The Happy Entrepreneur

Are you a solo founder curious about AI? Do you want to know how it could help you be more impactful, more effective, and free up your time? Or are you a conscious business owner who worries about what AI is doing to our humanity and our creativity?If so, this conversation with Kerry Harrison, AI educator and professional copywriter, is for you.Kerry makes AI accessible. She teaches practical ways to save time while adding your brilliant human creativity to the mix. Drawing on two decades of copywriting work and five years of AI experience, she can help you create compelling, human content in less time.When it comes to productivity, AI provides a lot of potential for us to save time, whether that’s doing research, coming up with new ideas, or producing content.However, when it comes to our creative output, if we outsource all the thinking to AI, where does that leave us?We need to remember that humans buy from humans. As entrepreneurs who offer something unique (not off-the-shelf commodities), one of the most valuable things we have is our story.Stories are a connection superpower. Told well, they take people from knowing you to liking you to loving you in an instant.But will people still connect with your stories if AI is now writing them? And if so, who are they really connecting to? You, or an imitation of you? Will the stories you share match up to the experience you’re selling?If you’re passionate about doing business at a human level, these thoughts will trouble you. By the end of this conversation, you’ll be able to better articulate what troubles you about AI so that you can use it more consciously. And you’ll also learn how to use it in a way that amplifies your impact and efficiency without losing your humanity.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Do you take the time to design for your own wellbeing?When we’re being the change we want to see in the world, it’s easy to focus on hard metrics: more sales, more leads, more success.But what if your body suddenly says “no”?As the saying has it, our health is our truest form of wealth. But how often do we check in with ourselves and explore what we might need?On this episode, Carlos and Laurence are joined by Pelin Kazak Bagatur, a product and UX design leader who’s deeply passionate about the intersection of design and wellbeing.She shares how her perspective on health has evolved through personal experiences with yoga, mindfulness, and a deeper exploration into spirituality and wellbeing.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

You’ve decided to change. You’re driven to find a new professional path, but you’re struggling to take the next step.As an experienced professional or entrepreneur, you’ve accumulated the skills, but now you’re doing something new.And so fear kicks in. What got you here isn’t going to get you there. It’s time to go from the inside out to overcome self-doubt.Doing business differently is about more than plans and profit; it's a deep inner journey of overcoming limiting beliefs and discovering your true worth.As you follow your new venture, you’ll find that the biggest obstacles aren’t to do with your skill set but with your mindset.For this episode, Laurence and Carlos are joined by hypnotherapist and author Dipti Tait, who shares her perspective on self-doubt and limiting beliefs and how we can overcome them.Dipti is a respected clinical psychotherapist, solution-focused hypnotherapist, and mental health lecturer. She is a frequent guest on TV and radio, including on ITV’s This Morning, Good Morning Britain, the BBC Asian Network, and Thrive Global.Her book, Planet Grief: Redefining Grief for the Real World, draws on both her own professional and personal experiences and her clients’ stories.Her understanding of the neuroscience behind our emotions redefines grief for the world we’re living in today and helps us believe in ourselves again.Listen to uncover what's holding you back from making the change you want to see in the world.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Tribe 8 of Vision 20/20 ended their journey together. On this episode, a few of the cohort share their stories and projects that have emerged and evolved over their last few months together:The Love Shortage podcast that came out of nowhereThe Human Greenhouse with a bolder mission and manifestoWhat if we? a series of experiential gatherings in the NetherlandsAn insights tool for B2B teamsA regenerative business starter kit for conscious business ownersThese ideas aren't necessarily what people thought they'd be bringing to life. Many are as a result of serendipitous conversations or connections on the program.They might not be the big vision, but they get us started.Movement forward is key, and and action brings clarity.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Taking the entrepreneurial path requires taking risks. And the rewards we'll encounter are never certain.The choices we make create real consequences for our livelihood. And it can be hard to get over the feeling that we're imposters as we face the uncertainty over whether we've made the right ones.This episode features an enlightening story – the personal and entrepreneurial journey of Sam Conniff, author and founder of Uncertainty Experts.As someone who previously struggled with imposter syndrome, today he stands as a passionate advocate for embracing and mastering uncertainty.This episode follows Sam's journey of building a startup, learn how he studied a global need – the universal discomfort with uncertainty – and created a lucrative business out of it.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Ever felt like there was more that you could do but didn’t know what to commit to?You're not alone.When it comes to thinking about meaning, Laurence and Carlos found the book The Map of Meaning by Lani Morris and Marjolein Lips-Wiersma really helpful.They talk about working with meaning as working with the tension between being and doing, and self and others.The work is to be aware when we’re off balance and to know what to do to redress it.Understanding how to do good whilst staying happy is all part of leading a meaningful life.When it comes to doing good you might ponderWhat does impact actually mean to me?How much impact do I want to make?And what’s my story of impact?And when it comes to being happy:How do I want to feel when making an impact?Which needs are being met by making an impact?Where do these needs come from?On this episode, Laurence and Carlos explore their own perspectives on these questions, and through their own reflections and answers to questions from the live virtual audience, you’ll hopefully find your own insights.What if we all made a positive impact in the way that matched our energies and motivations?What would that mean for the world? Hopefully a lot of good and happiness.

While we can’t avoid the inevitable, we can still find agency. When we’re navigating a professional or personal transition, it may seem like we’re living in chaos, and there’s nothing we can do that can make things better.In his book At Work in the Ruins, Dougald Hine asks a question about the climate crisis: how did we find ourselves in this trouble? Is it simply a piece of bad luck with atmospheric chemistry, or might it be a consequence of the way we have been approaching the world?This conversation aims to create a little campfire alongside the big path of life to sit with the questions and the uncertainty together. You don’t have to go through it on your own, and not knowing how to act is ok.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

When people join the Happy Startup School’s Vision 20/20 program and talk about what they want to do, one phrase pops up again and again:“I just want to be paid for being me.”But it’s not always easy to get to this point. Sometimes it takes a circuitous route, as we get more and more used to showing up as our full selves and discovering what it is we truly want to do.One such alumnus of our program who’s taken the long way around is creativity coach Mark Steadman. As someone who’s able to do it all, from coding to design to writing, he’s become a legend in our community for his ability to “ship” - to transform ideas into reality and get them out into the world.But he’s tired of constantly cranking out new projects and hustling all of the time. He wants to take a break from constantly “doing” and allow himself to “be” more instead.He now wants to use his knowledge, experience, and skills to help other creative people unlock their own creativity. He’s realised that that's the thing that brings him the most joy.But to do that, he needs to put other projects to rest. And that’s tough. To make this change, he needs to give himself permission.Carlos and Laurence talk to Mark about what it’s like to be a “relentless creative” who has constantly made and shelved projects while he’s discovered what he really wants to do now.They discuss what it’s like to constantly put out new projects while you try and find “your thing”, and what that's meant in terms of finding his purpose. And they explore whether it’s possible to be paid for just being ourselves.They also ask him how he feels about putting all of his different creative endeavours in one place, under his own name for the first time, so that he’s finally embracing his role as a creativity coach.

If you want to empower others to act and not just fill their heads with facts, Crowdcast is a platform that can help you do that. It was founded by Sai Hossain who got the idea in 2013 while at a retreat in Costa Rica.Laurence and Carlos started using Crowdcast in March 2020 which was the time the platform exploded from 500,000 users per month to 2.5 million.On this episode, you’ll hear more about how Crowdcast came about, Sai’s personal journey as a founder, and his thoughts about what it takes to build a community as well as a business.If you want to make a living sharing your knowledge and experience, or you’re curious about growing your business using live video, you’ll definitely get something from this conversation.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

John Pritchard was the founder of Pala, a brand driven by purpose. The mission was to produce high quality, long-lasting eyewear whilst making a commitment to minimise the impact on the planet and maximise positive social impact on people.Longevity of product was important to minimise resource usage, but that makes for a very different approach to business.The Pala strapline was “see the world better”, which enabled him to go into numerous directions around how to help others “see the world better”.However, after 9 years, the mission took its toll and earlier this year John had to make the decision to close down the business.He now needs to take a pause, but feels conflicted about that.His sense of purpose was strong but he also needed to pause to look after himself.He feels the tension between doing stuff and not doing stuff with conflicting stories about being of service to others but also needing to look after himself.Now that the business is winding down he’s a lot less busy and t’s something that’s going to take some getting used to. Some internal rewiring is needing to happen.John is now entering a time of transition where he’s pondering how to change the world while also changing his world.In this episode, Carlos and Laurence learn about what it took to start, grow and run Pala and the lessons he’s learned about purposeful business and about himself.You’ll learn about the questions he’s now having to ask himself about how to fit purpose into his future work alongside making a commitment to his own wellbeing.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort