startup Dads.In today’s chat with Amrit, Piers talks about the importance of honouring your commitments as a CEO and a dad, the weight of your words and the power of separating your ideas from yourself. This episode gets pretty intellectual!Piers Ridyard is the CEO of RDX Works, the only decentralized network where developers will be able to build quickly without the constant threat of exploits and hacks, where every improvement will get rewarded, and where scale will never be a bottleneck.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/Book mentioned in today’s episode:Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets by  Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead and Kevin ManeyPhilosophy for Life: And other dangerous situations by Jules EvansThis week’s Startup Shout Outs:Mindstone - Organize, share and take notes on web pages, PDFs, videos & podcastsso you can learn faster, remember more and get things done. Learn more about Mindstone and its CEO and Co-founder Joshua Wöhle on Startup Dads’ Episode 46!A Fascinate Production.

“I genuinely believe that failure can become a superpower". Prior to founding Boost Technology, Mike was a co-founder and CEO of Zoona, one of Africa's earliest fintechs, having processed $2.5 billion of transactions, generated $26 million in income for 3,000 micro-entrepreneurs across Zambia and Malawi, and raised $35 million in investment. He is also the author of Failing to Win: Hard-Earned Lessons from a Purpose-Driven Start-Up. Raised in Calgary, he has lived in Ghana, Zambia, South Africa, and the UK. He has an amazing wife and two awesome kids, and loves to hike, run, mountain bike, and play guitar.In today’s chat with Amrit, Mike talks about building with the fewest right people you can, learning how to learn and the difference between conversations and meetings in a Zoom world.Mike Quinn is the co-founder and CEO of Boost Technology, a company that helps 10 million informal small businesses thrive in Africa’s digital economy, becoming an engine for job creation and growth.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/Book mentioned in today’s episode:Failing to Win: Hard-Earned Lessons from a Purpose-Driven Start-Up by Mike QuinnThe Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben HorowitzThis week’s Startup Shout Outs:Aza Finance - leading provider of cross-border payment solutions for businesses, lowering the cost and increasing the speed and reliability of transactions, through innovative infrastructure. A Fascinate Production.

“The definition of happiness is reality exceeding expectations.”  A lover of numbers and people, Reshma Sohoni is continuously excited to see hard work and game changing connections come together. Her team helps push early stage founders through those difficult early days into being household names.In today’s chat with Amrit, Reshma talks about giving up the CEO title, the zero sum versus positive sum delegation, how success changes you and engineering a legacy for your business.Reshma Sohoni is the founding partner of Seedcamp, Europe's seed fund, investing early in world-class founders attacking large, global markets and solving real problems using technology. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:Gardin - Creating a real world operating system that will power the future of farming by helping food producers deliver superior yieldsA Fascinate Production.

A guest that needs no introduction, Dan Murray-Serter! You may know him as host of Secret Leaders, the UK’s #1 Business Podcast, and co-founder of wellness company Heights. Alongside this he’s an angel investor, and he helps other founders succeed through his startup network Foundrs. In this episode, Dan explains how he discovered that feeding his brain with proper nutrition cured his chronic insomnia and paved the way for Heights. Amrit and Dan also explore how, not taking care of your own wellbeing, can affect your ability to be a good leader and father. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This weeks Startup Shout Outs:OatsuNix & KixA Fascinate Production. 

“Why am I so driven and ambitious? It’s because I’m in a job that I really love doing and I’ve got a big ambition for it.”  Operating as a bellwether for motivation and business, Polly McMaster exhibits a refreshing hunger for novelty and diversity while displaying a relentless dedication to offering options to women that ensure confidence and gravitas in all aspects of their lifestyle.  In today’s chat with Amrit, Polly McMaster talks about understanding yourself when making compromises as a startup parent, how life changes can build empathy and understanding of your customers, and the power of modulating pace between home and work life.Poly McMaster is the CEO and co-founder of The Fold, a company that designs, produces and retails fashionable clothes for women to wear to work.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:Peace+Riot - London’s Social Club with a differenceA Fascinate Production.

“You think a lot about what happens if it goes badly, but no one tells you about what happens if it goes well.”  Self-professed workaholic, Jimmy Williams has set out to build a team capable of turning the insurance industry on its head. He leads on strategy, people and investor relations, but loves rolling his sleeves up and diving into the business.In today’s chat with Amrit, Jimmy Williams talks about his views on remote work, the relationship with his co-founder and cultivating the right mindset.Jimmy is the co-founder and CEO of Urban Jungle, an insurance provider built on fairness and designed with customers in mind. You can easily get cover at a great price, which is designed for your lifestyle.  Interesting mentions:Koru Kids - A company that provides childcare to help your family flourish, led by CEO Rachel Carrell, a former Startup Dads’ guest on episode 8.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:KeyNest - KeyNest provides simple and secure key exchange solutions for Airbnb hosts, serviced apartment operators and estate agents.A Fascinate Production.

“You build much better relationships with people if you’re able to show a bit of vulnerability” . Proud to make a positive difference to the world we live in, Ruth Handcock is passionate about reducing the stress that people feel managing their finances by harnessing technology to improve access to financial services and financial advice.In today’s chat with Amrit, Ruth Handcock talks about work life blend vs work life balance, feedback loops and experimentation in startups and parenting and the power of consistency, and how to build transparency with vulnerability.Ruth Handcock is the CEO of Octopus Investments, a group of businesses investing in people, ideas and industries that change the world. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/Book mentioned in today’s episode:Made to Stick by Chip and Dan HeathThis week’s Startup Shout Outs:Octopus Money Coach - MoneyCoach makes it easy to give every employee their own financial coach and a personal financial plan…while increasing usage of all the benefits you already offer.A Fascinate Production.

“We have really good quality time at the end of the day - that works for us as a family.”  In today’s chat with Amrit, Sam and Sophie talk about how to make family time, romantic notions versus practical reality, juggling glass balls and plastic balls and creating a business in the image of your clients.Sam Gordon and Sophie Eden are the co-founders of Gordon & Eden, an Executive Search & Interim Management firm that work closely with both early stage and corporate clients, helping startups to scale and transform established businesses with entrepreneurial talent.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:HelloSelf - The AI lifecoach in your pocket... helping you be your best Self.Kami - World’s #1 digital classroom tool creating flexible and collaborative learning environments for millionsA Fascinate Production.

“There's going to be an explosion of creativity now that the tools are available, the capital is increasingly available in various ways and I just call that the entrepreneurial age.” Globetrotter Gerard Grech, has been passionate about conceiving and building impactful products and services throughout his career.In this chat with Amrit, Gerard talks about the two biggest inhibitors of growth in startups, insights into different startup cultures from across the world, using your people teams to discover how your remote culture is evolving and the founder economy and the entrepreneurial age that we’re currently in.Gerard Grech is the founding chief executive of Tech Nation, a platform that fuels the growth of game-changing founders, leaders and scaling companies so they can positively transform societies and economies.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:The Modern Milkman - Delivering fresh ways to reduce plastic waste before breakfast.Cervest - Empowering everyone to adapt with climate change.Patch - Work near home and enjoy flexibility, convenience and time for family & friends.A Fascinate Production.

Can you still succeed when profit isn’t your primary motivation? Today’s guest shows us that you can. In this episode she tells us how staying true to your purpose can do a whole lot of good for your bottom line, and in her case - a whole lot of good for the world. Tessa is the founder of Olio: the app that connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses, so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. In this conversation with Amrit they discuss how she built Olio from home whilst raising her children, how to use work from home as a superpower, and speaks passionately about the inequality that exists in Startup world; particularly in the world of venture capital. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:https://www.thenuwardrobe.com/https://thrift.plus/https://sntech.co.uk/A Fascinate Production. 

Fred Destin is the founder of Stride.VC, a London-based seed-stage tech fund that is made up of a team of dedicated venture investors backing small teams of passionate entrepreneurs. He was also the lead investor and board member for companies such as Cazoo, Zoopla, Deliveroo, Pillpack, Integral Ads, Secret Escapes and others. His portfolio has a total enterprise value of more than $20BN.In this episode, Amrit and Fred explore using risk to help your children develop, ritual forming as a way to connect and the difference between focusing on the outcomes rather than the journey.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Outs:Landscape Ventures - www.landscape.venturesA Fascinate Production. 

Matt Reynolds is a founder, strength coach and family man. In this episode, Matt explains how it all gets done...with time left over at the end of the day.Amrit and Matt explore how methods, such as using the pomodoro technique for productivity and the 'black box' approach to output, can be applied just as successfully to homeschooling your kids and how being a CEO is about ‘working on the company not just in the company’.Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter: https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week's Startup Shout Outs:The Art of ManlinessYou Need a BudgetA Fascinate Production.

Rob Walling is a serial entrepreneur and VC who’s founded multiple companies, runs an accelerator, and keeps coming back for more. In this episode, Amrit asks - why go through such a testing process of starting a company from scratch time and time again? Well, he’s also father to three kids, so is clearly comfortable with adapting to new challenges!This week, Rob shares his experiences of how flexible working can have its drawbacks as well as it’s obvious benefits. He also shares how he’s trying to teach his children valuable entrepreneurial life lessons such as how pushing through the work you don’t like will reward you down the line. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This weeks Startup Shout Outs:Diversify TechRob's Podcast: Startups for the Rest of UsA Fascinate Production.

Welcoming our first startup mum this week… Rachel Carrell! Rachel is the founder and CEO of Koru Kids, a childcare tech startup. It was only when Rachel had her first baby that she realised how limited childcare options were in London. The idea for Koru Kids was born out of her frustrations! In this episode, Rachel and Amrit examine the many parallels between managing a team and bringing up kids, such as making sure they both have autonomy and purpose. Rachel also gives us some insights on how Koru Kids successfully navigated the challenges of the pandemic. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This weeks Startup Shout Outs:Little Village A Fascinate Production. 

Ben Hay leads operations at Collective Benefits, a rapidly-growing insurtech on a mission to make independent work, work for everyone. It’s a noble path, and one that found Ben rather than the other way round! In his chat with Amrit, Ben discusses the importance of generosity, building a great network and not being afraid to reach out for help. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/A Fascinate Production. 

"People don't rise to the level of their ambitions, they fall to the level of their routines." Self confessed routine obsessive Josh Wöhle has been optimising his routine for the past decade, to make the biggest impact possible on the world whilst maintaining a happy life. In this chat with Amrit, Joshua explains how founders rarely scale as fast as their businesses, the importance of integrating some slack into your system, and gives us his useful definition for success as a founder. Joshua is the founder of Superawesome, one of the world's leading KidTech businesses, which sold to Epic Games (the creator of Fortnite). He’s now scaling Mindstone - a company that enables people to learn anything they want, as fast as humanly possible, with maximum retention. He also writes a regular blog which is well worth a read and can be found here. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/This week’s Startup Shout Out:Baby 2 Body - the health and wellbeing coaching app for pregnancy and motherhood. A Fascinate Production. 

Anastasia Lang is the CEO and founder of Creative X, a successful marketing analytics company born out of the e-commerce platform Hatch.co.Tune in to listen to Anastasia’s rich insights on moving between discovery, comfort and danger zones in the Startup journey, the need for flexibility of priorities between family life and business on a day-to-day basis, and the importance of changing perceptions on pregnancy and parenting leave in the Startup universe. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/ Check out Creative X: https://www.creativex.com/ This week’s Startup Shout Outs: Second Nature - app to reduce and fight diabetes A Fascinate Production

Paul Wickers is the founder and CEO of Huggg, a b2b gifting startup that has made it easy for you to reward employees, customers and clients with gifts they’ll love. He’s also a dad to 4 kids. Tune in about what it means to create a leveraged version of yourself through your startup and the vulnerability that comes with, learning to embrace lack of mastery as a CEO and a crazy story about laptops in the labour room. Keep up to date with everything Startup Dads related on Twitter - https://twitter.com/startupdadspod/Check out Huggg: https://www.huggg.me/ This week’s Startup Shout Outs:Reid Hoffman - Entrepreneur. Investor. Strategist.Miro - The online collaborative whiteboard platform to bring teams together, anytime, anywhere.A Fascinate Production