Podcasts about happy startup school

We know that people will benefit from what we do, and one way to help others find us is through posting on social media.But what do you do when you don't have a content strategy, a target audience, and you're not yet clear on what you're going to post about?If this sounds like you, you're not alone. A question submitted by the Happy Startup School community sparked this conversation: "How do you post on social media when I'm still not clear?"Laurence, Carlos, and Lana dive into their experiences, sharing honest reflections, and discussing how they developed an ability to post what they stand for and believe in online.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

When Laurence and Carlos started the Happy Startup School, they didn't have a business plan. Instead, they focused on what felt important: community, creativity, and meaningful work.They followed their intuition and sensed their way forward, building connections, thinking out loud, and engaging with guides, not gurus.Many solopreneurs and freelancers think they need a clear path or a step-by-step plan to reach a defined goal. But if you're feeling stuck and procrastinating, it's likely because that plan is missing something.Wayfinding is about trusting your intuition and tapping into your creativity to explore possibilities. It's not about having a fixed destination; it's about discovering the right one, through experimentation, reflection, and bold action.Join Laurence, Lana, and Carlos as they discuss what wayfinding is and how it can help you get unstuck and take action.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Join Carlos Saba from the Happy Startup School and I to explore the transformative concept of getting paid to be yourself. We dive into the unique approach of the Happy Startup Summer School, where entrepreneurship meets personal growth in a setting that encourages genuine connections. Discover practical insights on aligning your passions with your professional endeavors and learn how to navigate the journey towards a fulfilling and authentically driven business. Tune in for a conversation that promises to shift your perspective on what it means to succeed in business and life. CARLOS SABA'S LINKS: Sign Up for the Excite Strategy Starter Kit at https://thehappystartupschool.com/excitestrategystarterkit Join the Excite Strategy Workshop (February 4th @ 3pm UK time) at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/l_wORZP0Qh2X_--2A7caGA#/registration Sign up for the Vision 20/20 Program at http://vision.hapypstartups.co/ Level Up at the Alptitude Retreat a thttp://alptitu.de/ MAJIK MEDIA LINKS: Work with me for the next 12 months and I will support you to take your life's work and business to a whole other level of success, creativity and enjoyment -- Join the Majik Mind Today -- https://MajikMedia.com/Majik-Mind Play the fast, fun, flow inducing game: Play Chi Ball at https://PlayChibBall.com Learn the simplest, most effective marketing strategy I've figured out in 20 years of entrepreneurship. Craft & Tour your Signature Workshop at https://majikmedia.com/signature-work... Learn how to Thrive in Business without Social Media at https://MajikMedia.com/Biz-Without-So... Hire me to be your business and creative coach at https://MajikMedia.com/Coaching Are you a parent and looking for the best Audio Entertainment for your kids? Download the Majik Kids App today at https://MajikKids.com/app

When people join the Happy Startup School's Vision 20/20 program and talk about what they want to do, one phrase pops up again and again:“I just want to be paid for being me.”But it's not always easy to get to this point. Sometimes it takes a circuitous route, as we get more and more used to showing up as our full selves and discovering what it is we truly want to do.One such alumnus of our program who's taken the long way around is creativity coach Mark Steadman. As someone who's able to do it all, from coding to design to writing, he's become a legend in our community for his ability to “ship” - to transform ideas into reality and get them out into the world.But he's tired of constantly cranking out new projects and hustling all of the time. He wants to take a break from constantly “doing” and allow himself to “be” more instead.He now wants to use his knowledge, experience, and skills to help other creative people unlock their own creativity. He's realised that that's the thing that brings him the most joy.But to do that, he needs to put other projects to rest. And that's tough. To make this change, he needs to give himself permission.Carlos and Laurence talk to Mark about what it's like to be a “relentless creative” who has constantly made and shelved projects while he's discovered what he really wants to do now.They discuss what it's like to constantly put out new projects while you try and find “your thing”, and what that's meant in terms of finding his purpose. And they explore whether it's possible to be paid for just being ourselves.They also ask him how he feels about putting all of his different creative endeavours in one place, under his own name for the first time, so that he's finally embracing his role as a creativity coach.

Forget thinking about business in terms of B2B or B2C – It's time to think H2H; human to human.As much as lawyers and accountants will tell you that businesses are independent legal entities, in the end, they're a bunch of humans working together for some reason or other.Too many solopreneurs and founders hide behind the idea of being a “big business” when in fact they are human beings wanting to serve others.They forget that people want to connect with other people, and that connection can help them sustain their businesses financially and energetically.Human beings are hardwired to connect but we have too many barriers between us including screens, cultural biases, and our own limiting beliefs.In order to work well, we need to learn how to connect more.At the Happy Startup School, we believe in building a community around your business. But to build community you also need to build connections. And you can't really connect with others when you can't connect to yourself. It's a journey from the inside out.In his book, The Connection Playbook: A Practical Guide to Building Deep, Meaningful, Harmonious Relationships, Andy Chaleff invites us to investigate how we think about connection and to work on ourselves as well as our relationships. He asks us to foster more empathy, compassion and non-attachment in order to deepen our connection with others.The more we're able to stand on our own and not depend on others, the more we're able to connect and be in deep relationships with them.It seems paradoxical, but by not holding tightly onto outcomes and content, and focusing more on being present and the process of connection, we're more likely to bond with those before us, be they friends, family, romantic partners, or customers.Listen to this episode if you're curious about feeling more connection in your life and building a business that gives you a deeper sense of meaning through a deeper connection with those you serve.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

On our previous episode, Laurence and Carlos spoke with John Parkin about big ideas: what they are; where they come from and how to spot them. He shared how big ideas can create real impact with minimum effort.The idea itself does the heavy lifting. However, what happens when you're still searching for your big idea. How do you commit to action when it's not clear?Say hello to our new friend – the minimum loveable big idea. "Big enough to create impact, small enough to try, authentic enough to be loved." It's an idea that aligns with your hopes, dreams and intentions. It sparks curiosity and excitement, and ideally one that you're willing to commit even though it isn't 100% clear. The feeling is strong even if the plan is patchy.Maybe you have a minimum lovable big idea waiting to be birthed? One that has the potential to make a difference, but personal enough to be close to your heart.Each guest for this episode has a story to tell about their own minimum loveable big ideas:Erin McCormack from Boston, USA – The school for inspiring leadersMatthieu Dardaillon from France – Effortless entrepreneurshipKatherine Horsham from the UK – Adventures in nature for womenBeth Derry from the UK – Teenage self-harmLinksJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohortJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup School

When Laurence started out in business, he was a company of one. For 5 years he found his own clients, did sales and marketing, managed his finances. It didn't even occur to him to ask for help.Then one day he realised it wasn't much fun anymore, and he could only go so far with his own skillset.Thankfully a project came in that meant he had to ask for help if he was to take it on. He could either stay solo and play it small, or start thinking bigger. As luck would have it, Carlos was looking for new opportunities having landed in the same industry not long before.The rest is history.The challenge is not everyone has the fortune to find a business partner where things click so easily. Most of the people in the Happy Startup School community are companies of one, sole founders, solopreneurs, AKA lone wolves.When you don't have a cofounder or no longer have colleagues, a community is your lifeline to connection, which is why in this episode, Carlos and Laurence explore how to find deep, lasting connections when you no longer work for a company (or have one of your own).Long-time friends and facilitators Line Morkbak and Andrea Strohmayr share how to build nourishing, long lasting relationships in business. Line and Andrea have known each other for years. They are not business partners, yet help each other with their businesses. They are not colleagues, yet sometimes collaborate on projects. They met through business circles but yet help each other out with personal challenges.The trouble is we don't yet have a vocabulary for these kind of relationships. Accountability buddies? Business friends? Colleagues?What is clear is this is a conversation that needs to happen more openly. We see these relationships happen in the cohorts brought together on Vision 20/20 and more widely in the online community and from our events. However Line and Andrea are curious about how these relationships can blossom when no-one else is facilitating that connection as part of a committed course or event.They share more about how their relationship came to evolve, give examples of the importance of these colleagueships, and dive into how we get to this level of comfort, vulnerability and trust with one another, where the commitment isn't transactional, but rather grows out of curiosity, chemistry, and a genuine interest in one another.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

“Everything has a time to burn because it invites new life.”During his talk at Summercamp 2022, Ben Johnson shared his thoughts on the importance of creative destruction. Whether you're talking about corporate innovation, the eventual demise of capitalism, or the maintenance of an ecological system, old things need to die in order for new things to live.In 2015, Laurence and Carlos experienced their own phase of creative destruction. They'd been simultaneously running both the Happy Startup School and their digital agency for 3 years and in order for one of them to thrive, the other had to die.They had to stop doing things the way they'd always been doing them.And so, in June that year, after coming back from their Alptitude mountain retreat, they started to wind down the agency. T'hey had 5 staff at the time and many active clients. This made the ending challenging, but it had to be done.Since then, Laurence and Carlos have hosted six more Summercamps, over 10 international retreats and run dozens of courses, programmes, and micro events. They've started podcasts, coached people one-to-one, spoken at events on four different continents and grown a global online community of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and professionals.Ending the agency gave them more time, energy and headspace to focus on and grow the Happy Startup School. It hasn't been easy, and they've had their fair share of ups and downs. But they've learned so much about themselves and collected new friends and collaborators.On this episode, Carlos and Laurence are joined by Ben Johnson to talk about how we can invite change and creativity into our lives by being more prepared to end things.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

When Carlos was a teenager, he never thought he could be an entrepreneur. He had very specific beliefs around what it mean to be an entrepreneur or businessman – the entrepreneur type was loud, flamboyant and risk taking. The businessman type was sober, stern and hard-nosed.He didn't identify with either of those types.These days, though, we've been given much more opportunity to start businesses; from anywhere, doing nearly anything, for just about anyone. The options feel unlimited. Anyone can start a business. But thanks to Silicon Valley startup culture we have a limited perception of the type of person that can build successful businesses.At the Happy Startup School, Carlos and Laurence talk about doing the business from the inside out. They want to help people build businesses and create impact that is aligned to who they really are. The question then becomes “who am I… really?”One way to explore this question is through understanding the Enneagram. This model can be described as a system of personality typing that defines patterns in how people interpret the world and manage their emotions. It's based on nine personality types and maps each of these types on a nine-pointed diagram, which helps illustrate how the types relate to one another.On this episode, Carlos is joined by fellow Happy Startup members and Enneagram enthusiasts Beccie D'Cunha and Kieran Morris. This is the perfect introduction to the Enneagram and will show you how personal development can lead to professional development.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohortFollow Kieran via LinkedInConnect with Beccie via LinkedIn

One of the core models shared with participants of the Vision 20/20 programme is the Story of Change. Based on the Satir Change Model developed by Virginia Satir (family therapist and author), the Happy Startup School uses it to describe the transformation they wish for others.Rather than build products and services that they hope people will buy, members advocate a more design thinking approach that's based on understanding the change that people want to see in their lives. This helps them focus on making things that matter and creating actual value in people's lives.On this episode, Carlos and Laurence are joined by Serena Savini, HR expert and founder and host of the I'm Back! podcast. She was a member of Vision 20/20 Tribe 4, and she shares her mission to help people come back to work from life changing injuries and experiences. And how this story is helping others.If you're navigating a pivotal moment in you professional life or embarking on a project that is totally out of your comfort zone, then this is for you.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohortThe I'm Back! podcast

One of the things Laurence and Carlos are really passionate about at the Happy Startup School is helping entrepreneurs build businesses that are aligned to who they really are.Most people they work with are experienced professionals or seasoned business owners who are looking for a different work path: a path that feels less effortful and alive.Up until now the path they've followed seemed like the right one as they felt like they were achieving and succeeding. However, they were eventually left feeling drained and even burnt out.According to Gaiai Pollini, one of the causes for this is that they weren't being true to themselves. They had made decisions and taken actions that weren't actually theirs. They were based on behaviours that were learned at a young age in order to meet their needs and which have stayed with them into adulthood.If you start a business to make a fundamental change in your life but base your decisions on your adaptive behaviours, there's a good chance you won't make the change you wanted.To make this change you need to identify the source you. Your source is true and fresh in the moment while your layers of adaptive behaviours can constrict and constrain.In this episode, Gaia shares the five different styles of adaptation she uses in her work:The outsiderThe helperThe super personThe people pleaserThe perfectionistThis conversation will help you explore yourself with curiosity and self-kindness and invite you to do some self-reflection so that when you come to creating something new in your life, it will be relevant to your truth, and who you really are.LinksThe F**k it LifeSay F**k it and Feel the Fear – the Happy Entrepreneur podcast, with John ParkinJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Are you starting something new? Are you on the hunt for customers? If so, stop thinking of your customers as just buyers, and start thinking of them as potential partners and co-creators.From the Happy Startup School's experience, what you think people want isn't always what they actually want. And the more you talk to them the more likely you'll find out what really floats their boat and discover how your energy to create can best meet their hunger for a solution.In this episode, Carlos speaks with Adam Forbes, founder of Familiarize. Adam left his corporate job after 20 years to start his new business, and he has principles for co-creating with your customers to share:Start with pain What are people finding difficult and challenging?Understand your customer What are they really trying to do and what outcomes are they looking for?Build hypotheses How do you frame what you think is happening as assumptions you can test?Get out of your head How do you engage and talk to people so you can learn from real world situationsThink collaborators not customers How do you nurture relationships even when you haven't built anything yet?LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

In this episode of the Community Strategy Podcast, Laurence McCahill, Co-Founder of The Happy Startup School will share his journey to inspire, empower and connect entrepreneurs and leaders that want to create lives and businesses rich with purpose.After running a digital agency for 10 years, Laurence and his co-founder have devoted themselves to realizing their vision for The Happy Startup School creating experiences, programs, and an accidental community of like-minded people. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to experience more happiness? Click here to check out their e-book. Connect with Laurence on LinkedIn. Support the Creator to Community Builder BookFull show notes at www.FindCalmHere.com Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEMighty Networks Community PlatformDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

Dr. Carlos Saba helps people build businesses that make them happy. For him, work can't just be about making money. It also needs to be about applying what he loves doing in the service of others. The questions he likes to answer are “who am I really?” and “how do I make things that people will pay for?”. As the co-founder of the Happy Startup School, Carlos is passionate about startups and spirituality, and he thinks of business building as a voyage of self-discovery. So if this is part of Carlos the man, who was Carlos the boy? In this first episode of the new series we talk about Carlos' early years in the Philippines and the UK; the mixed-race experience; fitting in or not; and how the ways we were parented impact the way we try to parent our own children. SOCIAL MEDIA @happymarlolife @rebekah_clark78 @kungfucarlos @happystartups LinkedIn: Dr. Carlos Saba - Curriculum Designer, Facilitator and Coach - Vision 20/20 | LinkedIn WEBSITES www.happymarlo.com http://thehappystartupschool.com http://happystartupsummer.camp http://alpittu.de http://happypricing.co

What's your 10 year plan? What's you 5 year plan? What are your goals for next year? WTF are you actually going to do tomorrow? In business people are obsessed with plans and strategy. But what happens if you don't really know what you want? And what happens if you change your mind? What happens if the world changes along the way? Carlos loves plans, and hates uncertainty. But he's learned about the power of serendipity and the power of being present. In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, how do we navigate our way to success in our lives and in our businesses. It's one step at a time. Simple to say, Harder to do. In this conversation, Laurence and Carlos explore this topic together and reflect on how it's been core to how they've got this far with the Happy Startup School. Mentioned in this episode: https://happystartupsummer.camp (Happy Startup Summer Camp 2022) Join us s for a weekend of possibility, and a lifetime of impact. 16th-18th September.

#005 - As designers, we are skilled at managing uncertainty within design processes but how well do we manage uncertainty within our own lives and careers? Atomic physicist, Kung Fu teacher and the co-founder of the Happy Startup School, Dr. Carlos Saba shares his journey of uncertainties and his biggest lessons trying to find his way around his life and career and how it's ok to not know what you're doing or where you're going. He also talks about why knowing how to conduct transactional research with users doesn't automatically make us good as empathising with people we are emotionally invested with. We also talk about the importance of clarifying your definition of success before setting out to achieve it and how prioritising fun could be a happier alternative when making your career choices.In this episode:Viewing success as a feeling rather than an output or outcomeThe language of needs and being aware of your and others' needsEmbracing uncertainty with a beginner's mindPrioritising fun when picking the people you want to work withShownotes:Happy Startup Schoolhttps://www.thehappystartupschool.com/Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberghttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71730.Nonviolent_CommunicationSam Harrishttps://www.samharris.org/Waking Up Apphttps://wakingup.com/Universe with Prof. Brian Coxhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09ybnpdThe Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tollehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6708.The_Power_of_NowThe Map of Meaning by Marjolein Lips-Wiersmahttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15000685-the-map-of-meaningWork with Source by Tom Nixonhttps://workwithsource.com/

How do we put down our armour of self-sufficiency and competence? While it protects us from challenges and shields us from criticism, it also cuts us off from deep connection and essential support. We think that we need the armour to “hold ourselves together” because if we “let go”, we might not be able to pull ourselves together again. Holding it all in affects our ability to be creative, make healthy business decisions, and have lives which spring from our core values. Holding it all in is a form of unkindness to ourselves because we're not allowing ourselves to show weakness. We're telling ourselves that weakness is bad. Holding it all in means we don't really get to see what's inside. We cut ourselves off from our sense of inner knowing, and from really knowing others. We are social animals that have evolved to survive as a group. Not as individuals. But in the modern world of the hyper-successful founders and all-knowing influencers we've forgotten this. We've forgotten how to be really happy  because we're too busy striving. To experience real happiness we need to experience all three directions of kindness: giving to others, giving to ourselves, and receiving. Which means from time to time we need to put our armour down. On this episode of the podcast, we're joined by Anya Pearse, an http://letthelovein.com/ (intuitive advisor), Head of Positive Psychology at https://www.museumofhappiness.org/ (The Museum of Happiness), and Fellow of the Positive Psychology Guild. She has reframed her 15 years of disability through chronic illness into a spiritual path, combining a researcher's curiosity, a poet's turn of phrase, and a comic's sense of timing to explore and share positive psychology and self-compassion with others. At the Happy Startup School we believe that community is foundational to helping creative entrepreneurs thrive in this modern money-driven world. We're not built of the same stuff as the unicorn driving silicon valley founders or the hard nosed CEOs of the corporate world. We crave connection and we thrive on mutual support. In our conversation we explore how kindness and compassion are essential to our way of doing and being in business.

Carlos Saba is a co-founder (along with Laurence McCahill) of the Happy Startup School, an online community for people looking to do heart-centered business in creative ways. Like myself, he is a PhD holder who has taken an unconventional route in life. In this episode he talks about his own journey to getting the PhD and beyond, the importance of centering fun in our lives, and the possibilities for doing business if you are a creative or artist that do not sacrifice your creative space and vision. If Carlos has one message for people, it is that it is enough to just be who you are, that we can lean into being ourselves and live happy, fulfilling lives by focusing on what energizes us and brings us joy. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!TranscriptThe Happy Startup School website, blog, and videos.Note: Haven offer no longer active.Would You Like to Support My Work?Sign up for my newsletter!Buy me a coffee! You can give me a one-time donation using this link. Become a Patron of Stepping Off Now!

We talk about the spectrum of artist versus business person and the question: what moves one to create? Is it from the inside out or is it rather seeing a market need and solving a problem? Carlos shares that this question is a struggle between his heart and his mind. At the end, we come up with a model with four quadrants together, to determine how creative and how entrepreneurial one is. He shares the three-step iterative process that it takes to build a company that makes money does good and makes you happy. This journey of these three steps or rather principles is not easy, but simple and fulfilling.

Take part in the BenchPress agency survey 2021 http://wowco.uk/benchpress2021 ( wowco.uk/benchpress2021) http://benchpress.uk.com/ ( benchpress.uk.com)  Laurence McCahill is a Co-founder of The Happy Startup School.  He is on a mission to inspire, empower and connect entrepreneurs and leaders that want to create lives and businesses rich with purpose.  After running a digital agency for 10 years, Laurence and his co-founder have devoted themselves to realising their vision for The Happy Start-up School creating experiences, programs and an accidental community of like minded people. Enjoy the chat!

This episode of the podcast is a recording from our Friday Fireside way back in November last year. We were joined by our good friend Ole Kassow, an inspiration to us ever since we started The Happy Startup School back in 2012. He's the founder of https://thehappystartupschool.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=99c773c71f40c7853b5274dac&id=257dc3b612&e=bd33a4a367 (Cycling Without Age), a movement on a mission to create a world where the elderly remain an active part of society and the local community. Since 2012 it's grown from a single cargo bike in Copenhagen to 2000 chapters in 50 countries, serving over 1.5 million people worldwide. But when Ole first started it wasn't meant to turn into a movement. It was just an experiment to see if he could put a smile on the face of an elderly gentleman by getting him on a bike. Retrofitting a cargo bike with a seat he took the man out for a spin which not only put a smile on the old man's face, but also on Ole's. The rest is now history. Listen to this episode to learn what it really takes to be a changemaker. You don't always need big plans to create systemic change. Think big, but start small. In Ole's experience most stories of systemic change have started with an individual trying to solve a very specific problem with a simple solution. Also, it isn't just about creating impact for others but also about finding joy in the work. You're then more likely to keep doing it and also recruit others easily. Find a solution that inspires people. Ole encourages budding change makers to connect their personal story to their story of change. This makes the work feel more meaningful and it also makes it easier to connect with others. You can find out more about Ole and his work here - https://cyclingwithoutage.org/

In this episode of the podcast we shine a light on one of our members, share their work and find out what it's been like to be part of the Happy Startup School. If you're launching a business for the first time and are looking for support and guidance during those initial uncertain months then check out our community at http://happystartups.co. We provide mentorship, masterclasses, training and networking to help you build your confidence and your business. Remeny Armitage's superpower is making friends. She's turned that superpower into a business and now helps other businesses grow by turning their existing clients into happy and loyal advocates. She knows that if you serve your clients better your profits increase. She started her journey of entrepreneurship over three years ago and during this conversation she shares how she's grown in confidence and got more clarity about the value she offers. Through the community she's become more focused and has been “building a fortress around her of really good people”. That's enabled her to be more bold about her business. She does her work because it makes her happy and others happy. We're thankful and proud to have her part of our tribe! Are you scared to talk to your clients? Get Remeny to do it. It may be the best thing you ever do.

In this episode of the podcast we shine a light on one of our members, share their work and find out what it's been like to be part of the Happy Startup School. If you're launching a business for the first time and are looking for support and guidance during those initial uncertain months then check out our community at http://happystartups.co. We provide mentorship, masterclasses, training and networking to help you build your confidence and your business. Remeny Armitage's superpower is making friends. She's turned that superpower into a business and now helps other businesses grow by turning their existing clients into happy and loyal advocates. She knows that if you serve your clients better your profits increase. She started her journey of entrepreneurship over three years ago and during this conversation she shares how she's grown in confidence and got more clarity about the value she offers. Through the community she's become more focused and has been “building a fortress around her of really good people”. That's enabled her to be more bold about her business. She does her work because it makes her happy and others happy. We're thankful and proud to have her part of our tribe! Are you scared to talk to your clients? Get Remeny to do it. It may be the best thing you ever do.

When Laurence and I closed our digital agency it seemed like the natural thing to do. At the time we had a beautiful studio, a talented team and clients with ongoing projects but we'd lost the creative energy to keep it going. We weren't clear about its future and we were being drawn to grow the Happy Startup School. While it wasn't plain sailing closing Spook Studio was a lot less traumatic experience than what many other founders have had to go through. In this episode of the podcast, we're joined for our Friday Fireside by Tom Nixon, author, coach and founder of Maptio (a tool to help develop self-managing organisations). He's on a mission to support founders and research what it takes to create (and close) impactful companies. Tom shares his story of entrepreneurship, how he closed his company and why some businesses have a natural shelf-life, and that's fine. We talk about the taboo connected with closing a company and how we've lost sight of the creativity and humanity at the core of business. Businesses may be legal entities in themselves but in reality they're just a collection of people brought together by the creative energy of the founder. When we forget this we can easily become imprisoned by the structures we've created. If you're a founder thinking about closing your company or at the beginning of a startup journey we hope that this conversation will give you a new and more energising perspective on what it means to be an entrepreneur.

When Laurence and I closed our digital agency it seemed like the natural thing to do. At the time we had beautiful studio, a talented team and clients with ongoing projects but we'd lost the creative energy to keep it going. We weren't clear about its future and we were being drawn to grow the Happy Startup School. While it wasn't plain sailing closing Spook Studio was a lot less traumatic experience than what many other founders have had to go through. In this episode of the podcast we're joined for our Friday Fireside by Tom Nixon, author, coach and founder of Maptio (a tool to help develop self managing organisations). He's on a mission to support founders and research what it takes to create (and close) impactful companies. Tom shares his story of entrepreneurship, how he closed his company and why some businesses have a natural shelf-life, and that's fine. We talk about the taboo connected with closing a company and how we've lost sight of the creativity and the humanity at the core of business. Businesses may be legal entities in themselves but in reality they're just a collection of people brought together by the creative energy of the founder. When we forget this we can easily become imprisoned by the structures we've created. If you're a founder thinking about closing your company or at the beginning of a startup journey we hope that this conversation will give you a new and more energising perspective on what it means to be an entrepreneur.

In this episode we talk to cofounder of The Happy Startup School, Dr Carlos Saba.Having seen the damage caused by placing the importance of money over meaning, he’s been passionate about optimising his business for happiness, not just profits since starting his journey 15 years ago.Now as Cofounder of the Happy Startup School, he’s on a mission to help people embarking on a journey of learning how to make money, do good and be happy with online training, coaching, events and a global community.We talk about...Why purpose is key, and where to start looking for yoursFacing fear and failure head on in the face of a global pandemicRiding the highs and lows of entrepreneurship in a balanced, sustainable wayWhat first steps to take when building and launching ideasDealing with other people's influence and judgement on your career/entrepreneurial pathLinks mentionedUprise Academy Newsletter: https://www.uprise.academy/The Happy Startup School: http://www.thehappystartupschool.com/The Happy Entrepreneur Podcast: http://ahappy.link/itunesCarol Dweck's Growth Mindset Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improveA Day Of Nothing Festival: https://www.dayofnothing.co/

In this episode, Rachel is joined by Laurence McCahill, co-founder of the Happy Startup School, an alternative business school and thriving community of entrepreneurs that put happiness before profits.We chat about the importance of knowing what we really want before setting vision and goals. What would life be like if we designed how we want to live and then created careers that work around this? We discuss how to create your ideal working week. Download my free ‘Thrive Week’ tool in the podcast links below. By getting real about how much time we are spending on certain things and making some difficult decisions that will help us feel less overloaded. One of the questions we should ask ourselves whenever we are exploring a new opportunity or asked to take on new work is ‘at what cost?’ – and remember to measure this not just in monetary terms but in terms of energy, enjoyment and fulfilment. Podcast linksDownload our free Thrive Week tool to help you design your ideal week.http://www.thehappystartupschool.comContact Laurence at laurence@happystartup.co The online course and membership community Beat Stress and Thrive TribeSign up for downloadable CPD reflection forms plus more tools and resourcesFor more episodes of You are not a frog, check out our website You Are Not A Frog Podcasts and sign up to our mailing list here for loads of useful resources about thriving at work. Follow Rachel on twitter @DrRachelMorris or LinkedIn and find out more about her online and face to face courses for doctors on surviving and thriving at work at www.shapesfordoctors.com or for other organisations at www.shapestoolkit.co.uk Support the show (https://shapesfordoctors.com/)

This is the last episode of 2019 and a bit of a milestone for me. The podcast started in February as a bit of an experiment and I'm proud to have now recorded 50 episodes. Recording and producing each episode has taken a lot of time and effort but at the beginning of the year I had set myself a one word intention of learning and this podcast has felt so aligned with that. When I first started I didn't know what I was doing. The first few episodes were very raw but the podcast evolved after each recording and over time I discovered the style and format that felt right. Also, sharing these stories with listeners has allowed me to exercise my own practice of listening. I've learned as much about myself as I have about my guests. I'd like to thank everyone who gave up their time to join me on the podcast and also to everyone who's taken the time to listen. On this 50th episode I'm joined by one of our good friends and an alumnus of our first ever Alptitude retreat, Haje Kamps. He's had an eclectic career taking on the roles of journalist, entrepreneur, author, podcaster, VP of a VC and pitch coach. He's also one of the most well-read and knowledgable people I've ever met with ideas and thoughts on just about every subject you can throw at him. Through my work with the Happy Startup School one of the most common questions we're asked is about getting funding. In this episode we talk about venture capital and what it does to founders. In the startup world VC backing is seen as a badge of honour but I've come to understand that it isn't for everyone. I learned from Haje that being backed by VC funding can be brutal. They'll support you with their time and money but only if they can make a massive return on their investment. If you don't look like you're going to go big then you might as well go home. Building the unicorn businesses that VCs are looking for can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams and a household name, but at what cost? While many entrepreneurs appear to be after the money and the status, what's really motivating them? During our conversation we talk about intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and the importance of self knowledge for entrepreneurs. Haje shares some of his own journey of self knowledge and we talk about the value of deep conversations and vulnerability.

Sarah Metcalfe is the founder of Happy Coffee Consulting and a long time member of the Happy Startup School. She's passionate about creating happy workplaces and this September she launched her very first online summit about Happiness at Work. The idea came to her in March and within 6 months it was up and running. Now that's idea to action! In this episode we talk about her work and how she helps companies create happy work places and she shares her view about how companies focus on the wrong things when trying to bring happiness to work. We also hear how she and her team managed to pull together a 5 day summit with 40 talks and workshops. She shares her approach, some of the challenges they faced and what she'd do differently next time. According to Sarah launching your own event like an online summit is a great way to bootstrap your way to spreading the word about your work, developing your own program of learning, growing your email list, but most of all, getting to learn from amazing people that you respect and admire. If you're thinking about growing your impact and spreading awareness about the work you do then this episode is for you. Find out more about Sarah and her work here: - https://www.happycoffeeconsulting.co.uk/ - https://happiness-at-work.teachable.com/ - https://www.facebook.com/happinessatworksummit/

Laurence and Carlos are two of my favorite people in the world as well as being the co-founders of The Happy Startup School, an alternative business school that supports entrepreneurs and changemakers build businesses and do work that align with who they really are. They host transformational online programs, offline retreats (which is where I met them) and magical business festivals that connect people with themselves, each other and the world. They believe that building your own business is one of the best ways to create positive impact and in doing so parts of you will emerge that you did not know you had. Join their global community of business hippies and discover your role in the world before its too late. I hope you enjoy what they have to say as much as I did.

Whether you're a beginning entrepreneur or an established business, there's no better time than the present time to begin optimizing your business for sustainable success, without sacrificing your happiness (or that of your employees). In the struggle to create the next business solution that is faster, cheaper, or better than the competition, far too many entrepreneurs lose their sense of meaning in the pursuit of money.In today's episode, we meet Dr. Carlos Saba, co-founder of The Happy Startup School, where he leads a community of startups and creative entrepreneurs who want to put happiness at the core for their businesses.My favorite quotes from Dr. Carlos Saba (paraphrased):"It's important to optimize one's business for happiness, not just profits.""People sometimes need help finding their ideal roles of meaning in the world before it's too late.""A 'Happiness Startup Canvas' is key to starting, growing, and then leading a successful startup."You can connect with Dr. Carlos Saba online here:Website: https://thehappystartup.schoolLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kungfucarlosAbout the PROFITABLE HAPPINESS™ Podcast:At some point in our lives and businesses, we realize that despite conventional wisdom, success does not lead to happiness. In fact, we learn that it’s the other way around. Although money can’t make you happy, it turns out that “happy” can make you money! In this podcast, we feature stories from highly successful happiness professionals, executive coaches, experts, and entrepreneurs, and we learn from them how they’ve used the art and science of happiness to succeed in their businesses. For a weekly journey of mindset, motivation, marketing, and music, subscribe to the “PROFITABLE HAPPINESS” Podcast with Dr. Pelè.https://drpele.comSupport the show (https://drpele.com)

This is the last episode of 2019 and a bit of a milestone for me. The podcast started in February as a bit of an experiment and I'm proud to have now recorded 50 episodes. Recording and producing each episode has taken a lot of time and effort but at the beginning of the year I had set myself a one word intention of learning and this podcast has felt so aligned with that. When I first started I didn't know what I was doing. The first few episodes were very raw but the podcast evolved after each recording and over time I discovered the style and format that felt right. Also, sharing these stories with listeners has allowed me to exercise my own practice of listening. I've learned as much about myself as I have about my guests. I'd like to thank everyone who gave up their time to join me on the podcast and also to everyone who's taken the time to listen. On this 50th episode I'm joined by one of our good friends and an alumnus of our first ever Alptitude retreat, Haje Kamps. He's had an eclectic career taking on the roles of journalist, entrepreneur, author, podcaster, VP of a VC and pitch coach. He's also one of the most well-read and knowledgable people I've ever met with ideas and thoughts on just about every subject you can throw at him. Through my work with the Happy Startup School one of the most common questions we're asked is about getting funding. In this episode we talk about venture capital and what it does to founders. In the startup world VC backing is seen as a badge of honour but I've come to understand that it isn't for everyone. I learned from Haje that being backed by VC funding can be brutal. They'll support you with their time and money but only if they can make a massive return on their investment. If you don't look like you're going to go big then you might as well go home. Building the unicorn businesses that VCs are looking for can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams and a household name, but at what cost? While many entrepreneurs appear to be after the money and the status, what's really motivating them? During our conversation we talk about intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and the importance of self knowledge for entrepreneurs. Haje shares some of his own journey of self knowledge and we talk about the value of deep conversations and vulnerability.

Sarah Metcalfe is the founder of Happy Coffee Consulting and a long time member of the Happy Startup School. She's passionate about creating happy workplaces and this September she launched her very first online summit about Happiness at Work. The idea came to her in March and within 6 months it was up and running. Now that's idea to action! In this episode we talk about her work and how she helps companies create happy work places and she shares her view about how companies focus on the wrong things when trying to bring happiness to work. We also hear how she and her team managed to pull together a 5 day summit with 40 talks and workshops. She shares her approach, some of the challenges they faced and what she'd do differently next time. According to Sarah launching your own event like an online summit is a great way to bootstrap your way to spreading the word about your work, developing your own program of learning, growing your email list, but most of all, getting to learn from amazing people that you respect and admire. If you're thinking about growing your impact and spreading awareness about the work you do then this episode is for you. Find out more about Sarah and her work here: - https://www.happycoffeeconsulting.co.uk/ (https://www.happycoffeeconsulting.co.uk/) - https://happiness-at-work.teachable.com/ (https://happiness-at-work.teachable.com/) - https://www.facebook.com/happinessatworksummit/ (https://www.facebook.com/happinessatworksummit/)

The Map of Meaning is a very simple map that can create powerful insights. In this episode of the podcast I talk to Lani Morris, one of the co-creators of the map and we discuss what it takes to create more meaning in our lives. Along with her fellow co-creators they've discovered that there are four common elements to meaning: integrity with self; unity with others; actualising self potential and service to others. By consciously addressing each of these areas we're able to fully express what it means to be human and find more meaning in our day to day lives. Along our journey of building the Happy Startup School we've met many purpose driven entrepreneurs who are creating good in the world but are also burning out. They believe that they've defined their purpose but for some reason something is still missing. What does it mean to do meaningful work? It's easy to conflate the ideas of meaning and purpose but just because you work in a purposeful organisation does not immediately mean that your work feels meaningful. For Lani purpose is about inspiration and service to others and if we neglect the other areas of meaning then that's when problems arise. Being able to identify the missing pieces is the purpose of the Map of Meaning. Each of these areas can be depicted as four quadrants on the axes of being and doing. When we look at our daily lives using the Map of Meaning we're able to identify where we're spending too much time and how we can reclaim some balance by addressing the areas we've neglected. To find out more about the Map and Lani then follow these links: https://www.themapofmeaning.org/ TEDx talk on meaningful work The Map of Meaning - A Guide to Sustaining our Humanity in the World of Work Introductory workshop to the Map of Meaning Online course - The Heart Beat of Business: Creating and Running Meaningful Start-ups and Small Businesses

Marianne is an entrepreneur, coach and author of Be a Free Range Human. I first met Marianne at our Summercamp in 2015 where she ran a workshop about escaping the 9 to 5 and creating a lifestyle that aligns with your business. In this episode we talk about her journey since then and discuss how leaving employment to create our own businesses can mean unintentionally swapping one cage for another. While building a successful business can bring you more autonomy we can also get trapped by that feeling of success and the fear of losing it. When we over identify with our businesses we lose sight of where our success ends and where we begin. We forget that we're enough, no matter what. Marianne remembers being triggered by the question “If your business didn't exist anymore, who would you be?” Losing touch with who we really are can trap us in a cycle of overwork as we strive to maintain our past levels of success. Marianne talks about rooting down as well as growing the business. Because without roots our feelings of success can be easily blown away. Rooting down is an inner journey of self discovery and defining your inner compass. You can see how her message resonates with what we're about at the Happy Startup School. I hope you enjoy this episode.

In this episode I share the audio of a live webinar Laurence and I hosted where we discussed whether to change our name. We've been running The Happy Startup School for over seven years and during that time we've evolved from delivering workshops on how to build a startup to hosting transformational retreats on the beaches of Goa. We run an online community where we support entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey and host an annual festival that attracts people from all walks of life. It's been a fun filled journey and along the way we've made so many friends and learned so much. We have now gathered around us people who aren't just startups but also seasoned business owners and experienced professionals. They come from diverse backgrounds but with a common need to find more meaning and purpose in the work they do. Our work has therefore evolved beyond supporting startups to also supporting individuals who want to grow personally. And so we're wondering whether our name is limiting us because there are people out there who'd benefit from coming to our events or being part of our community but don't identify with the word startup. So this is our effort to share our thoughts and get feedback from our members and followers. We'd love to know what you think and so if you identify with our situation or have thoughts about our name ping as an email on hello@happystartups.co. We're not done with startups yet though and if you're London based why not come to our FREE event Lightbulb to Launch: From Idea to Action. In partnership with General Assembly we're hosting a one day workshop to help budding entrepreneurs launch their ideas - https://ahappy.link/lightbulbtolaunch

I love the following excerpt from this week's podcast. It fully captures our work with early stage entrepreneurs who are stumbling along trying to get their idea out into the world. Maybe they're slowed down by the feeling of imposter syndrome or perhaps it's their need to make sure their idea is perfect and a fear of failure? In the end though you just need to get clay on the wheel... "You can't make anything if you don't put anything out. You need something to work with. So if you're holding everything in and holding everything back and you're stopping yourself before you've even written a line on the page then nothing is ever going to happen. If you do want to make something, if you do want to make a shape and get a bit messy then you do have to get some clay on the wheel. And it's just clay. It doesn't have to be fully formed yet." In this episode I talk to Sophie Develyn. She's worked for us for over 3 years and is now off on a new adventure. We talk about the time when she first joined us and about her journey with the Happy Startup School. This is a story of not knowing, confidence, alignment, feeling left out, feeling her way forward and trusting her gut. While she hadn't been sure why she should be working with us it also "felt like home". It's been amazing to have Sophie support us for the past 3 years and her contribution particularly on our Alptitude retreats and our Summercamp has been awesome. We wish her luck on her next adventure to Nepal and I have a feeling that we'll be staying connected.

I love the following excerpt from this week's podcast. It fully captures our work with early stage entrepreneurs who are stumbling along trying to get their idea out into the world. Maybe they're slowed down by the feeling of imposter syndrome or perhaps it's their need to make sure their idea is perfect and a fear of failure? In the end though you just need to get clay on the wheel... "You can't make anything if you don't put anything out. You need something to work with. So if you're holding everything in and holding everything back and you're stopping yourself before you've even written a line on the page then nothing is ever going to happen. If you do want to make something, if you do want to make a shape and get a bit messy then you do have to get some clay on the wheel. And it's just clay. It doesn't have to be fully formed yet." In this episode I talk to Sophie Develyn. She's worked for us for over 3 years and is now off on a new adventure. We talk about the time when she first joined us and about her journey with the Happy Startup School. This is a story of not knowing, confidence, alignment, feeling left out, feeling her way forward and trusting her gut. While she hadn't been sure why she should be working with us it also "felt like home". It's been amazing to have Sophie support us for the past 3 years and her contribution particularly on our Alptitude retreats and our Summercamp has been awesome. We wish her luck on her next adventure to Nepal and I have a feeling that we'll be staying connected.

In this episode I share the audio of a live webinar Laurence and I hosted where we discussed whether to change our name. We've been running The Happy Startup School for over seven years and during that time we've evolved from delivering workshops on how to build a startup to hosting transformational retreats on the beaches of Goa. We run an online community where we support entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey and host an annual festival that attracts people from all walks of life. It's been a fun filled journey and along the way we've made so many friends and learned so much. We have now gathered around us people who aren't just startups but also seasoned business owners and experienced professionals. They come from diverse backgrounds but with a common need to find more meaning and purpose in the work they do. Our work has therefore evolved beyond supporting startups to also supporting individuals who want to grow personally. And so we're wondering whether our name is limiting us because there are people out there who'd benefit from coming to our events or being part of our community but don't identify with the word startup. So this is our effort to share our thoughts and get feedback from our members and followers. We'd love to know what you think and so if you identify with our situation or have thoughts about our name ping as an email on hello@happystartups.co. We're not done with startups yet though and if you're London based why not come to our FREE event Lightbulb to Launch: From Idea to Action. In partnership with General Assembly we're hosting a one day workshop to help budding entrepreneurs launch their ideas - https://ahappy.link/lightbulbtolaunch

The Map of Meaning is a very simple map that can create powerful insights. In this episode of the podcast I talk to Lani Morris, one of the co-creators of the map and we discuss what it takes to create more meaning in our lives. Along with her fellow co-creators they've discovered that there are four common elements to meaning: integrity with self; unity with others; actualising self potential and service to others. By consciously addressing each of these areas we're able to fully express what it means to be human and find more meaning in our day to day lives. Along our journey of building the Happy Startup School we've met many purpose driven entrepreneurs who are creating good in the world but are also burning out. They believe that they've defined their purpose but for some reason something is still missing. What does it mean to do meaningful work? It's easy to conflate the ideas of meaning and purpose but just because you work in a purposeful organisation does not immediately mean that your work feels meaningful. For Lani purpose is about inspiration and service to others and if we neglect the other areas of meaning then that's when problems arise. Being able to identify the missing pieces is the purpose of the Map of Meaning. Each of these areas can be depicted as four quadrants on the axes of being and doing. When we look at our daily lives using the Map of Meaning we're able to identify where we're spending too much time and how we can reclaim some balance by addressing the areas we've neglected. To find out more about the Map and Lani then follow these links: https://www.themapofmeaning.org/ (https://www.themapofmeaning.org/) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUSZaquJBWE (TEDx talk on meaningful work) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Map-Meaning-Guide-Sustaining-Humanity/dp/1906093652 (The Map of Meaning - A Guide to Sustaining our Humanity in the World of Work) https://www.themapofmeaning.org/event/online-introduction-to-the-map-of-meaning (Introductory workshop to the Map of Meaning) https://www.themapofmeaning.org/event/the-heart-beat-of-business-creating-and-running-meaningful-start-ups-and-small-businesses (Online course - The Heart Beat of Business: Creating and Running Meaningful Start-ups and Small Businesses)

Marianne is an entrepreneur, coach and author of Be a Free Range Human. I first met Marianne at our Summercamp in 2015 where she ran a workshop about escaping the 9 to 5 and creating a lifestyle that aligns with your business. In this episode we talk about her journey since then and discuss how leaving employment to create our own businesses can mean unintentionally swapping one cage for another. While building a successful business can bring you more autonomy we can also get trapped by that feeling of success and the fear of losing it. When we over identify with our businesses we lose sight of where our success ends and where we begin. We forget that we're enough, no matter what. Marianne remembers being triggered by the question “If your business didn't exist anymore, who would you be?” Losing touch with who we really are can trap us in a cycle of overwork as we strive to maintain our past levels of success. Marianne talks about rooting down as well as growing the business. Because without roots our feelings of success can be easily blown away. Rooting down is an inner journey of self discovery and defining your inner compass. You can see how her message resonates with what we're about at the Happy Startup School. I hope you enjoy this episode.

Meet Laurence McCahill Laurence is the co-founder of The Happy Startup School, an antidote to business as usual. They provide courses, coaching programs and somewhat legendary off-grid gatherings for purpose-driven entrepreneurs and leaders that are seeking to balance money with meaning. Laurence's story is particularly inspiring for anyone who's struggling to find their purpose, who finds themselves with the feeling that this is not as good as it gets. Find out more about Laurence over at https://medium.com/@welovelean (https://medium.com/@welovelean)  Fav quotes from this episode: “There are no rules. You can play how you wanna play once you realise that most people don’t know what they're doing!” “We are very good at overcomplicating things as humans.” “We are passionate about business. But we aren’t passionate about business for business’ sake. We are passionate about people too.” “A happy startup is when you are balancing three things; your own needs, what drives you, and what the world needs.” “Having ideas is 1% of the work, and 90% of it is the execution.” In this episode we talk about: How ‘finding your purpose’ is NOT about waking up one day and suddenly knowing what you want to do with your life Why we need to stop idolising other people and recognise that we all have something important to offer Why the Happy Start-Up Camp is for people who don’t feel like they don’t fit in at conventional business events  Why heart-led businesses tend to have more longevity than economically motivated businesses The magic trio of things that you need in order to find fulfilment in your startup   Plus, we talk about how to avoid burnout as an entrepreneur or small business owner Resources: The Happy Startup School - http://www.thehappystartupschool.com/ (http://www.thehappystartupschool.com/) The Happy Startup Summer Camp - tickets https://www.happystartupsummer.camp/ (HERE) Caroline Mchugh’s TED Talk - “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veEQQ-N9xWU (The Art of Being Yourself)” https://www.museumofhappiness.org/ (The Museum of Happiness)

In today’s episode, Mark and David are joined by Dr Carlos Saba, Co-Founder of The Happy Startup School, whose manifesto is that there is a healthier and happier way of doing business. They discuss the origin of The Happy Startup School, what building a business without stress can look like and how to “lift the lid” as a Founder to achieve personal growth. How structureless events might be the key to providing value, plus reflections from our own experience organizing our annual ScreenCloud Together event and what we’d do differently next time.      ---   Show notes:   Find out about ScreenCloud: screencloud.com   Find out more about The Happy Startup School: thehappystartupschool.com Watch the video:https://youtu.be/P-bSml5OQRM   Connect with David Hart, Mark McDermott or Dr. Carlos Saba on LinkedIn.   Get in touch: hello@screencloud.com 

Mighty Networks' Audra Lindsay interviews Mighty Host Laurence McCahill from The Happy Startup School, a Mighty Network that offers both an online school and off-grid gatherings for purpose-driven entrepreneurs. We not only love their mission, we also love the amazing work they are doing to engage and inspire their members. We covered a lot of awesome stuff together during the interview and live Q&A, including: *How the team at The Happy Startup School successfully migrated their community from Facebook and Slack to Mighty Networks *Specific tactics that Laurence and his team use to keep their members engaged and coming back for more—including the planning calendar he uses for mapping out articles, events, polls, and questions. *How Laurence is using the features available with Mighty Business (like our Zapier integration and Analytics Dashboard) to create a custom new member email campaign, make better decisions about planning out his engagement strategies, and more.

Laurence McCahill is a co-founder of The Happy Startup School, an antidote to business as usual. The Happy Startup School provides an online school and off-grid gatherings for purpose-driven entrepreneurs and leaders seeking to balance money with meaning. Laurence's story is particularly inspiring for anyone who's struggling to find their purpose. Anyone who finds themselves with the feeling that this is not as good as it gets. We talk about his time travelling the world, the period he spent temping, a spell working for a financial corporate, self-employment, the trials and tribulations of building an agency and beyond. Laurence has spent 20 years or so as a business sculptor, chipping away at the things that don't allow him to align what he thinks, says and does. When something doesn't feel right he doesn't ignore the feeling, he changes something, he removes some rock and slowly the image or vision that he has is revealing itself. At the moment it looks like The Happy Startup School but that's evolving too. Laurence founded The Happy Startup School with Carlos Saba, his mate from school and they have spent much of their working life together which says a lot about the way they see and do business.

Several years ago Laurence and I were sat in a room with Charles Davies talking about the Happy Startup School. We were there to get clear about what the school was about. What were we doing this for? During this process we came up with the phrase "Creating spaces for people to discover their role in the world before it's tool late". It's a simple sentence that took me a while to understand and own, but now underpins everything we do. When you have a clear idea you're tapping into your intuition and the work you do becomes more effortless. The work nourishes you and you have an appetite to do it. To find out more about Charlie's work go to his website https://www.howtobeclear.com/ (https://www.howtobeclear.com/) But why not start by listening to me and him talk about what it means to be clear.

In this episode I talk to https://www.happystartups.co/members/1054342 (Gail Bainbridge) about launching her https://www.dropbox.com/s/a00y14zkds2sgcn/Finding%20Your%20Balance%20-%20Course%20Information%20FEB19.pdf?dl=0 (first online course). And while we break down her approach by thinking of tactics and strategies it's clear that while all the theory is useful once the rubber hits the road it's a totally different experience. Learning about startup is one thing. Doing it is another. Our intention with the Happy Startup School is to share with you all the tools you need to get clear about how to approach this sometimes scary journey. But more importantly we exist to support you while you try things out and not only learn new skills but also learn about yourself along the way. This is a journey of adventure where the objective isn't just a sustainable and viable business but also a greater understanding of our place in the world and what we can contribute to it. During this episode we tackle some of the fundamentals with launching a new product. What is my real intention for finding "early adopters" to improve the product or to validate the price?

It's START season at the Happy Startup School and we believe one of the most important things when starting a new business or project is how you communicate what it's about to others and how you motivate them to join you or help you. The way to do this most effectively is storytelling and so listen along to find out why.

Sherry interviews Carlos Saba and Laurence McCahill of The Happy Startup School, about their mission to create a new breed of entrepreneurs that put happiness before profits. They discuss their career paths before The Happy Startup School, what inspired them to create it, and where they’d like to see it go in the future. The […] The post Episode 184: Happy Startups with Carlos and Laurence appeared first on ZenFounder.

Sherry interviews Carlos Saba and Laurence McCahill of The Happy Startup School, about their mission to create a new breed of entrepreneurs that put happiness before profits. They discuss their career paths before The Happy Startup School, what inspired them to create it, and where they’d like to see it go in the future. The Happy Startup School Summercamp Want more content like this? Check out our book.

Can we teach businesses to put happiness and meaning at the core of what they do? Today our guest is Carlos Saba, founder of the Happy Startup School. This one is interesting for all businesses, startup or not. We learn how these companies do things differently from business as usual.  Check out the Happy Startup School here On a different note calling all the people who have an Amazon Echo/Alexa device. Check out my new skill Positive Psychology Quiz. Just tell your device to enable Positive Psychology Quiz.

Week 3 - Q&A by The Happy Startup School

What You've Missed This Week On The Community - 25th May 2018 by The Happy Startup School

What You've Missed This Week On The Community - 18th May 2018 by The Happy Startup School

Laurence McCahill is the co-founder of The Happy Startup School, a global community that’s now 100,000 people strong. He joins Charlie today to discuss the idea of the “happiness trap,” a belief that many entrepreneurs have that they can either make money, do good, or be happy, but not all three at the same time. They also discuss the productive benefits of taking time out. Key Takeaways: [4:50] - Laurence and his partner started The Happy Startup School back in 2013, with the purpose to get people to think about not only the money side of their business, but what’s driving them personally and what kind of impact they want to have. It’s about aligning the need to make money, stay well, and make a difference. Their model is a venn diagram with three circles: money, purpose, and happiness. Ideally, people would be in the intersection of all three circles for a healthy balance. [7:40] - Many people have the idea that you can be productive or you can take care of yourself. They’re not mutually exclusive! If you view being productive as only doing the things that make money, you’ll miss out on a lot of other aspects of life (family, community involvement, etc). You can also easily get caught up in work, and sometimes, to be most productive there, you may need to walk away and clear your head every once in a while. [10:30] - In addition to taking care of ourselves because it’s the right thing to do, there are also economic arguments to support that. Laurence references The Lazy Guru and some of their meditation principles. When you create space to look after yourself, amazing things happen. But if you don’t give yourself a chance to go there, you won’t know. [12:10] - Three insights from The Lazy Guru are 1) Creating space with no purpose - put faith in space, 2) The concept of Beditation - the idea of just sitting in bed, and 3) The thundering herds of “shoulds” - the things we place on ourselves because we feel like we should be doing them. For the third point, these “shoulds” only have power if we accept them to be valid or relevant for our situations. [14:20] - Especially if you’re running a business, you may look at your competitors and think you should be doing the same things they’re doing. We assume that these things are working for them, and they may actually not be. You have to think about what is relevant for you and your business, and also look for evidence that whatever actions your competitors are taking are actually working for them. [16:05] - Along with the Happiness Trap model, there are four different archetypes that describe where people fit into the venn diagram. The first is the rat racer, or someone who is fully in the money zone. The purpose-seeker is someone who is doing work that makes them happy, but there’s something missing and they’re still trying to find their purpose. The slave is someone who has found the money and the purpose, but they’re often putting others before themselves and working long hours so their self-care isn’t a priority. The last archetype is the idealist. Idealists usually have a negative relationship with money. You may flip-flop between some of them depending on the day. [20:40] - There are a lot of people in places that are growing who are very purpose-driven, but the large majority of people are still disengaged in their work and stuck in the rat race so that purpose and their own well-being becomes a luxury. There is a myth (maybe influenced by the Protestant work ethic) that our happiness comes as a byproduct of our work. When you let that go and change your mindset, you can start to find a better balance. [24:20] - Charlie talks about Plato’s allegory of the cave of deception/illusion. In life, it is constant work to get out from underneath all the societal “shoulds” that push you back into the same habits. In Laurence’s work, he focuses on the science of happiness and non-violent communication to help break the cycle of the cave and focus on the needs to make the business thrive in the long term. [28:00] - Businesses are meant to solve human aims, not necessarily follow metrics of other businesses. It’s important to build your company on things and ideals that motivate you and are nourishing for you. This can get tricky when you start talking about sales, but there are healthy ways to sell. When you believe in your product and it embodies your values, it becomes more about sharing the product. [33:21] - What are the three biggest challenges Laurence has seen in his community as people try to find alignment? The first is knowing where to start - think big, start small. The second thing is that many of these people are alone, or in a world that’s very different than the one they want to be in. The people around them aren’t necessarily supportive of what they want to do. The third is the unknown unknowns - there are so many things you don’t know as you’re starting out in business. Embrace everything as a chance to learn. [36:35] - When starting a business, resilience is more important than talent. If you have high resilience, it’s easier to learn from your experiences as you go. Laurence talks about equanimity, or the idea of how you react to the high and lows of business. How you handle rejection is important in how you will move forward. [40:55] - Laurence’s business partner is actually an old school friend, which has been a real strength for the business. But they do face some challenges in their business. One big challenge is building a movement and a business at the same time. Another challenge is the events they put on, though they aren’t sustainable year-round. They’ve had to balance the events with building their online community. The last challenge is knowing how big they want to get, or how big they can get and still effectively share their message. Right now, they are operating with a small team that makes a big impact. [46:30] - Charlie and Laurence talk more about the idea of a small team and a big impact. In any business, it’s important to consider the impact you want to have, and how big your business needs to be to make that happen. [49:35] - Another thing to keep in mind when building a business on happiness is to remember that when you’re looking at other businesses, they are curated experiences. When you’re looking for evidence of what’s working, realize you’re getting a curated experience and you may need to dig a little deeper to figure out what else they might have had to go through to get there. That’s why at The Happy Startup School they share so much in their writing, so people know the ups and downs and it helps to build trust in their brand. [51:53] - Laurence’s invitation for listeners is to take some time out to look after yourselves. When you just take time for yourself, with no intention or purpose behind it, you can create the space to let your thoughts and ideas come. Mentioned in This Episode: Productive Flourishing The Happy Startup School The Writer’s Process, by Anne Janzer The Lazy Guru’s Guide to Life, by Laurence Shorter The Happy Movie Insanely Gifted, by Jamie Catto Results Resourcing (use code: PFPOD) SaneBox

What you've missed this week in the community - 4th May 2018 by The Happy Startup School

Carlos Saba, the co-founder of Happy Startup School, shares what worked for getting his new business off the ground, how he's translated local events into global success, and how "engineered serendipity" plays a big role in the work they do. The post EP 130: Crafting Communities–And Happier Businesses–Both Online And Offline With Happy Startup School Co-founder Carlos Saba appeared first on What Works.

The startup world can be a real minefield when it comes to creating a work life balance. Being an entrepreneur can be quite a lonely experience, and there can be a lot of pressure for people who are starting their own businesses - a feat which requires you to go out on a limb and put your vulnerabilities out there. Stories of mental health being neglected in the startup world are rife. Of people wearing their lack of sleep and long hours at work as a badge of honour. Of people putting profit and growth above everything else. Burn out is common and it can often be hard for people to see the real intentions behind what they are doing. In this episode I went along to meet Laurence McCahill, who along with his lifelong friend Carlos Saba, founded the Happy Startup School in Brighton. Their mission is to help people to connect with their true passions and hopefully avoid a lot of the problems I just mentioned. They do this through events such as their annual Summer Camp in the UK, Alptitude, and event in which they take entrepreneurs to the alps, Ashram, their retreat to India, which Laurence touches upon in our conversation, and many other smaller events and workshops throughout the year. They also run an online course to help people in the early stages to turn ideas into reality. They have a thriving global community of people who are connected with the Happy Startup School, and I think they are a great example of how being honest and open will help your business thrive and allow you to live your passion. I’ve always found Laurence very approachable. He is a man who is not afraid to show his vulnerabilities, to reach out and ask for help when it is needed and to share his wisdom to help others gain clarity on their ideasWe cover lots of topics in our conversation, including: -Sharing experiences over being prescriptive-Being honest and vulnerable in business and in life-Tapping into your own ideas and vision-Building a community-How to stay open to change as your business grows. Find out more about The Happy Startup School at www.thehappystartupschool.comFind out more about my journey with Ministry of Change at: www.theministryofchange.org

Graham is at Platform 9 in Brighton, talking to Laurence McCahill and Carlos Saba of the Happy Startup School.They discuss networking for people who hate networking, the stigma around lifestyle businesses and conquering the stereotype of the "hustler".

Graham is at Platform 9 in Brighton, talking to Laurence McCahill and Carlos Saba of the Happy Startup School.They discuss networking for people who hate networking, the stigma around lifestyle businesses and conquering the stereotype of the "hustler".

Post Summercamp chat by The Happy Startup School

Welcome to the summer series of The Happy Startup School podcasts. We'll be shining a spotlight on the speakers and workshop leaders who will be at our Summercamp in September 2017. This week Kat Tan is joined by Seb Castro, who ran the workshop Empathetic Storytelling at Summercamp, the co-founder of ECHO and Wondermore and a long-time member of the Happy Startup School.

Welcome to the summer series of The Happy Startup School podcasts. We'll be shining a spotlight on the speakers and workshop leaders who will be at our Summercamp in September 2017. Mac Macartney joins us this week to unpack some of his own journey, and his ideas about what separates a toxic and dissatisfied person from a truly connected human being.

Welcome to the summer series of The Happy Startup School podcasts. We'll be shining a spotlight on the speakers and workshop leaders who will be at our Summercamp in September 2017. Our guest this week is Ole Kassow, founder of Cycling Without Age. Kat and Ole talk about managing real positive change, understanding the boundaries of society, persistence and optimism.

Welcome to the summer series of The Happy Startup School podcasts. We'll be shining a spotlight on the speakers and workshop leaders who will be at our Summercamp in September 2017. Our guest this week is Eugenie Teasley, who'll be opening the discussion on the 'soft stuff' of learning and growing, from her own experience as a teacher and how it relates to her work now, as CEO of the Goodall Foundation.

Welcome to our Summer series of podcasts from The Happy Startup School! We'll be shining a spotlight on the speakers and workshop leaders who will be joining us at Summercamp in September 2017. In this episode, our founders Carlos Saba and Laurence McCahill give an introduction to the series, tell the story behind The Happy Startup School and give a little more context for who we are and what we do. Visit www.happystartupsummer.camp for more info on our upcoming event!

Welcome to the summer series of The Happy Startup School podcasts where we'll be shining a spotlight on the speakers and workshop leaders who will be at our Summercamp in September 2017. Our first guest is Sally-Anne Airey, in this episode we're going to be talking about her history working as a commander in the Royal Navy and transitioning into the work she is doing now as an executive and mindfulness coach. Visit www.happystartupsummer.camp for more info.

Happy TV | Simplicity by The Happy Startup School

Carlos Saba, co-founder of The Happy Startup School, explains what it takes to balance business and profits when starting a business and how to foster relationships and create connections between companies and the people they serve. For more happiness, visit www.happymelly.com.  

In this podcast Carlos discusses what the Happy Startup School is, how we got started and how we grew from a simple idea to a global community.

In this Ferris Wheel episode of The Design Your Thinking Podcast, I talk to Laurence McCahill and deconstruct his Product Mindset by asking questions that get deep into the way he thinks. Who is Laurence McCahill? A recovering digital agency founder, Laurence co-founded The Happy Startup School as a backlash against the prevailing startup culture of high […]The post DYT 013 : Happy Startup Canvas and Happiness in Business (Part 2) with Laurence McCahill appeared first on .

In this Ferris Wheel episode of The Design Your Thinking Podcast, I talk to Laurence McCahill and deconstruct his Product Mindset by asking questions that get deep into the way he thinks. Who is Laurence McCahill? A recovering digital agency founder, Laurence co-founded The Happy Startup School as a backlash against the prevailing startup culture of high […]The post DYT 012 : Happy Startup Canvas and Happiness in Business (Part 1) with Laurence McCahill appeared first on .

During this podcast I be talked about how we view success at the Happy Startup School. I walked through an exercise we deliver to help our Home School students define what success looks and feels like to them personally. Getting clear on your definition of success is the starting point to taking the steps required to make it happen.

The Power Of Empathic Listening | Christine Raine & Sophie Kramhoft by The Happy Startup School

Q&A With Ayse Birsel Author of Design the Life You Love by The Happy Startup School

Carlos chats with Max St John about co-founders by The Happy Startup School

Q&A with Michael Townsend Williams, author of Do Breathe by The Happy Startup School

Q&A with Gustavo Tanaka, author and entrepreneur by The Happy Startup School

Q&A with Aaron Hurst, author of The Purpose Economy by The Happy Startup School

On this episode of People of Purpose, Johanna speaks to Laurence McCahill & Carlos Saba from the Happy Startup School about the intersection of business and love and what it means to be a free range human.

Summercamp Interview - Jack Hubbard by The Happy Startup School

Summercamp Interview - Eiji Han Shimizu by The Happy Startup School

Summercamp Interview - Richard Alderson by The Happy Startup School

Alpselerator - Jack Hubbard by The Happy Startup School

Alpselerator - Ribot by The Happy Startup School

Interview - DHH by The Happy Startup School

Graham was a guest on the Happy Startup School's Friday Fireside, discussing productivity during lockdown, and taking questions from the livestream audience. Graham provides tips for prioritising work, managing commitments and boundaries, trust and autonomy. [Graham Allcott](http://www.grahamallcott.com/) is the founder of [time management training](http://thinkproductive.co.uk/ "Link: http://thinkproductive.co.uk/") company [Think Productive](http://thinkproductive.co.uk/). This podcast is produced by [Origin](https://origin.fm/).

Graham is at Platform 9 in Brighton, talking to Laurence McCahill and Carlos Saba of the Happy Startup School.They discuss networking for people who hate networking, the stigma around lifestyle businesses and conquering the stereotype of the "hustler". [Graham Allcott](http://www.grahamallcott.com/) is the founder of [time management training](http://thinkproductive.co.uk/ "Link: http://thinkproductive.co.uk/") company [Think Productive](http://thinkproductive.co.uk/). This podcast is produced by [Bloomsbury Digital](http://bloomsbury.digital/ "Link: http://bloomsbury.digital/"). This podcast is produced by [Origin](https://origin.fm/).