Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   In this special solo episode I wanted to reflect on the different conversations I’ve had with entrepreneurs over the past 20 episodes, and share with you the most common themes and top lessons learnt that have come up on the show so far… Tune into to find out what they are!   -   Want more?   Follow Steph: 🤍 Instagram: ht...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Anu Obe is the Founder of To All My Black Girls, a D2C ecomm business that specialises in naturally textured hair extensions for Afro-Caribbean hair types.   In this episode, Steph and Anu discuss:   👩🏾‍🦱 The importance of self-belief and optimism - your reality is not your identity! 💜 Having a clear mission, identifyi...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Emmie Faust is the 3X exited entrepreneur-turned-angel-investor, now Founder of Female Founders Rise - the supportive and inspiring resource for female founders to help them succeed with their businesses.   Emmie invests exclusively in female founders and her portfolio includes ONEWAYX, RunYourself, and Mamma Wellbeing amo...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Mona Tiesler is an investor at tokentus, a leading VC firm in the German blockchain ecosystem, where she invests in startups that leverage blockchain technology globally.  She has several years of experience in venture capital, and has been involved in pre-seed to Series A deals across Europe, USA, UAE and Asia.   With a b...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Nick Telson-Sillett is the exited Co-Founder of DesignMyNight (acquired for $30M) and now Co-Founder of Trumpet, a buyer enablement tool that enables sales teams to drive revenue.   In this episode, Steph and Nick discuss: 🎺  Founder journey from leaving the day job to growing a $30m biz🎺  Exactly when and why he raised...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Kristin Cardwell is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sourcerie, the world’s first community-powered intelligence engine. She and her team managed to raise £1.8m in pre-seed funding during one of the toughest times ever, but it was not without its trials & tribulations! (Tune in for all the tea ☕😏)   As a fierce feminist t...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Andy Ayim MBE is the Founder of Angel Investing School which has trained 500+ angels who have invested $5M globally - including the Black Angel Group spun out of Google's Black Network which has invested over $3.5M in 30+ startups.   Andy has personally invested in 17 startups, including Farmlend, Patch and Unplugged,...

Access special perks on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Nina Mohanty is the Silicon Valley-born, London-bred founder of Bloom Money, the fintech startup that supports migrant communities with the mission of accelerating intergenerational wealth.   Bloom Money is also 2X regulated and backed by the likes of January Ventures, Octopus, and Pact VC.   Nina Mohanty bucks the trend a...

Access special perks by supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Tom Adeyoola is the exited founder of Metail, the leading virtual try-on platform, now advisor, investor and Co-Founder of Extend Ventures and Capital Angel Network.   In this episode, Steph and Tom discuss:   🎙 Tom's journey leading up to Metail, and how he secured investment (including "£...

Get access to special perks and support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   In this episode, Steph and Alex take their business brunch chats over to the podcast and discuss...   🖤 The highs and lows of entrepreneurship (hint: frustrations vs freedom) 🖤 The danger of "procrasti-planning" (listen to find out more!) 🖤 The importance of authenticity with your b...

Access perks and support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Geoff Wright is the CTO of Tembo, the only place in the UK where you can go to get a complete picture of your property purchasing power.   His path leading up to this position was anything but ordinary. Entrepreneurial as a kid, Geoff forged his own, alternative path. Instead of doing the usual by completing h...

Access special perks by supporting the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517   Tanya Saha Gupta is the Founder & CEO of Resale Future, a fashtech SaaS product that enables fashion brands to add a P2P resale platform to their e-commerce store.   (Shoppers can easily resell their garments; the retailers get a cut where it would otherwise be sold on Depop, Vestiaire Collective...

Dom Fendius, now the Founder & CEO of Kiirsh, is a 5X serial entrepreneur - with the battle scars to show for it!   But the truth is, despite experiencing some real tragedies, Dom retains a surprising amount of kindness, patience, and optimism to keep going.   In this episode, Dom and Steph recap his venture timeline - from starting a magazine at uni to getting recognition for an exciting fash...

Heinin Zhang, co-founder of private chef hire platform, yhangry, recounts the highs and lows of her entrepreneurial journey; from CO-LIVING with her co-founder during lockdown, to going on BBC's Dragons' Den; from all their bookings drying up, to getting accepted to the lauded Y Combinator startup accelerator in San Fran 🎢   In this episode, Steph and Heinin discuss: 🍣 Heinin's tr...

Who would guess being a professional swimmer and climate activist would make you a successful startup founder?   Thomas Panton, Co-Founder & CEO of Canopey, embodies ALL the characteristics of a true entrepreneur. Determined, passionate, strategic, charismatic, and insightful, Thomas was always bound to be a success.   In this episode, Steph and Thomas discuss the following themes: How athleti...

Inspirational Womxn of the Year, Melissa Chambers shares her strategies and tragedies in business - from being pushed out of her own company during a time of personal polycrises, to running a successful cybersecurity business that built the world's fastest nanosecond encryption latency. Yup.   In this episode, Melissa and Steph discuss topics such as: Hiring and firing - what to do when one b...

From interviewing startup founders in the back of a van to being interviewed himself in one of his very own studios, this episode is NOT one to miss!   Graham Hussey recounts his entrepreneurial journey including a failed business which made £3 profit, the early days of Startup Van, and how he built Dream Factory to a flourishing 350-member business with various locations and multiple revenue stre...

Bobby Idogho is a Forbes 30U30 Founder of Radically Digital.   In this episode, Bobby shares how he developed his resilience muscle, how he navigates the “feast & famine” cycle of agency life, and how his background helped propel him further in life. Please enjoy this episode and subscribe to the show!

Varun Bhanot is the Co-Founder & CEO of MAGIC AI, a connected fitness product that combines physical hardware with fitness technology to provide tailored workouts - just like your very own, at-home personal trainer.   Following a career in corporate law, Varun took a severe pay cut to join the founding team at Hubble HQ to learn the ins & outs of startup life. This entrepreneurial ambition...

Charlotte Morley is the Founder & CEO of thelittleloop, the UK's first shared wardrobe for kids. (https://thelittleloop.com/)   Founded in 2019, Charlotte has achieved some enormous successes (like making history on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, winning the Junior Design and Made for Mums awards consecutively, negotiating a groundbreaking retail partnership with John Lewis, securing external invest...

Tune in and subscribe to Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia, the new business podcast which spotlights the highs, the lows, the strategies and tragedies of what it *really* takes to build a successful business today.   ***THANK YOU GIFT DETAILS BELOW*** About Strategy & Tragedy This podcast is created based on three core beliefs:   1. The world of entrepreneurship has been...