Startup Microdose

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Julian Hearn, Founder Huel - Sustainable Fuel for the Human Body Aug 27, 2018

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Julian is the entrepreneur and marketing wizard behind Huel. Huel is a 'nutritionally complete' food product which aims to change how we produce and consume food. The 'hockey stick' growth of the business since launch in 2015 attests to its wild popularity with 20 million+ meals sold already. The company is on course for revenues of £58 million this year and anticipate a $1bn valuation in the next few years. We learn how he used SEO smarts to generate £2m revenues per year for his voucher codes business which he then exited before starting Huel. We dig into the hows and whys of the Huel mission and discuss the landscape of the future of food.

Emma Sayle, Founder Killing Kittens - The Changing Landscape of Sex & Sexuality Jul 30, 2018

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Emma is the founder of notorious adult party brand Killing Kittens which focuses on empowering female sexuality. Emma is widely hailed as the UK’s foremost female ‘sex entrepreneur’. We learn how she built the Killing Kittens empire which now holds events for its 100,000+ members all over the world as well as sex seminars and workshops on top of a thriving online dating community. We also discuss her latest product ‘SafeDate’, an app plugin aimed at making dating safer. Emma delighted us with salacious tales and impressed us with her knowledge and unshakeable conviction in the mission that has brought her so much success.

Maya Pindeus, CEO & Founder Humanising Autonomy - Our Future with Machines Jul 16, 2018

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Maya Pindeus is the CEO & Co-Founder of Humanising Autonomy who are using deep machine learning to become the standard for communication between autonomous systems and people. Their first product, Blink, is computer vision for autonomous vehicles which can understand even culturally-specific human gestures. We discuss architecture, city design, deep learning and the unknown reality of a symbiotic future with autonomous machines. We ask how deeply can communication between man and machine go? And what will that mean for the future of our world?

Devika Wood, Founder Vida - Success & Meaning from Tragedy Jun 14, 2018

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Devika is the co-founder of care platform Vida. Motivated by her 12-year experience looking after her grandmother who received care from over 150 different carers, Devika is on a mission to harness technology to deliver personalised in-home care to the elderly and disabled. A former Googler, breast cancer research scientist and health policy advisor, she has been featured in Forbes’ 30 under 30 and in the Top 10 women changing the world by Glamour Magazine. She is also part of the Mayor of London’s ‘Female Founders Mission’ and is helping pioneer the future for women in tech. The need for a carer is something we all inevitably experience. This is the touching and inspiring story of one woman’s mission to make the care industry more human through technology.

Andy Shovel & Pete Sharman - The Beginning of the End for Meat? May 21, 2018

Show notes

Andy met Pete while looking for a co-founder for his burger delivery idea which became Chosen Bun. They were ahead of the curve given the subsequent rise of Deliveroo and made a quick exit after successfully growing the company, even sending a burger into space. Their latest project NOT(MEAT) is bringing delicious plant-based meat alternatives to the mass market. We try their NOT(Chicken) strips live on the episode and are astonished by the likeness in texture as well as flavour. They make for a highly entertaining duo and offer some great insights into the FMCG industry, the unsustainability of livestock farming and the future of food consumption. Whether you’re a vegan, budding flexitarian or simply interested in the FMCG space, it’s worth a listen…

Dr James Field, CEO LabGenius - Accelerating Evolution with AI May 08, 2018

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Dr James Field is a leading scientist in the field of synthetic biology. He set up LabGenius while completing his PhD at Imperial College London. He is a winner of the prestigious BBSRC Innovator of the Year award for early career impact and was featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list for Science & Healthcare. James is also a fellow of the prestigious Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program (LEAP). As founder and CEO of LabGenius, he has overseen the development if EVA - an autonomous AI-driven evolution engine for the discovery of high-value protein components. The company uses this cutting-edge technology to develop new biological products in partnership with world leading multinationals. Their current focus areas are creating novel therapies for unmet clinical needs and “advanced materials” for the UK Ministry of Defence. The company has raised $3.7m in funding from venture capital firms led by Acequia Capital. We discuss: - the history and current landscape of synthetic biology - the genomics of sexual attraction and how intuitive knowledge is hard coded in our genes - gene editing and its ethical implication in this brave new world - how Science Fiction is a thought experiment for examining our own humanity - the challenges of becoming a CEO from a scientist If you like Sci-Fi and want to know why a ruby red grapefruit is red, you’ll enjoy this one!

Oleg Fomenko, Founder Sweatcoin - Steps to Universal Human Health via the Blockchain Apr 05, 2018

Show notes

Oleg Fomenko is the co-founder of Sweatcoin, the fastest-growing health and fitness app in history. The app gamifies keeping fit by converting users’ steps into virtual Sweatcoin which can be exchanged for rewards. In December 2017, Sweatcoin hit 10 million users and raised Series A funding from several US-based VC firms. Oleg tells us of his big plans for 2018 and beyond. These include expanding into every country, listing as a trade-able currency on the blockchain and partnering with governments. Before Sweatcoin, Oleg founded music streaming company BloomFm which he grew to 1.2 million users in the UK and raised £16m in funding before unforeseen circumstances forced him to close the company. We talk about how he channelled this disappointment into Sweatcoin. We also discuss his formative years in the Soviet Union/Russia, evolutionary biases and ethics in tech, the potential of the blockchain and why mountain excursions and silent retreats are an excellent antidote to the modern world. Oleg is a fascinating blue-sky thinker with incredible insights to share.

Pip Jamieson, CEO The Dots - Creating Creativity through Diversity Mar 08, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, we speak to the inimitable, Pip Jamieson. After stints in the British civil service, then with MTV (actually launching MTV in New Zealand aged just 24), Pip founded a ‘LinkedIn for creatives’ called The Loop in Australia. After exiting this, she returned to the UK and its £76bn creative sector to replicate that success. From her houseboat by King’s Cross, she started ‘The Dots’ which is on a mission to connect 1 million creatives this year and is now going viral across the sector. The conversation ranges from river-dwelling and persuading Dizzee Rascal to play the first ever inflight gig, to LinkedIn’s failing current model and its potential shift towards becoming a media company. We talk about the importance of creativity not only as a bottom-line force for success, but also as a vehicle to finding meaningful and fulfilling work. Pip is a Sunday Times Top 100 Entrepreneur, an outspoken advocate for diversity in the workplace and a champion for dyslexics worldwide. We have a good discussion on diversity issues in the work place, on its important role in the creative process, on avoiding unconscious cultural biases and on how companies like The Dots are working to create more equality of opportunity. Pip is a lively talker with great stories; and her mission is impactful with the potential to change the way we work and collaborate.

Anthony Rose, CEO SeedLegals - Nurturing the Startup Ecosystem Mar 06, 2018

Show notes

Anthony Rose is the Founder of multiple successful companies; his most recent, SeedLegals, was named the UKTN Startup of the Year 2017; he is also the genius behind BBC iPlayer at a time when on-demand TV represented a paradigm shift in the industry - he compares the build process to the British building an exocet missile in two months during the Falklands War. We talk a fair amount about how the SeedLegals platform works and the benefits it brings (in cost and time) to entrepreneurs raising money. Anthony also divulges some great industry-specific wisdom on the new rules for SEIS & EIS tax relief assurance for UK companies. (This episode will be particularly useful to anyone thinking about or going through the funding process.) There’s a lot too for those listening from general interest - his anecdotes about billion dollar lawsuits in the music industry and his notion of the ‘hybrid ICO’ make for an edifying listen… Anthony is the quintessence of serial entrepreneur and a charismatic well of wisdom besides. We came out of the conversation having talked little but learned a lot!

Hamish Grierson, CEO Thriva - Saving Healthcare with a Little Prick Mar 03, 2018

Show notes

Hamish Grierson is the CEO and Founder of personalised healthcare platform, Thriva. Hamish cut his teeth as an entrepreneur through a varied early career in advertising, hospitality and a mentoring period at Travelex thanks to the New Entrepreneurs Foundation. A serendipitous beer with Co-Founder-to-be Eliot Brooks (who has a cholesterol condition requiring regular blood tests) led to the birth of Thriva – the world’s first preventative health service. Easy-to-use blood test kits are posted to you for testing. Once submitted, your results are published to you on the platform’s beautiful interface with GP explanations and recommendations based on your results. The data built up over time will allow predictive analytics to suggest powerful, data-driven solutions to people’s health problems. The conversation digs into the Thriva solution and their plans to introduce products relating to the Microbiome and the Endocrine system. We also move into general topics including: functional medicine, genomics, the diabetes epidemic and the power of predictive data. Self-administered stool transplants and robot leeches even come up! Hamish impressed us not only with the sophistication of his knowledge regarding the healthcare space, but also his genuine concern for improving the system and empowering people to live better lives.

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