UKTN | The Podcast

Shelley Taylor, founder of trellyz and RefAid, discusses how coming to the UK from Silicon Valley helped her understand the 'big picture problems', how Big Tech has moved away from its roots as a force for good, and the need for non-profits to think like businesses.  Taylor works with governments and their non-profit partners to provide more efficient coordination for rapid responses. She also created RefAid, a group looking at innovative solutions to address the refugee crisis. Taylor discusses why investors have historically ignored goodwill projects and why global pressure is changing that. 

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, former CEO of Virgin Money, discusses transitioning from running a major financial institution to founding a startup, working with Sir Richard Branson and why in fintech, there's too much emphasis on tech over finance.  Gadhia has held numerous prominent roles throughout her career, including CEO of Salesforce, retail managing director at the Royal Bank of Scotland and founder of Snoop. She discusses overseeing the acquisition of Northern Rock during the financial crisis of 2008 and why women in high-powered roles still earn less than their male counterparts.

Suranga Chandratillake, general partner at Balderton Capital, discusses why narratives about the UK underperforming in funding compared with the giants in the US might not be fair, why more unicorns shouldn't necessarily be considered the main goal for British businesses and why Labour's budget isn't as damning for entrepreneurs as it may seem.  Balderton Capital is a multi-stage venture capital firm that backs companies across every phase of growth. Chandratillake discusses why so far the government's approach to business has been encouraging, though it's still early days, why the London public markets are struggling as so many have claimed and why autonomous vehicle policy is the perfect example of the UK's regulatory strengths. 

Almudena Lara, policy director at Ofcom discusses how social media firms are gearing up for the incoming enforcement of strict rules designed to keep children safe in digital spaces.  Ofcom is the UK's media and communications regulatory body. The watchdog was recently granted new powers in regulating content on the internet via the Online Safety Act. Lara explains why there has been an extended gap between the act passing and the rules being enforced and how AI could become both an incredible tool for content moderation and a dangerous weapon in harmful content creation.