Simon Says

In episode 57, Simon talks to Norris Koppel. Norris is Founder & CEO of the European banking service Monese. He launched Monese in 2015, after his first-hand experience of the hassle involved with opening a bank account in a new country. With its multi-currency current accounts that are available in 31 countries, Monese enables people to bank like a local across the UK and Europe. Since 2007, Norris has co-founded and built a number of fintech companies. He is passionate about financial education and is founder of the Artha Foundation that focusses on educating children about money.

In episode 56, Simon talks to Jeff Rotmeyer. Jeff Rotmeyer is the Founder and CEO of ImpactHK, a charity transforming the lives of the homeless in Hong Kong. ImpactHK started with just a few individuals wanting to show kindness to those in need. It has now grown into a humanitarian movement, involving thousands of participants, that is truly saving lives. Jeff is also the Founder and CEO of Love 21 Foundation, a charity supporting the down syndrome and autistic community with sport and nutritional programmes. Originally from Vancouver Canada, Jeff has lived in Hong Kong for 14 years and spent his first 13 years teaching in a government primary school. Jeff is dedicated to living a meaningful life through social work and is passionate about making positive impact for those in need.

In Episode 55, Simon talks to Rich Goldsmith. Rich founded MOJU in 2015, alongside his best mate, Charlie Leet-Cook. Rich has a degree in Engineering and worked in commercial and finance roles before discovering his passion for innovation in food & beverage. MOJU has grown from a craft juice made in a home kitchen and sold at local markets and music festivals, into the market leader of juice shots and the fastest growing brand in the UK juice & smoothie category. Rich is forever fascinated by how things work and connecting the dots. He’s a huge believer in the power of collaboration and the ability of teams to bring big ideas to life, that has the potential to help drive positive societal change. Rich was named a Young Gun in the startups.co.uk awards in 2018 and is a steering committee member of 1% for the Planet, a community of businesses that donate 1% of their annual sales to environmental impact causes.

In episode 54, Simon talks to Jeff Lynn. One of the world's largest platforms for investing in private companies. He also serves as Chairman of The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), a non-profit advocacy group for UK startups and scaleups. Jeff began his career as a corporate lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York and London. He has been named one of the 100 most influential men in the UK by GQ and one of the 10 coolest people in tech by Business Insider.

In episode 53, Simon talks to James Chase. As a member of the family that invented Tyrrell’s Crisps in the nineties before going on to found Chase Distillery in 2008, it is little wonder that entrepreneurialism is in James Chase’s blood. The Director at Chase Distillery cut his teeth on the family farm, helping his father to challenge the status quo of the spirits industry. They did this by adopting a unique field-to-bottle process, using the potatoes grown on the farm to distill into vodka and then gin. James was inspired having spent time in the USA, where he witnessed the success of the hard seltzer market; catering for the demand for alcoholic drinks with lower calories that were still big on flavour.

In episode 52, Simon talks Angelina Riccio and Tenna Anette. The pair turned their back on a fast paced, party lifestyle after a case of burn-out inspired them to create products that would actively benefit the wellbeing of themselves and their families. Prior to Purearth, Angelina became an entrepreneur at a young age, founding a global modeling agency Reality Check Management, whilst Tenna is an ex-event manager at Sketch. The pair, who became flatmates for over a year and a half to help support the business, produce cold-pressed juices, water kefir’s, and more recently, CBD shots which have helped achieve a 61% annual growth year on year. They work with industry-leading scientists such as Dr. Gabriel Cousens and David Wolfe to help identify new superfoods that can boost immunity and protect people from illness – especially relevant in today’s world.

In episode 51, Simon talks to Duro Oye. Duro is a London based award-winning social entrepreneur and filmmaker. Duro is Chief Executive of 2020 Change a youth empowerment organisation focused on the social mobility of young people from low socio-economic backgrounds. He strongly believes that every young person should have the opportunity to live to their fullest potential. Oye’s national recognition came in 2013 after he raised £50k to fund his first independent film project ‘247365 Change’. Since then he has worked on documentary film projects with The BBC's ‘County lines, Teenage Drug Runners’ & Channel 5 ‘Gangland Season 1 & 2. 2020 Change’s flagship programme ‘I Am Change’ which runs in prisons, schools and local communities across London, uses alternative education in a unique way to engage young people in interactive workshops and seminars about discovering purpose, potential and most importantly their unique identity.

In Episode 50, Simon talks to Mads Faurholt. Mads is a serial entrepreneur and best selling author. He has started over 20 companies across technology, financial services, marketing, HR and education, with thousands of employees, and investors such as Goldman Sachs, Alibaba, Peter Thiel and the World Bank. Prior to starting his current company, Nova Founders Capital, Mads was Global Partner and Managing Director of the German internet giant, Rocket Internet; Head of Asia at Groupon (the world’s fastest-growing company), and Management Consultant at McKinsey & Company. Mads received his bachelor from Copenhagen Business School at the shortest time ever recorded while managing a sales team of 50 and subsequently took his MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In episode 49, Simon talks to Mark Tilbury. Mark left school at 16 with no qualifications and no money. No one believed in him especially his teachers. His first job was making wooden trashcans and it paid less than $2 per hour. Mark's manager bullied him and gave him all the bad jobs. He decided to quit and start his own business, it was a big risk. 30 years later, he runs a million-dollar business. Mark has grossed over 50 million. He has the house of his dreams, but most importantly has the freedom to spend time with his family. Mark is now helping entrepreneurs become financially free as well!

In episode 48, Simon talks to Sonalie Figueiras. Sonalie is the founder & editor-in-chief of Green Queen, an award-winning impact media platform advocating for social & environmental change in Hong Kong with a mission to shift consumer behaviour through inspiring & empowering original content. She is also the founder & CEO of Ekowarehouse, the global sourcing platform for certified organic products, with a mission to make safe, quality food accessible & affordable for the whole planet. With over a decade of experience in publishing, digital marketing, organic trade and health & sustainability, she is an eco wellness industry veteran with a keen eye for market trends and a sought-after international speaker and moderator, sharing her expertise on stages across Asia and beyond, including TEDx and Harvard Business School.