Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Francesco Simoneschi is Co-Founder and CEO of TrueLayer, a fintech development platform. TrueLayer is not, however, Francesco's first experience in founding, managing and growing a successful tech company. In fact, prior to launching TrueLayer, Francesco helped develop an angel fund called Mission and Market, which was able to provide investment to more than 50 startups. Following a period working in mobile game development Francesco became VP of Strategy for FOVE – the world’s first eye tracking virtual reality headset. With TrueLayer Francesco is looking to grow the Open Banking economy by creating a truly global platform for companies to develop new financial services and products. Francesco joined us on the show to discuss his time working as a VC, what inspired the idea behind TrueLayer and what plans he has for the business moving forward. James and Hector also go on to quiz Francesco on what he believes the future of Open Banking will look like, what he looks for when picking a seed investor and whether the founder mindset can be taught. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Haakon Overli is the Founder and General Partner of Dawn Capital, a VC firm investing in European founders in the hope of helping them build the next generation of global software companies. During the early stage of his career Haakon worked in investment banking before eventually taking the decision to go out on his own and become an entrepreneur. In 1999 he launched Self Trade, an on-line stock broker, which he eventually sold in 2000 to HypoVereinsbank for €911m (US$1.1bn). Haakon now spends his time developing relationships with founders and providing them with advice in an attempt to help them grow their businesses. Haakon sat down with James and Hector to discuss his time with Self Trade, the various investment models currently at play in venture capital, and what he considers to be a red flag when investing. Haakon also goes on to share his personal philosophy on business and life, which as we go on to learn, much of which is informed by his neurodiversity.Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Aidan Corbett is the co-founder and CEO of Dublin-based Wayflyer. Founded in 2019 the company supports e-commerce businesses worldwide by providing a range of financing and analytics solutions that improve cash flow, drive sales and optimise supply chains. Since launching in April 2020 the company has already gone on to provide over $500 million to businesses, a fact which has meant that Aidan and his team have been able to build a unicorn in just 20 months. Wayflyer now has more than 800 customers across 11 countries, and employs 250 people between Dublin, London, New York, Atlanta and Sydney.We invited Aidan to learn more about how his time at Conjura led him to founding Wayflyer, his thoughts on the future of B2B finance and why the Irish start-up scene is thriving. Aidan also left us with plenty of practical advice such as how best to prepare for international expansion, how to attract talent and the best ways to build a solid workplace culture. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Martin Bysh is the co-founder & CEO of Huboo, an award-winning order fulfilment service for eCommerce sellers. Martin spent the early part of his career working in a number of industries including everything from video games to dating sites and market research. After years of toiling in different ventures Martin finally decided to launch Huboo in 2017 with his co-founder Paul Dodd. Since then the company has grown at a remarkable rate and is now responsible for shipping an average of five million packages a year. This has led the Bristol based company to open new fulfilment centres around the globe in locations such as Madrid, Eindhoven and in the very near future, Leipzig.Martin sat down with us to reflect on his many career moves to date, explain how he met his co-founder Paul and shed some light on why he always found it difficult to maintain focus throughout his career and how founding Huboo helped him finally achieve that. We also go on to learn how the company has managed to align all its products whilst simultaneously building a great company culture. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Charles Delingpole is the Founder & CEO of ComplyAdvantage, leaders in AI driven fraud and AML risk detection. Founded in 2014, ComplyAdvantage works with over 500 clients across 75 countries to tackle the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption. Prior to ComplyAdvantage Charles founded the world’s largest student discussion forum The Student Room Group. He then followed this up by co-founding MarketFinance, a corporate financial solutions company. Charles joined James and Hector on Riding Unicorns to discuss how his passion for coding helped him to become an entrepreneur, the secrets behind his three successful start-ups and how his role as a CEO continues to evolve. This episode also goes on to cover the motivations behind his journey and what legacy he hopes to leave behind.Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Tom Goodwin is the co-founder of innovation consultancy, All We Have Is Now. Tom is however much more than just an entrepreneur. Tom has spent over 20 years studying topics such as the impact of new technology, changing consumer behaviours, and trends in digital marketing and as such is regarded as one of the experts in his field. He is also the author of Digital Darwinism, a business book that explores the current digital transformation in business. As well as this Tom is a much sought after public speaker and has spent much time educating audiences all over the world on digital transformation and innovation.Tom sat down with Riding Unicorns for what turned out to be quite a lively debate on the topic of venture capital. Tom makes his feelings on VC’s abundantly clear throughout the episode. We go on to learn that Tom’s main gripe is his belief that VC’s have become unimaginative in their approach to investing, which in his mind, is resulting in a slew of uninspiring and in some cases copycat companies. Towards the end of the episode the conversation turns to brand building, a topic Tom is very familiar with. Unsurprisingly Tom is full of fascinating insights and even goes on to provide founders with some sage advice on the subject. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Katie Marrache is a Partner at JamJar Ventures, a VC firm founded by the people behind the hugely popular Innocent drinks. Katie is the definition of a go-getter. Whilst at University she secured an internship with Dragons’ Den investor, James Caan, which saw her manage the entrepreneurs portfolio of consumer investments. After a short stint working in television Katie joined Innocent drinks as a category manager, which once again saw her manage an investment portfolio. In 2017 she made Partner and with it became Europe's youngest ever female venture capital partner.Speaking to Riding Unicorns Katie reflects on her career to date, how she as a VC quantifies the size of a market and the benefits of focusing on product. In what turned out to be a discussion full of fascinating insights and opinions James, Hector and Katie also go on to discuss the trends that most excite them in the consumer space and the marketing strategies they feel are most effective when going to market. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Kevin Diestel is a Partner at Sapphire Ventures, a venture capital firm that primarily invests in Series B technology companies. Before moving into private equity Kevin worked as an Analyst for Merrill Lynch. After two years working for the Investment Bank Kevin began working for Shamrock Capital Advisors, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. During his time there he was responsible for evaluating investments in the media, entertainment and communications sectors. Having joined Sapphire in 2012 Kevin now focuses his time primarily on innovative consumer businesses and vertical software applications. Kevin holds a board seat at a number of companies including Culture Amp, Current, Degreed, project44, and Sun Basket. In this episode Kevin starts off by explaining his role at Sapphire Ventures, his approach to investing and how he and his team deal with downturns in performance. Kevin also goes on to detail how he strikes a balance between intuition and data when investing. Finally James and Hector quiz Kevin on how he avoids bias during the decision making process and what the ultimate goal is for his career. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

Freddy Ward is the co-founder of D2C cosmetics company, Wild. Freddy started his career at Hello Fresh and is actually credited as being its fifth ever employee. After working his way up to Marketing Director Freddy decided to start his own company, Wild, with lifelong friend and former Director of Fly Hiring, Charlie Bowes-Lyon. Wild is best known for its refillable deodorants and range of exotic fragrances, which customers seem to have really warmed too. In fact the company has already sold over 300,000 deodorants in little over 18 months. The company is hoping that by focusing on natural ingredients and by cutting down on plastic waste it will be at the forefront of a new wave of environmentally friendly consumer products. In this episode Freddy explains what marketing means to him, how he went about starting Wild and how he later developed its brand. The episode also covers how one should go about experimenting with new marketing channels, the thought process behind launching new products and what value Freddy believes he brings to the business. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.

James Routledge is the Founder of Sanctus, leading providers of mental health coaches. After starting his first business at University James was hooked by the idea of being an entrepreneur. His first business venture, MatchChat, a social media app would however ultimately go on to be unsuccessful. As is often the case in life there is a silver lining to all supposed failures. James would ultimately go on to reflect more deeply about the stress he felt around this time and how it affected his mental health. Spurred on by this experience James launched Sanctus in 2016 and the company has since partnered with some of the biggest brands to help them transform their mental health culture. In November 2022 James took the difficult decision to step down as CEO but as he mentions during the episode he continues to have a very strong relationship with the company to this day. James now spends much of his time writing and is in fact a best selling author. His first book, Mental Health at Work, shares his stories, learnings and guidance on the topic of mental health. Riding Unicorns invited James on the show to discuss the highs and lows of working on MatchChat and the inspiration behind launching Sanctus. Mental health was of course a huge topic throughout the episode. James went on to share some practical advice on how to improve mental health in the workplace. Make sure to like and subscribe to the Riding Unicorns podcast to never miss an episode. Also don't forget to give Riding Unicorns a follow on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep on top of the latest developments.