The Brightroom Podcast

Dajana Dakonovic is the Head of People at Toggl. Toggl is a time tracking SaaS company working fully remote since 2014. Dajana shares how they managed not only to maintain culture in a fully remote setup, but make it one of the biggest value propositions to their employees. She also shares the nitty gritty behind their outcome based work approach as well as their “controversial” hiring process. 00...

David Henzel is a serial entrepreneur, business leader, and the founder of Love Not Fear. David Henzel’s journey is anything but ordinary. Expelled from 14 schools and dropping out at 15, he grew up resisting authority and drifting without direction. After discovering entrepreneurship everything changed. It gave him structure, drive, and a mission far bigger than himself. Once a shy, introverted g...

Etienne Salborn is a changemaker-maker and social entrepreneur. He founded SINA (Social Innovation Academy), empowering marginalized youth and African refugee communities to become social entrepreneurs through a cost-effective and innovative approach of “freesponsible” empowerment. By creating their own solutions to the challenges they face, participants transform from passive aid recipients to ac...

Dr. Ludmila Praslova is a leading voice in the field of neurodiversity and inclusion. She's a regular contributor to Forbes and Harvard Business Review, and the author of an award winning book “The Canary Code - A Guide To Neurodiversity, Dignity and Intersectional Belonging At Work" In this episode we explore: What neurodiversity really means Challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals at work...

Anamaria Dorgo is the founder behind L&D Shakers - a global community of 7,000+ Learning and Development professionals. L&D Shakers started as a series of small gatherings in 2019 but has quickly become an international playground for all things learning and development, with local hubs in 15 cities and regular online and in-person events all powered by 100+ passionate volunteers. Together...

Dennis Chuene is a South African fashion designer. He’s been living in Berlin since the pandemic and has already established himself as a challenger to the status quo of Germany's fashion capital. This interview is however less about the design and more about the human. Even if you are far from the world of fashion, you might imagine that it’s quite difficult to cut through the noise and make a na...

In this conversation, Irina and Lin Cassie explore the themes of change and uncertainty, discussing personal experiences and insights on how to navigate these challenges. They delve into the importance of mindfulness, radical responsibility, and the transformative power of embracing change as an opportunity for growth. The discussion highlights the emotional journey individuals face when confronte...

In this conversation, Irina speaks with Lily Kriegs - Inclusivity and Belonging partner at Spryker, about the topic of belonging. Lily shares her personal journey of belonging, starting from her upbringing in Mexico to her experience of studying in a German school and eventually moving to Germany. Lily emphasizes the importance of connections, shared values, and understanding in the process of bel...

Wondering if there’s a better way to do performance appraisals than the forced distribution of the bell curve? Hanns-Christian Mahler and Felicia Werk from ten23 health are sharing human-centric strategies for genuine growth and accountability. ten23 health is based on new work and hashtag holocracy principles and is dedicated to pursuing more adaptive and meaningful ways of working. We dive deep...

From rigid hierarchy to a co-creative partnership with decentralized hiring, self-set salaries and the freedom to experiment. The story of XIPE Group from its Founder, Guillermo Espinola Orci. 2:07 - How it started 7.35 - “Open doors” 18:57 - Tool to foster internal recognition and share profits 24:39 - Outcome vs. Input 26:40 - Working as a team 27:56 - Employees setting their own salaries 30:16...

The blessings and challenges of the rotation principle. Layoffs done well. Bringing the best out of shy employees and much more... From an interview is with Tom van Der Lubbe, the co-founder of Viisi. Viisi is a mortgage advise firm based in Netherlands. They are on a mission to change the world of financial advice, making it more socially sustainable and long term focused. They are B Corp certifi...

Latro's transformation into a collectively managed organization in the interview with its founder Haluk Can Hur. Haluk Can is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and an active member of the European Startup ecosystem. He is among (still) few founders who chose to decentralize the decision making in his company. As he puts it " he fired himself (as a boss)" and now his company is collectively man...