The Happy Entrepreneur

Laurence has been a big fan of Tim Frenneaux's work since he first discovered Gather Outdoors, a blog and online store he launched back in 2015. He's still got a couple of their sweatshirts.Tim launched Gather shortly after he turned 40. Around this time he lost his dad and realised he wasn't living the adventurous life he dreamt of as a kid. More recently Gather has evolved to become Adventurous Ink, a book club for people who love the great outdoors. His blog is a wonderful source of ideas, resources and inspiration for anyone that wants to bring more nature connection to their lives.Like Laurence and Carlos, Tim believes that seeking the sublime and awe in nature can be the antidote to many of the problems we face as a society. From disconnection to ourselves, but also to each other and the planet.Tim talks about how nature can allow us to open up, and how Adventurous Ink grew from the Do Lectures.

Are you starting something new? Are you on the hunt for customers? If so, stop thinking of your customers as just buyers, and start thinking of them as potential partners and co-creators.From the Happy Startup School’s experience, what you think people want isn't always what they actually want. And the more you talk to them the more likely you'll find out what really floats their boat and discover how your energy to create can best meet their hunger for a solution.In this episode, Carlos speaks with Adam Forbes, founder of Familiarize. Adam left his corporate job after 20 years to start his new business, and he has principles for co-creating with your customers to share:Start with pain What are people finding difficult and challenging?Understand your customer What are they really trying to do and what outcomes are they looking for?Build hypotheses How do you frame what you think is happening as assumptions you can test?Get out of your head How do you engage and talk to people so you can learn from real world situationsThink collaborators not customers How do you nurture relationships even when you haven't built anything yet?LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

In the summer of 2009, brothers Dave and Mike Radparvar decided to quit their jobs in the heat of the recession to go all-in on their passion project — Holstee, a functional and sustainable t-shirt company they had started with their friend Fabian Pfortmüller.Since then they’ve pivoted many times. Though what they’ve done and how they’ve done it has changed, why they’re doing what they do has always remained the same.And it all stemmed from the manifesto they first created when they launched their company.It’s a manifesto that’s caught the imagination of people and companies around the world and has been viewed millions of times and translated into over 14 different languages.Holstee is about helping people live lives full of purpose and meaning. They sell a range of physical products as well as the Holstee Membership, Reflection Cards, and a recently-launched Reflection.app.In this episode, Carlos and Laurence talk to Dave about how the company was started, how its evolved and what it means to live a meaningful life.If you’ve ever come across the Holstee manifesto, bought any of their products or have a wish to build a business that scales its impact through its values and not just by selling lots of products, then listen to learn from Dave’s story.LinksThe Holstee ManifestoJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

In Ben Hunt-Davis' book Will it Make the Boat Go Faster, the gold medal winning rower talks about four layers of goals: the crazy, the concrete, the control and the everyday.The crazy layer is about describing a goal that is bold and exciting. Something that feels beyond your reach but you're motivated to achieve.When you have a goal that lights up your imagination and promises to meet your core needs you're more likely to take the steps to make it happen.This week, Carlos and Laurence are joined by friend Miguel Roque. They met at their Alptitude USA retreat in 2018 when he was leading the team at Merch by Amazon, a service he helped to grow and scale.He's currently Head of Operations and Tech at Bezos Academy where they're building a network of tuition-free, Montessori-inspired preschools in underserved communities.LinksConnect with Miguel on LinkedInJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Alptitude retreat

What does it mean to build a purpose driven business? For many it means doing something that has social or environmental impact. It's about serving society, the planet or a local community. But to Laurence and Carlos it also means creating a business intentionally – building a business whose size, scale, impact and benefit takes into account your needs and not just your customers'.If you don't like managing people, don't build a business that requires employees. If you like to take 6 month holidays don't build a business that means you have to be there all year round. If you hate working in an office don't build a business that means you have to commute to a building everyday.Building a business on purpose means being clear about what you actually want, need... and hate. Don't make the mistake of just following someone else's business plan – take time to consider what your life plan is and design a business plan that supports it.On this episode, Laurence and Carlos reveal the Purpose Playbook. It's one of the key deliverables on our Vision 20/20 program. They share how it works and why they believe it's so important when designing your Excite Strategy and how it helps you build a business that aligns with who you really are.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

How much do you know yourself?Sometimes the choices we make in life are dictated by unknown forces that seem outside of us. But what if they're actually inside us and we just have to look.The careers we fall into, the businesses we start and the partners we choose are all guided by our perceptions, beliefs and personality types. Doing the inner work of getting to know yourself can help you make sense of how you got to where you are now and where you go next.On this episode, Carlos and Laurence are joined by Beccie D'Cunha and Anna Kolak. Both are coaches and have worked with the Enneagram, a system of personality typing that describes human personality as a number of interconnected personality types.It's one of many frameworks and models out there, but this episode focuses on how the Enneagram can inform us about what really drives our decisions. The four discuss the pros and cons of using these types of tools, what it means for a coach, and how they build their business and serve their clients.If you've ever been curious about yourself and wanted to take more control of your direction in life then this is the episode for you.LinksConnect with Beccie on LinkedInConnect with Anna on LinkedInVision 20/20 – a roadmap for success on your own termsIEQ9 Enneagram Questionnaire

Every Friday Luke Swann spends time doing nothing. He creates space for rest, wellbeing and focussing on what he feels is important. He calls it his Friday Flourish.In this episode, Carlos and Laurence learn from Luke what he does to create this space and why it's so important to him.In this fast paced world we're all too eager to be busy and stay on top of our to do lists. But what if those to do lists aren't filled with things that are actually benefitting us? Luke's eager to focus on the things that are really important to him. Which means regularly taking stock of what he really wants and needs.He has a fascinating story of a challenging upbringing, difficulties with mental health and encounters with the law. He's been on his own journey of transformation and through a disciplined approach of connecting with himself he's found more purpose in his life."If you don't know yourself well, others will tell you who you are."Luke is an educator, author and entrepreneur and founder of New Purpose: a wellbeing programme enabling students to develop character and pursue purpose in life. As a result of his childhood experiences and having been able to tune in to his own intrinsic needs he's now on a mission to improve education and wellbeing together.Listen to learn more about his story and be inspired by his journey of transformation. Learn what it took for him to go from not caring much about anything and having low self-esteem to being motivated and driven to make real social change… while still looking after his happiness.LinksConnect with Luke via LinkedInVision 20/20 – Join the next tribe

What does it mean to be a good dad?Carlos has two kids; Gabriel is 13 and Esmé is 9. And for nearly a decade and a half he’s been trying to work out the best way to be their dad.He has no manual nor any training... only lots of questions.Should he be disciplined or relaxed? Should he focus on their financial security or their emotional wellbeing? Where do his dreams and ambitions fit in? How can he balance it all?When answering these questions, Carlos has relied on his gut instinct… and his own role model.His dad.But following his way of fathering has also been a challenge. There are many things that Carlos is grateful to him for, and also things that he would have like to do differently.And doing things differently is where some of the struggle has been.Carlos wants to understand his father’s past struggles, present fears, and his lifelong passions to shake up his old assumptions and discover what really makes him dad tick.In this episode, Carlos and his dad Luigi talk about going from a shepherd to a guide; his childhood, education, money, working with people, solitude, art, dreams, and responsibility.

There's something about being in nature that helps us reset our nervous systems.Maybe it's the wonder and awe it can create in ourselves. Carlos likes to think, particularly when around mountains, the awe of being near such massive and ancient structures drowns out the noise of our everyday lives.And without that noise we can start to think differently and more clearly.Every year, before the pandemic, Laurence and Carlos would take groups of entrepreneurs and professionals to the French Alps to take some time away from their busy lives and have an opportunity to think about things differently.It wasn't about following a program or improving ourselves. It was about giving space for the ideas and intentions that we never have time for during our hustle and bustle.These things get forgotten. And sometimes they're the most important messages we need to hear in order to live more intentionally.On this episode of the podcast, we are introduced to two friend that Laurence and Carlos met in the mountains and share their stories and our stories of why taking a natural pause is so important.LinksThe Happy Startup SchoolAlptitudeConnect with Sally-Anne on LinkedInSally-Anne’s Evolving Leadership programmeConnect with Arno on LinkedInAlpAdventures

What is stopping you from doing what you’d love to do?When Chris Packe quit his well paid job he was told that he was in a privileged position and that it was all down to luck of circumstance.But he believes it’s also down to choices and priorities.He’s noticed that people often deny that they have the power to change things, saying their lives are out of their control.However, unless you are one of the very unfortunate ones in society, the situation you are in (or not in) is most probably a product of choices you have made (or not made), whether deliberately or passively.When talking to someone he once worked with, they said what they most wanted to do was leave their job, but couldn’t.They needed to keep working to pay for the massive house, the kids’ school fees and their love of fine wine and fine art.To Chris, money can facilitate or limit a person. Their sense of freedom and autonomy depends as much on lifestyle as income.When Chris decided to leave his job as an investment banker, money was a practical consideration but the real driver was simply to allow himself to have an adventure.For most people, making a big change in their lives comes down to priorities, not circumstance.Or whether they are willing to make the choice at all.In this episode of the Friday Fireside we’ll hear more about Chris’ journey from working in finance to working in nature - running youth programmes and events for teenage boys and girls, fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, adults and business folk.