Searching for Mana with Lloyd Wahed

Eileen Burbidge is the founding partner of Passion Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund  that has backed FinTech giants including the likes of Monzo, Tide and GoCardless among  others. As part of Mana Search’s event presenting their State of Diversity report, Eileen joins  Lloyd to walk through the homogeneity and inequality within the current Tech and Venture  Capital industries. From the intrinsic gendering of children’s toys, to how to build a team, to the astronomic rise but also war stories with Monzo, and even to fashion trends within VC, this episode has it all. 00:00 - An Introduction to Eileen & to Mana Search’s Diversity Report 1:43 - Marquee investments made by Eileen 4:23 - How to build a diverse team 5:35 - What more recent trends are we seeing within diversity 9:20 - Heroes and role models for young people 13:38 - Monzo and Startup CEOs vs Bank Executives 16:39 - Regulatory scrutiny whilst maintaining creativity 18:20 - Eileen’s background 20:15 - Eileen’s Mana 22:41 - Influences on Eileen’s career 25:38 - Sexist Cultures and historic workplace misogyny 27:40 - Gendered children’s clothes & ingrained societal sexism 32:53 - Diversity within Crypto & Blockchain 37:15 - Clothing trends and homogeneity within VC 40:55 - Eileen’s heroes and dream guest

Arik Shtilman heads up global payments solution Rapyd – one of Europe’s most highly valued fintechs.  Arik’s first rung on the career ladder was the Israeli army, which taught him a ‘carpe diem’ approach to business that has since helped him win over investors and turn Rapyd into  Israel’s most valuable private company (it recently achieved a 15bn dollar valuation).Arik explains that the genesis for Rapyd lies in a fellow founder being stung on FX charges on a stag do to the Czech Republic.  It was a steep learning curve where they encountered ‘every single problem on planet earth’ before pivoting and establishing a B2B product rather than B2C.  The company continues to go from strength to strength, undaunted by the pandemic (Arik kept everyone working in the office believing working from home hinders productivity) and the potential of a recession (‘I love a recession’).This is a great episode and a great example of true entrepreneurship with many career and life lessons highlighted. 1:49 – the story of Rapyd and its move into venture capitalism3:43 – Getting ready for a macro turndown6:19 – ‘I love recessions’8:13 – Investing in clients10:05 – SME trends11:39 – Becoming an entrepreneur14:01 – Understanding the early potential of computers15:12 – The potential of blockchain16:22 – The next big trend in tech18:10 – Starting out in the military and learning ‘anything is possible’19:46 – What push ups and tennis camp can teach you21:43 – Starting his first company23:00 – The first big mistake24:19 – Lessons learned25:34 – The birth of Rapyd (after an expensive stag do to the Czech Republic)30:00 – The importance of failure31:38 – How Arik’s role has changed as the company has grown34:16 – Rapyd’s culture35:40 – Calling BS on working from home38:05 – Future goal for Rapyd41:54 – Greatest achievement – and being fearless

The Searching for Mana show with Lloyd Wahed has featured several ‘one of a kind’ guests – and this show is no exception.  Wei Lei is not only a global leader for one of the biggest companies on the planet, she is also a two-time mathematical Olympiad who enjoys karaoke sessions, ran a marathon without training for it and overcame her fear of public speaking by taking part in an open mic comedy night.  Clearly not one for half measures, Wei also says she is obsessive to the point of it being ‘clinically inappropriate’ – but also credits this with her ability to dive deep into matters of personal and professional importance.  But this intensity is balanced by Wei’s humility, compassion and a mindset anchored in gratitude and collaboration.  Music also plays an important role in Wei’s life and in this episode Wei and Lloyd discuss why it seems to be a common thread among founders and pioneers.As Chief Investment Strategist at BlackRock, Wei is aware of the weight her role carries and discusses Blackrock’s approach to net zero as well as her view on the current market volatility.  It’s a great episode – inspiring and entertaining, and not to be missed.Episode highlights:7.32 – Wei Li’s role at BlackRock14.52 – What’s the skillset needed to do her job?15.35 – The importance of building a diverse team20.10 – The impact of having a rich cultural tapestry for Wei personally and at work21.55 – The power of introverts24.20 – BlackRock’s approach to NetZero and ‘disorderly volatility’30.10 – EFTs and the importance of compounding36.10 – Wei Li’s life – in the beginning37.20 – Winning the gold Olympic medal for maths38.20 – Being a ‘dragony’ parent40.43 – Becoming a karaoke monster42.15 – The universal language of music – and the link to maths and entrepreneurship45.24 – Life at Cambridge University47.41 – Leaning in to capabilities49.30 – Lucky to have great mentors53.45 – Wei Li’s life advice58.07 – Overcoming a fear of public speaking via an open mic night at the comedy club1.00.40 – What does Wei Li do to relax (it includes running a marathon without training)1.05 – Will she follow Larry Fink to the White House?1.10.20 – What does the future of work, finance and tech look like to her?1.18.50 – Being borderline clinically inappropriate obsessive

Being paid to get fit may sound too good to be true, but it’s exactly what this week’s Searching for Mana guest Ole Fomenko is doing for his app’s more than 70 milllion users.  Sweatcoin tracks a user’s steps and this summer will covert them into free crypto currency.  Watching a movie with his children was the inspiration for the app; his motivation for driving it lies in repenting for previous professional sins.  It’s a great episode, enjoy…Oleg Fomenko, founder of health currency app Sweatcoin, is this episode’s guest on the Searching for Mana show.  Oleg has an eclectic CV: born in the Soviet Union, he started his career working for global corporate brands such as Coca-Cola and Mars, before coming to the UK and working at Boston Consulting Group, where he learned from other entrepreneurs’ failures.  He decided to create Sweatcoin after realising his own fitness, which once enabled him to climb Kilimanjaro three times, had declined to the point he could no longer run 5k.  And after watching a movie with his children about robots and obese humans…In this episode Oleg talks about the importance of sticking to your vision and not being swayed by others’ opinions or ambitions.  He also discusses how Sweatcoin’s success lies in nature’s failure to award an orgasm for exercise - as well as choosing NEAR foundation as the protocol.This is a wide-ranging interview with great insights into an entrepreneur’s mindset and journey to success. 2:00 The User case – how Sweatcoin came about6:20 Nature’s failure to give humans an orgasm for exercise13:44 Making the business case for Sweatcoin17:00 Stopping the scammers20:20: How Sweatcoin is bringing about behavioural change24:15: Starting his career in corporate life – and how his values have changed27 Becoming an entrepreneur…28:50 Why Boston Consulting Group was an unhelpful experience32 Build a business on a problem rather than an idea37 The importance of staying focused and not getting distracted40 The impact of Covid42:25 The rational for choosing NEAR protocol53:13 Encouraging people to keep moving58 Oleg’s mana….

As CEO of the NEAR protocol foundation, Marieke Flament is currently one of the most successfulfemale leaders working in fintech. But it took some convincing for her to give up an established,super successful corporate career; she was even told she was ‘full on crazy’ for considering it. As shetells presenter Lloyd Wahed in this episode, she defied her critics to join Circle in 2015 where shestayed until being inspired by another female CEO to move to banking app Mettle. The trajectory to the top hasn’t been smooth: admitted into one of France’s Grandes Ecoles to studycomputer science, Marieke discovered that she wasn’t good at coding and looked for alternativecareer paths. A period of time living in China taught her how to be solution-orientated – a mindsetshe describes as key to her success as well as a willingness to show weakness and be prepared tofail. As well as discussing her professional journey, Marieke also talks about her reason for joining NEARover its competitors, and the ground-breaking opportunities innovations such as DecentralizedAutonomous Organisations are offering the tech sector.1.23 – NEAR foundation’s mandate. 5.15 – What is it that appealed to Marieke about Near as a protocol8.52 – Demand for good engineers outstripping supply9’49 – Changing the narrative around Bitcoin11.05 - Attracting a more diverse workforce12.54 – The need for more talent – and not just engineers14.34 – The power of Decentralized Autonomous Organsiations18.57 – How have NEAR raised capital from some of the biggest VCs around20.55 – How and when could the NEAR foundation become redundant?22.57 – Marieke’s background24.35 – How Marieke got into computer engineering – and learning that she didn’t like to code26.08 – What China taught Marieke?27.30 – The importance of a winning mentality28.42 – Leaving Expedia – and believing Bitcoin was run by drugdealers…30.28 – Joining Circle – and being called ‘full on crazy’31.07 – The career decisions you make when you’re 8 years old32.21 – Leaving circle and being inspired by a female CEO34.45 – The diversity challenge in fintech36.41 – Bringing your best self to work – and recognising that everyone has faults38.11 – The importance of confidence40.35 – The importance of family time41.50 – Importance of family time44.11 – Marieke’s mana….

Rodolphe Ardant, CEO of French unicorn Spendesk, is this week’s guest on the Searching for Mana podcast.  Rodolphe enjoyed a peripatetic childhood moving around the world every three years due to his father’s career, and says this instilled in him a ‘sense of curiosity’.  Combined with the ‘autistic boredom’ he felt growing up, Rodolphe had a desire to create and build things from an early age, skills he honed at engineering school.It's clear in this episode that Rodolphe maintains the restlessness that characterized his younger years.  After founding and selling his first company (and learning from the mistakes), he joined the car-sharing platform Drivy as Chief Operating Officer before realising he was best suited to the agile, fast-paced start-up environment.  Spendesk was born and was built on two key values: freedom and trust.This is a great episode with insights into how Rodolphe used his highly technical, entrepreneurial mindset to build one of France’s tech start-up success stories.Watch & Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3sSnmMa 1:10 Spendesk’s mission4:00 Lessons learned while COO at Drivy5:55 Understanding the problem to create the solution8:30 Money is about emotion and having control11:17 Thinking deeply about becoming an entrepreneur again15:50 Spendesk is built on two key values19:25 – Rodolphe’s childhood and how it influenced his career20:22 The joy of solving problems, and autistic boredom23:09 What makes an entrepreneur mindset?24’56 Getting over mistakes27:04 What motivates him in the face of continued success

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsCfKLN1u1cL_luwY5qR4YwApple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Hhg4gB​​ Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3kKZQKlSearching for Mana is a UK-based podcast which focuses on tech innovation in finance, and features interviews with influencers, leaders and founders in the fintech space, from unicorn companies to financial disruptors. Previous guests have included the Director of Growth at Oaknorth, the CEO of BCB Group (the UK’s first licensed crypto bank), the CEO of Innovate Finance (the industry body for UK fintech) and Ed Vaizey, the UK’s longest serving Minister for Technology. Each hour-long episode gains insight into how the guest got into fintech, what they’re currently focused on, what their companies are all about, as well as some of the important trends within the wider fintech sector. The show is presented by Lloyd Wahed, a London-born tech entrepreneur who has founded two recruiting firms, Athelstan Search and Mana Search and has successfully helped scale a number of unicorn technology companies. Follow Mana Search on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manasearchuk​​ Follow Mana Search on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mana-talent/

In the first episode of season 4 of the Searching for Mana podcast, Brett Harrison, US president of leading crypto exchange platform FTX, talks to presenter Lloyd Wahed about the importance of regulation but also the need to take more risks; how staying small has helped FTX to play big; how he balances being a father and an enthusiastic pet owner (six dogs and five cats) with running one of the most talked about companies of the moment. And, of course, what it’s like working with Sam Bankman-Fried.

This is quite a story, listen to Zilch CEO and Co-Founder, Philip Belamant, British Entrepreneur of the year 2021, who has taken the business from series A to Unicorn faster than anyone else in Europe has managed with any other company. He and his team still have control of more than 50% of the equity, and their international expansion starts next year. Philip sat down with Lloyd Wahed CEO of Mana Search to discuss the journey that has seen Zilch achieve over 1 million users in 13 months.Zilch grew their team from 40 to 200 people in a year, and Philip believes his superpower is building teams through finding the best people and binding them together with a vision.Like many entrepreneurs on the Searching for Mana Podcast, Philip was a restless student, not impressed with his university education that seemed more about regurgitating data than anything more creative or problem-solving. He had the good fortune to have a father who was an entrepreneur and shared his passion for technology and building products.Philip found out as a young man that active engagement is the best way to learn, there is nothing wrong with trial and error, and not being afraid to pivot if that produces a better result.His attributes in his own words include, “perpetual dedication to the cause” and “I work at it all the time”  his firmly held belief is that “no-one is special” but “put in the time and surround yourself with the right people” to find success.For Philip, his opportunity came from the democratisation of money and free credit was the way for him to make a difference. He argues that there is nothing new in “buy now pay later”, however for most companies in that niche the retailer is the customer, but going directly to the consumer and enabling them to use any retailer through Zilch is the key to their strategy.

On this week’s Searching for Mana Lloyd Wahed CEO of Mana Search met with Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, the co-creators of the Tezos blockchain to discuss the development of the Tezos ecosystem and how it uses creativity, collaboration and a degree of democratisation to evolve this open-source platform.They see themselves very much as match makers and facilitators, bringing together developers with problems who will contribute to the ecosystem and profit from it. There are a couple of hundred developers in the ecosystem all over the world who know that they can make proposals with a high chance of making a difference for the good of all participants. Along the way they can take advantage of low fees and high capacity on the chain and know that the Tezos Proof-of-Stake methodology is eco-friendly compared to Proof-of-Work models.The platform is built on mechanisms that ensure active community governance and participation. There is no CEO or hierarchy and making a proposal that turns into action requires an 80% majority, a level they feel is a clear mandate but with a healthy respect for the minority.This is a platform to facilitate transactions, they are not obsessed by being an alternative to banking, but they are obsessed with solving problems and empowering creators and connecting them up with others who also want to solve a problem. Tezos facilitates the facilitators, providing the infrastructure to help problem solvers be successful. Tezos suits the smart and the curious, those who work off first principles and take nothing for granted, to some degree it’s a social technology driving a blockchain.