Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia

EP25: From SANDY BALLS to 3x exits and 20x investments | Richard Hadler, Founders Capital

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Richard Hadler is the 3x exited co-founder of Founders Capital, angel investor in 20 companies (including Spacegoods, Odin, Freja) and author of 'Marketing: The Bottom Line.' 
 
In this episode, Steph and Rich discuss:
 
🚀 Hiring strategies
🚀 Lessons from a D2C cocktail brand
🚀 The role of boards and gaining diverse perspectives 
🚀 Rich's role as an advisor, helping to provide a helicopter view to gain perspective
🚀 Leaning into your entrepreneurial gut instinct
 
Learn more about Founders Capital here: https://www.founders-capital.com/
 
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🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
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EP24: AI, winning teams, and overcoming a "warm intro" in VC | Ziv Reichert, LocalGlobe

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Ziv Reichert is a VC Partner at LocalGlobe, the seed stage venture capital firm behind the likes of Citymapper, Wise and Zoopla.
 
In this episode, Steph and Ziv discuss:
 
💰 Top tips on getting a busy investor's attention
💰 A VC’s perspective on the fundraising environment ("we’re an easy scapegoat")💰 What gets Ziv excited as an investor (top themes and specific breakdown of favourite companies)💰 How Ziv tries to stay ahead of the curve and cultivate a futurist "crystal ball" mindset
💰 The key ingredients for startup success 
💰 Thoughts on AI
 
Learn more about LocalGlobe here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/localglobe/
 
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🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP23: Meet the Tina Turner of finance! | Norma Cassius, Think Like a Bank

Norma Cassius is a Money Management Consultant and Psychotherapist with 20+ years' experience in the financial Sector and 17+ years' as a qualified Psychotherapist in Harley Street, London.
 
Our finances and mindset are so intertwined that it makes perfect sense that Norma has combined her financial and psychotherapy expertise with her mission to help people manage both their money and their mindset.
 
Norma has successfully helped hundreds of people and delivered financial education talks to over 16,000 individuals in 2024 alone.
 
In this episode, Steph and Norma discuss:
 
💸 Norma's background, including the influence of her Jamaican parents and raising three kids under the age of 6 while working part-time
💸 How Norma discovered her "ikigai" and now living her best life in her 60s
💸 The fundamentals of money management including financial language and basic terminologies💸 The links between personal finances and your mental health
💸 How to take the leap into entrepreneurship financially
💸 How to use money as an empowering tool
 
Learn more about Norma Cassius here: https://www.normacassius.com/
 
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🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP22: Our merger was a fashion FAUX PAS | Vanessa Jacobs, Circulo

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Vanessa Jacobs is the exited Co-Founder of The Restory, a luxury aftercare service named as one of Walpole’s Brands of Tomorrow in 2019. She is now on her third venture with Circulo, harnessing her passion & expertise in the circular economy space to deliver her mission of reducing fashion waste.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
👗 Converting a personal pain point into a viable business
👗 Putting the customer first via a concierge MVP (think "mechanical turk")
👗 Startup pivots and increasing success with each new business venture
👗 How demand and funding and all the good stuff *still* doesn’t equate to huge success IF you haven’t got your unit economics nailed!
👗 Biggest lessons learnt from a sour marriage...
 
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Follow Steph:
 
🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP21: "It 3X the business and HALVED the CAC!" | Daniel Hegarty, ex-Habito, Founder & CEO of Communion

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Daniel Hegarty is the Founder & ex-CEO of Habito, the proptech scale-up which raised <$90M in venture capital, and now Founder & CEO of Communion, the mobile-first fintech on a mission to help people build a financial buffer against the world and fix their relationship with money.
 
In this episode, Steph and Daniel discuss:
 
👉 The power of brand & the importance of storytelling
👉 Having the balls to take big, brave bets
👉 Founder mental health, especially as an introvert 
👉 How entrepreneurship can make a difference to people’s lives
👉 Solving the anxiety of personal finances with Communion - from being at the whim of capitalism to galvanising yourself with a tiny act of defiance every day.
 
Learn more about Communion here: https://www.communionsaves.com/
 
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Follow Steph:
 
🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP20: SPECIAL SOLO EPISODE | Top FOUR Lessons in Entrepreneurship

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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!
 
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🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP19: "It's entrepreneurship or STRIPPING for me!" | Anu Obe, To All My Black Girls

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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, identifying a gap in the market, and solving one fatal customer problem
👩🏾‍🦱 The idea of whether or not entrepreneurship is for everyone?! 
💜 The power of self-confidence, and where that came from for Anu
👩🏾‍🦱 The top books that impacted Anu the most. (Hint: one of them is a religious text).
💜 How Anu went about finding her very first customers
 
Learn more about To All My Black Girls here: https://toallmyblackgirls.com/
 
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Follow Steph:
🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP18: 4 KIDS, 3 EXITS, 2K MEMBERS, ONE WOMAN | Emmie Faust, Female Founders Rise

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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 among others, as well as her role with Ventures Together.
 
In this episode, Steph and Emmie discuss:
 
✊ The impact of motherhood on self-confidence✊  Female role models, including Emmie's first powerhouse boss!✊ The power of mindset shifts in order to serve a more personally fulfilling mission✊  How entrepreneurship can lead to financial freedom, and why women need to consider this path for empowerment✊ Angel investing, including Emmie’s portfolio and what she looks for in a deal (hint: numerology features!!)
 
Learn more about Female Founders Rise here: https://femalefoundersrise.com/
 
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Follow Steph:
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🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
 
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EP17: My failed business made me a BETTER investor | Mona Tiesler, tokentus

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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 background in strategy consulting, venture building, and entrepreneurship, Mona has a passion for supporting innovators who are building the decentralized future of the internet. She has co-founded and led companies in Fintech, Edtech, and Foodtech, and has an MBA from INSEAD. 
 
In this episode, Mona and Steph discuss:
🌐 How to re-invent yourself while navigating huge career changes
🌐 The mental reframe required when facing rejection (after rejection, after rejection... )
🌐 Practical tips on learning the key skill *every* entrepreneur needs; SALES!
🌐 The importance of strategy and how each step helps the next
🌐 PLUS! What Mona looks for now as an investor
 
Mona is passionate about breaking down barriers to access - both for fundraising founders and equalising gender opportunities. In-line with her mission, Mona is a member of Global Women in VC, the world's largest community for women in venture capital to connect, collaborate, and create opportunities for each other. Discover more here: https://www.women-vc.com/
 
Mona is also the Co-Founder of Distributed Funding, a platform for underrepresented founders in the Web3 space to submit pitch decks and a short survey in just a few minutes. Learn more here: https://roomy-tailor-258.notion.site/Distributed-Funding-b49508c6d2484d62b3c0ca1ab286a132
 
Fundraising? Learn more about what tokentus looks for in their investments here: https://tokentus.com/targets
 
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EP16: We were HOURS away from a $30M deal collapse | Nick Telson-Sillett, exited DesignMyNight, now Co-Founder of Trumpet

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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 external funding (plus comparisons between VCs vs angels vs bootstrapping)🎺  The importance of your first 10 hires as you grow🎺  What worked for DesignMyNight 10+ yrs ago vs now (hint: it's free!)🎺  How to exit - practical financial tips and the metrics to focus on🎺  What Nick now looks for as an angel investor (via Horseplay Ventures)🎺  How building in public has helped his personal brand (and how to encourage team members to do the same!)🎺  The trendy new term in sales, "buyer enablement"
 
Learn more about Trumpet's digital sales rooms here: https://www.sendtrumpet.com/
 
 
Follow Steph:
🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/
 
 
🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos
🙏🏼 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517
 
 
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