Beyond The Capital from SuperTech

In this episode, Hilary speaks to Ash Ali , entrepreneur and author of the book, The Unfair Advantage . Ash was the first marketing director of Just Eat and has helped launch numerous businesses, including his most recent venture, Uhubs . The Unfair Advantage explores how to capitalise on your differences and use them to your advantage.  Ash talks about growing up in Birmingham, imposter synd...

In this episode, Hilary speaks to William Taaffe, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Lockdown Cyber Security . They discuss: Starting the company during the pandemic, targeting finance directors, how an early interest in computers and technology led to a career in cybersecurity and how many businesses still don’t fully appreciate the risks of cybercrime.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...

In this episode, Hilary speaks to Mike Brooman, CEO of Vanti , a Birmingham-based smart buildings and technology company. They discuss the importance of ESB and becoming B Corp certified, the challenge of integrating multiple systems in smart buildings, how Covid-19 and homeworking changed the agenda for office space, how an office should be a cross between a bar and a library and Vanti’s future g...

In the episode, we hear from someone who’s looking to revolutionise the way digital skills are taught in schools. Tessy Mosindi, founder and CEO of Code Funhouse , talks to Hilary about how her work as a teacher has helped her set up her business. Code Funhouse is a platform that teaches kids coding.  In this conversation, Tessy describes some of the challenges she has encountered as a tech e...

In this episode, we hear from Surayyah Ahmad Sani, the co-founder of Ethco . Surayyah’s career has spanned two countries on two different continents. She founded Ethco to help consumers access their ethnic groceries and to help small shop owners sell online. Surayyah talks about relocating to the UK from Nigeria, the challenges of being a female entrepreneur with children, how the risks can be gre...

In this episode, Mac Alonge, founder and CEO of The Equal Group tells Hilary what inspired him to start the business. The Equal Group is an equality, diversity and inclusion consultancy. They talk about: Mac’s 10-year career in the energy and utilities industry working in data and regulation, the transition from being an employee to a founder, work-life balance and flexible working.  Hosted o...

FutureMatch - a talent-hiring platform - was registered in February 2020, a few weeks before the country went into lockdown. In this episode of Beyond The Capital , Hilary speaks to FutureMatch's CEO and founder, Kufa Matiya about launching the company during the pandemic. He also talks about: Training as a chef Lessons learnt from his previous start-up The disconnect between schools and careers H...

In this new series of Beyond The Capital, we’re exploring how to deal with adversity. You’ll hear from entrepreneurs and business leaders about how they’ve overcome major challenges to build thriving businesses.  In this episode, Matthew Adam, Chief Executive and Founder of We Are Digital , talks about the ups and downs of running the company he started in his bedroom 10 years ago. The Covent...

Beyond The Capital from SuperTech is back with a new series for 2023. This time, we're exploring how to deal with adversity.   Entrepreneurs and business leaders speak to Hilary Smyth-Allen about how they’ve overcome major challenges including financial, personal or launching during a pandemic. You'll hear how they've made it through ups and downs to build thriving businesses. Beyond The...

This year, the Commonwealth Games are coming to Birmingham. So to celebrate, we’re doing our own baton relay. We’re making virtual visits to as many of the Commonwealth countries as we can, and exploring their start-up and scale-up scenes. This is our last episode of the series. We’re hearing from two final Commonwealth countries: Singapore and South Africa. We’re going to find out about how they’...

In this series, Beyond The Capital is celebrating the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham. We’re doing our own baton relay, exploring the start-up and scale-up scenes of as many Commonwealth countries as we can. The Global Talent Visa enables leaders and potential leaders to work in the UK. In this episode, Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to Josh Winfield, Global Talent Visa Lead at Tech Nation. The...

In this episode, we explore the links between India and the West Midlands, hearing from two businesses that operate in both places. Hilary spoke to Ravi Ranjan, co-founder of Voilo, a fintech start-up that provides payments solutions for SMEs, and to Vik Tara, managing director and chief technology officer of Technology Blueprint, an established player in the proptech space. Hosted on Acast. See a...

In this episode, we hear from some of the innovative businesses involved in UK Research & Innovation’s Next Generation Services Challenge. The challenge has invested in projects that are using AI, data and digitisation to transform knowledge-based services, such as legal, accounting and insurance. This episode was recorded on location at the UKRI Next Generation Services Challenge National Sho...

In this episode, we’re exploring the proptech scene in Australia and hearing from one Birmingham-based business that has recently expanded there. Shelli Trung is the Managing Partner at REACH Australia, a scale-up programme for real-estate companies wanting to expand globally. She explains how the country's proptech industry differs from other jurisdictions. Hilary speaks to Mike Bristow,&nbs...

In this episode, we hear from Bermuda. The island territory has established itself as a global leader for regulating digital asset businesses. Hilary spoke to Rachel Nightingale, Senior Counsel at the law firm Walkers Global. This episode was recorded on 9th February. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nigeria is our next port of call. This episode explores Lagos’ start-up and scale-up scene, the cultural differences between doing business in Britain and Nigeria and the opportunities for cross border expansion and partnerships. Hilary speaks to Birmingham-based Oyinkansola Adebayo, CEO & Founder of Niyo Enterprise and VC Scout for ADA Ventures, and to Lagos-based Faith Adesemowo, CEO of Soci...

Kicking off our virtual Commonwealth tour, we’re looking at no-code and low-code in Canada, the Caribbean and the UK. Hilary Smyth-Allen speaks to: Chelsey Cabaj, a Canadian private investor involved in the introduction of no-code to Canada,   Sergio Pengel - the CEO of Piedata and co-founder of No Code Caribbean, Ali Kazmi, the UK-based founder of Ethical Equity, an investment platform...

In this new series of Beyond the Capital, we're celebrating the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham. We'll be doing our own baton relay and making virtual visits to Commonwealth countries to explore their start-up and scale-up scenes. Beyond the Capital is the UK’s first podcast dedicated to showcasing professional services technology outside of London, brought to you by SuperTech. Each episod...

In this episode, we’re exploring how virtual reality and augmented reality are changing the professional services landscape. Hilary spoke to Spencer Welch, Commercial Director of Birmingham-based VR company Holosphere and Thomas Toomse-Smith, Head of Innovation and Digital (Regulatory Standards) at the Financial Reporting Council. To find out more about Holosphere's work, click here . To read the...

In this episode, we explore Birmingham's growing clout on the international stage. We hear from two companies: one that was established in the West Midlands and now operates globally. The other started in Norway and recently opted to open an operations hub in Birmingham. Hilary spoke to Aaron Powers, co-founder and CEO of Hunit, the Software as a Service firm that allows lawyers to draft digital a...

With the UK becoming a global fintech leader, this episode of Beyond The Capital explores how the regional scene is flourishing. It also examines the funding gap encountered by many fintechs on their growth journey. Hilary speaks to Michael Baptista, the founder of the venture capital firm Assembly Capital Partners, and Victoria Roberts, Director of the Fintech Delivery Panel at Tech Nation. Hoste...

In this episode, we’re exploring the ethical challenges for the real estate sector when it comes to data collection. Hilary speaks to Dan Hughes, Founder of the Real Estate Data Foundation and Alpha Property Insight, to explore how the sector can successfully navigate the complexities of data collection, and examine the opportunities ahead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

As the world moves towards net-zero emissions, this episode explores how fintech businesses are contributing to this transition. We also examine why the UK is becoming a world leader in financial innovation and sustainable finance and how other countries are watching closely. Three fintech entrepreneurs discuss how their businesses are working towards a greener future. Presenter Hilary Smyth-...

Diversity is a challenge for both the legal sector and the tech sector. But what about at their intersection, lawtech? What can companies do to encourage diversity and inclusion? To find out, Hilary spoke to Inez Brown, President of Birmingham Law Society and Partner at Harrison Clark Rickerbys; Joanna Goodman a journalist who writes about law and technology, and author of the book ‘Robots in Law:...

This episode explores the evolution of lawtech and its relationship with location and place. Hilary is joined by James Quinn, co-founder of Clarilis which is located in Leamington Spa, and Joshua Walker, author of the book: 'On Legal AI' and co-founder of Lex Machina and Stanford University's CodeX, based in Palo Alto, California. Both founders share their journey into lawtech and discuss the bene...