Searching for Mana with Lloyd Wahed

Betsy Cohen is the Chairman of FinTech Masala, a sponsor of numerous Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) also known as blank-check companies - one of the hottest trends on Wall Street. Collectively these SPAC investment vehicles have raised more than $1.5 billion. After serving as Law Clerk to the Honorable John Biggs, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, she became the second female law professor on the East Coast (after Ruth Bader Ginsburg), teaching Antitrust Law and Government Regulation of Business at Rutgers University Law School. Using that knowledge capital, before age 30 Betsy had founded a shipping business in Hong Kong, a leasing company in Brazil, and a joint venture with a bank in Spain, and co-founded a Philadelphia law firm that specialised in representing financial institutions and industry clients in complex real estate and financial matters. In March 2021, FTAC Hera Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: HERAU), where she is a chairman announced pricing of its upsized IPO for gross proceeds to the company of $800,000,000.In this special episode for #internationalwomensday2021, Lloyd and Betsy discuss the ways SPAC can help companies to raise money. Later they delve into Betsy’s illustrious career in finance, leadership experience, outlining the importance of priorities, family life, and the mana of a great leader.Follow Mana Search on TwitterFollow Mana Search on LinkedIn Episode Highlights:02:59: Explaining one of Wall Street’s hottest trend - SPAC12:23: What is the next big thing in finance and tech14:40: Betsy’s career in reflection20:39: Couples that work25:34: How to be a good leader?

Why 90% of all startups fail? This week, Harvard Professor Tom Eisenmann joins Mimi Nguyen to discuss his new book - The Fail-Safe Startup.Focusing his research and his MBA class at Harvard University on the mistakes and missteps of entrepreneurs, for the first time, he reveals his findings, and - most importantly - how you can avoid them.During their conversation, Tom tells Mimi about the potential failing patterns of early - and late-stage startups, debunking common Silicon Valley / Elon Musk / Rupert Murdoch’s mythologies. Plus, they delve into the changes over the last two decades in the MBA programme at Harvard Business School and discuss the future of innovation leaders training.Follow Mana Search on TwitterFollow Mana Search on LinkedInBuy Tom’s book, The Fail-Safe Startup Episode Highlights:02:09: The concept of “betting the company” and Rupert Murdoch’s empires05:08: What spurred Tom to study entrepreneurship failures?10:29: The failure patterns in early-stage startups21:00: Why the right resources are key and why we need to hire for attitude?24:00: The failure patterns in late-stage startups23:37: Ethics and MBAs46:15: Combining MBA, engineering and design 

Ben Pollard, co-founder and CEO at Cushon, sits down with Lloyd to talk about how his company became the world’s first net zero pension fintech.After entering the industry as an actuarial consultant, Ben leads now a UK-based fintech company offering workplace ISAs with 87,000 customers and £300m of assets under management. The company is on a mission to bring innovation to workplace savings, launching a pension that is net zero from today.In this episode, Lloyd and Ben discuss the motivations behind his journey to revolutionise the investment sector, the importance to consider climate emergency now, not later, and how climate-aware funds work. Later they delve into Ben’s journey as an entrepreneur juggling family life with leading a rocket-ship.Follow Mana Search on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manasearchukFollow Mana Search on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mana-talent/Episodes Highlights:03:58: Launching a world’s first net zero pension06:09: How current retirement funds contribute to global warming through carbon emissions11:38: Capital markets benign a potential agent of change17:25: How do climate-aware funds work20:08: Ben’s journey as an entrepreneur26:51: Family life of an entrepreneur38:45: Cushon’s vision

This week, Mana Labs co-founder Mimi Nguyen speaks with Lukasz Marczyk from Accenture's Warsaw office.  As an innovation leader and part of Accenture's leadership team in Poland, Lukasz discusses his experience within innovation management and his journey towards becoming Managing Director and Partner at Accenture.  This episode also does a deep dive into the rise of insurtech and the current innovative trends of the industry. Lukasz tells Mimi about the company’s game-changing work on cloud, automation and robotics, why management consulting needs to incorporate design thinking and why talent is the main asset of any company. Plus, he fills us in on why excelling in leadership skills at Stanford University can help senior-level managers advance faster and collaborate better on innovation ideas.Follow Mana Search on TwitterFollow Mana Search on LinkedIn Episode Highlights:01:30: The Rise of insurtech05:50: Design thinking in management consulting13:20: Skillsets and the job market18:15: Startups and their competitive advantage22:38: Stanford University experience35:29: Journey to becoming Managing Director at Accenture37:45: Lukasz's Mana - the human side of a leader

This week, Lloyd delves into entrepreneurship and mental health as he welcomes Talis Capital's Matus Maar.As Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Talis, Matus has overseen early-stage investments in such FinTech giants as Onfido, iwoca, PriceFX and many more. Talis is also a leader in mental health amongst VCs. Recently, the firm announced a new initiative that offers mental health support to founders at its portfolio companies.On this episode, Matus tells Lloyd why Talis is such an unconventional fund, why the company has focused largely on infrastructure investments, and why he avoids investments in consumer P2P lenders. Then they discuss the mental health burdens of founding a company, why support networks are critical and how the pandemic has affected employers' mental health.Follow Mana Search on TwitterFollow Mana Search on LinkedInLearn more about Talis Capital's mental health initiative Episode Highlights:08:11: How Talis finds cutting edge infrastructure companies16:12: Why Talis is an unconventional fund19:15: What Matus loves about venture capital25:12: Why Talis doesn't invest in consumer P2P lenders31:46: The mental health burdens of starting a company38:32: COVID-19 and mental health46:40: Why success and unhealthy behaviour are not synonymous50:09: Lloyd's advice for founders54:10: The importance of self-care for founders

Mana Labs Co-Founder Mimi Nguyen is in the host's seat this week as she discusses product innovation with University College London's Vaughn Tan.And Vaughn has a unique perspective on the subject. In 2005, he joined Google as a Product Marketing Manager and later worked on projects such as AdWords and Google Maps. Since then, he's become a leading voice on innovation in the culinary sector, advising organisations like the Wellcome Collection and becoming an Assistant Professor at UCL.Mimi and Vaughn discuss how Vaughn joined Google without a computer science degree, the leadership skills he learned at Mountain View, and why restaurants are great models for innovation. Plus, Vaughn tells us what companies can learn from messenger RNA and how to embrace uncertainty when hiring.Follow Mana Search on TwitterFollow Mana Search on LinkedInCheck out Vaughn's new book, The Uncertainty Mindset Episode Highlights:05:24: The innovative way Google approached product10:25: How to lead without institutional authority14:20: How efficiency can be the enemy of success19:00: Spurring creative collaboration in the age of remote working23:15: Restaurants as biomes for innovation27:24: The lessons FinTech companies can learn from kitchens33:23: How to hire with an uncertainty mindset40:36: The one trait that has helped Vaughn succeed42:49: What's next for Vaughn

Eterna Capital Partner Andrea Bonaceto joins Lloyd to talk about blockchain investing.Since launching in 2018, Eterna has provided seed and early-stage funding to blockchain innovators like Algorand, Borderless Capital, DFINITY and more. Forbes has named it one of the top three boundary pushing blockchain investing firms, and Andrea has been named to the publication’s Top 30 Under 30 list.In their conversation, Andrea and Lloyd wonder whether blockchain will have the same revolutionary impact as the internet, identify the key trends that will shape the sector’s development and question how it will drive adoption of central bank digital currencies. Plus, Andrea outlines the industry's biggest  hotspots and tells us why community-building is essential for blockchain investing firms.Follow Mana Search on TwitterFollow Mana Search on LinkedInCheck out the book Andrea mentions, Albert Wenger's World After CapitalBrowse Andrea's art Episode Highlights:03:16: Why Eterna’s first fund focused heavily on blockchain infrastructure09:13: Digital ownership and traceability: the key trends fueling Eterna’s second fund14:07: How can blockchain fuel adoption of central bank digital currencies?19:42: Why blockchain is philosophically inclined toward positive social change22:06: What drew Andrea to the blockchain space26:45: Do you need to live in San Francisco or London to work in blockchain?32:02: The role of community-building in blockchain-related companies38:47: Why Andrea avoids structured approaches to work

It was a big year for Searching for Mana, and that means one best-of show wasn’t enough. That’s right: we’re back with another edition of amazing clips from some of the most interesting people in FinTech and entrepreneurship.This week, we have tidbits from an additional roster of amazing guests: Romi Savova, (PensionBee), Zihao Xu (Octopus Ventures), Alf Rehn (University of Southern Denmark) and Christian Busch (NYU & World Economic Forum). Plus, Lloyd gives us the key take-aways from each chat and shares the most interesting things he learned from our guests.Follow Mana Search on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manasearchukFollow Mana Search on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mana-talent/ Episode Highlights:01:14: Romina Savova, PensionBee05:41: Zihao Xu, Octopus Ventures14:11: Alf Rehn, University of Southern Denmark19:27: Christian Busch, Author of Serendipity Mindset, NYU & World Economic Forum 

As 2020 draws to a close, we look back on some of the brightest moments from Searching for Mana over the past year.And what a line-up it is! Listen through for amazing conversations with FinTech luminaries such as Conrad Ford (Funding Options, Allica Bank), Joe Parkin (BlackRock), Ned Phillips (Bambu), Adam French (Scalable Capital) and Romi Savova (PensionBee). Plus, Lloyd discusses each guest and the unique insights they brought to the show.Follow Mana Search on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manasearchukFollow Mana Search on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mana-talent/ Episode Highlights:01:21: Conrad Ford, Founder of Funding Options06:15: Joe Parkin, MD at BlackRock11:53: Ned Phillips, Founder and CEO of Bambu19:25: Adam French, Founder and CEO of Scalable Capital

Billon Co-Founder and CTO Andrzej Horoszczak joins Lloyd from Poland to discuss how DLT could lead to the advent of fully digital currencies.It’s an episode that touches on finance, technology and entrepreneurship, all of which are Andrzej’s specialties. After studying computer science and business in the US, Andrzej gained extensive experience as a portfolio manager, IT specialist and CEO. Each of those qualifications comes in handy with Billon, which uses DLT to streamline everything from back office solutions to digital currencies.To kick things off, Lloyd and Andrzej dive into the obstacles facing central bank digital currencies, whether there’s room for competition in the blockchain space and how Billon could allow banks to exchange coins more efficiently. Plus, they discuss Poland’s promising programming scene and discuss how blockchain and digital currencies will evolve over the next five years.Follow Mana Search on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manasearchukFollow Mana Search on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mana-talent/ Episode Highlights:01:45: Does crypto represent a Bolshevik-style revolution in finance?07:02: Which obstacles stand in the way of central bank digital currencies?12:04: Is blockchain a zero-sum game?17:20: How Andrzej came to study in the US, and how the promise of blockchain changed his life22:53: Why honesty is crucial for founding teams27:25: How Billon is fundraising for its future31:54: What reading history has taught Andrzej about failure35:57: How will blockchain evolve over the next five years?