Secret Leaders

Today we speak to Riccardo Zacconi, the guy who’s credited with creating the most addictive game ever: Candy Crush Saga. He says his success is down to hiring awesome people, then giving those people freedom to hire their own awesome people. But we think it might have something to do with the $100m marketing budget. Join us as we discuss: What it took to get King off the ground. The advice he has for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Why his watch is fifteen minutes fast.

Today’s guest is the guy who got lucky nine times: Jason Calacanis is an angel investor with a serious point to prove - his one piece of advice to his 18 year old self would be to stop mucking around, move to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area and get to work NOW. Join us as we discuss: The secret to angel investing. His obsession with wealth and power. Why the people who will change the world are not always likeable and why he likes working with them. How he rebuilt after the dot.com bust.

Clara Brenner is investing in a better future for our cities by supporting innovative social entrepreneurs. We chat with Clara about: Tech will play a role in shaping the urban environments of the future. The Urban Innovation Fund is drawn to invest in companies with women and POC as their founders, as well as founders with self-motivation and a drive to access funds. The US have an appalling maternity and paternity leave policy, but there are disruptive companies on the horizon.

Living legend venture capital investor Tim Draper talks about his passion for Bitcoin and helping entrepreneurs make it big. We chat with Tim about: A family of venture capitalists What it means to be a hero Why he disagrees with Elon Musk about AI The benefits of Bitcoin His book, “How to be The Startup Hero: A Guide and Textbook for Entrepreneurs and Aspiring Entrepreneurs” What Draper University is all about For more go to secretleaders.com

Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown talks about the challenges of building a sustainable footwear brand. We chat with Tim about: The difference in the attitude towards entrepreneurship between London and San Francisco How he saw an opportunity in making shoes out of different materials Why and how they became a B Corp Living his boyhood dream of playing soccer in the A-League in Australia The Allbirds funding journey His best piece of advice for entrepreneurs

Mumsnet founder & CEO Justine Roberts saved many parents’ lives. Today she talks about how an unmitigated disaster became the chance of a lifetime. The disastrous holiday that started everything Growing the Mumsnet community organically, by word-of-mouth A very quiet start (2000) and then a very accelerated growth period from 2006 onwards Getting sued memorably and other hard moments Advocating for many good causes via Mumsnet What a typical day looks like for Justine

Starling Bank founder & CEO Anne Boden talks about creating a new, unorthodox bank from scratch. We chat with Anne about Quitting her job in traditional banking, moving to London and deciding to start her own bank Raising money as a female founder for her unusual initiative The type of culture and ethos they are trying to build Her ambitions with Starling in the future A typical day for Anne Her advice to entrepreneurs For more visit secretleaders.com

WeTransfer President Damian Bradfield shares his trials and tribulations, and how they grew the disarmingly simple file sharing site into the amazingly popular service it is today. We chat with Damian about: The early days of WeTransfer: no money and huge ambition in Amsterdam How StumbleUpon helped them launch Bootstrapping and keeping their full-time jobs until 2015 The two fortuitous things that happened in WeTransfer's early days What Damian believes the future of the internet is going to be And what he’s like as a boss

We're back after a break to work on Series 3. It's coming on 30th January so stay tuned and visit secretleaders.com for more info!

Our last guest this season is unanimously appreciated by everyone she meets. Meet Jo Malone, here to talk to us in depth about her journey and her love for the poetry of fragrances. Growing up in a council house and looking after her mother and her sister Moving to London and doing all sorts of odd jobs Putting her astounding sense of smell into an actual business Receiving an offer to sell to Estée Lauder Facing the greatest challenge of her life and moving on

Our guest has a truly remarkable list of accomplishments that would have turned many of us into vain, condescending creatures. Meet Vijay Eswaran, the founder of the QI Group, a deeply compassionate and thoughtful entrepreneur who steered clear of all that. Losing his scholarship and being sent to the UK Taking a year off in order to hitchhike around Europe Going through 33 days of silence in an Italian monastery Building the QI Group Giving back and living in the now

Our guest today knows all about having the deep sense of satisfaction you get when you do really meaningful work. We had the pleasure of interviewing Anne-Marie Huby, the co-founder of JustGiving. Meeting Zarine Kharas and creating a sustainable business model For-profit vs not-for-profit charities Their unusual first pitch and fundraising story Taking a break, reconnecting with what’s important for her, and reading voraciously Corporate responsibility in modern times

Today’s guest is celebrity photographer Rankin, here to share his innermost thoughts on photography and life itself. From Glasgow to Yorkshire to St Albans: his childhood and finding his way Meeting Jefferson Hack and creating Dazed & Confused Always wanting to give something back What he thinks about the MeToo movement Who he would like to photograph next His attraction to serendipity His fascination with Trump and his love of photographing baddies

Our guest this week takes life and food seriously. Meet Renée Elliott, the founder of Planet Organic, a principled, thoughtful, and always kind entrepreneur, here to offer some valuable life lessons and sound business advice. The journey of Planet Organic The investor nightmare Co-founder trouble and starting to work with her husband Living the life in Tuscany for three years Co-creating a business and life-skills academy for women

Our guest this week is Dhiraj Mukerjee, one of the co-founders of Shazam, the terrifyingly popular app that has been downloaded over one billion times. Join us to hear the story of how Dhiraj and his three colleagues grew Shazam from just the idea to its dazzling magnitude today. Building Shazam and getting people to use it Getting a lot of nos from investors Disguising the product so that someone else didn’t steal their idea What the future looks like, if you ask Dhiraj