Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

This is the first of our new monthly series where Hector and James discuss what's going on in the world of venture and startups, take a look back at the last month's episodes and talk through what's going on at their firms. 

Jean Nehme is the founder & CEO of Touch Surgery, a health tech company shaping the future of surgery through the convergence of surgical expertise and technology. Jean, a trained surgeon, founded Touch Surgery in 2010, in a bid to offer patients educational surgical simulations for more than 200 procedures in 17 specialties. The company was acquired by Medtronic in 2020 but Jean’s continues to be at the centre of the healthtech boom and was even recently involved in a new SPAC. Jean sat down with us to explore the hurdles he and the company faced to unlock growth, the similarities between surgeons and entrepreneurs and the company's first big win.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.

Matthew Ford is a Partner at Global FinTech Investment Firm, Mouro Capital. Matthew and his team manage over $400M assets that targets early to growth fintech investment opportunities across Europe, North America and Latin America. Prior to Mouro Capital Matthew worked as the Chief Product Officer at Tandem Bank. Matthew joined James and Hector to discuss his transition from working in operations to becoming a VC, the empathy he has for prospective founders and the trends that Matthew expects to see in FinTech in the near 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.

Laurence Krieger is the CEO of Tide, the leading provider of UK SME business accounts and one of the fastest-growing FinTechs in the UK. With over 12 years of experience working in senior roles at fast-growing fintech start-ups Laurence has played a huge role in shaping the industry that we see today. Prior to Tide Laurence launched one of the first prepaid cards into the UK with Moneysupermarket and before joining working at Revolut as its COO. In this episode we hear about Lawrence's career in tech, Tide's plans to expand into India and what Lawrence looks for when hiring - customer focus, data driven and team first approaches are ingrained in the Tide 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.

Sam Louis is an Investor at Venture Capital and Private Equity firm, AIV Capital. Having worked for a wide range of companies, including Angel Investment Network, BrickTribe, SeedTribe Sam has a good idea of the inner workings of the whole entire funding ecosystem and as such has developed a deep understanding over what makes a good founder. Riding Unicorns invited Sam on the show to mull over the topics of what impact investing means to him, how he is able to source great deal flow and the type of founders he attracts. 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.

Juliette Souliman is a VC Investor at MMC Ventures, a venture capital fund investing in early stage, high-growth UK companies. Juliette is well regarded for her expertise in fintech, insurtech and the blockchain. Away from MMC Julliette is also the co-founder of Ground Floor Ventures, a European and US business angel network focusing on pre-seed venture deals.Juliette, Hector and James sat down and discussed the two sides of investing and operating, what characteristics she looks out for in founders, VC's look for and why founders need to paint a big vision when talking to investors. For all you crypto enthusiasts we also delve into blockchain and its long term viability from an investment perspective. 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.

Rachel Carrell is the Founder and CEO of private childcare provider, Koru Kids, Originally from New Zealand Rachel moved to London and soon realised after having a baby just how difficult it was to arrange good quality childcare in the capital. She therefore decided to launch Koru Kids to help parents find the right childcare to suit their needs. Prior to Koru Kids Rachel worked at McKinsey. In this season 2 opener, James is not only joined by Rachel but also our new co-host, Hector Mason, Investor at Episode 1 Ventures. The trio sat down to discuss striking the right balance between human interaction and technology, the early milestones that made her believe this venture would amount to something and the well trodden path between consulting and entrepreneurism. 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.

Welcome back to Riding Unicorns as we usher in Season 2 with more guests and more insight into the world of startups and VC. We are also delighted to welcome Hector Mason, Partner @ Episode 1 Ventures as our new co-host.

Hector McNeil is Founder and Co-CEO at ETF business, HANetf. The company is Europe’s first independent white label ETF platform and has over $2bn assets under its management. Hector is considered a veteran of the EFT space after having played a huge role in establishing Susquehanna’s ETF desk in Europe as head of business development. His work has been recognised several times, most recently by being included in the ETF Stream ‘30 Index’.In this, the last final episode of season 2, Hector discusses the power of the ETF, what its like managing assets and what product trends he expects to see in the near 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.

Chad West is Director of Global Marketing & Communications at British unicorn, Revolut. The Fintech startup has acquired over 3.5 million customers in three years and was recently valued at over $1.7B making it one of the most revered British companies in recent years. Prior to Revolut Chad worked in Marketing and Communications at VC, Rocket Internet. During the episode Chad discusses his time working for Rocket Internet, becoming one of the first employees at Revolut and how the company has been able to scale so quickly in such a short period of time. 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.