Secret Leaders

Lisa Collinson is one of the best guests we’ve spoken to in a while. She has been through the ringer, but fortunately, has come out the other side. She’s here to tell us what happened and how you can pull yourself out of the grimmest pits that life can throw you in. Lisa today is the Chief People Officer & Country Manager in the UK of The Next We, a company helping other organisations improve the mindsets of their employees.But before that she was in Berlin, leading the People team at a startup, when her life collapsed.What happened?--If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? hello@secretleaders.com --Sponsor links:otta.com/secretleaders

We’re talking to Pete Ward, the Co-Founder and CEO of Humanity. Until now, the thought of slowing or even reversing the ageing process has been pure science fiction. But using readily available technology, Humanity are out to change that. As a society, we’ve fallen prey to the idea that there’s a one size-fits-all methodology that will improve people’s health -exercise more, eat healthier, drink less - you’ve heard it all before. But Humanity, have recognised that everyone is built differently. By using their app to track your nutrition, movement and mind, Humanity say you can compare yourself against the global datasets, revealing what you, specifically, should do to improve your personal health.Before Humanity, Pete had several successes behind him.One of his earliest was WAYN.com, which he also Co-Founded. They were the largest social travel network for over 13 years before he sold it to to lastminute.com in 2016. And now, with Humanity, he wants to have a more meaningful impact on the world. Pete’s story is fascinating, and he’s got advice on mentorships, why you probably have more leverage than you realise and how you should always think twice before giving up in the face of adversity. You can’t change your chronological age, but can you really change your biological one?Listen to find out.--SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Adam Robinson is the Founder and CEO of Retention.com, a SAAS business which is on an insane growth trajectory. But, before Retention.com, Adam failed. In fact, like most successful people, he had a bunch of failures. The one that sticks out most to him is what we’re talking about today, when he walked into a room and fired most of the people at his company.What happened?--If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? hello@secretleaders.com --Sponsor links:otta.com/secretleaders

Do you want to get better at hiring, or being hired? Sam Franklin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Otta, a job search platform that wants to make the experience of job seekers in the tech industry way, way better.Recruitment and jobs boards might not seem the most exciting areas to disrupt but the subject of hiring is so important and can be very nuanced. All businesses succeed because of their people.At Otta, they’re really leaning into the power of the job seeker. And in the fast-growing tech industry, where demand for the best talent is very high, that has turned out to be a strong strategy.Sam got a taste of what it takes to build a fast growing startup when working at the prop-tech Nested. It was at Nested, as Head of People, and doing over 30 hours of interviews a week, that he realised how soul-destroying the recruitment process can be for many people. That was the start of Otta. If you want to get better at recruitment, either as an employer or job hunter, then there are some gems in this episode. Sam shares his tips for hiring, including stuff we’ve never thought of before.Why does he say that companies should avoid trying to be the best? What are the biggest mistakes companies make? And, what is his advice to founders trying to disrupt a stuffy industry?Listen to find out. --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Natasha Baker is a British dressage rider with 5 Paralympic golds to her name and a load of other top medals.She experienced a very public failure which left her in tears. And then, a few years later, the thing she was most scared of happening in the world, happened. What’s it like when you fall off the literal horse on the big stage? And what did it teach her about failure that we can all learn from?--If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? hello@secretleaders.com --Sponsor links:otta.com/secretleaders

This conversation with Danny Gray is one of our all-time favourites.Danny had a childhood filled with bullying, trauma and mental disorders. It left him with scars that no one else could see, and eventually led him to starting War Paint, a men’s makeup brand that is on an unbelievable growth path. They’re creating a new category. In fact, they’ve already created it and are fast becoming an iconic brand.Plus, Danny went on Dragons Den, got offers from all 5 Dragons and then ultimately turned them down. Madness. In this episode, we find out what really happened, behind the cameras.Danny is also the Founder of Jaaq, a mental health platform which covers everything from depression to addiction, hair loss to periods. They’ve managed to get A-listers like Alastair Campbell to bare their souls, explaining the toughest things they’ve been through. The theory is that hearing from people with lived experience is a key part of feeling understood and ultimately being able to tackle your demons.Danny looks and sounds like a 'Jack The Lad'. He says that was his image - but it really was all an image.So what happened in his childhood that crushed his confidence?--SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

You probably heard SVB collapsed, but what you probably don’t know is how close the UK startup ecosystem came to collapsing all together.This is the inside story of how a small group of Founders and VCs fought to save the industry.How do we know? Because our host Dan was a small part of it.If the story we’re telling today hadn’t happened, then Dan would be sitting here without a company. This is how the crisis really played out.--If you have any feedback, we’d love to hear it. What would make the show better? hello@secretleaders.com --Sponsor links:otta.com/secretleaders

Taavet Hinrikus is the Co-Founder and former Chairman of Wise, the unicorn fintech which used to be called TransferWise.He’s now the Co-Founder of Plural, an investment platform for early stage capital built by founders and real operators like Taavet.Oh, and he was also the first ever employee at Skype.Basically, he’s one of the top startup dogs in Europe so we had to get him on to learn what the difference is between great companies and the rest.It’s always amazing hearing about the early days of companies which become absolutely massive like Wise, or Skype. These are the days when they’re signing up tens of users, rather than tens of thousands - and they’re wondering if they’re barking up the wrong tree.All startups begin with 0 real users and it’s fascinating how the best navigate their way from there to the top.Taavet is part of the group of Estonian entrepreneurs who’ve had a GDP level impact on the country. Let's find out why he's been so successful.--SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes

Alessandro Savelli, Co-Founder of Pasta Evangelists, talks about his failed luxury smartphone brand and the challenges of starting a business in a recession. He reflects on the emotional toll of liquidating a business and shares lessons learned for starting anew.

Maxim Perumal is the Founder of Unai and we think he’s a certifiable genius.He’s certainly one of the most exciting Founders we’ve ever spoken to - he built the world’s most popular open source VR headset when he was 15 years old, and turned down working at Meta.His company Unai is building a VR headset and virtual world to make human expression in VR feel magical, which is a bold claim but he’s got the people to do it. Maxim has managed to bring together a crack team of ridiculously qualified VR talent who believe in him, a young man who’s only just able to drink in the States.We think you’ll find him compelling too. He’s got a great explanation for why the likes of Meta have been failing with VR and their version of the metaverse. But he also hints at a more exciting alternative.Listen to find out. --SponsorsVorboss - get better internet: https://vorboss.com/secretleadersVanta - get 20% off security certifications like ISO27001 and SOC2: https://vanta.com/secretleadersVertice - save on your SaaS or cloud spend ($5k off or a free benchmark) using the code secretleaders: https://www.vertice.one/l/secretleaders--NewsletterSign up here: https://secretleaders.email/You can find our historic newsletters here: https://www.secretleaders.com/episodes