Round Pegs Square Holes Podcast

Lee is a High Performance Life Coach at Mind Power Solutions. He joined the army at 16 after his mother committed suicide a year previously. Following the prestigious British Commando course, he earned a green beret at 18, with many years serving with tours around the world. Having worked with multi million pound business owners, professional athletes and this year alone, coached over 300 military leaders in the British Army, Lee will be sharing his valuable insights into how you can tap into a level of high performance, previously you have not experienced, or sustained. In Lee's words: "My clients increase productivity by 20% on average (measured). Now imagine doing that whilst regaining personal and professional life balance - that’s what I do".

"Everyone has a talent, everyone has a story to tell." Octoos Talents are passionate people with an expertise. Talents would like to share their know-how, their expertise, their passion through an experience/activity. Talents bring emotions to Explorers and allow them to better understand the DNA of a city in an authentic and new angle. In this talk Sebastien will delve further into the Octoos mindset and teach us how to explore a city the right way. Sebastien’s roots come from a mix of French and Spanish cultures and he has lived in several different countries. He worked for a large corporation for 15 years and had the chance to be a Business Angel for early stage companies in parallel. He has had the pleasure of visiting more than 60+ countries and an impressive array of iconic world monuments. His most vivid memories though are the encounters with people. On every trip without fail, he has engaged with locals all around the world. It then became a requisite for him when travelling: meeting people, communicating, exchanging. Because everyone has a hidden talent, because everyone can bring something special to someone else, he had the idea to connect people: to connect local talents and explorers for everyone to share and live a one-of-a-kind experience. Octoos was thus born. Sometimes you meet people who will change your life for the better! It is time to meet, exchange, share and thrive on our talents.

In this episode we are going to be speaking with the incredible Marcus Smith. Marcus' latest series, "Winning with The Ultra Mindset", explores the core lessons he learned after his near-death experience and how participants can put them into practice to win consistently at life. He will share a condensed version of this with your listeners to help them develop a mindset that fosters mental toughness and enhanced self-discipline to keep you on track. Marcus Smith is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and international athlete.

Rob is an Entrepreneur, Investor, Author of 6 Amazon and Audible Bestsellers, Prolific Podcaster, two-time Public Speaking World Record Holder, Founder of The Rob Moore Foundation. Have you ever wondered how you can build an online business with LOW to NO overheads? Today we are going to find out!

Gavin J Gallagher is an Irish property investor, entrepreneur and speaker. As Director of Earlsfort Group, his family business, he looks after their corporate real estate portfolio at East Point Business Park in Dublin comprising 38 buildings across more than 40 acres with than more than 50 occupiers employing between eight and nine thousand people. In this talk, Gavin will discuss his own story and key lessons he’s learnt from his experiences. Gavin’s story is truly remarkable, as a commercial property investor during the period 2003-2007 he was was on fire, the Celtic Tiger economy was booming and everything he had touched turned to gold, amassing tens of millions in profits while still only in his early 30’s. He was caught by the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and ended up 16M negative with three banks after him while he frantically tried to keep his sinking ship afloat. As an investor never forget the market is cyclical - you will be at the top and then you will be at the bottom, hence the importance resilience and when shit gets real just remember your stumbles and falls do not define you, it’s how you respond to them that matters.

There will come a time when the news says "Its been 90 days since the last Covid Case", with that will come a rush of energy in the market, we are on the cusp of waves of innovation. By now your business should have reset and reinveted itself for the decade ahead. Its now time to paddle and surf to be on top of the incoming waves. Daniel is back to discuss how to capitalise on this moment to position yourself as a Key Person of Influence in your Industry. We will be diving into lead generation and why data should be your big focus going into the next decade. Daniel Priestley is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and international speaker. Starting with nothing, he built successful multi-million dollar businesses in Australia, UK and Singapore. By working with some of the world's most successful people, Daniel discovered there are five strengths that the top entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders possess. With a passion for global small business, Daniel is the author of the four best-selling books Key Person of Influence, Entrepreneur Revolution, Oversubscribed and 24Assets. Daniel is the founder of Dent, which runs a 9-month growth accelerator programme for small enterprises, working with over 500+ entrepreneurs each year to develop their businesses. Dent has offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia.

In this talk, Isabelita will talk through stress, especially when looking for a job -- the effects of it and how much it affects the actual aimed results. She will also discuss the mindset during the job search for successful and faster results and the importance of relaxation and staying positive. She will cover perception, reality, cause and effect, frequency, human “softwares”, power of creation, visualization and the law of attraction amongst other things. Originally from Brazil, having lived in several countries, living in Dubai since 2011, Isabelita Castilho is a passionate Executive Career Consultant, who provides strategic career transition advice to senior executives looking for their next job. Isabelita is also a conversational hypnotherapist and the author of the book “All The Secrets of Getting a New Job in Dubai, Unleashed!” Isabelita has advised many senior executives across the world and has many public testimonials (64 up to date combined) on her LinkedIn profile page. She studied in the U.S, Australia and Brazil, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, while having acquired many HR-related certifications including interview skills, dealing with difficult people at work and work relations. She speaks several languages and is currently learning Swedish. Isabelita loves NLP, Neuroscience, Hypnosis, Meditation, Spirituality and is an avid public speaker as well.

In this talk, Matthew will discuss how, having spent the past 10 years working in bespoke menswear, the last 3 running his own business with sustainability being a big driver, he decided to take this into school uniforms where the potential for positive impact is so much bigger. At the moment uniforms have a huge environmental impact and aren't good for the kids wearing them, and he’s decided to make a change in that system. Covid isn't just about pivoting, it is about pivoting to business models that are going to help solve the climate crisis that we face, and he plans to take us through the steps of how his business did just that. Matthew Benjamin was born and raised in London. His father is from Guyana, and although his mother was born in the UK, her parents are from Jamaica. With a dad hailing from the Caribbean, he grew up playing cricket and the Windies are his team. He studied Advertising in the UK before going to study an MBA in Luxury Management at the International University of Monaco. His career started in London, working for the largest custom clothing company in the world, Tom James, which led him to come to Dubai, to open and run an office for them, becoming one of the youngest in the history of the company to do so. In 2017 he started Benjamin Siggers, a bespoke menswear business with sustainability at its core. As his passion for sustainability grew, so did his ambition to make more of an impact, which has resulted in him starting Kapes.

In this talk, Nick will chat through the brand ethos of TeamAngelWolf, that is, Inclusive Impactivity. This refers to the notion of encompassing and including all people comprehensively as well as creating a positive, equal space with an enhanced quality of being active, visible and impacting the community. Nick Watson has lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates since 1998 after serving as a Royal Marine prior to that. He has been in the health and fitness world for over 22 years and considers himself a a constantly inspiring entrepreneur, with vision, heart, driven ambition, and perfectionism to organisation and detail. He is the founder of Team AngelWolf which is a non-profit foundation that promotes an inclusive, active life with People of Determination. They work primarily with families and individuals of all abilities in a welcoming, motivational and connected space. Their action surrounds the principal that everyone is welcome and everyone is equal.

Craig, if you don't know already, was the primary vehicle technical advisor for The Fast and the Furious, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift. (The best of the franchise) He grew up loving cars, and after many years and roles inside the automotive aftermarket industry, this ultimately landed him a position with Universal Pictures in 2000. He leveraged that relationship to help further various side ventures. After helping others build their dream, Craig struck out on his own and started building his own dream. Over his 30 years in marketing, he had to reinvent himself multiple times to adapt to new technologies. Today, Craig's work/life balance is both satisfying and rewarding, with ECommerce being his biggest passion. In this talk, Craig will discuss taking lessons from the economic crash of 2009 and implementing them in the current time as well as how diversification has helped us weather the storm. Not to mention, we'll cover a lot of what he did in the FF franchise and how he leveraged those relationships to get ahead in life.

Sridhar is a Logistics Professional with over 28 years of experience behind him in the Freight and Logistics industry in India and UAE. Growing from grass root levels, Sridhar is now the CEO of Accelerate Freight Services Co LLC an organization based in Dubai. The organization is into providing Freight Forwarding, Project cargo and other Logistics Solutions. In 2014 he reached the lowest ebb of his life landing himself into a debt trap. He had only 2 options, either to call It quits or bounce back. He chose the latter and there was no turning back after that. He discovered his Passion for Motivational Speaking, Training and Coaching in 2016 and has ever since pursued it and has now turned it into his Labour of love. He is a Certified Behavioral Styles Expert, Think & Grow Rich Expert (representing Napoleon Hill Foundation in the Middle East) and a Professional Networker. He enjoys Networking and meeting new people all the time. When he is not working, he loves reading, listening to music and cooking (vegetarian food).

People often talk about reading a book that changed their life, but the book that will really change your life is the one you write. Every business founder and entrepreneur should write and publish their own book. I'm here to tell you why, and how it's not as hard as you think it might be to become the author of a really good book. Lucy McCarraher started her first publishing company while she was still at university and has worked in publishing and the media ever since. She is the author of 12 books – three novels, four self-help books and five books on writing, including the most recent, A Room of One’s Own – a manifesto for women to share their experience and make a difference – and Managing Editor of Rethink Press, which has published over 400 niche business and self-development books. Lucy is the Founder of the Business Book Awards, and Global Publish Mentor of the Key Person of Influence programme. She has mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners to plan, write and publish their books. Lucy is a speaker and trainer, and has a post-grad diploma in teaching Creative Writing and Literacy. She was nominated for the NatWest EveryWoman Awards for female entrepreneurs in 2017.

In this talk we'll be learning how you can build your empire by creating multiple businesses and scaling them rapidly. Nick Bradley is a world-renowned business growth and scale-up specialist, who helps exceptional business leaders unlock their full potential. He is the host of the UK's #1 Business Podcast on iTunes and Spotify - Scale Up Your Business - which has achieved over 100,000 downloads, in 130 countries, in less than 12 months since launch and includes guests such as Neil Patel and David Meltzer. He also works with Private Equity investors across the UK, the US, and SE Asia, leading business turnarounds, mergers, acquisitions and scale-ups. Over the last decade, he has bought, built and sold multiple businesses, creating significant value for himself and shareholders. This includes enabling 22 business acquisitions and completing over $5.3 billion in deals across 8 business sectors, in 11 countries. He is the co-founder of The Fielding Group, a growth accelerator that helps companies improve business performance – in order for entrepreneurs to create freedom, build wealth, and live life without limits. Originally from Australia, Nick is a dedicated family man who has a strong background in physical fitness, having completed 67 marathons and 24 ultramarathons worldwide. He is also a qualified personal trainer and performance coach.He is absolutely committed to personal growth and becoming the best version of himself ... and inspiring others to achieve the same. His mission is to help bring an entrepreneurial skillset and mindset to people all over the world as a driving force of progression and prosperity.

A trained practitioner of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) coaching methods, Samir has wide experience in applying his unique style of coaching with Change-makers and Leaders who aspire to have more and be more in their lives while make a big impact through their work. Samir Geepee is a creative thinker and an effective conversationalist. He is the Founder and Curator of Awesome Walkers, a platform created to inspire and motivate through the art of deep conversations. He is also the host of Turning Point, an online initiative where through the art of asking deep questions, he allows the participants find their own answers. Over the course of years, Samir has brought together people from different spheres of life to have engaging conversations, as well as exchange of knowledge and ideas. Samir excels in quick thinking, free-format conversations and inspiring talks. His first work of fiction, Awesome Cup is a remarkable story about the art of having great conversations and exploring the mind.

Phil previously worked as a consultant director, training and launching new chapters before being introduced to BNI in 2007. As a result of his success, he was handpicked to develop Asentiv, an international franchise dedicated to developing and honing the business skills for entrepreneurs, with a speciality in relational marketing. Phil’s drive comes from the fundamental belief that we can all reach our potential and be truly satisfied. We can have the time to live life to the full, be healthy, travel as much as we desire, and it is really simple to achieve. All we need to do is be around the right people and the right skills.

Raj is a local Dubai Entrepreneur, he's a Speaker, DJ, Producer and CEO of Creative Content Agency and also founder of My Friends Your Friends, connecting business owners in Dubai. He’s been in the creative game for 20 years, and he runs a content creation agency that helps create and facilitate content for business to business brands. Fatman Scoop is a two time Grammy Award winning recording artist, promoter and radio personality. He has done over a 100 live shows all across the world, from club shows to major tours. After the hit of the pandemic, travel hit a stop for Scoop, and he had to come up with a unique way to keep in touch with his fanbase. From a traditional recording artist, he had to pivot rapidly, turning to Instagram collaborations and a boost in content. Since then he’s seen a nearly 20% rise in his following. Raj and Scoop met over a decade ago and reconnected a few years ago in Dubai and collaborated on a podcast called Other People’s Podcast. They now work together to convert Scoop’s conversations with artists such as Missy Elliot, from his Instagram content into a podcast itself.

Dariush will share his 30+ years of experience about how he built hundreds of businesses grow into profitability. What he learnt and what to do to build your business and become successful. He is a well sought-after international speaker. His real, from-the-heart, true stories, take the listener through an emotional rollercoaster. They will celebrate his highs, feel the emotion through his lows and get inspired by listening to his unique techniques which have made him a success today. Dariush is a true entrepreneur, with no formal education and no one to guide him, he has built several businesses worldwide. Born in a low-income family, he had to use his creativity and hard work to achieve growth in his business. A married man with 4 children, in 2009 aged 43 due to a series of circumstances and a life-threatening health condition, he lost everything and came to Dubai with just over $1000. Today he operates a number of businesses from marketing, recruitment, training, hospitality, and a very successful online media agency.

Mohammed Murad, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), is an entrepreneur and manages four companies. After a 20-year career with the Dubai Police force, he retired as a Lt. Colonel in 2003. He has more than 27 years of experience as Director and CEO in the fields of Emergency Medical Services Management, Human Resource Development and Strategic Planning all in the Government of Dubai. During his career in Dubai Police, he worked in the Criminal Investigation Department for eight years and then spearheaded the team that established and developed the Emergency Medical services for Dubai. After his retirement from the police he was tasked with heading Dubai’s Institute for Human Resource Development as CEO. He then became the Chief for Excellence and Performance in the newly established Community Development Authority for Dubai Government, where along with the strategic development team laid down the strategic plan and structure of the entity and successfully launched the Authority through a Decree. He has served as a Past International President of Toastmasters International (a non-profit organization for Leadership and Communication skills development) in 2014-15 with more than 360,000 members worldwide. Mohammed is currently the Managing Director of companies in the fields of event management, management consultancy and training, fashion and beauty. He is a lecturer in Event Management Development Institute Dubai (EMDI). Mohammed has extensive experience in Quality Systems, Coaching and Leadership Development with a multi-national workforce in the private sector. He is an entrepreneur, a consultant and a trainer. He is a certified Facilitator for MTA Experiential Learning. He is also a Certified Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN). He holds two Masters degrees, an MBA and a Masters in Quality Management (MQM) both from the University of Wollongong, Australia.

In her talk, she'll discuss how PR and Marketing are two sides of the same coin, and how combining them makes for a well-rounded and powerful communication strategy. Passionate about public relations in the Middle East, and empowering working mothers, Rosa has spoken at various events. Her most recent talks have been at BNI Rising Phoenix, Deals In High Heels (a female-forward networking event in Dubai) and at Dubai English Speaking School (DESC). Rosa also hosts intimate workshops at SOCIATE’s HQ, every month. These have been fervently welcomed by their audience, and become quite popular. Rosa launched SOCIATE in 2013. Since its debut, the agency has grown from strength to strength, winning international accounts and being shortlisted for prestigious industry awards.

Flo grew up a passionate snowboarder who not only performed on the board as a sponsored team rider but also discovered his passion on the microphone while performing on stage, as well as behind the scenes organizing events. His passion turned into a profession with a degree in Communication, Event, and Sponsoring Management, where he then decided to leave behind his own event agency ‘Concept Lifestyle’ and to conquer the international events industry. Exchanging the mountains for the sand and the snow for waves of Dubai, Flo felt that organizing events as a professional behind the scenes was not enough. He was missing the unbeatable feeling of exciting an audience while standing on stage. He joined Toastmasters, becoming a dedicated member, delivering numerous speeches and receiving various awards doing what he loves most – inspiring others. His broad knowledge and exposure to many industries as an experiential marketing producer empower Flo to be an extraordinary MC and Speaker with a holistic approach to any engagement. Equally, as a producer, he is aware the little details which can turn a regular speech, or stage show into an astonishing experience for the audience.

6 years ago Laura's life was left hanging in the balance, when she was hit by a car, whilst out running. Completely broken, the odds were stacked against her. But she didn't just choose to live, she learned to thrive. Sixteen surgeries down the line and more ahead, she has become a master of resilience and learned that we rarely "bounce back"; it's a process of recovery. However, we are all more capable than we think and Laura can share how we can all learn to thrive, even in the most adverse situations. Laura is the founder of Laura Everest Consulting Services and has spent 30 years, leading, developing and elevating leaders and large teams across the world with more than a decade at Harrods, London and 15 years in the Middle East. Laura is trained in Positive Psychology following her accident and has become a Certified Gallup Strengths coach. She has recently set up her own Strengths based company for professional development.

Nancy Haines is an energetic, results-driven and passionate Confidence Coach and Talent Management professional with over 12 years of successful coaching, talent development, employee relations, leadership training and HR experience in the USA and the UAE. Nancy believes that HR and Talent Management, are integral to the success of an Organization, and need to be integrated within the overall business strategy. Similarly, she also believe that successful training is one that not only leads to building internal capability but also demonstrates a tangible ROI. With extensive experience in both coaching and designing/facilitating training programs, she has a thorough working knowledge of internationally recognized best practices. Courses facilitated include Presentation Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork & Teambuilding, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence, Time Management, Supervisory Skills, Goal Setting. She is passionate about coaching and mentoring individuals and organizations to align to their missions and achieve their goals, through building self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth, Nancy believes in building internal capability through identifying and addressing training needs; and is an industry expert for both HR and L&D functions.

Julie is a high energy, high content speaker, motivational in style. She speaks from the heart and three decades of experience. Her strengths-based approach energizes people to make positive changes and take massive action using research-based tools and strategies. She has enabled hundreds of teams and organizations to step out of their comfort zone, stay focused, motivated, overcome obstacles, have the courage to try new things, take consistent daily action and move swiftly to the next level of performance. Julie blends eastern philosophy with her own diverse life experiences to deliver unconventional insights into everyday personal and professional challenges. Infused with her personal stories and insights, her transformational programs are supported by powerful images, thought-provoking messages and easy to apply NOW tools. The main takeaways from this talk will be centred around what resilience is and what it means, why it’s essential, How you develop it and resilience habits and disciplines you can implement now to build, boost and broaden your resilience in business, sports, adventure and life.

Spencer is an internationally recognised serial entrepreneur, author and business expert. Spencer Lodge has almost three decades of experience with building startups across the world into 9-figure organisations. He is the founder of The Blue Sky Thinking Group, the parent company of three award-winning brands including Beneple, a SaaS based platform that manages HR administration, Finsbury Associates Wealth Management & Corporate Insurance Brokerage, and Safe Hands, a corporate health and wellness brand

You will learn about Dawn's 7 step value system, that will enable you to create the right content for your audience. The tools to gather this data and how to implement that into your strategy. You will then, use your time more effectively, and have the capability to improve your results month on month. All at your own pace so you can digest the process and put it into action. Dawn creates fun and educational experiences, where everyone can learn, no matter what your experience level is. Dawn teaches at Universities and corporate events, as well as running Leaders In Digital – where the full process is managed for clients.

Rob is going to throw some knowledge bombs and give massive insights into the reality of our situation. Robert Wilcocks is an award-winning independent financial adviser based in Richmond, West London. He recognises the importance of integrity, simplicity, hard-work and happiness. With his wealth of experience, he has developed his bespoke CLEARER model which is backed by real evidence and decades of experience. Having worked in the financial industry for over 15 years, Robert has developed a true passion for working closely with fantastic clients and nurturing personal relationships on a daily basis. Now an award-winning financial advisor, Robert aims to help you measure and optimise the cost-effectiveness of your current investment plans, where you’re likely to be overcharged for the same service elsewhere. As one of the top 1% of wealth managers working in the UK today, Robert Wilcocks is also well qualified to help you create a long-term personalised plan that helps you to secure your family’s financial future and achieve your life-long aspirations. Robert’s wonderful relationships with his clients are built on trust, transparency, understanding and expert knowledge. Robert is known for his straightforward, concise advice. You won’t find any complicated jargon in his approach. By working alongside Robert, you’ll understand exactly where your wealth is being invested and why the decisions you make together are designed to help you live your best life.

Lorna Reeves is an award-winning business owner & entrepreneur. Founder of MyOhMy Weddings and MyOhMy Events. Lorna made the leap to pursue her passion for creating experiential, game-changing events, down to every last intricate detail. Elevating her clients’ brands and events in the campaign for no more boring conference spaces and lectures. Since Covid-19 stopped all face-to-face events, Lorna pivoted MyOhMy Events, to the online space. Helping business owners an entrepreneurs deliver to their existing clients or map online delivering into their business plans moving forward. Anyone can run a webinar, but clients deserve to excel not be average. Best-selling co-author, public speaker and leader, Lorna’s solution focussed style ensure her clients are cared for, feel heard and supported in their work with MyOhMy.

Since the pandemic, every business has to re-invent to stay relevant in a predominantly digital world. 70% of organisations are not prepared for this, but they can be. Dave shares how to utilise your existing business model and current clients to take your company to a brand new level while everybody else is watching Netflix. Dave coaches global and regional leaders, government ministers, c-suite decision-makers for United Nations, US/Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Google, Emirates Airlines, HSBC, Visa, Pepsi & P&G. He has worked with Bruce Willis, James Brown, Sylvester Stallone, Amitabh Bachchan, Robert Plant, Enrique Iglesias & Sting. Certified NLP master practitioner, hypnotherapist, & public speaking coach. Pioneer of Digital Stagecraft for post-pandemic business models. He presented keynote & motivational seminars at prestigious events across the globe in NASA and TedX and many others.

Ramez is the CEO and Founder of The Academy for Sales with more than 28+ years of experience in sales and building sales capability for 78,000+ sales professionals over 38+ countries for companies including: Unilever Foodsolutions, Classic Fine Foods, Proctor & Gamble, Emerson, Trane Ingersoll Rand, Metlife- Alico, Bayt.com, Moevenpick Hotels and Resorts, Nissan -AW Rostamani and many more. In 1994 he started his own multi-million dollar company in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica where he built a revolving sales force of more than 400 sales professionals and expanded into over 10 locations in Central America and Caribbean. Today Ramez focuses on Sales Leadership Development programs and sales consultancy. He is also a professor of Sales & Leadership at Hult International Business School.

Lindsay Trivers, the founder of The Tasting Class, became one of the first FTEN X Evolve founding members. With almost 3.5 hours of wine lessons split into multiple units, The Tasting Class' Tasting Fundamentals online course provides a structured approach to get you drinking good wines, fast. You will learn about the most popular grapes, what they should taste like, and how to spot value when buying them. You'll gain more confidence when talking about and tasting these grapes with your friends, better understand labels, & how to taste & smell - all while tasting along with us, at your pace. The Tasting Class creates fun and educational tasting experiences. From large events, like The Vine Trail, corporate hospitality, private in-home tastings, internationally recognized qualifications for wine enthusiasts & trade, through to virtual tastings, there's something for everyone. The Tasting Class is led by Lindsay Trivers who, in 2019, was named in Caterer Middle East's top 50 most influential F&B people. She holds qualifications with The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, The Court of Master Sommeliers, Auckland University of Technology, and also studied in Belgium under Master Beer Sommelier, Sofie Vanraflegehm.

Have you ever wondered why some businesses have lines and lines of people coming up to buy their product or service and others struggle? There's a very simple but powerful process that Daniel's going to walk us through to ensure your business is oversubscribed. Daniel Priestley is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and international speaker. Daniel is the founder of Dent, which runs a 9-month growth accelerator programme for small enterprises, working with over 500+ entrepreneurs each year to develop their businesses. Dent has offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia.

Jason is an Entrepreneur, Investor & Speaker and Co-Founder Tier One Trading. When Jason started his first business at age 22, He had a real passion for entrepreneurship and solving problems. Since then, he has built and co-built multi-million pound businesses both online and offline. After adopting some simple investment and speculations strategies in the financial markets, Jason was able to achieve financial independence by the age of 29 years old. Since then, he has been able to focus and contribute towards a more rewarding and fulfilling mission. Jason believes that everyone deserves to live an inspired life. We are better humans when we have time to contribute towards what we are passionate about. We can think freely, support our family and help solve the worlds most meaningful problems. Jason's goal is to help educate and liberate as many people as possible from the status quo 9-5 rat race so that they can take control of their finances and design their life the way they want it to be.

Daniel Priestley started out as an entrepreneur at age 21 and built a multi-million dollar event, marketing and management business before the age of 25. A successful entrepreneur, international speaker and best-selling author, Daniel has built and sold businesses in Australia, Singapore and the UK. Daniel is the founder of Dent, which runs a 9-month growth accelerator programme for small enterprises, working with over 500+ entrepreneurs each year to develop their businesses. Dent has offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia. Daniel uses campaigns to help raise up to $100,000 for charity each year and is connected to some of the world’s most known and celebrated entrepreneurs and leaders. With a passion for global small business, Daniel is the author of the four best-selling books Key Person of Influence, Entrepreneur Revolution, Oversubscribed and 24Assets.

Scott Mansell, an ex-professional racing driver and founder of Driver61. Scott trains racers to be faster on the track. With all racing circuits are closed down, there are no competitions, nor is there anywhere to train. Scott has now taken his methodology online to serve the virtual racing community, which has seen much mainstream attention in the last weeks. His first training workshop ran last weekend with 50 virtual drivers. The session sold out and was oversubscribed by 500%.

Are you working efficiently as an entrepreneur? Are you focusing on functional tasks that limit your growth or are you working on tasks that inspire you and help your business grow? This ultimately comes down to building an online team, learning to outsource effectively is a vital skill for every entrepreneur. Learning to outsource your social media, content creation, design work, posting, and reporting is one of the biggest stumbling block for small business owners (who typically spend 40-60 hours on this per month!). 

In this episode you will gain some brilliant insights that you can implement right away to help you save time, save money and increase your impact, rapidly building your social media and personal branding.

Danny Savage is a music-industry podcaster and founder of DJ Growth Lab. As soon as the Spanish lockdown started and flights started cancelling, the business ground to a halt overnight. To keep his team employed and his business afloat, they quickly launched an online music-production platform with daily live workshops and on-demand replays. The newly launched Mixmasters.tv has generated robust revenue in its first two weeks, and monthly subscription revenue is growing as well.

Founder of Mary Grant Designer, Author and Photographer Mary Grant, had to close her stores three weeks into lockdown. She moved 50% of her regular combined revenue from the physical retail stores into e-commerce. She has run an online "wardrobe challenge," which has seen an increase in website traffic of over 1,200%.

Jean-Pierre is a Professional Speaker, High Impact Coach, Author and Elite Vegan Athlete JP, as he is known, coaches people how to tap into their full potential and perform at their best by transforming their body and mind and spirit. He delivers high impact coaching programmes giving people optimum certainty, energy and obsession. With almost two decades of experience in peak performance and personal coaching, JP is renowned for running transformational events, seminars and challenges globally, stretching people to be their absolute best. He has worked with thousands of influential men and women who demand the best from themselves and has over 250,000 followers on social media. JP is the founder of Life Fitness University, an online coaching membership which is focused on making the best education, motivation and inspiration available and accessible to the world. As well as speaking internationally, being featured on TedX, and being hired by large global organisations for his high impact coaching skills, Jean-Pierre regularly contributes to publications and features in the media. He is the author of several books, is a professional martial artist, has completed multiple ultra-marathons and other endurance events, is an Ironman triathlete and was voted as health coach of the year. JP was selected as one of the most inspiring people in London, supported by the London Mayor’s Office, and has had the honour of speaking in front of the UAE Royal Family.

In this episode Sebastian talks about the power of Communities and Collaborations. Small business owners have a unique opportunity at this moment in time and Sebastian puts forward that Dubai is the perfect place to be right now to build partnerships/collaborations in a new global market. Sebastian covers what a modern SME business looks like, what's the perfect set up? Reducing marketing costs, launching products like a sniper, leveraging intellectual property you are sitting on, and a little look into how he has leveraged communities and collaborations over the last 2 months in lockdown.

Jason is an Entrepreneur, Investor & Speaker and Co-Founder Tier One Trading. When Jason started his first business at age 22, He has a real passion for entrepreneurship and solving problems. Since then, he has built and co-built multi-million pound businesses both online and offline. After adopting some simple investment and speculations strategies in the financial markets, Jason was able to achieve financial independence by the age of 29 years old. Since then, he has been able to focus and contribute towards a more rewarding and fulfilling mission. Jason believes that everyone deserves to live an inspired life. We are better humans when we have time to contribute towards what we are passionate about. We can think freely, support our family and help solve the worlds most meaningful problems. Jason's goal is to help educate and liberate as many people as possible from the status quo 9-5 rat race so that they can take control of their finances and design their life the way they want it to be.

Stephanie Taylor is Co-Founder of HMO Heaven, a property management and development company in Wales that provides beautiful, affordable homes for young professional tenants. Their business model relies on being able to fill any vacant rooms quickly. And in lockdown that proved challenging. She pivoted her existing online Rent to Rent Success Kickstarter Programme to assist other operators in systematising their businesses with a focus on navigating current challenges. The launch of their new product brought in substantial returns in the first month.

Alexander Seery is a best selling author & entrepreneur. Alexander has a truly incredible and inspiring story. At the age of 24, he built his first company with zero start-up capital to a six-figure business while working full time as a detention officer based in police custody. Since resigning from the police, Alexander has built his second company and is now the founder and CEO of Shifts to Success, a specialised business training company that supports members of the police and NHS to build successful businesses. His clients have had such outcomes, as building six-figure revenue businesses, coming off anti-depression medication, resigning from their jobs, increasing profits up to 200%, won national awards and cleared debt. Alexander's ethos is all living life on your terms and not becoming a wage slave. (Sacrificing your happiness for a wage). Alexander also wrote business book Police Officer to Entrepreneur in 2017 in which is reached No.1 in three categories.

After being introduced to BNI in 2007, Phil previously worked as a consultant director, training and launching new chapters. As a result of his success, he was handpicked to develop Asentiv an international franchise dedicated to developing and honing the business skills for entrepreneurs, with a speciality in relational marketing. These skills enable individuals to quickly and efficiently increase their business by building a dynamic and sustainable network. Phil’s drive comes from the fundamental belief that we can all reach our potential and be truly satisfied.  Right now, so many business owners, especially in Dubai, are struggling alone. Phil will be speaking with Sebastian on his experience of running several communities and why networking is crucial for survival. 

FTEN X Academy will be hosting a LIVE interview with Ricky Fox and Sebastian Bates. The 'Inspiring Pivot Series is all about hearing incredible stories from small businesses that have managed to pivot online rapidly right in the middle of the global pandemic. Ricky Fox is the co-owner at Captain Fantastic, one of the UK's top children's-party entertainment companies. Their team went from doing 200 physical kids parties a month to absolutely zero. Within a week, the team switched everything online and launched virtual birthday parties, playdates and live shows. The first seven days of launching parties online brought in over 100 bookings (with dozens in new countries). Their online following has grown from 3,000 followers to over 50,000 within a few days of launch, and their online events have already reached over three million people. Their online parties have also been featured on Sky News, BBC radio, The Evening Standard and The Daily Mirror online.

FTEN X Academy will be hosting a LIVE interview with Leanne Spencer and Sebastian Bates. The 'Inspiring Pivot Series is all about hearing incredible stories from small businesses that have managed to pivot online rapidly right in the middle of the global pandemic Leanne Spencer is the founder of Bodyshot Performance, an expert in corporate well-being, author and podcaster. Her team works with big businesses to enhance employee well-being in the office. Her projects were previously delivered on-site, face-to-face. In under a month, the business has launched a well-being portal, running real-time training to remote working teams. Bodyshot is on track to have their best month in the company's five-year history. Listen to what she did and how she pivoted online.

Richard Woods, is an award-winning entrepreneur, BBC's The Apprentice finalist, professional keynote speaker, radio presenter, investor & bestselling author. His latest marketing service to Digital TrailBlazer, showers businesses with a predictable flow of leads every day. Its unique process delivers a fully outsource lead generation system that produces qualified enquiries for sales teams to close.

Designer, author and speaker, Sapna Pieroux is the award-winning founder of brand consultancy InnerVisions ID. Her #1 best-seller ‘Let’s Get Visible!’ was highly-commended at the Business Book Awards 2020. Sapna’s VISION process promises to help you ‘Gain brand clarity, Stand out in your Industry and Supercharge your Business Growth. Sapna is also a Brand Mentor for UK programme Shifts to Success and a business mentor at the University of West London. She is married to Andy and is mum to two karate-crazy boys, Luc & Leon. In this live interview, we will be discussing the importance of branding. Jeff Bezos famously said, "Your brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room". Right now, no one is in the room, so understanding and developing your brand is more important than ever in helping you connect with your audience.

Masami Sato is a celebrated author, award-winning entrepreneur and two-time TEDx speaker. Masami founded B1G1 (Buy1GIVE1) in 2007 and is an expert on the endless benefits of giving back in business. In this live interview, we will be discussing the importance of giving in business. You will learn how to maximise your impact in the meaning-driven world.

Lee Warren is a Keynote speaker on sales and persuasion and the author of 'The Busy Person's Guide To Great Presenting'. In this exciting live interview, we will be learning how to present With Confidence, something that becomes incredibly important as we all move online and need to share our ideas to a larger audience. Lee will be providing us with insights and practical tips on sales, persuasion and presentation.

Raj is a local Dubai Entrepreneur, he's a Speaker, DJ, Producer and CEO of Creative Content Agency and also founder of My Friends Your Friends, connecting business owners in Dubai. Raj has been working in marketing and content for over 2 decades as a DJ, events professional and now consultant for several successful projects. In my talk with Raj we will be talking about the current Pandemic, more specifically, how to market/be seen and heard during this difficult time. There’s a right way and a wrong way to integrate Coronavirus into your content. Avoid being tone-deaf and unravelling all the work you’ve done building a community during the good times.

Our first "Raw but Real", live interview on the 'Round Pegs, Square Holes' podcast, with Peak Performance Coach, International Speaker and best-selling Author Jean-Pierre De Villiers. JP's interview with Sebastian Bates will be on the 'Psychology Of Sales' which will give us tremendous insights on how to pitch and promote ourselves to prospects in this new pandemic market.