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In this episode, Desi sits down with Sanjay Lobo, the CEO of OnHand, the leading volunteering platform revolutionising employee engagement. From his humble beginnings in South London, to his impressive career trajectory through senior roles at Lastminute.com and Vistaprint, Sanjay shares his unique journey from lawyer to tech founder.
Discover how his background as a lawyer shaped his innovative approach to business and learn about the pivotal moments that led to the success of OnHand.Key Takeaways:
Early Life & Inspiration: Sanjay reflects on his childhood in Tooting, the challenges he faced, and the aspirations that guided him towards a career in law and eventually tech entrepreneurship.Career Path: Insight into Sanjayâs transition from law to senior roles at lastminute.com and Vistaprint, highlighting the skills and experiences that prepared him for founding OnHand. Unlike most lawyers, Sanjay was obsessed with using the law to find loopholes that could drive growth.Founding OnHand: The motivation behind OnHand's inception, the initial business model, and the strategic shift to a B2B model that focuses on employee engagement and corporate social responsibility.Challenges & Growth: The critical decisions and challenges faced by OnHand, including the impact of COVID-19 and the transition from a consumer-focused to a corporate-focused platform.Dragonâs Den Experience: Sanjay shares his experience on Dragonâs Den, securing offers from four dragons, and the subsequent impact on OnHandâs growth and visibility. But are the dragons part of the business today?Personal Insights: Sanjay discusses the personal and professional transformation he has undergone as a founder, the importance of confidence, and his dedication to making a social impact.Connect with Sanjay on LinkedIn.
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If you're a football fan, you might remember Thomas Robson-Kanu from his Premier League days at Reading F.C. or his spectacular goal in Euro 2016, which helped Wales reach the semi-finals. Today, Thomas is the founder and CEO of The Turmeric Co., one of the UK's leading functional beverage companies. Born from his personal health journey, The Turmeric Co. was established in 2018 and quickly grew to prominence with its unique turmeric shots designed to promote wellness, boasting over 15,000 life-changing customer testimonials.
In this episode, we discussed Thomas's transition from football to entrepreneurship, the origins of The Turmeric Co., and the science behind their products. Thomas shares how his father's turmeric blend helped him recover from severe knee injuries, leading to the creation of their signature turmeric shots. The blend proved so effective that it became Thomas' "secret weapon" throughout his successful football career. Realising the potential to help others, Thomas and his father founded The Turmeric Co. in 2018 to bring this clinically-backed, natural solution to the market.
Thomas shared the challenges of maintaining high product quality while scaling up the business, the strategic decisions that have fuelled their growth, and the importance of a subscription model for customer retention. He also provides valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, emphasising the need for passion, perseverance, and continuous learning.
We also discussed how his background as a professional footballer shaped him into the CEO he is today and the qualities he gained back then that help him grow the company.
"If you have a standard that you're not willing to drop below, then that standard becomes the norm. So you standardise the standard, and if you then have a mentality and a mindset around continuous improvement, all you're doing is increasing and improving that standard all of the time, and that then creates an A-star culture with A-star players within an A-star team."
As a former elite athlete and now passionate wellness entrepreneur, Thomas offers a unique perspective on the importance of prioritising health through nutrition. Tune in to hear his inspiring story and vision for The Turmeric Co.
Connect with Thomas Robson-Kanu and The Turmeric Co.:
The Turmeric Co. https://theturmeric.co/
Follow Thomas on social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashalrobsonkanu/
https://www.instagram.com/robsonkanu/
https://x.com/RobsonKanu -
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Diego Borgo is a seasoned Web3 and Metaverse advisor with a track record of guiding Fortune 500 brands and boasting collaborations with companies like adidas and Mastercard.
Heâs also the co-founder of BorgoLabs, a consultancy that helps companies position themselves and drive growth in the Web3 space.
We recently collaborated with Diego on a client's project and, as usual, was impressed by the innovative yet practical approach he takes to his projects.
He's the first person we invite for a second interview on this podcast, mainly because we wanted to delve deeper into why we're still in the web3 dip and when the space might recover.
We discussed the reasons why web3 and blockchain have yet to become strong, independent industries. We also touched on some fresh new projects that offer real value and explored where the space is heading in the next few years. And of course, no podcast would be complete without bringing AI into the equation - that's where things really get interesting!
You can find Diego on LinkedIn.
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Today, weâre speaking with Jack Parsons and Leon Marseglia - the forces behind the UKâs largest community for young people, The Youth Group.
Since launching the company 4 years ago, "Young Jack," as he's often called, has managed to grow their community to 1.7 million young individuals and connect thousands of them with some of the best UK companies offering jobs, upskilling, and mentorship. Their exceptional accomplishments have been recognized by countless awards and honors, one of which is Jack's 'UK's Kindest Leader' award by the Financial Times. When Leon came onboard, they took The Youth Group to one of the top 25 startups in the UK.
What we discussed:
The inspiring journeys that led Jack and Leon to become successful entrepreneurs in their 20s.
The pressing issue of mental health among young people in the UK - why 1 in 6 children in the UK has been identified with a probable mental health problem.
The importance of instilling resilience from a young age - why and how.
Navigating Choices: With a plethora of opportunities at their fingertips, how can young people find their passions and areas of expertise? Jack and Leon share practical advice.
What are the most pressing needs of young people in 2023, and how can we address them effectively?
What are the top skills that employers are looking for in young individuals? (Some of them will surprise you!)
The growing gap between educational institutions and workforce expectations and what are some practical changes to bridge it.
Opportunities Beyond Cities: While cities often take the spotlight, we'll explore actions to create more opportunities for young people in rural areas.
Check out Youth GroupConnect with Jack Parsons on Linkedin
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Whether you're into crypto or not, many foresee blockchain as the foundational layer for future technologies. From finance and healthcare to entertainment and sports, the consensus seems clear: "The Future Will Be Tokenised."
Join us in this super interesting conversation with Brent Annells, CMO of Smart Token Labs. With a background that boasts senior roles at Facebook and Uber, Brent offers a uniquely informed perspective on the revolution that tokenisation promises to bring, especially in reshaping customer engagement.
In this episode, we dive into:
- An introduction to Smart Token Labs and their mission in the tokenization landscape.
- Demystifying tokenisation: What it is and its future significance.
- Real-world tokenisation applications and intriguing projects Smart Token Labs is currently working on.
- The project "Catch Max": a real-world example of Open Loyalty
- The evolution of loyalty programs: The rise of "Open Loyalty" and why this is a game changer
- Delving into the challenges: Why are we still in the tokenisation experimentation phase?
- The balance between decentralisation and compliance in web3: what do we need to do for better regulation and security
- Global leaders in Web3 adoption: Countries at the forefront
- Brent's journey: Contrasting Web3 marketing strategies with his experiences at Facebook and Uber.- The educational divide: Can you sell and educate at the same time?
- Predictions on the next big wave in the Web3 universe
You can connect with Brent on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentannells/Check out Smart Token Labs: https://smarttokenlabs.com/
Check out Smart Layer Network: https://www.smartlayer.network/Learn more about CatchMax: https://www.catchmax.io/
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Eamonn Carey is a seasoned investor, the General Partner at Tera Ventures, a former Managing Director at Techstars, an advisor to dozens of startups, a founder, an author, and a former journalist. With experience evaluating thousands of deals, we thought he would be the perfect person to discuss the investment climate in Europe.
In this episode, we cover:
- Eamonn's transformative journey from being an aspiring journalist to becoming an ambitious founder closing deals with companies like O2, Emirates, and Diageo.
- How Eamonn's own business experience influences his approach to evaluating startups and potential deals. - The unique investment opportunities presented by the Baltics and Eastern Europe.
- How the 'launch fast' philosophy has evolved in the age of brand-conscious startups.
- Eamonn's perspective on startup success, providing insights into the factors that suggest a startup is likely to thrive.
- What makes a perfect pitch, along with the common mistakes startups make when seeking investment?
- The delicate balance between encouraging innovation and inflating investment bubbles, particularly in currently hyped industries like AI. Do VCs bear responsibility for sometimes damaging a sector?
- The defining characteristics of a great early-stage investor and the ways they can support young startups beyond just providing funding.
- Eamonn's biggest investing regret and the deal he wishes he had taken.
You can find Eamonn on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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In this episode of The Product Show, we explore the intersection of sports and web3, questioning whether web3 can fix the broken aspects of football or if it's too broken itself to make a difference. We all know that fan engagement is essential in sports, and web3 and NFTs seem to be the perfect tools to harness the power of communities. However, the reality is not so straightforward.
To help us navigate this topic, we spoke with Jean-Charles Gaudechon, CEO of OneFootball Labs and former Electronic Arts Vice President. According to JC, we're only at the beginning of the sports revolution, and web3 is the future of sports and gaming.
Here are some of the highlights from the episode:
JC's journey from game creator at EA to CEO of One Football Labs.Why JC believes that Web3 is the future of sports and gaming and that we're only at the beginning of the marathon.What it means to own a moment from a football game and whether you can truly own anything.Whether football fans are genuinely excited about web3 and what the industry is doing to increase adoption.The practical applications of NFT technology in sports that we can expect to see in the near future.When we might see the Aha moment of the NFT industry.The teams and footballers who are already doing exciting things in the web3 space.The main lessons JC learned from the highs and lows of the past year.JC's favourite football team that he can finally reveal after hiding it for 16 years.Find Jean-Charles Gaudechon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcgaudechon/
See the full transcript and the video version of the episode: https://pony.studio/design-for-growth/is-web3-the-future-of-fan-engagement-in-sports-jean-charles-gaudechon-ceo-of-onefootball-labs -
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Oliver Yonchev is the co-founder and CEO of Flight Story, a company he co-founded with Steven Barlett in 2021 that "helps brands stay at the forefront of whatâs possible". Prior to Flight Story, he served as the managing director of Social Chain, one of the most successful social media marketing agencies in Europe.
In this episode, we covered a range of topics, including:
Oliver's earliest childhood memories and how they shaped him as a person (spoiler: he wanted to become a professional footballer when he was younger)How he became managing director of Social Chain at the young age of 26 and led its expansion into the USThe strategic decisions that helped scale Social Chain into one of Europe's leading marketing agenciesWhat sets Flight Story apart from Social Chain and its approach to helping brands stay at the forefront of what's possibleThe growing importance of community building and the influence of retail investors in today's business landscapeOliver's views on nurturing a thriving community around your brandThe future of Web3 and what the big players are getting wrongWhen can we expect to see Oliver on the Diary of a CEO?Tune in to this episode to hear Oliver's insights and experience in the world of marketing and entrepreneurship.
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Two years ago, "two kids, one from Singapore and the other one from Africa" left their jobs to set up a company. It all began with a single spreadsheet and their obsession to build a product that people really need.
Today, their venture, ADPList, has over 15,000 mentors and hundreds of thousands of users, helping people all around the world find the right mentor. ADPList is transforming the way we think about mentorship - "we're all learners," says its co-founder and CEO, Lee Felix. They have been growing so phenomenally well that they managed to raise funding from Sequoia Capital.
Coming from a modest family, Felix says that "these things don't usually happen to people like me." Well, I say - these things should happen exactly to people like you, Felix! His work ethic is rarely found these days, and at only 25, he has a more mature outlook on life than most 40-year-olds I know.
In this episode, Felix shares with me:
His personal story and the childhood experiences that shaped him as a person.Why he started ADPList and what the early signs were that he was onto something big.His early acquisition strategy and the things he did exceptionally well that helped him grow in the early days (he got deals with Slack, Figma, etc.).Why he thinks his design background had a great impact on ADPList's growth.What happened when he tried to introduce payment (spoiler: it was met with a bad backlash).The different monetization strategies he will be exploring in the near future.The importance of mentorship and what to do if you're unsure how to approach a person you'd like to be your mentor.You can find Felix on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Check out and sign up for ADPList here (it's free!)
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No matter if youâre in web2 or web3 , as you scale your products to cater to thousands of users, youâre faced with one of the most common challenges for technology startups - how to scale your engineering team fast. Scaling is not just about rapidly hiring people, itâs about building resilient systems and effective team structures that will help the talent you hire thrive and deliver outstanding results. Put a brilliant person in the wrong environment and you can expect nothing but frustration and disappointment.
We discussed the topic with Alex Rashkov, Engineering Manager at Meta. Alex has also held senior engineering roles at HSBC, Moo,com and a few smaller startups. He spent years setting up and leading dev teams and he shared with us his vision on how to build a high performing engineering team. We also talked about effective team collaboration and building cross-functional teams, how to motivate your team to improve their performance, how to measure the results of their work and the key qualities that excellent engineers have in common.
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Is âcomplete decentralisationâ possible any time soon? Can human nature handle it? When are we going to have a really immersive, organic Metaverse experience (as opposed to just having fun with our lookalike avatars in a clumsy virtual environment)? What shall we do to avoid the mistakes we did with web2 and avoid tech giants swallowing us up again?
We discussed the future of the Metaverse with Dr Mark van Rijmenam, international speaker, strategist and book author on the future of tech, blockchain and the metaverse.
Heâs recently finished his latest book âStep into the Metaverseâ and as part of his writing journey he has discussed these topics with over 250 metaverse experts and tech visionaries, so he has a pretty good guess where space is heading. Enjoy our latest episode.
Follow Mark on Twitter and LinkedIn
Check out his website, TheDigitalSpeaker.com
You can also preorder his book, Step into the Metaverse. -
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If youâve been thinking how to bring your company into web3, this episode is for you! Weâre back with a set of super interesting episodes dedicated to web3.
Diego Borgo is a Metaverse native, Web3 ambassador, NFT collector and advisor to global brands. Diego's mission is to help mainstream adoption of blockchain and NFT technology.
He does that by:
1. Advising major global brands on how to enter the space in the right way.
2. Consulting Metaverse & NFT projects, and acting as a member of advisory boards.
3. Offering education through conference keynotes, workshops and on-demand content.
As a brand & marketing strategist, Diego's last work was helping adidas bring "Into the Metaverse" to life.In this episode we discussed:
Why every brand should be thinking about their presence in the Metaverse and how to approach the process;Whatâs in the NFTsâ DNA that makes them so powerful from a community building perspective;How to launch a successful NFT campaign (or what you should do instead!);Most important distributions channels;Many marketers think NFTs are a âpointless fadâ - why this mindset is dangerous;The market is about to crash (and why this is good news!You can connect with Diego on LinkedIn and Twitter.
You can also meet him in June at the Met Ams event in Amsterdam.
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The car insurance provider Marshmallow went from an idea to one of the latest UK unicorns in just 4 years! Founded by twin-brothers Oliver and Alexander, and their friend David, the company is turning the centuries-old insurance industryon its head. We spoke to their VP of Product Martin Shwitzner to find out how theyâre achieving this phenomenal growth. We discussed:
How did they do it? How is Marshmallow different from a traditional car insurance provider?The mechanic and approach to generating over 8,000 (mostly) positive online reviews (4.6 rating on Trustpilot). How can you deepen the relationship with your customer when in reality they donât want to hear from you;How the role of the VP Product changes when the company moves from series A to series B;The product tweak that turned into a massive win (it involves the mobile app!);What roles the company is hiring for and how theyâre assessing the right candidates.Marshmallow is actively hiring at the moment, so make sure you check their Careers page https://www.marshmallow.com/jobs - plenty of exciting opportunities in Product & Tech, Design, Operations, and more!
Full transcript and the video version of the episode here: https://pony.studio/design-for-growth/making-insurance-sexy-interview-with-martin-schwitzner-vp-product-marshmallow -
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We spoke with Raluca Bujoreanu, Principle Product Manager at Zalando and instructor at Product School to discuss how the product needs change depending on the size and maturity of the company. Raluca shared with us:
Her favourite methods for evaluating product features and continuously uncovering user problems before they become major product issues;How to make sure we work on the ârightâ thing;Whatâs the ideal profile for a Head of Product at an early stage startup;The first actions sheâd take to understand the customer needs and the opportunities on the market;The books that helped her grow in her careerVideo version and transcript: https://pony.studio/design-for-growth/how-to-become-a-successful-product-manager-raluca-bujoreanu
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Personal branding expert Amelia Sordell started her personal branding agency Klowt last year and in just over a year theyâre a team of 7, serving dozens of clients and growing. How come theyâre growing so fast? Well, first - Amelia is absolutely amazing! Sheâs confident, authentic, interesting. She does what she preaches - she has built a strong personal brand. But also - personal branding has never been more important. Personal accounts on LinkedIn have 10x the reach of company pages. The growing number of people who built their companies on the back of their personal brands is the real proof of why personal branding is the future of branding, or some even say the future of marketing. People buy from people they trust, and having a strong personal brand allows you to have a connection with people youâve never met before. Itâs like networking on steroids.
We discussed:
Ameliaâs playbook to building a successful personal brand;When and how to start if youâve never invested any effort in building your personal brand;Ameliaâs story of how she became a personal branding expert and created Klowt;Why personal branding is the future and why you should be building yours alongside your company brand (especially if youâre a founder or a CEO!)Don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more insightful and actionable content on branding, design, and product growth.
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Thereâs one question weâve been asking almost all our guests so far - have you ever done a small UX tweak or a product improvement that had a disproportionately high impact on the product, considering the effort it required. Something tiny that turned out to be a big win. In fact, finding out the answer to this question was our main motivation to start this podcast. Can we all learn tactical tips from successful founders and product managers at some of the greatest companies and use them as an inspiration for our own product experiments. Or sometimes even apply them straight away.
In todayâs episode weâre sharing how 11 of our guests answered Desiâs favourite question - small UX tweaks that turned into big product wins. We have:
Callum McKeefery, Founder and CEO of Reviews.io
Tessa Pettman, Global Head of Product Marketing at Wise
Emeric Ernoult, co-founder of Agora Pulse
Faris Aziz, Lead Product Manager at Bloom & Wild
Megan Murphy, VP of Product at HotJar
Ari Last, CEO and Founder at Bubble
Eric Peters, Senior Growth Product Manager at HubSpot
Irina Scarlat, ex Global Head of Growth at Revolut
Zoe Desmond, founder and CEO at Frolo
Matt Lerner, founder of Startup Core Strengths, ex-PayPal and 500 Startups
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If youâre a startup founder, youâll find our conversation with Matt Lerner super valuable! Matt is the founder and CEO of Startup Core Strengths, a growth accelerator and training for early-stage startups. With 11 years at PayPal and almost 4 years at 500 Startups in his resume, heâs the perfect person to learn from when it comes to startup marketing. He believes that 10% of what you do drives 90% of your growth and he shared with us his advice on how to discover the 10% you should focus on.
In this episode of The Product Show, we discussed:
What are the 5 core strengths that form the foundation of every successful startup;How does messaging affect your;When is the right time to invest in branding and how much should you invest in it;Is paid marketing right for you and how to discover your best distribution channels;What if you only have one successful acquisition channel; How do you know itâs time to give up - are there any clear signals suggesting youâre not going to âmake itâ;Whatâs the biggest mistake founders make when it comes to metrics?Which part of the business an early-stage founder should never outsource or delegate? The industries that will keep growing in the next decade -
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ZoĂ« Desmond is the perfect example of how the founderâs personal story and pain empowered them to create a product that solves a problem for millions of people. ZoĂ«'s app Frolo helps single parents access guidance and support, connect with each other and organise events and playdates.
With 3 million single parents in the UK and almost no competition in the space, ZoĂ« knew she was onto something when she became a single parent shortly after her sonâs 1st birthdays. As a non-technical solo founder and a young single mum, sheâs breaking all stereotypes what it takes to build a community of over 24,000 users.
In this episode, we discussed:
how the idea for Frolo was born and what were the early signs of customer validation;the importance of building the community before launching a community-based product;how Zoë is planning to monetise the product (would people pay for using a social network?)the key milestones in their user lifecyclethe mistakes she made and what she learned from them -
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As Head of Product - Engagement at ASOS and with two books and dozens of talks and events in his resume, Marc Abraham has mastered the art of managing growing products with way too many moving parts - from processes and frameworks to people and tools. As he puts it, no two days are the same, and âthe job of a product manager is never done unless the decision is made to terminate the productâ.
His books on product management, âManaging Products = Managing Tensionâ and âMy Product Management Toolkitâ, are well worth a read!
In this episode, we discussed:
how to know when to use your instincts and when to rely on customer validation;effective user research methods for new products (with no users!);how to make sure youâre getting the most out of the customer feedback loop;the rights structure of a product management team;the key ingredients of a successful user interview;what qualities Marc is looking for when hiring product managers for his teamthe mindset you need to lead a product to success -
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We get so obsessed with building the perfect digital experience that we sometimes forget that for many products, even if they rely on digital, the magic for the customer happens offline. Weâve been keen to speak to a company that successfully bridges the gap between the offline and online CX and we finally found the perfect product person. Faris Aziz is the Lead Product Manager at Bloom and Wild. Even if you havenât ordered flowers from them, you probably remember that they pioneered the letterbox flower delivery back in 2013. 8 years later and a few months after their ÂŁ75M Series D funding round, Faris shared with us:
How they bridge the gap between online and offline;How they create demand and retain customers;Insightful findings from recent growth experiments theyâve done internally;His advice on how to grow in product management while growing the product - Laat meer zien
