The Founder Coach Podcast

Flock website: https://flockcover.com

Ed Leon Klinger profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edleonklinger/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

Timestamps:

[01:18] When did you expand from drones to automotive?

[05:48] What unique approaches helped you close your Series B?

[12:15] How did you choose your Series B investor, Social Capital?

[17:30] How has pivoting the business shaped you as a leader?

[21:56] What assumptions about enterprise SaaS turned out to be false?

[29:41] What are ways to influence culture aside from communicating it?

[34:59] What books do you recommend for founders?

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.com. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Lovat Parks website: https://lovatparks.com/

Raoul Fraser profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raoul-fraser/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

[00:53] How did you end up building holiday parks?

[04:24] What is your vision for Lovat Parks?

[07:55] What challenges come with having physical locations?

[10:28] Why are customer reviews so important?

[15:14] What practices haven't scaled?

[19:01] How do you get honest feedback from the team?

[20:22] How do you approach building your network?

[23:29] How much responsibility should founders take for mistakes?

[27:41] What are the challenges to finding balance as CEO?

[32:37] How to meditate without sitting still

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.com. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Motley website: https://www.motley-london.com/

Ilana Lever profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilana-lever-07551138/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

Key timestamps:

[01:01] What does Motley do?

[05:49] Where are you on your journey to product market fit?

[12:49] So you're getting married...

[15:18] What stopped you letting go of the details sooner?

[18:44] The challenge of fundraising

[21:35] How does Motley contribute to reducing global warning?

[30:12] How might investors avoid bias?

[33:34] What's your biggest fundraising hack?

[39:55] Quickfire questions

Thanks to Aron Gelbard for help researching the episode.

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Sanctus website: https://sanctus.io/

James Routledge profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdroutledge1/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

Key timestamps:

[02:29] How does it feel to see Sanctus scale?

[06:21] What techniques helped you develop self-awareness?

[09:24] What need does Sanctus address?

[13:36] Why did you step down as CEO?

[21:40] How to you separate the roles of CEO and founder?

[26:45] Why are VC-backed founders less likely to consider their own fulfilment?

[33:55] Why did you choose not to hire a COO?

[36:41] The gap in strategy and leadership in tech

[39:49] Quickfire questions

Thanks to Nabil and George for help researching the episode. 

Strategy is a core role of a scale-up CEO and key to a company's success. Yet many CEOs don't dedicate enough time and resource to it. If you'd like my help in clarifying your vision and strategy, apply for my Clarity Program.

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

The Modern Milkman website: https://themodernmilkman.co.uk/

Simon Mellin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmellin/

Key timestamps:

[00:44] How did a milk cart become a venture-backed business?

[05:31] What's going on in groceries right now?

[10:44] What's it like to be based in Lancashire?

[12:29] What's your management philosophy?

[13:54] What's happened as you've scaled?

[16:18] What's the value of an inspiring mission?

[18:20] How are you thinking about market expansion?

[20:53] Where do you find yourself spending your time?

[23:22] Quickfire questions

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Learnerbly website: https://www.learnerbly.com/ 

Rajeeb Dey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajeebdey/ 

Key timestamps: 

[01:13] Why did you start Learnerbly? 

[04:22] Who are Learnerbly's customers? 

[07:22] How do you encourage employees to seek training? 

[10:51] What growing pains have you experienced? 

[13:49] What was it like to have a serious back injury as CEO? 

[20:12] What issues do you face as you internationalist? 

[22:47] How do you manage your time? [24:56] How do train as a CEO? 

[26:37] Quickfire questions 

Thanks to Will and Toby for their great input. 

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Virti website: https://virti.com/

Alex Young profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-f-young/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

Key timestamps:

[01:35] The background and the round

[03:46] Fundraising while remote

[08:41] Preparing for fundraising

[13:32] Using VR to create stressors in training

[16:22] Applications of VR training

[19:56] CEO struggles

[21:50] Approach to recruiting

[29:11] Self-development as CEO

[32:08] Growing as a thought leader

[34:33] Quickfire questions

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Trail website: https://trailapp.com/

Joe Cripps profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joecripps/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

Dave's one-on-one guide: https://bit.ly/dave-one-on-ones

Key timestamps:

[00:56] How did you get the idea for Trail?

[04:10] What was it like when COVID hit?

[08:52] How do you think about the sales process as you come out of COVID?

[11:46] How did you come up with your core messaging?

[14:32] How do you support the team on the emotional side of Covid?

[17:28] What have you learned about remote-first work?

[19:42] How have you integrated business culture in slack?

[21:35] What are the unique challenges for leaders of remote teams?

[22:41] What are the unique challenges for leaders of remote teams?

[24:39] Quickfire Questions

A shout out to co-founder Wil—miss you and let's catch up soon!

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Bloom & Wild website: https://www.bloomandwild.com/

Aron Gelbard profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aron-gelbard-a075a11/

Dave Bailey profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesuperman/

Key timestamps:

[36:25] How can you apply AI in the flower business?

[06:38] What led you to start acquiring companies?

[10:51] What challenges have you faced after acquiring Bloomon?

[13:42] What have you learned about hiring senior leaders?

[15:50] How did you come to lead the Thoughtful Marketing trend?

[22:17] What are the challenges you're facing now?

[24:56] How has your role developed over time?

[27:43] Quickfire questions

Thanks to Camilla Dolan from Eka Ventures for her input!

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss new episodes.

Humanising Autonomy website: https://www.humanisingautonomy.com/

Maya Pindeus LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayapindeus/

Key timestamps:

[01:00] How do you predict human behaviours?

[03:35] How did you come up with the idea?

[06:01] Where do you see most traction?

[07:25] How did you become a thought leader?

[10:48] How has scaling been challenging?

[11:24] What's more difficult than you expected about championing diversity?

[16:02] How do brainstorm as a company?

[17:29] How do you stay proactive?

[19:01] What are the challenges in building a listening culture?

[20:29] Quick-fire questions

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Lilli website: https://www.intelligentlilli.com/

Gren Paull profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gren-paull-a89a541

Key timestamps:

[01:02] What's Lilly's backstory?

[02:06] What limitations have you seen in founders as they scale?

[03:45] How did you come to be CEO of Lilly?

[09:24] What's the difference between the COO and CEO role?

[10:50] How would you describe a high performing team?

[11:34] Do you set realistic standards for your team?

[15:26] What's the value of a Head of People?

[17:12] What are the challenges you face in developing as a CEO?

[18:35] How do you manage the pressure of the role?

[21:50] Why is scaling like driving a car?

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

HelloSelf website: https://www.helloself.com/

Charles' profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesjwells/

Key timestamps:

[01:17] Did I get the problem statement correct?

[03:17] What were some  preconceptions you had about raising money ?

[09:41] What's different about HelloSelf's approach?

[16:14] How did you decide on which problem to solve?

[19:33] What's difficult about being a CEO that we don't talk enough about?

[21:56] What skills did you have to learn to transition from manager to leader?

[26:07] The danger of shadow culture

[29:56] Did you hand over problems too early, too late or about right?

[30:45] Quick-fire round (new!)

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Sideways 6 website: https://www.sideways6.com/careers

Will Read's profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wread/

Key timestamps:

[02:58] How did you adapt Sideway 6 as you scaled?

[05:49] Capital efficiency: How much did you raise?

[09:12] How did you reposition the business after Covid?

[11:24] Which of the experiments didn't work and which messaging has ended up working out for you?

[13:56] How is your corporate podcast coming along?

[16:21] Peacetime vs. wartime CEO

[19:30] The anxiety of strategy

[22:54] How do you exercise self-compassion as CEO?

[26:41] Celebrating your teams wins

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Mo website: https://mo.work/

Luke Fisher profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lsfisher/

Key timestamps:

[00:41] What was the context at WorldPay before you started the business?

[04:12] How does Mo work?

[08:15] Do you use the platform at your company?

[10:52] What did you have to do to adapt to remote pitches during COVID?

[14:06] What are the specific benchmarks that drive stress in your company?

[16:00] How do you implement the North Star Metric framework?

[18:00] How do align pricing with customer value?

[21:00] How would Mo work in small teams?

[25:00] How do you align a team when there's uncertainty?

Thanks to Jason and Merlin for their great input.

Got feedback? Email us at podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

VenueScanner website: https://www.venuescanner.com/

Rebecca Kelly profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-kelly-5928054b/

Key timestamps:

[03:51] What were some assumptions about the events space that turned out to be false?

[07:18] How can you tell whether to push commissions or subscriptions?

[12:07] Why did you decide to hire a Chief of Staff?

[20:54] How did Covid affect your business?

[27:02] What does it take to build good relationships with investors?

[28:37] How have you reinvented your business model in light of the pandemic?

Thanks to Guy and Angus for their great input.

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Impala website: https://impala.travel/

Ben Stephenson profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-stephenson-13032b33/

Key timestamps:

[01:47] What happened in TechStars?

[07:07] How did you approach your Series A?

[08:52] How did you raise Series A in less than a month?

[10:37] How did you raise a Series B 6 months later?

[14:47] What happens when you get a global pandemic in travel?

[16:48] How do you shape culture in a remote environment?

[23:51] Why do you use external search firms

[25:51] What has been one of your most significant learnings as a CEO?

[30:58] What can we expect from Impala in the next few months?

Thanks to Jens, Jean and Julian (all the Js) for their great input.

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

We also discuss 'Devil's Avocado' (a term borrowed from Sarah Wood), and other ways to encourage constructive dissent.

Key links:

CreativeX website: https://www.creativex.com/

Open job positions: https://creativex.freshteam.com/jobs

Anastasia Leng profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleng/

Dave's essay on wise interventions: http://bit.ly/wise-interventions

Key timestamps:

[01:01] What's it like to be back in the office (alone)?

[05:50] How do you collect data on being 'on-brand'?

[08:20] Tell us about your Series A raise.

[12:09] How did you go from agency to SaaS?

[23:21] What's it like to lead a team of 35 employees?

[27:01] How did you define your company's values?

[31:21] What are the challenges of having a culture of constructive dissent?

[33:13] How do you encourage people to speak up?

Thanks to Alex Dunsdon and John Griffin for their great input.

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

EduMe website: https://edume.com/

Open job positions: https://edume.com/join-us

Jacob Waern profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-waern-a13165/

Key timestamps:

[01:23] What's the story EduMe?

[03:02] What are common misconceptions about pivots?

[07:43] What was it like to fire 90% of the company?

[13:37] When did you decide to build a category?

[17:00] What was it like to raise during Covid

[22:57] How did you build a relationship with a Valley investor?

[32:24] What system can result in a strong leadership team?

[37:37] What's it like to realise the company can grow faster than its individuals?

[42:41] Vulnerability vs. over-sharing

Thanks to Andreas Schörling, Anders Nilsson and Pietro Bezza for their great input.

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Acin website: https://acin.com/

Open job positions: https://acin.com/company/careers/

Paul Ford profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ford-56b509/

Key timestamps:

[02:03] How did the army help you stay resilient?

[12:42] Why did you step down from your previous company?

[16:20] Why did you decide to raise a Series A now?

[20:20] What was it like to raise VC having worked in a bank?

[26:18] What are some of the things that you still struggle with as a CEO?

[37:08] Dave describes the messaging matrix

Thanks to Simon Ball and Rocket for their great input.

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Urban website: https://urban.co/en-gb/

Open job positions: https://apply.workable.com/urban/

Jack Tang profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcktang/

Key timestamps:

[03:14] What was it like to find product-market fit?

[10:25] What's your best story about clueless investors?

[13:29] What was different about your Series B?

[17:42] What are your routines to avoid stress?

[21:24] What was it like to restructure the team?

[27:46] How do you build trust?

[37:34] What's the future for Urban?

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.

Second Nature website: https://www.secondnature.io/

Open job positions: https://apply.workable.com/secondnature/

Chris Edson profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-edson/

Key timestamps:

[01:48] Tell us the story of Second Nature.

[06:50] What's it like to go from a 50- to 100-person company?

[15:57] How much did you prepare for your pitches and how much was your success down to this preparation?

[20:56] How did your Series A compare to your seed round?

[32:29] What mistakes have you made along the way and what did you learn from them?

[36:29] What advice would you give to someone pushing back against the CEO?

[43:27] What's your favourite part of your leadership meeting?

[44:32] What's something challenging about being a CEO that you've never told anyone before?

A very big thank you (in no particular order) to Megan Kiely, Lorena Morais, Tamzin Foster, Vladimir Banovcanin, Fred Destin, Harry Stebbings, Rory Stirling, Sitar Teli, Matt Lerner, Tom Wakeling, Mike Gibbs, Carlo Bellini, and of course, Chris Edson for making this first episode happen.

Got feedback? Email us on podcast@foundercoach.co. And don't forget to hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss out on new episodes.