Elevating Founders

In today's episode we take a look back at a conversation from the Elevating Founder event at London Tech Week last year. With Kerim Derhalli Founder and CEO of Invstr and Ann Hiatt International Speaker and Leadership Consultant.  For more information about Elevating Founders go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week? Go to: londontechweek.com 

For Episode 12 we have Patrick Mattern, Vice President of Business Development at Calgary Economic Development. He explores ecosystems, the benefits of setting up a business in Calgary, educates us about the north American ecosystem and shares his advice for navigating where to grow your business and the factors to consider. The conversation also spans founder loneliness and mental health, support networks and why we should all move on from the silicon valley obsession! Download the report on Calgary's technology landscape Check out the infographic to learn more on Calgary! *Correction* Calgary ranked in the Top 5 most liveable cities in the world in The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index from 2009-2019.

For episode 11 we have Mark Sutherland, CMO of Missouri Partnership speaking to Ron Nowlin, SVP of Aerospace and Military Aviation from EaglePicher about all things SpaceTech. Mark and Ron discuss the level of innovation it takes to power the mars mission, why its imperative to surround yourself with people smarter than you and what it takes to build products that just cannot fail. Both being Missouri residents and advocates, they share how the biggest pulls of living in Missouri. Read the Report on Innovation & Opportunity in the USA

Today we have Russ Shaw, Founder, Global Tech Advocates & Tech London Advocates, and Stephen Nundy, Partner and CTO at Lakestar. Listen in for what qualities VCs look for in a Founder, what tech verticals they have their eye on right now and insight into the investment world. Stephen reveals his predictions for the future, explores the tech founder ecosystem in London compared to other countries and he shares his view on why internal motivation and dedication to the mission is a key early signal for a successful founder.

In episode 9, Laura Stebbing, Co-CEO of accelerateHER, an organisation focused on addressing the under-representation of women in technology, talks to the founder of social fashion rental app, By Rotation, Eshita Kabra Davies. Did you know that the average person has 57 items in their wardrobe, yet we only use 30% of these? Laura and Eshita chat discuss the rise of the 'conscious consumer', the importance of the sharing economy, and why Eshita left the safety of her investment desk job to catapult into the online fashion world!

Today we are delighted to have Tom Eisenmann, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and author of The Fail-Safe Startup. Interviewing him today is a friend and fellow from the Elevating Founders network and cohort, Sina Sadrzadeh. Tom and Sina discuss how important innovation is to drive economic growth post pandemic, why the hypergrowth that VCs push for isn’t always sustainable and dispels the myth that listening to your gut is the right thing to do. Tom breaks down some key takeaways from the book including why startups fail, what defines failure and when you should break away from the herd. Resources: The Fail-Safe Startup (penguin.co.uk) Twitter: @teisenmann Learn more about Sina: https://wingcard.io/themillennialentrepreneur   Tom Eisenmann is the Howard H. Stevenson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the faculty co-chair of the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. Since joining the HBS faculty in 1997, he has launched eleven MBA courses on a range of topics related to entrepreneurship, including The Entrepreneurial Manager, an introductory course taught to all 900 first-year MBAs and Entrepreneurial Failure, an MBA elective. Eisenmann has written over one hundred Harvard Business School Case Studies and his writing appears regularly in the Wall Street Journal, The New Statesman and The New York Times.

This week's episode features Rebekah Brown, Founder of FemTech startup, M Powder. Rebekah shares her personal motivations for starting M Powder,  explains the challenges of launching a FemTech startup in a male dominated investor market, and explains the importance of driving conversations about the menopause, a stigmatised subject even today. Check out M Powder!

In episode 6, Asha Haji, Co-Founder and COO of Framework chats with Eric Collins, CEO of Impact X about how Asha has pivoted drastically from both a personal and professional standpoint through the pandemic, why she believes education is a superpower and how making an impact in her career is so important to her. Their conversation is open, honest and any budding entrepreneurs will gain so much from listening. Resources: Elevating Founders Website Check out Framework Asha Haji LinkedIn

Carolyn Dawson (Informa Tech) chats to Tim Groot, Founder and CEO of Grip, the AI-powered events platform about the rise of virtual events through the pandemic and the power of meaningful connections. Grip, sometimes referred to as the Tinder for networking, didn’t just survive but thrived during the pandemic. Tim explains the painpoint that instigated the idea and explores the paradigm shift in how meetings and events are carried out now. Check out Grip's website. Special mention to Feedspot for featuring us in the Top 40 UK Tech podcasts!

Today's episode explores HealthTech and Investment trends during the pandemic, with Amy Lewin, deputy editor at Sifted chatting to Noor Sweid, partner at Global Ventures and Dmitry Kaminskiy, Managing Partner of Deep Knowledge Ventures. The lockdown forced a digital health experiment from remote consultations, to technologies such as AI improving efficiencies across the board for health services…and this inflection point has brought HealthTech very much to the forefront of VCs attention! Now the vaccine is here, is this paradigm shift here to stay, and what does this mean for investment?

This week Chase Jarvis interviews one tech founder (Alex Tew, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Calm) and an elite athlete (Christine Ohuruogu MBE, British 400m Gold medallist) on mental health, human performance and more... They discuss the school of thought that tech founders are the new breed of elite athlete as they are constantly having to perform at the best of their ability, and they discover numerous parallels between their roles including the importance of staying mentally sharp and putting on a performance.  

Lynn Anderson Clark, strategic partnerships lead at Founders Factory, speaks to Eric Schmidt, former CEO and chairman of Google and co-founder of Schmidt futures about why future founders should solve the world’s biggest problems. Their conversation explores how the startup ecosystem can increase impact investing, finessing the balancing act of profit and purpose, what entrepreneurial culture is like in the UK, and Eric’s top tips for success, *spoiler alert* it's about shots on goal!

In this episode of Elevating Founders, Brent Hoberman chats to Tim Draper, Founding Partner of Draper Associates, whose prominent investments include SpaceX, Hotmail, Skype and Tesla. Their conversation spans insights on Tim’s passion for VC, if entrepreneurship is teachable and the biggest opportunities for investment today beyond the usual markets.

For our last episode of season 3, we celebrate International Women's Month with Kathleen Breitman, Co-Founder of Tezos. Kathleen is also one of our London Tech Week ambassadors this year. Kathleen speaks about being a female founder, what Tezos is,  being a part of the blockchain industry and more!  For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com

To celebrate Black History Month USA we are sharing our Harnessing Community and Culture session. Learn about all things community and culture in the tech ecosystem with: Deborah Okenla, CEO, YSYS (Your Startup Your Story)  Oyinkansola Adebayo, CEO & Founder, Niyo Group Flavilla Fongang, Founder, 3 Colours Rule - Award-Winning Creative Agency For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com

In today's episode learn about food waste, the future of food, the circular economy, scaling your business and the impact of community. We are thrilled to be joined by Tessa Clarke Co-Founder & CEO of Olio for this episode. Olio is a free app tackling the problem of food waste by connecting neighbours with each other, and volunteers with local businesses, so that surplus food can be given away, not thrown away. Tessa is also one of our London Tech Week ambassadors and has a wealth of experience within the tech industry.  For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com

In today's episode, we are joined by Jacob Nathan Co-Founder & CEO of Epoch Biodesign. Jacob sat down with our host Sina Sadrzadeh, Co-Founder of Wing and discussed what it's like being a young entrepreneur.  Listen to Jacob speak about his business and how it is helping to solve the most pressing issues in climate tech.  For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com

For today's episode, we are joined by Irra Ariella Khi, CEO of Zamna Technologies and Sunflower Relief.  Irra talks about the concept of Zamna as well as how the past few years of COVID have impacted the business.  As well as this Irra discusses why she set up Sunflower Relief and how the not-for-profit works.  Sunflower aims to direct Ukrainian humanitarian relief more effectively – from providing logistics assistance to people trying to reach the border, to getting medical supplies and food out to the millions of stranded citizens who remain in a war zone as the Russian invasion continues.  Discover more about Sunflower Relief here https://www.sunflowerrelief.org/. Zamna provides organisations with the capability to manage identity on a global scale without the use of smart devices or digital identity apps. Discover more about Zamna here https://www.zamna.com/. For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com

For today's episode, we are joined by Seun Toye-Kayode, Head of Launch with GS EMEA, Goldman Sachs and Dr. Mridula Pore, CEO & Co-Founder of Peppy. This episode is all about how companies can invest in female founders, what founders are actually looking for and more! Dr. Mridula shares with us what Peppy is all about and discusses the benefits of a digital healthcare platform vs the traditional route of healthcare. For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com

For today's episode, we hear from Sarah Kiefer, Chief Marketing Officer at Pitch. Sarah discusses the best practices and practical tips when it comes to pitching. In addition to this, Sarah also provides her best tips for start-ups raising capital in the current climate.  Pitch combines the best parts of productivity, design, and presentation software to help fast-moving teams create beautifully designed decks in minutes. For more information about Elevating Founders, go to: www.elevatingfounders.tech Interested in attending London Tech Week 2023? Go to: londontechweek.com