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You can't tell a man like Kimon that he can't go do something if it's important to him. He'll find a way, or do it in secret, and is good at that. You also can't really replace exactly what Kimon can do, though Freeze Frame might try by inviting the oddball couple that is Lightshow and Terry to the city.
Périclès et Kimon sont deux des plus grands artisans de la puissance athénienne du V° siècle avant notre ère. Ce que je vous propose aujourd'hui, c'est qu'on s'appuie sur des textes anciens pour découvrir les vies de ces illustres rivaux.Sources :Aristote : Constitution d'Athènes.Cornélius Népos : Vies des Grands Capitaines (Cimon).Hérodote : Histoire (Livres 6 et 9).Plutarque : Vie de Cimon, Vie de Périclès, Vie de Thémistocle, Vie d'Aristide, Apophtegmes des Lacédémoniens.Thucydide : La Guerre du Péloponnèse (Livre 1).
La boutique Etsy : https://atelierpslp.etsy.comSoutenir le Podcast : https://fr.tipeee.com/pain-sur-la-planche/Merci à Jean, Kélian et Paul pour leurs soutiens sur le Tipeee :)La bonne culture ça se partage alors voici les conseils lectures, mangas et vidéos de Jim Bishop :Ninja Scroll : Un village est ravagé par une épidémie de peste. La kunoichi Kagero accompagne une troupe de ninjas envoyée sur place pour enquêter mais rapidement exterminée par Tessaï, un des huit démons de Kimon. Kagero est sauvée in extremis de la mort par l'intervention de Jubei Kibagami. Ce dernier, rônin solitaire, est contraint par Dakuan, un agent du gouvernement, de combattre chacun des huit démons de Kimon avec l'aide de Kagero. Jubei réalise progressivement que leur chef n'est autre que son pire ennemi, Himuro Genma qui a pour dessein de prendre le pouvoir au Japon. (Source Wikipedia)The mandalorian : The Mandalorian suit les aventures d'un chasseur de primes solitaire dans l'univers de Star Wars, après la chute de l'Empire.Il croise la route d'un mystérieux enfant aux pouvoirs étranges, surnommé "Grogu", qu'il décide de protéger.Entre affrontements, alliances et découvertes, la série mêle western spatial, action et émotion.Gumn : Gunnm (aussi connu sous le nom Battle Angel Alita) se déroule dans un futur post-apocalyptique où le cybernéticien Ido découvre une androïde amnésique dans une décharge.Il la répare et la nomme Gally (ou Alita), qui révèle bientôt des talents exceptionnels pour le combat.En quête de son passé, elle affronte un monde brutal entre justice, identité et survie.The Summer Ikaru died : The Summer Hikaru Died raconte l'histoire de Yoshiki, un adolescent qui réalise que son meilleur ami, Hikaru, n'est plus vraiment humain.Depuis un étrange événement, une entité inconnue a pris sa place, imitant son apparence et ses souvenirs.Tiraillé entre peur et affection, Yoshiki tente de comprendre ce qu'est vraiment cette chose… et ce qu'il ressent pour elle.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MES RESEAUX :
Unstoppable Industries moves to officially declare a new head of the superhero field crew, and naturally it's politics from top to bottom. Freeze Frame is the company's favorite, as the other candidates are too new, or have way too many open files with the HR department. Though the company logic is there, one has to wonder if an ego the size of Kimon's can really be okay with it.
L'Athènes du V° siècle avant notre ère regorge d'arts. Certains se peaufinent, d'autres se créent. Dans ce numéro, je vous propose une foule d'anecdotes sur les artistes du siècle d'or de la cité attique, et sur leurs créations.Sources :Apollodore : Bibliothèque d'Apollodore (Épitomé).Aristophane : L'Assemblée des Femmes, les Acharniens.Aristote : Poétique, La Constitution d'Athènes.Corneille : Le Cid.Eschyle : Les Perses.Hérodote : Histoire (Livre 6).Horace : l'Art poétique.Pausanias : Description de la Grèce (Livre 1).Pline l'Ancien : Histoire naturelle (Livre 35).Plutarque : Vie d'Alcibiade, Vie de Périclès, Vie de Solon, Vie de Nicias, Vie de Lysandre, Vie de Kimon, Vie de Thémistocle, Les Athéniens se sont-ils plus illustrés par les lettres que par les armes ?, Propos de table, De l'amour des richesses.Thucydide : Guerre du Péloponnèse (Livres 4 et 6).Vitruve : De Architectura (Livres 1, 4 et 5).insta : atlas.anecdotes
Dan and Bernie return to Greece in the 520s BC where Kimon "The Booby" gains an Olympic title but loses his head. Did he win by running like an insane person in full hoplite gear? You'll just have to listen to find out!Quasi Moon Name - Vote Herehttps://radiolab.org/quasi-moonThis is a podcast by Dan Hörning and Bernie Maopolski.If you like what we do you can support the Fan of History project on https://www.patreon.com/fanofhistoryContact information:E-mail: zimwaupodcast@gmail.comhttp://facebook.com/fanofhistoryhttps://twitter.com/danhorninghttps://www.instagram.com/dan_horning/Music: “Tudor Theme” by urmymuse. Support the show and listen ad-free to all of the episodes, including episode 1-87. Click here: https://plus.acast.com/s/history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hundreds of illegal gold miners known as “Zama Zamas” are in an underground standoff against police in South Africa. Authorities are cutting off food and supplies to lure the miners out. As the standoff intensifies, their lives are threatened, thousands of feet below ground. In this episode: Kimon de Greef (@kimon_de_greef), Journalist Episode credits: This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan and Chloe K. Li with Sarí el-Khalili, Ashish Malhotra, Manny Panaretos, Duha Mosaad, Hagir Saleh, and our host, Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editor is Hisham Abu Salah. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Kimon de Greef, a freelance writer for Ground Up, will discuss South Africa's dark world of Zama Zamas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Wéi positionéieren d'Studenten a Studentinne sech an der Rentendebatt? Dat froe mir déi zwee Vertrieder vum Studentenverband ACEL.
Hey Gorgeous!This has been one of my favorite interviews in such a long time! Kim is a powerhouse and we dove into some really deep and potent conversations. We covered everything from the polarity to alt right pipelineWhy a lot of polarity content is so skewedHow do we truly show up in our power as womenand so much more!You can learn more about KimOn her websiteOr her InstagramReady to awaken your Inner Seductress?!Get the digital course here before the price increases July 31!Become a SeductressIf you are feeling called to work with Mary Magdalene come join me for a special ritual on her Feast day!Sign up for the ritual
Asset Champion Podcast | Physical Asset Performance, Criticality, Reliability and Uptime
Kimon Onuma is President of ONUMA, Inc., Cyril Verley is President and CEO of CDV Systems, Inc., and Michael Bordenaro is Executive Director of the Asset Leadership Network where they all contribute to helping organizations realize greater value from their assets. Mike Petrusky hosted a live discussion on “Streamlining Organizational Outcomes Using AEC Data, BIM, and Digital Twins” and asked this expert panel to explain the value of digital twin technology and BIM in the context of facility management. The key to managing a facility from an owner's perspective is having a map to locate their assets and the panelists agreed that all stakeholders within a facility can benefit from the data within a digital twin. The success of digital tools is dependent on organizational culture and governance, so leaders need to foster a culture of continuous improvement to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology and this panel offers practical advice to help you be an Asset Champion in your organization! Watch the full 1-hour video: https://lp.eptura.com/webinar-streamlining-organizational-outcomes.html Connect with Kimon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimononuma/ Connect with Cyril on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyril-verley-416b09/ Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-bordenaro-5990731/ Learn more about ONUMA, Inc.: https://www.onuma-bim.com/ Learn more about CDV Systems: https://www.cdvsystems.com/ Learn more about Asset Leadership Network: https://www.assetleadership.net/
W Japonii popularne anime (japońskie filmy animowane) mają rozpoznawalność większą od najbardziej znanych hitów kinowych z klasyczną obsadą. W grę wchodzi widownia liczona w dziesiątkach milionów widzów, którzy rekrutują się głównie spośród nastolatków i wchodzących w dorosłość Japończyków. Tak duża skala oddziaływania anime rodzi pytania o rolę ich twórców. Czy rysownik powinien być społecznie odpowiedzialny? Czy powinien kierować się moralnością? Czy w XXI wieku, gdy show biznes nie waha się korzystać ze wszelkich możliwych treści w imię przyciągnięcia widowni, takie pytania w ogóle mają sens? I co ma do tego dzisiejsza Japonia? Posłuchajcie rozmowy z Mateuszem Urbanowiczem, polskim animatorem i rysownikiem nie tylko mang, dla którego Japonia od blisko dekady jest zarówno domem, jak i miejscem pracy. (00:00:00) Powitanie (00:00:49) Rozmowa (01:26:36) Podziękowania ✅ Wspieraj Brzmienie Świata na Patronite: https://patronite.pl/brzmienie-swiata FB: www.facebook.com/brzmienieswiata IG: www.instagram.com/brzmienieswiata
In this edition of Kim On a Whim, Kim details how Wise doorbell cameras have lead to more controversy, as people have been able to spy on another person's house via their own doorbell cameras.
Richard and Kimon speak with Faisal Kanji, co-founder of hungerhub, an innovative catering company. Based in Canada, hungerhub combines the quality of traditional catering with the convenience of a delivery service like UberEats. With typical business or party catering, companies and planners will order communal trays from a single restaurant. This is often unsanitary and inconvenient, especially for those with dietary restrictions and allergies. With hungerhub, each attendee receives a log-in ahead of time where they can select customized meals from restaurants of their choice. Hungerhub compiles these orders together and handles delivery and logistics. Founded in 2018, hungerhub has grown considerably, generating over $10 million CAD in revenue this past year with 30 employees. Part of what makes hungerhub different than UberEats or other delivery services, is the ability to plan ahead to minimize the number of drivers required to complete a delivery. Instead of needing 100 drivers for 100 different meals, hungerhub is able to serve 100 meals with just a few drivers. Currently available only in the English-speaking parts of Canada, hungerhub is looking to expand internationally. Faisal discusses the challenges of international expansion, especially into the United States. He highlights the competitive nature of American market and the significant amount of research required to launch there. Faisal speaks on balancing growth versus stability. He wants hungerhub to grow, but most importantly, he wants it to grow in a way that maintains quality. Also in the interview, Faisal describes how he met his co-founder, Sari Abdo, on Angel List. Sari already had the idea and was looking for a partner to help implement. Part of the idea arose from seeing the common practice of free lunches offered by tech companies. In Toronto, most tech companies did not offer this perk, so Faisal and Sari saw an opportunity to find an affordable solution. Faisal also talks about the importance of their first client. This client provided significant and “tough” feedback, which helped them improve their methods and rethink issues quickly. Great clients that are willing to constructively criticize can be essential for businesses as they try to grow and solve issues that might not be obvious. To find their first clients, Faisal and Sari went about cold-calling and showing up in person to pitch their product to companies. Once they started getting clients to agree to trial periods, they ensured that they were generating efficiencies beyond how companies were already going about lunch catering. Faisal's journey to running hungerhub was years in the making. At an early age, he worked in restaurants. When he turned 18, he got his real estate license and began selling. He then opened and ran a coffee distribution business, which taught him many of the lessons he would need to run hungerhub. Towards the end of the conversation, Faisal talks about his competitive nature and how he stays motivated. He's a true entrepreneur in both spirit and deed. Faisal Kanji is co-founder of hungerhub, a Canadian-based catering solutions business. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses. Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Follow Kimon Onuma hereFollow Cyril Verley hereCheck out Onuma here: https://www.onuma-bim.com/Check out CDV Systems here: https://www.cdvsystems.com/
Richard and Kimon recently interviewed Gonçalo Consiglieri, the co-founder of Visor.ai, a company specializing in AI and automation solutions for customer service teams. Initially focused on chatbots customized for specific industries, Visor.ai has evolved into a prominent player in the field. Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Gonçalo worked as a consultant, adapting to the corporate structure. However, driven by a desire for a new path, he left Deloitte to establish his first company in Portugal. Facing a less robust entrepreneurial community initially, Gonçalo witnessed its growth over time. Notably, Gonçalo and his co-founders faced the setback of a failed first company. Undeterred, they chose to persevere as business partners, leveraging the lessons learned for a second attempt. Gonçalo attributes part of their success to a shared passion for the same soccer team and the resilience gained from previous defeats. Mostly boot-strapped, Visor.ai also secured small rounds of investment from public sources in the EU and various startup incubators. The company, now with around 30 business clients, serves major entities such as the largest private bank in Portugal and a significant insurance company. Visor.ai specializes in creating automated chat tools, both utilizing existing market tools and developing proprietary ones. While currently focused on the Portuguese market, Visor.ai aims to expand into the Spanish market in the coming year, emphasizing growth and investing in operational expansion. In the interview, Gonçalo shares insights into his childhood, highlighting his entrepreneurial grandfather as a major inspiration. Despite success in consulting, Gonçalo felt the importance of carving his own path. As an executive of a company with approximately 60 employees, Gonçalo emphasizes the challenges of ensuring alignment. Delegating responsibility and offering stock options to high-performing employees are crucial aspects of his management strategy. He discusses the enjoyable and challenging aspects of executive roles. Offering advice on finding investors, Gonçalo suggests avoiding "make or break" funding situations. He values investors who contribute not just financially but also help connect Visor.ai with new customers and experienced business professionals. Knowledgeable investors play a crucial role, especially when expanding into new markets like Brazil. Gonçalo advocates for embracing failure, viewing it as a valuable lesson. He stresses that solving problems is the key to entrepreneurial success, emphasizing the importance of humility in the face of challenges. Gonçalo Consiglieri is the COO and co-founder of Visor.ai, bringing over a decade of expertise to the team. Holding an MBA from Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, he previously worked as a Management Consultant at Deloitte and KPMG, specializing in Banking and Insurance where he also had an active role in launching two new banks in Africa. For the past six years, he has been overseeing the financial and operational aspects of the venture initiated with co-founders Gianluca Pereyra and Bruno Matias. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses. Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Richard and Kimon talk to Peter Cowley, angel investor and author of the book, Public Success, Private Grief. Peter started his career as a software engineer, moving to Germany after graduating from college. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1984, where he embarked on a career as an entrepreneur. He's started over a dozen companies, worked closely with 7 different charities, and angel-invested in over 70 companies. Peter also has late-stage cancer, launching Project Cancer to document his experience and increase awareness. Now 68, Peter was recently diagnosed with a type of lung cancer that affects non-smokers and is difficult to detect. Peter does not expect that current treatment will be effective, and is dedicating much of his remaining time to passing on the life lessons he's learned. Peter's bravery in the face of terrible illness is most visible in vulnerability talking about the challenges he's faced in life. Too often in the world of entrepreneurship and business, people downplay their struggles. Peter is an example of a business person with a holistic worldview, recognizing that there is more to life than mere monetary rewards. Through Project Cancer, Peter documents his own experience with cancer. He's featured interviews with researchers, and his personal oncologist, and examined the UK's healthcare system, the NHS. In Public Success, Private Grief, Peter opens up about more than just his ongoing struggle with cancer. He also discusses his family life, including bravely sharing his experience of losing two children. Peter is also a recovering alcoholic, having a family history of addiction. Along with his wife, Peter wrote Public Success, Private Grief to show how people can process experiences of extreme tragedy and still maintain love and a sense of optimism about the positive aspects of life. Peter has created a 350-day plan of the things he wants to do while he is still able. Public Success, Private Grief is slated for publication on April 17, 2024. Much of his time will serve in the release and promotion of this deeply personal self-help memoir. In addition, Peter is planning a trip to Antarctica and has begun arranging short one-on-ones with various close friends. Some of his plans include taking a stand-up comedy course and eating at Michelin-star restaurants. Peter describes the medical regimes he's undertaken, highlighting how through his treatment, he's remained active. Peter has run and half marathon and gotten married in the Galapagos. While many people suffering from a terminal illness might become less active, Peter credits his entrepreneurial taste for measured risk as an inspiration to keep living life fully. Truly a one of a kind, Peter is unlike any guest Richard and Kimon have ever had on the Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast. He has managed to turn his adversities into strengths, portraying the messy realities of life to contribute more value to others. Preorder Public Success, Private Grief About Peter Cowley Invested Investor Invested Investor on the New Books Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Kimon and Richard speak with Philipp Legner, founder of educational software Mathigon. After graduating from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Mathematics, Philipp worked as a software engineer and developer at Bloomberg. In 2017, Philipp founded Mathigon, which was acquired by Amplify in 2021. Philipp continues to run Mathigon under the aegis of Amplify. Mathigon has developed several educational products. The overarching experience that ties them together is an interactive one. As students engage with different problems, they are prompted to explore different avenues. The courses are intended to be fun and interesting, and to engage students as much as possible. All of the content on Mathigon is completely free to use. One of the main throughlines is to make math exploration visual and creatively engaging. In addition to Philipp's insights into education, he has worked with educators to develop different aspects of the curriculum offered by Mathigon. Mathigon seeks to educate based on students' interests. So, if a student is interested in sports, questions will use sports examples. Because Mathigon is free to use, its primary source of revenue comes from licensing content to other educational companies. IBM, for example, licensed Mathigon. Part of the business plan, which Philipp successively executed, was to build the product as an acquisition target for a larger educational company. While Philipp loves education, technology, and building products, he does not love running a business. This was part of the main motivation for selling his company to Amplify. His only condition for the sale was Mathigon, as it existed at the time of signing, would remain free forever. Philipp Legner is VP at Amplify and Founder of Mathigon. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses. Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Gun battles, mass graves, and explosions – that's not a description of a battlefield, but of an illegal gold mine in South Africa. Gold mining propped up the nation's economy for over a century, and still today countries like the UK trade millions for its gold. But a huge price crash in the late 90s put tens of thousands of miners out of a job. Since then, a literal criminal underworld has risen, operated by illegal miners named the Zama-Zamas, who risk their lives everyday in abandoned mine shafts that could collapse any minute. Kimon de Greef is a journalist who has investigated all this for The New Yorker. He joins Dipo Faloyin in the Bunker to explain what drives the Zama-Zamas and where their gold goes. • “Up until the end of apartheid, Gold was the bedrock of South Africa's economy.” – Kimon de Greef. • “It's like something out of the most dystopian science fiction, down there, but it's real.” – Kimon de Greef. • “Gold really explains a lot of South Africa's social history.” – Kimon de Greef. www.patreon.com/bunkercast Presented by Dipo Faloyin. Written and Produced by: Chris Jones. Audio production: Alex Rees. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Richard and Kimon speak with Oliver Webb-Carter, co-founder and editor of Aspects of History, a magazine and website that showcases great writing and research in history and historical fiction. Prior to starting Aspects of History, Oliver had a varied career as an archaeologist and a banker. As a young man, Oliver worked at a dig site in Belize for six months, which helped shape his interest in the past. In 2002, just after graduate school, Oliver got a job working in IT at JP Morgan. He loved IT and worked in this department until 2010. He moved into change management, helping intra-company contract negotiations. After, he worked in controls management, an important compliance department. He never worked in trading, but had significant experience in many parts of banking world. In 2010, he started taking night classes, learning Ancient Greek. Oliver found himself growing disinterested in his day job, regularly waking up at 3am unable to get back to sleep. After a few more years, Oliver began to explore other ideas for work. As a fan of history, Oliver saw that authors had difficulty promoting their works beyond initial book launches. He points out that publishers are increasingly less interested in promoting their authors. To help with this problem, Oliver co-founded Aspects of History. Aspects of History is subscription-based, and the main purpose is to introduce readers to great historians and their new books. Every year, Aspects of History publishes 6 issues with articles, interviews, and reviews. Oliver also discusses the challenges that came with quitting a stable, well-paying job to pursue his passion. He discusses his wife's support, and how this was integral to making the entrepreneurial leap. At the end of the interview, Oliver talks about the future for Aspects of History and plans for growth. Oliver Webb-Carter is co-founder and editor of Aspects of History. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses. Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Richard and Kimon speak with James Green, one of the co-founders of DQ Ventures, a company that assists experienced professionals launch their own businesses. Originally hailing from Northampton, England, James now lives in Sweden. During his earlier years, James didn't show much interest in business; his passions lay in art and writing. However, as he got older, he realized that entrepreneurship was a fantastic way to express his creativity. Following his college education, he rose to the role of managing director at a creative agency in the UK. However, in 2009, at the age of 33, he decided to become an angel investor. While he did have some successful investments, he gained his most valuable lessons from a failed venture that cost him $2 million. This setback taught him crucial insights about what not to do in business. James now advises against three key pitfalls: (1) getting carried away with one's own success, (2) building a product before understanding the market demand, and (3) failing to network and learn from others in the industry. Overcoming these challenges made James a more thoughtful investor and entrepreneur. With DQ Ventures, James and his partners follow a strategic approach to launching new businesses. They start by identifying a product that people want to buy before creating it. Once they find the right partner, they work together to refine a compelling business idea. Once the entrepreneurial journey begins, they develop a solid business plan based on thorough market research and other methods. James emphasizes the importance of scrutinizing the idea and pinpointing the first ten potential customers. They then seek out these customers, gather feedback, and integrate it into the product development process. During the initial year of supporting the entrepreneur, DQ Ventures provides starting capital and incubation services. If the business shows promise after this period, DQ leads a seed funding round, and the entrepreneurial partner is expected to leave their current job and work on the venture full-time. At the moment, DQ Ventures is involved with 13 companies, six of which have secured seed funding. In his day-to-day role, James serves as the co-founder for around a dozen companies, taking on various tasks, from conducting user interviews to raising funds. Additionally, DQ Ventures has developed educational modules to guide founders through the entrepreneurial journey. Towards the end of the interview, James, Kimon, and Richard emphasize the significance of finding excellent mentors and connecting with individuals who can provide valuable insights on running a successful business. James Green is co-founder of DQ Ventures. DQventures de-risks entrepreneurship for professionals who want to start their own business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Richard and Kimon interview Simon Stanisz, the co-founder of The NorthStar Consulting Group. Simon is a sales expert who has recently shifted his focus to non-profit work. Simon's early exposure to entrepreneurship came from his family's small businesses in the Polish mountains, with his uncle serving as a significant source of inspiration due to his tenacity and commitment to education. At just 16, Simon began assisting his uncle at trade show stands, igniting his passion for business. His initial work experience involved selling educational books and website subscriptions door-to-door in the United States, covering the American Midwest and South. This experience honed his sales skills as he had to quickly gain the trust of strangers to make successful pitches. Simon also delves into his decision to pursue consulting over a traditional sales career. Consulting allowed him to concentrate solely on maximizing sales, without the need to split his attention between sales and product delivery. After exploring various roles in different companies, he found that consulting was the most lucrative path. Once he established a stable revenue stream through his sales consulting company, Simon found himself with spare time for other ventures. A friend approached him with the idea of starting the Hearty Foundation, aimed at providing mentorship, particularly in the IT field, to at-risk youth in foster care. Simon applied his sales expertise to gain support from orphanages and youth support organizations for this initiative. Simon also addresses the intricacies of funding a foundation and offers valuable insights for those interested in creating a sustainable funding base without relying solely on grants. He illustrates how the Hearty Foundation attracted support from companies eager to assist at-risk youth through IT training. With a diverse career spanning various aspects of sales, Simon's story will appeal to individuals interested in pitching and applying business acumen to the non-profit sector. Northstar Consulting Hearty Foundation Social Movers Hub Open Rate Digital Scope Przemyslaw Simon Stanisz is the founder of NorthStar Consulting Group. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses. Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
This was recorded back on August 13th 2022 while I was traveling in Athens with my really good friend Kimon, on this episode we discuss our lives post China as well as the workhard hustle mentality that bother Kimon and I had to use to survive our years in China, you're in for a treat. If you like what you hear please take a chance to listen to our other episodes on the channel.
Listen to us as we discuss the 1993 anime film Ninja Scroll Special Guest Appearance: Lon Harris - Writer for Screen Junkies , Honest Trailers. Lon has participated on Screen Junkies Movie Fights and Movie Trivia Schmoedown. You can find him live on Honest Trailers Commentary every Tuesday on the Fandom Entertainment Channel. If you would like to give us feedback on how were doing follow us at: https://beacons.ai/senornerdpodcast https://www.instagram.com/senornerdpodcast/ https://www.tiktok.com/@senornerdpodcast?_t=8eg2h8s7ci6&_r=1 @senornerdpod on Twitter Ninja Scroll (Japanese: 獣兵衛忍風帖, Hepburn: Jūbē Ninpūchō, lit. "Jubei's Ninja Chronicles") is a 1993 Japanese animated jidaigeki-chanbara film written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, starring the voices of Kōichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko Seki and Shūichirō Moriyama. The film was a co-production between JVC, Toho and Movic, with Madhouse serving as the animation studio. Ninja Scroll was theatrically released in Japan on June 5, 1993, and received an English-dubbed release through Manga Entertainment in 1995.[1] The film takes place in feudal Japan and follows Kibagami Jubei, a mercenary swordsman who battles the Eight Devils of Kimon, a team of ninjas with supernatural powers who are intent on overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate. During his quest, he is aided by Dakuan, an elderly but crafty government spy, and Kagero, a Kōga kunoichi whose body is infused with poisonous toxins. Praised for its animation and action scenes, Ninja Scroll is regarded by many as one of the most influential anime films ever made. Alongside Akira and Ghost in the Shell, it was responsible for increasing the popularity of adult-oriented anime outside of Japan. The film has been cited by The Wachowskis as an influence on the Matrix franchise, and resulted in Kawajiri later contributing to two segments of the anthology film The Animatrix.[2] A televised stand-alone sequel, Ninja Scroll: The Series, was aired in Japan in 2003. In Edo period-Japan, the Yamashiro clan (山城藩, Yamashiro-han) mines gold in secret, and sends a shipment to the Toyotomi Shogun of the Dark (闇公方, Yami Kubō) as payment for his protection. The Shogun of the Dark intends to use the gold to buy advanced Spanish weaponry and overthrow the current government, the Tokugawa Shogunate. The ship runs aground onto Mochizuki territory (望月藩, Mochizuki-han) in a storm, and the Eight Devils of Kimon (鬼門八人衆, Kimon Hachininshū), a ninja team with supernatural powers in the employ of the Yamashiro, kill the people of the nearby Shimoda Village (下田村, Shimoda-mura) to keep the gold shipment a secret.
On this week's episode, Richard and Kimon continue their discussion on business, focusing particularly on leadership and management. Starting off the conversation, Richard asks Kimon for his views on leadership. Kimon begins by addressing the role of trust. Trust operates in two directions: employees must trust that the CEO is the right person for the job, and the CEO must trust their employees. This is especially crucial in today's business landscape, which increasingly accommodates remote work. However, trust isn't easy to scale. As a company grows, the significance of time-tracking tools and productivity verification systems increases. For smaller companies, these tools can be costly and awkward. In such cases, fostering trust between employees and management becomes paramount. The CEO shouldn't need to constantly verify that employees are fulfilling their commitments. Trust establishes a solid company culture where everyone relies on each other, without excessive and bureaucratic surveillance. If a CEO focuses on controlling and constantly checking employee productivity, the company will incur opportunity costs. Kimon shares that during his time at Argos Multilingual, he prioritized trust over surveillance. Although he encountered setbacks, he believes the overall benefits to company culture outweighed these negative experiences. Richard adds that while employee processes should be "checkable," they don't need to be constantly "checked." If an issue arises, it can be easily identified without management wasting time playing the role of productivity police. Both Richard and Kimon lean towards trust over distrust. Acknowledging their moments of naivety, they still assert that an atmosphere of trust is more advantageous to create than one of suspicion. Clear guidelines and well-defined roles remain crucial. Richard straightforwardly expresses it as: "trust goes with high expectations." Kimon suggests that granting employees leeway "allows the best to stand out." Over time, it becomes evident which employees are engaged, self-motivated, and poised for leadership roles. For this trust-based leadership approach to succeed, the CEO must also be engaged and self-disciplined. Otherwise, employees will follow suit and lose motivation. Later in the discussion, Kimon introduces the concept of the "bank of goodwill." In prosperous times, CEOs should provide raises without employees needing to ask. This demonstrates appreciation for their hard work and eases any stress related to seeking better compensation. During challenging times, CEOs can request employees to forgo raises with the understanding that adjustments will be made when conditions improve. Commenting on the "bank of goodwill," Richard emphasizes communication's significance. The CEO should be accessible and open to employees. Regular communication keeps employees informed about business fluctuations, preventing blindsiding when tough decisions are necessary. In closing, Richard and Kimon summarize their thoughts on trust in leadership. Kimon stresses that for a CEO starting a company, treating everyone equally and cultivating a culture of hard work are paramount. Richard advises potential CEOs to not only trust their employees but also to be candid when facing challenges or difficulties as leaders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode David describes his childhood contact with entrepreneurship, and how he was looking for and found community and acceptance in the video game world. We learn how he discovered and almost invented the profession of “community manager” and created the CMX community of community managers. We also hear about the problems that community managers face in making their communities sustainable, and discuss his book: The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community your Competitive Advantage (Wiley, 2021). We also learn about how CMX became part of Bevy and multiple other ups and downs in David's life so far. The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. About our guest David Spinks launched his first online community at 14 years old for his favorite video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Today he's become a prominent leader in the community-driven business movement and has trained and advised community teams at companies like Google, Facebook, Udemy, Waze, and Airbnb. Spinks has long believed that community is the future of business and has made it his life's purpose to help others learn how to build thriving, meaningful communities. He is the cofounder of CMX, where over 20,000 community professionals gather to learn and support each other and is the host of CMX Summit, the largest conference in the community industry. In 2019, CMX was acquired by Bevy, where Spinks now serves as the VP of Community, helping companies launch and scale event-driven community programs. About the NBN The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here, About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Richard and Kimon interview each other about B2B sales, also known as enterprise sales. These days, many businesses are considering how they can incorporate AI technology to boost sales, but when dealing with large enterprise clients, nothing beats the value of building personal relationships. B2B sales are generally bigger in scale compared to consumer sales (B2C), requiring more investment per transaction. It's crucial to understand your clients not only on a personal level but also when it comes to their current and potential future needs within the broader market. Large B2B transactions almost always involve a lengthy onboarding process. It's essential to have at least three strong references from current or former clients. Without a positive track record with past clients, it becomes nearly impossible to attract new clients. If your company is new and lacks a client base, you may need to offer services at a significant discount or even for free. This can create goodwill that will pay off in the long run. Even if your company doesn't secure the contract, it's still valuable to have your name considered. The company chosen by the enterprise client may not endure in the long term. Being proactive in pursuing these opportunities and maintaining a cordial attitude when a deal doesn't go through is the best approach. As Kimon consistently emphasizes: "We're always playing the long game." Later in their discussion, Richard and Kimon delve into the process of comprehensively understanding a client. Having a thorough grasp of a client's needs and their relationships with other companies can lead to new potential clients. Mapping out these details can also uncover new efficiencies. When mapping, it's important to consider the lifetime value of a client, including potential renewals, service expansions, and referrals to other companies. Satisfied clients often bring more clients. The role of the founder/CEO in selling to enterprise clients is another topic explored by Kimon and Richard. Especially in the early stages of a company, before establishing a reputation, the active involvement of the founder and/or CEO is crucial in the sales process. Their presence demonstrates a commitment to transparency and client support. Some people believe that a large sales team is necessary to win clients, but as Kimon points out, "bigger sales team = bigger headache." Having a few exceptional salespeople is more important than the team's size. In the B2B context, where there are fewer sales opportunities, a smaller team can be just as effective. Towards the end of their conversation, Richard and Kimon discuss what makes a sales call effective. Richard advises immediately asking potential clients about their specific needs. This enables tailoring the sales pitch directly to their requirements, avoiding lengthy presentations filled with irrelevant information. In conclusion, a valuable approach to improving enterprise sales is studying the histories of other companies. By examining who their first client was, how they secured major business deals, and what innovative strategies they employed, valuable insights can be gained. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Richard and Kimon interview each other about the role of ego in business. The common perception is that entrepreneurs, typically men, have large egos, constantly seeking attention and dominating conversations. Adam Neumann, the founder of WeWork, serves as a classic example. While some level of ego is indeed necessary, effective leaders also understand when to control their egos and step back from the spotlight. A leader with an inflated ego who believes that nobody else's opinions matter can create a dangerous environment. By not giving others a chance to contribute, such an egotistical CEO (who may not possess the brilliance of Steve Jobs) can harm the very business they are trying to build. As Kimon puts it, "the real entrepreneur is the one that's super talented at getting way smarter people than themselves." An entrepreneur with a toxic ego is primarily focused on being right. They fail to ask the most important question: "What is best for the company?" It shouldn't matter whether the best idea comes from the leader or the employees; what matters is the end result. In addition to discussing the leader's ego, Kimon and Richard delve into managing the egos of others within the business. Employees often worry about their titles and their place within the organizational structure. Understanding and being sensitive to people's egos, particularly considering the diversity of personalities, is crucial. One effective approach is offering personality tests to both employees and leaders, enabling better understanding of how to interact with one another. Kimon and Richard also touch upon the egos of clients and how big egos can be advantageous. Praising and congratulating clients with large egos can encourage repeat business. In essence, ego is necessary but must be kept in check within the business context. There is a positive aspect that fosters confidence and perseverance and a toxic aspect that restricts growth by suppressing the potential of exceptional employees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Richard and Kimon speak with James Hyde, non-executive director of James and James Fulfilment, in addition to founding and formerly running the company. Initially unemployed out of college, James and his eventual co-founder, took minimum wage jobs. They were working at a shipping and fulfillment facility, and were frustrated by the lack of efficiency they encountered. Starting in 2010, James Hyde and James Strachan, began working on their fulfillment company. One of the first customers they ever had wanted James and James to help them sell home brew coffee equipment. They implemented a fulfillment software and management system, effectively allowing the owners of the home brew equipment to retire. Initially, James and the company adjusted to this model, even though, at first, they only wanted to create a software company, not a software and fulfillment operation. Part of what makes James' story as an entrepreneur especially compelling is that he started with almost no outside capital. By the time that James and James Fulfilment had their fourth customer, they were able to support minimum wage salaries for themselves. James talks about how they deliberately turned downed certain jobs and tasks at this time so they could focus on a scalable, core fulfillment solution. It was at this time that James and his co-founder realized that expanding the service side of the business would allow them to sell more software. The expanded services would be the proof-of-concept that fed the other sales. James also discusses how and why James and James was able to and continues to expand, even when the service they offer, on its face, resembles that provided by the behemoth, Amazon. James and James focuses on direct-to-consumer, i.e. they work with companies that want their own branding and a “direct” relationship with the buyer. Amazon uses it's own branding and doesn't allow their sellers the same access to their end consumers. When James and James first began, they had a significant first-mover advantage as their were very few fulfillment companies of any kind offering cloud-based solutions. James ponders a road not taken where they would have taken more outside capital to scale, instead of the more conservative approach they took instead. He compares his company to the commonly found Silicon Valley-style SaaS company. As James remarks, these companies' software is often far less complicated than the software necessary for accurate shipping and fulfillment. Since the founding and initial success of the company, James retains a position and is an owner. James and James has matured from a start-up into a fully-fledged company with many shareholders. The transformation of the company has changed the culture slightly according to James, especially in its treatment of external threats such as cybersecurity attacks. Towards the end of the interview, James talks about how he sought out advice from seasoned businesspeople with “gray hair.” He offered them a tiny bit of equity in exchange for a nominal amount of capital so that he could comfortably seek their counsel. Nowadays, James works at James and James one day out of the week. His next move is to look for small companies that are looking to scale up. Find James Hyde's profile here James and James Fulfilment Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses. Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
JeVon McCormick was born the son of a black pimp father and a white orphan mother. Hear how, as a nine year old, he critiqued the way his father managed prostitutes, to his rejection of concepts such as “hope” and “luck”. When he was in juvenile detention neither of his parents knew where he was. His journey from toughest of upbringings to fame and fortune is unforgettable and inspiring. Kimon and Richard never spoke to an entrepreneur with a history like his. We are sure you will find it as compelling as we did. The lessons that he shares from his journey about saving, adaptation, learning by doing, the power of asking questions, accountability, and responsibility can benefit entrepreneurs and leaders the world over. McCormick's book I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Achieve the American Dream tells his story. About our guest JeVon McCormick is the son of a black pimp and a white mother, and was raised in the most dreadful conditions, three times jailed before he was an adult. His book, I Got There, tells the harrowing story of his struggle to succeed despite the over whelming odds stacked against him Today, he's the CEO of a multi-million dollar publishing company that was recently ranked the #1 Top Company Culture inAmerica by Entrepreneur Magazine. JeVon is the President and CEO of Scribe Media, a publishing company that helps individuals from a variety of backgrounds write, publish, and market their books. Scribe Media has worked with more than 1700 authors, including members of The Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Nassim Taleb and David Goggins, whose blockbuster book Can't Hurt Me has sold over 2 million copies. JeVon is an author and highly sought after keynote speaker, delivering the message that “Everyone Has A Story” to enthusiastic audiences across the country. JeVon is passionate about conscious entrepreneurship and creating opportunities for at-risk youth. He has mentored young men and women in the juvenile justice system, as well as those in lower economic communities. JeVon currently serves as a board member for Conscious Capitalism and the StartEdUp Foundation. His story and work have been featured on CNBC, and in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and Inc. magazines.https://scribemedia.com/https:... The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. Follow our channels on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. View the episode on Youtube here. You can listen to the episode on the NBN here. About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here. About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Here's a preview of a new podcast, Story of the Week. Each week, journalist Joel Stein chooses an article that fascinates him, convinces the writer to tell him about it, and then interrupts a good conversation by talking about himself. Today's story, about smoking hallucinogenic toads, was written by Kimon de Greef for the New Yorker. A Mexican doctor turned to toad poison to help cure himself of a crack addiction. The doctor then talked about his experiences during a TedX talk at Burning Man – which started his career as the world's leading proponent of the drug. Hear more of Story of the Week at apple.co/storyweek.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Szymon Słupik regards himself as lucky. He tells us how he made enough money by the time he was 35 that he would never have to work again. We learn how growing up in communist Poland taught him to be enterprising, at ease with taking risks, and being open to opportunities, which he took time after time. He believes that the challenges of starting a business in 2021 are child's play compared to how things used to be for those who experienced communism . His trenchant views on thinking long term, focussing on quality, and working with passion and focus on things that he believes in are ones from which we can all learn. Szymon is an entrepreneur with a strong technology background in IT and Electronics. Szymon is a CTO at Silvair, the company he co-founded in 2011. Szymon is also chairing the Mesh Working Group at Bluetooth Special Interest Group. Silvair develops technology for low power wireless device networks based on the Bluetooth mesh standard. The company has been the key contributor to the standard itself, driving it since inception in 2014 to formal adoption of version 1 in 2017, as well as the evolution of future releases. SIlvair is a Delaware company, publicly traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE:SVRS). Szymon's previous companies were CDN (acquired by Comarch in 2004) and Wind Mobile (acquired by Ailleron in 2009). At Silvair Szymon is focused on long term projects which aim at solving difficult problems, contribute to improved quality of life and deliver lasting value. He strongly believes Bluetooth mesh is the winning standard for the Internet of Things and will enable significant energy savings globally as well as proliferation of modern food production technologies such as vertical farms. Since 2005 Szymon has been running a weekly blog at https://headworx.slupik.com He can also be reached on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/slupik. https://silvair.com/ The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate and inform, sharing insights based on the personal story of our carefully selected guests aiming for the atmosphere of an informal conversation in a bar or over a cup of coffee. Follow our channels on Facebook Linkedin Twitter and watch the interview on Youtube here About the NBN The New Books Network was founded in 2007 as a podcast interviewing the authors of academic books, and has grown to the largest author interview podcast in the world publishing 12 podcasts a day in more than 90 specialist areas, with over a million downloads a month. Read about the founder Marshall Poe and the NBN here. In recent years it has expanded beyond its “author interview origins”. Historically NBN only did audio recordings. E&L is the first NBN podcast distributed on Youtube. Watch this episode on Youtube here. About Kimon Fountoukidis Twitter Linkedin Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here, About Richard Lucas Twitter Linkedin Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including investments in Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels: from pre- to business schools. Richard was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991. Read more here. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Kimon and Richard speak with Jonathan Gorczyca, the founder of Mentor Deck and Helm Experience & Design. Jonathan has worked as a product designer for almost 20 years, helping companies design and launch their products, often for the first time. Based in Buffalo, New York, Jonathan has been an integral part of the start-up scene. He specializes in UX (user experience) and helps early-stage ventures with new products. Through Helm Experience & Design, he has transitioned from supporting early-stage companies to helping larger companies looking for a product refresh or redesign. When working with smaller companies, Jonathan uses cost-effective methods instead of full consultation projects. He seeks out driven founders who are committed to creating a great product and are open to flexibility. Familiarity with the company, its culture, and its people is essential to helping them develop something new. One of the first companies that Helm worked with is now a publicly traded company, ACV Auctions. Jonathan first saw the idea as a sketch and saw the entire project through until it existed, with over 1,000 employees. Jonathan emphasizes that part of finding success in this line of work is sticking through the good and the bad times with founders. As he puts it, “success is not a straight line.” What concerns him most is when founders become difficult to contact. Jonathan warns that “silence is a red flag.” Through Mentor Deck, Jonathan and his team connect with entrepreneurs and invest in companies based in Buffalo. Mentor Deck investors help ensure accountability for entrepreneurs and bring expertise in critical product design areas. Though still very small in scale, Jonathan is looking to expand into different cities. Kimon and Richard share their own struggles with finding good mentors and the right people for different companies. Jonathan remarks that what spurs him most to connect the right investors with the right founders comes from the excitement of turning nothing into something. He is obsessed with the scale of it and the number of jobs that can be created through entrepreneurship. Jonathan's LinkedIn Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Kimon and Richard speak with Nick Sonnenberg, CEO and Founder of Leverage. He is also the author of the book, Come Up For Air: How Teams Can Leverage Systems and Tools to Stop Drowning in Work (HarperCollins, 2023). Nick began his career as a high-frequency trader. He learned to build algorithms to trade stocks, which allowed him to build a nest egg over the course of eight years. At this point, he became interested in start-ups. He left his job as a trader, and created an app that helped with organizational and scheduling issues. The company faced severe financial struggles, which also took a significant toll on Nick. He worked hard to push through the difficulties and learned a great deal about organizational management and efficiency. From this experience, he began consulting with the likes of Tony Robbins, the Ethereum Foundation, and consumer goods companies. This period of struggle saw Leverage decline in headcount from 150 to 50 employees. Losing more than 40% of revenue per month, Nick knew that serious changes would be necessary for the company to survive. Leverage stopped focusing entirely on attracting and converting new customers. Instead, Leverage went all in on customer retention. Leverage's focus is on teaching founders, executives, and employees how to most effectively use every organizational tool available to companies. These tools include email, Asana, Slack, Teams, and others. Leverage's specialty is in conducting a broad overview of organizational efficiency. Then, they gave advice and education using a fully-designed framework. The focus is not on individual productivity but rather ‘productivity at scale.' Instagram: @NicholasSonnenberg Twitter: @Nick_Sonnenberg LinkedIn Link to the book About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Kimon and Richard speak with Sameer Narula, Managing Partner of August One, a private investment firm. Despite self-identifying as an engineer, Sameer has an entrepreneurial mind. Prior to starting August One, Sameer founded two companies, selling one in the early 2000s. His first ever venture was at the age of 13 when he and several friends started writing and drawing comic books. They used the school Xerox and sold copies to other students. Eventually, his parents became worried about the operation distracting Sameer from his schoolwork. Like most childhood pursuits, this project fizzled out. Sameer describes August Ones as akin to a family office. His family, along with four others, jointly pursue investments together for a multitude of objectives. He has known the other families for decades, and in some cases, his family has known the others for generations. In addition to these family offices, they also work with government funds and other investors. The nature of each investment varies, though Sameer and his main partners are as hands-on as possible. In one venture, August One is investing in carbon-neutral, real estate development in rural Europe. Sameer works directly with the architects and visits the building sites. In another–– a brewery–– Sameer has personally delivered barrels of beer. The three main areas that they focus on are real estate, energy, and food. Growing up in New Delhi, Sameer experienced firsthand the pollution that comes from these three areas. As a result, he is driven to invest in companies and projects that seek to reduce their carbon footprint. Sameer also discusses the promises and perils of working with governments. As he describes, working with Portugal has been a pleasure and Singapore is more efficient than any company or government he's ever seen. Later in the interview, Sameer describes some of the challenges he's faced as an entrepreneur and investor. He cautions that investors should fear zombie companies more than companies that try and fail. A company that fails allows you to cut your losses, whereas a zombie company can drain capital over a long period of time. Sameer also discusses the personal values necessary to succeed in the business world. He talks about the importance of working with people you trust. Values matter in addition to grit. Currently, Sameer splits his time between Helsinki, Lisbon, and Singapore. His reasons are both business-related and personal. All three are international, port cities. In Sameer's view, all three are poised for growth and many of his clients operate in those regions. Sameer's LinkedIn August One About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this episode, Kimon and Richard speak with Val Pilch, CEO of ForMeds. Val was born in Krakow, living there for his early childhood before moving to New York in the 1990s at the end of high school. He studied initially in New York before moving to North Carolina to attend Duke University for business school. Val describes the pros and cons of this path, suggesting that an MBA might give someone a valuable toolkit though it does not teach you what it actually takes to run a business. After school, he initially worked in consulting and then in banking. Val's work at investment banks led him to Singapore, where he worked and lived for seven years. In 2015, Val decided to move back to his birthplace to explore a career outside of investment banks. He began running a commercial lighting company, which was the largest in all of Poland. In 2019, the company was sold to a Norwegian industrial group. After this experience, Val decided that he wanted to try his hand at entrepreneurship. He even cites a conversation with Richard in 2020 as part of the inspiration for going down a new path! Val decided to go about entrepreneurship via acquisition. As of the publication of this video, he has been CEO and owner of ForMeds for about three months. Val shares plenty of useful wisdom throughout the interview. He discusses the importance of focus. In a company with many moving parts, it's easy to spiral out into all sorts of avenues. According to Val, it is best to hyper-fixate on the most important issues and execute those perfectly. -Val's LinkedIn -ForMeds -Novastone Capital Advisors -Stanford Search Fund -Jack Lancaster: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition About NBN: The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In this episode, Kimon and Richard speak with Val Pilch, CEO of ForMeds. Val was born in Krakow, living there for his early childhood before moving to New York in the 1990s at the end of high school. He studied initially in New York before moving to North Carolina to attend Duke University for business school. Val describes the pros and cons of this path, suggesting that an MBA might give someone a valuable toolkit though it does not teach you what it actually takes to run a business. After school, he initially worked in consulting and then in banking. Val's work at investment banks led him to Singapore, where he worked and lived for seven years. In 2015, Val decided to move back to his birthplace to explore a career outside of investment banks. He began running a commercial lighting company, which was the largest in all of Poland. In 2019, the company was sold to a Norwegian industrial group. After this experience, Val decided that he wanted to try his hand at entrepreneurship. He even cites a conversation with Richard in 2020 as part of the inspiration for going down a new path! Val decided to go about entrepreneurship via acquisition. As of the publication of this video, he has been CEO and owner of ForMeds for about three months. Val shares plenty of useful wisdom throughout the interview. He discusses the importance of focus. In a company with many moving parts, it's easy to spiral out into all sorts of avenues. According to Val, it is best to hyper-fixate on the most important issues and execute those perfectly. -Val's LinkedIn -ForMeds -Novastone Capital Advisors -Stanford Search Fund -Jack Lancaster: Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition About NBN: The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Kimon and Richard speak with Christian Arno, founder and CEO of Pawprint, about how companies can effectively achieve sustainability goals. As a young child growing up in Aberdeen, Christian was interested in pursuing entrepreneurship. His first venture was in comic book sales, and his first clients were his parents and schoolmates on the bus. When his father learned more about the finances of Christian's venture, he shut the enterprise down, an early lesson in “regulation.” For university, Christian attended Oxford, where he studied languages. At around this time, the Dotcom boom began, and Christian created a website advertising translation services. He began to receive customer inquiries, and soon enough, was able to establish a revenue stream from recurrent clients. The most important thing that Christian learned while building Lingo24 was how to take advantage of SEO (search engine optimization). Christian was able to land bigger companies despite a lack of experience. Searchers would find his professionally-created website, purchase services, eventually leading Christian to start hiring employees to accommodate the growing demand. In the 20 years of running the company before exiting, Christian was able to grow Lingo24 to a maximum size of 230 people with a peak revenue of around $50 million in a year. Despite this success, Christian felt it was time to move on to another venture. In the mid-2010s, Christian's father, formerly an oil and gas entrepreneur, reversed course and became a climate activist with Extinction Rebellion. Through conversations with his father, Christian came to believe that the second act of his career should attempt to address the environmental issues that threaten him, his father, and billions around the world. Christian's new company is a software platform, Pawprint, that educates, motivates, and aligns employees of companies around sustainable development goals. The CEO of a company signs up, creating accounts for employees. The employees are placed into teams where they compete to reduce their CO2 emissions. The CEO is able to set various financial or non-financial awards for the best-performing employees. Pawprint doesn't just track the results. It also gives employees various actions and pieces of advice, over 500 in total, to improve their environmental impact. Christian talks about his passion for Pawprint and the excitement of working on project with social impact. His big piece of advice for entrepreneurs: Start doing what you care about as early possible. Don't wait! Links UN SDGs BCorp movement Unbabel Buys Lingo24 Pawprint About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Kimon and Richard speak with Christian Arno, founder and CEO of Pawprint, about how companies can effectively achieve sustainability goals. As a young child growing up in Aberdeen, Christian was interested in pursuing entrepreneurship. His first venture was in comic book sales, and his first clients were his parents and schoolmates on the bus. When his father learned more about the finances of Christian's venture, he shut the enterprise down, an early lesson in “regulation.” For university, Christian attended Oxford, where he studied languages. At around this time, the Dotcom boom began, and Christian created a website advertising translation services. He began to receive customer inquiries, and soon enough, was able to establish a revenue stream from recurrent clients. The most important thing that Christian learned while building Lingo24 was how to take advantage of SEO (search engine optimization). Christian was able to land bigger companies despite a lack of experience. Searchers would find his professionally-created website, purchase services, eventually leading Christian to start hiring employees to accommodate the growing demand. In the 20 years of running the company before exiting, Christian was able to grow Lingo24 to a maximum size of 230 people with a peak revenue of around $50 million in a year. Despite this success, Christian felt it was time to move on to another venture. In the mid-2010s, Christian's father, formerly an oil and gas entrepreneur, reversed course and became a climate activist with Extinction Rebellion. Through conversations with his father, Christian came to believe that the second act of his career should attempt to address the environmental issues that threaten him, his father, and billions around the world. Christian's new company is a software platform, Pawprint, that educates, motivates, and aligns employees of companies around sustainable development goals. The CEO of a company signs up, creating accounts for employees. The employees are placed into teams where they compete to reduce their CO2 emissions. The CEO is able to set various financial or non-financial awards for the best-performing employees. Pawprint doesn't just track the results. It also gives employees various actions and pieces of advice, over 500 in total, to improve their environmental impact. Christian talks about his passion for Pawprint and the excitement of working on project with social impact. His big piece of advice for entrepreneurs: Start doing what you care about as early possible. Don't wait! Links UN SDGs BCorp movement Unbabel Buys Lingo24 Pawprint About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
Kimon and Richard speak with Christian Arno, founder and CEO of Pawprint, about how companies can effectively achieve sustainability goals. As a young child growing up in Aberdeen, Christian was interested in pursuing entrepreneurship. His first venture was in comic book sales, and his first clients were his parents and schoolmates on the bus. When his father learned more about the finances of Christian's venture, he shut the enterprise down, an early lesson in “regulation.” For university, Christian attended Oxford, where he studied languages. At around this time, the Dotcom boom began, and Christian created a website advertising translation services. He began to receive customer inquiries, and soon enough, was able to establish a revenue stream from recurrent clients. The most important thing that Christian learned while building Lingo24 was how to take advantage of SEO (search engine optimization). Christian was able to land bigger companies despite a lack of experience. Searchers would find his professionally-created website, purchase services, eventually leading Christian to start hiring employees to accommodate the growing demand. In the 20 years of running the company before exiting, Christian was able to grow Lingo24 to a maximum size of 230 people with a peak revenue of around $50 million in a year. Despite this success, Christian felt it was time to move on to another venture. In the mid-2010s, Christian's father, formerly an oil and gas entrepreneur, reversed course and became a climate activist with Extinction Rebellion. Through conversations with his father, Christian came to believe that the second act of his career should attempt to address the environmental issues that threaten him, his father, and billions around the world. Christian's new company is a software platform, Pawprint, that educates, motivates, and aligns employees of companies around sustainable development goals. The CEO of a company signs up, creating accounts for employees. The employees are placed into teams where they compete to reduce their CO2 emissions. The CEO is able to set various financial or non-financial awards for the best-performing employees. Pawprint doesn't just track the results. It also gives employees various actions and pieces of advice, over 500 in total, to improve their environmental impact. Christian talks about his passion for Pawprint and the excitement of working on project with social impact. His big piece of advice for entrepreneurs: Start doing what you care about as early possible. Don't wait! Links UN SDGs BCorp movement Unbabel Buys Lingo24 Pawprint About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies
Kimon and Richard speak with Cormac Russell, Managing Director at Nurture Development. Cormac focuses on helping institutions, NGOs, governmental organizations, and companies interested in improving their communities. The biggest issue that Cormac encounters in these organizations is a problem with disconnection. In this interview, Cormac discusses his work to overcome disconnection and bring people together. Before he began his work as a community organizer and developer, Cormac wanted to become a psychologist. He worked in childcare, helping kids with mental health issues. Many of the issues he saw that these kids faced became most prominent as they were transitioning from the hospital setting back into their local communities. Cormac realized that the old adage: “it takes a village” rang very true. Cormac soon discovered the work and ideas of John L. McKnight, co-founder of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University. John has since become a mentor and a co-author with Cormac, focusing on the core issues facing local communities. Their approach is bottom-up and people-centered with an emphasis on localism. Cormac was driven to help start Nurture Development, which focused on community development from the inside out. He has grown the company today to the point where it now has a footprint in 36 countries. In his current work, Cormac argues that organizations operating in a particular area should pay attention to more than just its straightforward objective. For example, he discusses how police departments tasked with arresting people should also care about the root causes that lead to crime in the first place. If the goal of a police department is to produce less crime, it should redirect some of its resources toward community-building instead of just boosting enforcement. Cormac emphasizes that many problems faced by organizations are not ones of leadership. Rather, there are not enough people who are focused on connecting or convening those in the broader community. With more people out there whose role it is to connect, the job of the leaders is made much easier. Connectors, like Cormac, offer a more local and granular perspective than a typical leader who is focused on a birds-eye-view of any issue. Cormac makes a case for “thinking like a social movement” while “behaving like an entrepreneur.” He gives the example of a neighborhood in Birmingham, UK. Cormac worked with locals from the neighborhood to embark on a listening campaign to hear directly from the people. In the course of the listening campaign, they found 93 people in the neighborhood who were identified as connectors. These connectors were then brought together and given access to training and community-development materials to help them directly address the problems they saw themselves. Cormac discusses other examples in the interview of how to bring together communities using a bottom-up and inside-out approach. He is not your standard entrepreneur focused on the bottom line. Rather, Cormac uses entrepreneurial tools to address social issues. The ultimate measure of success is in the long-term growth and development of the community. Cormac Russell is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis Richard Lucas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Kimon and Richard speak with Cormac Russell, Managing Director at Nurture Development. Cormac focuses on helping institutions, NGOs, governmental organizations, and companies interested in improving their communities. The biggest issue that Cormac encounters in these organizations is a problem with disconnection. In this interview, Cormac discusses his work to overcome disconnection and bring people together. Before he began his work as a community organizer and developer, Cormac wanted to become a psychologist. He worked in childcare, helping kids with mental health issues. Many of the issues he saw that these kids faced became most prominent as they were transitioning from the hospital setting back into their local communities. Cormac realized that the old adage: “it takes a village” rang very true. Cormac soon discovered the work and ideas of John L. McKnight, co-founder of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University. John has since become a mentor and a co-author with Cormac, focusing on the core issues facing local communities. Their approach is bottom-up and people-centered with an emphasis on localism. Cormac was driven to help start Nurture Development, which focused on community development from the inside out. He has grown the company today to the point where it now has a footprint in 36 countries. In his current work, Cormac argues that organizations operating in a particular area should pay attention to more than just its straightforward objective. For example, he discusses how police departments tasked with arresting people should also care about the root causes that lead to crime in the first place. If the goal of a police department is to produce less crime, it should redirect some of its resources toward community-building instead of just boosting enforcement. Cormac emphasizes that many problems faced by organizations are not ones of leadership. Rather, there are not enough people who are focused on connecting or convening those in the broader community. With more people out there whose role it is to connect, the job of the leaders is made much easier. Connectors, like Cormac, offer a more local and granular perspective than a typical leader who is focused on a birds-eye-view of any issue. Cormac makes a case for “thinking like a social movement” while “behaving like an entrepreneur.” He gives the example of a neighborhood in Birmingham, UK. Cormac worked with locals from the neighborhood to embark on a listening campaign to hear directly from the people. In the course of the listening campaign, they found 93 people in the neighborhood who were identified as connectors. These connectors were then brought together and given access to training and community-development materials to help them directly address the problems they saw themselves. Cormac discusses other examples in the interview of how to bring together communities using a bottom-up and inside-out approach. He is not your standard entrepreneur focused on the bottom line. Rather, Cormac uses entrepreneurial tools to address social issues. The ultimate measure of success is in the long-term growth and development of the community. Cormac Russell is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis Richard Lucas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this interview, Richard and Kimon speak with Rudradeb Mitra, CEO and founder of Omdena. He was born in India, moving to England as an adult to complete a master's degree at Cambridge. He worked as an AI researcher and then at a start-up before realizing that making money was not his primary goal in life. Rudradeb saw that there were many issues in the AI community and tech world, including biases in hiring and general social networking problems. As he explains, when a company is looking to hire, they focus on certain characteristics, backgrounds, and experiences that may overlook plenty of smart and talented engineers. The main idea behind Omdena was to create a collaborative platform where AI researchers and engineers could crowdsource problem-solving and demonstrate their skills. In nearly four years of operation, Omdena has run over 320 projects with 120 start-ups and non-profit organizations. More than 10,000 people from 105 countries have worked on these projects, participating in local Omdena chapters in over 60 countries. Every month, around 2,000 people apply to work on approximately 20-25 new projects . Omdena helps pair people to particular programs, keeps track of the best performers, and then helps the top-tier talent find paid work. When a person first signs up for Omdena, they are first given access to educational resources and projects that will help them learn. After completion, they can begin participating in new projects. Success in these projects will then lead to paid work projects with start-ups. Omdena is unlike many organizations, and it is perhaps best to think of it as a mix between a business and a school. Many people who are members are using it as a resource to gain practical experience, the type of education that is not often emphasized at universities. This practice work is usually to support non-profits or other charitable projects. Outcomes from these projects can then be used to get paid work for a large, for-profit company or a start-up. Throughout the interview, Rudradeb talks about the ideas, both philosophical and practical, that have influenced him in his endeavors. At the end of the interview, he describes the importance of focus, building a strong and unified culture, and travel. Rudradeb Mitra is founder and CEO of Omdena. Omdena is a collaborative platform with over 10,000 data scientists, data engineers, and domain experts from 105 countries. Large development organizations (non-corporations) like the UN, UNHCR, WRI, World Energy Council, and the World Food Program, as well as impact startups from 60+ countries have worked with Omdena. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where he continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In this interview, Richard and Kimon speak with Rudradeb Mitra, CEO and founder of Omdena. He was born in India, moving to England as an adult to complete a master's degree at Cambridge. He worked as an AI researcher and then at a start-up before realizing that making money was not his primary goal in life. Rudradeb saw that there were many issues in the AI community and tech world, including biases in hiring and general social networking problems. As he explains, when a company is looking to hire, they focus on certain characteristics, backgrounds, and experiences that may overlook plenty of smart and talented engineers. The main idea behind Omdena was to create a collaborative platform where AI researchers and engineers could crowdsource problem-solving and demonstrate their skills. In nearly four years of operation, Omdena has run over 320 projects with 120 start-ups and non-profit organizations. More than 10,000 people from 105 countries have worked on these projects, participating in local Omdena chapters in over 60 countries. Every month, around 2,000 people apply to work on approximately 20-25 new projects . Omdena helps pair people to particular programs, keeps track of the best performers, and then helps the top-tier talent find paid work. When a person first signs up for Omdena, they are first given access to educational resources and projects that will help them learn. After completion, they can begin participating in new projects. Success in these projects will then lead to paid work projects with start-ups. Omdena is unlike many organizations, and it is perhaps best to think of it as a mix between a business and a school. Many people who are members are using it as a resource to gain practical experience, the type of education that is not often emphasized at universities. This practice work is usually to support non-profits or other charitable projects. Outcomes from these projects can then be used to get paid work for a large, for-profit company or a start-up. Throughout the interview, Rudradeb talks about the ideas, both philosophical and practical, that have influenced him in his endeavors. At the end of the interview, he describes the importance of focus, building a strong and unified culture, and travel. Rudradeb Mitra is founder and CEO of Omdena. Omdena is a collaborative platform with over 10,000 data scientists, data engineers, and domain experts from 105 countries. Large development organizations (non-corporations) like the UN, UNHCR, WRI, World Energy Council, and the World Food Program, as well as impact startups from 60+ countries have worked with Omdena. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where he continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/entrepreneurship-and-leadership
In this interview, Richard and Kimon speak with David Regn, CEO of Stream Companies. Collectively, David oversees about 600 employees, generating an annual revenue of around $225 million. Growing up in a middle-class family, David got his first job at age 14. He worked at a grocery store, starting as a bagger, before quickly being promoted to run the in-store bakery. He worked in the bakery for five years, growing its weekly revenue from $300 to $3,000 a week. He left the grocery store once he started college, and after an internship, David realized that he didn't want to work for someone else or a big corporation. Instead, he opted for the more challenging path of entrepreneurship. Along, with his best friend Jason Brennan, David began doing independent marketing consulting for small companies owned by friends. This was in the mid-90s when many small businesses did not have any presence on the internet. At first, they helped small business owners like landscapers and physicians produce and distribute brochures. David humorously describes how the first advertisement he ever took out was in the Yellow Pages phone book. Stream Companies had a phone number, but they used David's mother's home as their business address. From this ad, they got their first significant client. The marketing deck they produced made its way to a VP at Motorola, who reached out to David and Jason about additional marketing work. One of their first significant clients was a small gym franchise of five locations owned by his brother. Over the course of the partnership, the franchise added an additional seven locations. This experience helped their company learn more about retail and how to work effectively with smaller owners. Over the course of the interview, David continues to emphasize the importance of developing and maintaining relationships with clients over time. Many of David's clients have worked with him for 20+ years. As these companies have grown, so has Stream Companies. David also discusses cultivating and developing talent. He says that any boss and business owner should think about how to adequately care for employees, seeing them holistically instead of as just cogs. In the lead-up to the shutdowns from the pandemic, David and his executive board took pay cuts to ensure that as few employees as possible would be hurt by any declines in revenue. As David says, you have to “put people before profits.” At the end of the interview, David talks about more recent developments, including recently selling a majority share of the company. This has given the company more room to grow. Jason concludes with some advice on what entrepreneurs need to succeed: 1. Grit 2. Positive attitude 3. Be passionate about work In 1996, David Regn and his lifelong friend and business partner, Jason Brennan, founded Stream Companies. In only a few short years, Stream Companies was recognized and awarded as one of the fastest growing, privately held entrepreneurial companies in Philadelphia and has continued to win awards like Inc. 5000, fastest-growing private companies and Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania multiple times over. Find links to past episodes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Jack discusses different health care markets around the globe, including why there are 20 markets he would sooner want to enter than the European market. Evolution Surgical owns the full value-chain from end-to-end, meaning they are a manufacturer and a distributor. This allows them to more sensitively listen to customer feedback, which allows them, as as smaller company, to compete with big, multinational corporations. Founded in 2014, Evolution Surgical was never meant to grow to the size it is today. The original founder, intending to work with just a few clients, quickly found that there was significant demand for the products Evolution Surgical designed. This rapid growth is what lead Jack to be able to come in as the new owner and CEO. The founder is able to focus on working directly with surgeons, allowing Jack to focus on management. Evolution Surgical makes tools for spinal fusion, customizing devices to the exact specifications as requested by surgeons in Australia. In this wide-ranging conversation, Richard and Kimon explore what it takes to run a company that makes critical devices for people in need. Jack is insightful, modest, and an example of a great entrepreneur. Jack Lancaster is a highly experienced healthcare leader with a broad background across the sector globally. He is currently CEO Evolution Surgical, an Australian manufacturer and distributor of spinal devices. He is passionate about the role private sector organisations can play in improving outcomes and value for Australian patients. Evolution Surgical uniquely works across the full device value chain in Australia of design, manufacture, regulate, and distribute; and is very closely involved with the Australian clinical, academic, and manufacturing sectors to enable this success. Jack spent the early parts of his career working with the NHS deploying efficiency initiatives as well as in developing countries setting up programmes for large-scale disease elimination. Prior to Evolution Surgical he worked in the Sydney office of Boston Consulting Group in the healthcare practice. Jack has an undergraduate degree with Honours from St Andrews, and an MBA with a concentration in health strategies from Cambridge University. www.evolutinosurgical.com.au Stanford Resources on Search Funds Buying your way into entrepreneurship About NBN: The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Bryan Amaral began his career as an entrepreneur going door-to-door, selling custom-made suits. He learned how to work closely with clients as a therapist might work with their patients. By his mid-20s he was able to establish a brick-and-mortar location and create a showroom. He moved away from simply selling suits to building entire wardrobes for his clients. Soon after, in the early 90s, Bryan began designing customer relations software to expand his business and sell to other companies. His company was acquired by Symbol Technologies, which Bryan describes as akin to being adopted by a dysfunctional family. After an accounting fraud scandal at Symbol in the early 2000s, Bryan purchased his company back and created Retaligent Solutions, Inc. Soon after reacquiring his company, the 2008 financial crisis hit. Bryan was able to weather the storm by "doing more with less," recapitalizing and partnering with Microsoft. Just three years later, his partners sold the company to another Microsoft partner. At this point, having had over 20 years of experience in retail technology and strategy, Bryan founded a consulting company, Clientricity. Clientricity helps retailers develop and grow, much in the way that Bryan first grew his menswear company nearly 30 years ago. Bryan also discusses the soft skills he learned along the way. He emphasizes the importance of company culture, finding the right people, and investing in the education of his employees to advance and succeed in different roles. As Bryan states, "I loved using the organization as a vehicle for people to live out their potential." Bryan's podcast is here. Bryan on Twitter here. Bryan on LinkedIn here. About NBN: The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where he continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Leaders in a high-performance culture want to cultivate values that help organizations grow, and feedback is a vital factor.But CEOs and senior leaders often struggle with giving and receiving feedback, either because they undervalue it or because they overdo the process and come on too strong. This is why I am so excited to converse with my friend Kim Bach, the current SVP for Customer Success at Dailyhuman, an agency that is helping people deal with turnover and disengagement crises.Kim Bach will elaborate on why feedback is the food that keeps organizations alive by unpacking the following points:- How feedback feeds relationship growth across organizations- How feedback is closely tied to the culture of accountability - How to give and receive feedback; what works and what doesn't.An exciting episode you won't want to miss! Connect with Kim:On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-bach-inyourcorner/Don't miss out on all the good stuff that is coming your way!
At the age of 18, Jonathan Little opened an online poker account with a $50 deposit. By age 21, he had about $350,000 in his account. In this episode of the Entrepreneurship and Leadership Podcast, Jonathan Little explains how he was able to parlay his poker hobby into a profession by keeping his expenses low and saving his winnings. This frugality allowed Jonathan to play in bigger games and maintain a margin of safety that has lasted his entire career. Now 37 years old, Jonathan continues to play poker professionally, recently ranking as high as the 24th best player in the world. He has written several books on poker strategy and teaches at https://pokercoaching.com. At first glance, poker and entrepreneurship might appear to be very different activities; however, seasoned pros like Jonathan show how poker at its highest level is akin to investing. Each hand is like an investment opportunity. Playing a great hand is like finding an asymmetric investment opportunity. With each win, you can choose to reinvest or take the profits. Both activities rely on the power of compounding and risk mitigation. And, perhaps most significantly, both poker and entrepreneurship require humility and patience in the face of constant uncertainty. Follow Jonathan Little at: https://twitter.com/PokerCoaching_ https://twitter.com/JonathanLittle https://pokercoaching.com/home About NBN: The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. Kimon's on Twitter here. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk here. Richard is on Twitter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Head ninja. Top strategist. Main innovation engine. Chief optimist. Sören Stamer wears a lot of hats, and it's one of the main reasons he wears the CEO hat at CoreMedia so successfully. CoreMedia markets an open, best-of-breed, API-driven solution that combines a headless content repository with an advanced web-based UI. It allows editors to access content from any source and preview front-end customer experience in real-time. From the very beginning, Sören has played multiple roles in the company's growth. As one of CoreMedia's co-founders, he did everything it took to build the company's CMS from a great idea into what has become a multimillion Euro business today. His entrepreneurial journey, however, didn't start in the technology sector. It began on his family's farm. Growing up on a farm exposed Sören to entrepreneurship ever since he can remember—the good side and the challenges—in addition to the hard and dedicated work it takes to succeed. Sören's story is a fascinating lesson for anyone who not only wants to become an entrepreneur, but also wants to live a full and satisfying life. As he says, “I never regret things I did. I regret things I don't do.” Tune into our episode to learn more. About our guest: Sören Stamer is CEO and Co-founder of CoreMedia, a strategic digital experience platform used many iconic online brands. He is also an award-winning author and speaker. Sören's primary interest is in the power of massive networks to bring about enormous change. A pioneering social media advocate, he is a recognized thought leader on web content strategy, digital rights management, and enterprise 2.0. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Hamburg, and ahs extensive startup and leadership experience In addition, he is passionate about early childhood education and solutions for society's challenges in the age of A.I. About NBN: The NBN Entrepreneurship and Leadership podcast aims to educate, inform and entertain, sharing insights based on the personal stories of carefully selected guests—all in an informal atmosphere of unscripted conversations and open, personal accounts. Find links to past episodes here. About our Hosts: Kimon Fountoukidis: Kimon is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. He founded both companies in the mid-90s with zero capital, and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. He is passionate about sharing his success with others and working entrepreneurs of all kinds to help them achieve their goals. Listen to his story here. On Twitter. On LinkedIn. Richard Lucas: Richard is a business and social entrepreneur who has founded or invested in more than 30 businesses, including Argos Multilingual, PMR and, in 2020, the New Books Network. Richard has been a TEDx event organiser for years, supports the pro-entrepreneurship ecosystem, and leads entrepreneurship workshops at all levels. He was born in Oxford and moved to Poland in 1991, where continues to invest in promising companies and helps other entrepreneurs realise their dreams. Listen to his story in an autobiographical TEDx talk. On Twitter. On LinkedIn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network