

Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
Riding Unicorns Productions
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

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 • 44min
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 • 43min
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! 🎙️🦄

Mar 6, 2024 • 52min
Leila Zegna & Chrys Chrysanthou @ Kindred Capital
Chrys Chrysanthou and Leila Zegna are General Partners at Kindred Capital. At Kindred, they align their ambitions and achievements with their portfolio - in structure and in spirit. Every entrepreneur they invest in becomes a co-owner of the fund and they call it ‘equitable venture’. They invest early and work with their community of founders and advisers to help founders get further, faster from the very beginning.Chrys and Leila join James Pringle and Hector Mason to share what it is like to be Kindred, relationships vs intellectual horsepower, the need for humbleness in Venture & 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! 🎙️🦄

Feb 21, 2024 • 43min
Suranga Chandratillake, General Partner @ Balderton Capital
Suranga Chandratillake is a General Partner at Balderton Capital; a multistage venture firm with more than two decades of experience supporting Europe’s best founders from Seed to IPO. They have both early and growth funds and invest across the technology sector. Suranga joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to share strategies for creating new processes, the importance of establishing good relationships with investors, the Balderton Founder Wellbeing & Performance Platform, & 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! 🎙️🦄

Feb 7, 2024 • 49min
Dinika Mahtani, Partner @ Cherry Ventures
Dinika Mahtani, Partner at Cherry Ventures, shares her career journey and transition to venture capital, Cherry Ventures' success and shift towards B2B software, exploring the potential of B2B marketplaces, creating marketplaces and starting with angel investing, evaluating founders and the importance of volume in investing, and the value of open communication and seeking help from investors.

Jan 31, 2024 • 44min
Amon Ghaiumy, Co-Founder & CEO @ Ophelos
Amon Ghaiumy is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ophelos; a fintech startup with unique technology that uses machine learning and behavioural science to get people debt-free and organisations paid back.Amon joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss how he started Ophelos, the existing debt collection industry situation, the founder experience in the UK Tech ecosystem, & 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! 🎙️🦄