40 Minute Mentor

To kick off 40 Minute Mentor’s Season 13, we’re joined by Adrienne Adhami, leading wellbeing coach, podcast host and author.  Listed as one of the ‘Top 25 Black Entrepreneurs to watch’ by HSBC and UKBBS, Adrienne is a trailblazer inspiring individuals and organisations to reach their full potential.  In today’s episode, we won’t just explore Adrienne’s incredible career to date but also discuss he...

Ahead of launching Season 13 of 40 Minute Mentor next week, we thought we'd give you a preview of some of the pocket-sized mentorship you have to look forward to. Haven't subscribed yet? Make sure you do so now to be the first to hear about our next episode launching!

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, our final episode of our VC feature series, we’re joined by Pooja Sikka, General Partner at KHP Ventures.  KHP Ventures is a collaboration between King’s College London, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The fund offers equity investments with Healthcare expertise for groundbreaking MedTech and...

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Vegard Medbø, Co-Founder and COO at Antler, the global early-stage fund helping entrepreneurs go from zero to one.  Before founding Antler, Vegard spent his early career in the Coastal Ranger Command of the Norwegian Armed Forces and at McKinsey, where he worked with the world’s top energy companies, helping them apply machine learning to renewa...

In this final 40 Minute Mentor VC bonus episode, we’re joined by Corinne Thompson, Founder of Ecap Financial.  Today’s episode follows a slightly different format, with Corinne sharing a quick-fire checklist for you next fundraise.  From the key metrics and data points investors really care about, to the biggest red flags and crucial questions Founders should ask their potential investor - this ep...

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by George Robson, Partner at Sequoia, the fund helping daring Founders build legendary companies from idea to IPO and beyond.  From Investment Banking to Revolut and becoming a Partner at Sequoia at the age of 25, George’s CV is nothing but impressive and minutes into today’s episode, you’ll understand where his incredible drive and entrepreneurial...

This 40 Minute Mentor VC feature season, we’re bringing you a special three-part bonus feature, brought to you by Ecap Financial and their Founder, Corinne Thompson.  In today’s episode, Corinne shares helpful advice for setting up your company and team for an exit.  We’ll discuss:  ✅ What it actually means to “set up for an exit” as a Founder ✅ When you should start thinking about preparing for...

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Molly Alter, Partner at Northzone, the multi-stage fund partnering with Founders from Seed to Growth, across Europe and the US.  Molly started her career in VC in 2016, straight out of Harvard University. Since then, Molly has worked with some of the biggest funds in the industry, including Insight Partners and Index Ventures.  Now, at Northzone...

This 40 Minute Mentor VC feature season, we’re bringing you a special 3-part bonus feature, brought to you by Ecap Financial and their Founder, Corinne Thompson.  In today’s episode, Corinne helps us take it all the way back to the beginning of the fundraising journey.  We’ll discuss:  ✅ The key steps you need to follow before your investor meeting  ✅ Figuring out when the time is right to start...

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Dinika Mahtani, Partner at Cherry Ventures, the early-stage VC firm led by a team of entrepreneurs with experience building fast-scaling companies, such as Zalando and Spotify.  Prior to her move into VC, Dinika was an Operator, working across Banking, UberEats EMEA and Uber’s JUMP e-bike product in the UK. She also served as Director of Finance...

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re revisiting our popular episode with Ian Hogarth, Co-Founder and former CEO of Songkick, Partner at Plural Platform and Chair of the UK AI Safety Institute.  In this episode, we talk about his rollercoaster ride with Songkick and how mentorship got him through the worst days, and what led him to building Plural, an early-stage platform dedicated to investi...

In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re revisiting our popular episode with the brilliant Alice Bentinck MBE, Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First and author of “How to be a Founder”.  Frustrated by a business landscape that found latent talent shackled by predetermined career paths, Alice set out to challenge cultural norms when she co-founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 – an accelerator that celeb...

The hiring market has seen some major shifts over the past few years, and as businesses continue to navigate economic changes, evolving workplace trends, and shifting candidate expectations, staying ahead of these trends has never been more important, than in 2025.  In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re diving deep into the key hiring and talent trends for the year ahead.  You’ll hear from so...

How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along?  Research shows that most of us drop our New Year’s resolutions by the second Friday in January.  As we’re approaching the end of January, we’re resharing some of the best wellbeing and healthy habits advice we’ve received on the podcast from subject matter experts:  Dr Rupy Aujla, Founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen  Rhiannon Lambert, leading Nutritio...

James Lo, one of our most popular 40 Minute Mentors and Co-Founder of Ethos, joins us for today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Where Are They Now feature.  A lot has happened since the last time James came on the podcast.  In today’s episode, we dive into every twist and turn in his journey since building and eventually exiting education platform, Mana, all the way through his latest venture - Ethos, the opp...

Tom Elvidge , Co-Founder of UK-focused solar energy company, Synth Solar, joins us for today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Where Are They Now feature.  In today’s episode, Tom shares the ins and outs of his transition from being an Operator to founding Synth Solar, and all the key lessons he’s learned on that journey. Plus, Tom gives us an exclusive sneak peek into what’s to come and why now is a great time...

Anouk Agussol, Founder of Unleashed, an Amplified People Group business, joins us on today’s 40 Minute Mentor Where Are They Now series.  Following her initial appearance on the show, in Season 9, Anouk joins us today to share how Unleashed has evolved since almost going into administration and being acquired by Amplified People Group.  Plus, she shares actionable advice on building high-performin...

Happy New Year and welcome back to 40 Minute Mentor! For our first episode of 2025 we’re taking one last chance to look back on the fantastic year of pocket-sized mentorship we’ve had. At the end of last year, we asked YOU to vote for your favourite 40 Minute Mentor of 2024. 🌟 For the first time ever, we collected votes across three categories: 🏆 Top VC of the year 🏆 Best topic covered 🏆 Best...

Before the 40 Minute Mentor team heads into hibernation until 2025, your Host, James Mitra shares a short festive message with you.  Tune in to hear some of James’s favourite moments on the podcast this year and some of the biggest milestones the JBM team have achieved this year.  🥂 Happy Holidays from all of us at 40 Minute Mentor, JBM, and Amplified People Group! 🥂  See you for more pocket-siz...

For the final episode of Season 12 of 40 Minute Mentor, we are looking back on the last 10 weeks of pocket-sized mentorship and revisiting some of James’s favourite moments.  If you haven’t fully caught up on this season yet, or you’re a brand new listener, make sure you check out each of the episodes after this roundup episode and our 40 Minute Mentor archives of 260+ episodes.  ⛳ Helpful links...

“[We’re] actually using TikTok in a positive way. The whole reason we exist is to combat misinformation, which there is a lot of on TikTok, but it can be used positively.”  In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Jas Schembri-Stothart, Co-Founder of luna, the world’s first digital health companion for teenage girls.  Working with leading health and education institutions, Jas and her...

“If you’re not learning something new every day, even if it’s the smallest thing, you can start to almost become stationary. Find ways to push yourself out of the limits of what you feel comfortable with.”  In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Dr Dupe Burgess, Founder & CEO of Bloomful.  Launched in 2021, Bloomful is a HealthTech on a mission to close the gender health gap and impr...

“It’s really important to sell your business when there’s still a lot of growth left. You really shouldn’t be looking to sell it at its absolute peak.”  In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Mary Bonsor, Founder of Flex Legal, a bespoke online platform created to connect law students with law firms and in-house legal teams on a flexible on-demand basis.  Mary has been on an incredib...

“Feedback is the only way you will develop as a Leader. It is the only way people develop, full stop.”  If you’ve been following JBM’s journey or been listening to 40 Minute Mentor for a while now, you will know that we’ve recently joined forces with Amplified People Group - the people services supergroup, supporting tech companies from inception to IPO.  That’s what makes today’s 40 Minute Mentor...

“People think VC is about chasing the next big thing…but actually, it’s not about making quick money. It’s about the long game and deep relationships.”  We often talk to Investors on 40 Minute Mentor, but today we’re taking a deep dive into an increasingly important role within VC, the Platform role.  To help us explore what a Platform role can look like, why it’s so important and how you can get...