WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.859 Welcome to the Innovation Conversation, a podcast 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:05.419 about innovators, both in business and real life. 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.380 Hosted by myself, Ricardo Rescual and Harry McCona. 00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.699 This podcast is also sponsored by ODEV Tech. 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.640 ODEV Tech is your premier software development 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.019 partner. Make sure you check them out at odev 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:22.399 .tech. The podcast is also sponsored by Notion 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.359 .so. Notion is offering six months for free for 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:27.820 new users. Make sure you check out our website, 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:30.539 thestartupevents .co .uk to read in the software. 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:33.259 Hi, and welcome to another episode of the Innovation 00:00:33.259 --> 00:00:35.820 Conversation. Now, today we are joined by Stephanie 00:00:35.820 --> 00:00:38.119 Melodia. Stephanie, welcome to the podcast. Thank 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:40.759 you for having me. It's a pleasure. Now, Stephanie, 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:43.219 you do quite a lot of stuff, so would you like 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:44.759 to introduce yourself to the audience, please? 00:00:45.100 --> 00:00:47.299 Yeah, let's get the hardest question out the 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:49.640 way first. I am indeed doing a lot of stuff at 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:52.140 the moment. So my intro is definitely need refining, 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:54.840 but basically I ran my own marketing consultancy 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:58.320 for about six years, award winning, working predominantly 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:01.039 with startups, entrepreneurs over the period 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:02.859 of five and a half years with my last business. 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:04.739 My team and I actually counted that we worked 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:07.620 with a hundred plus founders and their scaling 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:11.579 businesses. So that's kind of my world. We work 00:01:11.579 --> 00:01:14.219 with some of the UK's top clients. sorry, clients 00:01:14.219 --> 00:01:17.519 in the top UK startups in the country with work 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.040 featured in the likes of Forbes, Sifted, TechCrunch. 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:23.459 And basically since that chapter, I'm now embracing 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:26.260 the portfolio career and I'm loving it. So I 00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:29.200 do some fractional consultancy work with a handful 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:31.700 of clients. I travel around the world doing some 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:33.900 public speaking, which is really exciting. I 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:36.519 host my own podcast called Strategy and Tragedy. 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:39.680 So maybe check that out after this one. And I 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.780 am a mentor to MBA students in entrepreneurship. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:45.340 So I'm keeping out of trouble, but essentially 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:48.140 my whole world is entrepreneurship. So I'm really 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:50.900 excited to dive into conversation with you today, 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:53.980 Ricardo, and hopefully give your audience, your 00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:56.739 listeners, some inspiration, piles of wisdom, 00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:58.939 and more importantly, some practical tips that's 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:01.239 going to help them start and scale their business. 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:03.859 Yeah. I always love interviewing other podcasters 00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:06.599 because they are always better hosts than I am. 00:02:06.840 --> 00:02:10.560 To see the show, which is awesome. That being 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:12.699 said, how did you get started in this whole thing? 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:14.719 I mean, obviously you have a marketing background. 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:17.159 So what was that journey like to actually launching 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:20.400 your own business? With my own business, it was 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.659 definitely had that entrepreneurial it for a 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:27.560 while. I actually started my first business out 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:31.659 of art school when I was around, I don't know, 00:02:31.860 --> 00:02:34.759 18. I can't remember exactly how old I was, but 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:37.800 I used to sneak into the basement of my art school 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:41.060 and screen print t -shirts and model them on 00:02:41.060 --> 00:02:43.840 my little sister and then flog them via Facebook. 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:45.960 So this is like going back a little bit. This 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:48.400 is, I don't even think Instagram was invented 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.259 back then and Facebook was like the hottest news. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:54.439 I think it had just taken over my space. So for 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:56.719 any of my other like elder millennials, you'll 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:58.879 know what I'm talking about. But that wasn't 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:00.680 really, that was kind of the first pancake as 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:02.840 we say, it wasn't really. a real business that 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:04.960 was literally just me screen printing my t -shirts 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:07.460 in art school. But I guess that was kind of the 00:03:07.460 --> 00:03:10.460 initial kind of like, oh, I can create something, 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:13.759 I can produce. a thing, like a physical product 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:16.960 and I can leverage our internet age in which 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:19.780 we're in now to sell these items and actually 00:03:19.780 --> 00:03:22.500 shift these products. Anyway, I didn't go off 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.080 into like pure entrepreneurship. I then started 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.819 out my career in the creative industries, worked 00:03:27.819 --> 00:03:30.479 agency side for many years. I then transitioned 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:32.300 in house because I really wanted to see it from 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:34.979 both sides of the fence and it was kind of a 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:36.639 box check for me. It was kind of like, okay, 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:41.060 I have worked across various roles in agency 00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:44.210 and for the best part of a decade. One of the 00:03:44.210 --> 00:03:46.430 main roles that I actually had in those agencies 00:03:46.430 --> 00:03:48.569 was business development. And so I think that 00:03:48.569 --> 00:03:50.330 was where that sort of entrepreneurial spirit 00:03:50.330 --> 00:03:52.030 kind of comes out as well. And then it was like, 00:03:52.030 --> 00:03:53.789 okay, now I've seen it on the other side of the 00:03:53.789 --> 00:03:56.229 fence. I've had this in -house role leading marketing 00:03:56.229 --> 00:03:58.689 for, at the time there were top 10 global app 00:03:58.689 --> 00:04:01.189 developers, so a tech company. And it was just 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:04.150 kind of like a number of different things coalesced 00:04:04.150 --> 00:04:06.449 at the right time to make me say, let's just 00:04:06.449 --> 00:04:08.490 go and do it. And what those specific things 00:04:08.490 --> 00:04:12.449 were at the time as I kind of recall, turn my 00:04:12.449 --> 00:04:15.069 mind back to that time was, was going back on 00:04:15.069 --> 00:04:17.149 the interview bandwagon. I was looking for a 00:04:17.149 --> 00:04:20.009 new job and I absolutely hated it. I really, 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:23.170 really hated interviewing. I really hated dealing 00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:26.290 with recruiters. It was such a painful, horrible 00:04:26.290 --> 00:04:31.670 experience. Yeah, exactly. What a surprise. Newsflash, 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:34.709 exactly. And look, I know that no one finds that 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:37.110 an enjoyable experience to begin with, but I 00:04:37.110 --> 00:04:40.379 think there was something about that particular, 00:04:40.379 --> 00:04:43.060 you know, stab at it again, like going back on 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:44.939 the interview circuit, I was like, ah, this is 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:47.899 just like, this is just even more painful than 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:52.029 like the previous times. And, and this was all 00:04:52.029 --> 00:04:54.790 before I was about to turn 29. So for me, it 00:04:54.790 --> 00:04:57.990 was also like turning 30, like the big 3 -0 was 00:04:57.990 --> 00:05:00.430 such a milestone for me. We've obviously got 00:05:00.430 --> 00:05:03.790 things like the Forbes 30 under 30. So that I 00:05:03.790 --> 00:05:05.610 guess was sort of what created a little bit more 00:05:05.610 --> 00:05:08.170 of that sense of urgency, which I think even 00:05:08.170 --> 00:05:10.370 the most motivated and self -disciplined among 00:05:10.370 --> 00:05:13.250 us, I think we still, we still need like a trigger. 00:05:13.310 --> 00:05:15.350 We still need a catalyst. Like something still 00:05:15.350 --> 00:05:19.050 has to happen to take us off the grind, to take 00:05:19.050 --> 00:05:21.079 us. of the usual day to day and be like, no, 00:05:21.180 --> 00:05:23.139 let's just go for it. Like the time is now, let's 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.120 do it. Interesting. I guess when you're born 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:27.439 an entrepreneur, you always have that itch, right? 00:05:27.500 --> 00:05:29.000 You need to scratch the itch one way or the other. 00:05:29.160 --> 00:05:30.839 And then whenever you're applying for a job, 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.000 you think, you know what? It's not really what 00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:34.779 I want. I can do this with my eyes closed, but 00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:37.519 at the same time, I need something else. It's 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:39.399 just not right. And I think just like doubling 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:41.779 down on a really key phrase you just mentioned 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:43.920 there, which was like, if you're born an entrepreneur 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:45.879 I think that opens up an interesting discussion 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.579 as well like I don't believe that like you're 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:50.519 a born entrepreneur you're not I believe that 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:52.920 actually all of us absolutely every single one 00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:56.519 of us have these entrepreneurial traits I believe 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:59.339 that we're all creative in some way or another 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:01.240 I actually can't stand when people say like oh 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:04.269 I'm not a creative person it's like You are like 00:06:04.269 --> 00:06:07.629 it's just a lie that either you or someone else 00:06:07.629 --> 00:06:10.689 in your life has told you and I think that desire 00:06:10.689 --> 00:06:13.589 to like be creative and have a purpose is something 00:06:13.589 --> 00:06:15.910 that is so deeply human to each and every one 00:06:15.910 --> 00:06:20.449 of us I think where the the the step into like 00:06:20.449 --> 00:06:22.689 actual entrepreneurship happens I think is when 00:06:22.689 --> 00:06:25.430 we go into the risk tolerance and part of that 00:06:25.430 --> 00:06:28.529 risk like taking that leap and taking action 00:06:28.529 --> 00:06:32.589 come a recognition that we don't have all the 00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:34.910 time in the world. And so it goes back to what 00:06:34.910 --> 00:06:37.370 I was saying around the urgency, either something 00:06:37.370 --> 00:06:39.930 in your life happens to create that trigger, 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:42.970 whether it's in my instance, like the milestone 00:06:42.970 --> 00:06:45.009 of turning 30 and wanting to start my business 00:06:45.009 --> 00:06:48.430 before that arbitrary milestone, whether you 00:06:48.430 --> 00:06:50.629 lose your job, whether you're made redundant, 00:06:50.910 --> 00:06:53.790 whether like you just happen to meet a co -founder 00:06:53.790 --> 00:06:56.500 that comes to you with an idea. tragically, and 00:06:56.500 --> 00:06:58.899 I hope this doesn't happen to most of the listeners, 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:02.060 what I have also come across is something very 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:04.160 tragic that's happened to someone in their lives, 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:06.019 whether they've they've lost a loved one, for 00:07:06.019 --> 00:07:07.860 example, and that's sort of given them a wake 00:07:07.860 --> 00:07:11.379 up call to realize we do not have all the time 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:15.680 in the world. We do not have limitless like time, 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:17.939 we're not going to live forever. And not only 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:20.310 that, but also I don't know exactly, you know, 00:07:20.370 --> 00:07:22.029 who's listening in on this, but if you're in 00:07:22.029 --> 00:07:25.589 your 20s or 30s, it's such a blessing and a curse 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:28.790 where death feels like such a long way away. 00:07:29.230 --> 00:07:32.470 But at the same time, your 20s and 30s are such 00:07:32.470 --> 00:07:35.569 prime time. You know, these decades, they're 00:07:35.569 --> 00:07:37.509 not, these are apples and oranges that we're 00:07:37.509 --> 00:07:39.089 comparing against each other here. You know, 00:07:39.149 --> 00:07:42.250 it's like someone in their 20s does not have 00:07:42.250 --> 00:07:46.139 the energy and the risk tolerance. to someone 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:48.759 maybe in their 50s or 60s. Like, obviously, it's 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:51.160 a sweeping generalization here. Of course, if 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:53.759 you are in your 50s and 60s, you've got experience, 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:55.680 you've got everything else. But I would argue, 00:07:55.740 --> 00:07:57.860 actually, the younger, the better, the younger, 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.000 the better, because you've got time on your side, 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:02.220 you've got energy on your side, and you're in 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:04.680 a position, usually more often than not, to take 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:07.420 more risk. So if you are in your 20s and 30s 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:10.459 listening to this, I'm here to tell you one thing, 00:08:10.459 --> 00:08:12.980 and that is you're gonna die one day. So start 00:08:12.980 --> 00:08:15.199 your business now. There's a whole thing about 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.519 the Stokes, was it Memento Mori? Yes, exactly. 00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:20.939 Remember, you're going to die, right? And that's 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:23.139 very powerful, but also very scary. Exactly. 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:24.939 It's likely for everything. Might as well make 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:28.180 the good choices. It needs to be scary. We need 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:32.100 to have these deeper emotions to impact us enough 00:08:32.100 --> 00:08:34.960 in order to take action. Because if it isn't 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.580 scary enough, you will stay in your comfort zone 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:43.970 and comfort is a killer. as much as nobody likes 00:08:43.970 --> 00:08:46.029 to talk about it and it's obviously a taboo and 00:08:46.029 --> 00:08:47.850 it's horrible and we're not gonna you know no 00:08:47.850 --> 00:08:49.590 one wants to go there i'm going there within 00:08:49.590 --> 00:08:51.590 the first five ten minutes of this conversation 00:08:51.590 --> 00:08:54.250 because it's reality it's real it's one thing 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:56.830 that unites every single one of us we are not 00:08:56.830 --> 00:08:59.690 here forever and so you know when we look at 00:08:59.690 --> 00:09:02.629 things like money i don't i need to like raise 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:05.070 funds for my business or you know am i going 00:09:05.070 --> 00:09:07.049 to bootstrap have i got enough savings whatever 00:09:07.049 --> 00:09:08.950 it is it's like one thing you won't ever get 00:09:08.950 --> 00:09:14.100 back is your time But that's the thing, is that 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:16.860 perception of we only realize how much time we 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:19.679 had and how much time we lost when it's too late. 00:09:20.179 --> 00:09:22.100 Exactly. When we spend the whole weekend, for 00:09:22.100 --> 00:09:23.600 example, you know, now is the time because it's 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:25.100 winter, obviously, and a lot of people spend 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.220 a lot of time binge watching whatever it is on 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:29.480 Netflix, right? What we don't realize is that 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:32.480 the pleasure we get from that is not even equivalent 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:35.440 to the pleasure we would get from being our own 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:37.019 bosses or from doing something we're actually 00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:39.539 very passionate about. And that's, you're never 00:09:39.539 --> 00:09:41.460 going to get that time back. But yeah, it's hard. 00:09:42.179 --> 00:09:44.919 It's the difference between, look, I don't want 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:47.440 to condone hustle culture. Like I was Netflix 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:49.720 binging last night as well, right? So it's like, 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:54.379 right? So it's like, we still need to relax and 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:58.519 switch off and recharge 1000%. So I think it's 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:02.720 important to recognize, are we binging Netflix 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:08.110 for that relaxation? Or are we doing it to escape 00:10:08.110 --> 00:10:12.169 a day -to -day grind that we don't like, that 00:10:12.169 --> 00:10:15.110 we hate? Exactly, right? So I think that's the 00:10:15.110 --> 00:10:16.690 thing is like, if there's something wrong with 00:10:16.690 --> 00:10:20.009 your current situation, use that time productively 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:23.049 to get out of that situation instead of Netflix 00:10:23.049 --> 00:10:25.590 binging. Or if you are in the grind and you are 00:10:25.590 --> 00:10:28.720 in those early days, in the same breath, Don't 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:31.039 beat yourself up and don't feel guilty for taking 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.960 that time out because you're no good to anyone 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.320 if you're burnt out. It brings me to a very, 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:38.340 I always love asking this question, which is 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:41.200 I know you do a lot of stuff and how do you manage 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:43.639 to balance things out? Because we all have horrible 00:10:43.639 --> 00:10:46.340 days, weeks, months where things are just too 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:48.440 much and there's like, you know, you keep on 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.960 having dodgeballs thrown at you. So how do you 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:52.519 manage that? How do you find that balance? That's 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:54.259 a great question. I love that question, Ricardo. 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.399 So one of my favorite sayings in the world of 00:10:57.399 --> 00:11:00.480 entrepreneurship is startups don't die, they 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:04.340 drown. And what that forces overwhelmed entrepreneurs 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:07.799 to do is to learn the art of prioritization. 00:11:08.700 --> 00:11:10.700 So going back to that phrase, startups don't 00:11:10.700 --> 00:11:14.779 die, they drown. You will constantly have things 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:18.220 to do all the time. Like we are all chronically 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:21.679 busy. We never have enough time. We said this 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:23.440 before we started recording, like we're both 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.299 super busy. We're plate spinning. We're not getting 00:11:25.299 --> 00:11:27.659 enough sleep. Like everyone relates to this. 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:30.679 So it forces you, like the reality is, is like, 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:33.299 you'll get to a point where you realize you can't 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:35.159 do everything. And they're just literally are 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:36.980 not the hours in the day. And what I talk about 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:39.559 more than time management is energy management. 00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:42.379 So I do believe that if you have, if you set 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:44.740 yourself up for success, where you get a good 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:46.779 night's sleep, you're well nourished, you're 00:11:46.779 --> 00:11:48.460 well rested. I know that's going to sound like 00:11:48.460 --> 00:11:51.200 a distant dream to a lot of people. But if you 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:53.220 take care of those basics and those fundamentals 00:11:53.220 --> 00:11:56.059 and you set yourself up for having like a very 00:11:56.059 --> 00:11:59.159 highly productive one hour You're gonna get so 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:00.580 much more done You're gonna make so much more 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:03.460 progress than an eight -hour slog where you're 00:12:03.460 --> 00:12:05.320 just trying to like get through the day, right? 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.460 So I think that's one thing is like energy management 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:12.200 versus time management zone neglect those fundamentals 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:15.679 of a good night's rest, of eating right, of getting 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:18.120 in the right headspace, so then when you're ready 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:20.799 to attack the day, you're there and you're operating 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:23.360 at your, at your most optimum, you know, in your 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:25.460 most optimum mode. Coming back to the art of 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:27.299 prioritisation, this is something that each of 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:29.580 us need to recognise is because there are limited 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:32.360 hours in the day and then to -do list is never 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:34.919 ending. You're never gonna get to the end of 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:36.179 it. You literally you're never gonna get to the 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:39.899 end of it a Revolutionary book for me that absolutely 00:12:39.899 --> 00:12:42.879 Changed my whole view on this. I cannot recommend 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:45.620 this book highly enough four thousand weeks by 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:48.799 Oliver Berkman There was this one line in this 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.320 book that really switched on this light bulb 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:53.519 in my head Which was you are never gonna get 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:56.340 to the end of this to -do list Your inbox by 00:12:56.340 --> 00:12:58.899 the way, your email inbox is everyone else's 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:04.419 to -do list. It's not your to -do list So recognizing 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:07.600 both the fact that there are limited hours in 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:10.299 the day and going more deeply what we're talking 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:12.399 about before, there's only limited life that 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:14.899 we've got on this planet with this limited time 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:16.919 that we have, whether it's your day, your week, 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:20.139 your month, or your lifetime, these are constraints 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:22.240 that are going to have to force us to master 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.960 the art of prioritization. So it's taking that 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.360 step back and recognizing, I'm not going to get 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:30.840 everything done today. So ask yourself. What 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:33.759 are going to be the biggest needle movers? What 00:13:33.759 --> 00:13:36.659 if I managed to do one thing today? And that's 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:38.000 another book as well. I can't remember the name 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:39.559 of it, but that's another book which talks about 00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:41.419 just like the one thing. I think that's that 00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:43.379 is the title of it. I actually think I have it 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:46.419 somewhere. Yeah, right. It's one of the classics. 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:51.120 Exactly. Right. So what's one thing that you 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.740 can do today that is going to move the needle 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:56.840 in the direction that you want to take it? The 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:58.860 other great exercise that I discovered working 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:01.019 with an amazing business coach with my last company 00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:05.759 was do a brain dump of all of the tasks, activities 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.679 that take up the time of your day, like everything, 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.799 like responding to emails, scheduling appointments, 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:14.720 being on podcasts, working on proposals, like 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:17.840 whatever it is, like write it all down. And next 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:21.399 to it, assign a value of that task. Like how 00:14:21.399 --> 00:14:24.379 much is this task actually worth? And a good 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:27.190 way to actually, like, yeah, quantify how much 00:14:27.190 --> 00:14:29.649 it is, is to think if you had to outsource that 00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:31.929 particular task, how much would it cost them 00:14:31.929 --> 00:14:35.230 to do on like an hourly rate, for example. So 00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:37.909 is this an admin task that, for example, like 00:14:37.909 --> 00:14:40.590 could be outsourced to a VA for 20 pounds an 00:14:40.590 --> 00:14:43.590 hour, let's say, for example, right? You go through 00:14:43.590 --> 00:14:47.049 that and the tasks that are high value that only 00:14:47.049 --> 00:14:50.519 you can do yourself, whether that is building 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:52.379 your personal brand, being in the face of the 00:14:52.379 --> 00:14:55.639 business, networking, pitching to customers, 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:58.200 pitching to investors. Those are things you cannot 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:01.200 outsource. Those are your top priority tasks 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.460 as the founder of the business. And so that also 00:15:04.460 --> 00:15:07.100 provides you with that clarity to say, okay, 00:15:07.500 --> 00:15:10.600 everything outside of that, what can I do to 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:15.500 either eliminate, delegate or automate? Eliminate, 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:17.980 delegate, automate. Can I just take this off 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:20.799 my plate entirely? Does it really need to be 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:23.440 done? Is it a valuable task? Or is it something 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:25.980 that, if I'm really honest with myself, is something 00:15:25.980 --> 00:15:27.659 that I just like to do, or have just got into 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:29.500 the habit of doing? Do you really need to do 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:33.120 it? Delegate. Can I delegate? I said to a VA 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.679 before, is it a VA? Is it a social media manager? 00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:38.340 Is it a strategist? Is it whatever? Like, are 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:41.220 there other people out there that maybe can even 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:45.190 do it better than I can do it myself? If it's 00:15:45.190 --> 00:15:46.590 valuable enough and if there's going to be enough 00:15:46.590 --> 00:15:49.149 of an ROI on that particular task, then it's 00:15:49.149 --> 00:15:51.330 worth outsourcing it. So I think there's also 00:15:51.330 --> 00:15:53.230 kind of a money mindset with this as well is 00:15:53.230 --> 00:15:55.590 like, yes, it's going to cost to outsource to 00:15:55.590 --> 00:15:58.590 somebody, but if it frees you up to do the more 00:15:58.590 --> 00:16:01.830 valuable needle moving tasks and it's worth it. 00:16:02.389 --> 00:16:04.450 And then finally, the automation, are there things 00:16:04.450 --> 00:16:06.909 that you can automate in this day and age? Yes, 00:16:07.070 --> 00:16:09.490 there is so much that we can do to automate. 00:16:10.029 --> 00:16:12.250 So look at, in that instance, that would be looking 00:16:12.250 --> 00:16:16.629 specifically at repeatable systems that you can. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.379 that you can put some automation kind of tools 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:23.700 in to, again, take that off your plate. So in 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:27.159 summary, knowing that we're all so busy, we've 00:16:27.159 --> 00:16:30.820 got never -ending to -do lists. Number one, recognize 00:16:30.820 --> 00:16:32.419 you're never gonna get to the end of this to 00:16:32.419 --> 00:16:35.720 -do list. It's never -ending. That needs to force 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:39.259 you to master the art of prioritization. So where 00:16:39.259 --> 00:16:41.080 do you need to focus? What's the one thing that's 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:43.480 gonna be a needle mover for you today, tomorrow, 00:16:43.580 --> 00:16:46.139 this week? and just understand that the rest 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:49.679 is going to have to slide. Within that is go 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:51.860 through that exercise of mapping out all of these 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:54.120 tasks and activities that take up your time and 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:56.820 look at what can you eliminate, automate, delegate 00:16:56.820 --> 00:17:00.679 in the process because startups don't die, they 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:03.940 drown. Interesting. Very powerful. All right. 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:07.779 What do you do when you have a horrendous day? 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:10.900 You personally, like how do you get your mojo 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:14.039 back, so to speak? horrendous in terms of like 00:17:14.039 --> 00:17:16.039 back to back calls or like something horrible 00:17:16.039 --> 00:17:18.000 happening to me. No, no, as in you, you kind 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.420 of, you hit a wall. You hit a wall in your business. 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:22.319 You hit a wall in the way you're doing things. 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:24.720 What do you do then? Okay. All right. Love this. 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:27.420 I do. And I've learned this the hard way. It 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:30.579 is, it is a hard lesson to learn. I do the opposite 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:33.299 of what you feel you should do in those moments. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:36.299 So in those moments where I've got a horrendous 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:39.960 day, all I want to do is like power through and 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:42.690 I'm just like I'm trying to do this, trying to 00:17:42.690 --> 00:17:44.490 do that. Someone's asked me for a call. Okay, 00:17:44.549 --> 00:17:45.970 yeah, what do you want? Like pick up the phone 00:17:45.970 --> 00:17:48.210 and then more emails are coming in and I'm like, 00:17:48.269 --> 00:17:50.009 yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just trying to like get 00:17:50.009 --> 00:17:53.170 through this. What's happening is not only are 00:17:53.170 --> 00:17:55.329 you running yourself into the ground because 00:17:55.329 --> 00:17:57.170 there's also this interesting research around 00:17:57.170 --> 00:17:59.650 multitasking and how much that drains the brain 00:17:59.650 --> 00:18:02.069 and how long it takes to like refocus when you're 00:18:02.069 --> 00:18:03.849 just like spinning all these plates. I'm the 00:18:03.849 --> 00:18:05.769 worst at this by the way, as much as I'm here 00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:08.269 like preaching and giving advice, I am also the 00:18:08.269 --> 00:18:10.509 worst at it. So I think that's also where... 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:12.400 i'm kind of weirdly the best person to give the 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:15.019 advice on that front because i'm such a like 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:16.740 multitasking plate spinner and i just want to 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:18.839 like crack on with it it's the worst thing you 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:21.200 can do because not only are you driving yourself 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:24.019 into the ground by mentally exhausting yourself 00:18:24.019 --> 00:18:27.460 but also it creates a bit of a snowball effect 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:29.839 because the more that you are like yeah okay 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:31.539 and you get back to people quickly and you respond 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:33.299 to their emails and you pick up the phone and 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:34.700 slack messages are coming in and you respond 00:18:34.700 --> 00:18:37.640 to that email guess what the quicker they're 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:41.059 coming back at you so When I say the best thing 00:18:41.059 --> 00:18:43.220 to do is the opposite of what you instinctively 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:46.000 want to do in that moment It's taking a step 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.079 back. It's going outside It's taking a walk and 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.440 then coming back at it with fresh eyes Recharged 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:56.440 and with focus the great analogy here that I 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.380 always love to use is Ricardo have you ever been 00:18:59.380 --> 00:19:01.480 skiing or snowboarding before any like winter 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:06.119 sports? I've been on the slopes. They taught 00:19:06.119 --> 00:19:08.019 me how to break. And then I said, I want to go 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:09.220 up the hill. They said, no, because you're going 00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:11.039 to kill yourself and 10 other people. So that 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:15.539 was it. That's my whole experience. So was this 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:18.640 skiing or snowboarding? Sorry. It was skiing, 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.839 and apparently I have a gigantic foot because 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:24.200 the boots were too tight. It was a horrible pain 00:19:24.200 --> 00:19:27.279 for a good 45 minutes. I said, no, that's not 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:29.220 fun. So you discovered you've got a big foot 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:31.380 in the process. All right, that's hilarious. 00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:33.299 What I discovered, so I haven't done skiing, 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.660 I've done snowboarding. I'm more of a board sports 00:19:35.660 --> 00:19:37.619 type of person because I've got what's called 00:19:37.619 --> 00:19:40.279 a low center of gravity, Ricardo. You've met 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:42.079 me in person, so you've seen how small I am. 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:44.140 So board sports work well for me, right? Like 00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:46.799 I've got a low center of gravity. What I learned 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:51.380 with snowboarding is, and for any other snowboarders 00:19:51.380 --> 00:19:52.980 here, you'll get what I mean, but I'll describe 00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:55.140 it if you haven't anyway, right? As soon as you 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:58.380 start to turn the board down the slopes, it might 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:00.039 be similar with skiing as well, right? So you 00:20:00.039 --> 00:20:02.579 can let me know. As soon as you start to turn, 00:20:03.460 --> 00:20:06.279 you go faster and faster down the slope, right? 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.200 Because you're at that angle and you're going 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:11.579 down and you're going down that kind of precipice. 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:15.000 When you're in that moment, Every single cell 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.220 in your body instinctively wants to pull back. 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:20.519 Because like you want to slow down you want to 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:22.000 be like it's going too fast like I want to pull 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.519 back like hang on a minute like let me get it 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.099 that's the worst thing that you could do because 00:20:26.099 --> 00:20:28.559 actually what happens is this is where there's 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:30.779 a really clear parallel in this analogy here 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:33.460 is as you're pulling yourself back you're straining 00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:35.660 your body and it's just not a great angle for 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:37.220 you because you're like pulling down one side 00:20:37.220 --> 00:20:39.599 and you're scrunching up down the other but also 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:42.619 by doing that you're going faster you're going 00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:44.900 faster down the slope because you're actually 00:20:44.900 --> 00:20:48.859 becoming more aerodynamic leaning back but like 00:20:48.859 --> 00:20:50.160 you feel like you want to lean back because you 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:52.420 want to slow down and so it's the exact same 00:20:52.420 --> 00:20:54.579 here with the emails and the messages and getting 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:57.039 back it's like you're snow you're making it go 00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:58.559 faster down the slope and what you want to do 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:01.559 is you want to slow down and so with the snowboarding 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:03.619 what you want to do you want to go against that 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:06.480 instinct and you want to lean into it even more 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:10.980 to cut the curve to cut that like s shape to 00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:14.289 make that curve so you go back to being like 00:21:14.289 --> 00:21:16.769 at a perpendicular angle to the slope right I'm 00:21:16.769 --> 00:21:18.650 trying to describe it verbally if people aren't 00:21:18.650 --> 00:21:21.309 seeing all of my hand gestures and all my movements 00:21:21.309 --> 00:21:24.289 with this so you want to lean into it to cut 00:21:24.289 --> 00:21:27.410 and curve so that you make that s shape gradually 00:21:27.410 --> 00:21:29.740 like down the slope I hope people are getting 00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:32.019 that, are getting how I'm explaining it. So that's 00:21:32.019 --> 00:21:35.059 the analogy here, right? Is instead of like leaning 00:21:35.059 --> 00:21:36.720 away and wanting to slow down, you actually need 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:38.960 to kind of do the opposite to what you think 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:40.819 instinctively you need to do and just kind of 00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:42.440 be like, right, I need to peace out for a sec. 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:44.680 I need to take a break. I need to go for some, 00:21:44.980 --> 00:21:48.259 for a walk, get some fresh air, recharge, reenergize 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:51.880 and refocus. That's the key thing. So your advice 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:53.819 is don't go in a straight line down the slopes. 00:21:55.410 --> 00:21:57.170 never go in a straight line. I don't think any 00:21:57.170 --> 00:21:59.130 of the entrepreneurial listeners here would be 00:21:59.130 --> 00:22:01.349 going in a straight line anyway. Yeah, and I 00:22:01.349 --> 00:22:02.809 was trying to do the same thing in the ski slopes. 00:22:03.009 --> 00:22:05.430 That's probably why they didn't let me. Oh, yeah, 00:22:05.490 --> 00:22:08.130 no, I completely get that. No, tell me about 00:22:08.130 --> 00:22:10.269 this podcast of yours, because obviously, it's 00:22:10.269 --> 00:22:11.750 quite successful. You have, you know, quite a 00:22:11.750 --> 00:22:14.450 lot of viewers and listeners. I know there's 00:22:14.450 --> 00:22:17.450 a country in the Nordics, which has crazy viewership 00:22:17.450 --> 00:22:19.690 numbers, which is always good. How do you get 00:22:19.690 --> 00:22:21.210 started with the podcast? I mean, I know how 00:22:21.210 --> 00:22:22.960 you get started with the podcast, but Tell the 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:24.319 audience how you got started. How you guys about 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:26.720 it? Yeah, absolutely. Well, it's called strategy 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.440 and tragedy. And as the name indicates, it is 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:33.279 very much shining a light on the realities of 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.079 what it takes to be an entrepreneur, you know, 00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:36.839 similar to what you're doing here with this great 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:39.900 show to Ricardo. And where it was born from was 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:42.079 again, I mentioned in the intro, I ran my own 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:44.779 marketing consultancy for startups. And what 00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:48.420 that did was it put me in a very privileged position 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:52.240 of being at the epicenter of all of these entrepreneurs. 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:54.319 Not only that, but something else I need to mention 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:56.579 to your listeners too, is that I'm also a VC 00:22:56.579 --> 00:22:58.819 scout for an early stage venture capital firm 00:22:58.819 --> 00:23:01.460 called Ada Ventures. And they focus on early 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:04.799 stage pre -launch, pre -seed startups. So if 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:06.480 anyone's interested, if anyone wants to check 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.140 them out and send me their pitch deck, I would 00:23:08.140 --> 00:23:10.279 absolutely love to take a look at it. And so, 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:12.359 going back to the idea, this was the worst idea 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:15.339 you could have had like goodbye inbox. That's 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:16.940 going to be completely overflowing and stuff 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:19.240 right now. Send it to me, send it to me. If you're 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:20.579 interested, please send it, if you're listening 00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:23.339 to this, please send it of course. My email is 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:27.900 Stephanie, S -T -E -P -H -A -N -I -E at bloom, 00:23:27.900 --> 00:23:31.859 B -L -O -O L -T -D dot co dot UK. Stephanie at 00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:33.599 bloom, L -T -D dot co dot UK. I would love to 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:35.059 see your pitch deck if you want to send it over 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:37.920 to me. So that was basically the context. So 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.059 I'm sat. at the epicenter of all of these founders, 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:44.059 some are fundraising, some are scaling, some 00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:46.220 are venture backed, some are like on their way 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:49.680 to unicorn status. And I also have the VC hat 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:51.839 on as a scout for the venture capital firm that 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:53.960 I mentioned. And, you know, what I was seeing 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:56.900 is alongside this actual work that we were doing 00:23:56.900 --> 00:24:01.400 behind closed doors, there was this really contrasted 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:04.769 dichotomy where you would then Go on to LinkedIn 00:24:04.769 --> 00:24:07.849 or you would get like a sifted newsletter and 00:24:07.849 --> 00:24:10.490 you would see the shiny veneer and entrepreneurship 00:24:10.490 --> 00:24:14.430 has been so glamorized and It was just two completely 00:24:14.430 --> 00:24:16.289 different worlds, right? Like you go on to LinkedIn 00:24:16.289 --> 00:24:18.309 and you see the humble bragging You see that 00:24:18.309 --> 00:24:20.170 someone has raised like 10 million pounds for 00:24:20.170 --> 00:24:22.190 their business or someone's like doubled the 00:24:22.190 --> 00:24:23.990 size of their team or whatever And I just think 00:24:23.990 --> 00:24:28.609 it's so so easy to get that green -eyed monster 00:24:28.609 --> 00:24:31.640 flared up to think that Everyone else has got 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:33.680 it figured out that everyone else is doing better 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.220 than you are. And it's not the case at all. It's 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.640 not the case whatsoever. So strategy and tragedy 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.480 was born from that, which is the highs, the lows, 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:44.819 the realities of what it actually takes to launch 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:48.750 and scale a business. And I'm very. Very happy. 00:24:48.930 --> 00:24:50.910 I'm so incredibly like, I don't even believe 00:24:50.910 --> 00:24:53.170 it. I'm very happy to say that the show is now 00:24:53.170 --> 00:24:56.730 in the top 20 of business charts in the UK. It's 00:24:56.730 --> 00:24:59.670 top five for female hosted shows because yet 00:24:59.670 --> 00:25:01.650 again, it's another male dominated space for 00:25:01.650 --> 00:25:04.289 some reason. So not hard for me to be in the 00:25:04.289 --> 00:25:07.509 top five. Um, and I've had some. That's not entirely 00:25:07.509 --> 00:25:10.569 true. I'm sorry. You're too kind, Ricardo, you're 00:25:10.569 --> 00:25:14.269 lovely. And I'm really, really happy to say that 00:25:14.269 --> 00:25:15.609 like one of the best things about the show is 00:25:15.609 --> 00:25:17.549 the guests that I've been able to interview. 00:25:17.630 --> 00:25:20.329 So I've had the likes of Simon Squibb is maybe 00:25:20.329 --> 00:25:23.150 one of the more famous names, Nell Daly, Matt 00:25:23.150 --> 00:25:27.690 Lerner, Lottie White, Maya Raichura, Maxine Laceby, 00:25:27.970 --> 00:25:30.990 Simon Franks, Ranbir Aurora, just like the list 00:25:30.990 --> 00:25:32.390 goes on and on and on, right? So I'm not sure 00:25:32.390 --> 00:25:34.650 if any of these names are familiar to any of 00:25:34.650 --> 00:25:37.529 our listeners. Maxine, I heard she's a collagen 00:25:37.529 --> 00:25:39.799 lady, right? Yeah. Yeah, cool. You've heard of 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:43.319 her. So Maxine Laceby, she is about to be 60 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:45.420 years old. And so this is another thing that 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:47.380 I love to do. And great skin, by the way. That's 00:25:47.380 --> 00:25:49.119 the most impressive thing. It really does actually 00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:51.339 work. Yeah, it actually does work. So she is 00:25:51.339 --> 00:25:54.200 a fantastic poster girl for her business. Absolutely. 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:56.519 And I'm really, you know, I'm really keen to 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:58.799 prioritize. diversity on the show as well. And 00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:01.180 diversity doesn't just mean gender and race, 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:05.000 but it also means ability and neurodiversity 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:08.299 and age. So, you know, I've had someone as young 00:26:08.299 --> 00:26:11.180 as, you know, in their early 20s, again, Forbes 00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:15.099 30 under 30 founder to the likes of Maxine, she's 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:16.579 definitely not the oldest, you know, she's about 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:19.299 to be 60 years old, but I've also had like, Nigel 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:22.319 Morris, I think he's 67. So, you know, I want 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:24.259 to make sure that there is that breadth. and 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:26.740 that diversity of guests on there. But I mean, 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:28.099 yeah, you know, that's a great example. Like 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:30.960 Maxine Laisby, she started the business from 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:34.420 her kitchen, literally. She remortgaged her house. 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:37.380 She had kids. She was divorced. And so going 00:26:37.380 --> 00:26:40.460 back to that risk tolerance, right? It's like 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:43.380 you, you know that saying of like, oh, go the 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:46.160 extra mile. It's never crowded there. Actually, 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:48.279 there's, there's a parallel here with like the 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:51.880 risk. Like the more risk you take, the less crowded 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:55.490 it's going to be because Not everyone can escape 00:26:55.490 --> 00:26:58.369 that comfort zone. So the fact that she, you 00:26:58.369 --> 00:27:00.549 know, was ballsy enough to remortgage her house, 00:27:00.650 --> 00:27:02.930 I'm not saying everyone should do that. And I'm 00:27:02.930 --> 00:27:04.609 also not saying that it's definitely going to 00:27:04.609 --> 00:27:07.029 work out if you do that. Like it's a risk. It's 00:27:07.029 --> 00:27:09.769 a risk for a reason, but you know, the bigger 00:27:09.769 --> 00:27:12.730 the swing you take, you know, it's risk versus 00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:15.690 reward, isn't it? That was a great episode, so 00:27:15.690 --> 00:27:17.009 definitely listen to that interview if you're 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:19.150 interested. After this one, after you've already 00:27:19.150 --> 00:27:22.809 subscribed to Ricardo's show first. No, but I 00:27:22.809 --> 00:27:24.930 completely get what you're saying about when 00:27:24.930 --> 00:27:27.450 you interview different people, the things you 00:27:27.450 --> 00:27:29.990 get out of them is actually super powerful, super 00:27:29.990 --> 00:27:31.789 insightful because you get to talk with them 00:27:31.789 --> 00:27:33.589 and they actually tell you about their hopes, 00:27:33.690 --> 00:27:35.710 their aspirations, their dreams, but also their 00:27:35.710 --> 00:27:37.309 pain points, what they've been struggling with, 00:27:37.329 --> 00:27:39.829 how they manage to overcome failures before that. 00:27:39.829 --> 00:27:43.079 Yeah. And being able to listen to that. I mean, 00:27:43.319 --> 00:27:45.220 there's tons of podcasts, you know, I think I'm 00:27:45.220 --> 00:27:46.859 blessed to be able to do that. I'm pretty sure 00:27:46.859 --> 00:27:48.779 you feel the same way, which is it's even better 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:50.160 than reading a book because you actually get 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:52.440 to talk to the author straight away. Right. Yeah. 00:27:52.599 --> 00:27:54.599 So yeah, it's, it's, it's a lot of fun. I love 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.019 the podcast. I love that. And I think with the 00:27:57.019 --> 00:28:00.599 diversity of the guests, it's important for obvious 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.740 reasons in representation, but also in terms 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:05.519 of my listeners, my listeners are also, they're 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:08.299 so diverse too. So one might resonate more with 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:10.720 Maxine. One might resonate more with Maya Ritura 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:13.279 or Simon Franks or Simon Squibb or whoever. So, 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:16.269 so there's that, but there's also who I am as 00:28:16.269 --> 00:28:18.769 a person as well. Like I'm so, I'm so interested. 00:28:19.049 --> 00:28:21.470 I have such a voracious appetite for hearing 00:28:21.470 --> 00:28:23.250 these different stories and different walks of 00:28:23.250 --> 00:28:26.150 life. And I think that if you have that mental 00:28:26.150 --> 00:28:31.369 ability to take certain pieces of advice and 00:28:31.369 --> 00:28:33.309 insights from different people, like of course, 00:28:33.490 --> 00:28:36.450 you know, Nigel Morris's story, he's a, he's 00:28:36.450 --> 00:28:39.509 a white guy born in the sixties. Like I'm not 00:28:39.509 --> 00:28:42.069 going to completely relate to his journey, but 00:28:42.069 --> 00:28:45.039 I'm going to I like open minded and flexible 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:48.440 enough to pick certain elements of what he's 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:50.900 done and what he's learned and apply that to 00:28:50.900 --> 00:28:53.079 to myself. So I hope that my listeners can do 00:28:53.079 --> 00:28:55.779 that as well. But what's interesting about, you 00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:59.000 know, diversity is not not diversity per se. 00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:00.779 But what's interesting when you interview a lot 00:29:00.779 --> 00:29:02.619 of people is that regardless of where they're 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:05.480 coming from, and you know, whatever background 00:29:05.480 --> 00:29:07.539 they have, they kind of always face the same 00:29:07.539 --> 00:29:09.640 challenges. Yeah. So they still need to manage 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:11.779 risk. They still need to manage a lot of setbacks. 00:29:11.980 --> 00:29:14.019 They still need to have a dream and an ambition. 00:29:14.420 --> 00:29:16.000 And what they start off, you know, it's never 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.579 what they got to end up with. So it's, it's, 00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:22.019 it's, that's a common thread. Yeah. I mean, what 00:29:22.019 --> 00:29:25.990 I do feel compelled to set that point is the 00:29:25.990 --> 00:29:29.069 race is not the same for everyone. Yes, we do 00:29:29.069 --> 00:29:32.609 come up against adversity, but we have seen, 00:29:32.609 --> 00:29:35.390 you know, only 2 % of VC funding went to went 00:29:35.390 --> 00:29:37.750 to women last year, for example. And so there 00:29:37.750 --> 00:29:40.470 are unconscious biases and there are, it is a 00:29:40.470 --> 00:29:42.990 harder fight for some more than others. And I 00:29:42.990 --> 00:29:46.170 think that's where stories of women, female founders 00:29:46.170 --> 00:29:48.730 or people from different backgrounds and from 00:29:48.730 --> 00:29:51.130 ethnic minorities or whatever, like anything 00:29:51.130 --> 00:29:53.710 that kind of goes against that. is even more 00:29:53.710 --> 00:29:55.809 inspirational, right? Because what we need to 00:29:55.809 --> 00:29:57.490 be careful of, and this is why I always try and 00:29:57.490 --> 00:30:00.450 toe this line between, yes, you're absolutely 00:30:00.450 --> 00:30:03.009 right. Everyone has gone through their own challenges, 00:30:03.269 --> 00:30:06.130 their own kind of squiggly journey. It has been 00:30:06.130 --> 00:30:08.130 harder for some more than others just due to 00:30:08.130 --> 00:30:10.609 the way that the world works and people's unconscious 00:30:10.609 --> 00:30:14.009 bias and stuff. But what I want to make sure 00:30:14.009 --> 00:30:17.440 I... end this note on is that they don't assume 00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:20.160 victimhood in that process. So they don't allow 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:23.180 that to get in their way. So for the likes of 00:30:23.180 --> 00:30:26.180 Maxine Laceby or Lottie White, they are proving 00:30:26.180 --> 00:30:28.339 that they are, you know, their outliers for a 00:30:28.339 --> 00:30:30.500 reason, and they are they're not letting that 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:33.339 story get in the way of their success. So as 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:35.319 much as so that's kind of the line I want to 00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:38.700 toe here, which is recognize is like the recognition 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:40.980 that it's harder for some more than others, but 00:30:40.980 --> 00:30:44.069 at the same time. don't let that stop you and 00:30:44.069 --> 00:30:46.789 don't assume victimhood along the way. Yeah. 00:30:46.930 --> 00:30:48.809 But that's, but that's, that's a powerful message, 00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:51.230 isn't it? Just saying we all have our issues 00:30:51.230 --> 00:30:53.049 and keep pushing forward. That's, that's quite 00:30:53.049 --> 00:30:56.369 strong. Now when it comes to advice for startups, 00:30:57.009 --> 00:30:59.470 you know, I'm sure you've seen many startups 00:30:59.470 --> 00:31:01.970 doing something, many things, you know, immensely 00:31:01.970 --> 00:31:04.210 wrong. What are the top tips you would give for 00:31:04.210 --> 00:31:05.769 a start, just getting started, listening to the 00:31:05.769 --> 00:31:07.529 podcast, saying, you know, let me get some insights. 00:31:08.029 --> 00:31:09.549 What do you actually advise them on in the beginning? 00:31:09.630 --> 00:31:12.869 Because we, we kind of heard your, your, um, 00:31:12.869 --> 00:31:14.829 I guess your metaphor or your analogy between 00:31:14.829 --> 00:31:17.549 you don't kind of, you kind of drown in problems. 00:31:17.630 --> 00:31:19.970 So how do you, what are the top five things? 00:31:20.509 --> 00:31:22.069 Yeah. Okay. Fantastic. All right. Well, I've 00:31:22.069 --> 00:31:25.039 got different pearls of wisdom that I can give 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:27.119 entrepreneurs depending on where they're at exactly 00:31:27.119 --> 00:31:30.640 in the journey. If you are starting out, if you're 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:34.000 kind of early days, actually, let me start, okay, 00:31:34.059 --> 00:31:35.900 let me start from, if you're thinking, I'm going 00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:37.299 to go even earlier, okay, I'm going to try and 00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:39.480 give like one pearl of wisdom for like each stage. 00:31:40.140 --> 00:31:44.740 If you are, like you haven't even started, you're 00:31:44.740 --> 00:31:46.759 thinking about maybe doing something. You've 00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:49.160 got an entrepreneurial itch. You think, cool, 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:51.059 like this is for me. I don't want the day job 00:31:51.059 --> 00:31:53.160 anymore. I want to set up something. What I would 00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:57.819 say is, is that people put way too much emphasis 00:31:57.819 --> 00:32:01.160 on the idea. People think they need to have either 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:04.039 a great idea or they need to have something that 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:06.519 hasn't been done before, something that's really 00:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.339 unique. That's completely wrong. That is a myth 00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:11.920 that I want to bust here on this show. a successful 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.779 business, the idea is almost the least to do 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:17.099 with it. The important thing that you want to 00:32:17.099 --> 00:32:18.539 prioritize if you're trying to come up with a 00:32:18.539 --> 00:32:22.640 business idea, solving somebody's problem. So 00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:25.279 entrepreneurship is not about you. It's about 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:28.420 them. This is like newsflash. It's not about 00:32:28.420 --> 00:32:30.200 you. It's about your customers. It's about the 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:33.619 market. So instead of asking yourself, what's 00:32:33.619 --> 00:32:36.039 a good enough business idea for me to launch 00:32:36.039 --> 00:32:39.940 my first company, instead ask yourself, what's 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:43.160 a problem that I'm solving and what's a problem 00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:45.079 that I'm solving for somebody that's painful 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:48.019 enough that they're willing to pay money for 00:32:48.019 --> 00:32:50.779 it. So that's kind of the piece of advice with 00:32:50.779 --> 00:32:53.380 like just getting started. Linked to that I would 00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:55.519 say like when you are sort of early days you 00:32:55.519 --> 00:32:58.420 kind of launched is is continue along that vein 00:32:58.420 --> 00:33:02.839 of market validation. So when people say like 00:33:02.839 --> 00:33:06.380 talk to people It's not even talking to people, 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.819 talking to customers. It's listening. It's listening 00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:10.460 to the market. It's listening to what you want. 00:33:11.059 --> 00:33:14.359 We have got tools that enable us to do that more 00:33:14.359 --> 00:33:17.079 easily these days with social media, with performance 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:19.700 marketing. There's ways you can go about testing 00:33:19.700 --> 00:33:22.619 ideas. And what I would say is, is that to give 00:33:22.619 --> 00:33:26.259 you a solid clear framework, to give that some 00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:27.660 structure, because I'm sure you've got lots of 00:33:27.660 --> 00:33:30.049 different... Ideas and things to test out. It's 00:33:30.049 --> 00:33:31.490 like, okay, where do we even begin with that? 00:33:31.769 --> 00:33:33.470 List out all the things that you want to test 00:33:33.470 --> 00:33:35.829 with your business basically questions that you 00:33:35.829 --> 00:33:39.839 have unanswered list them all out like Do we 00:33:39.839 --> 00:33:42.420 know who our target audience is? Do we know how 00:33:42.420 --> 00:33:44.940 much they want to pay? Do we know which element 00:33:44.940 --> 00:33:46.920 of our core value proposition they're going to 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:49.640 resonate with the most? Put down all these questions 00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:51.980 that you don't know, brain dump them into a sheet. 00:33:52.660 --> 00:33:53.920 Then what you want to do is you want to give 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:57.140 that a score of how vital is this to my business 00:33:57.140 --> 00:33:59.440 and what's my level of certainty against it. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:03.000 And use that as a way to direct how we prioritize 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:05.779 what we go about testing. So I would say that 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:07.339 kind of piece of advice then is you're just getting 00:34:07.339 --> 00:34:10.579 started is to have quite a methodical approach 00:34:10.579 --> 00:34:13.320 to finding things out. And I think as an early 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:15.280 stage entrepreneur, you're more of a detective 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:18.119 than anything else. So like apply the scientific 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:21.519 method and outline a clear experimentation plan 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:25.380 for you to acquire. data and crucially answers 00:34:25.380 --> 00:34:27.760 to those questions that you don't currently have 00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:30.159 answered. So again, keeping that focus on the 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:32.059 market, on your customers, what do they need? 00:34:32.099 --> 00:34:35.860 What do they want? And use this process to get 00:34:35.860 --> 00:34:38.980 those answers, basically. The other thing I would 00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:41.260 just say, let's just do kind of end it on a third 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:43.400 one to do the magic triangle of like three pieces 00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:45.960 of advice. The last piece of advice that I would 00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:50.500 give entrepreneurs is to, let me see how to phrase 00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:52.860 this exactly, is to move fast and break things. 00:34:53.050 --> 00:34:56.369 is to don't overanalyze as much as I'm sort of 00:34:56.369 --> 00:34:57.969 saying, like have a plan, have some structure 00:34:57.969 --> 00:35:00.829 to like go about it. But at the same time, hopefully 00:35:00.829 --> 00:35:02.690 I'm not contradicting myself too much with that, 00:35:03.130 --> 00:35:07.469 is also like move fast, like execute, execute. 00:35:07.590 --> 00:35:10.289 Make sure that like any time that you are spending 00:35:10.289 --> 00:35:12.610 that is on the planning and coming up with, okay, 00:35:12.969 --> 00:35:15.030 what's our assumptions? What are our hypotheses? 00:35:15.150 --> 00:35:16.949 What do we want to test out? What's the marketing 00:35:16.949 --> 00:35:21.309 plan? Whatever. Make sure that you're at least 00:35:21.440 --> 00:35:25.239 equally matching that in execution. Don't get 00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:29.119 stuck in planning, in strategizing, in thinking, 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:32.599 in talking. Make sure it, at the very least, 00:35:33.019 --> 00:35:35.780 equally 50 -50 matches in terms of execution. 00:35:36.400 --> 00:35:39.139 Interesting. Very powerful. Now, I also know 00:35:39.139 --> 00:35:41.840 you speak at a lot of events. You haven't spoken 00:35:41.840 --> 00:35:45.440 at my event just yet. You will next week. But 00:35:45.440 --> 00:35:46.780 how do you get started with that? Because that's 00:35:46.780 --> 00:35:48.199 always something interesting. I'm always curious 00:35:48.199 --> 00:35:49.820 how to get even started with the whole public 00:35:49.820 --> 00:35:51.719 speaking thing, but also how to get invited for 00:35:51.719 --> 00:35:53.840 more and more events. How does that work? Yeah, 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:56.820 sure. So I, for me, it was a very happy accident. 00:35:57.079 --> 00:35:59.619 I kind of stumbled upon it marketing my last 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:03.000 business. So what I learned was as a bootstrapped, 00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:08.760 self -funded founder, you know, constraints create... 00:36:08.460 --> 00:36:12.219 creative solutions, right? And I do believe that 00:36:12.219 --> 00:36:14.800 if you are overfunded, if you've got too much 00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:17.800 money, it leads to wastage, and it leads to not 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:20.559 discovering some of these other like efficient 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:23.099 ways of working. And so for me, as a self funded 00:36:23.099 --> 00:36:26.980 founder, I had to do as everything I could do 00:36:26.980 --> 00:36:30.239 with my business. for free or next to nothing 00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:33.980 as cheaply as possible. And so I kind of stumbled 00:36:33.980 --> 00:36:36.300 upon my, this whole personal brand thing, right? 00:36:36.360 --> 00:36:38.099 Like it was before this term even existed of 00:36:38.099 --> 00:36:40.579 like personal brand that I saw that like posting 00:36:40.579 --> 00:36:43.900 consistently on LinkedIn, adding value, demonstrating 00:36:43.900 --> 00:36:46.719 my expertise that that was getting a lot of traction. 00:36:46.780 --> 00:36:49.150 And that was proving to be one of the top. growth 00:36:49.150 --> 00:36:51.849 channels for my business. And so part of that 00:36:51.849 --> 00:36:54.769 was the public speaking was going to conferences. 00:36:55.170 --> 00:36:58.150 I was already doing like pitching to new clients 00:36:58.150 --> 00:36:59.989 anyway. So the whole kind of public speaking 00:36:59.989 --> 00:37:02.469 game didn't feel like a million miles away from 00:37:02.469 --> 00:37:05.210 what I was already doing. And then building on 00:37:05.210 --> 00:37:08.469 that. So I'd say number one, depending on your 00:37:08.469 --> 00:37:10.949 goals for any founders listening to this. So 00:37:10.949 --> 00:37:12.869 number one is public speaking can be a powerful 00:37:12.869 --> 00:37:16.420 marketing channel for your business. If you then 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:18.960 want to kind of graduate away from it, just being 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:21.659 a marketing channel and actually monetizing it 00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:24.940 as a revenue stream in and of itself is a different 00:37:24.940 --> 00:37:26.840 ball game. And so what I've learned the hard 00:37:26.840 --> 00:37:30.440 way is that conferences do not pay you unless 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:34.039 you're Gary Vee, right? So conferences like they 00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:36.539 do not have budgets for speakers. If you're lucky, 00:37:36.539 --> 00:37:38.599 they will cover your travel and your expenses. 00:37:38.739 --> 00:37:41.219 So that's a decision that you have to make if 00:37:41.219 --> 00:37:43.719 financially it makes sense for you. If you want 00:37:43.719 --> 00:37:47.869 to actually and turn it into a commercial business, 00:37:47.909 --> 00:37:50.349 a revenue stream and earn money from it, then 00:37:50.349 --> 00:37:53.369 you want to be offering it up more as workshops, 00:37:53.730 --> 00:37:59.010 as training and... and go to places that do actually 00:37:59.010 --> 00:38:00.690 have the budgets which aren't the conferences. 00:38:00.989 --> 00:38:03.869 So they could be the likes of larger corporates, 00:38:04.090 --> 00:38:06.429 bigger enterprises. What I've done is actually 00:38:06.429 --> 00:38:09.190 I've delivered opening keynote speeches for innovation 00:38:09.190 --> 00:38:12.190 centers that have actually got government funding 00:38:12.190 --> 00:38:14.449 and they're kind of one -off, right? So it would 00:38:14.449 --> 00:38:16.769 just be like an annual conference and they're 00:38:16.769 --> 00:38:19.150 bringing everyone together like alumni and they 00:38:19.150 --> 00:38:21.920 wanna... kind of motivate the troops and get 00:38:21.920 --> 00:38:25.840 them all set up for a fun day together. So I'm 00:38:25.840 --> 00:38:27.880 also figuring out, I'm also still learning like 00:38:27.880 --> 00:38:30.380 who has the budget to pay to bring in a speaker 00:38:30.380 --> 00:38:32.739 to deliver a talk. But that's kind of what I've 00:38:32.739 --> 00:38:35.619 learned so far. Absolutely fascinating. Stephanie, 00:38:35.679 --> 00:38:37.940 if people want to reach out to you, and I know 00:38:37.940 --> 00:38:39.760 you already gave out your email, but what's the 00:38:39.760 --> 00:38:42.179 best way of doing so? Either you'd be for being 00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:45.820 on a podcast, having you as a speaker, or getting 00:38:45.820 --> 00:38:47.460 your services as a consultant. I mean, what's 00:38:47.460 --> 00:38:49.820 the best way of doing that? LinkedIn and Instagram 00:38:49.820 --> 00:38:52.400 are my two top social media channels. Thankfully, 00:38:52.480 --> 00:38:54.960 there is only one, Stephanie Melodia. So if you 00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:57.280 just type in my name, hopefully it's not too 00:38:57.280 --> 00:39:00.599 hard to find me. It's Stephanie with a P -H. 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:03.940 Melodia is like the word melody, but I -A at 00:39:03.940 --> 00:39:05.460 the end of it. So if you just search my name 00:39:05.460 --> 00:39:08.360 on LinkedIn, I'm Steph Melodia on Instagram. 00:39:08.619 --> 00:39:10.460 I would love, love, love, love, love to hear 00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:12.199 back from you. So I already gave out my email 00:39:12.199 --> 00:39:16.300 address, Stephanie at. bloomltd .co .uk. I'd 00:39:16.300 --> 00:39:18.860 love to hear from you too. So if you are fundraising, 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:21.139 I'd love to see your pitch deck. If you'd like 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:23.079 me to come and speak on your podcast, if you 00:39:23.079 --> 00:39:25.760 want me to deliver a talk or give you some help 00:39:25.760 --> 00:39:28.480 with your marketing, then yeah, I'd love to hear 00:39:28.480 --> 00:39:30.179 from you. Stephanie, thank you so much for your 00:39:30.179 --> 00:39:32.019 time. It's been an absolute pleasure. Likewise. 00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:34.380 Thank you so much for having me, Ricardo. I appreciate 00:39:34.380 --> 00:39:37.800 it. 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