In this episode of FoundHer, Helen Sampson, founder of Encouple®, shares her journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of mindset shifts, overcoming doubt, and the concept of Mesotrauma®. She discusses how stress can be reframed as a superpower and offers valuable advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs, highlighting the significance of authenticity, connection, and personal values in defining success.
Takeaways:
- Empowerment comes from sharing authentic journeys.
- Mindset shifts can turn perceived disadvantages into advantages.
- Mesotrauma® highlights the cumulative effects of daily stressors.
- Building trust is essential for credibility in business.
- Stress can be reframed as a superpower for growth.
- Success is subjective and should align with personal values.
- Networking and authenticity are key to building connections.
- Overcoming doubt requires strong belief in one's vision.
- Mistakes are part of the entrepreneurial journey; learn and adjust.
- Self-care and managing stress are crucial for founders.
Chapters:
This conversation is a masterclass in building enduring companies that not only succeed financially but also serve a greater purpose. Mark shares his personal playbook on the art of winning trust, the strategy of raising “synthetic capital,” the nuances of negotiating with regulators, and the importance of measuring a company's total impact beyond the balance sheet. From co-founding Europe's #1 independent M&A firm with just a single telephone to launching an Africa-focused fund, his journey provides invaluable lessons on resilience, ethical leadership, and the power of entrepreneurship as a force for good.
Key Takeaways
Chapters & Timestamps
Episode #1 FoundHER – Jasmine Tagesson (Hormona)
Guest: Jasmine Tagesson, Co-founder & CEO of Hormona
Interviewer: Our wonderful collaborators from Women in Entrepreneurs at LSE
Guest Introduction
Jasmine Tagesson is the co-founder and CEO of Hormona, a femtech startup revolutionizing women's hormone health with AI-driven at-home urine testing. With a unique blend of business, finance, and creative expertise, Jasmine’s career journey has deeply influenced Hormona’s mission: bridging the gender data gap in medicine to empower women. The startup was inspired by her co-founder Caroline’s prolonged struggle with undiagnosed hormone imbalances and the hurdles she faced in seeking proper medical care.
Core Topics & Highlights
The Personal Mission Behind Hormona
Hormona was sparked by Caroline’s three-year battle with hormone-related symptoms dismissed as stress by doctors. A specialist in Brussels eventually identified the hormone imbalance, revealing a critical issue: 80% of women suffer from hormone issues, yet traditional healthcare often overlooks their needs. Hormona’s core aim is to empower women through accessible hormone data, transforming empathy into actionable healthcare solutions.
Operationalizing Empathy: Data-Driven Decisions
Hormona prioritizes equity and user-centric design in every decision. When beta user data contradicted historical norms, Jasmine’s team expanded their research rather than dismiss anomalies, ensuring diverse representation. The product encourages proactive health management—guiding users to test on strategic days aligned with their cycles to accurately capture hormone fluctuations.
Hormona’s Tech: AI Meets At-Home Testing
Hormona’s innovation relies on two key technological advances:
Quantitative Testing: Proprietary urine test strips detect precise hormone levels across the clinical spectrum.
Smartphone Analysis: Using AI and camera tech, the app instantly translates test-strip visuals into accurate hormone data.
In collaboration with SpaceX, Hormona proved its tech functions effectively in extreme conditions—even space—though adequate lighting remains crucial, leading to further app refinements.
Why Subscription Matters
Hormona’s subscription model isn’t merely a revenue choice but integral to its health-driven mission. Hormone levels vary daily, rendering single tests ineffective. Continuous monitoring over 3+ months allows women to build reliable hormone baselines, accounting for life’s variables (stress, travel, irregular cycles). Initially focused on direct consumer engagement (B2C), Hormona strategically utilizes B2B partnerships to expand reach while remaining dedicated to empowering individual women to advocate for their health.
Brand Trust Through Creativity
Jasmine’s creative background shapes Hormona’s approachable brand identity. By simplifying complex science into clear language and maintaining consistent visual aesthetics (soft colors, friendly typography), Hormona feels like a trusted friend rather than a clinical device, building confidence and accessibility.
Entrepreneurial Realities: Overcoming Self-Doubt
Jasmine candidly addresses entrepreneurship's emotional challenges, particularly imposter syndrome. Reminding each other, "If it were easy, anyone would do it," keeps the founding team grounded. Hiring passionate individuals who share personal hormone stories sustains Hormona’s heart-centered culture as the company scales.
Fundraising Challenges in Femtech
Raising capital for femtech poses unique difficulties. Many male investors struggle to relate, and the "femtech" label sometimes narrows investor interest. To date, Hormona has raised $7M primarily from women investors who inherently understand the mission, complemented by consumer investors with expansive networks for strategic growth.
In this episode, Dr. Guohao Li, founder and CEO of Camel.ai, discusses the vision behind his open-source project aimed at developing multi-agent systems.
Last year, Camel and Microsoft AutoGen were involved in an academic "conflict" due to AutoGen quoting their early works on Multiagent yet didn't give enough credit to the Camel team. It would be possible to say, that Camel is the earliest organization and research team to step into multiagent systems, almost half a year ahead of Microsoft.
About Dr. Li,
Guohao Li is an artificial intelligence researcher and an open-source contributor working on building intelligent agents that can perceive, learn, communicate, reason, and act. He is the core lead of the open source projects CAMEL-AI.org and DeepGCNs.org.
Guohao Li was a postdoctoral researcher at University of Oxford with Prof. Philip Torr. He obtained his PhD degree in Computer Science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) advised by Prof. Bernard Ghanem. During his PhD studies, he was fortunate to work at Intel ISL with Dr. Vladlen Koltun and Dr. Matthias Müller as a research intern. He visited ETHz CVL as a visiting researcher. He also worked at Kumo AI and PyG.org with Prof. Jure Leskovec and Dr. Matthias Fey as a PhD intern. His primary research interests include Autonomous Agents, Graph Machine Learning, Computer Vision, and Embodied AI. He has published related papers in top-tier conferences and journals such as ICCV, CVPR, ICML, NeurIPS, RSS, 3DV, and TPAMI.
Now, he is building his startup to continue the research to find the scaling laws of AI in the multiagent system, listen to his story in the new TalkTank podcast!
00:00Introduction to Dr Guohao Li and Camel.ai
02:47The Vision Behind Camo.ai and Open Source
05:58Open Source vs. Closed Source: A Business Perspective
09:06Building a Community: Contributors and Users of Camel.ai
11:51Use Cases of Camo.ai in Startups
15:13Challenges in Building Reliable AI Agents
18:02The Importance of Multi-Agent Infrastructure
22:04Timeline for Multi-Agent Infrastructure Development
24:54The Future of AGI: Perspectives and Predictions
30:11Scaling Laws and the Role of Multi-Agent Systems
33:50Camel.ai's Initiatives and Achievements
37:06Balancing Research and Commercialization
40:51Collaboration with Mosaic ML and Competitive Landscape
43:04Academic Influences: Learning from Professor Philip Tull
48:56Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
54:01Closing Thoughts and Future Aspirations
In this engaging conversation, Kevin Jiang, founder of Mangusta Capital, shares his journey from growing up in the Bay Area to becoming a prominent figure in venture capital. He discusses his experiences at SoftBank Vision Fund, insights on Masayoshi Son, and the investment strategies that guide his current work at Mangusta Capital. Kevin emphasizes the importance of relationships in venture capital, the transition from late-stage to early-stage investments, and the unique challenges and opportunities that come with starting his own fund. He also highlights the impressive performance of Mangusta Capital in its early months. In this conversation, the speaker discusses the intricacies of building relationships with limited partners in venture capital, highlights intriguing portfolio companies like Tax GPT, and delves into the challenges of developing vertical AI applications. The speaker emphasizes the importance of key traits in successful founders, shares personal philosophies regarding work-life balance, and outlines future plans for Mangusta Capital.Chapters
00:00Introduction to Kevin Jiang and Mangusta Capital
03:54Experiences at SoftBank Vision Fund
08:37Insights on Masayoshi Son
09:39Investment Strategies and Market Dynamics
12:19Evaluating Companies: Shipbob and Flexport
14:50Transitioning from Late-Stage to Early-Stage Investments
21:04The Decision to Start Mangusta Capital
25:49Unique LP Relationships and Fund Performance
26:30Building Relationships with Limited Partners
28:44Spotlight on Portfolio Companies
33:05Understanding Tax GPT and Its Applications
35:00Challenges in Developing Vertical AI
38:07Key Traits of Successful Founders
43:53Personal Philosophy and Work-Life Balance
47:08Future Plans for Mangusta Capital
Charles Sekwalor is the founder and CEO of Movemeback, a platform dedicated to connecting global African talent with high-impact opportunities on the African continent. As an experienced entrepreneur, Charles plays a pivotal role in driving economic development in Africa. Through Movemeback, he fosters innovation, entrepreneurship, and business collaboration, building a future full of opportunities for Africa.
Charles Sekwalor is the founder and CEO of Movemeback, a platform dedicated to connecting global African talent with high-impact opportunities on the African continent. As an experienced entrepreneur, Charles plays a pivotal role in driving economic development in Africa. Through Movemeback, he fosters innovation, entrepreneurship, and business collaboration, building a future full of opportunities for Africa.
Introducing our new, limited, mini-series founded by alumni talktank member Ksenia Kutuzova...
Founder Friday - Samuel Poirier
Hosted by Ksenia Kutuzova
The guest is Sam Poirier, Forbes 30 Under 30, serial entrepreneur (founding his first business at 14!) and founder of Mercantile, a credit card startup that offers rewards to small medical practitioners. 💳
Mercantile recently raised Series A funding at a $75 million valuation.
He was the recipient of the Peter Thiel’s scholarship which is a scholarship granted to people to build a startup instead of going to university.
https://www.forbes.com/profile/samuel-f-poirier/
Timestamps:
0:50 - Who is Samuel Poirier?
2:10 - Sam Poirier in his own words
2:41 - Courage built vs naturally-born
3:45 - Being taken seriously as a young entrepreneur
5:06 - The death of crypto?
6:30 - Sam’s innovation framework
7:59 - Strategic fit: the key to successful entrepreneurship
9:40 - The 70% margin rule
10:33 - Trend-following vs relevancy
11:03 - All about pricing power
12:09 - How does Mercantile help small businesses?
15:00 - The major perks of co-branding
16:51 - How does Mercantile make money?
17:50 - From funeral homes and medical to beyond…
19:28 - Sam’s cold email and coffee chat quota
21:04 - Startup tunnel vision
22:36 - Where to find business ideas
23:00 - If Sam could change one thing about society, what would it be?
24:33 - Sam’s book recommendations for entrepreneurs
26:47 - Napoleon: an underrated thinker
28:41 - “The best entrepreneurs are not by choice”
Credit to Ksenia for self-producing this episode! 👏
The Bits & Bytes Series - Michael Muthukrishna
Hosted by Danilo Dukanovic
Today, we get up close with someone who not only teaches us here at LSE but also shapes the way we think about culture, innovation, and the power of shared knowledge. We talk to Professor Michael Muthukrishna, a thought leader who's got his finger on the pulse of cultural evolution. 🫀
Michael is no ordinary academic; he's the founder of Culturalytic, a toolkit for companies that's sparking a new era of cultural and behavioral change. He's also the author of ‘A Theory of Everyone’, a book that's as bold as it is enlightening. 🤔
In our chat with Professor Muthukrishna, we dug into how behavioral and psychological science, along with cultural factors and evolutionary theory, play pivotal roles in the level of innovation a society can achieve. It’s fascinating stuff that really gets you thinking about the bigger picture. 💭🖼️
For all you budding entrepreneurs and start-up dynamos out there, we went a step further. We discussed practical ways you could apply these insights to make a real impact. Think of it as blending deep knowledge with action, aiming to not just start a business but to also spark a positive wave in society. It’s about smart innovation, where your company isn't just a business—it’s a force for good, driving us all forward. 🚀
Check out Michael Muthukrishna:
https://www.michael.muthukrishna.com/ (Website)
https://x.com/mmuthukrishna?lang=en (X, formerly Twitter)
Give ‘A Theory of Everyone’ a read:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Everyone-Here-Where-Going/dp/1399810634
Timestamps:
0:38 - Intro to Michael Muthukrishna
2:40 - Key concepts from his book ‘A Theory of Everyone’
4:10 - The Four Laws of Life
8:22 - Cooperation necessity in building startups
10:10 - The Paradox of ‘Geniuses’
12:28 - Cheap ideas: how easily copiable are they?
16:10 - Cultural differences and entrepreneurship
19:24 - Silicon valley: a graveyard of failure, but landmark of success
21:04 - How the ‘resource curse’ affects cooperation and growth
23:40 - Psychological traps: zero-sum competition games
24:42 - Cooperating at LSE to benefit everyone
26:15 - How governments can shift zero-sum psychology to positive-sum
27:16 - The transformative power of new, startup cities
27:53 - Hong Kong: from fishing village to development hub
29:05 - Fail locally, learn globally
29:55 - Programmable politics, network states, and blockchain
32:33 - Mechanisms of cooperation
33:00 - Reputation: do we trust the Uber driver or Uber? Airbnb host or Airbnb?
34:38 - Where are we? What stage are we at?
35:47 ChatGPT: an overnight, game-changer
37:50 - Climate change’s lead into the Syrian migration crisis
40:07 - Listening to the silent middle over the far left/right
40:50 - Diminishing returns of fossil fuels and the far right
Credits to Jessica Ge for producing this episode. 🎧
The Bits & Bytes Series - Tunde Adekeye
Hosted by Danilo Dukanovic
Starting with a background in law, Tunde took a leap into the world of investment banking at Credit Suisse, where he navigated the intricacies of Telecom media mergers and acquisitions on the media and tech side. 💼📡
But here's where it gets interesting – Tunde then ventured into the startup realm, cold emailing his way into an agriculture tech startup in Berlin during its Series A phase. Fast forward to Series B, and the startup turned into a unicorn, marking Tunde's initiation into the world of unicorns and disruptive innovation. 🦄
Equipped with startup experience, he made a pivot to the world of venture capital, working with two seed funds – Local Globe VC and Icebreaker VC. The latter, a pre-seed fund, made early investments in the likes of Spotify and Tunde supported 13 startups in their pre-seed stages during his time there. 🏃🚀
Currently, Tunde is now in the space of advising founders on nailing their pitches and developing his own startup that does this with an AI model called Pitch Doctor:
I, myself, have been fundraising for my startup for the last couple of months and some time ago, I hit up Tunde for a mock pitch. His feedback improved my pitch but also dished out some real insights on what VCs truly value. I believe this helped me achieve positive results. 👨⚕️
Hear all about Tunde’s journey, the green and red flags of pitches, and how to execute a short pitch minute-by-minute. Whether you’re pitching yourself for a job or your startup for investors, you don’t wanna miss out on this one!
Major thanks to Myra Stok for editing this (her first) episode! 🕺
The Artistpreneurs Series - Marion Carré 🖼
Hosted by Ksenia Kutuzova 🎙
Today we speak to the extraordinary Marion Carré - AI entrepreneur, teacher, speaker, author, and artist!
Marion co-founded Ask Mona, a company that uses AI to develop experiences for more than 80 cultural institutions across the world. 🏛️🗿
Why don't you Ask Mona?
https://www.askmona.fr/en/home/
Marion also works as an expert evaluator for the European Commission and teaches courses at Sorbonne, Sciences Po, and other universities where she explores the intersection of art and artificial intelligence. Her insights come alive in her book, "Talk about art and artificial intelligence. Artist in the making?". 🤖🎨
Forbes honored her achievements by naming her to their "30 Under 30" list.
Check out Marion Carré:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marion-carre-ask-mona/
Thanks to Jessica Ge for producing this episode. 🥂
The Bits & Bytes Series - Ahana Banerjee
Hosted by Ksenia Kutuzova
Today we are speaking to the extraordinary Ahana Banerjee - the founder of the Clear skin social app, which assists you with your skincare routine. Clear was featured under Best Apps in App Store. 📈🌟
Join the skincare social scene!
At just 21, Ahana embarked on her entrepreneurial journey while studying at Imperial College London. Ahana's remarkable achievements include being accepted into Y Combinator and being named in Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2023. 😉
Produced by Jessica Ge 🎧
The Bits & Bytes Series - Sam Marchant
Hosted by Ksenia Kutuzova ❤️
Today we are speaking to Sam Marchant. From founder to investor, Sam thrives as an Investment Associate at the global investment firm, Hambro Perks where he helps companies build products that matter. 👷♂️💰
Before his journey as an investor, Sam graduated with a degree in Sports and Exercise Science and became the Youngest National League hockey coach. 🏒
Now he's not only a successful investor but also a LinkedIn sensation, sharing invaluable insights. Today, we will dive deep into his mind, asking him all the most intriguing questions, from industry trends to the anatomy of successful founders, don’t miss out! 🌟😉
Check out Sam Marchant:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-marchant/
Shoutout to Jessica Ge for producing this episode! 🎧
The Beyond Profit Series
Hosted by Udbela Escanero
In this episode, we speak to Johannes Weber. Johannes is a passionate entrepreneur, pioneering impact investor and a father of three children. After a successful IPO in his mid-twenties, Johannes followed his dream to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges by harnessing the power of entrepreneurship. Johannes co-founded Ananda Impact Ventures in 2009 and was recognized as a ‘Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum’. The company has since become one of the largest impact venture capital firms in Europe. 🚀🌍
Check out Johannes' Ananda Impact Ventures:
We discuss start-ups, sustainability, responsible investing, impact, and accountability and more about the European VC sphere. You don’t want to miss out on this one! Tune in now on all our platforms! 🙇🏻♀️
Special thanks to the talented Udbela Escanero for self-producing this episode! 🎧
The Bits & Bytes Series - Simona Xu
Hosted by Sia Sha
The Oh Collective is a sexual wellness startup launched in 2021. It has been featured in several media outlets, including the Economist and Elle magazine. Simona Xu, one of four co-founders, has previously worked for companies such as Zalando and Nike across cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin, and Shanghai. Tune in now to hear all about it!
Check it out:
https://www.theohcollective.com
Timestamps:
1:05-What is Oh Collective?
1:57- Discussion of sexual wellness
4:00-Why is sexual wellness important?
11:20-Discussion of Simona's mom's opinion on sexual wellness.
16:10-Discussion of what it is like to operate Oh Collective in an environment like China compared to the West.
25:00-PWC studies on sexual wellness, and the biggest market in Asia.
32:58-discussion of stigma surrounding sex toys.
49:15-What makes Oh Collective different and unique?
54:48-Discussion of raising money for Oh Collective and how it progressed in the sexual wellness industry.
1 hour 10 minutes-What is the worst and best advice Simmons has ever received?
1 hour 15 minutes: Outro
The Artistpreneurs Series - Mirijam Trunk
Hosted by Udbela Escanero
Today, we are speaking to Mirijam Trunk: after working as a journalist for Bayerischer Rundfunk and reporter for ARD, Mirijam decided to make her journey from the writer’s room to top-level business management.
In 2019, she became CEO of the Bertelsmann Audio Alliance and built the company's podcast business. She has grown the production company Audio Alliance into the largest private-sector provider of podcasts, launching around 150 formats that reach over 7 million unique users per month.
She has been part of the first management level of RTL Deutschland since 2022 and, as Chief Crossmedia Officer, is responsible for brand, content and talent development. She also heads the Sustainability and DE&I (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) departments.
Mirijam is a passionate supporter of equality and diversity initiatives and works as an author and speaker to raise awareness of structural inequality in Germany. Don’t miss out on this exciting episode!
Mirijam Trunk
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirijam-trunk/
Timestamps:
1:28 Introducing Mirijam
2:42 Overview of Bertelsmann
3:00 Miriam’s trajectory - classical singing to journalism to business management?
4:24 Structural issues noticed within journalism
6:57 The current media and business landscape and its fast changes
7:27 About Bertelsmann’s podcast company (Audio Alliance)
10:33 Power of storytelling - podcasting as as medium?
11:57 People as the amazing experience or component of her career
17:05 Networking - gender differences!
21:11 Sustainability, diversity, equity, inclusion challenges
25:20 How did Mirijam end up at RTL Germany?
27:58 How much did Miriam’s journalism education help her get into creative management?
30:52 Tips on starting out - learning to understand yourself! “Who are you?”
35:35 If you could change one thing about society, what would it be?
36:29 Chaos as Miriam’s unconventional truth to success
38:13 If you could invite anyone in the world for a podcast interview, who would you invite?
The Bits & Bytes Series - Joe Cross
Hosted by Olivia Coletti
Today we have the pleasure of talking with the insightful Joe Cross. Joe is now an angel investor who invests and advises in early-big stage ideas. As previous VP of brand marketing and communication and member of the senior leadership team at Wise money services, he has lots of experience and expertise on marketing and startups. Joe is a Digital masters award winner who is interested in growth marketing, go to market moves, communication and workplace culture. His market segment and philanthropic interests reflect that. 📈🤩
Angel Investor: Advising and investing in early-stage big ideas.
Award Winning: 2020 Digital Masters Winner - Excellence in Marketing.
Interests: Growth. Marketing. Go-to-market. Comms. Culture.
History:
Joined TransferWise (WISE) as employee #12 in 2012. Stepped off the rocketship 8 years later, waving g'bye to an awesome team of 2,300 people. Member of senior leadership team throughout, as Head of Marketing (Start-up stage) >> US General Manager >> Head of (VP) Brand Marketing & Comms (Scale-up stage).
2008 Masters in media and comm. at LSE.
Check Joe Cross out:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemcross/
Timestamps:
1:40 What does the company do and why do you find it inspiring?
5:25 Are there any specific sectors that you are interested in?
10:10 How do you assess founders?
15:45 What does sustainable investing mean to you?
20:30 What are your thoughts on the ESG industry?
27:15 What are you involved in in your free time?
Shout out to Humzah Rahman for producing this episode! 👏
The Unwrapped Series - Virginia Stagni
Hosted by Anastasia Baklushina ⭐
Ever wondered how you can bring your ideas to life within the already established corporations? 🤔
Our today’s guest, Virginia Stagni, Head of Business Development at the Financial Times, proves by her own example that it is indeed possible to become an intrapreneur at the one of the world’s leading global business newspapers, and even more - shows that these companies are actually willing to offer space to young creative and entrepreneurial minds. 🙌🏻🪄
Alongside her main role, Virginia is the Founder and Director of FT Talent Challenge programme, which she launched back in 2018 to invite youth with diverse experiences to change the future of media. 📰 She was previously named as the youngest Business Development Manager in the 135-years history of the FT, and is in Forbes Italia 30 under 30 list (2021) & Fortune 40 under 40 list (2021).
Virginia’s entrepreneurial path has started long before her current role at the FT. As Bocconi university student, she had an experience of founding digital editorial platform Revolart and Bolognadasballo tour guides project. One of her most recent ventures was GoodSaints, a fairtrade sustainable start-up. 💫
Virginia graduated from MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics (2016) and BSc in Economics and Management for Art, Culture and Communications from Bocconi University (2015). 🎓
Become the next digital news revolutioniser: ⚡
Timestamps:
1:36 - Who is Viriginia Stagni?
1:54 - Virginia’s start at LSE
2:19 - Landing in front of the Financial Times office
5:06 - Entrepreneurship vs. intrapreneurship
9:33 - Shifting your mindset from employee to entrepreneur
10:59 - Virginia’s ethical mental health startup
13:43 - How did Viriginia’s LSE masters help her journalism career?
17:40 - The power of good journalism
18:26 - How a newspaper led to a full merit scholarship
20:58 - Carving your niche
21:25 - Creating a new role at the FT
22:20 - A typical day in Virginia’s life
26:35 - Reading through thousands of CVs
29:03 - Why the younger generation is the future of journalism
32:20 - The inspiration behind Virigina’s book: COVID?
34:12 - A higher-level look: why specialists have to help each other
38:04 - Virginia’s advice for LSE students
Shoutout to Jessica Ge for producing this episode! 🕺
The Artistpreneurs Series - Antoni and Alison
Hosted by Olivia Coletti
Today we have the pleasure of talking with the wonderful Antoni Burakowski. Antoni, with his best friend Alison Roberts co-created the fashionable “Yin Yang” clothing brand “Antoni & Alison”. The brand radiates the individualistic art that they pioneer to the world through joy, love, and positivity.
Continuously working together for 32 years, Antoni and Alison aim to create their work by changing the way we view fashion. They have never followed trends, an ongoing motto of theirs is “just because fashion is the way it is, doesnt mean to say it has to be the way it is.” Their brand represents consistency, happiness and art. 🖼
They currently have a store and many stockists worldwide, the first 10 years of their wardrobe has been acquired by the Victoria Albot Musiem & the second installment is being prepared.
Their pieces are worn by celebrities and artists that include: Bella Hadid, Nicole Kidman, Katy Perry, Clare Danes, Chloe Sevigny, Beth Ditto, Lilly Allen, Kiki Smith, and more. 😎✨
Check out Antoni and Alison's store (from the coolest website ever):
https://www.antoniandalison.co.uk/
Timestamps:
2:00 - How did you meet Allison?
12:50 - How do you build your brand?
24:20 - What was your pricing strategy?
26:40 - Do you advertise your clothes on runways?
35:20 - Who are the craziest people that walk through your door?
37:50 - What are the things that you are most inspired by?
Thank to Humzah Rahman for producing this ep! 👏
The Unwrapped Series - Sebastian Mallaby
Hosted by Sia Sha
Sebastian Mallaby is the Paul A Volcker Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He spent thirteen years at the Economist and has contributed to various outlets such as the New York Times, FT, and Washington Post. 📝
His book, The Man Who Knew, won the 2016 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. He has recently published The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Art of Disruption. 📚🤩
Timestamps:
0:45 - Introduction of Sebastian.
01:39 - What is venture capital?
04:11 - Discussion of Mark Zuckerberg and his unique approach to getting venture capitalists to invest in the company.
10:50 - VCs from a geopolitical perspective.
20:16 - Why is everyone not following Sequoia's practices?
30:00 - Discussion of Sebastian's published book.
36:55 - Discussion of Sebastian's literary diet, including his review of the Economist.
46:57 - Looking for a niche to excel in.
Special thanks to Valli Vikram for producing this episode! 🎧