

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

May 22, 2023 • 11min
Startup Spotlight: Orbital Witness
Startup Spotlight with Edmond Boulle, Co-Founder at Orbital Witness.Orbital Witness is a legaltech/proptech company liberating everyone involved in property transactions by organising all the information at the start of the process so there are no nasty surprises. Over 1.5% of all commercial property transactions in the UK use Orbital Witness and they have just raised a £7.5m Series A led by Parker89 to continue growing and also expand into the residential space. 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! 🎙️🦄

May 17, 2023 • 44min
Sammy Rubin, Founder & CEO @ YuLife
This week's guest is Yulife CEO & Co-founder Sammy Rubin.Yulife is on a mission to inspire people to live their best lives: financially, mentally and physically. They have fundamentally changed the nature of life insurance, creating an innovative new ‘win-win’ model which benefits individuals, businesses and society.Sammy joins James Pringle and Hector Mason in this episode to discuss how to spark creativity, how to build the right team, showing vulnerability in leadership & 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! 🎙️🦄

May 5, 2023 • 8min
Startup Spotlight: Connect Earth
Startup Spotlight with Alex Lempka, Co-Founder at Connect Earth.Connect Earth is an environmental data company working with banks and fintechs to offer customers insights into the impact of their spending and investments on the climate.Its technology is integrated with banking groups such as KBC Bank, community banks and fintech firms in Europe and the United States. Connect Earth recently raised a £4.5m round led by Gresham House Ventures. 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! 🎙️🦄

May 3, 2023 • 42min
Tristan Thomas, CEO & Co-Founder @ Packfleet
This week's guest is Packfleet CEO & Co-founder Tristan Thomas.Packfleet is on a mission to empower independent businesses across the UK to offer the best deliveries on Earth.Tristan joins James Pringle and Hector Mason in this episode to discuss how to scale a business, how to time your fundraising activities, some thoughts on product management & 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 5, 2023 • 43min
Mark Chaffey, Co-Founder & CEO @ hackajob
This week's guest is hackajob Co-founder & CEO Mark Chaffeyhackajob have made it their mission to make the hiring process fairer, faster and based on skills rather than backgrounds, so people can get the job they deserve and earn what they're worth.Mark joins James Pringle and Hector Mason in this special extended episode to discuss how to validate an idea, lessons learnt during his career, the importance of professional coaching & 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 29, 2023 • 32min
Maulik Sailor, Founder & CEO @ Codemonk
This week's guest is CodeMonk Founder & CEO Maulik SailorCodeMonk is changing the way the world goes to work — thanks to their dedicated platform powered by a global network of world-class, remote-based tech professionals. They offer companies a complete end-to-end solution, enabling them to hire entire development teams in just a matter of days.Maulik joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss proactive vs reactive, how to define a Product Manager, the importance of decision making & 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! 🎙️🦄

5 snips
Mar 22, 2023 • 32min
Sam Franklin, Co-Founder & CEO @ Otta
Our guest this week is Otta CEO Sam Franklin Otta is the better way to find a job in tech. They have raised over $20m including a Series A led by Tiger Global after initial backing from LocalGlobe and Riding Unicorns Live 2022 special guest Paul Forster. Sam has worked as a management consultant and cut his teeth at tech company Nested.Sam joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what makes an entrepreneur, the pathway to Otta.com, imposter syndrome & 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 15, 2023 • 31min
Eileen Burbidge - Partner @ Passion Capital and Director @ Fertifa
Our guest this week is Eileen Burbidge, Partner @ Passion Capital and Director @ FertifaEileen has worked for some of the biggest tech companies in the world such as Skype, Apple and Yahoo. She founded venture firm Passion Capital in 2011 and has backed incredible companies such as Tide, Monzo, Tray.io and others from pre-seed stage. Eileen joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what it's like being an interim CEO, the excitement of investing, the importance of quick decisions & 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 8, 2023 • 32min
Thomas Wynne, Co-Founder & CEO at Capsule
Our guest this week is Thomas Wynne, Co-Founder & CEO @Capsule!Capsule is a specialist, purpose-led insurance partner for growth companies – partnering with innovative and ambitious businesses on their scale-up journey. They are a certified B Corporation with ESG at their core.Thomas joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the emotional side of selling a company, the opportunity in the insurance space, speaking to customers to help shape the product & 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 3, 2023 • 10min
Startup Spotlight: Light Garden
Startup Spotlight with Dan Webb, Co-Founder at Light Garden.Light Garden are building Existent®, the platform that brings physical interaction to the metaverse. Existent® is a software platform and set of authoring tools that extend state-of-the-art virtual reality with the ability for players to be able to physically interact with everything they see in the virtual world. They have raised from Stride VC, Portfolio Ventures and key angels across gaming, sports and entertainment. 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! 🎙️🦄


