Founder Sessions

If you're interested in AI and creativity, you won't want to miss this episode featuring Daniel Foster-Smith. He is a research associate at CultureLab Newcastle University, where he is doing his PhD on AI for ideation and creativity. He is also a consultant designer and developer, co-founder of Yossarian (a metaphorical search engine), and a former design consultant at BBC. In this episode, Daniel shares his journey from graphic design to AI research, his insights on how AI can assist the creative process, and his vision for the future of human-AI collaboration. He also talks about some of his projects that use AI to generate metaphors, visualizations, and narratives. Thanks to Floe workspaces and Northstar Ventures for their ongoing support.

This week we’re speaking with Jo York, current CEO of the Tech Accelerator Ignite. I went through Ignite’s pre-accelerator and accelerator last year and it was a life changing experience. Not least because of the incredible cohorts of other founders and mentors, but also because of the incredible Jo York. She’ll give you the tough advice you need to hear and ask the right questions at the right time, because a lot of the time she’s been there and done it. This episode is near and dear to my heart as Jo takes us through some of the life events which had an impact on her journey and talks about the realities of mentoring in a huge accelerator program like Ignite.

This week I'm speaking to Paula Harrison, founder of Biblio and director at Layers Studios about her journey from university to where she is now! It's a great way to kick of the Founder Sessions 2023 season and I think you'll love hearing some of Paula's stories from door to door sales in the North East and how it's helped her career over the years.

Today’s guest is Ashleigh King, she’s a podcast producer and host of multiple shows. Ashleigh’s an advocate for talking openly about mental health, neuro-diversity and surviving trauma, and we’re delving into some intense and potentially upsetting topics in this podcast, so as a trigger warning, we’ll be talking about the death of a close friend in this episode. Ashleigh's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleigh-elizabeth-king/

This week, it's Herb Kim, a man who rarely needs an introduction.  Herb Kim is a thought leader in his own right, but he also leads idea forums like TedxNewcastle and thinking digital. I attended thinking digital and was instantly struck by Herb’s almost conductor like presence in the show, he asks great questions and isn’t afraid to delve deeper into any information he finds interesting. https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbkim/

This week I’m speaking with Nihad from Vibbl. I managed to sit down with Nihad after the big first launch of his app Vibbl which helps teachers give better and more efficient feedback to their pupils. It’s a great conversation and thanks to Nihad for being a top notch guest on the show. We touch on the specific challenged of being a non-technical founder in a techie’s world of product as well as investigating the personal origins of Vibbl. As always, Thanks to Hamish from Floe Workspace, and Northstar Ventures as always for their ongoing support. https://vibbl.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/80961518/admin/

This week I’m speaking with Jeni Smith from Netkno, I’ve been really looking forward to this interview for a while, Jeni has an infectious enthusiasm which you can’t help but get on board with, and her business’s focus on community takes all the traditional sleaziness out of the idea of networking. In this episode we discuss some of Jeni’s career path and the ongoing journey within Netkno, as well as how Jeni balances her life as a PhD candidate and a mother with the running of her business. She’s got a lot on her plate and so many interesting stories to tell, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of Founder Sessions. Netkno: https://www.netkno.co.uk/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/80961518/admin/

This week is the second of our two parter on peek home, last week was Jaemi Glancy and this week is Roland Glancy! The journeys of both Jaemi and Roland or Roly as everyone calls him are slightly different and it’s fascinating to hear the other side of the story for Peek home this week. There’s a great horror story in here about bad investors and how it can ultimately doom your business, and I have to thank Roland for his generosity with his time and interesting stories! Thanks to the Peek home team and enjoy this episode of Founder Sessions. 🏡 PeekHome: https://peekhome.co.uk/ 🎧 FS Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundersessions/

This week I’m speaking with Jaemi Glancy, in the first of a special two parter about Peek Home, an online home designer that gives you plans, prices and planning advice without all the hassle. I’m a huge fan of the Peek Home team and they’ve just raised a round of investment, so what better a time to check in with both co-founders who just so happen to be Husband and wife. This week we’re speaking with Jaemi about her journey from leaving school early and finding her entrepreneurial feet, next week we’ll hear from Roland about his somewhat different path leading to Peek Home as well. Peek Home: https://peekhome.co.uk/

This week we’re speaking with Jeff Breen form Fundify, a grant funding search engine that helps organisations find and apply for grants in the UK. Jeff has a wealth of experience and insights on how to navigate the grant funding landscape and we also hear some personal challenges and pitfalls along the way. This episode is packed with valuable insights and practical advice for anyone who wants to understand funding better. You don't want to miss it! Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review our show if you enjoy it. We appreciate your support! And thanks to Floe Workspaces and North Star Ventures for their ongoing support.

I’m speaking with Beth Carr, she’s a senior sales consultant by day and a fantastic health coach based in Newcastle upon Tyne by night. I really enjoyed listening to Beth open up about her struggles and it really serves as a great reminder that none of us are immune, and we all need support, even the impressive cheerful Beths of the world! Check out Fig and Wolf here: https://www.figandwolf.com/

I’ve been excited to record this podcast for a while, and I must say, it doesn’t disappoint! This week I'm speaking with Karl Murray of Tech Nation, and he gives us an insight into what inspired him to start founder-sessions to begin with! It's a great conversation where we get a nice overview of Karl’s life in startup to date and what he’s working on now. I hope you enjoy it and have a great Christmas break and a happy New Year! We'll be back with Founder Sessions in 2023! Thanks for all the support this year and stay tuned :)

Today’s guest is Nikhil Patel CTO of Gridfinder, a rapidly growing online racing league management system which helps sim racers find leagues and communities to race in a variety of video games. I’ve been friends with Nikhil for the last year or so since we crossed paths at a networking event for the start-up accelerator Ignite based out of Newcastle. He’s got the mind of an engineer and the heart of a philosopher. I think this episode offers a chance to sit back and relax a little as Nikhil describes how the magic of start-up strikes for him with a kind of sanguine acceptance of what may or may not be out of his personal control. @FounderSessions (Linkedin) @alexventisei (instagram)

Hekla's Music: https://heklagoodman.co.uk/ This week we're chatting with Hekla Goodman (Investment Manager at NorthStar Ventures). Hekla’s been an inspiration in my life since I joined the start-up community in Newcastle, and I’ve been really excited to get this interview underway. This episode is a fascinating trip down memory lane. It evolves as a story through her life and she takes us through what it was like to learn some tough lessons along the way!

This week's session is with Rojin Yarahmadi from Polybox, the company that seeks to make physical receipts a thing of the past. We talk broadly about how Rojin found her love of engineering solutions to problems, and new skills which she is constantly challenging herself to pick up! I find Rojin hugely inspirational and hope you'll get as much out of our conversation as I did.

This week's session is with Siddesh Iyer, Founder and CEO of SportFin, his company is looking to help community sports clubs get more funding by reporting their impact their communities. I'm a huge fan of Siddesh's work and hope you enjoy listening to some of the great stories he tells about how he got to this point!

Today's session features Pete Daykin, CEO and Co-Founder at Wordnerds. To quote Wordnerds directly, they are "a SaaS platform that genuinely understands language, delivering metrics-led insight from unstructured text... in all its misspelt, sarcastic glory." In this session, we chat about Pete's entrepreneurial journey. From the days before Wordnerds to the story around founding Wordnerds and transitioning from agency to SaaS startup.  ▶ Check out Wordnerds: https://www.wordnerds.ai/ ▶ Follow Pete: https://twitter.com/peterdaykin This session could not be possible without our good friends at Northstar ventures. Northstar Ventures is a VC firm investing in innovative solutions to help solve the most pressing societal issues we have today.   They are a pre-Series A investor with ticket sizes between 100,000 to 1 Million pounds. They focus on building long-term relationships with their portfolio clients to see them through to exit. ▶ Find out more about Northstar Ventures: https://northstarventures.co.uk/ Founder Sessions is a podcast that helps people relate to the reality of startup life.  We go behind the glitz & glamour and speak to the REAL entrepreneurs working hard to make a difference. ▶ Find out more about Founder Sessions here: https://compiled.social/foundersessions

Today's session features Lynsey Harbottle & Lyndsey Britton-Lee, Co-Founders of 50:50 Future.  50:50 Future is a Diversity & Inclusion training and consultancy company that values difference. 50:50 is on a mission to be a catalyst for inclusion by demystifying diversity and providing solutions to break down barriers. Throughout this chat, we talk about diversity & inclusion, how startup founders can build a diverse team early, and how we can be more inclusive as a community.  ▶ Check out 50:50 Future: https://5050future.co.uk/ ▶ Connect with Lynsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynsey-harbottle/ ▶ Connect with Lyndsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-britton-lee-910a1a3b/ Founder Sessions is a podcast that helps people relate to the reality of startup life.  We go behind the glitz & glamour and speak to the REAL entrepreneurs working hard to make a difference. ▶ Find out more about Founder Sessions here: https://compiled.social/foundersessions

Today's session features Eugene Shestopal, CEO & Co-Founder of Poptop, The leading event planning platform on the UK market and the most technologically advanced events marketplace in the World. Eugene is a serial entrepreneur with 10 years of experience in the events and music industries before founding Poptop. We chatted to Eugene about how adapting to the global pandemic and the war in Ukraine impacted the Poptop team and how investors reacted to these situations.  ▶ Check out Poptop: https://www.poptop.uk.com/ ▶ Connect with Eugene: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugene-shestopal-66785438/ This session could not be possible without our good friends at Northstar ventures. Northstar Ventures is a VC firm investing in innovative solutions to help solve the most pressing societal issues we have today.   They are a pre-Series A investor with ticket sizes between 100,000 to 1 Million pounds. They focus on building long-term relationships with their portfolio clients to see them through to exit. ▶ Find out more about Northstar Ventures: https://northstarventures.co.uk/ Founder Sessions is a podcast that helps people relate to the reality of startup life.  We go behind the glitz & glamour and speak to the REAL entrepreneurs working hard to make a difference. ▶ Find out more about Founder Sessions here: https://compiled.social/foundersessions

Today's session features Kufa Matiya, Founder of FutureMatch, an end-to-end hiring platform that uses data science to hire early career talent for organisations. Kufa is a 2nd-time Founder in the Ed Tech and HR Tech spaces. Kufa and his co-founder scaled their first startup from a team of 2 to 45 and raised £1.4M over five funding rounds.  Throughout this chat, Kufa talks about his journey into entrepreneurship, the process of scaling a startup from a hiring and investment perspective, and the challenges he has faced as a founder. ▶ Check out FutureMatch: https://www.linkedin.com/company/futurematchtalent/ ▶ Connect with Kufa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kufamatiya/ Founder Sessions is a podcast that helps people relate to the reality of startup life.  We go behind the glitz & glamour and speak to the REAL entrepreneurs working hard to make a difference. ▶ Find out more about Founder Sessions here: https://compiled.social/foundersessions