In this 40 Minute Mentor bonus episode, you'll hear directly from your Host, James Mitra, as he recaps another brilliant 10 weeks of mentorship.
James shares some of his own highlights from this season and shares more about our upcoming plans.
If you haven't caught up on this season yet, make sure you scroll back through Season 13...and our 250+ episodes in the archives.
📣 Don't forget to check out our season sponsors:
✨ Capsule - the neo-broker powered by cutting-edge API technology, redefining insurance for high-growth scaling businesses.
Capsule streamlines the insurance process, removing manual hassle and delivering tailored solutions that evolve with your business.
If you’re a venture-backed startup looking to outsource the buying and management of your insurance, head over to www.capsulecover.com to find out more.
✨Foundation Partners - an Amplified People Group business, reinventing how ambitious, early-stage companies access People & Talent support.
They offer a fully flexible, fractional People & Talent team with specialist skillsets and hands-on delivery that starts driving impact in just 2 weeks.
As a 40 Minute Mentor listener, you can book a FREE 1-hour advisory call with a Managing Partner. Just head to www.foundationpartners.co.uk/contact and reference 40 Minute Mentor.
⭐ Enjoyed this season? ⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
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2:59
Adriana Restrepo: The Revolut secret sauce & behind the scenes of the fast-growing Crypto wallet startup Deblock
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Adriana Restrepo, Co-Founder of crypto FinTech, Deblock.
Before building Deblock, Adriana spent 3 years at Revolut, overseeing People Operations and holding the COO role.
While she never expected to step into a Founder role, today, Adriana is building the world’s safest account for seamless management and exchange of crypto and cash, ensuring users truly own their money.
In this episode, you’ll hear more about the significant lessons she learned during her time at Revolut, the secret sauce that’s helping her build and scale Deblock, their impressive funding to date and what the future holds for Deblock and the Web3 space.
Episode Chapters:
➡️ From Corporate life to fast-paced Revolut [04:30]
➡️ Fundamental lessons from Revolut [11:30]
➡️ Taking the leap into entrepreneurship [14:00]
➡️ Building Deblock [17:00]
➡️ More about today’s sponsor [20:00]
➡️ Co-Founder dynamics & building a team [22:00]
➡️ Celebrating wins [23:30]
➡️ Fundraising & growing a diverse team [26:20]
➡️ The impact of a great COO [35:00]
➡️ The future of Deblock & Crypto [40:30]
🔍 Find out more:
✨ Connect with Adriana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianarestrepo
✨ More about Deblock: https://deblock.com/en-FR
📣Learn more about today’s sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Foundation Partners, an Amplified People Group company.
Foundation Partners is reinventing how ambitious, early-stage companies access People & Talent support. They offer a fully flexible, fractional People & Talent team with specialist skillsets and hands-on delivery that starts driving impact in just 2 weeks.
As a 40 Minute Mentor listener, you can book a FREE 1-hour advisory call with a Managing Partner. Just head to www.foundationpartners.co.uk/contact and reference 40 Minute Mentor.
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
🎧 You may also enjoy:
Zeynep Yavuz: Investing In Fintech, Crypto & Emerging Markets with General Catalyst
Simone Maini: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & The Future Of Crypto with Elliptic
Scaling Teams & Building a High Performing Culture – A Roundtable Discussion with Amplified Group’s Dr Andy Meikle, Anouk Agussol & Andrew Richardson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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46:36
Scaling Teams & Building a High Performing Culture - A Roundtable Discussion with Amplified Group's Dr Andy Meikle, Anouk Agussol & Andrew Richardson
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the leadership team of Amplified People Group - Dr Andy Meikle, Anouk Agussol and Andrew Richardson.
Together, they answer some of the burning questions leaders ask them: from navigating the messy world of people, talent and culture to early-stage blind spots, the UK’s employment landscape and practical tips on embedding AI in your teams.
📚 Episode Chapters:
➡️ Common oversights when building culture [05:00]
➡️ The importance of values and expectations [11:00]
➡️ Building a transparent culture [12:30]
➡️ Authenticity in leadership [16:40]
➡️ More about today’s sponsors [18:00]
➡️ Navigating employment law challenges [19:20]
➡️ The difficulties of letting people go [22:00]
➡️ Building high-performing cultures [29:00]
➡️ Embedding AI [30:00]
🔍 Find out more:
✨ More about Amplified Group: https://www.amplifiedgroup.com/
📣Learn more about today’s sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Foundation Partners, an Amplified People Group company.
Foundation Partners is reinventing how ambitious, early-stage companies access People & Talent support. They offer a fully flexible, fractional People & Talent team with specialist skillsets and hands-on delivery that starts driving impact in just 2 weeks.
As a 40 Minute Mentor listener, you can book a FREE 1-hour advisory call with a Managing Partner. Just head to www.foundationpartners.co.uk/contact and reference 40 Minute Mentor.
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
🎧 You may also enjoy:
Andrew Richardson: Building high-performing businesses & leadership teams with Amplified Group
Anouk Agussol: Why HR is dead
Tamara Lohan MBE: From idea to exit – the scaling story of the iconic Mr & Mrs Smith travel brand
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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37:13
Tamara Lohan MBE: From idea to exit - the scaling story of the iconic Mr & Mrs Smith travel brand
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Tamara Lohan MBE, Co-Founder and CEO of boutique hotel travel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith.
Tamara founded Mr & Mrs Smith together with her husband James in 2002.
Since then, the pair have been on an incredible journey, including scaling the business to over 1.5 million members worldwide, growing their distributed team, being awarded with an MBE for their services to the British travel industry, getting B Corp certified and being acquired by Hyatt in 2023.
In today’s episode, you’ll find out what it takes to build such an iconic brand and lots of actionable mentorship on how Tamara transitioned from CTO to COO and CEO.
📚 Episode Chapters:
➡️ Childhood influences and early aspirations [05:20]
➡️ The idea that sparked Mr & Mrs Smith [08:00]
➡️ Challenges in the early days [13:00]
➡️ Transitioning from CTO to COO [19:30]
➡️ Transforming Leadership & navigating Covid [20:00]
➡️ Learn more about today’s sponsors [24:00]
➡️ Building an iconic brand [28:00]
➡️ Hiring lessons [32:00]
➡️ Building a remote culture [35:00]
➡️ The resilience of the travel industry [38:00]
🔍 Find out more:
✨ Connect with Tamara: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaralohan
✨ More about Mr & Mrs Smith: https://www.mrandmrssmith.com/
📣Learn more about today’s sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Foundation Partners, an Amplified People Group company.
Foundation Partners is reinventing how ambitious, early-stage companies access People & Talent support. They offer a fully flexible, fractional People & Talent team with specialist skillsets and hands-on delivery that starts driving impact in just 2 weeks.
As a 40 Minute Mentor listener, you can book a FREE 1-hour advisory call with a Managing Partner. Just head to www.foundationpartners.co.uk/contact and reference 40 Minute Mentor.
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
🎧 You may also enjoy:
Simon Franks: The truth behind exiting to Amazon and investing in hyper growth Startups with Redbus Ventures
Radha Vyas: From £20m revenues to bankruptcy & rebuilding Flash Pack 2.0
Ben Stephenson: Building A Remote-First Startup Disrupting Travel
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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44:31
Simon Franks: The truth behind exiting to Amazon and investing in hyper growth Startups with Redbus Ventures
In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Simon Franks, multi-exited entrepreneur, Managing Partner of early-stage firm, Redbus Ventures and the Founder of Franks Family Foundation, the UK-based charitable organisation.
Simon’s career has been filled with building and scaling some of the most successful businesses in Europe, including as a Founder and now Investor.
Today, he doesn’t just back brilliant businesses like Perkbox and Cleo, but his main focus has been his philanthropic pursuits, through Franks Family Foundation, initiating and developing projects in South East Asia.
Tune in to today’s episode to hear Simon’s first-hand experience of building and scaling high-performing teams and hugely successful businesses, plus hear tons of advice on what sets great Founders apart.
📚 Episode Chapters:
➡️ Early career reflections [06:30]
➡️ Building the European Netflix with Lovefilm [09:45]
➡️ The true feelings behind the exit to Amazon [15:20]
➡️ More about today’s sponsors [17:10]
➡️ Transitioning into VC [20:00]
➡️ The pitfalls of generic business advice [24:00]
➡️ Why you need to fail fast [27:00]
➡️ Patterns in successful Founders [29:30]
➡️ Making a real impact [34:50]
🔍 Find out more:
✨ Connect with Simon: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/frankssimon
✨ More about Redbus Ventures: https://redbus.uk/
✨ More about Franks Family Foundation: https://www.thefff.org/
📣Learn more about today’s sponsor:
Today’s episode is sponsored by Foundation Partners, an Amplified People Group company.
Foundation Partners is reinventing how ambitious, early-stage companies access People & Talent support. They offer a fully flexible, fractional People & Talent team with specialist skillsets and hands-on delivery that starts driving impact in just 2 weeks.
As a 40 Minute Mentor listener, you can book a FREE 1-hour advisory call with a Managing Partner.
Just head to www.foundationpartners.co.uk/contact and reference 40 Minute Mentor.
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
🎧 You may also enjoy:
Nicky Goulimis & Nico Barawid: The serial entrepreneurs stopping scams & building Tunic Pay differently
Lessons Of Resilience: Scaling Love Koffee To Exit and Living Through Made.com’s Collapse with Dimple Patel, CEO of Trouva
Greg Marsh: A $200m+ exit with onefinestay to helping you save on household bills with Nous
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
40 Minute Mentor is on a mission to raise aspirations and inspire the next generation of category-defining Founders, through powerful career stories and inspirational mentorship. From purpose-led Founders to Olympic champions; learn first-hand from today’s successful leaders on what it takes to be brilliant, all in just 40 minutes. 40 Minute Mentor is one of the UK’s top Business and Careers podcasts and can be found on all popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.
Ireland