Inter:views | Cracking The Entrepreneur Bottleneck

Special Start-up Episode, in collaboration with the Nordic Start-Up School. Part 5: Mentoring. A conversation about mentoring with 3 NSS Mentors: Hanna Nylhom, Merituuli Vainio, and Tommi Ullgrén.  What does a mentor do? Why does mentoring matter? Who can be a mentor? What are the characteristics of a great mentor? What are the benefits of mentoring for start-ups? What should start-up teams do to maximize the mentoring experience? What are the common mistakes start-ups make with mentors?  How to increase mentors' value and impact? How can the start-up ecosystem leverage better on mentors?

Hatti was the 1st non-legal in the UK to set up a legal firm, Red Bar Law LLP. She's never lost a case since 2012.  She also launched her podcast Get Legally Speaking in Feb 2019, and exceeded 1m downloads in 18 months!  We discuss a lot about mental wellbeing through being disciplined, prioritizing ("don't be busy being busy"), and developing the right mindset ("learn to be you").  Hatti also talks about the importance of legal issues for entrepreneurs, and why you should protect your business.  Sit back, relax and enjoy the episode.  ------- Do you want to be a podcast guest? Go to https://kitcaster.com/ctc to apply for a special offer for friends of this podcast.

Nicolai jumped from one job to another before he eventually followed his calling: entrepreneurship. So he went on and founded WebAmp in 2015.   At the heart of any business are people. Just listen to Nicolai talking about his people to understand how critical their role is and why you should focus on making them better every day.  We also discuss opportunities, trials and failures, leading during a pandemic, how to make the customer the hero as well as entrepreneurship in Denmark.  A conversation that will definitely lift you up.  ------- Do you want to be a podcast guest? Go to https://kitcaster.com/ctc to apply for a special offer for friends of this podcast.  

Kara started her career at CNN when it was a start-up. She went on to create Hint Inc. in 2005, in an industry she had 0 experience in. Today, her company generates $100m a year of sales and is the largest non-alcoholic beverage in the US with no relationship with big soda companies.  Kara's philosophy is straightforward: overcome your doubts, the people who doubt you, and believe in yourself. Successful entrepreneurs are just normal people who are willing to take a chance.  In this episode, she shares her fascinating story building Hint. We discuss mindset, the importance of being curious and asking questions, and how to overcome your fears.  The entrepreneurial mindset at its best.  ------- Do you want to be a podcast guest? Go to https://kitcaster.com/ctc to apply for a special offer for friends of this podcast.

Nolan launched Intrinium 15 years ago. It has received the best-place-to-work award 4 years in a row and is one of America's fastest-growing Inc 5000 companies.  Obviously, Nolan's learned some key lessons along the way and made some painful mistakes. One of which resulted in a burn-out.  In this fun episode, we discuss leadership, self-care, company's culture, business partnerships, scaling up, and most importantly why people are the ones making the journey successful.  Full of actionable takeaways.  Grab a copy of Nolan's book, F*ck Me Running A Business- https://www.nolangarrett.co/

Dina is a social entrepreneur. She created Education For Sharing in 2007 and is on a mission to form better global citizens through the power of play. She shares her story and discusses social entrepreneurship, planning vs. executing, purpose, as well as a few myths about entrepreneurship. A beautiful conversation from a person who has found her way to bring her values to life. 

Things Take Longer Than What You Think. Entrepreneurship is not easy. Like anything else in life, you have to put in the time, resources, and effort if you're looking to reap the benefits. You will want to make sure you get hold of your core market and go deeper to level up and scale your business. Things will go awry, and you have to be prepared to learn, do it better and allow others to contribute to your growth. You will not always win, but changing and adapting to the market is what turns your business into a profitable venture. Innovation demands agility to stay ahead and adaptability to scale and remain competitive while making an impact. In this episode, Steve Melhuish shares his entrepreneurship journey, the mistake he made, and the lessons he learned to teach you how to break the entrepreneurship code, scale your business, and grow it beyond you. Stop playing small and own your game. Steve Melhuish is an award-winning entrepreneur with 28 years of building businesses, including 3 start-ups. He is the co-founder and former CEO of PropertyGuru in Singapore, founded in 2007. PropertyGuru was an answer to his own personal frustrations in finding a new home and has become Asia’s largest online property portal. It’s used by 35 million monthly consumers, has 1300 staff, and IPOed at NYSE in March 2022. Steve is also the founder and CEO of Planet Rise Is New Venture and is passionate about entrepreneurship, climate change, and social equality.    Key Highlights From The Show [00:30] Episode intro and a quick bio of the guest; Steve Melhuish [01:53] Steve's corporate life and journey to becoming an entrepreneur [05:34] What inspired PropertyGuru, and how it was born [08:50] How Steve scaled from startup, the mistakes they made, and lessons learned [19:01] Building the foundation market and focusing on your core market [20:04] Knowing your market before you internalize your business [21:28] What lead Steve to step back from his CEO role and trust leaders in their company [24:54] Steve’s drive and how they came up with a succession plan for their business  [30:53] How entrepreneurship has impacted Steve and what he has learned about himself [33:06] About Planet Rise and what inspired Steve to the climate change space [37:30] Solving big problems and creating impact as an entrepreneur [39:48] The achievement that Steve is most proud of [41:02] Steve’s one recommendation to all entrepreneurs out there [41:25] Has Steve cracked the entrepreneurship code? Find out [42:18] How to reach out, connect or learn more from Steve [43:48] Ending the show and call to action Notable Quotes Grow before you move to a different market Things take longer than we think, don’t go too fast; build the foundation first. As startups, we don’t have too many resources, so rather than spreading them out, focus on one or two key things you want to do with your business. Get a core market, focus on it, go deeper, learn the lessons and get the understanding before expanding. Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, we’ve to stand back and trust our leaders to make decisions and hold them to account. What good entrepreneurs do is solve problems and create an impact Building something goes beyond you as an entrepreneur I was really worried that to build Property Guru’s competitor you just had to clone our website and within 3 weeks you can have another Property Guru. It nearly broke the company. When you scale, you’re going all the way from getting the shit done, to making sure the shit is done, to then building an organization that can get that shit done. Connect With Steve Melhuish Website: https://www.propertygurugroup.com/founders/steve-melhuish/ LinkedIn: https://sg.linkedin.com/in/stevemel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/public/Steve-Melhuish Property Guru IPO'd on NYSE in March 2022 - https://aimgroup.com/2022/03/19/propertyguru-makes-ipo-debut/

Peter helps speakers, high-performing professionals, corporate teams, TEDx speakers, and founders to share powerful stories and build acute speaking and presence skills.  Public speaking goes far beyond being on a stage. It's about every interaction we have with other people. In this episode, we discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about public speaking.  - Why is it important for founders to develop public speaking skills? - What are the keys to great public speaking? - Are there any differences between speaking on a stage in front of a live audience vs. speaking via an online platform? Pitching vs. Presenting? Talking in front of a video camera? Selling? - What are the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make re: public speaking?

In 2006, Matt resigned from his job and decided to start the entrepreneurship adventure. He founded Bottle Rocket Labs. Matt is an inventor who went all the way to be on the Shark Tank TV show and got funded. The problem is he made critical mistakes along the way. So we talk about all the things he should have done differently.  These include the importance for entrepreneurs of being prepared to sell, making sure they cross the finish line and saving retirement money from day 1.  An honest, different, fun, and very down-to-earth conversation. 

Sandy launched Tangerine based on the strong belief that one can create a business that's both ethical and profitable.  20 years later and 98 employees more, she proved she was right. With such an experience, she has 1-2 things to say about entrepreneurship.  In this episode, we talk company's culture, the importance of failing, how she planned for her exit strategy (giving shares to employees) and why people always come before money,  Funny, inspiring, and 100% value.