Andra Nicolau gives us an all-round breakdown of what decentralised finance is. Why (and why not) to get involved in it. And what she envisages as the future of blockchain technology. Andra is Head of Business Development and Strategy at Origin Protocol powering NFT ecosystems providing creators with branded storefronts and secondary marketplaces. Andra’s prior positions have included Head of Growth at 1inch where she raised over $250M and helped the project become the second fastest growing DeF...
Apr 25, 2023•28 min•Season 6Ep. 184
Mark tells us how he navigated himself through the toughest periods of his life and how they influenced him to create the meaningful work life balance he enjoys today. From working in finance to losing his job, dealing with family illness to then start his own consultancy, go back to university at 50 and even become a pro-cyclist (riding the equivalent of Tour de France!) This week's BWB Extra gets to know the highs and lows of Mark Pittacco's life story a little better. Mark’s recommendations: ...
Apr 20, 2023•27 min•Season 6Ep. 183
Mark Pittaccio has spoken extensively on the psychology of money, on wellbeing and happiness and on the dangers of a failed retirement. Our chat with him explains why it's important to consider more than just the numbers when making financial decisions, both personally and professionally, by applying Behavioural Economics and financial psychology. Be it retirement plans or M&As, 'what's the money for?' is just as important question to ask as 'how much money do you want to make?' Mark is a Be...
Apr 18, 2023•30 min•Season 6Ep. 182
BWB Extra this week says hello to Robin Butler, Head of Impact at Sturgeon Capital who we get to know a little better both personally and professionally. Robin tell us about how he came to be working in emerging markets, the challenges he faces around bridging the gap between the perception and reality of countries that Sturgeon Capital are investing in, as well as hearing about his charity work with Horatio's Garden who build bespoke gardens for spinal injury units .. all that plus more. Robin'...
Apr 13, 2023•30 min•Season 6Ep. 181
Our chat with Robin Butler, Partner and Head of Impact at Sturgeon Capital is an all-round 101 on the reality of investing in emerging markets. We hear Robin's thoughts on a range of topics including why Sturgeon Capital are focusing on particular markets, the potential upside on investments, advice on how to structure a company in an emerging market and best practice to avoid local corruption entanglement. Sturgeon Capital is a London-based VC investing in frontier and emerging market startups ...
Apr 11, 2023•33 min•Season 6Ep. 180
In the BWB Extra hot seat this week is Darren Webber UK & Europe CEO of TTC who talks about everything from why he thinks data centres are a huge factor in climate change, his passion for classic Minis and why his advice to his younger self would be to "spend less time with dickheads" .. which Andy heard as "spend less time with the kids" .. it'll all make sense when you hear it. Major LOLs. Darren's recommendation: Leadership Decanted podcast - Paul Garcia & KG Butler BWB Extra where we...
Apr 06, 2023•19 min•Season 6Ep. 179
Darren Webber, CEO of TTC joins us to explain what he means by that and why there’s a need for software companies whose sole purpose is to test software made by other companies. He also shares his career journey from picking garlic to entering the C-Suite and tells us why he thinks lazy "desk hugging" heads in big organisations are utter bullshit. TTC is a global IT services and consulting firm based in New Zealand that helps big organisations undergo digital transformation as a competitive adva...
Apr 04, 2023•18 min•Season 6Ep. 178
On this week’s BWB Extra where we get to know Steve Keen a little better. Steve's a Professor of Economics, an Author and winner of the Revere Award from the Real World Economics Review for being the economist “who first anticipated and gave public warning of the Global Financial Collapse in 2008, and whose work is most likely to prevent another one in the future.” If you fancy hearing about why Steve is hell bent on eliminating economics before it eliminates society, then you're in the right pl...
Mar 30, 2023•18 min•Season 5Ep. 177
Steve Keen wants to "eliminate economics before it eliminates society". He talks to us about how mainstream economics is directly linked to climate change. We also chat about the current state of UK politics and society, and why Steve thinks 'stockholder value' is utter bullshit. (that’s shareholder value to us Brits). A Professor of Economics and Author - his latest book being 'The New Economics’ Steve was the winner of the Revere Award from the Real World Economics Review for being the economi...
Mar 28, 2023•32 min•Season 5Ep. 176
On this week's BWB Extra we get to know Ciaran Burke a little better. Ciaran is the co-founder of Swoop, a platform which helps small businesses secure finance without having to go grovelling to banks. We hear about how they managed to raise a whopping £5 million fund for the company, plus Swoop's action plan for going fully global .. all that plus more Ciaran’s Recommendations: Bank of Dave (film) BWB is powered by Oury Clark.
Mar 23, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 175
This week’s episode is essential listening for small business owners looking for ways to raise capital without having to grovel to HSBC. We chat to Ciaran Burke, COO & Co-Founder of Swoop, a financing platform which helps small businesses secure finance. We talk about the range of alternative financing options available to SMEs in the UK outside of traditional bank lending including the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) and the government-backed Sta...
Mar 21, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 174
This week's BWB Extra gets to know Allen Simpson a little better. Allen's the Chief Operating Officer at London & Partners, a Business Growth and Destination agency for London where Allen leads the global strategy, operational capacity and corporate reputation. We hear about how Allen went from flipping burgers in Mc Donalds to working for the UK government, this thoughts on the transformation of leadership and culture in the workplace, and that time he ended up on the front page of the Even...
Mar 16, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 173
Meet Allen Simpson, COO at London & Partners, a Business Growth and Destination agency for London who do inbound and outbound trade and investment, conferences and events, and tourism promotion amongst other things. Allen's role takes care of leading the organisation’s global strategic thinking, operational capacity and corporate reputation at a crucial time for London. Allen's CV is an impressive read. Highlights include spending spent six years at Barclays Bank where he led the bank’s poli...
Mar 14, 2023•37 min•Season 5Ep. 172
BWB Extra gets to know this week's guest, Leo Rayman, a little better. Leo’s the Founder & CEO of Eden Lab who help make big companies more sustainable, and sustainable companies much bigger. Leo’s main points of focus include how 'green growth' can spark the positive power of business, Why 'clean share of market' is essential to understand for customer risk, and the big one .. EcoCapitalism. So kick back and get to know more about the man who plans to remove 5 million tons of carbon dioxide...
Mar 09, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 171
Meet Leo Rayman, Founder & CEO of Eden Lab, a consultancy and venture studio helping make big companies more sustainable and sustainable companies much bigger. Leo was also former CEO and CSO of ad agency Grey London, Founder of WPP start-up Grey Consulting and Domain Expert Adviser to Carbon13, the Cambridge and Berlin based venture builder for the climate emergency. Things Leo talks about: How to make sustainability something that sparks imagination How 'green growth' can spark the positiv...
Mar 07, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 170
!NEWS FLASH! Our Business vs. Bullshit Quickfire Quiz Round is back! And my goodness did we miss it BWB Extra gets to know this week's guest , Steve O'Hear a little better. Steve's Senior Vice President of Zapp, London’s premium on-demand convenience app, Founder of his very own advisory firm O'Hear & Co and an Angel Investor with Atomico. In a past life, he was also a journalist covering European tech for 10+ years at Techcrunch. So kick back and get to know more about the man who wears man...
Mar 02, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 169
Meet Steve O'Hear, Senior Vice President of Zapp, London’s premium on-demand convenience app, Founder of his very own advisory firm O'Hear & Co and was a journalist for 10+ years covering European tech at Techcrunch. As you can see, Steve's a man of many hats and wears them damn well. So sit up, press play and pay attention. You can thank us later. Steve's links: tryzapp.com ohearco.com BWB is powered by Oury Clark...
Feb 28, 2023•31 min•Season 5Ep. 168
BWB Extra gets to know this week's guest , Dr Phil Armstrong, a little better. Phil is a no nonsense Economist, Teacher, and Associate at The Gower Initiative For Modern Money Studies, an independent, non-profit organisation which is part of a growing international movement challenging the economic status quo of the last four decades. So kick back and get to know more about the man behind the magic of explaining Modern Monetary Theory. Check out Dr. Phil Armstrong's show recommendation: Mortimer...
Feb 23, 2023•21 min•Season 5Ep. 167
For a special extended episode, we invited Dr Phil Armstrong on for a chat about Modern Monetary Theory, a topic which we all scratch our heads about, and one which Phil is an absolute poet at explaining. Phil is a no nonsense Economist and Teacher, and Associate at The Gower Initiative For Modern Money Studies, an independent, non-profit organisation which is part of a growing international movement which challenges the economic orthodoxy of the last four decades. Phil gained his master’s at th...
Feb 21, 2023•43 min•Season 5Ep. 166
This week's BWB Extra continues our conversation with Steve Barnett, COO at QuadReal Property Group, a global real estate investment, operating and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. We hear more about Steve's humble begins, his journey to the C-Suite, his views on Politics as well as getting to personally know more about the man behind the infectious charm and big smile. Check out Steve Barnett's book recommendations: "Dune" by Frank Herbert "Atlas Shrugged" by Ai...
Feb 16, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 165
Meet Steve Barnett, Chief Operating Officer at QuadReal Property Group, a global real estate investment, operating and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Steve has been of the company since the start in 2016 and is on the Board of Directors. Our chat is part about Steve's work with QuadReal and (the best) part about the charming man himself. Kick back, press play and smile. BWB is powered by Oury Clark.
Feb 14, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 164
This week's BWB Extra continues our conversation with Phil Bernie, Co-Founder of KeyPay, a revolutionary cloud based payroll solution. We hear more about the man behind the name, how he got to where he is today, his fu*k ups and failures and why he feels the need to reinvent payroll. We also hear Andy speak with absolutely no filter. You have been warned .. BWB is powered by Oury Clark
Feb 09, 2023•24 min•Season 5Ep. 163
Meet Phil Bernie, Co-Founder of KeyPay, a cloud based payroll solution like no other! Phil is also a self-proclaimed closet computer scientist, a purveyor of the ever-questioning status-quo as well as being a former professional rugby player. Doesn't sound like your average chat about payroll, right ? Well it wasn't .. far from it in fact. Press play and hold on to your trousers. BWB is powered by Oury Clark.
Feb 07, 2023•26 min•Season 5Ep. 162
This week's BWB Extra continues our conversation with David Ricciardi, President & CEO of Proximo, an information services company specialising in Big Data which David founded in 1997. With over 30 years of experience in building, managing and utilising big databases for companies like Mercedes-Benz, L’Oréal and Time Warner, and now with a new UK based subsidiary open for business, David and Proximo are bonafide industry heavyweights. Hear more about what makes David tick, how got to where h...
Feb 02, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 161
Meet David Ricciardi, President & CEO of Proximo, an information services company which he founded in 1997 specialising in Big Data. David’s experience spans more than 30 years and has led him to build, manage, and utilize large databases in industries as varied as financial, automotive and health care. David spends much of his time now as an advisor to clients, helping them plan and execute on data strategies to make better business decisions. BWB is powered by Oury Clark....
Jan 31, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 160
This week's BWB Extra continues our chat with Alan Donegan, co-founder of the award-winning Rebel Business School, Finance School and podcast with the aim of helping people start their own businesses, take control of their finances and avoid debt. And they provide it all for free! because Rebel raises its capital through sponsorship which means they can give away the best education to those who need it the most .. and have being doing so in over 7 different countries to over 20k people to date. ...
Jan 26, 2023•27 min•Season 5Ep. 159
Meet Alan Donegan, co-founder of the award-winning Rebel Business School, Rebel Finance School and the Rebel Entrepreneur podcast. He became financial independent at 40 years old and now uses his time to help people from all walks of life to start their own businesses, take control of their finances and avoid debt. Rebel's mission was borne out of Alan’s own personal experiences where he was forced to fight the courts to prevent loosing his family home. Today, Rebel has educated over 20,000 peop...
Jan 24, 2023•34 min•Season 5Ep. 158
This week's BWB Extra continues our chat with Scott Hallsworth, ex-Nobu London Head Chef who launched his very own Freak Scene as a pop-up in July 2017. Pre-Covid, Freak Scene went on to become the ever-popular restaurant in the heart of Soho, London and is opening in a new location very soon. We get to know more about what makes Scott tick, his perspective on the realities of business in food and hospitality and how he went from washing dishes in Bunbury, Australia to walking through the doors ...
Jan 19, 2023•29 min•Season 5Ep. 157
Meet Scott Hallsworth. As head chef at the acclaimed Nobu for six years, Australian-born Scott has mastered the art of Japanese cuisine. His modern style combined with the explosive smoky, umami flavours found in his dishes make him one of London's most popular chefs. Nobu was where Scott learnt how to cook Japanese food at the highest level and spent six years at the helm of the Michelin-starred restaurant, even helping open a new branch in Melbourne. However, he grew tired of creating recipes ...
Jan 17, 2023•30 min•Season 5Ep. 156
BWB Extra continues our very special conversation with Martin Wolf CBE, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times where we dig deeper and discuss Modern Monetary Theory, the effects of the energy crisis on the economy and what SMEs should be doing to prepare, and pose questions like: What are the UK's alternatives to the EU? Can Britain become a global superpower again? What does the future of UK politics look like? BWB is powered by Oury Clark
Jan 12, 2023•42 min•Season 5Ep. 155
