Anatomy of a Leader with Maria Hvorostovsky

With less than 2% of funding going to female founders, it is tough when you are faced with the decision to walk away from investors. It takes courage, self-awareness, and conviction in your idea to do that. My latest guest Hasna Kourda the Founder of Save My Wardrobe did exactly that. She learnt that saying ‘no’ to investors even when you don’t have the cash is not always a mistake. Hasna is considered, methodical and pragmatic. A recovering perfectionist. She has been fighting the good fight about customer consumption and the importance of circularity way before it became fashionable. She had to learn on the go how to pitch for her idea (in the early years even sending her husband in to ‘look’ like the lead) and assess investors on whether they are right for her business in the first place. EPISODE #27: You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ----------------------------------------- HASNA KOURDA ----------------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasnakourda/ Twitter: @hasnakourda - https://twitter.com/hasnakourda ----------------------------------------- SAVE YOUR WARDROBE ----------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saveyourwardrobe/?hl=en Website: https://www.saveyourwardrobe.com/ Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/saveyrwardrobe Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/saveyourwardrobe/ Save Your Wardrobe has a new partnership with Zalando - https://zalandocareandrepair.saveyourwardrobe.com/ ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need help HIRING - head over to - www.hirewithmaria.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Follow, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-nowLicense code: SDXCT4ELUCOHZOKN

Hasna Kourda, the Tunisian born Founder of Save Your Wardrobe, is considered, methodical and pragmatic. A recovering perfectionist. She has been fighting the good fight about customer consumption and the importance of circularity way before it became fashionable. With only 2% of funding going to female founders she had to learn on the go how to pitch for her idea (in the early years even sending her husband in to ‘look’ like the lead) and assess investors on whether they are right for her business in the first place. She learnt that saying ‘no’ to investors even when you have no money isn’t always a mistake and that separating yourself from your business is important to keep your sanity. ------------------------------- EPISODE #27: ------------------------------- You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- WE DISCUSS ------------------------------- 02:35 - Your  first job and early years 05:56 - Starting Saving My Wardrobe 10:04 - Surprises about skills 12:09 - Working with few resources / parallel with sustainability 13:37 - Raising funds 16:57 - Creating a balance when your husband is also your business partner 24:08 - Hiring the best people 28:26- How are you different now from when you started? 29:53 - What do you wish you learnt sooner? 33:31 - Mistakes that shape you 36:49 - What does leadership mean to you? 42:09 - Any misconceptions about you? 43:59 - Impossible question ----------------------------------------- HASNA KOURDA ----------------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasnakourda/ Twitter: @hasnakourda - https://twitter.com/hasnakourda ----------------------------------------- SAVE YOUR WARDROBE ----------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saveyourwardrobe/?hl=en Website: https://www.saveyourwardrobe.com/ Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/saveyrwardrobe Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/saveyourwardrobe/ Save Your Wardrobe has a new partnership with Zalando - https://zalandocareandrepair.saveyourwardrobe.com/ ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need help HIRING - head over to - www.hirewithmaria.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Follow, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/cruen/in-the-nowLicense code: SDXCT4ELUCOHZOKN

Sarah Crook is a brand builder through and through having worked with Club 21 (Prada, Armani, Donna Karan), Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane and Peter Dundas. In Episode 26 which concludes Season2, Sarah and I talk about what first time CEOs should be thinking about when working with creatives especially if they are the founders, building trust and honing that gut instinct. ------------------------------- EPISODE #26: ------------------------------- You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- WE DISCUSS: ------------------------------- 01:22 - Sarah’s favourite brand she worked with 04:25 - What’s the most important part to building a brand? 09:08 - Biggest lesson from Club 21 13:12 - Working with Stella McCartney 18:15 - First CEO role 20:21 - Toughest decision as a CEO 31:31 - Creating a great relationship with a Creative Founder 38:00 /37:39 - Failure 41:25 - How to build a great team 44:57 - What is leadership in 3 words 46:47 - Advice to younger self ----------------------------------------- SARAH CROOK ----------------------------------------- LinkedIn: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-crook-2211b47/ ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON: ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

Sarah Crook is a brand builder through and through having worked with Club 21 (Prada, Armani, Donna Karan), Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane and Peter Dundas. In this Episode we talk about what first time CEOs should be thinking about when working with creatives especially if they are the founders, building trust and honing that gut instinct. ------------------------------- EPISODE #26: ------------------------------- You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- WE DISCUSS: ------------------------------- ----------------------------------------- SARAH CROOK ----------------------------------------- LinkedIn: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-crook-2211b47/ ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON: ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

Boris Nikolai Konrad is a memory expert, neuroscientist, author, award winning international keynote speaker, 8x world memory champion and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records four times. When he was at school he discovered his ‘gift’ for memorising. Through consistent practice he entered many memory competitions as an amateur and eventually beat several world records, one of which is memorising 215 names to the corresponding faces within 15 minutes. He credits him excelling at university, completing his PHD, becoming a neuroscientist in the field of memory and speaking many languages to having started his memory training early in life. I sat down with Boris to talk about how his brain is different to regular people like me, what memory is and how you can harness the power of memory in your everyday life. ------------------------------- EPISODE #25: ------------------------------- You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- WE DISCUSS: ------------------------------- 01:45 - Intro 03:16 - What is memory? 04:07 - Where is memory located? 05:07 - Why do we need memory? 06:00 - What’s the point of improving memory? 08:05 - How can we improve our memory? 12:16 - Can everyone learn mnemonics? 15:02 - Why train memory when we have access to all information online? 19:44 - Why did Boris get into mnemonics? 24:27 - What did Boris do differently? 28:04 - The education system 31:41 - Advice to leaders 34:34 - Advice to younger self 35:43 - What is the number 1 thing that holds people back? 39:26 - The Impossible Question ----------------------------------------- BORIS NIKOLAI KONRAD ----------------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bokonrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/borisnikolaikonrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/borisnkonrad Website: boriskonrad.com ------------------------------- RESOURCES ------------------------------- How to use memory techniques to improve education https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qIBe0h0-Ig "Method of Loci"  Memory Training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF1BR_CDrxU ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON: ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

Boris Nikolai Konrad is a memory expert, neuroscientist, author, award winning international keynote speaker, 8x world memory champion and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records four times. When he was at school he discovered his ‘gift’ for memorising. Through consistent practice he entered many memory competitions as an amateur and eventually beat several world records, one of which is memorising 215 names to the corresponding faces within 15 minutes. He credits him excelling at university, completing his PHD, becoming a neuroscientist in the field of memory and speaking many languages to having started his memory training early in life. I sat down with Boris to talk about how his brain is different to regular people like me, what memory is and how you can harness the power of memory in your everyday life. EPISODE #25: You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ----------------------------------------- BORIS NIKOLAI KONRAD ----------------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bokonrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/borisnikolaikonrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/borisnkonrad Website: boriskonrad.com ------------------------------- RESOURCES ------------------------------- How to use memory techniques to improve education https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qIBe0h0-Ig "Method of Loci"  Memory Training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF1BR_CDrxU ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

Martin Newman is The Customer Champion, working tirelessly to make sure your customer service doesn’t suck. He is a keynote speaker, author, and founder Practicology - a leading e-commerce and multichannel consultancy business. In Episode #24 we spoke about what companies do wrong when it comes to customer service (I learnt that it all starts from within), what consumer centricity is and how using tech isn’t always the best strategy.  Oh, and we touch on the Metaverse and how that will shape the shopping experience. ------------------------------- EPISODE #24: ------------------------------- You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- WE DISCUSS: ------------------------------- 02:27 - Martin’s first job 08:40 - What Martin learnt from his father 12:40 - What is customer centricity? 23:53 - What should flailing retailers be doing now? 31:10 - Mistakes when using tech in customer service 35:34 - Why shop in a store now? 40:14 - How will the Metaverse shape the shopping environment? 44:19 - How leaders can ‘sell’ better 54:10 - What’s keeping Martin awake at night 01:01:04 - How CEOs should be remunerated now ----------------------------- MARTIN NEWMAN ----------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martindnewman/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MNConsumerChampion Twitter: https://twitter.com/martinnewman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consumerchampion/ Email: martin@martinnewman.co.uk ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON: ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

Martin Newman is The Customer Champion, working tirelessly to make sure your customer service doesn’t suck. He is a keynote speaker, author, and founder Practicology - a leading e-commerce and multichannel consultancy business. In Episode #24 we spoke about what companies do wrong when it comes to customer service (I learnt that it all starts from within), what consumer centricity is and how using tech isn’t always the best strategy.  Oh, and we touch on the Metaverse and how it will shape the shopping experience. ------------------------------- EPISODE #24: ------------------------------- You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- MARTIN NEWMAN ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martindnewman/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MNConsumerChampion Twitter: https://twitter.com/martinnewman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consumerchampion/ Email: martin@martinnewman.co.uk ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

In this solo episode - I outline 10 steps to hiring the best people. I talk about envisioning your company culture, getting candidates to say ‘yes’, interview techniques, how to future proof your talent pool and much more. The top mistakes companies make are discussed in steps 6, 8 and 9. EPISODE #23: You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- CHAPTERS: ------------------------------- 00:00 - Why do you need to hire the best? 01:29 - 1: Self-awareness 02:15 - 2 - Vision & culture 03:10 - 3 - What is success? 04:04 - 4 - Who do you need? 05:36 - 5 - Stakeholders 06:52 - 6 - Unconscious bias 08:56 - 7 - What to compromise on 09:23 - 8 - Getting the candidate to say ‘yes’ 11:57 - 9 - Future proof your talent pool 13:00 - 10 - Take care ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON: ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!

Why do we work? Why should we expect to be happy at work? What are the conditions for happiness at work? How do you decide whether to leave your job or not? As a headhunter I am fascinated with these questions, so when I saw Dr. Tracy Brower’s article in Forbes about Empathy being the most important Leadership skill, and saw that she recently published a book called “Secrets to Happiness at Work” I had to bring her onto the show. We talked about rage quitting, what will actually make you happy at work (besides the salary), work-life balance and of course about the biggest topic of them all - The Great Resignation. I feel so aligned with her about what it takes to have a happy, fulfilling career. Tracy helps to articulate how to think, what to look for, and then what to do, so it’s easy for you to have a fulfilling and joyful career too. EPISODE #22: You can listen to the full episode here OR WATCH it on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC-YIz5pEMM9vigbYOxK2Kw ------------------------------- WE DISCUSS: ------------------------------- 02:32 - Why we work 07:52 - Why it’s important to find happiness at work 09:34 - Conditions for happiness 11:02 - Worst thing for happiness 13:53 - Leadership and culture 17:09 - Great Resignation 20:43 - Ghosting 23:15 - Should you stay or should you leave your job? 32:05 - Quick Fire Questions 33:09 - Who is responsible for providing purpose at work? 35:32 - What is great leadership 38:32 - Who did you write the book for? 42:19 - Is Work-Life balance dead? ------------------------------- DR. TRACY BROWER ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracybrowerphd/ Twitter: @tracybrower108 - https://twitter.com/TracyBrower108 Instagram: @tlb108 - https://www.instagram.com/tlb108/ Website: https://tracybrower.com/ RESOURCES: The Secrets to Happiness at Work - https://amzn.to/2YiCir6 You've Been Ghosted In Your Job Search: 5 Ways to Cope - https://bit.ly/3CImxbH Happiness is Good for Business: 6 Ways to Create it For Employees - https://bit.ly/3CJoZii ------------------------------- FOLLOW ME ON: ------------------------------- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahvo/ Instagram: @MariaHvo - https://www.instagram.com/mariahvo/ Twitter: @MHvorostovsky - https://twitter.com/mhvorostovsky Clubhouse: @MariaHvo - https://www.clubhouse.com/@mariahvo HVO Search: www.hvosearch.com ------------------------------- Get in touch if you need help HIRING your senior leadership team LEAVE A REVIEW: If you’re listening on Apple Podcasts make sure to Subscribe, Rate, and leave a REVIEW. The best review will get a mention in the next episode!