Emma Gunavardhana, or Emma Guns as she’s often known started her career with a bang. She landed her dream job early doors - editing OK Magazine back when that was a really big deal. But when she left the comfort of that job to make it as a solopreneur, everything went to pot. Wind forward four years and Emma was at her lowest ebb, considering selling her car and moving back in with her parents at the age of 38 - a has-been who couldn’t make it in London.Find out what happened and what she learnt is the key to pulling yourself out of the abyss....We'd love your feedback: hello@secretleaders.com Check out Yotpo, our exclusive sponsor - to grow your ecommerce business:yotpo.com/secret

We normally can’t see it at the time but bad things often play a critical role in good things happening. As Steve Jobs famously said, it’ll make sense looking backwards. This is exactly what happened to Chris Sheldrick who had plans to be a professional bassoonist but a freak injury changed the course of life.Chris is now the Co-Founder and CEO of What3Words, an alarmingly simple solution to a complex problem you didn’t know we had - addresses.Lots of places don’t have addresses - like a barge on a canal, or a spot on a mountainside. This makes it difficult to deliver or do things at those addresses so Chris’s solution was to turn the world into 57 trillion 3-metre squares and give each of those squares a three word name, e.g. house, dog, car.But it’s one thing haven’t a genius idea. It’s another thing executing on it. Find out how Chris has done it.We talk about: Why a young kid would play the bassoon  How sleepwalking can go wrong Why being polarising is good  How to raise funds Using What3Words to help in disasters The business model --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

Ok, ok - it’s not all about your name or your competitors - but Jess Butcher was kicking herself when she came across TikTok shortly after launching Tick.Done. with her Co-Founders in 2018. Tick.Done. was also a short form video platform which made things confusing. Jess’s friends regularly congratulated her on her success, only for Jess to admit that TikTok, the thing they were hearing about everywhere, wasn’t her business. And pretty quickly it was the end for them.Jess is a legend - you just want to talk to her - and she’s a top entrepreneur. But this is her failure story. Find out what happened and what she learnt from it.  Feedback: hello@secretleaders.com Sponsor links:yotpo.com

Richard Clark is now the Founder and MD of Drynks, a non-alcoholic drinks business which raised money on Dragons Den and is growing strongly. But a few years ago he launched another non alcoholic drink, Iron Press, which had a very different outcome. Having enjoyed huge success at Halewood International with Crabbie’s Ginger Beer, Richard and his team found it easy to get into retailers, but it was then the problems started.Find out what went wrong and what he learnt from it. ...We'd love your feedback: hello@secretleaders.com Check out Yotpo, our exclusive sponsor - to grow your ecommerce business:yotpo.com/secret

We’ve all made mistakes. Many of us have had short-lived jobs. And many of us have been fired. But getting through 37 jobs by the time you’re 24 is quite a haul. That’s what happened to Krisi Smith, the Founder of Bird & Blend, a booming tea company. But before she found her groove, she found she couldn’t hold down a job.This is the story of what happened and what she learnt from it....We'd love your feedback: hello@secretleaders.com Check out Yotpo, our exclusive sponsor - to grow your ecommerce business:yotpo.com/secret

80% to 90% of startups fail. But what those stats don't tell you is how you can do loads of things right and still fail. This is what happened to Ian Strang and the company he founded, Beyond, who tried to shake up the death industry - offering price comparisons, wills, funerals, probate - those kinds of things. They certainly managed to do that. They landed some blows, but ultimately they lost the war.This is Ian’s story, told a few months after his company failed. He and his team came up with some ingenious ideas which led to press, shorting stocks and ultimately the regulation of the death industry itself. But that’s not how things ended.We talk about: The demanding childhood which shaped his life His first startup Meeting Alan Sugar’s son Quitting Pollen because it was too much fun The bizarre circumstance for first pitching Beyond The problem with monetising death How to grow through SEO The April fool’s joke that yielded big publicity Shorting Dignity for $700m How to get the CMA on your side What is a bad advert anyway Auctioning your company The reality of being an entrepreneur  --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

By the time he was 37, Chris Cabrera had managed his career very well. He was a leader in a public company - and he knew what strategy the company should take to seize the future. But then he got fired. This is the story of what happened and what he did next. ...We'd love your feedback: hello@secretleaders.com Check out Yotpo, our exclusive sponsor - if you want to grow your ecommerce business:yotpo.com/secret

Vikas Shah MBE looks like the picture of success today. He’s got an MBE. He advises the government on business matters. He’s an NED, investor - he’s someone you look up to. But it wasn’t always like this. He was a fat kid at school, and when he realised he was obese - was disgusted by himself.He lost his identity when his first business failed. He tried to commit suicide four times. The last one got very close to succeeding.But we’re here talking with Vikas-the-success today, and that’s because his story is ultimately about resilience.Find out how you can develop your own mental strength, because, as Vikas explains, it’s really on you.We talk about: Growing up as a fat kid Starting his first business at 14 What you really learn from failure Suicide attempts Where resilience comes from Delegating responsibility for mental health Common traits in successful people --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

Alex Farrell is a successful entrepreneur, NED and investor but amongst the successes, there have also been some losses. Alex founded Gift Wink in 2015, a platform where users could get timely and excellent gift ideas. So when your Mum’s birthday was coming up, you’d actually get her something awesome which arrived on time.That was the idea anyway, but four years later, after pushing against headwinds, Alex was forced to let the staff go and close the business.Find out what happened…...We'd love your feedback: hello@secretleaders.com Check out Yotpo, our exclusive sponsor - if you want to grow your ecommerce business:yotpo.com/secret

Andrea Berchowitz is the Co-Founder of Vira Health, a tech startup taking on problems in women’s health, starting with menopause.Andrea worked at McKinsey and then the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation but this is her first time as a Founder. What’s tougher than she expected? What’s surprised her about the switch? And what would she advise others thinking of making the move?Plus we discuss: How to pick what to do with your career   The reality of menopause Stereotypes of engineers  The kind of work that’s difficult to do remotely How to manage people Feedback isn’t what people think it is  --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