Secret Leaders

Today’s guest is someone we’ve had on the show before, in fact, he kicked off season 4 for us. So don’t be confused and think we’ve got our seasons muddled up. We thought we’d invite Cal Henderson back onto the podcast because his company, Slack, is one of only a few companies that aren’t in a tailspin currently. They’re facing an entirely different dilemma - they’re scrambling to keep up with demand, what with the majority of the world now in self-isolation and having to work from home (WFH). “One of the challenges of remote work for folks has always been the boundary between being at work and not being at work. And that's, you know, that's one thing when it's individuals, and [another] when it’s an entire company in one go.”If you’re wanting to hear the story of how Slack started, take a listen here, because we don’t rehash it in this episode. Instead we talk with Cal about Slack’s sudden increase in user numbers, how they’ve responded to the crisis as a global company (they have employees and offices around the world), as well as what decisions they are making with regards the platform and its new features, as well as offering advice to listeners about productivity and how to work productively, when WFH. So if you’re taking five minutes out from juggling your kids and your day job, this episode might be the very tonic you need to get you back into the WFH headspace. “In many ways as a company, we were built for this kind of thing. Like, we didn't start Slack because we thought there'd be some kind of global pandemic that forced people to work from home.”We chat about: Slacks features that enable greater productivity Tracking the impact of the virus around the world How Slack enables distributed work Looking after your mental health when isolated The importance of great internal communications when WFH Links: https://www.yourheights.com/ @stewart --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

If you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to hold down a full time job while working from home AND educating your kids for the foreseeable future, then you need to listen to Koru Kids founder Rachel Carrell and Tech Will Save Us co-founder Bethany Koby. “Lower [your] impossible expectations. It is not possible to work full time and also homeschool kids full time, at the same time. It's just not possible. And just don't listen to anyone who implies that it is. We are working really hard to come up with new services to help people make one plus one somehow equal three.”Koru Kids, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, was building a whole new childcare system, recruiting, training, matching and managing over 1,000 nannies in London every single day. Having had to pivot hard, Rachel explains the impact that coronavirus has had on her business and how she has taken nannying online. Tech Will Save Us co-founder Bethany has created a play led home learning system focusing on creativity and technology, delivering fun and learning advantages to 4-12 year olds. Bethany explains how they had the foresight to switch their attention towards their digital channels last year, which so far has saved their bacon. So if you’re a founder wondering how to turn this current situation to your advantage, download and listen to this episode.“We need to make sure we get through this as strong as possible, because this will put us in an even stronger position in the next six months, to hopefully really raise our strategic round, with even better metrics and with even better evidence of the necessity of the product, and the kind of joy and efficacy that the product is actually bringing to families.”We chat about: How Covid-19 has impacted their investment and distribution channels Why the whole childcare system needs an overhaul Why innovation is key to pivoting and ultimately survival The spotlight on the ed-tech space  Why you need to create rhythms to suit your family --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

Ali Parsa and Dr Rangan Chatterjee discuss the predicted health impacts of the coronavirus, the effects of shutting down society on mental health, and the surge in healthcare delivery through Babylon during the pandemic. They also explore the impact of the pandemic on businesses and financial security, offering advice for leaders and founders facing challenges.

We’ve all been there - back from a hard night’s boozing and hungry. Most of us would simply eat some toast and hit the hay, but then most of us aren’t Will Shu, founder and CEO of Deliveroo. “I was like, wow, you know, you can't get any decent food delivered here when you've been boozing. Then I was like, wait a minute, maybe I should start something that is a late night delivery service for food that you can get in like half an hour. You want it for McDonald's or BK.”And so from a late night boozy idea, everyone's favourite takeaway service delivery unicorn company, Deliveroo, was born. Today this incredible company that began life in a shared flat in 2013, with Will and four other riders delivering food, has seen off the competition in the form of Uber Eats and received significant investment in their latest funding round (to the tune of £450m) from Amazon, valuing Deliveroo at over $4 billion. Widely regarded as one of the most dynamic and impressive founders in the European entrepreneurship scene, we couldn’t think of anyone better to see this series off in style than Will. “I think for me, what I love more than anything is primary research. Talking to customers, talking to riders, talking to restaurants, and doing that in different markets. That really energises me and just understanding what are the problems they face and how can we solve them? Like that, to me is super motivating.”We chat about: How Just Eat influenced him, but not in the way you think The genesis of Deliveroo How Deliveroo was funded and its expansion internationally The idea behind Additions and the challenges they’ve overcome with it How Deliveroo has revolutionised the eating out economy His thoughts on the gig economy The challenge of being a CEO when he’s not a professional executive --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

“I think the worst thing is every morning when you wake up as a founder and you pick up your phone, you think what will I discover that will ruin my day?”While your business might not care what your gender is, significant discrepancies still exist between the number of female and male entrepreneurs. As Baroness Martha Lane Fox quite rightly proclaimed, ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’. And so we’ve gone and put four female entrepreneur powerhouses together on the same live stage. We’ve put the same questions to them and their answers are as diverse as they are. This episode on female leadership and equality for International Women’s Day is a real smorgasbord of insights from some of the UK's leading female founders. Get the expert investor perspective from Reshma Sohoni, co-founder of Seedcamp. The non-VC route founder Renée Elliott, founder of Planet Organic. Alex Depledge offers the perspective from a consumer facing tech enabled marketplace, with her startup Hassle. And finally our technology software entrepreneur, Alicia Navarro, whose company Skimlinks has raised over $25 million helping publishers monetise advertising. “If being a woman is the hardest thing you have to deal with in your journey, sorry, you’re fucking lucky. Because that is the easiest challenge you're gonna have to deal with. If you can't handle that, if you can’t handle a couple of dickheads in the corner that belittle you, you're just not going to make it. I'm sorry, but that is the truth. It is hard and relentless. And if you can't handle people that make you feel like shit, that's like peanuts in the corner.”We chat about: Why not every business should take VC funding The toughest moments of their entrepreneurial journeys so far Their different perspectives on funding and financing a business How to choose your role models Links: https://www.secretleaders.com/reshma-sohoni https://www.secretleaders.com/alicia-navarro https://www.secretleaders.com/alex-depledge https://www.secretleaders.com/renee-elliot --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

If you found the film ‘The Holiday’ so inspirational it kickstarted a business that you went on to sell for over £50 million, then you’re in good company. You didn’t? Well you missed a trick. Not so Debbie Wosskow, co-founder of AllBright and former CEO of LoveHomeSwap (a subscription based home exchange business) who on a plane home from a ‘holiday’ in the Caribbean watched the movie and thought, ‘does this even exist?’But LoveHomeSwap wasn’t Debbie’s first successful business, nor was it her last. So what is her secret to successive business success? She credits her formative years for her entrepreneurialism (not that her family would have called it that), and she credits her business acumen to her first business Mantra, which she calls her 7 year business education. With the mantra of ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ it’s safe to say that Debbie Wosskow is an entrepreneurial powerhouse and a female force to be reckoned with. She’s had an independent government review into the sharing economy named after her, she’s a member of the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board, she sits on the board of the Women's Fiction Prize, in 2016 she was awarded an OBE for services to business, and in 2017 she co-founded AllBright with Anna Jones (former CEO of Hearst), to celebrate and champion women at all stages of their careers, to inspire change.  In this episode of Secret Leaders Debbie is brutally honest about what it takes to succeed, and she provides a number of insights that future entrepreneurs would be wise to take note of. So sit back and learn from the best. We chat about: How her early years influenced her career Why her first business Mantra was a 7 year business education Why is her mantra ‘what’s the worst thing that can happen?’ The story behind LoveHomeSwap The impact of strategic investment on Love Home Swap What you need to do to survive as a sole founder What you need to do to achieve a work/life balance as a female entrepreneur Founding Allbright Links: Believe. Build. Become.: How to Supercharge Your Career (Book)--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

In a live episode, William Reeve and Simon Cook discuss the complicated sale of LoveFilm to Amazon. They share insights on the negotiation process, the motivations behind the deal, and the unexpected outcomes. The chapter includes discussions on the challenges of being a CEO, reliable business internet in London, security frameworks for startups, and the importance of people in company success.

Today’s guest has been a high achiever since he was a kid, completing his computer science GCSE at 11, his A-levels at 13, and receiving a Masters from LSE by the time he was 20. Some child geniuses burnout before they achieve great things, not Rishi Khosla. Rishi, according to LL Cool J, is something of a phenomenon in the world of entrepreneurship, and we are wont to agree with him. Co-founding OakNorth, Europe's highest valued FinTech company having raised over a billion dollars in funding to date, in only four years, Rishi is considered one of the stars of the industry. And OakNorth is just his most recent headline.He’s an early stage investor, investing in several businesses including PayPal and Indiabulls. He’s already co-founded a company, Copal Amba, a financial research firm which was scaled to 3,000 employees and sold to Moody’s Corporation in 2014. And he helped establish the family office of the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal amongst many things. With OakNorth he estimates they’ve created about 12,000 new jobs in the UK and 13,000 new homes. And has anyone ever thanked him?“How can I put it? I guess, I've always been sprinting through life, recognition hasn't been what I focused on. I focused on results.”His advice for aspiring entrepreneurs? You need to have enough hunger inside of you, you’ve got to have fire in your stomach, to say ‘there’s only Plan A’.We chat about: Working with Jack Welch at GE Establishing the family office of Lakshmi Mittal  Meeting Peter Teal and Elon Musk Building Copal with business partner Joel, brick by brick Meeting Son at SoftBank and how he pitched him Why only 5% of unicorns are profitable --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

Alain de Botton, philosopher and founder of The School of Life, discusses the meaning of life, his books, and the emotional education provided by The School of Life. He shares insights on work-life balance, upbringing, and the origins and mission of his organization

Here at Secret Leaders we are all about bringing you the best entrepreneurs in the world - those people who you wouldn’t ordinarily hear from, but who have inspiring stories to tell. They share their highs and more importantly their lows, with the aim of sparking a fire in you to follow in their footsteps, or accelerate the path you’re already on. Because let’s be honest, success stories are all good and well, but it’s the failures that shape us; it’s how we handle adversity that makes us who we are. And today’s two live guests are no strangers to adversity. Jo Malone: “My goals have never been realistic and that's the secret of my success. I really go out there and I push myself above and beyond. I think what we have to realise is that mistakes are a part of life.”Justine Roberts: “I worked very, very hard to find patient capital, which I think is what Mumsnet needs. And I made it very, very clear that we will always put purpose before profit.”Today, sharing the live stage and their entrepreneurial experiences for the first time are Jo Malone CBE and Justine Roberts CBE. Jo is the eponymous perfumier who came from humble beginnings on a council estate with no qualifications whatsoever, who has now successfully launched Jo Loves, her second bite at the startup apple. Justine has been described as one of the world’s most influential women and CEOs, the founder of Mumsnet, the most talked about parenting forum. We chat about: The hardest moments of their entrepreneur experience so far The upside to being sued The difficulty of finding funding for your startup from men, when you’re female Why your equity in your business is your golden ticket The difficulty of achieving a work life balance when you’re an entrepreneur with a family Entrepreneurialism needs to be taught in school If they had a do over, what they would do differently Links: https://www.secretleaders.com/jo-malone https://www.secretleaders.com/s03e3-justine-roberts --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