Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Riding Unicorns is delighted to announce an entirely new series called Start-up Spotlight. These new weekly bitesize episodes will provide you with an insight into a company that we are very excited about. Our very first Start-up Spotlight episode features Raffi Salama from Passionfruit, a UK-based Gen Z freelancing platform that recently closed a seed round of $4.3m. 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.

Ben Kaminski is a Partner at leading technology investment firm, Target Global. Prior to joining the firm, Ben spent over a decade working in Investment Banking where he was responsible for overseeing several high-profile M&A transactions. At Target Global since 2018 Ben now heads up the firm's dedicated Mobility 2.0 Fund. His investments include Auto1, Delivery Hero,  GoEuro, Flink and numerous others. As well as all this Ben still finds the time to be an active angel investor in over a dozen startups across a number of segments, including mobility, logistics, marketplaces and software. Ben stopped by to discuss his time at Goldman Sachs, why crisis often leads to opportunity and open up on the mistakes he has made as an angel investor. James and Hector also probe deeper into what makes Target Global different to other firms, what the future of mobility will look like and Ben’s career objectives.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 Wilson is a Partner at Seedcamp, an early stage seed fund investing in European businesses that are solving real problems using technology. Prior to his time in Venture, Tom worked in Law where he specialised in VC fundraising and M&A. Since joining Seedcamp In 2014 Tom has been helping the fund source and select companies to invest in at the early stage of their inception. Some of their investments to-date include UiPath, Wise, Hopin and Revolut. We invited Tom on the show to discuss the Seedcamp model, look back on how the fund has evolved throughout the years and to better understand the core characteristics of what they look for in a founder and a business. During the episode we also go on to learn how the fund plans to scale in the next few years, what it is about the team dynamic that works so well and their plans for the future. 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.

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.