Hyper Curious

Today’s guest is naturally hyper curious - as a technology entrepreneur, angel investor and business advisor, Jess Butcher MBE has many strings to her bow. As the co-founder and CMO of Blippar from 2011-2015, Jess was at the helm during its ascent to become one of the global tech pioneers in the field of Augmented Reality. 

Today, as one of the four recently appointed equality and human rights commissioners in the UK, Jess focuses her time and energy mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs, and public speaking and writing about subjects she’s incredibly passionate about, such as women in tech, work-life balance, and polarisation within our culture and society. 

“The most successful entrepreneurs aren't motivated by money per se, but by impact and the scale of the impact that they can have. And that typically correlates with huge success and huge wealth.”

In this episode of Hyper Curious, we discuss the dilemma that all entrepreneurs have to balance our drive for business impact, versus personal matters, why we women should stop apologising for our decisions, and the need for nuanced conversations in our highly polarised world.

“It's incredibly simplistic and binary, how we talk about women in the workplace. And much of the broader narrative around feminism is very, very binary.”

From building a big beautiful scrappy portfolio career, to co-founding Blippar, finding co-founders, to the self awareness needed to change roles within the organisation, and debunking unconscious gender bias:

“The best way to challenge stereotypes is simply to live beyond them and demonstrate you’re doing that - you are not that stereotype and bollocks to it, quite frankly.”

On today’s podcast:

• The superpower of a scrappy CV
• The Blippar journey
• Finding co-founders
• Why the broader narrative around feminism is binary
• Debunking unconscious bias

Links:

• Twitter:  jessbutcher
• Instagram: jessbutchermbe
• LinkedIn: Jess Butcher
• Book - The Coddling of the American Mind
• Book - The Power Of Bad by John Tierney

When we spend over ⅓ of our week working, we need to be alive in what we do and do something that matters to us. Which is why Dominic Jackson founded Escape The City in 2010, with his former co-founder Rob Symington. 

“It's out there for everyone and it's never been more accessible. There's really not much excuse these days to work for a cause that you don't believe in. So find that cause and be excited about it every day.”

In this latest episode, Dom talks about being lost in a large organisation and the process of leaving a corporate job to start your own business. Why our fear of failure increases as our business becomes more successful. And the very difficult moment when you have to break up with your co-founder and deal with all the emotions surrounding that. 

“When you start a business it's like a marriage and you don't ever envisage what it would be like when it ends.”

Dom’s initial purpose with Escape The City was to build a platform to enable 1 million people in the corporate world to transition into fulfilling work. He hasn’t reached this goal yet, but his journey is well underway. 

“There are so many people out there who are working in jobs that they don't like or working for organisations that are really not making the world a better place.”

From the motivation for founding Escape The City, to what drives Dom to get out of bed each morning, to how he sees the working world shifting, how he inspires his team, and going it alone. Don’t miss this incredibly emotional conversation with a very hyper curious entrepreneur. 

On today’s podcast:

• The genesis of Escape The City
• Chasing for impact, not money
• Why his biggest fear is failure
• Moving on from breaking up with a co-founder
• Inspiring his team

Links:

• https://www.escapethecity.org/

Today’s hyper curious guest is a British entrepreneur, investor in wellbeing products and philanthropist with an amazing track record of delivering accelerated growth: Lara Morgan. Lara is a self-described straight talking, no-nonsense entrepreneur.

“I want to lead a full life, which means that ultimately, I'm curious about everything and I'm constantly learning and that provides endless entertainment and opportunity.”

Lara started her first business, Pacific Direct, at the age of 23 and 17 years later, she sold 99% of her shares for £20 million. A mother of three girls, she's actively engaged with various global nonprofits as a board member or advisor. 

“You've got to enjoy the journey because the journey is relentless. It's brutal. There are some days you feel like crying, but that's okay, it always gets better the next day.”

In this episode, Lara discusses why difficult decisions regarding team members are a must so that you can grow a world class business; the key practice she applies when it comes to hiring salespeople; and the importance of the power of the choices we all have everyday when waking up in the morning:

“My dad gave me a huge gift, he used to say: which side of the bed did you get out of? And what he's saying there is - you've got a choice, right, get out of bed cheerful because who knows what the world is going to offer you.”

On today’s podcast:

• Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard
• How she defines success
• The crossover between sport and business 
• Teach your kids to be tougher
• Use enthusiasm to overcome fear
• Set bigger goals

Links:

• Twitter: @IamLaraMorgan
• LinkedIn: Lara Morgan
• Scentered
• Yogi Bare
• Global Amenities Direct
• KitBrix 
• Gate8 World
• Coppa Feel
• Book - More Balls Than Most Juggling Kit

“twitch.tv is twice the size of the biggest sports channel in the world, ESPN. There are about 2.4 billion people gaming on a regular basis.”

If you are curious about eSports, then you don’t want to miss this week’s episode of Hyper Curious with Challengermode CEO and co-founder, Robel Efrem, a curious, determined, funny, kind guy, who’s also very competitive and loves playing computer games. 

Over the last decade, Robel founded two companies, is a three-time nominee for ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year,’ and after a successful exit from his first company co-founded Challengermode in 2014. Today, Challengermode is making waves in the future of sports, because they’re on a mission to make esports truly accessible for all the key stakeholders in the industry - players, organisers and game developers. 

“We believe that [eSports are] going to be the biggest sport in the world. For it to reach its full potential, it needs to become much more accessible than it is right now.”

In today’s episode, Robel talks about why eSports is the next frontier of traditional spots, the experience of exiting a company when you're in your 20s in order to start a new business that's more connected to your passions, and the importance of trust, kindness and data when developing a partnership with your co founder.

“One of the qualities that I value, besides being very confident at your work, is just being a kind human being. It's a very underrated quality, and it captures a lot of what's important for us here.”

On today’s podcast:

• Why eSports are the fastest growing sport in the world
• His passion for eSports
• His experience of selling his first company
• The need for role models in eSports
• Challenge of trying to become a unicorn

Links:

• Robel Efrem
• @RobelEfrem
• Challengermode

“We got this idea of the ugly truth and built a brand around no fake marketing promises, no BS, no calories, no sugar, no sweeteners, you can just drink it ugly, have no guilt with it at all. It replaces that soda moment.”

Hugh Thomas is the founder of Ugly Drinks, a challenger brand founded in 2015 in the UK, before launching in the US in 2018. Ugly is a hyper curious, super irreverent and rebellious new soda brand disrupting the market, taking on the sugary soda industry by making sparkling water accessible to all. 

“I felt that consumers often get blamed for being overweight. But really, it's the system and the food and drink products that have been shoved down our throats and marketed to us for 100 years that are really causing the problems.”

In today’s episode, Hugh chats about brand building, how to strike the right balance of rebelliousness and familiarity when you’re building your challenger brand:

“I think great branding is a balance of art and science. Ultimately, I think one of the reasons our brand stands out so much is because it's authentic and comes from the soul.”

He also shares his biggest lessons learned from expanding Ugly in the US from the UK, and the importance of working on your mental health when you’re creating a company that is looking to change global consumption of sugar. 

“We started selling in one shop [in the US], same as we did in the UK. And then we built from there. Now we’re in 15,000. So it's like, just keep building.”

On today’s podcast:

• The systemic issues with sugar
• Ugly is about being authentic
• How to expand into US
• Why they’ve stayed lean
• Why you need to separate yourself as a founder from the brand

Links:

• Eating The Big Fish
• Lights Out: Sleep Sugar And Survival

“I am a loving mother and grandmother. I've got 10 grandchildren. I'm an eco warrior. I'm a life adventurer.”

Jo Wood is so full of life. It’s hard to imagine she was once considered ‘just’ the wife of one of the most iconic rock and roll figures in history, Rolling Stones frontman, Ronnie Wood. But today Jo is on a mission to be invisible no more. 

“You have to believe in yourself. I hadn't believed in myself, in my marriage, because it was all about my ex husband. My mother said to me once that as she got older, she became invisible. And I thought that was the saddest thing I'd ever heard.”

A misdiagnosis of Crohn’s disease set her on her current organic path, and now Jo is a massive advocate for environmental change, natural living and all things organic. After living the high life on the road with the Rolling Stones for over 25 years, Jo now lives happily off grid in the English countryside. 

“I became so obsessed with all things organic that Keith told me once: ‘the trouble with you, darling, is you are addicted to organic food’.”

In today’s wonderfully curious conversation, Jo shares how her biggest lows in life drove her to become an entrepreneur, bringing her amazing organic products to the world, what she learned about herself and her limitations from appearing on TV shows like Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls and Celebrity Masterchef. And if you believe in aliens, stay tuned to the end when Jo shares a story about seeing UFOs in Brazil.

On today’s podcast:

• How a Crohn’s misdiagnosis put her on the organic path
• The impact her divorce from Ronnie had on her business
• Finding the mental strength to do Strictly
• The importance of pushing yourself
• Curiosity around aliens and UFOs
• The organic legacy she wants to leave behind

Links:

• Twitter:  JoWoodOfficial
• LinkedIn: Jo Wood
• Insta:  jowoodofficial
• Jowood.tv

Pip Jamieson is a disruptive, creative, dynamic entrepreneur who embodies curiosity and has not only put social purpose and values at the heart of her tech business, The Dots, the professional network of the future loved by creatives and dubbed by Forbes as the next LinkedIn, she’s also fascinated by what we can learn from trees. 

“There’s a web of fungi that exists in woodlands. It has been scientifically proven that trees transfer nutrients to trees that aren't doing so well. It’s an ecosystem balance that’s interlinked, and it’s everything I want the world to be.”

Pip is an incredible human diversity advocate, who credits her neurodiversity as her superpower, and in this episode, we talk about how to create a platform that's optimised for kindness and happiness. Not vanity or likes. And yes, it is possible. 

“The big difference between us and LinkedIn is on LinkedIn you promote yourself via a CV and on The Dots you post projects, and then credit the full team around that project.”

We also talk about the future of work when people embrace fluid careers and make money from their passions.

“Our community, they are the slashie generation, they're the ones that are following their heart and purpose. And they're having to adapt to change, and to enjoy continuous learning, and sharing and skill swapping, and jumping from project to project and it just feels a much more fluid way.”

On today’s podcast:

• Why LinkedIn is an individualistic experience
• The Dots algorithm is based on positivity and kindness
• Building a community that cares about each other
• The link between dyslexia and entrepreneurs
• What we can learn from nature

Links:

• The Dots

The places our curiosity takes us are fascinating. Take today’s guest, the annoyingly positive (his words) and endlessly curious entrepreneur and adventurer, Sam Harris. 

“I have always been a relentlessly curious person that can't help seeing what's on the other side of things. And whether that's my fears, or something else, I can't not know.”

Sam is the co-founder and CEO of Simplify, a social podcast app. He’s also climbed some of the world's most dangerous mountains, visited North Korea and nearly died a few times. 

“I have an alarm at 08:30 every day being, ‘Hey, you could climb a mountain and be home by now.’ And it's like, yeah, you can really do some insane things, if you ever put your mind to it.”

He’s also a TEDx speaker, stand up comedian and podcaster. He's full of ideas, creativity and definitely one who follows his curiosity. 

“I'm always curious about optimising your life: the best pathway in terms of your relationships, success, happiness and [having] the freedom to do the things you want to do.”

In today's episode, we talk about how Sam's near death experiences changed the way he goes about life, why studying biology made him a braver creative entrepreneur, and the importance of leaning into your fears and discomfort to gain a more lighthearted perspective in life.

“I really enjoy doing stand up comedy, but I guess there was a bigger fear of it [than North Korea], which is weird, because you're just on a stage. And the worst that can happen is you say some jokes that aren't funny.”

If you want to learn to be less afraid, don’t miss this entertaining episode. 

On today’s podcast:

• Why he’s proud to be annoyingly positive 
• Learning from his near death experience
• Enjoying tangents
• Learning to be less afraid
• Finding freedom from desiring things

Links:

• Twitter:  @samjamharris
• Insta: @samjamharris
• LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharris48/
• Podcast - Growth Mindset
• Podcast - Psychology In Seattle
• Book - Why Buddhism Is True

If you’re curious about how to improve your workplace culture, don’t miss this fantastic masterclass in everything about people and culture as we talk today with Anouk Agussol, founder and CEO of Unleashed. 

“I'm a big believer in just going for it. You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.”

Unleashed is not your average consultancy. In the four years since its foundation, Anouk and her team have worked with over 80 high growth startups, scale ups, VCs and accelerators across a huge variety of sectors in the UK and Europe, supporting them on all things people, culture and leadership. 

“Our mission is we want to enable young successful startups to scale well, and to create amazing work lives for the individuals that work within those businesses.”

In this episode, you'll learn how you can make your whole company vested in people matters as you scale up, why founders can't delegate culture to anyone else in the organisation, what the best leaders are doing to keep the magical impact of vulnerability on their team's motivation, why you should 10X your onboarding process, decrease asynchronous work and update your parental leave policies.

“I think parental leave policies in the UK are inherently biassed. And they are part of problems that we see within society, around gender imbalance at home and in the workplace as well.”

On today’s podcast:

• Why traditional HR is dead
• Founders can’t delegate culture
• How to hold culture together when WFH
• How leaders can motivate through vulnerability
• How to prevent a toxic culture
• Inclusivity before diversity
• Modernising parental leave policies 

Links:

• Dr Rangan Chatterjee podcast - Auschwitz Survivor Dr Edith Eger on How to Discover Your Inner Power
• Friday Pulse
• The Happiness Index
• Culture Amp
• Twitter: @oz_anouk
• Insta: @anoukagussol
• LinkedIn: Anouk Agussol

“People have to learn how they can use their curiosity better for their own benefit, the benefit of their organisations, the benefit of their communities, or the benefit of the planet.”

Today we’re going meta as we explore the topic of curiosity with the expert himself - Costas Andriopoulos. Costas is a curious innovation and entrepreneurship researcher, passionate about teaching and helping founders and leaders make decisions that can improve their lives and those of people around them.

“For the last four or five years, I have been researching the topic of curiosity, most of my research is about how innovation is enhancing the workplace… I want to understand how people use curiosity to achieve interesting goals or find their purpose or to improve their lives.”

He’s currently writing his second book, The Power Of Purposeful Curiosity: Imagining the Unimaginable, so you can see why he’s the perfect guest for Hyper Curious - he embodies curiosity!

In today’s episode, Costas talks about how curiosity leads us to become better human beings, the commonalities of very curious people, the connection between resilience and curiosity, and why successful entrepreneurs are the ones who never stop searching. 

“A lot of entrepreneurs become obsessed with a product rather than with a problem. And I think the best entrepreneurs, the most successful ones are the ones who stay seduced by the new questions and the new problems, rather than their solution.”

On today’s podcast:

• Unexpected patterns of curious people
• How curious people conquer their fears 
• Connection between resilience and curiosity
• Don’t look at today and miss the vision of tomorrow
• Balance innovation and profits
• Successful entrepreneurs never stop searching

Links:

• Book - Managing Change, Creativity and Innovation