“Entrepreneurship feels like a process of torture sometimes because no matter how hard you try and how much you work and how many evenings or weekends that you sacrifice, you’re still only at the very bottom of the hill.” 

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Deirdre O’Neill, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial & Legal Officer at women’s health startup, Hertility. 

With a background in corporate law and VC law, Deirdre took the leap into entrepreneurship in 2019, alongside twin sister Dr Helen O’Neill and Dr Natalie Getreu. 

Since then, the three Co-Founders and their team have been revolutionising the future of reproductive healthcare, by pioneering unique diagnostic testing. 

In this episode, we get a full behind-the-scenes look into their build so far and where the future might take them… 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Growing up in Cork [07:30] 

➡️ Why she feels more like a lawyer now than ever before [10:33] 

➡️ Hertility’s origin story [13:14] 

➡️ Breaking into a heavily regulated space [18:30] 

➡️ Normalising talking about fertility & women’s health [20:27] 

➡️ Fundraising & why crowdfunding is a great option [23:11] 

➡️ Leaning into pregnancy as a Founder [29:05] 

➡️ Why the best talent is focusing on purpose [31:52] 

➡️ Are you choosing a steamboat or a speedboat? [33:15] 

➡️ Hertility’s team culture [35:23] 

➡️ Audience Question: How do you navigate conflict with your Co-Founder and twin sister [40:13] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Deirdre: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdre-o-neill-a8bb6a14/ 

➡️ Check out Hertility: https://hertilityhealth.com/ 

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“If we’re not seeing outcomes, we need more visibility. Does visibility mean someone being physically in front of you? Probably not.” 

Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, the Founder of Surfboard - the next generation planning tools for customer service teams. 

Before building Surfboard, Natasha spent several years as an Operator and Investor, including her roles as Principal at Piton Capital and Chief of Staff at Bulb. 

We had a fascinating chat with Natasha, exploring her unique career journey and her mission to make work more human with Surfboard. 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Her upbringing in Canada [03:56] 

➡️ Moving into VC [05:34] 

➡️ Why she wishes she had Operator experience before moving into VC [11:02] 

➡️ Becoming Chief of Staff at Bulb [12:45] 

➡️ Advice for aspiring Chiefs of Staff [16:33] 

➡️ When to hire a Chief of Staff [20:02] 

➡️ More about Surfboard [22:15] 

➡️ Getting customer traction early [30:00] 

➡️ Flexible working [34:16] 

➡️ Audience question: What are your future aspirations with Surfboard? [39:50] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Natasha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-ratanshi-stein-%F0%9F%8F%84%F0%9F%8F%BC%E2%80%8D%E2%99%80%EF%B8%8F-69333723/ 

➡️ Check out Surfboard: https://teamsurfboard.com/ 

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“I think we over index on the significance of education at the cost of other important parts of the social mobility conversation.” 

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gary Izunwa, Co-Founder and CEO of Tangent. 

Tangent is an employee referral platform that makes referrals accessible to everyone and NOT just the privileged few with the best networks. 

Prior to Tangent, Gary worked at LinkedIn and the British Council leading programmes for ‘Generation UK’, a multimillion pound campaign, committed to social mobility. 

Most recently, Gary has also been named in the 2024 class of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Social Impact. 

In today’s episode, we’ll explore his career to date, the journey of building Tangent and the power of mentorship and social mobility… 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Reframing mistakes & failure [02:39] 

➡️ Growing up with an entrepreneurial mind [05:24] 

➡️ A successful early career at LinkedIn [07:49] 

➡️ Taking a 80% salary cut to drive social mobility [13:36] 

➡️ Starting Tangent - the origin [16:44] 

➡️ Harsh learnings from building without your customer [23:29] 

➡️ The power & gaps of recruitment referrals [29:26] 

➡️ Closing social mobility gaps [32:40] 

➡️ Gratitude complex of socially mobile people [37:32] 

➡️ Audience question: Building your personal brand on LinkedIn [44:40] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Gary: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garyizunwa/ 

➡️ Check out Tangent: https://www.jointangent.com/ 

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“You work so hard for something you’ve dreamt of for so long and then you achieve it and it’s nothing like you imagined it would be…” 

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Lottie Whyte, Co-Founder and CEO of MyoMaster, the home of sports recovery and a brand on a mission to unlock every athlete’s greatest performance. 

If you’re an avid BBC Dragons Den watcher, then you’ll have seen Lottie and her Co-Founder and husband, Joe, on the most recent series, where they won an incredible £100,000 investment from Gary Neville and Sara Davies. 

In today’s episode we not only discuss this latest impressive milestone in Lottie’s journey, but also look back on humble beginnings at their kitchen table and Lottie’s successful career in PR and advertising. 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Lottie’s upbringing and early influences [02:24] 

➡️ Becoming the youngest board member at M&C Saatchi [04:22] 

➡️ MyoMaster’s origin story [09:01] 

➡️ The power of resilience & fundraising advice [13:20] 

➡️ Why VC investment isn’t for everyone [14:48] 

➡️ Why Dragons Den & the behind the scenes scoop [16:39] 

➡️ Winning over Gary Neville and Sara Davies [21:04] 

➡️ Building on the Dragons Den momentum [22:12] 

➡️ Advice for applying to Dragons Den [24:51] 

➡️ Balancing wellbeing and entrepreneurship [26:13] 

➡️ Audience question: How do you navigate being business partners, a married couple and parents with Joe? [31:10] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Lottie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lottie-whyte-07205918/ 

➡️ Check out MyoMaster: https://myomaster.com/ 

➡️ Watch MyoMaster on Dragons Den: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZsJjuo-QnU  

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“It’s never felt easy. There’s never been a single day where it’s felt easy. The winds are always hardwired for various reasons, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a lot of fun.” 

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Morgan Fowles, CEO of popular sustainable activewear and athleisure brand, TALA. 

If you’ve been listening to 40 Minute Mentor for a while, you would have already come across TALA, when we caught up with Founder, Grace Beverley in Season 5. 

In this episode, we find out more about Morgan’s career in fashion, including her exec role at Thomas Pink Shirtmaker, COO at SPOKE and how she became CEO of TALA in 2023. 

Episode chapters: 

➡️ Growing up across the pond & Morgan’s love for fashion [04:47] 

➡️ A career in fashion [06:37] 

➡️ Advice for any successful COO [11:13] 

➡️ Breaking into the fashion industry [16:54] 

➡️ Joining TALA and progressing to CEO [19:47] 

➡️ More about TALA [21:40] 

➡️ Founder and CEO relationship [28:00] 

➡️ Making £1m in revenue in an hour [31:00] 

➡️ Hiring for TALA [37:35] 

➡️ The future of sustainability in fashion [40:32] 

➡️ Audience question: What would you change about the fashion industry? [43:25] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Morgan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganfowles/ 

➡️ Listen to Grace Beverley’s 40 Minute Mentor episode: https://jbmc.co.uk/podcasts/scaling-a-purpose-driven-business-whilst-creating-balance-with-grace-beverley/ 

➡️ Check out TALA: https://www.wearetala.com/ 

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“They say all the best businesses in the world have nearly died three times. It’s an inevitable journey you go on when you're creating a high growth business.”

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Radha Vyas, Co-Founder and CEO of adventure travel startup, Flash Pack. 

Flash Pack is on a mission to create 1 million friendships through connecting solo travellers in their 30s and 40s to go on adventure trips they'll never forget. 

Since inception, Flash Pack has been on an incredible journey - reaching £20m turnover with a team of 60. However, with Covid hitting the travel industry the hardest, and with countless refunds from their customers, Flash Pack’s revenue quickly dropped down to zero. 

Fast forward to today, Radha and the Flash Pack team are quickly exceeding pre-Covid goals, have raised £5m for their expansion in the US and now have a team of 70, spread across the globe. 

In today’s episode, we’ll dive into every part of Radha’s journey to date and the crucial lessons she’s learned from rebuilding Flash Pack. 

Episode Chapters:

➡️ Radha’s entrepreneurial aspirations from an early age [4:45]

➡️ Starting Flash Pack off the back of a first date [10:08]

➡️ From idea to early-stage startup - the lessons learned [16:15]

➡️ How a selfie in Brazil became an accelerator for Flash Pack [20:43]

➡️ From flying high to an abrupt stop with Covid [27:07]

➡️ Navigating Founder life & being married to your Co-Founder [34:04]

➡️ Rebuilding after Covid - Flash Pack 2.0 [37:21]

➡️ An honest reflection on building a diverse team [39:20]

➡️ Hiring for values fit vs culture fit [42:14]

➡️ Audience question: Where is next on your travel list? [45:33]

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Radha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radha-vyas-flashpack/ 

➡️ Book your next trip with Flash Pack: https://www.flashpack.com/

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“Sometimes entrepreneurship is about bending the odds of success and being willing to take on the risk even though it doesn’t make much sense. It’s about going ahead anyway and changing the odds yourself.” 

In our first episode of Series 11 of 40 Minute Mentor, we’re joined by Richard Robinson, Founder and CEO of Robin AI. 

Robin AI is a leader in legal AI and empowers legal teams and lawyers all over the world to make contract processes effortless. 

In today’s episode you’ll find out how Richard has built Robin AI from ideation to 100+ employees, 72+ global customers and $32 million raised to date. 

Episode Chapters:

➡️ From growing up in Birmingham to starting Robin AI [4:51]

➡️ Becoming a debate champion [6:51]

➡️ From lawyer to Founder [9:06]

➡️ Building an AI legal assistant: Robin AI’s origin story [14:20]

➡️ Building one of the most diverse companies in Europe [17:58]

➡️ The changes in the legal sector [21:40] 

➡️ The future of AI in 2024 and beyond [25:14]

➡️ Securing $32 million in fundraising [27:40]

➡️ Why you shouldn’t have to convince investors [29:29]

➡️ The impact of picking the right investors [30:52]

➡️ Hiring advice: Why you shouldn’t add that additional interview round [35:06] 

➡️ Audience Question: What do you want the law industry to look like in ten years from now? [39:57] 

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Richard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardgrobinson/ 

➡️ Find out more about RobinAI: https://www.robinai.com/

⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

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“Sometimes entrepreneurship is about bending the odds of success, and just being willing to take on the risks…”

Welcome back to Series 11 of 40 Minute Mentor - your pocket-sized career mentor. 

We’ve got 13 weeks of non-stop mentorship from some of the best in the industry, coming up for you. 

Before we kick off the series with our first 40 Minute Mentor next week, we thought we’d share a few soundbites with you of what’s to come… 

In this series trailer, you’ll hear from: 

⭐ Gary Izunwa, Co-Founder & CEO of Tangent 

⭐ Morgan Fowles, CEO at TALA

⭐ Natasha Ratanshi-Stein, Founder of Surfboard 

⭐ Radha Vyas, Co-Founder of Flash Pack

⭐ Richard Robinson, Founder &CEO of Robin AI 

And this is only the start of it. 

For even more pocket-sized mentorship, make sure you 🔔 subscribe and tune in every Wednesday morning for the latest episode.

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“We scaled way too fast…and the result was that we mis-hired quite a lot. It was not a sustainable way to scale.”

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Peter Specht, General Partner at Creandum, one of the leading early stage VCs that have invested in over 120 companies, of which 20 are unicorns today. 

Following career chapters at Rocket Internet Group, Google and Bain, Peter joined the firm as Investment Manager in 2017, as one of the firm’s first hires in the DACH region, building out its Berlin hub. 

Now based in London, Peter primarily focuses on investing into SaaS and B2B marketplaces, with notable investments led for Factorial, CarOnSale, cargo.one, Timberhub, to name a few.  

With such a wealth of experience across markets, there’s lots for us to discuss in this final VC feature episode… 

Episode Chapters:

➡️ The deal he is most proud of: A Unicorn story [2:03]

➡️ Explore in the early days, specialise later on [6:06]

➡️ Scaling lessons from Lazada [9:01]

➡️ Moving into VC [10:40]

➡️ Creandum’s origin story [12:17]

➡️ Multi-local presence and adapting to global markets [15:52]

➡️ The growing Tech scene in Spain [18:35]

➡️ A Deep dive into the London ecosystem [21:34]

➡️ Rising through the ranks & becoming General Partner [25:18]

➡️ Advice for Founders perfecting their pitch [30:04]

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pspecht/ 

➡️ Find out more about Creandum: https://creandum.com/

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“Team sports are a great proxy for working in companies, where often the power of the collective is way stronger than any individual.”

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Davor Hebel, Managing Partner at Eight Roads Ventures, the global VC firm backed by Fidelity.  

Eight Roads backs and partners with game-changing tech and healthcare companies across Europe, Asia, Israel and the US. The platform has 50+ years of venture investing experience, $11bn in AUM, over 300 portfolio companies and they’ve had 60+ IPOs.

Reflecting on 18+ years in venture capital, Davor shares tonnes of insights in today’s episode, including… 

Episode Chapters:

➡️ His proudest deal to date [1:51]

➡️ A realistic view on how many companies raise VC funding [3:25]

➡️ Growing up in Croatia with athletes turned educators [6:02]

➡️ Making the move from consulting to VC [10:37]

➡️ The challenges of a multi-faceted role [12:27]

➡️ Expecting things to go wrong in the Startup world [14:13]

➡️ Characteristics of a great Investor [16:19]

➡️ The history of Eight Roads Ventures [21:58]

➡️ Successful portfolio companies & exits [24:06]

➡️ How to really impress a VC [26:10]

➡️ Entrepreneurs at the heart of company culture [29:27]

➡️ Evolution as a leader and investor [31:22]

➡️ Predictions for the Tech ecosystem in 2024 [32:49] 

➡️ Young Generation in Tech survey findings [34:34]

➡️ The impact & future of AI [37:24]

➡️ Opportunities in VC [38:40]

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Davor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davorhebel/ 

➡️ Find out more about Eight Roads Ventures: https://eightroads.com/en/

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“If you’re not ready to commit to VC for at least 10 years, it’s just not worth trying…” 

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Masha Bucher, Founder & General Partner at Day One Ventures. 

The firm backs Founders from AI and Climate, to future of work and Deeptech, helping customer obsessed and mission-driven Founders win, by harnessing the power of storytelling. 

With a background in communications and PR, Masha is pioneering a new model in VC by spearheading public relations in Day One Ventures portfolio, which is one of the many topics we dive into in today’s episode… 

Episode Chapters:

➡️ Busting a big VC myth [2:52]

➡️ Growing up with a winning mentality [5:24]

➡️ The outcome of going viral on Twitter, now X [7:37]

➡️ Life as Head of Comms in VC [9:22]

➡️ Scaling her PR Consultancy [11:19]

➡️ Finding and owning her niche [13:13]

➡️ The investment thesis of Day One Ventures [14:29]

➡️ The power of patience and listening to yourself [16:51]

➡️ A deep dive into assessing culture [19:47]

➡️ Tips for early stage Founders [21:11]

➡️ What turns a good pitch into a great one [24:15]

➡️ A culture built on love, freedom and truth [27:35]

➡️ The value of working with Day One Ventures [31:49]

➡️ Making a habit of building your personal brand [38:03]

➡️ Trusting your intuition [41:37]

⛳ Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Masha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mashadrokova/ 

➡️ Find out more about Day One Ventures: https://dayoneventures.com/

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