
Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
Riding Unicorns is the go-to podcast for anyone interested in venture capital and high-growth startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns.Each episode features candid conversations with top founders, operators, and investors—unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.
Latest episodes

Aug 28, 2024 • 49min
George Henry, General Partner @ LocalGlobe & Latitude
George Henry is a General Partner at LocalGlobe. LocalGlobe is a venture capital firm that focuses on seed and impact investments. They have seeded impactful founders since 1999 at places like Citymapper, Improbable, Lovefilm, Moo, Wise, and Zoopla. They invest in startups selling to consumers, small businesses, and enterprises. They are lean, data-driven, and move fast in decision-making. They offer highly structured, collaborative support to investee companies, and have an excellent track record in getting their startups to a Series A raising (almost 90% vs less than 40% EU average).George joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss founder evaluation, the 4 investment themes they’re excited about, what the next 10 years potentially hold for VC, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄Read George's 4 investment themes for 2024 here: https://digitalculture.substack.com/p/4-investment-themes

9 snips
Aug 7, 2024 • 44min
Richard Anton, General Partner @ Oxx
Richard Anton, Co-Founder and General Partner at Oxx, dives into the world of B2B SaaS investing. He discusses the importance of developing a repeatable growth engine for startups and how experienced leadership can transform venture outcomes. The conversation also covers the evolution of venture funding in Europe, navigating IPOs, and the impact of AI on the SaaS landscape, highlighting both opportunities and challenges. With insights on strategic partnerships, Anton reveals how Oxx aims to bridge funding gaps and foster sustainable growth.

Jul 17, 2024 • 51min
Tim Creswick, CEO @ Vorboss
Tim Creswick is the CEO and Founder of Vorboss. Vorboss is a dedicated fibre network and internet service purpose-built for the needs of London’s most demanding businesses. They are the only internet service provider that offers 10Gbps as a minimum—meaning that their network can cope with the demands of the most data-hungry businesses for the next decade and beyond.Tim joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss infrastructure operations, significant business pivots, network security, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Jul 3, 2024 • 42min
Oana Jinga, Co-Founder @ Dexory
Oana Andreea Jinga is a CCO and Co-founder of Dexory. They develop robotics and AI logistics solutions to drive better business decisions. Through their DexoryView platform, they automate data collection and build real-time fed digital twin technology that unlocks insights across all levels of warehouse operations.Oana joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what problem Dexory solves, leaving Google to start Dexory, her view on humanoid robots, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Jun 19, 2024 • 50min
Gareth Jefferies, Partner @ RTP Global
Gareth Jefferies is a Partner at RTP Global, a global, early-stage venture capital firm, backing ambitious founders who are reshaping the world with technology. Their track record speaks for itself; over 110 investments worldwide, with one in 10 becoming multi-billion dollar companies including Datadog, DeliveryHero, and Cred. Gareth joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to share the skills to hone as a VC, common profiles of companies that became unicorns, intuition in investing, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Jun 5, 2024 • 53min
Akshat Goenka, Partner @ Moonfire
Akshat Goenka, Partner at Moonfire, discusses Moonfire's data-driven approach, the future of capital allocation, strategies for customer success in healthcare, and the importance of a supportive founder network in the Indian startup ecosystem.

May 22, 2024 • 45min
Sam Ettelaie, Co-Founder & CIO @ Thema
Sam Ettelaie is the Co-Founder and CIO at Thema, Europe's strategic LP for emerging fund managers. They act as a strategic cornerstone limited partner, writing first tickets of up to £5m, offering operational and regulatory support. Sam joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss building long-term defensibility, knowledge vs operational edge, Fund of Funds investing, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Apr 30, 2024 • 44min
Callum Taylor, Head of ITV AdVentures Ignite @ ITV
Callum Taylor is the Head of ITV AdVentures Ignite, they are here to help startup and scaleup brands begin an ongoing journey into the exciting world of TV - not as simply a media owner, but as a business partner. Hosting some of the nation’s favorite shows and offering unrivaled reach, advertising on ITV will supercharge your brand's growth - unlocking new customers in the only medium that can give you the scale and gravitas to tell your brand’s story with impact. They’ll use their expertise to help you identify the right media strategy, target audience, and creative messaging to help you maximize the outcome of your TV campaigns.Callum joins James Pringle to share about the Ignite Program, what media for equity is, new standards in the TV industry, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Apr 10, 2024 • 44min
Johannes Weber, Founding Partner @ Ananda Impact Ventures
Johannes Weber is the Founding Partner at Ananda Impact Ventures, the leading impact venture capital fund with a pan-European investment remit, managing ca. €200 million in four Core Impact Funds, with backing from notable institutional and private investors. They back technology businesses committed to having a positive impact that answers the most pressing social and ecological challenges of our time, in a way that is both scalable and sustainable. The active portfolio includes NatureMetrics (biodiversity monitoring & assessment), Close Loop Medicine (personalized medicine), OroraTech (wildfire detection & monitoring from space), and IESO Digital Health (online psychotherapy). Johannes joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to speak about the super skill a VC should have, founder’s health, founder alignment, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄

Apr 3, 2024 • 44min
Meri Beckwith, Co-Founder @ Lindus Health
Meri Beckwith is a Co-Founder at Lindus Health. Their mission is to accelerate clinical trials, so patients can benefit from new treatments sooner. They are an anti-CRO running radically faster, more reliable clinical trials for life science pioneers. They do this thanks to a commercial model that aligns incentives (fixed-priced quotes per study, with milestone-based payments), marrying a world-class clinical operations team with their unique software platform, and access to 30 million Electronic Health Records. They handle the end-to-end execution of clinical studies, including design, patient recruitment, clinical data capture, monitoring, and project management. Meri joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to share what anti-CRO means, how the traditional CRO model is broken, factors behind Lindus Health's success, & so much more. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄