In this episode, Rob Bowley, Fractional CPTO at his own consultancy Pragmatic Partners, and Fractional CTO / CPTO for multiple tech start-ups such as Eco Surv, Enthuse, Doc Abode and Financielle, among many other mentorships and advisory positions. A seasoned tech leader, Rob shares his journey from a self-taught software engineer during the dot-com boom to a leadership consultant. His career has spanned various roles, from hands-on engineering at early internet companies like Lycos to...

With 160 million children in child labour globally, a number that is increasing, Eleanor has a visionary approach to tackling the issue; using data and AI to power the Child Labour Index, a solution to enable investors to identify child labour risk in their portfolio companies and engage effectively. HACE's Child Labour Index is an AI-powered specialised ESG rating, scoring companies and portfolios in relation to three performance indicators in the specific area of child labour. Eleanor...

In today's live recording from the buzzing seminar suite of Queen Mary University London, as part of their vibrant International Women's Day celebrations, we bring you a visionary of university life and co-founder of the 'Youni' app — Georgia Gibson. Georgia, Co-Founder, Chief creative director + commnity builder at Youni, is not just shaping the way students socialise; she's architecting a digital community. With Youni's innovative app, the once fragmented world of university societies,...

This episode dives into the entrepreneurial journey of Eddy Herman, the co-founder and CTO of Slip—a digital receipt and retail technology company aimed at transforming the retail landscape. Eddy's from Manchester with a background in electronic engineering and with experience at leading companies like Darktrace and The Hut Group, Eddy shares his transition from corporate security to launching his own startup. Key Takeaways:  Turning an Idea into Reality: Learn about the conceptualisation of...

In this podcast episode, guest Charlotte Ashton, shares her insights and advice into the investment landscape and financial industry particularly focusing on strategic finance and private equity. Charlotte has built her expertise as a board advisor, business coach and investor over a 20+ year career in the corporate finance and private equity sectors. Her business, Implicit, empowers founders of privately owned businesses to gain freedom and successfully crystallise wealth through proactive...

In this episode we have two investment managers from Mercia Ventures, Adam Lovell (Series A Investor) and Kiran Mehta (Seed Investor). Mercia Ventures are Venture capital investment for ambitious businesses. They invest into vibrant early-stage and scale up businesses across the UK. They talk about their roles and experiences in investing, particularly in the fields of software, deep tech, and life sciences. Adam and Kiran share insights into Mercia Ventures' approach to investment,...

Dr Natalie Getreu and the Hertility Team are revolutionising the female health landscape, providing personalised reproductive health solutions tailored to each woman's unique needs, from menstruation to menopause, offering customised testing and services based on individual circumstances through their letterbox home test kits and trailblazing research teams. Hertility collaborates with companies like Channel Four and Edelman to provide reproductive health benefits for employees, including...

In this episode, Josh Garnham of Packfleet recounts his journey of building a B-Corp tackling sustainable delivery services from the ground up with his fellow co-founders. Packfleet was founded in 2021 by a trio of former Monzo employees that include the neobank's former VP of Design Hugo Cornejo, VP of marketing and communications Tristan Thomas and engineering manager Josh Garnham.   From dropping out of the renowned Cambridge university to launching his net-positive logistics firm, Joshua...

In this episode, we explore the intersection of innovation and financial health. Join us as we delve into the story of Ophelos, a startup born at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Founded by Amon Ghaiumy and his co-founders, Ophelos leverages cutting-edge technology to address the back end of financial services, focusing on debt management and consumer empowerment. Ophelos are a new kind of debt collection agency - one with a social purpose and mission. Learn how they've harnessed AI to...

Featuring our first 'expert topic' episode whereby we invite experts from the sectors we specialise in to share their insights and experiences. In this episode we shine a spotlight on the Cyber Security field.  Miguel Clarke, a former FBI agent and a current cybersecurity and GRC evangelist at Armor Defense, a cloud-first cybersecurity company, shares insights from his fascinating career journey, starting from his unexpected entry into the FBI following a casual comment at a party, to his...

The Start-Up Diaries Podcast Season 9… is officially on its way!🥁⏰ Launching next week, we're pulling back the curtain on a captivating lineup of the UK's most groundbreaking and fast-growing start-ups, scale-ups and *new* to the start-up diaries - 'expert topic' episodes from seasoned subject matter experts. Get ready to dive headfirst into their stories of resilience, ambition, and the relentless pursuit of building businesses, products, teams...your inner-leader. From inspirational...

Join us as Nevine Coutry, Founder and CEO of Playdate unravels the true trials and tribulations behind the creation of the UK's very first dating app designed for single parents! Paired with an in-app baby-sitting service, Navine's product 'Playdate' creates a perfect solution to an ongoing hurdle in many single parents lives, which is meeting 'the right person, and in the same breath, having access to dependable child-care options which would enable single parents to date. Nevine shares...

Join us as Tim Chong, Co-founder and CEO of Yonder, talks through the creation of a revolutionary lifestyle credit card designed for the modern city dweller. Discover how Yonder is breaking barriers by offering credit based on cash flow, not just credit history. Dive into Tim's journey from his tech beginnings to the M-Pesa projects in Kenya, which inspired a credit solution that's breathing new life into a dormant market with rewards that go beyond transactions. In this episode, you'll hear...

For the dog lovers, this one's for you. This man has found a way to *potentially* expand your dogs life by 32 months with his innovative product, Tuggs. In today’s episode we have Harry Bremner, Founder of Tuggs. Tuggs is an award-winning pet wellness startup creating freshly-prepared dog food in a sustainable way.  But there’s a twist - their secret super power is insects, providing a sustainable edge to their product whilst not compromising on protein or minerals. In this episode, Harry...

In this episode of the Startup Diaries co-host Livvie Holt sits down with Rajiv Tanna, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Birdie, a global home healthcare technology company. Birdie is a technology partner for homecare, with mobile and desktop software for managing care delivery, rostering and invoicing. Rajiv shares Birdie's mission to revolutionise the ageing journey for care recipients and their families by navigating the UK's underfunded social care system through innovative...

In this episode, we're excited to welcome Mike Jones, the CTO of loveholidays. loveholidays are not only the fastest growing travel agent in the UK, but also one of the UK's fastest growing businesses in the last five years (2019). They're on a mission to open up the world to everyone. They offer unlimited choice, unmatched ease and unmissable value, and are harnessing tech to be the go to platform in the holiday industry. Mike talks about his transformative role at the renowned price...

In this episode we have Ben Leonard, a three-time founder/ co-founder and entrepreneur with a journey packed full of success. Ben built up his sports equipment business, Beast Gear to be a 7 figure business and exited the ‘holy grail’ exit of 3 years. He then co-founded Ecom brokers, in the midst of going solo as an e-commerce consultant (Ben Leonard Pro), and writing his book 'Quit Stalling and Build Your Brand, You Don’t Need an MBA to Crush It in Ecommerce', which offers insights and...

In this episode, we're joined by Joshua Spriggs, Founder and CEO of Enferm, and is a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone interested in the intersection of technology and personal development. Packed with real-world lessons on leadership, personal growth, cultural adaptability, and the art of building a successful tech-driven business amidst evolving market demands. Enferm helps secure nursing shifts for nurses that want more control over where and when they work. They...

In this episode, we're joined by key members of the eComplete team - Anna Graham, Managing Director and Les Yates, Strategy Director. They bring a wealth of experience to the conversation, honed by their individual paths in e-commerce and startup environments. eComplete is a talent led and data-driven eCommerce growth partner and capital investor. They scale eCommerce businesses through the power of data, talent and global infrastructure. Leveraging their in-house data platform they...

In this short mini-clip we welcome new London co-host, Livvie Holt to The Start-Up Diaries. We feature a short 2023 'wrapped' of the podcast this year, shouting out a handful of our most listened to episodes and most importantly thanking all of our listeners, and guests, for supporting the podcast in it's third year. This year we tripled our listenership - and it's all thanks to our dedicated listeners - so a tremendous thank you from everyone here at The Start-Up Diaries. The Start-Up...

In this episode, we chat with Phil Denton, CEO and founder of Evaluate-Ed - a school improvement solution that streamlines self-evaluation and school improvement planning through the software. Phil made a career transition from being a head teacher to becoming an entrepreneur in the ed-tech start-up world. He shares insights about his journey, including how he got the taste for the ed-tech business world whilst writing a book alongside Tranmere Rovers football manager, Micky Mellon, called...

In this insightful episode of Startup Diaries, we welcome Daniel Yubi, CEO and (co)-founder of Payable - a successful fintech platform that helps businesses manage their financial transactions more efficiently. Daniel offers a deep dive into his journey, from his diverse career path that led him from being a lawyer in Mexico, to building a huge Youtube following, to becoming a tech entrepreneur in London, to starting his own co-founded business - Payable. Before Daniel founded Payable, he...

In this episode we have George Lineker, the Co-Founder of YourBusinessNumber a service that provides users with a second virtual UK mobile number, enabling them to use both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business on the same phone. George is widely known as the son of the famous Gary Lineker OBE , the English sports broadcaster and former professional footballer. But in this episode, we delve into how George has carved his own way as a start-up entrepreneur, and his most recent co-foundership at...

In this episode we have Mat Ilic, the Co-Founder and CEO at Greenworkx - a new climate EdTech startup tackling the green skills emergency, and are building the net-zero workforce. Their mission is simple, to get 10 million people into green jobs in 10 years, through building an app to be the talent portal for green jobs with green job discovery, opportunity-matching, and social community. Did you know, that to deliver net-zero, over 30 million more  green workers are needed globally by 2030?...