How can scale-ups maintain good communication as they scale? My guest, Ed Leon Klinger, is the CEO of Flock—a company that uses data to provide usage-based insurance for drones, cars and vans. In this episode, Ed explains why he likes to transcribe fundraising meetings to hunt for learnings, he shares why he's grateful that his board let him fail, and we unpack the broad challenge of communication as you scale the team. Key links: Flock website: https://flockcover.com Ed Leon Klinger profile: ht...
Oct 12, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 22
As a founder you're always on show. My guest, Raoul Fraser, is the CEO of Lovat Parks—a scale-up building residential and holiday caravan parks across the UK. In this episode, Raoul walks us through his vision for the caravan park industry, he explains the challenges of having physical locations, and we discuss the difficulty of feeling like you're always on show to your team—something every leader can relate to. Key links: Lovat Parks website: https://lovatparks.com/ Raoul Fraser profile: https...
Sep 28, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Why have traditional marketplace models failed in the jewellery sector? My guest, Ilana Lever, is the CEO of Motley—a company that enables jewellery designers to bring their designs to market at scale. In this episode, Ilana walks us through Motley’s business model, she explains what stopped her letting go of the details sooner, and we discuss challenges and learnings from fundraising four times. Key links: Motley website: https://www.motley-london.com/ Ilana Lever profile: https://www.linkedin....
Sep 15, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 10
What would make a founder give up their role as CEO? My guest, James Routledge, is the founder of Sanctus—a company that offers coaching services to businesses to support employee mental health. In this episode, James walks us through his decision to step back from the CEO role, he explains why he decided not to hire a COO, and we discuss how ego can lead us to unhappiness. This is genuinely one of my favourite episodes, and a must-listen if you’re a CEO scaling your business. Key links: Sanctus...
Aug 25, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 9
How much plastic do you consume? Meet Simon Mellin, CEO of The Modern Milkman a company that delivers plastic-free milk and groceries to your door. In this episode, Simon talks about how a milk cart became venture-backed, we discuss his journey to Series B, and the importance of hiring when building a low-ego culture. Key links: The Modern Milkman website: https://themodernmilkman.co.uk/ Simon Mellin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmellin/ Key timestamps: [00:44] How did a milk cart be...
Aug 17, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Why do you need to train your workforce? Meet Rajeeb Dey, CEO of Learnerbly—a company that helps businesses train their employees. In this episode, Rajeeb shares how he dealt with a life-threatening back issue as CEO, we discuss the hard decisions that come with internalisation and talk about how the training space is changing. Key links: Learnerbly website: https://www.learnerbly.com/ Rajeeb Dey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeebdey/ Key timestamps: [01:13] Why did you start Learnerbly...
Aug 03, 2021•34 min•Season 2Ep. 7
How do you identify high performers in your recruiting? Meet Alex Young, CEO of Virti—a company that creates immersive training experiences using VR that replicate the stress and emotion of clinical practice and beyond. In this episode, Alex talks us through his Series A fundraise, we discuss the surprising applications of VR and immersive training, and he shares some of his recruiting tactics. We also discuss the challenges Alex overcame when building his online brand. Key links: Virti website:...
Jul 14, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 6
How have you dealt with the ups and downs of Covid-19? Meet Joe Cripps, CEO of Trail, a company that helps multi-site operators in hospitality and leisure to manage their daily tasks. In this episode, Joe shares his experience of the hospitality crisis, he shares learnings from running a remote-first company, and we talk about the mental health challenges many of us have faced during the pandemic. Key links: Trail website: https://trailapp.com/ Joe Cripps profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe...
Jun 29, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 5
What does it take to build a truly diverse company from Day One? Today's guest is Maya Pindeus, CEO of Humanising Autonomy which is a company that uses AI and computer vision to predict human behaviour. In this episode, Maya walks us through how she built a thought leadership position as an AI startup, how she prioritised diversity from the start, and the challenges of a listening culture. She also shares an interesting approach to brainstorming at scale. Key links: Humanising Autonomy website: ...
Jun 09, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 3
How do you set realistic standards for your team? Meet Gren Paull, CEO of Lilli—a company that helps vulnerable people live independently and safely, using smart in-home sensors. In this episode, Gren shares how he took over as CEO, the differences between the COO and CEO role, and his approach to setting standards for the team. We also discuss the value of a Head of People, even during the early stages. Key links: Lilli website: https://www.intelligentlilli.com/ Gren Paull profile: https://www....
May 25, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 2
How does the role of CEO force you to change? Meet Charles Wells, CEO of HelloSelf—a company with a mission to help everyone practically work on self-improvement. In this episode, Charles shares his company's amazing origin story, we discuss the transition from manager to leader, and the challenge of giving up areas of the business. We also discuss shadow cultures and how to avoid letting the external mission corrode the internal one. Key links: HelloSelf website: https://www.helloself.com/ Char...
May 19, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this special edition to mark the 10th episode of the Founder Coach Podcast, I unpack the most powerful moments on the show this far—moments that demonstrate and celebrate the power of vulnerable leadership. As well as sharing practical takeaways on topics like building a culture of resilience and challenge, managing stress, and stepping out of the details, I'll leave with you with some powerful questions that help you integrate these ideas in your role as a leader. I hope you enjoy listening ...
Mar 31, 2021•36 min•Ep. 10
How easy is it to transition from 'wartime' to 'peacetime' as a CEO? Meet Will Read, CEO of Sideways 6—a company that helps companies capture big ideas from their employees. In this episode, Will shares his capital-efficient approach to growth, we discuss the anxiety that comes with the CEO role, and explain why it's important to celebrate wins with your team. We also unpack the transition from 'wartime' to 'peacetime' CEO—and why it's not as easy as you may think. Key links: Sideways 6 website:...
Mar 17, 2021•28 min•Ep. 9
How do you encourage new behaviours? Meet Luke Fisher, CEO of Mo, SaaS software that allows teams and companies to share their wins and encourage new behaviours. In this episode, Luke Fisher explains how he 'dog-foods' his own product to celebrate wins in his team, how he adapted his fundraising approach during COVID, and how the North Star Metric framework links to OKRs. We also talk about the often conflicting needs of end-users and the economic buyer. Key links: Mo website: https://mo.work/ L...
Mar 02, 2021•28 min•Ep. 8
What's it like to see revenues drop 95%? Meet Rebecca Kelly, CEO of VenueScanner—a marketplace that connects event organisers with their ideal venue. In this episode, Rebecca shares her insights on marketplace business models, tells the story of how Covid dramatically impacted her business, and how she reinvented an events marketplace to stay relevant—even when there are no events happening. She also explains how to think about the Chief of Staff role—a must-listen for every CEO interested in re...
Feb 16, 2021•36 min•Ep. 7
What does it mean to put 'People First' in a fast-growing company? Meet Ben Stephenson, CEO of Impala—a company building a suite of travel APIs that make building travel tech a lot easier. In this episode, Ben Stephenson explains how he went from Seed to Series B in six months, how the pandemic affected their travel-focused business, and why hiring a head of people made a huge difference in building a remote-first culture. We also discuss the importance of inviting your leaders to the conversati...
Feb 03, 2021•34 min•Ep. 6
How do you get your team to speak up to the CEO? Meet Anastasia Leng, CEO of CreativeX—a Series A SaaS company that helps B2C brands understand the performance of image and video content. In this episode, Anastasia explains how she got term sheets for a company with no name, unpacks the founder-investor partnership, and explains why high-standards are a perk. We also discuss 'Devil's Avocado' (a term borrowed from Sarah Wood ), and other ways to encourage constructive dissent. Key links: Creativ...
Jan 20, 2021•45 min•Ep. 5
What does it mean to leave your comfort zone as a CEO? Meet Jacob Waern, CEO of EduMe (Series A), a mobile-based training tool that gives desk-less workforces the knowledge they need to succeed. In this episode, Jacob talks about his experience reducing his team by 90%, explains how he raised while sick with suspected Coronavirus, and we discuss what it takes to build a strong leadership team. We also look at the tension between empowering processes and empowering people. Key links: EduMe websit...
Dec 16, 2020•45 min•Ep. 4
How many languages do founders need to learn? Meet Paul Ford, CEO of Acin, a SaaS tool that helps banks manage their operational risk. In this episode, Paul and I discuss why raising money is like learning a new language, Paul shares how the army helped him become more resilient, and we talk about what it was like to step down as CEO of his previous company. We also explore how to find topics that resonate with end users. Key links: Acin website: https://acin.com/ Open job positions: https://aci...
Dec 02, 2020•42 min•Ep. 3
What’s it like to raise 7 funding rounds in 7 years? We’re speaking with Jack Tang from Urban, a website that allows you to book wellness treatments at your home or work. In this episode, Jack and I talk about investors that ‘simply don’t get it’, Jack shares the wellness rituals that help him manage extreme stress, and we discuss what it was really like to make cuts at the start of the global pandemic. We also talk about ways you can build trust in a growing team. Key links: Urban website: http...
Nov 25, 2020•40 min•Ep. 2
What's it like to go from 50 to 100 employees? Meet Chris Edson, CEO of Second Nature, an online weight loss plan that helps people make healthy lifestyle changes. In this episode, Chris explains why reaching 100 employees feels like 'going through startup puberty', what made his $10M Series A easier than his seed round, and how brutal honesty won over an experienced US investor. We also talk frankly about why it's difficult for founders that love building to step out of daily operations. Key li...
Nov 18, 2020•49 min•Ep. 1
Hello world! This is Dave Bailey and I’m the writer of the Founder Coach blog, which is now read by millions of entrepreneurs each year. If you’ve read any of my essays, you know I’m very open about the mistakes that I made when founding and building three venture-backed tech businesses. So I’m on a mission to share the stories of other CEOs that are also willing to be open about the harsh realities of raising venture capital, growing a team, and the mistakes that they’ve made—or are making righ...
Nov 09, 2020•1 min
