The Talent Success Podcast

Aniket is the Co-founder of Limechat, India's first level-3 AI chatbot company, who are revolutionalizing the way we interact with online sellers through messaging. A true 2020 Entrepreneur, Aniket even moved in with his co-founder to get as much work done as possible during lockdown. And we also jump into how India crept up as a global tech powerhouse, now attracting VC money at levels close to San Francisco, and Bangalore being the fastest growing tech hub on earth. It's an incredibly exciting time for enterprise in India, and an incredibly exciting time for Limechat, a company that already has it's sights on a US expansion - they're going places

This is the first episode of me sharing some (hopefully) wise tidbits of things I have learned, and things I am learning, in my first 12 months as a startup founder. Starting with SALES - well I have to really because it's my thing. I have been a sales guy for most of my career, having led sales teams in high growth tech startups, and now guess what? Yes, a founders job has got to be sales, whether you like it or not. And selling your freshly launched & unheard of product, can be a tall order. So in this episode I cover (and it's not just for early stagers): The saturated world of LinkedIn and what I've found that has worked for bubb.io Catching the attention of CEOs The taboo subject of email marketing and how to do it properly to drive results How being a technical co-founder with no sales experience can go in your favor Selling early mover advantage and leveraging being a brand new startup Back to basics target tracking and how to book meetings How to cold call without pissing people off Hit me up at

Igor is the Founder of Qooore, a smart signal investment app with a bit of gamification & social thrown in to capitalize on the huge market that of millennial investors. But Igor's story is way more than just another guy starting a tech company; in the middle of lockdown in 2020 his previous business became completely defunct, so (in his own words) he realized 'life is too short', and he decided to launch a tech company. And where better to launch a tech company than San Francisco... So he packed his bags, got on a plane, landed in the valley and proceeded to raise $700k to launch Qooore. This is definition of entrepreneur, and the epitome of the 2020EC.

Holly Stephens is the CEO and Founder of Subly, a clever platform that's really disrupting the ancient art of subtitling that's seen them grow to 60,000+ subscribers during Covid. But Subly is not the only disruptive part of this episode; Holly is challenging the status quo around fund raising and rapid growth tech by building a global team whilst she and her partner are on the road, living in a new country every 3 months. And we hear Holly's story of an eclectic mix of experience from Youtuber to Google Product Manager to selling coconut to Subly (and more), and an interesting one at that.

Our first 'Investor Special' with our new resident Investor, Jonathan Hua. Jonathan is an early stage VC over at Scrum Ventures; last year investing in some of Silicon Valley's hottest startups, and is here giving us a rundown on how to get shit done in the world of fundraising. This episode is YOUR MAP to navigate the shark infested waters of investment, and just a bloody good insight into:

Joe Caprio is the Co-founder of Reprise, a Silicon Valley based sales-tech platform that's revolutionizing the way in which buyers interact with software demos. But Joe's story is one of stable 'career VP of sales' guy who found himself out of a job at the start of Covid, before a serendipitous moment saw him reconnect with some old colleagues to form Reprise; a startup so promising that VCs were queuing to dish out the cash, with them Series A-ing to the tune of $20m in less than 12 months. Not to mention the 50 headcount by month 11. We hear the idiosyncrasies in tech sales, the comical moments around raising money, and how this is an incredible time to be a startup. A few jokes and questionable analogies thrown in for good measure, this is a thoroughly enjoyable episode from a thoroughly interesting entrepreneur.

As we're half way through Season 1, we're taking a one week break from the usual, and bringing a lil interlude touching on some of the guests we've had so far, our strange recording contraptions, and what's next in store for the 2020EC...

Tom Lipczynski is the Co-founder and CEO of Vpply, an Australian based job board startup who are bringing video to the job seeking market - well it was already there, but they're just doing it better. And this is way more than just another disruptor story; Covid was the catalyst for Tom having a 'screw it let's do it moment' and saw him go from working for the largest job board on the planet, Indeed, to creating his own and taking on Indeed with no previous startup experience. A true entrepreneurial story, with an interesting concept and some incredible insight along the way.

Matt Overall is the CEO and Founder at SkuSpring, a UK & US based startup who's mission it is to bring data monetization to the small retailers; something previously exclusive to the big guys. This is a very interesting insight into the big data that's formed when we're walking around our local large retailer, and they're empowering the smaller outlets with the same. But Matt's story is also a very human one - after deciding to take a bit of a slow exploration into a new role, after having worked for a tech company in NYC for 5 years, he found that slow exploration interrupted by Covid! And it was the 'pause moment' that saw him decide to push the button on that idea he'd be thinking about years. If you have 'that idea' tucked away somewhere, then this episode is for you...

Matt Blumberg is the CEO and Co-founder at Bolster, an NYC based 2020 startup who's mission it is to digitize a previously untouched part of staffing. Bolster is the first 'on-demand' executive marketplace where you can 'rent a CTO' for that next product build and get match made to the perfect advisor to help you nail that GTM strategy. It's also an amazing insight into the way in which we can bring a high degree of digitization to a part of staffing that hasn't seen it before. AND THEN THERE'S MATT! - this guy not only started another company in 2020, he literally wrote the book on it (available in all of your favorite retailers). He's been in business for 20+ years, having had successful exits, runs a non-profit and just all round being a pretty inspiring bloke. Do give us a follow: https://rb.gy/mdqlsr Sponsored by: bubb.io

Part 2 of our Incubator Special, and meeting Snorre Jordheim Myhre, CEO & Co-founder of Plaace. This week sees 2 episodes from 2 European based early stage Incubator success stories. We're delving into this ultra competitive world of entrepreneur match making, idea cultivation and what really happens behind the closed doors of these little mystical success factories. Snorre takes us through his super interesting back story from running an underground bar fresh out of college, travelling the world, some corporate stuff at Accenture, and then beating over 800 applicants to be one of 20 entrepreneurs chosen to launch a brand in 2020 out of Antler in Oslo . Then that really inconsiderate covid thing, and how they're embracing changes in the market to launch Plaace armed with $1m in seed money. This will be the best 40 mins you've spent today.

Part 1 of our Incubator Special, and meeting Julianne Sloane, Co-founder of Nossa Data. This week we bring you 2 episodes from 2 European based early stage Incubator success stories. We delve into this ultra competitive world of entrepreneur match making, idea cultivation and what really happens behind the closed doors of these little mystical success factories. Julianne takes us through meeting her Co-founder, hatching an idea, and on the day of launch securing their first funding round to get Nossa Data off the ground - a clever technology company around supporting businesses with ESG - the fastest growing sector in asset management. If you're anyway entrepreneurially minded - you should be listening already!

Maia Sasania, Co-founder of Vestico, talks us through bootstrapping their revolutionary FashionTech concept and getting it to market in 2020. This is a fascinating insight into the sheer scale of wastage in the fashion industry which has a hugely negative environmental impact and billions in lost revenue to the fashion retailers themselves, told to us by an extremely interesting guest in Maia. If you're a current entrepreneur, an entrepreneur to be, or just interested in the way the global fashion industry works, then this a must listen for you. A true grass-root entrepreneurship story, and brand that are certainly one to watch.

Peter Hazlehurst, former Head of Uber Money, former Head of Product at Google Wallet, + Postmates, + Yodlee, + Nokia (and tons more, seriously), is the CEO and Co-founder at Synctera, a $12m seed, Silicon Valley based, revolutionary banking company. This episode is a fascinating insight into Peter's 28 year career so far, team bonding in a Californian Supermax prison, successes, failures, and forming his new brand, Synctera, during the chaos of 2020. If you're a FinTech entrepreneur, to be honest you should have pressed play already, but this episode isn't just for you. Peter talks us through 28 years of business and entrepreneurship that will resonate with any commercial enterprise on earth. We hear about raising capital and managing investors, go to market strategy at Uber, using loss leading products to your advantage, the future of work & the importance of serendipity, recovery & the opportunities that it holds, and all round inspiring words from a guy who's done a thing or two. A 2020 entrepreneurship story at its finest, with a few extra decades of history thrown in for good measure.

Yoav Vilner is the CEO and co-founder at Walnut, an awesome Tel Aviv based tech startup which is about to reinvent the way in which software is sold. This episode is an insight into how two seasoned entrepreneurs, armed with a cracking idea, built a formidable team backed by awesome investors, including the co-founder of Wix.com and VPs from GitHub and Google, to get a clever concept to market at a time when the way in which we sell software was never so important. Yoav is the absolute definition of a 2020 entrepreneur and Walnut.io is definitely the one to watch in 2021 and beyond.

Christian Facey is the CEO & Founder of AudioMob: the worlds first (and only) audio ad solution for the mobile gaming industry. This episode is an insight into an entrepreneur, who armed with a geniusly simple idea, constructed an awesome brand, an awesome team and some solid investors, to get it to market quickly. AND THEN SOME THING CALLED A GLOBAL PANDEMIC STRUCK!! But he ducked, dived, and made the best of a bad situation to position AudioMob as THE audio advertising solution for the gaming industry. Christian is the true definition of a resilient 2020 entrepreneur who's meandered Covid splendidly to ensure AudioMob is tee'd up to dominate the market in 2021 and beyond.

Jamie Beaumont is the CEO & Founder of Playter Pay: the 'Klarna of recruitment' and the world's first 'buy now, pay later' solution for clients within the staffing industry. This episode is an insight into an entrepreneur with no previous financial services experience, who armed with a good idea and a shed load of grit, got a FinTech brand to market in under 6 months. His story so far is the epitome of The 2020 Entrepreneurs Club and hopefully inspires the next wave of disruptive techy stuff that'll make for The 2021 Entrepreneurs Club.