This week's guest is Yulife CEO & Co-founder Sammy Rubin . Yulife is on a mission to inspire people to live their best lives: financially, mentally and physically. They have fundamentally changed the nature of life insurance, creating an innovative new ‘win-win’ model which benefits individuals, businesses and society. Sammy joins James Pringle and Hector Mason in this episode to discuss how to spark creativity, how to build the right team, showing vulnerability in leadership & so m...
May 17, 2023•44 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Startup Spotlight with Alex Lempka , Co-Founder at Connect Earth . Connect Earth is an environmental data company working with banks and fintechs to offer customers insights into the impact of their spending and investments on the climate. Its technology is integrated with banking groups such as KBC Bank, community banks and fintech firms in Europe and the United States. Connect Earth recently raised a £4.5m round led by Gresham House Ventures. Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow The...
May 05, 2023•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week's guest is Packfleet CEO & Co-founder Tristan Thomas . Packfleet is on a mission to empower independent businesses across the UK to offer the best deliveries on Earth. Tristan joins James Pringle and Hector Mason in this episode to discuss how to scale a business, how to time your fundraising activities, some thoughts on product management & so much more.. Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast pla...
May 03, 2023•42 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast This week's guest is hackajob Co-founder & CEO Mark Chaffey hackajob have made it their mission to make the hiring process fairer, faster and based on skills rather than backgrounds, so people can get the job they deserve and earn what they're worth. Mark joins James Pringle and Hector Mason in this special extended episode to discuss how to validate an idea, lessons learnt during his career, the importance of professional coaching & so much more. Don't forget to like, sub...
Apr 05, 2023•43 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast This week's guest is CodeMonk Founder & CEO Maulik Sailor CodeMonk is changing the way the world goes to work — thanks to their dedicated platform powered by a global network of world-class, remote-based tech professionals. They offer companies a complete end-to-end solution, enabling them to hire entire development teams in just a matter of days. Maulik joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss proactive vs reactive, how to define a Product Manager, the importance of decision mak...
Mar 29, 2023•32 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Otta CEO Sam Franklin Otta is the better way to find a job in tech. They have raised over $20m including a Series A led by Tiger Global after initial backing from LocalGlobe and Riding Unicorns Live 2022 special guest Paul Forster . Sam has worked as a management consultant and cut his teeth at tech company Nested . Sam joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what makes an entrepreneur, the pathway to Otta.com , imposter syndrome & so much more. Don't forg...
Mar 22, 2023•32 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Eileen Burbidge, Partner @ Passion Capital and Director @ Fertifa Eileen has worked for some of the biggest tech companies in the world such as Skype , Apple and Yahoo . She founded venture firm Passion Capital in 2011 and has backed incredible companies such as Tide , Monzo , Tray.io and others from pre-seed stage. Eileen joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what it's like being an interim CEO, the excitement of investing, the importance of quick decisions...
Mar 15, 2023•31 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Thomas Wynne, Co-Founder & CEO @ Capsule ! Capsule is a specialist, purpose-led insurance partner for growth companies – partnering with innovative and ambitious businesses on their scale-up journey. They are a certified B Corporation with ESG at their core. Thomas joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the emotional side of selling a company, the opportunity in the insurance space, speaking to customers to help shape the product & so much more. Don't...
Mar 08, 2023•31 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Startup Spotlight with Dan Webb , Co-Founder at Light Garden . Light Garden are building Existent®, the platform that brings physical interaction to the metaverse. Existent® is a software platform and set of authoring tools that extend state-of-the-art virtual reality with the ability for players to be able to physically interact with everything they see in the virtual world. They have raised from Stride VC, Portfolio Ventures and key angels across gaming, sports and entertainment. Don't fo...
Mar 03, 2023•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Yann Sarfati, Co-Founder & CEO @ Userled Userled helps products sell themselves by initiating product led growth journeys. Yann joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the forming of Userled, how prior startup attempts shape your next company, hiring sunshine people and much, much more! Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄...
Mar 01, 2023•28 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Startup Spotlight with Chris Priebe , Founder at Zelt. Zelt is a cloud application you can use to onboard new joiners in 2 minutes and manage HR, payroll and IT from a single system of employee record. They have raised from Episode 1 Ventures, The Fund, Lakestar and Portfolio Ventures. Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄...
Feb 24, 2023•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Tony Jamous, CEO @ Oyster™ Oyster is a distributed talent enablement platform that allows growing companies to tap into the global talent pool and offer their remote workers around the world, a great employment experience. They have raised over $220 million from the likes of Connect Ventures, Slack Emergence, Salesforce Ventures. PayPal Ventures and others. Tony joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the future of work, the traits of successful founders, creating ...
Feb 22, 2023•31 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Mayowa Ogunremi, Investment Principal @ Form Ventures Form is a new early stage venture fund investing in startups disrupting regulated markets, or building in new markets that will face regulation. They use decades of experience to help founders break down policy barriers and shape winning regulatory strategies. Mayowa joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss her route into venture, her experience as a therapist turned VC, Founder appetite to build a huge business ...
Feb 15, 2023•27 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Crowdcube Co-CEO Matt Cooper . Crowdcube is a leading equity crowdfunding platform for investing in high-growth opportunities across Europe. They help entrepreneurs of start-ups and growing businesses to connect with potential investors. Dedicated to helping UK-based entrepreneurs raise finance to start or grow their business, Crowdcube gives investors real equity in the companies they fund. Matt joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the evolution of crowdfunding...
Feb 08, 2023•32 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Startup Spotlight with Blair Hawthorne , CEO & Founder at LoopFX . They've just come out of stealth mode to improve the efficiency of high level foreign exchange trades. LoopFX have secured funding from some of the best finance angels in the country with participation from Portfolio Ventures. Don't forget to like, subscribe and follow The Riding Unicorns Podcast on our socials and your chosen podcast platform to stay up to date! 🎙️🦄...
Feb 03, 2023•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Believe in Science Founder & CEO Anthony Fletcher . The Believe in Science mission is to prove people can indulge responsibly, helping consumers make better decisions when it comes to food, starting with The Urban Legend Doughnut - the ultimate treat food, sticky, sweet, delicious yet never high in fat, sugar or calories. Anthony joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss how the business stared, the dangers of sugar, working with supermarkets and much, much more!...
Feb 01, 2023•31 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Alan Chang is the CEO of Fuse . As former Revolut-er #5, Alan was involved in the disruption and innovation in banking, and now, he is bringing that same energy and passion to Fuse. Fuse was founded to generate affordable renewable power and solve climate change. Their mission is to build a Terawatt of renewable capacity to power the world. They have raised $78m from top tier investors like Balderton, Lakestar, Accel, Creandum, Lowercarbon, and Ribbit to date. Alan joins James Pringle and Hector...
Jan 18, 2023•29 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Fearless Adventures Founding Partner David Newns . Fearless Adventures invest in and support entrepreneur-led businesses with their expertise in growth strategy and support building great teams. Their founding team have built and scaled their own businesses from scratch to multi-million-pound exits and are now looking to use that capital and expertise to help new founders on their journey to reach the same peaks. David joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss his en...
Jan 11, 2023•37 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Left Lane Capital Principal Magnus Karnehm . Left Lane is a global venture capital and growth equity firm investing in high-growth internet and consumer technology companies that are fundamental to the lives of customers. The foundation of Left Lane’s strategy is built on four main elements: specialization in internet-first businesses, proprietary sourcing at every level, deep data rigor and best practices, and a genuine philosophy around partnering with founders. Magnus j...
Jan 04, 2023•38 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik . Kinnevik’s ambition is to be Europe’s leading listed growth investor, they back the best digital companies for a reimagined every day and to deliver significant returns. They have a strong and expanding portfolio in ClimateTech, HealthTech, consumer services, food tech, and fintech. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large-cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B. Georgi joins James Pringle and Hector M...
Dec 21, 2022•40 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is George Richardson, Co-Founder & CEO of AeroCloud . AeroCloud’s modular intelligent airport management platform is built on leading-edge technology & uses predictive AI & machine learning. Combined with common-use passenger processing & self-service solutions, they deliver an innovative answer to the complex operational challenges experienced by airports across the globe. AeroCloud’s market share has been steadily ramping up since 2019 with their platform cu...
Dec 14, 2022•47 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Startup Spotlight with Kadence. They've just announced a $10M Seed funding round led by Kickstart Fund with participation from Portfolio Ventures, Manta Ray, Hambro Perks and Vectr7 as well as Shadow Ventures and Forward VC.
Dec 09, 2022•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Jamie Beaumont, Founder of Playter. Playter helps fund the global community of startups and scaleups by helping them convert any invoice into Buy Now, Pay Later . Playter is the growth platform that helps businesses scale quicker, reduce their burn rate, increase their runway and take control of all payment terms regardless of the supplier. Jamie joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss the rise of Playter , fundraising growth competition, and much more. Don't ...
Dec 07, 2022•40 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Gordon Midwood, CEO of Anything World. Anything World is an innovative platform that combines AI, voice computing and 3D rendering with layers of behavioural intelligence. They enable users to request and play with any object imaginable. It’s the easiest and fastest way for developers to create AI-driven 3D experiences powered by voice. The Anything World Mission is to simplify and redefine 3D content creation for everyone across the metaverse. We want to eliminate the bar...
Nov 30, 2022•39 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Dr. Ben Maruthappu, Co-founder & CEO of multi-award-winning technology company Cera . Cera is a digital-first home healthcare company, delivering cat nursing telehealth and repeat prescriptions. In less than five years, we’ve grown from scratch to a team of almost 10,000 professionals, providing over 40,000+ in-person healthcare visits in homes throughout the UK every day. They have raised over $400 million to date. Ben joined James Pringle & Hector Mason to discus...
Nov 23, 2022•39 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Our guest this week is Jacob Waern, Founder & CEO of eduMe . eduMe g ives your deskless workforce seamless, passwordless access to embedded onboarding & training with native integrations into software such as Microsoft Teams, Fountain, Braze, and Beekeeper. eduMe is the leading mobile-based training platform for the frontline workforce used by modern companies in more than 60 countries worldwide. They've raised over $27 million to date. Jacob joined James Pringle & Hector Mason ...
Nov 16, 2022•46 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, our mini-series, which will provide insight into an early-stage company that we are very excited about. This week's spotlight shines on 5mins. 5Mins.ai is the TikTok of L&D. With 13,000+ bite-sized lessons tailored to each role . Live in 80+ countries with leading tech brands such as SmartPension, Perkbox, Spenmo etc - our customers find that with our bite-sized learning approach, employees upskill 3X faster and it delivers 8X better return ...
Nov 11, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Season 5 🥳 Our first guest for the new season is Victor Trokoudes, Co-Founder & CEO of Plum . Plum is an app that empowers you to put your money into action, wherever you are on your financial journey. You can save, spend, earn and invest, in one app with ease. Using AI-powered saving tools and investment features which make building and diversifying your portfolio seamless, Plum has helped customers save and invest £1.2 billion. Victor joined James Pringle & Hector Mason to ...
Nov 09, 2022•34 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at The Oval in Vauxhall as part of our first live event. Guests and friends of the show gathered to celebrate 2 years of Riding Unicorns.
Oct 26, 2022•28 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, our mini-series, which will provide you with an insight into an early-stage company that we are very excited about. This week's spotlight shines on Kuai Commerce , a startup focused on helping western brands sell Direct to consumers in the Chinese market. James sat down with co-founder Jonny Plein to discuss the opportunity the Chinese market presents and how Kuai provides western brands with access to it.💹 Make sure to like and subscribe to th...
Oct 14, 2022•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
