Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Henrik Wetter Sanchez, Partner @ Playfair

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is Playfair Partner, Henrik Wetter Sanchez.Playfair is a generalist fund with a contrarian approach to pre-seed technology inve...

Paddy Ryan & Mary Lin, Co-founders @ Odin

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guests are Odin Co-founders, Paddy Ryan and Mary Lin.Odin is building a better way to invest together: a relationship-centric investm...

Startup Spotlight: Orbital Witness

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Startup Spotlight with Edmond Boulle, Co-Founder at Orbital Witness.Orbital Witness is a legaltech/proptech company liberating everyone involved in pr...

Sammy Rubin, Founder & CEO @ YuLife

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is Yulife CEO & Co-founder Sammy Rubin.Yulife is on a mission to inspire people to live their best lives: financially, ment...

Startup Spotlight: Connect Earth

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Startup Spotlight with Alex Lempka, Co-Founder at Connect Earth.Connect Earth is an environmental data company working with banks and fintechs to offe...

Tristan Thomas, CEO & Co-Founder @ Packfleet

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is Packfleet CEO & Co-founder Tristan Thomas.Packfleet is on a mission to empower independent businesses across the UK to o...

Mark Chaffey, Co-Founder & CEO @ hackajob

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is hackajob Co-founder & CEO Mark Chaffeyhackajob have made it their mission to make the hiring process fairer, faster and ...

Maulik Sailor, Founder & CEO @ Codemonk

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week's guest is CodeMonk Founder & CEO Maulik SailorCodeMonk is changing the way the world goes to work — thanks to their dedicated pl...

Sam Franklin, Co-Founder & CEO @ Otta

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Otta CEO Sam Franklin Otta is the better way to find a job in tech. They have raised over $20m including a Series A led by Tige...

Eileen Burbidge - Partner @ Passion Capital and Director @ Fertifa

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Eileen Burbidge, Partner @ Passion Capital and Director @ FertifaEileen has worked for some of the biggest tech companies in th...

Thomas Wynne, Co-Founder & CEO at Capsule

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Thomas Wynne, Co-Founder & CEO @Capsule!Capsule is a specialist, purpose-led insurance partner for growth companies – par...

Startup Spotlight: Light Garden

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Startup Spotlight with Dan Webb, Co-Founder at Light Garden.Light Garden are building Existent®, the platform that brings physical interaction to the...

Yann Sarfati, Co-Founder & CEO @ Userled

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Yann Sarfati, Co-Founder & CEO @ UserledUserled helps products sell themselves by initiating product led growth journeys.Ya...

Startup Spotlight: Zelt

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Startup Spotlight with Chris Priebe, Founder at Zelt.Zelt is a cloud application you can use to onboard new joiners in 2 minutes and manage HR, payrol...

Tony Jamous, Founder & CEO @ Oyster

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Tony Jamous, CEO @ Oyster™Oyster is a distributed talent enablement platform that allows growing companies to tap into the gl...

Mayowa Ogunremi, Investment Principal @ Form Ventures

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Mayowa Ogunremi, Investment Principal @ Form VenturesForm is a new early stage venture fund investing in startups disrupting re...

Matt Cooper, Co-CEO @ Crowdcube

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Crowdcube Co-CEO Matt Cooper.Crowdcube is a leading equity crowdfunding platform for investing in high-growth opportunities acr...

Startup Spotlight: LoopFX

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Startup Spotlight with Blair Hawthorne, CEO & Founder at LoopFX. They've just come out of stealth mode to improve the efficiency of high leve...

Anthony Fletcher, Founder & CEO @ Believe In Science

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Believe in Science Founder & CEO Anthony Fletcher.The  Believe in Science mission is to prove people can indulge responsib...

Alan Chang, Founder & CEO @ Fuse (formerly Tesseract Energy)

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Alan Chang is the CEO of Fuse.  As former Revolut-er #5, Alan was involved in the disruption and innovation in banking, and now, he is bringing that ...

David Newns, Founding Partner @ Fearless Adventures

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Fearless Adventures Founding Partner David Newns.Fearless Adventures invest in and support entrepreneur-led businesses with the...

Magnus Karnehm, Principal @ Left Lane Capital

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Left Lane Capital Principal Magnus Karnehm.Left Lane is a global venture capital and growth equity firm investing in high-growt...

Georgi Ganev, CEO @ Kinnevik

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Georgi Ganev, CEO of Kinnevik.Kinnevik’s ambition is to be Europe’s leading listed growth investor, they back the best digi...

George Richardson, Co-Founder & CEO @ AeroCloud

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is George Richardson, Co-Founder & CEO of AeroCloud.AeroCloud’s modular intelligent airport management platform is built onl...

Startup Spotlight: Kadence

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Startup Spotlight with Kadence. They've just announced a $10M Seed funding round led by Kickstart Fund with participation from Portfolio Ventures...

Jamie Beaumont, Founder & CEO @ Playter

07 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Jamie Beaumont, Founder of Playter.Playter helps fund the global community of startups and scaleups by helping them convert any...

Gordon Midwood, CEO @ Anything World

30 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Gordon Midwood, CEO of Anything World.Anything World is an innovative platform that combines AI, voice computing and 3D renderi...

Dr Ben Maruthappu, Co-founder & CEO @ Cera

23 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Dr. Ben Maruthappu, Co-founder & CEO of multi-award-winning technology company Cera. Cera is a digital-first home healthcar...

Jacob Waern, Founder & CEO @ eduMe

16 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest this week is Jacob Waern, Founder & CEO of eduMe.eduMe gives your deskless workforce seamless, passwordless access to embedded onboardin...

Startup Spotlight: 5Mins

11 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, our mini-series, which will provide insight into an early-stage company that we are very excited about.T...

Victor Trokoudes, Co-Founder & CEO @ Plum

09 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Season 5 🥳 Our first guest for the new season is Victor Trokoudes, Co-Founder & CEO of Plum. Plum is an app that empowers you to put...

RU LIVE 2022 - Paul Forster, Co-Founder of Indeed.com

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at The Oval in Vauxhall as part of our first live event. Guests and friends of the show gathered...

Startup Spotlight: Kuai Commerce

14 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, our mini-series, which will provide you with an insight into an early-stage company that we are very exc...

Justina Tartilaite, Co-Founder @ Adsum

12 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Justina Tartilaite is the Co-Founder of Adsum, tax credit specialists. Adsum is pioneering innovation in tax-based financing and is at the forefront o...

Startup Spotlight: Monet

07 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, our mini-series, which will provide you with an insight into an early-stage company that we are very exc...

Pietro Bezza, Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ Connect Ventures

05 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pietro Bezza is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of thesis-led venture capital firm, Connect Ventures. Specialising in investing in seed companies,...

Startup Spotlight: Deployed

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, an entirely new series, which will provide you with an insight into a company that we are very excited a...

Joe Curtis, Co-Founder @ 11 Investments

28 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Curtis is the Director and Co-Founder of 11 Investments, a seed-stage investment and accelerator program for recruitment businesses. Not content w...

Startup Spotlight: Inveztor

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, an entirely new series, which will provide you with an insight into a company that we are very excited a...

Yoko Spirig, Co-Founder & CEO @ Ledgy

21 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Yoko Spirig is the co-founder & CEO of Ledgy, an equity management and investor relations platform for startups and high-growth companies. Yoko co...

Startup Spotlight: Awabah

16 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome back to our latest Startup Spotlight, an entirely new series, which will provide you with an insight into a company that we are very excited a...

Matthew Wilson, Co-CEO & Co-Founder @ Omnipresent

07 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Wilson is the Co-CEO and Co-founder of Omnipresent, one of the leading global HR providers. Matthew is an experienced entrepreneur and in fact...

Startup Spotlight: Passionfruit

02 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Riding Unicorns is delighted to announce an entirely new series called Start-up Spotlight. These new weekly bitesize episodes will provide you with an...

Ben Kaminski, Partner @ Target Global

31 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ben Kaminski is a Partner at leading technology investment firm, Target Global. Prior to joining the firm, Ben spent over a decade working in Investme...

Tom Wilson, Partner @ Seedcamp

24 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Wilson is a Partner at Seedcamp, an early stage seed fund investing in European businesses that are solving real problems using technology. Prior ...

Francesco Simoneschi, Co-Founder & CEO @ Truelayer

17 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Francesco Simoneschi is Co-Founder and CEO of TrueLayer, a fintech development platform. TrueLayer is not, however, Francesco's first experience ...

Haakon Overli, General Partner & Founder @ Dawn Capital

10 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Haakon Overli is the Founder and General Partner of Dawn Capital, a VC firm investing in European founders in the hope of helping them build the next ...

Aidan Corbett, Co-Founder & CEO @ Wayflyer

03 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Aidan Corbett is the co-founder and CEO of Dublin-based Wayflyer. Founded in 2019 the company supports e-commerce businesses worldwide by providing a ...

Martin Bysh, Co-Founder & CEO @ Huboo

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Martin Bysh is the co-founder & CEO of Huboo, an award-winning order fulfilment service for eCommerce sellers. Martin spent the early part of his ...

Charles Delingpole, Founder & CEO @ ComplyAdvantage

20 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Delingpole is the Founder & CEO of ComplyAdvantage, leaders in AI driven fraud and AML risk detection. Founded in 2014, ComplyAdvantage wo...

Tom Goodwin, Founder @ ALL WE HAVE IS NOW

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Goodwin is the co-founder of innovation consultancy, All We Have Is Now. Tom is however much more than just an entrepreneur. Tom has spent over 20...

Katie Marrache, Partner @ JamJar Investments

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Katie Marrache is a Partner at JamJar Ventures, a VC firm founded by the people behind the hugely popular Innocent drinks. Katie is the definition of ...

Kevin Diestel, Partner @ Sapphire Ventures

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kevin Diestel is a Partner at Sapphire Ventures, a venture capital firm that primarily invests in Series B technology companies. Before moving into pr...

Freddy Ward, Co-Founder & CEO @ Wild

22 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Freddy Ward is the co-founder of D2C cosmetics company, Wild. Freddy started his career at Hello Fresh and is actually credited as being its fifth eve...

James Routledge, Founder @ Sanctus

15 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

James Routledge is the Founder of Sanctus, leading providers of mental health coaches. After starting his first business at University James was hooke...

Paul Murphy, Partner @ Lightspeed Venture Partners

08 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Murphy (@paulbz on Twitter) is a Partner at Lightspeed, a global venture capital firm focusing on multi-stage investments in the enterprise techn...

Julie Chen, Founder & CEO @ The Cheeky Panda

01 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Julie Chen is the Founder and CEO of The Cheeky Panda, makers of a range of Bamboo toiletry products including traditional toilet paper, facial tissue...

Adnan Ebrahim, Co-Founder & CEO @ MindLabs

25 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Adnan Ebrahim is the co-founder and CEO of health and mindfulness app, Mindlabs. Adnan can trace his entrepreneurial roots all the way back to the sch...

Rania Lamprou, Co-Founder & CEO @ Simpler

18 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rania Lamprou is the co-founder and CEO of Simpler - 1-click checkout for online shopping. Prior to launching Simpler Rania worked in several industri...

Hussein Kanji, Partner @ Hoxton Ventures

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hussein Kanji is the founding partner at renowned early stage venture firm, Hoxton Ventures. Following experiences at Microsoft and Accel Partners Hus...

Dom McGregor, Founding Partner @ Fearless Adventures

04 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dominic McGregor is the Founding Partner of Investment Firm Fearless Adventures. Dominic however is perhaps best known for the role he played in helpi...

Brad Coffey, Chief Customer Officer @ Pipe

20 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Brad Coffey is the Chief Customer Officer at Pipe, the trading platform that enables entrepreneurs to grow their business on their terms. By treating ...

Taymoor Atighetchi, Founder & CEO @ Papier

13 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Taymoor Atighetchi is the Founder and CEO of British e-commerce stationary brand, Papier. The story of Taymoor’s rise in business is fascinating. He...

Larry Gadea, Founder & CEO @ Envoy

06 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Larry Gadea is the Founder and CEO of unicorn workplace software provider, Envoy. Larry’s story is a remarkable one. After his family fled Romania a...

Jimmy Williams, Co-Founder & CEO @ Urban Jungle

30 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jimmy Williams is the Co-Founder and CEO of InsurTech, Urban Jungle. Jimmy started out in consulting before pivoting towards insurance following his o...

Tom Leathes, Co-Founder & CEO @ Motorway

23 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Tom Leathes is the co-founder and CEO of Motorway. Launched four years ago by Tom and his long term friend and business partner Harry Jones, Motorway ...

Guy Podjarny, Founder @ Snyk

16 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Guy Podjarny is the Founder of cybersecurity firm, Snyk. Founded in 2015 the company specialises in offering developer-first security and was recently...

Gordon Sanghera, Co-Founder & CEO @ Oxford Nanopore

09 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Gordon Sanghera is the co-founder and CEO of Oxford Nanopore. With the help of some of the brightest minds around the globe Gordon, who has over 15 ye...

Ray Chohan, Co-Founder @ PatSnap

02 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ray Chohan is the co-founder of PatSnap, one of the global leaders in ​​connected innovation intelligence. With more than 800 individuals located ...

Giles Andrews, Co-Founder @ Zopa

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Giles Andrews is the co-founder of British financial services company, Zopa, which in 2005 made waves by launching the world's first peer-to-peer...

Philip Belamant, Founder & CEO @ Zilch

16 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Philip Belamant is the founder & CEO of BNPL firm, Zilch. Philip started his career in mobile gaming in his native South Africa but quickly realis...

Michelle Kennedy, Founder & CEO @ Peanut

09 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michelle Kennedy is the co-founder & CEO of social media app, Peanut. The former Badoo and Bumble executive used her experience in the social spac...

Jonathan Anguelov, Co-Founder & GM @ Aircall

02 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Anguelov is the co-founder and GM of cloud-based call center software unicorn, Aircall. Jonathan has always had a passion for entrepreneurshi...

Sacha Michaud, Co-Founder @ Glovo

26 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sacha Michaud is the co-founder of commerce start-up Glovo. Shortly after recording the episode with Sacha the company made headlines after it was ann...

Nigel Verdon, Founder @ Railsr

19 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Nigel Verdon the co-founder & CEO of Railsr (formerly RailsBank), the world's leading Embedded Finance Experience platform. Nigel has spent d...

Ali Parsa, Founder & CEO @ Babylon

12 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Ali Parsa is the Founder & CEO of HealthTech Unicorn Babylon. Ali’s knowledge and expertise on the topic of healthcare is unmatched by anyone el...

Felix Ohswald, Founder @ GoStudent

05 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Felix Oshwald is the Founder of GoStudent, a venture-backed ed-tech unicorn, which has been disrupting the tutoring space since being founded in 2016....

Steven Mendel, Co-Founder & CEO @ ManyPets

22 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Steven Mendel is the co-founder of ManyPets (prev. Bought By Many), the insurance provider that is revolutionising the way consumers purchase pet cove...

Aron Gelbard - Co-Founder & CEO @ Bloom & Wild

15 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Aron Gelbard is the co-founder & CEO of Bloom & Wild, one of the UK’s most-loved online florists. Prior to launching B&W Aron spent time...

Andy Shovel, co-founder & co-CEO @ THIS™

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Andy Shovel is the co-founder of THIS, one of the leading plant based meat alternative companies in the UK. Andy is a true example of a versatile entr...

Alex Chesterman OBE, Founder & CEO @ Cazoo

01 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alex Chesterman OBE is one of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs and Angel Investors. Through his unparalleled intuition and bravery Alex ha...

Season 2 Round-Up & Season 3 Schedule.

25 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hector and James take a look back at the 25 episodes recorded in Season 2, their favourites and the most-listened to shows. Then they introduce the in...

Jon Coker, Founding Partner @ Eka Ventures

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jon Coker is one of the Founding Partners of Eka Ventures. His work at the Impact VC fund has transformed him into one of the pioneers of ESG investme...

Rémy Astié, Founder & CEO @ Vauban

10 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rémy Astié is the founder & co-CEO of online investment platform Vauban. Backed by the likes of MJ Hudson, Pentech and Outward Vauban is looking...

Steve Tigar, Founder @ loveelectric

03 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Tigar is the founder & CEO of Scottish based EV company loveelectric. With the ever increasing pressure to lower our carbon footprint leadin...

Irina Scarlat, Chief Growth Officer @ Bitpanda

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Irina Scarlat is the Chief Growth Officer at centralized crypto exchange Bitpanda. With over 12 years experience in tech marketing, which have include...

Mark Smukler, Founder @ Flow

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Smukler is the founder & CEO of Flow, a location-based app that makes it easy to discover the best coworking spaces, gyms, spas and experienc...

RU Bitesize: Sir Martin Sorrell

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A year ago today, we released S1E1 of Riding Unicorns with Sir Martin Sorrell. In this first edition of Riding Unicorns bitesize, we pick out the best...

Jos White, Partner @ Notion Capital

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jos White is a General Partner at VC firm Notion Capital. In 2000 Jos alongside his brother launched MessageLabs, the first company in the world to in...

Jonny Plein, Co-Founder @ Pouch (acquired in 2018).

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jonny Plein is the now exited co-founder of the coupon browser extension, Pouch. Jonny spent his postgraduate years working for EY before leaving in 2...

RU Monthly Round Up: September 2021

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hector and James discuss mega rounds, valuations, and the effect of public markets on private markets. 

George Robson, Partner @ Sequoia Capital

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

George Robson is a Partner at the renowned Venture Capital firm, Sequoia. Preceding his time at Sequoia George worked first with Morgan Stanley and th...

Darren Tenkorang, Founder & CEO @ TRIM-IT

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Darren Tenkorang is the founder and CEO of Trim-IT, one of the first app-powered mobile Barber Shops in the UK. The idea for the business came to Darr...

Jeremy King, Founder & CEO @ Attest

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy King is the CEO and founder of one of the leading consumer research platforms in the world, Attest. Jeremy graduated from Harvard Business Scho...

RU Monthly Round Up: August 2021

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

James and Hector review August's episodes, discuss the future of VC, AgriTech, Sustainability and Robotics. The guys also finally announce their ...

Georgia Stewart, Co-Founder @ Tumelo

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Georgia Stewart is the co-founder and CEO at Tumelo, a start-up which provides investment platforms and pension providers increased transparency on th...

Alice Bentinck, Co-Founder @ Entrepreneur First

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Alice Bentinck MBE is one of the co-founders of Entrepreneur First, one of the world's leading talent investors that helps people develop their s...

Amy Lewin, Deputy Editor @ Sifted

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Amy Lewin is the Deputy Editor at Sifted. Backed by the Financial Times, Sifted is a new media publication that provides In-depth reporting, news and ...

Sitar Teli, Managing Partner @ Connect Ventures

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sitar Teli is a founder and Managing Partner at Connect Ventures, a thesis-led, pan-European, seed stage VC. With over 14 years experience in early-st...

Simon Franks, ex-Founder @ LOVEFiLM, Partner @ Redbus Ventures

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Simon Franks is a partner at Venture Capital and Private Equity firm, Redbus. Simon however is perhaps best known for co-founding LoveFILM, which duri...