Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Subscribe to our newsletter here . Follow us on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.  Mike Smeed , Managing Director at InMotion Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s corporate venture capital arm. Mike shares his journey from a career in finance to leading one of the most active CVCs in the UK. He provides unique insights into the role of corporate venture capital in driving strategic in...

Subscribe to our newsletter here . Follow us on LinkedIn here. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here. This week on Riding Unicorns , we’re joined by Adam Norris , Founder & CEO of Pure Electric , one of the leading premium electric scooter brands. Adam is also well known for playing a key role in managing the career of his son, Lando Norris , McLaren F1 driver. From building the UK’s largest p...

Stefano Vaccino is the Founder and CEO of Yapily , a leading open banking infrastructure provider. Stefano shares his unique journey from a career in nanotransistor research and investment banking to discovering his passion for technology and founding Yapily. We explore how open banking regulations like PSD2 inspired him to create a mission-driven company and the challenges he faced as a solo foun...

Mandeep Singh is an angel investor and co-founder and former CEO of Trouva, a marketplace for independent boutiques that was acquired by Made.com. Mandeep takes us through his journey from founding Trouva, navigating its growth, and the eventual exit, to his current role as an active angel investor with a portfolio of over 80 companies. In this episode, we dive into: The story behind Trouva’s evol...

Tim Chong is the Co-Founder and CEO of Yonder , a modern lifestyle rewards credit card designed for young city adventurers. Tim shares his journey from growing up in Australia and a career in consulting to working at ClearScore and ultimately founding Yonder. We delve into the evolution of the Yonder product and brand, from solving credit challenges for expats to becoming a lifestyle companion for...

This week on Riding Unicorns , we’re joined by Romina Savova , Founder & CEO of PensionBee , the platform transforming how people manage their pensions. With over 260,000 customers and £5.5 billion in assets under management, PensionBee has become a household name in the UK. Romina shares the journey of building a public company that empowers consumers to take control of their retirement savin...

This week on Riding Unicorns , we're joined by Dom Hallas , Executive Director at the Startup Coalition , the policy voice for UK tech startups and scaleups. Dom brings a wealth of insight into the intersection of tech, venture, and public policy, offering a fascinating look into the state of the UK ecosystem during a time of governmental and economic change. Dom discusses the Startup Coaliti...

Ron Levin is the Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures , the most active venture capital firm in the US. Hector spoke to Ron to discuss his journey from entrepreneur to investor and his insights on scaling ventures and building impactful companies. Ron shares his fascinating career story, from organising trading card shows as a teenager to founding the travel-tech unicorn TravelPerk and eventually j...

Martin Sokk is the Co-Founder and CEO of Lightyear. He joined Hector to discuss his journey from product management at Wise (formerly TransferWise) to building a company revolutionising retail investing in Europe. Martin shares how his product-driven mindset and relentless curiosity have shaped his career, offering insights into creating 10x products, scaling startups, and understanding customer n...

In this episode of Riding Unicorns , James is joined by Matt Chandler , Principal at Octopus Ventures, one of Europe’s leading early-stage venture capital firms. Known for his focus on consumer tech, Matt shares his journey from aspiring oil painter to venture capitalist, weaving creativity into every step of his career. Matt discusses the unique dynamics at Octopus Ventures, including their thema...

Sasha Kaletsky , Managing Partner at Creator Ventures, joins James Pringle on Riding Unicorns to discuss his journey into venture capital, the evolution of Creator Ventures, and the unique insights creators bring to consumer internet investing. In this episode, Sasha dives into: The transition from an investment club to a $20M fund Backing transformative startups like beehiiv , Praktika.ai , &...

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, joins James Pringle and Hector Mason on Riding Unicorns to delve into the fascinating intersection of behavioural science, marketing, and business strategy. With a career dedicated to understanding human decision-making, Rory shares his unique perspective on how psychological insights can unlock growth and create competitive advantages in today's b...

Vidu Shanmugarajah is a Partner at GV (formerly Google Ventures), where he invests in transformative tech companies across Europe. In this episode of Riding Unicorns, Vidu joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to share his journey from corporate law to venture capital, highlighting how his unique background has shaped his approach to investing. Vidu discusses his atypical career path, starting as a...

Edwina Johnson is the General Manager of MoneyGram Online International, responsible for overseeing the company’s digital consumer business outside of North America. In this episode of Riding Unicorns, Edwina joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to talk about her diverse career, ranging from working with startups to corporate roles, as well as her experience as an angel investor and startup adviso...

Paul Yacoubian is the Founder and CEO of Copy.ai, a company revolutionising the way businesses create marketing and sales copy by automating workflows with AI. Founded in 2020, Copy.ai initially helped distribute the value of GPT-3, but has since expanded to build an enterprise product streamlining go-to-market efforts for companies globally. In this episode, Paul joins hosts James Pringle and Hec...

Charles Wells is the Founder and CEO of HelloSelf , a technology business focused on personalised psychological advice aimed at self-betterment. In this episode, Charlie joins hosts James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss his eclectic career in marketing, charity, angel investing, and entrepreneurship, as well as the story behind HelloSelf. The business provides personalised online therapy desig...

Simon Mellin is the Founder and CEO of The Modern Milkman . ​Their business started as a local milkround inspired by David Attenborough's Blue Planet and the need to reduce plastic waste. In the space of a few short years, they've grown from four friends and a truck to a vast network of milkmen and women working tirelessly to reduce consumer waste. Their mobile tech supports their '...

David Jarvis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Griffin. ​ Griffin puts the bank in Banking as a Service. They combine the secure, regulated infrastructure of a bank with the speed and power of modern software into one powerful full-stack BaaS platform. Their goal is to empower companies to embed banking into their products quickly and safely. With purpose-built APIs and an all-access developer sandbox,...

Mike Soutar worked in the media and entertainment industry since the mid-1980s, starting as a magazine journalist and editor before becoming a Publisher and Managing Director working across print, digital, and broadcast platforms in the UK and America. In 2000 Mike joined the Board of Britain’s largest magazine publisher, IPC, and was part of the Board team which sold that business to Time Warner....

George Henry is a General Partner at LocalGlobe. LocalGlobe is a venture capital firm that focuses on seed and impact investments. They have seeded impactful founders since 1999 at places like Citymapper, Improbable, Lovefilm, Moo, Wise, and Zoopla. They invest in startups selling to consumers, small businesses, and enterprises. They are lean, data-driven, and move fast in decision-making. They of...

Richard Anton is the Co-Founder and General Partner at Oxx . Oxx partners with the most promising European B2B software companies at the scale-up stage. As a specialist SaaS investor, Oxx provides each entrepreneur with a support system of unique specialist expertise and network, and a culture of unfaltering partnership and absolute conviction. The firm’s strategy is built around the concept of “G...

Tim Creswick is the CEO and Founder of Vorboss . Vorboss is a dedicated fibre network and internet service purpose-built for the needs of London’s most demanding businesses. They are the only internet service provider that offers 10Gbps as a minimum—meaning that their network can cope with the demands of the most data-hungry businesses for the next decade and beyond. Tim joins James Pringle and He...

Oana Andreea Jinga is a CCO and Co-founder of Dexory . They develop robotics and AI logistics solutions to drive better business decisions. Through their DexoryView platform, they automate data collection and build real-time fed digital twin technology that unlocks insights across all levels of warehouse operations. Oana joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to discuss what problem Dexory solves, l...

Gareth Jefferies is a Partner at RTP Global , a global, early-stage venture capital firm, backing ambitious founders who are reshaping the world with technology. Their track record speaks for itself; over 110 investments worldwide, with one in 10 becoming multi-billion dollar companies including Datadog, DeliveryHero, and Cred. Gareth joins James Pringle and Hector Mason to share the skills to hon...

Akshat Goenka is a Partner at Moonfire . Enabling European entrepreneurs to dream big and execute fully on their bold ideas at the very earliest stages of their journeys is Moonfire’s passion and cause. Moonfire can help entrepreneurs at the very start of their journeys to create the right foundations to drive growth exponentially. Moonfire lights a fire within seed stage investing in Europe to he...