Jimmy's Jobs of the Future: Recent Episodes
Jimmy McLoughlin OBE
Former Downing Street adviser, Jimmy McLoughlin interviews top entrepreneurs about where they are creating jobs of the future presented in the form of a Prime Ministerial briefing.
Recorded live from the Tony Blair Future of Britain Conference we learn of Sal Khan's incredible journey from a high-paying hedge fund job to gracing the cover of Forbes. In 2004, he switched gears when his cousin sought help with her homework. Armed with a webcam, he began creating tutorial videos. What started as a side project today stands as a powerhouse with the Khan Academy gaining a jaw dropping 100 million users across 190 countries. The YouTube channel alone boasts 8 million subscribers and an astounding 2 billion views. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Meet Jennie Johnson, a visionary British entrepreneur celebrated for her groundbreaking work in education and community advancement. Founder of Kids Allowed Group: In 2003, Jennie reshaped UK childcare, introducing innovative spaces prioritising family and holistic child growth. After selling that business, Jennie is back with a next generation parenting app, My First Five Years. Jennie also co-hosts the podcast My First Five Years which is a brilliant listen for any parent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Recorded in 2021, Anne Boden - CEO of Starling Bank joined our show for a cracking episode. This is one of our most highly listened to episodes and shows the unconventional route Anne took to start a bank, a sentence not many people can say. Starling Bank is a leading UK digital bank established in 2014 which redefines modern banking through both a mobile app and online platform. As of 2023, the bank serves over 3 million customers, with deposits exceeding £7 billion. With a focus on innovation, accessibility, and transparency. Starling Bank continues to shape the digital banking landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Meet Joe Seddon, Founder & CEO of Zero Gravity, as he shares his journey from modest beginnings in West Yorkshire to becoming an Oxford graduate and successful entrepreneur. Live from Zero Gravity HQ in-front of a packed audience, Joe discusses the challenges of social mobility and its impact on identity. Joe's firsthand experience reflects the complexity of social mobility, exemplified by his transformative time at Oxford University. The excitement of achievement mingled with imposter syndrome, underscoring the identity struggles that often accompany upward mobility. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Recorded live from the Tony Blair Future of Britain Conference we are joined by Wayve CEO Alex Kendall. From building a self-driving car in 24 hours to founding Wayve, his groundbreaking venture, Alex's rise was unstoppable. Winning accolades like Forbes 30 under 30, he attracted major investments, partnering with giants like Microsoft and grocery chains Ocado and Asda. Media coverage by the likes of Washington Post and Wired culminated in a thrilling autonomous car ride with Bill Gates. In this episode Alex shares his riveting story of determination, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of innovation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Not many people can say they've supported 10,000 young people but Bejay Mulenga isn't just anyone. Bejay is a multi award-winning serial social entrepreneur dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs the skills they need to take their business to the next level. Jimmy met Bejay shortly after he captivated 3000 people speaking at the Birmingham Symphony Hall... George Osbourne had a tough act to follow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Recorded live from the Tony Blair Future of Britain Conference we are joined by esteemed political journalist Rachel Sylvester. Rachel is renowned for her seismic interview with Andrea Leadsom which led to her pulling out of the Tory leadership race and Theresa May becoming Prime Minister a matter of days later... Rachel also co-hosts the groundbreaking podcast What I Wished I'd Known for the Times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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In 2014 Dom McGregor co-founded a social media consultancy called Social Chain with Steven Barlett. From being university dropouts the pair went on to build a multi-million pound business. Michael Freeman from the University of San Francisco suggested startup founders are three times more likely to suffer from substance abuse. In today’s episode Dom bravely discusses how he struggled with alcoholism and imposter syndrome. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Today’s guest is James Gill a stand up comedian, MC, Writer and the Founder of Always Be Comedy Always Be Comedy hosts some of the biggest names in stand up from Romesh Ranganathan, Sarah Pascoe to Harry Hill. James represents a backbone of the industry from running his own nights 4 to 5 times a week to writing on The John Bishop Show (ITV1) and The Ranganation (BBC Two). Check out more about James here.
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Michelle Romanow is a serial entrepreneur and was one of the youngest cast members of the Canadian version of Dragons Den. She is the founder of Clear Bank, a billion-pound venture capital firm. Undoubtedly, she has redefined the future of business as Clear Bank has backed 8 times more women than the venture capital industry average. This conversation was recorded in the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Joining us today is Joshi Hermann, the founder of the Manchester Mill, on a mission to revive local journalism.
Despite the pandemic, Joshi's venture has expanded to Sheffield and Liverpool, creating jobs in three cities. Joshi recognised the urgency to rebuild local as traditional journalism has faced challenges from tech giants like Google and Facebook. He believes it is vital for communities and aims to start afresh. In this conversation, we discuss Joshi's plans for growth and the roles he's hiring for. The Manchester Mill has over 35k subscribers and publishes thoughtful and trustworthy journalism about Greater Manchester Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Recorded in the midst on the pandemic, our guest on today's repost episode is Chris Hulatt - Co-founder of the Octopus Group. In this episode we delve into Chris's inspiring story of taking risks and defying conventions. We learn how Chris explored challenges he faced while venturing into the unknown and discuss the strategies that led to the remarkable growth of Octopus Group. Furthermore, we uncover the intriguing origins of Octopus Energy, which emerged as a corporate spin-out, demonstrating the company's innovative approach to expansion and diversification Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Joining today’s show is Timothy Armoo whose success came early to him, at just 14 Timothy started his first business selling 3 years later for £110k. At 17 he met Richard Branson and would go on to create Fan Bytes, which was acquired for an eight-figure sum.In a world full of phonies - Armoo is the real deal.Timothy's story is a testament to the power of entrepreneurship coming from a council estate to where he is today.
Here’s 3 key learnings from our interview with Timothy:
Find a problem that you're passionate about and solve it.
Don't be afraid to fail.
Build a team of people who are smarter than you.
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Join us in Bristol, UK, as we uncover the remarkable story of an under-the-radar powerhouse backed by Silicon Valley's Sequoia. Meet Nigel Toon, the visionary driving Graphcore's hardware chip revolution. With offices in Beijing, Palo Alto, Oslo, and Cambridge, Nigel's team is redefining boundaries. In this episode, Nigel explores the technology behind our devices and the transformative power of boundary-crossing skills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Today's partner is Huel, use Jimmy's URL to find your flavour uk.huel.com/jimmy
Discover the inspiring journey of Darren Jones MP, the Chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee. He has developed a reputation for holding businesses to account from P&O to Royal Mail and is very much seen as a rising star in the Labour ranks. He initially stood to become an MP at 25, whilst unsuccessful initially, he persevered and became the Bristol North West MP in 2017, aged just 30. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joining today’s show are data pioneers Clive Humby and Edwina Dunn, the dynamic husband and wife team behind the transformative Tesco Clubcard. Their game-changing idea propelled Tesco to the top of British retail, securing partnerships with industry giants like Marriott Hotels and EON. But their success wasn’t without challenges as we learn how different business was 30 years ago. We also touch on how the data revolution started and where they see it going next?
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In this live episode recorded at the Science Museum, Jimmy is joined by UCL Professor Rebecca Shipley OBE to celebrate the opening of the new Engineers gallery.
Together, they explore the vital role of engineers in our society. Discover how engineering is making a difference as Rebecca shares her experience co-leading a team that developed non-invasive ventilator systems during the Covid-19 pandemic. Dive into the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, an esteemed award that raises the profile of this essential field. Join us as we uncover the untold stories of these silent heroes who shape our world.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with The Royal Academy of Engineering.
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Lucy Frazer, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport joins Jimmy on the show today. Key points include rapid growth in creative industries, AI enhancing rather than replacing jobs, and further government support for culture and the creative sector. A must-listen for those interested in the future of work and creative industries.
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The team often receive messages such as what's Jimmy's relationship with his Dad like? Thankfully, generational historian, Dr Eliza Filby's has a podcast called It's All Relative where she explores life’s issues through a generational lens.
Jimmy & Sir Patrick McLoughlin join Eliza to tackle questions such as what's is it like to grow up with a government minister for a Dad? The episode touches on the changing nature of conservatism, the power of social mobility, and talking Brexit at the dinner table.
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Joining the show today is Pete Flint, a serial entrepreneur and general partner at NFX, as he shares his journey from founding lastminute.com to co-founding Trulia, both billion-dollar companies. Discover what sets NFX apart in the world of venture capital and how they focus on network effect businesses. Learn from Pete's experiences during challenging times, such as 9/11 and the 2008 crash, and how resilience plays a crucial role in entrepreneurship. Pete also discusses how to 10x your career by choosing the right sectors and managers.
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The AI boom is upon us.
Today Jimmy is joined by Professor of Machine Learning at Oxford University, Michael Osborne who has been studying AI for two decades.
During this episode, we explore how the workforce could be impacted, media fear-mongering, and how we can embrace possibilities with AI.
Professor Michael Osborne is the Co-Founder of Mind Foundry an Oxford spinout that builds AI solutions to help organisations in the public and private sectors tackle high-stakes problems responsibly
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Kathryn Parsons is the Co-founder & CEO of Decoded - a large provider of data and digital upskilling to large corporates in the UK. Kathryn and her team havetrained half a million people in 85 cities, working with companies such as Burberry, Marks & Spencer and Nike.
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Marine Tanguy has had an unconventional rise in the art world. With no industry connections and a socialist upbringing, this London-based entrepreneur has skyrocketed to success. Leading MTArt Agency Marine has entered Forbes' 30 Under 30 list, delivered TEDx talks on art's impact and shattered expectations by running a Soho gallery at just 21.
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A repost of one of our favourite episodes with Sarah Wood, the co-founder of Unruly, a global video advertising marketplace. We discuss her journey from academia to entrepreneurship, the challenges faced in building the business, and the impact of competition from tech giants. Sarah also shares her current activities, including mentoring female founders and promoting the UK tech ecosystem. We touch on the growing sectors in the industry, hiring challenges, and the importance of continuous learning.
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Without a doubt, Covid affected all of us in different ways. But it probably impacted Rebecca Kelly more than most who runs VenueScanner - a company dedicated to finding you the best venues in the UK.
An engaging episode on the challenges of covid, angel investing and why the 20th email could be the one your next investor opens.
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A repost of one of our favourite episodes with Izzy Obeng, who left her role as a management consultant to set up an accelerator for black and ethnic minority founders.
Foundervine helps tomorrows founders shape the future running numerous programmes and partners founder with exceptional business mentorship.
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Most south Londoners will know Three Cheers Pubs as the most handsome in England.
They host some of the best live comedy in the business, featured some of the biggest musicians such as Ed Sheeran and are now even producing their own sparkling wine. Three Cheers currently own 9 pubs which include; The Abbeville, The Avalon, The Bolingroke, The Latchmere, The Princess Victoria, The Rosendale, The Stonhouse, The Tommyfield and The Bedford.
To celebrate some of the greatest independent pubs in the business we collaborated with Three Cheers for their 20th anniversary celebration. Jimmy is joined by co-founders Tom and Mark live from the Bedford.
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A bonus episode reposting when Jimmy appeared on Graham Ruddick's podcast - business studies. Subscribe to Graham's substack #OffToLunch here.
This episode was recorded during the Liz Truss premiership and Graham interviews Jimmy about what working in Downing Street was really like.
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This episode is brought to you by Riverside.FM - the place for recording podcasts.
Use code JOBS when signing up to Riverside here for 20% off sign up fees.
To celebrate 100 episodes of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future today we host Football Manager CEO - Miles Jacobson.
Miles is one of the UK's most in demand podcast guests, having run the iconic Football Manager for 30 years. This is the first time he has been interviewed about the almost 2,000 people that make Football Manager happen.
The episode also touches on government policy, how Brexit affected football and the future of the video game industry. Miles’ story is inspiring, one of someone who initially was helping a few friends and then found themselves as a CEO of one of the biggest football games of the 21st century.
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Pip Jamieson is the founder of The Dots - a professional network for the new world of work. Pip discusses early rounds of angel funding and how her platform supports creatives and offers skill swapping.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
There's no doubt Jordan Schwarzenberger is a visionary.
At just 25 years old he's manager of one of Europes biggest cultural online exports - the Sidemen. As if this wasn't enough, Jordan has also completed creative strategy for Frank Lampard, Ant & Dec while working with the likes of Vice and Lad Bible.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Welcome to #Moments a new mini-series that celebrates and reflects on the best moments of Jimmy’s Jobs.
Today's guest is Hayden Wood from Bulb who discusses keeping your employees motivated, role rotations and a nomad programme allowing employees to work in different cities. It's strong advice that shouldn't be lost.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Our guest today is Andy Coulson, former Downing Street Director of Communications, News of the World editor and ex-prisoner serving at Her Majesty's pleasure. He’s also the host of crisis what crisis podcast.
In this episode, Andy shares his experiences of working on the first televised debate and for those of you who are fans of the British Icon - Andy discusses being one of the first people to hear about the Beckham's engagement.
But perhaps most intriguingly, Andy gives us a glimpse into his time in prison, sharing personal anecdotes and lessons learned during time served.
Our sponsor today is Ashore, sign up here for exclusive early access to an amazing network of homes.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
On today's episode, we have the privilege of speaking with Marc Allera, the CEO of the Consumer Division at BT Group.
BT, who owns EE, is one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies. Marc leads teams of thousands of people to make sure that we are all able to get online. The challenges are very different from those faced by the founder of a startup – challenges which Marc is familiar with after starting his career in the fledgling video games industry.
Marc's wealth of experience and expertise offers views into the challenges of running a massive organisation like BT, the ethical and safeguarding considerations around AI, along with the future of sports.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
We are joined today by Michelle Donelan Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to discuss the future of the UK's trillion dollar tech sector.
Join us as we dive into Michelle's insights on technological literacy, the impact of AI, and the importance of up-skilling in today's digital age. Together, we'll explore the question on everyone's minds: will emerging technologies replace human jobs?
There’s also a great story of Michelle attending a chilli eating contest which she refused to lose.
Our sponsor today is Ashore, sign up here for exclusive early access to an amazing network of homes.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
In this episode of Jimmy's Jobs, we chat with Ahmed, founder of Cambridge Spectacle Co. Ahmed's company is based in the West Midlands and gained notoriety after sponsoring the Parenting Hell podcast. He donates a portion of each sale to St. Paul's Blind Charity, and Cambridge Spectacle Co even has stock in Asda.
Ahmed previously worked for West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, and he ran for parliament in the same constituency as our Jimmy’s dad. During the conversation, Ahmed shares insights into the transferable skills between politics and entrepreneurship.
He's also created a TV ad for Cambridge Spectacle Co using Fiverr for just a few hundred pounds and has featured in ads for Fiverr featuring Bukayo Saka from Arsenal. Ahmed believes that brand coordinators are the future of jobs, and he's competing with big names like Gucci and Armani in the glasses space.
Our sponsor today is Ashore, sign up here for exclusive early access to an amazing network of homes.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Today's partner is the CBI who have championed the voice of business for over 50 years and hosted the future of work conference.
Live on stage, Jimmy is joined by BAE systems with Chief Operating Officer Ian Muldowney and apprentice success story Anastacia Jamfrey.
BAE systems is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company. It's the largest defence contractor in Europe.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Our sponsor today is Ashore, sign up here for exclusive early access to an amazing network of homes.
Joining us today is CEO of ZeroAvia - Val Miftakhov. ZeroAvia are revolutionising the aviation industry bycreating zero-emission electric planes powered by hydrogen fuel cells here in the UK.
Val shares his thoughts on what it's like to be invested in by the likes of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos plus his vision for a sustainable future.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Zoe Reich from Octopus Ventures is not only a deep tech specialist, but also a cryptocurrency whiz who has sold her own exchange whilst on maternity leave. And if that's not impressive enough, she's also a startup mentor and a powerlifting champ.
We'll be delving into Zoe's fascinating background growing up with scuba diving parents, her passion for studying volcanoes, and her insights into the world of deep tech.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Recorded in November, this week’s episode is with Ella Gilbert - a climate scientist, boxer and presenter.
We discuss how Ella got into science, her adventures in the Antarctic and finally boxing. When Ella isn’t around the other side of the world, she’s either competing for Islington boxing club or running her women-led boxing gym Sol-star.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Our guest today is Charlie Blair who created The Blair Academy a social enterprise centred on healthy, happy ageing through hip hop dance.
When I started Jimmy’s Jobs, I did not expect we would be covering hip hop dancing for the eldery but the more I read about Charlie, the more impressed I was.
The Blair Academy is a culmination of Charlie's experiences as a hip-hop dancer, homeless teen, and caring for her own grandma. She has also featured on Natwest's WISE100 list, celebrating top female social entrepreneurs in the country.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Dr. Amit Patel was working as a trauma doctor when a rare condition caused him to lose his sight within 36 hours. We discuss his journey from living in darkness, disability activism to getting the fifth quickest lap time amongst the famous faces of Top Gear.
It's a particularly inspiring episode with multiple achievements included, find more on Dr Amit Patel via his website here
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
On Monday afternoon, my team and I recorded this episode with Grant Shapps who (at the time) was Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
By the time we'd headed home and unloaded the kit Grant had a whole new position as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Grant was still happy for us to release the episode in which we discuss AI, Tik Tok before touching on the Edinburgh reforms. We also move onto why Britain doesn't have a silicon valley despite having more billion dollar (unicorn) companies than France, Germany and the Netherlands put together.
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Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Join Jimmy's substack here for weekly insights into entrepreneur stories and the future of work, technology and politics.
Today's guest is Darcy Laceby who’s story into the world of being an entrepreneur is a fascinatingly usual one.
After discovering the benefits of collagen at 19 – through bone broth in her family kitchen, Darcy Laceby set out to bring its power to the masses. Her made-from-scratch, science-backed Absolute Collagen has recently featured as the 4th fastest growing company according to the Sunday times 100 list. Darcy was also featured as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2022 and it’s an honour to have her on the show.
We discuss breaking the mould as a non-traditional founder, the benefits of starting a business in Birmingham, and the trend of having a third of the workforce focused on marketing.
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You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Today we sit down with the British visionary, Greg Marsh. From founding hospitality giant, Onefinestay, to creating Nous, the cost of living tool that raised $9 million in seed funding, Greg's entrepreneurial journey is packed with experience and insights.
In this episode, we cover everything from the importance of being in the office to building a brand on TikTok and why the UK needs to keep its borders open for business.
Find our linktree here
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
On todays episode of Jimmys Jobs we are exploring the fascinating world of whisky. From the history of the industry to its future, we take you on a journey through the production process, from the distilleries to the bottling halls.
We delve into the people and jobs that make the industry tick, and discover how the industry is changing to embrace sustainability and diversity.
Join us as we travel to Scotland and visit distilleries old and new, large companies and small, to uncover the jobs of the future in Scotch. From production to logistics and supply, to tourism and hospitality, we uncover the hidden side of whisky you never knew existed.
So grab a glass and sit back as we explore the history, the people and the future of the whisky industry.
This episode was a partnership with the Scotch Whisky Association. For more information please visit our partnerships page here.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Check out our Linktree below for all handles on TikTok, YouTube, Substack and Instagram:
https://linktr.ee/jimmysjobs
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is a podcast that discusses the future of work and careers. The show was started during the first lockdown two years ago by a stay-at-home dad who wanted to help address the expected unemployment crisis. The show has grown since then and now has a team working on it. It originally focused on speaking with entrepreneurs about the future of jobs, but has since expanded to include a wider range of discussions about different types of jobs. The show aims to ask simple questions to reveal interesting answers about various professions and industries. In 2023, Jimmy's Jobs plans to continue exploring the future of work and helping listeners find their career paths.
- Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is a podcast about the future of work and careers
- It was started during the first lockdown two years ago by a stay-at-home dad who wanted to address the expected unemployment crisis
- The show has grown and now has a team working on it
- It originally focused on speaking with entrepreneurs about the future of jobs, but has since expanded to include a wider range of discussions about different types of jobs
- The show aims to ask simple questions to reveal interesting answers about various professions and industries
- In 2023, Jimmy's Jobs plans to continue exploring the future of work and helping listeners find their career paths
- The show encourages listener engagement and feedback through email
- It has had guests such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England
- The show's host reflects on the growth of the show from being recorded in a spare bedroom to having a team and a broader scope
- The host discusses the importance of exploring a variety of jobs and not just focusing on the most in-demand skills
- The show thanks its listeners and looks forward to continuing to provide helpful and interesting content in 2023.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
In this episode, I interviewed Jean Phillipe Courtois, one of Microsoft's first employees outside of the US.
He joined the company in 1984 and now reports directly to CEO Satya Nadella. We discussed his personal journey, the foundation he created to inspire young entrepreneurs, and the work being done to develop tech careers in the UK.
This episode was filmed in partnership with Microsoft, above their flagship store in Oxford Circus. It was a great experience and an even better episode.
In this episode we discuss:
- What is your role at Microsoft
- As the only person on the leadership team who is not from the US, what does your role involve?
- What was your first role at Microsoft
When you started, how did you explain what software was to somebody that hadn't come across computers?
- Did you sell computers from the back of your car with Bill Gates?
- In 38 years, what are some of the different roles that you've held at different points?
- What kind of changes have you seen along the way?
- If you were 22 in 2022, where would you be starting your career?
- How do you keep entrepreneurship alive within a company the size of Microsoft?
- How has France changed as a startup nation and why?
- Does France have a word for an entrepreneur?
- Your advice to people that are starting their career at Microsoft
- What is Microsoft's responsibility in promoting inclusivity?
- Do you think you can teach entrepreneurship?
- Tell us about your foundation
- How do you deal with tough times and stay strong?
- How have you found it transitioning to a public-facing role at Microsoft?
- What is your favorite episode of your own podcast?
- What are your thoughts on the recent trend of large companies laying off staff and the impact on those who have been laid off?
- Where do you see the future of games in entertainment going?
- Where do you see the metaverse going?
- How can someone build a strong brand on LinkedIn and maximize its potential for their career?
- What's your favorite book or one that's inspired you on your journey?
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
This episode is the second part of our conversation with Patrick O’Mahony, Creative Director of NEWSUBSTANCE.
This episode is all about their ambitious project ‘See Monster’ in Weston-Super-Mare. Part of the Unboxed Festival, it’s an old gas platform (think ‘oil rig’) converted into a public space to inspire conversations around climate change and renewables.
We went there to film these two episodes and the sheer scale of the project blew me away.
It is one of the greatest pieces of industrial theatre that I have ever seen and a wonderful example of British creativity.
Listen to our first episode with Patrick to get a wider backstory on him and his company NEWSUBSTANCE.
In this episode we discuss:
- How See Monster came to be.
- Where the creative vision started.
- How do you transport a gas platform from the Netherlands to Weston-Super-Mare?
- Scoping a project on this scale.
- How will sustainability and creative design develop in the future?
- Where did the idea for the waterfall come from?
- The future of pop-up installations
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
This episode sees us go to one of the UK’s most ambitious art projects - See Monster, down in Weston-Super-Mare near Bristol.
This is a gas platform or perhaps more commonly known as oil rig, repurposed into an interactive environment to explore and inspire conversations around Climate Change and renewables.
We caught up with the Artistic Director of this Project- Patrick O’Mahony- and record this episode in their custom-built podcast studio overlooking the See Monster project itself.
I first came across Patrick when his drone show appeared over Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Jubilee and thought- now that is a job of the future and I HAVE to interview him.
That company is called New Substance.
This episode is the first time on the show with someone from the creative industries - so we talk through Patrick’s story and he came to lead his 50-person team in Leeds.
We talk about how he started out at University, what it was like working at Buckingham Palace as well as how the art and events industries have changed over the past decade.
Look out next week for episode 2 of this interview where we do a deep dive into the See Monster project itself.
In this episode we talk about:
- How does Patrick describe what he does?
- What’s the coolest project he’s worked on?
- The pressure of working at Buckingham Palace - and could he really enjoy the moment?
- His fleet of 2,500 drones.
- How he came about making a huge drone Corgi for the Queen’s Jubilee
- How his career started in university.
- His favorite projects he has worked on.
- The changes in the events space over the past two decades
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
One of the biggest issues founders face is finding amazing talent - it’s one thing to have an idea, but to build it you need talented people on your team.
What’s the best way to do it? Where is the best place to go? How has the pandemic changed it? How do you maintain a culture with a new team working in a hybrid format.
We had the terrific opportunity to speak to someone who thinks about this more than anyone else, Laura Wilming, Head of Portfolio Talent at Octopus Ventures.
They are part of the wider Octopus Group who are eight entrepreneurially minded companies who are together focused on investing in the people, ideas and industries that will change the world, they are also a long term backer of this podcast
Laura’s job is to oversee people and talent for all of the Octopus Ventures portfolio and so is a treasure trove of information about working, hiring and growing within startups: how to prepare for job interviews (whether you are hiring or trying to be hired!).
We speak about the importance of having a professional network, the skills and jobs to look out for in the future, such as the increase in roles like Chief of Staff in start ups
Laura spent several years working with start-ups in New York, notably at Harry’s razors, where she helped build the team to several hundred across the world.
And, whilst still a student, she interned with Brewdog, being one of the first 8 to work there well before it became the globally recognized brand it is today.
I always say each guest is a fascinating episode - todays episode is no exception, but perhaps it is one of our most practical too …
For weekly information on the topics mentioned in the show sign up for the Octopus Ventures newsletter here.
In this episode we discuss:
- What exactly she does at Octopus Ventures as Head of Portfolio Talent.
- What does Octopus Ventures do?
- What her advice is to startups who have just raised capital.
- Her hiring advice from when startups become scaleups.
- The most common advice she gives to pre-seed founders
- When you should hire C-suite level talent.
- The best methods to hire the best talent.
- How long founders should spend on hiring.
- How the pandemic has impacted hiring and creating culture.
- How can founders inspire their team - and this amazing example.
- What questions you should ask in an interview and how to not fall into bias traps.
- How to speed up your hiring process.
- Laura's story from Brewdog to Harry's razors.
- If Laura was 22 in 2022 what would she do?
- Should entrepreneurs hire a chief of staff?
- The best startup job title she was ever seen - Director of Ideas!
- The content
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
This year has seen Jimmy’s Jobs talk to some of the most influential minds in the UK.
From Rishi Sunak and Andrew Bailey right through to Martha Lane Fox, these are the thinkers and shapers of the British economy, the voices that generate headlines and shape the national debate.
Today’s guest is a worthy addition to this list- Matt Clifford is the founder of Entrepreneur First - a unique institution in the UK economy that backs entrepreneurs for who they are as much as their ideas.
We had Matt’s co-founder, Alice Bentinck, on the show late last year and since then the pair have written a book - “How to be a Founder” has since become one of my go-to recommendations and I thoroughly recommend it.
Matt has recently taken up a new position as CEO and Chair of the new Advanced Research and Invention Agency- or ARIA for short - where he’ll oversee the funding of transformational UK science and technology.
It is based on the DARPA model from the United States which was so influential behind the founding of Silicon Valley.
We talk a bit in this show about the UK recreating Silicon Valley, and it’s a theme that I am picking up this week in my Times column.
I will be republishing that through my email newsletter on substack this week, just check the link below to sign up.
In this episode we discuss:
- How to be a Founder- why did he write the book?
- Finding your edge.
- Being elite but not elitist.
- Getting underprivileged people into entrepreneurship.
- The myths of what makes an entrepreneur.
- The competition for investors in the VC industry.
- Matt’s thoughts on the wider technology ecosystem.
- How will the pandemic change the world of entrepreneurship?
- Building co-founding relationships remotely.
- What will be the effects of this year’s political issues in building the UK economy.
- What is ARIA - the Advanced Research and Invention Agency.
- How the UK can become less silo’d between academia, policy and business.
- Building talent outside the ‘golden triangle’.
- What are the most exciting places of innovation in the UK?
- The pressure of being such a big name in the business industry.
- Why willpower is rechargeable and the danger of valourising founders.
- The collision of biology and software
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Recorded in October, this week’s episode is with Nigel Verdon- Founder of Railsr (formerly known as Railsbank) who are pioneering something called ‘Embedded finance’ - best described as the financial layer of the internet.
Founding a startup is stressful, difficult and often painful at times - one of the most important skills of a founder, as many previous guests have said, is resilience.
And after going through it once, you would understand if someone never wanted to go through it all again…
Nigel, however, has started not one, not two but three businesses - giving him an expert view on the challenges entrepreneurs face at different stages on their journey.
We’ll talk in this episode about why you need to hire different types of people at different times, the difference between builders and operators & why Fintech may disappear.
The topics we discuss in this episode are:
- Why Nigel rebranded from Railsbank to Railsr
- What is embedded finance?
- What is the future of FinTech?
- The future of currency and crypto - the great experiment of Bitcoin.
- How curiosity drove him to start a THIRD startup.
- The access to fast finance that embedded finance will power and how it's driving new experiences in sports.
- Nigel’s advice to new entrepreneurs.
- Nigel’s advice to himself aged 25 - don’t fail your A-Levels!
- Deciding to break into FinTech.
- Jobs of the Future- the biggest learnings on hirings through 3 huge companies.
- The thesis of Builders and Operators.
- Giving back to the FinTech ecosystem.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
Today’s guest is someone I have wanted to interview for a very long time.
Tania Boler founded the female technology firm Elvie around a decade ago and last year they raised a whopping £70m series C funding round.
But that figure has an even greater significance than the size alone- in 2012, the Femtech sector raised just $62 million in its entirety. In 10 years, that represents amazing growth and presents a hopeful picture for the future of female-first industries.
Elvie represents an amazing entrepreneurial story and we discuss what has happened in the last 10 years to inspire such investor confidence, how Elvie has pulled off some of the most daring PR stunts, as well as the future of jobs in femtech.
We also talk about how to gain cult status as a brand and the skills of the future that make you stand out.
In this episode we discuss:
- What’s in a name- where did Elvie come from?
- The monumental changes in the Femtech sector.
- Tania’s unusual background for an entrepreneur - working for NGOs.
- Working at the UN.
- The impact of her Innovate UK grant.
- How important is the media in the context of Female technology- and why Elvie runs provocative PR campaigns.
- Building a community.
- Some ideas that haven’t made it out yet?
- Why everyone thought she was crazy in the early days.
- How to become a cult favourite.
- How we can improve the production of female founders.
- What are the future jobs in Elvie?
- The roles she never thought she’d hire.
- How to work in strategy.
- Why she set up another office in Bristol.
- What does the future look like for Elvie?
- What’s her advice for entrepreneurs looking to raise money?
- The key books to read if you’re a founder
- Where to learn about the FemTech sector?
- Pass the mic - Hannah Thompson The Joy Club
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
The economics of football are immense, intricate, and understood by few - with weekly wages in the hundreds of thousands, and player transfers in the hundreds of millions.
One of those few is Simon Kuper, today’s guest and author of Soccernomics - the seminal book on how the money flows in football and one of my favourite books of all time.
He is releasing an updated version of the book prior to the world cup in Qatar later this month - he came on Jimmy's Jobs to discuss why this will be such a tightly contested tournament, the significance of it being held in Qatar and why it actually hasn’t cost $220billion as many outlets have reported…
We also discuss the wider economics of football such as the jobs it has created, whether will we ever see the first billion-pound player and why we should feel sorry for footballers.
Simon is one of the most interesting people I have ever met and I hope you enjoy listening to the most on-brand 'Jimmy McLoughlin' podcasts we've ever made.
You can up to Jimmy's substack here **for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics.
In this episode we discuss:**
- How he describes himself at a party.
- The republishing of Soccernomics- the changes in the economics of football since he wrote the book 10 years ago.
- The economics of the Football World Cup.
- The significance of Qatar hosting the world cup.
- Will we see protests at the world cup?
- How is social media impacting the economics of football?
- Which footballers have had the most interesting post-career jobs?
- The future of non-playing jobs in football.
- The myth of the omnipotent manager and why football was modelled on the army.
- When will we see the first female manager in the Premier League?
- Why capital cities aren’t successful at winning European Cups- and when will PSG win it?
- Will we see the first billion-pound player?
- How does the branding of a player impact the value of them?
- Which clubs have had the best transfer policy?
- The next frontier of football post-data.
- What Messi does off the ball.
- Who is the greatest player of all time?
- The compensation phenomenon and the dilemma of being a footballer.
- The new ownership structure of Chelsea and Todd Boehly.
- Who will win the World Cup?
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a c...
You can up to Jimmy's substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics.
If I were to read today’s guest’s entire CV, I would fill this entire episode description.
Martha Lane Fox is a name that speaks for itself - she is one of the defining figures in 21st century British Entpreneurship, best known for founding lastminute.com.
She has since dedicated her career to a life in the public realm, becoming the youngest female member of the House of Lords and recently becoming the Chancellor of the Open University.
As you can hear Martha had a bit of a sore throat at time of recording but persevered to give us her unique insights on the future of the British Economy, the biggest changes in hiring in the past few decades and why she regrets Desert Island Discs.
In a momentous week for British Politics, Rishi Sunak has become the newest British PM - you may remember we interviewed him back in January when he was Chancellor. It was one of the most revealing interviews he’s ever given.
We covered mental health, the challenge of being a new parent and much much more- you check it out on our website at www.jobsofthefuture.co.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a c...
Our guest today is Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley since 2017. When he first ran, his odds were 200/1 but he has gone on to become the Conservative politician with the largest electoral mandate in the North of England.
Born in Teesside, you can hear Ben’s passion for his area - after growing up there and seeing no real change he is on a mission to bring huge-scale businesses into the region- and he’s succeeding.
We asked him what the job of a mayor entails and his plans for rebuilding the Tees Valley, his thoughts on the Mini budget, and the importance of being true to your word as a politician.
In this episode we discuss:
- How pleased he was to see the 45p tax cut scrapped
- What is the job of the Mayor? Not what you see in Hollywood!
- What has surprised him most about being Mayor?
- What does success look like- what makes a ‘good’ mayor?
- How do you reposition an area for a new type of work?
- What does he want the Tees Valley to be known for?
- The exciting companies in Tees Valley we might not have heard of
- What are ‘investment zones’ and how to create them.
- What does ‘Dreamland’ look like?
- What’s Ben’s ‘secret sauce’?
- What was the moment Ben decided to stand for Mayor?
- And how he accidentally won!
- The use of modern technology in running a political campaign.
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.
Once ...
Our guest today is Tom Rowley, owner of Backstory, London’s newest independent bookstore situated in the heart of Balham.
As a journalist-turned-bookseller, his journey has led to him writing for some of the most recognizable names in the press like The Economist, The Washington Post, and The Daily Telegraph.
He originally started Backstory as a market stall and after the pandemic decided to take the plunge and make it a real shop, his fulltime job and fulfill his lifelong dream: recommending books to people from all walks of life.
We ask him about the future of the high street, why people from Estonia flock to his website to buy books and how he managed to crowdfund over £25k to make his dream come true!
And of course, make sure you listen to the end to hear which book a man with access to over 3500 books recommends!
Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
- Why he quit his dream job at the economist
- Where did the name Backstory come from
- The moment he announced he was creating London’s newest bookshop
- How his newsletter powered his journey
- The business model of the Bookshop- and the dreaded A-word
- Creating a bar and bookshop in one
- Building a community hub with the space
- Tom’s vision about the future of highstreet- and why they’re shipping books even to Estonia
- His plans for the future
- How he crowdfunded £25,000 to set up the shop
- What he looks for in people to work in the bookshop
- His lowest moments in his journey
- What he would differently if he was starting again?
- How he chooses what books makes it in store
- The most interesting person he interviewed at the Economist.
- A very dangerous question… What’s his favourite book?
Our guest today is Dan Bladen, the founder of Kadence, an online software helping manage hybrid workspaces.
When I first met Dan in Number 10, he was running his wireless charging business - Chargify - until the pandemic decimated everything he had built.
In the years since, Dan has become a thought leader in the future of work, with his silicon valley startup, Kadence, backed by Intel and Hewlett Packard to name a few.
In this episode, we talk about how Dan pivoted from a hardware business to software, why the current form of hybrid working is doomed to fail and how his faith makes him comfortable with taking risks.
And of course, make sure you listen to the end to hear which book changed his life.
Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift- you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.
You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
In this episode we talk about:
How the pandemic decimated his first startup- and how he shifted from a Hardware business to Software.
How his background as a musician and love of Peloton resulted in the name Kadence.
The importance of Rhythm in building our working lives.
Why did it take a whole pandemic for us to take the future of work seriously?
Building for the connected age.
What does the future of work look like to Dan- will we ever get an answer or will we always keep changing our desires?
The framework of hybrid working - and why the current form of hybrid working is doomed to fail.
Why do US and UK workers have such different views of the office?
What is Silicon Valley’s attitude to the office in particular?
Kadence’s all-star lineup of investors - and did they follow him through the pivot?
How his faith makes him very comfortable with taking risks.
The attitude to religion in the US vs UK startup cultures.
An inspiring piece of content - Andy Crouch - The Life We're Looking For
Today's episode sees the return of Alex Depledge, CEO and co-founder of RESI.
Not only is she one of the UK's most impressive female entrepreneurs, she previously came on Jimmy's Jobs in our second season.
Our show has grown massively since then and so has RESI- so we thought we'd catch up and do another episode about the founding of RESI and their business journey along the way.
We also cover how people can insulate their homes and renovate them in the most environmentally friendly way possible.
We also delve into why the government must reset its relationship with businesses. Alex is part of Liz Truss's taskforce for Fast Growth Female Enterprises so when she says that relationship is at an all-time low, she isn't kidding.
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, released every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
In this episode with Alex we talk about:
- Where did the name RESI come from?
- Where did the idea for it start?
- What does RESI do?
- How do customers discover RESI?
- How COVID helped RESI be accepted by consumers
- The technology that helps RESI visualise builds
- How many builds has RESI done so far?
- What do RESI consumers most benefit from?
- RESI’s increasing focus on the environment.
- Alex’s advice to entrepreneurs looking to raise money.
- The next stages of where RESI goes.
- The key skills of an entrepreneur and how RESI hires for them.
- What makes a good Business Development hire
- Where does resilience come into being an entrepreneur?
- Have we started to ignore macroeconomic shocks as there have been so many?
- Why the new government needs to reset its relationship with business.
- Pass the mic- the female entrepreneurs that really impress Alex.
- If Alex was 22 in 2022, what sector would she work in?
- A piece of content that Alex finds inspiring.
- A quote she lives by.
Today's guests are Simon Hood and Charlene Mitchell-Hood, the Founders of Sooper Books - an online children's book platform transforming the way parents and kids engage with reading.
It has even been described as the Netflix for children’s books.
They currently have over 1 million monthly users on their website and rank #1 on Google for bedtime stories in over 50 countries, attracting the attention of Penguin, Disney, BBC, Netflix, and Harper Collins.
This episode is their first ever podcast and we talk about how they took the leap from traditional city jobs to launching their own startup, how they grew the business to 1 million monthly users in just 6 weeks and their new campaign to get kids reading for free.
Quitting their full-time jobs to pursue their passion was only the tip of the iceberg.
The market was competitive and dominated by publishing giants unwilling to change- through their disruptive approach using analytics and audience retention, they were able to overcome burnout and build a double Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated team.
This is a fascinating episode - make sure you listen to the end to hear their thoughts on the future of jobs in publishing.
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, released every Wednesday.
You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.
Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.
In this episode we talk to Simon and Charlene about:
- How did they come up with the name Sooper Books?
- Their journey from big city jobs to starting the business.
- Going from zero to 1 million views in just 6 weeks.
- The moment they decided to quit their full-time jobs.
- How bringing data into reading is changing the publishing industry.
- The formula they use to create infinite storylines.
- What it's like to be Husband and Wife co-founders- and why the work-life balance becomes even more crucial.
- Where are the jobs of the future in publishing?
- The first hires of their business.
- Their plans for the future and building the Netflix for Children’s books
- Why did they do a round of Angel investing?
- How you can read for free everyday with Sooper Books.
- Their inspiration from Roald Dahl.
Today's guest is Anna Brailsford, the CEO of Code First Girls, a UK-based coding school giving free coding education to women.
They have just raised £4.5m and are using it to create 1 million learning opportunities for women .
Code First Girls was set up to alleviate the colossal gender gap that exists in coding. It is actually quite frightening: 93% of all professional tech developers identify as men.
The consequences of this are very real too - GCHQ has partnered with Code First Girls to improve their diversity in order to tackle threats ranging from foreign states to child online safety.
With coding guaranteed to be one of THE jobs of the future, this is a fascinating episode with the woman in charge of making sure that everyone can access this vital skill set.
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every wednesday.You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
In this episode with Anna we discuss:
- Code First Girls - Where did the name come from?
- Why the name is beloved by the CFG community
- How big the CFG community has grown to become a global community
- How do they define coding as a skill?
- The challenge of explaining coding to a 10-year-old
- Anna’s career-long passion for ed-tech inspired by her mum’s entrepreneurial lifestyle
- Important skills people need to have for the future
- If Anna was 22 in 2022 what sector would she look to work in
- And why you don’t need a computer science degree
- The difference between being a CEO versus a founder and what makes an entrepreneur
- And why forgiving yourself is so important
- Code First Girl’s huge news announcement… a £4.5m raise and a £1 billion economic opportunity for women.
- What jobs are CFG hiring for?
- Why having more women in our security services makes the UK harder to attack.
- Their collaboration with BAE systems
- Why has coding been dominated by men in the past?
- How did Anna find female mentors?
- Anna’s advice for young people graduating now: Understand your own worth and realise that not everything comes at once.
- What book would she recommend - Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed
- Pass the mic- other female entrepreneurs that deserve more spotlight - Michelle Kennedy
The brand new series of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is here - and you're going to love it.
We're launching with one of the most inspiring UK entrepreneurial stories with Romi Savova from PensionBee.
In series 5 we talked to some of the biggest institutions in the UK, including the Bank of England and the next Prime Minister of the UK, Liz Truss.
In this series we are going back to our roots with a female founder who has taken a business from seed funding right through to IPO, transforming lives and the pension industry with it.
Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, including next week's guest Anna Brailsford, CEO of Code First Girls.You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
In this episode, we talk with Romi about:
- Where did the name PensionBee come from?
- The early stages of PensionBee- how she raised such a large seed round.
- The first hires Romi made and why this was always made with the ecosystem in mind.
- Her lifelong passion for pensions.
- Transforming lives with the biggest financial decisions of their life.
- Where has Romi made hires where she didn’t expect to?
- Transforming pension marketing.
- How Romi brings in the value of love into the workplace.
- The distinctive culture and how that attracts certain types of talent- but also may repel others.
- Taking her children to the listing on the London Stock Exchange.
- How did she deal with the pandemic?
- Adapting her own skillset.
- Changing from a big finance background to a solo entrepreneur- what skills did she learn and what did she leave behind?
- The rise of ESG investing and why it is getting even more necessary.
- How the government can help entrepreneurial journeys- and why that means government stability.
- If she was starting now, what would’ve been the greatest help to the entrepreneurial ecosystem?
- Balancing children and taking a business from seed to IPO.
- What content does she find most inspiring?
- Pass the mic- Seen On Screen founder, Bonnie Lister Parsons.
In August we hosted the first-ever live show of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future at The Selkirk in Tooting.
It was amazing to see so many listeners in real life and the whole evening was an unforgettable experience and milestone in the journey of the show.
We can't do it all again soon.
This episode is the recording of the live show to give you a taste of what you may have missed out on: a brilliant discussion with Patch Founder Freddie Fforde.
Freddie is an inspiring entrepreneur looking to solve the office Vs work-from-home dilemma by offering something of a middle ground- Work Near Home.
It's a great concept and in a world of increasingly polarised extremes it's nice to see sometimes the solution to a complex issue is down the middle of the road.
We're releasing this as an extended teaser for our new season that is launching on Wednesday 7th September - subscribe to make sure you don't miss it!
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
It's the news you've been waiting for...
The new series of Jimmy's Jobs will launch next Wednesday 7th September.
Last season was a recording-breaking season for Jimmy's Jobs, starting with the Governor of the Bank of England and finishing with the candidates to be Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.
This new series I'm kicking off with one of the most incredible female founders in Romi Savova, CEO and co-founder of PensionBee. It's a remarkable journey, going from seed to IPO in less than a decade and it's a fabulous discussion about her compelling story as well as how they innovated in part due to their way of hiring...
Later in the series, we're talking to other amazing guests like Anna Brailsford from Code First Girls, Tania Boler from Elvie and Paul Bate from the UK Space Agency.
And finally, thank you the Listeners for spreading the word about this show and making the Jimmy's Jobs community what it is today.
We'll have a teaser episode of our first ever live show this Saturday before the series starts in earnest on Wednesday.
Welcome to the last two episodes of our 5th season.
On Friday, I hosted the conservative leader hustings in Eastbourne and got to ask the candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, their thoughts on the future of the economy and how the jobs of the future will play into their mandate.
For the first time ever on a podcast, we are democratising these interviews for the wider public to hear, splitting the two candidates across two separate episodes.
This is our second podcast from the event, this time with Rishi Sunak, who has incidentally been on Jimmy’s Jobs before in January.
In this interview, I ask Rishi how he is going to help businesses keep the lights on and what he most admires in his opponent, Liz.
This series has been the biggest yet for Jimmy’s Jobs- launching with the Governor of the Bank of England and ending with the future Prime Minister (whoever that may be). We also hosted our first live event where it was so amazing to see you all in person.
We’ll be returning after a short break with our 6th series, where we’ll be hoping to reach even dizzier heights!
As always, thanks for listening.
Questions we ask Rishi Sunak:
- What is his pitch to the generation of voters that have only ever known crisis?
- How he will protect businesses from rising energy bills and keep the lights on?
- How will Rishi encourage people back into the workforce?
- Of all the decisions he made as a minister, what is the one that he would approach differently now?
- What was the moment Rishi decided to step into the arena and be a parliamentary candidate?
- If he was 22 in 2022, what sectors would she go into?
- His advice on raising daughters- that he covered in our original interview!
- What does Rishi think is his opponent’s greatest strength?
Rishi then answers a series of questions from members of the audience, on topics ranging from cryptocurrency to transparency in government.
Disruption Works Chit Chat - Chatbots, Voicebots & Automation, with the odd lobster!
Lively chats about discussing how to automate your conversation without annoying customers
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Welcome to the last two episodes of our 5th season.
On Friday, I hosted the conservative leader hustings in Eastbourne and got to ask the candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, their thoughts on the future of the economy and how the jobs of the future will play into their mandate.
For the first time ever on a podcast, we are democratising these interviews for the wider public to hear, splitting the two candidates across two separate episodes.
And, just like in the real event, first up is Liz Truss.
We ask Liz a wide range of topics from how she will better help scale-ups to what her favourite podcast is- all the while trying to steer the conversation towards more than just tax…
As you may have seen in the news, Liz's Q&A with the audience was interrupted by protestors, which we have for obvious reasons edited out. Otherwise, the interview is the same as it was live.
This series has been the biggest yet for Jimmy’s Jobs- launching with the Governor of the Bank of England and ending with the future Prime Minister (whoever that may be). We also hosted our first live event where it was so amazing to see you all in person.
We’ll be returning after a short break with our 6th series, where we’ll be hoping to reach even dizzier heights!
As always, thanks for listening.
Questions we ask Liz Truss:
- What is her pitch to the generation of voters that have only ever known crisis?
- How she will protect businesses from rising energy bills?
- What was the moment she decided to step into the arena and be a parliamentary candidate?
- How will she encourage people back into the workforce?
- If she was 22 in 2022, what sectors would she go into?
- Britain is the best place in the world to start a business- but what more will she do to help scale ups?
- How would she improve share ownership in the UK?
- What her favourite podcast is?
- What does she think is her opponent’s greatest strength?
- What is her advice on raising two daughters in the 21st Century?
Liz then answers a series of questions from members of the audience, on topics ranging from how to get disabled people into work to the climate crisis.
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
How do you define an entrepreneur? I think this is one of the most interesting questions and one that has serious effects for public policy.
Are you an entrepreneur when you start hiring people? Is a freelancer an entrepreneur? Or, in fact, is anyone who starts any organisation an entrepreneur?
Brett Wigdortz, today's guest, is a great example of blurring the boundaries of these definitions. He founded Teach First nearly 20 years ago to solve the public policy issue of getting more ambitious graduates to start their careers in teaching.
It has been a tremendous success and is still the largest public sector graduate recruiter in the UK.
We talk to Brett about the journey of founding Teach First and why now he is aiming to solve the childcare sector with his new venture, Tiney.
This is our penultimate episode in our 5th series, with it all culminating next week in our interviews with the candidates to be the next British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.
In this episode with Brett we talk about:
- How being a football referee taught him to ignore others when they’re rude to you.
- Creating the largest graduate recruiter in the UK- and where did the name Teach First come from?
- The cultural change that was achieved by Teach First.
- How he worked with the government to get the project started.
- The challenge of creating Tiney - and stepping back from such a huge project of Teach First.
- The latent sexism in addressing early years care.
- The Airbnb of childcare.
- Choosing to create a venture-backed company, not a charity- why did he do it differently?
- Structuring his year off and how to decide what to do next.
- If Brett was 22 in 2022 where he would choose to work?
- What does he think his kids will do?
- The quote he lives by.
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
To purchase tickets for our live event click this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jimmys-jobs-of-the-future-live-at-the-selkirk-tickets-377198048517
Welcome to the second half of our interview with CBD gin founder Sally Wynter.
In this episode, we talk a bit more about Sally's personal side of things- the things that make her tick, the experiences which have formed her worldview and what she has in store next.
You can catch the first episode on Youtube or on our website at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/episodes
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
You may have noticed there is going to be a new Prime Minister in the coming weeks.
I am delighted to announce that Jimmy's Jobs is hosting the Conservative Leader Hustings in Eastbourne this Friday, where we will interview both candidates about their views on the economy and the jobs of the future.
And we want to hear from YOU!
Send us the questions you want the two candidates to answer by signing up for our notebook and emailing us.
We will select the best ones and ask them directly to the candidates in our interviews.
You can sign up for the notebook here: https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/notebook
We will also be releasing the interviews as special episodes on the podcast as part of our series finale in the next few weeks.
This is the amazing story of how a young female entrepreneur turned an idea on the beach into a ground-breaking reality.
Sally Wynter founded the UK's first CBD-infused Gin company, MUHU Spirits, and bootstrapped her way into one of the most inspiring entrepreneurial stories of the last few years.
This is Sally's first-ever interview about how she did it and it's a really heartfelt discussion about the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur.
This is the first episode of the interview with a second episode due next week where we get to know the more personal side of Sally.
In this episode we discuss:
- How she started where most entrepreneurs hope to end: on the beach.
- How Sally came up with the name.
- What CBD is and why it made for such a great product.
- The lightbulb moment.
- Cobbling together her first £1000.
- Having to google the definition of an entrepreneur!
- How class plays into entrepreneurship.
- How she found mentors through events.
- How winning a competition put her in the path of huge business leaders.
- Why having a media background helped the launch of the product.
- How she leveraged social media starting from scratch.
- Where Sally turned to for advice.
- Why Sally never hired anyone to help her on the business.
- How she went about raising money.
- The challenge of first investor meetings.
- How Sally responded to rejection.
- Learning about sweat equity.
- The exit of the business and signing an acquisition deal.
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
To purchase tickets for our live event click this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jimmys-jobs-of-the-future-live-at-the-selkirk-tickets-377198048517
Rishi Sunak is running for Prime Minister.
If you've been following this podcast since the start of the year, you'll know that we did a landmark interview with Rishi back when he was still Chancellor.
It was a wide-ranging interview covering his job in the treasury but it also had some very personal questions: How does he deal with his mental health? How does he deal with failure? What are his reflections on raising two daughters?
It has been dubbed by the Independent as Rishi's most revealing interview yet...
In the context that he could become our next Prime Minister, I have repurposed the more personal side of the interview so you can get a clear look at the person who might soon run the country.
To purchase tickets for our live event click this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/jimmys-jobs-of-the-future-live-at-the-selkirk-tickets-377198048517
One of my favourite things about doing this podcast is that we get to profile entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey.
From the likes of Sarah Wood who exited Unruly a few years ago to the likes of Herman Narula, who raised a mega-round of £500m for his company Improbable.
Today's guest is right at the start of that journey - so much so that this is their first-ever podcast.
Patrick Pinto is the co-founder of Really Clever, a company that is looking to make sustainable materials out of fungi, and has just raised 750k from angels and VCs including Hoxton ventures.
They are currently taking on the leather industry, an industry the size of Portugal's GDP- but their plans don't stop there...
In this episode we talk about:
- The name of the company- and why they changed it.
- What makes the company Really Clever?
- Why they chose their base in Nottingham.
- Meeting his co-founder aged just 14 and how they split the roles of a co-founder.
- The process of raising £750,000 and their plans for the future.
- The TAM/SAM of the leather industry- and escaping the term ‘vegan’.
- Why it's important to make alternative leather truly accessible- and not just focus on high-fashion items.
- Patrick’s top marketing tips through TikTok.
- The jobs they will be hiring in the next 5 years.
- How Patrick’s background as a bodybuilder led to their first business idea.
- How people can learn more about the fungi powering our world.
- The content that inspires Patrick the most.
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Today’s episode is really special- we were invited to record a live episode of Jimmy’s Jobs at the Conservative Home Future Jobs conference, held at the RSA in Embankment where we interviewed the amazing Justine Greening.
Justine is perhaps best known for being the Secretary of State for Education, Transport and International Development in past governments, as well as being the MP for Putney until 2019.
She is now running the Social Mobility Pledge, campaigning to improve social mobility and equality for opportunity, working with huge businesses from Tesco to PWC to universities across the country.
You could even say she has quit politics to do even more policy.
Thank you to Conservative Home for hosting us and organising such an inspiring event. You can find them at https://conservativehome.com/
In this episode we talk about:
- The Purpose Coalition and driving levelling up.
- The changing interaction between politics, academia and businesses.
- The relationship between net-zero and levelling up.
- What businesses can do to be more socially mobile.
- How the Department of Education can identify the skills young people need.
- Her advice for young people on how to build their resilient skillset.
- How PWC shaped her career and her decision to an executive MBA.
- Justine’s accidental entrance into politics.
- Why she decided to leave the Cabinet.
- Why next elections will be decided by a levelling up agenda.
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Veganism has grown by 40% in the last couple of years. In 2019, even The Economist declared it the year of the vegan.
Veganism is big business.
That's why we sat down with JP from all plants on my podcast to talk through his journey and why the future is vegan.
JP founded allplants alongside his brother to target the flexitarian eater- a market worth £10bn in the UK alone.
As veganism continues to increase, they've raised £40 million from people who've backed the likes of Cazoo, Trustpilot and Revolut.
It's a fascinating conversation, looking at the way that we eat food and the way that that is changing in a convenience-driven economy.
We talk about JP's family history and what led him to become an entrepreneur and he spoke about how he took a year out to find his true calling.
In this episode we talk about:
- Jonathan’s first job at the age of 13.
- The impact of those first jobs on his career.
- Jonathan’s dream jobs when he was a child.
- Why looking for a job can seem like one .
- The family food that inspired the founding of a food company.
- The journey of founding a company with his brother.
- The cultural shift towards veganism.
- Convincing people with delicious food over science- and how that led to their first product.
- The experience of setting up the business with his brother.
- Raising money when family businesses are seen as a risk - and their long-term plans with the capital.
- allplants' best-selling dish.
- The most inspiring piece of content on Jonathan’s journey.
Dev Interrupted
Behind every successful tech company is an engineering org. We tell their story.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
The biggest question facing a lot of businesses right now is- what is the future of my office?
We are asked by lots of people what the future of the office will look like- it’s a problem largely unresolved with businesses of all scales struggling to motivate people to come into the office in the first place or make sure they have a nice time when they do.
Overall, it’s hard to think of a sector more disrupted than office real estate in the past 2 years.
Today’s guest could well be the answer to all that. Lucy Minton is the co-founder of Kitt Offices, a company that designs custom workspaces that match unique business needs.
We talk to Lucy about how businesses are wanting to use the office space, what that looks like in reality and how to design a workspace for this new paradigm of work.
This episode is a subject we have wanted to cover for a long time and we finally found the perfect guest to talk to us about it- after all, who’s better to talk about a disrupted sector than the startup doing the disrupting?
In this episode we discuss:
- Where did the name Kitt come from?
- The founding of the business.
- What it was like building an office business when COVID hit.
- What’s the purpose of the office going to be?
- And what does the future of the office actually look like?
- How often do businesses move offices?
- Why jobs of the future will be focused around the customer- and why real estate is one of the last to do so.
- The long-term goals of Kitt and the tipping point of the industry.
- How Lucy has found raising money as a female founder and during the pandemic.
- The piece of content Lucy has found inspiring on her journey.
- The importance of transparency in motivating a team.
- If Lucy could go back in time and tell herself one thing, what would it be?
- How did a Maths degree help in the business world?
It feels amazing to say we are planning our first ever live show - though like all good live acts we're starting off in small South-West London locations before selling out the O2 or the Nou Camp...
We'll be revealing all the details on our notebook in the coming weeks so make sure you sign up there at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/notebook
We've also been nominated for the British Podcast Awards in the Bullseye category - podcasts serving niche and underrepresented audiences. This feels like an amazing achievement and thank you to all our listeners for getting us there along the way.
These events have really given me pause to think and reflect- recording in my bedroom whilst a newborn sleeps at my feet feels like a very long time ago...
You might think running a startup is tough. But it pales in significance when compared to today’s guest who used to be a war correspondent. But what does it take to turn someone from a job like that into an entrepreneur?
Jeffrey Kofman is an Emmy award-winning journalist and now the CEO and founder of Trint, a speech-to-text platform that aims to solve the colossal problem of transcribing for audio, video and text productions. Believe us when we say it’s a hassle. It's now grown into something much more, as you'll hear about in the episode.
Given what is going on in Ukraine at present, this is a fascinating job to learn about- how do you get into it? What does it take? How has the job of war journalism changed with technology over the years?
Jimmy even learns a thing or two about interview technique!
In this episode we discuss:
- Jumping from being an Emmy award war correspondent to being a startup founder.
- Where did the name Trint come from?
- How to raise capital and being a non-stereotypical founder.
- Why Trint is more than just transcription.
- What does the future of the job of a Journalist look like?
- How can writers get in front of the right people?
- Why podcasts are an antidote to superficial media.
- His thoughts on Ukraine and how technology is transforming journalism.
- Does he miss being a reporter?
- What’s the one thing he wishes he could tell himself when he first founded Trint?
- Jeff’s interview tips for Jimmy.
- The best content Jeffrey has consumed that he found impactful.
You may have a stereotypical image of a tech founder. Chances are it’s someone from East London, with a Hipster beard who lives in something like a houseboat…
But as we’ve seen before, founders come in all shapes and sizes. We’ve previously had Anne Boden on, who founded the billion-dollar company Starling in her 50s.
And that is what today’s guest is all about. Lyndsey Simpson is the founder of 55 Redefined and it’s all about finding purpose later in life.
Lyndsey was suggested to us after we made a call out for more diverse guests after International Women’s Day earlier this year and I couldn’t think of a better guest suggestion to reflect this.
Thank you to our partners The Octopus Group for making this show possible. The Octopus Group is a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
Get in touch with us at hello@jobsofthefuture.co
In this episode we talk about:
- Where did the name come from.
- How her entrepreneurial experience has lead to constant consumer feedback loops .
- The importance of the personal touch.
- Her journey into the world of work- including work in her dad’s butchers and post office.
- Why first hires reflected her weaknesses.
- How to persuade someone to take the jump with you- and why transparency is key.
- What jobs she is hiring for in this round of growth.
- Why Instagram is key to reaching older generations.
- The misconceptions about over 50s .
- ‘Returnships’ from retirement.
- The culture of a company with older demographics in mind.
- Where to find careers at 55 Redefined.
- Why they went completely remote working.
- How to maximise in-person time.
- The sectors Lyndsey is going to disrupt next.
- Lyndsey’s most inspiring content- a TV show, a book and a newsletter.
If you'd like to see more information about the job roles being offered please look at my Twitter @jimmym
Today’s guest has one of the most interesting stories in the UK. And it’s one that I think you might not know about.
It’s the story of an 11-year-old boy who fled Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and arrived in the UK not being able to read a word of English.
He went on to found a Billion dollar company, became an MP, was responsible for the vaccine rollout and has now recently been appointed by Boris Johnson as the Secretary of State for Education.
Today’s guest is none other than Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon and Secretary of State for Education.
You can also watch this episode on Youtube.
Thank you to our partners The Octopus Group for making this show possible. The Octopus Group is a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
Get in touch with us at hello@jobsofthefuture.co
In this episode we talk to Nadhim about:
- What is the job of Education Secretary?
- How to predict what skills will be needed in the future.
- The challenge of communicating Education.
- Are we pushing people into highly specific degrees too early?
- If Nadhim was 22 in 2022 what sectors would he look to work in?
- What exactly is an apprenticeship degree?
- Nadhim's entrepreneurial journey, including founding the billion-dollar company YouGov.
- Nadhim’s non-linear political career and running marathons, not sprints.
- Why his obituary is already written.
- Why running Government departments is like a start-up.
- Growing a business from 5 to 50 people to IPO.
- Does he still want to be Prime Minister?
- What content has inspired Nadhim on his journey?
If you'd like to see more information about the job roles being offered please look at my Twitter @jimmym
For our third series, we launched with Ben Francis of Gymshark. For our 4th series, we launched with Rishi Sunak.
In this special launch episode of our 5th series, we are speaking to none other than Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England.
But what does the Bank actually do? How do the 4,500 people employed there combine to control an entire economy? And how does a 340-year-old institution adapt to new technologies like cryptocurrency?
This is the first episode in our 5th series and we couldn’t be starting it off with a bigger guest. In his first podcast since 2020, this episode touches on everything from Russian sanctions to cryptocurrency and where the economy is growing fastest.
In this episode we discuss:
- What is the Bank of England actually in charge of?
- What roles is the Bank recruiting for and how has that changed over the years?
- How to make the Bank appeal to a new generation.
- The work on diversity and inclusion by the bank- and why they are working to establish a larger presence outside of London to achieve this.
- What does levelling up mean for the Bank of England?
- Has COVID really accelerated the decline in use of cash?
- How to create a culture in an organisation that has existed for 300 years
- Will there be a female governor soon?
- Jobs of the future- which jobs are going to be most in demand?
- The future of work and the 4-day week- how the Bank is moving to flexible working itself.
- The economic impact of flexible working.
- Cryptocurrency and its impact on the UK economy.
- What innovations excite him most?
- Will we ever see a cashless society?
This episode is made possible by the support of our partners, The Octopus Group and FinTech Alliance.
The Octopus Group is a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
FinTech Alliance is the complete FinTech community. Where ambitious people, disruptive start-ups, investors and industry leaders learn, share, and work together to succeed in the world’s fastest emerging global ecosystem.
Get in touch with us at hello@jobsofthefuture.co
If you'd like to see more information about the job roles being offered please look at my Twitter @jimmym
The new series of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future launches this weekend.18 months ago this was recorded in my bedroom during naptimes. So it seems almost unreal to invite Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, onto the podcast to launch our 5th season. Having just spoken in front of MPs to address the cost of living crisis, this long-form interview is a real rarity and the Governor's first podcast since 2020. We get to ask him exactly how the Bank works, what his role actually is and how a 300-year-old institution is adapting to the modern world.
We talk about the unique challenges Andrew faces in taking an economy out of the world system and out of a pandemic, as well as the counter-cultural challenge of trying to instigate economic instability in Russia.
Upcoming this series we have amazing guests like Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, talking about his aims for the department as well as his entrepreneurial journey in setting up the billion dollar company, YouGov.
This show is all made possible by our partners including the Octopus Group and Fintech Alliance.
If you're interested in partnering with us do check out our partnerships page on our website: https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/partnerships.
If you'd like to see more information about the job roles being offered please look at my Twitter @jimmym
When I started this podcast I wrote down a list of dream guests to come on the show. Today's guest is one of them.
When asked about starting careers, another dream guest on this show, Pete Flint, gave the advice to "pick a sector, not a company'.
Herman Narula is at the forefront of the sector of the future- The Metaverse.
This might be a term fairly new to you but Herman has been working on this space for 9 years with his company Improbable, who are building the 'plumbing of the metaverse'. But what is it exactly? How can people interact with it? Will it really be as transformative as people imagine?
Herman is writing a book about the Metaverse called "Virtual Society" which is coming later this year. You can pre-order it here.
This is the last episode in our 4th series - thank you all so much for listening. This has been a transformative series that has seen us reclaim our #1 spot in Apple Careers Podcasts and double our listenership.
A huge thank you to this series' headline sponsors, The Octopus Group. The Octopus Group is a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
We will see you all very soon...
In this episode with Herman we talk about:
- Where did the name improbable come from
- what gave Herman this initial idea over 9 years ago
- What is the definition of the metaverse- and it’s why important we have one that works.
- How the creation of environments is natural human behaviour.
- How the metaverse can be a catalyst to extraordinary experiences.
- The changes seen in the Metaverse since he started- and simply how hard it is to build the metaverse.
- Building the plumbing of the metaverse- the metaverse isn’t just about entertainment.
- Where we can see real-life examples of the metaverse helping everyday people.
- The big opportunities for the UK economy with the metaverse- and how the government can help.
- How the government could get ahead of the metaverse and recommendations for how the UK government can regulate it.
- How can we drive more UK companies into this space
- Herman’s first job
- How does the metaverse benefit older generations
- Augmenting not replacing the real world
- How this world is closer than we think
- How do people engage with the metaverse
- How we learn from the mistakes of web 1 and web 2
- The jobs of the future in the metaverse
- What roles Improbable are hiring for
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today’s guest is Sophie Adelman, who is a member of that exclusive club: a serial entrepreneur.
Her first business, Multiverse, created alternative routes into the world of work via apprenticeships and raised over $130 million, transforming the world of education-technology during the process.
Her new venture, The Garden, brings the experts & academics out of the institutions, enabling you to learn from true experts who have dedicated their lives to studying a subject. Through interactive live talks, their aim is to create a community of inquisitive minds in a world of misinformation and alternative facts.
In this episode we discuss with Sophie:
- Where the name of The Garden comes from and what it does
- How to build a team from scratch and how to hire great people
- Fundraising with the benefit of doing it a second time
- Why she’s doing it all again in creating another startup
- What makes a good co-founder and the crucial aspect of shared values.
- Highlights of The Garden so far
- What are her key takeaways for first-time founders
- Creating peer networks instead of mentors
- Her time at multiverse and what it does
- Her reflections on early hires and learnings for other entrepreneurs
- Taking the MBA route at Stanford and what we can learn from Valley culture
- Taking creative arts more seriously
- The importance of asking ‘Why’
- The talks you can access on The Garden
- If she was 22 in 2022, where Sophie would start her career
- Pass the mic- who would be an entrepreneur Sophie wants to shine a light on?
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This is one in a short series of episodes, taking a look back at some of the amazing female entrepreneurs we’ve had on the podcast in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Izzy Obeng wanted to see the community around her reach its full potential, as the CEO of Foundervine she is able to get more women and young people into enterprise through its educational programs. She hopes for more inclusive innovation with more awareness for marginalised groups being pushed to the forefront of the global consciousness.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This is one in a short series of episodes, taking a look back at some of the amazing female entrepreneurs we’ve had on the podcast in celebration of International Women’s Day.
In this clip, Romanie Thomas, Founder of Juggle talks about her frustration with the lack of women in senior roles, and how that drove her to create a company that focuses on gender diversity and flexible working.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today's interview is with Cassandra Stavrou, co-founder of PROPER Snacks.
One of the top female entrepreneurs in the UK, Cassandra helped to kick-start the revolution in the snacking industry that has gripped the UK for nearly a decade.
I've been incredibly excited for this episode and Cassandra shares candidly her experience on everything from founding an iconic British Brand to being a female founder in a male-dominated world.
This episode is part of our campaign for International Women's Day. You can see our other bonus episodes on our podcast page, each one shining a light on the amazing female entrepreneurs we've had on the show.
In this episode we discuss:
- What is behind the name proper- and how it formed the company's ethos
- Why Cassandra is obsessed with an emphasis on product and following the advice of ‘keeping the main thing, the main thing’.
- The moment She thought ‘I have something here’ and how people can scale their lockdown hobbies
- How Top Gear gave her the inspiration for her first product
- What Cassandra had to go through to get that initial £10,000 to start the business- and her low moments in this journey
- The things that drive Cassandra toward success
- Her first hire at Proper and the importance of prioritizing sales
- What the next ten years of food innovation will look like
- Jobs of the future in food
- How to maintain culture when growing so fast and the problems of over-complicating culture
- Becoming a B-Corp so early on
- Mentors on her journey
- The importance of international women’s day
- Hiding her pregnancy during negotiations to sell her business
- Pass the mic- the entrepreneur Cassandra wants to shine more light on
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This is one in a short series of episodes, taking a look back at some of the amazing female entrepreneurs we’ve had on the podcast in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Pip Jamieson, sole-female founder of The Dots, shares how she got over the fear of entrepreneurship, the lack of female mentors in the tech industry, and the importance of coaching and mentorship in business.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This is one in a short series of episodes, taking a look back at some of the amazing female entrepreneurs we’ve had on the podcast in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Things haven’t gotten easier for women in the last 30 years. Anne Boden CEO and Founder of Starling Bank exemplifies what female entrepreneurs can achieve in the tech and finance spheres. She talks about the higher standards diverse groups are held to and how building her bank was fuelled by proving these people wrong.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This episode is unlike anything we've tried before.
Last week we were invited to the National Farmers Union Conference to find out what the future of farming looks like.
Farming has been hit by three massive shocks in the past few years: Brexit, the pandemic and the energy crisis. We've all felt the effects of these events but farmers are so totally reliant on external factors, they have felt it more than most.
Now facing unprecedented inflation and a worrying situation in Ukraine, farmers are nervous about the future. But farmers are at heart entrepreneurs and uncertainty breeds innovation.
So we went into the field (pardon the pun) and interviewed a range of exciting young farmers to ask them all the same question: how are you innovating for the future?
This episode is an audio essay about what we found out: a drive and desire towards sustainability.
But you'll see it's far more than that.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the National Farmers Union, which represents over 50,000 farmers across the UK.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today's guest is Ruth Handcock, CEO of Octopus Investments.
Ruth has had a really interesting career. She's gone from working on checkouts and factories during the nightshift to being the CEO of one of the UK's biggest financial service firms. It's an incredible journey and one we're excited to share with you.
Investing can often seem an opaque world but Ruth talks us through what Octopus Investments does and dismantles the long-held beliefs about what you need to start investing.
Ruth is also the Chair of Octopus MoneyCoach. The British tendency not to talk about money means we are often shy when it's going well but are especially tight-lipped when things go wrong. In this episode, we delve more into the role MoneyCoach plays in reducing people's money worries and why it's so crucial for employers to offer this type of service.
In this episode with Ruth we discuss:
- Her experience as Global finance director of Bacardi , specifically martini whiskey and cognac.
- Ruth's wide variety of jobs including checkout operative, salad chopper on a nightshift and car washer- what did those jobs teach her about being CEO of an investment firm?
- What do CEOs look for when hiring?
- Learnings from her own entrepreneurial failure
- What attracted her to join Octopus?
- What does Octopus Investments do?
- How much money do you need to invest?
- The difference between Octopus Ventures and Investments.
- What is the role of a Chief Executive?
- How the pandemic was an opportunity to do that better.
- Setting boundaries in the world of work.
- What more can we do to inspire women at the top of financial services?
- What the government can do to help this?
- How easy has she found it to achieve work-life balance?
- How did she find what she was passionate about?
- What is Octopus Moneycoach and what does it do?
- Where are there opportunities to improve education post-pandemic?
- If Ruth was 22 in 2022, what sectors would she like to work in?
- What sources of information does she consume?
- What her cocktail of choice is?
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today we're looking at one of the world's oldest sectors: Farming. Specifically how it's updating itself for the 21st Century.
We spoke to Jo and Charles Mear, egg farmers from Full Circle Growing, who have been farming for over 2 decades and recently launched the UK's first AI-powered Insect mini-farm.
Farming is inherently entrepreneurial and in this episode you'll hear terms that wouldn't be out of place at any UK startup: product-market fit, concerns on marketing, adapting to shifting consumer trends, thinking how to retain shelf space in supermarkets and more.
The future of agriculture is tech - and there are so many examples of British entrepreneurship and innovation happening right across this sector.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with the National Farmers Union, which represents over 50,000 farmers across the UK. I'm speaking at their annual conference and will have another episode from there in a few weeks about how British farmers are continuing to innovate.
In this episode we discuss:
- Their routes into the world of work.
- What running the UK’s first AI-powered insect mini-farm actually looks like.
- What they thought when the opportunity for an AI-powered farm presented itself.
- What sort of sounds a chicken can make (really!).
- The challenges of running an AI farm.
- Impact on the quality of the livestock as a result.
- Why aren’t more farmers using it yet?
- How can listeners support British farmers?
- Farms becoming more self-reliant.
- Farming during the pandemic.
- Impact of Clarkson's farm in terms of people appreciating farming more.
- Working as a husband and wife team.
- The future of British farming.
- The role of the NFU.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Every professional or personal conversation that I've had over the last month has started with the other person asking: "Can you PLEASE explain what is going on at Derby County?".
I've previously given small updates about the campaign to save Derby County Football Club but this bonus episode explains what exactly is going on in the effort to #SaveDerbyCounty.
Football clubs unite communities across the UK. This campaign shows the power local teams can have and the loss they instil if they were to disappear.
But we won't let that happen. We are Derby County. And we'll fight to the end.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
"A bizarre mix of accelerator lead, angel investor and agony aunt."
so today's guest, Marta Krupinska, describes herself.
Marta has done 'the big three' of entrepreneurship: failed, scaled and sold. That's why she's perfectly placed as the head of Google's new(ish) institution in London- rising from the ashes of the infamous Google Campus, Google for Startups is designed to support thriving, diverse, and inclusive startup communities.
Today's discussion is a must-listen for anyone seeking advice in developing and scaling their business.
Marta is also the host of 'Scale-Ups and Downs", an upcoming panel podcast powered by Google for Startups, which invites founders at all stages of their journey to pick the brains of some of the most successful business leaders and experts in the UK.
In today's show we discuss with Marta:
- What is the role of Head of Google for Startups?
- The closing of Google Campus and creating a new institution for startups in London
- How Google for Startups is focused on opening up opportunities beyond just central London and increasing access to finance, talent and jobs.
- The different roles in the Google for Startups team and how they have changed.
- The Black Founders Fund Europe- Google using their brand to shine the light on important founder-lead issues. They have invested £2million into 30 black-lead startups from the EU, including 20 from the UK. Since then, those founders have raised $63m in follow on funding.
- The coolest thing Marta has seen at Google that we might not know about.
- If Marta was 22 in 2022, where she would start her career.
- Advice to those applying for jobs at Google-and how it's far more than just your academics that matter.
- Scale-ups and Downs, the Google for Startups podcast helping entrepreneurs solve problems of scale.
- What resources inspire Marta on a weekly basis.
- If Marta could go back in time at any point in history for 24 hours when would she go?
- Entrepreneurs and companies Marta believes deserve more recognition.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Our guest today is Sarah Ellis, co-founder of career- development company Amazing If.
Founded with her long-time friend Helen Tupper, what began as a side project to help people with their careers has now grown to a full-on career-boosting powerhouse.
They created the concept of 'squiggly careers'- the notion that in the modern world, people's careers are no longer linear with no defined and rigid growth ladders. Sarah and Helen are the hosts of The Squiggly Careers podcast and the authors of two books, their first being a Sunday Times Bestseller. Their TED talk has also been viewed over 1.5 million times.
Their most recent book is called "You Coach You" and it forms the basis of today's discussion: that coaching works but it’s often only available to the fortunate few. Packed with practical exercises, tools and advice from inspiring people this book will help you to find answers, take action and achieve more in your career.
I also wanted to quickly shout out to an amazing British entrepreneurial story in John Wardle. John is the creator of viral game Wordle and recently sold the game to the New York Times for a 7 figure sum. Just a few months ago it was played by only a handful of people- it's now played by millions. It shows how something created for friends and family can blow up into something enormous.
In today's episode with Sarah we talk about:
- What Amazing If does
- What did Sarah did before Squiggly careers and Amazing If
- What is the process of “co-blending” and did it work for Sarah?
- Successful career change always happens incrementally
- The upcoming book You Coach You its the key themes on coaching
- Explaining the difference between a coach and a mentor
- Which chapters of her book are the most pwoerful.
- The importance of 'experimenting' rather than failing in your career.
- Any advice that would tell her former self
- What’s it like founding a business with a close friend
- Her podcast Squiggly Careers and the best episodes to listen to: #243 How to be a Learn it All and from the Ask the Expert series- Empathy with Roman Krznaric
- Her Favourite book: The Start-up of You by Reid Hoffman
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
If you're a tech founder in the last 10 years, you'll know who Steve O'Hear is. Chances are, you've even pitched him your business.
Steve is best known for his 15 years as a technology and business journalist, including reporting for TechCrunch, covering European startups and venture capital. He was the first to write about the now household names of Deliveroo, Monzo and Transferwise.
Steve is now the VP of Strategy at home-delivery brand Zapp. Steve was born with muscular dystrophy and you'll hear in this episode how in the midst of the pandemic, this has shaped his mid-career switch from journalism to building the future of convenience retail.
Someone at the top of their game and changing their career is a unique situation on the show. Whether you're looking to get into journalism or looking for strategy roles at upcoming startups, I'm incredibly excited to share this episode with you.
If you're interested to try Zapp, Jimmy's Jobs listeners can get £10 off when they spend £20 by using the code ZAPPJIMMY at checkout.
We're not taking any commission from this link, we're just using it to test how many of you amazing listeners click through.
In this episode with Steve we discuss:
- How he defines the job of a journalist and what the best route is to become one
- And how has the job of a journalist changed?
- When did people start coming to him with stories rather than the other way around? And how did he cultivate online relationships?
- When pitched dozens of businesses a day, what he looked for in the stories to cover.
- Famous stories that stuck with him and companies that weren’t successful that he thought might be
- Why he made the decision to leave journalism
- What is strategy and what is a Vice-President?
- The growth of Zapp and how to maintain a culture
- Where does the name come from?
- Why did he join Zapp specifically?
- Tips for working from home?
- Different roles Zapp are hiring for and expansion plans for Zapp
- The future of Zapp and the scale of the problem it's tackling
- Why do we need this instant delivery?
- If Steve was 22 in 2022, where would he look to work?
- What more can we do to get disabled people into work?
- If you could go back in time to any point in history, when and where would it be?
- A tech-themed quickfire round
Join the #SaveDerby campaign by using this template to email your MP and raise the issue with them- we've generated amazing support and have even had a question asked in parliament. Even if you're a casual football fan, local teams are the lifeblood of UK towns and it would be a travesty to let one of the oldest clubs in the UK fall into the history books.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
I wanted to interview today's guest for quite some time.
Nigel Phan is the founder of Whirli - a toy subscription service.
My family is expecting our second daughter and all the clichés about parenthood are true: it changes your perspective on everything.
One thing that changes most dramatically is the number of toys around the house- I am terrified that child number 2 could lead to a doubling of the toy rate.
That's where Whirli comes in. When a child loses interest in a toy (which believe me can happen with surprising regularity) you can return it and swap it for a new one.
Whirli have raised a round of £5 million from this series' headline sponsors, The Octopus Group. The Octopus Group is a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.
If you want to check out Whirli you can get a 30% discount by visiting https://whirli.com/offers/jimmysjobs or using referral code JIMMYSJOBS at the checkout.
We're not taking any commission from this link, we're just using it to test how many of you amazing listeners click through.
In this episode with Nigel we discuss:
- Where he came up with the idea for Whirli despite not being a parent
- Where the name Whirli came from
- His career, including time as a partner at McKinsey
- What did he hire his first employee to do?
- How he chooses what toys go on the platform
- How Whirli focuses on at-home education
- How parents can use the Whirli subscription
- What jobs he is hiring for (didn't we all want to work in a toy shop when we were younger?)
- The most popular toys on the platform (not what you might expect)
- How he approaches marketing to parents and building trust digitally
- Why he is hiring for a Head of People and what that means
- What the toys of the future are going to be
- What adults can learn from playing with children's toys
- Letting toys be toys- removing the gender bias that is prevalent in the industry
- His favourite toy of all time
- Future plans for Whirli including the plans for experiential events
Join the #SaveDerby campaign by using this template to email your MP and raise the issue with them- we've generated amazing support and have even had a question asked in parliament. Even if you're a casual football fan, local teams are the lifeblood of UK towns and it would be a travesty to let one of the oldest clubs in the UK fall into the history books.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Welcome back to Jimmy's Jobs of the Future.
It's great to say we are now starting our fourth series. The aim of this podcast is to ask people who are at the forefront of our economy about their jobs and what the future of their industry will look like.
Some of the topics and sectors we explore can be complex, but we try to ask the obvious questions of the brightest minds as that can lead to the most revealing answers.
And in this series, we are kicking off with one of the biggest jobs of them all, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
We've all seen Rishi Sunak on the TV, holding up the red box on budget day. But what actually does it involve? What do the civil servants in the treasury do? And what is the aim behind the government's new economic compass in Darlington? And in a world of so much information, what sources does the Chancellor use to keep on top of developments in the modern economy?
We recorded this episode in the Locomotion train museum in the Northeast of England. A dramatic backdrop near the government's new economic campus in Darlington. We filmed the episode and you can watch it and get the transcript on our website at www.jobsofthefuture.co and you can subscribe to our new YouTube channel @jimmy'sjobs. And you can follow me on Twitter @jimmym.
We recorded this episode in the Locomotion train museum in Darlington, before the severity of Omnicrom became real, a dramatic backdrop near the new treasury campus in the North West.
We discuss with Rishi:
- How Stanford formed his worldview
- What is the job of the Chancellor of the Exchequer? And how does the treasury work?
- Why have they set up their new campus in Darlington?
- How he encourages a culture of failure
- How we can get more capital into people's hands
- Which policies are working best and how he's introducing business practices like A/B testing into government
- How he's using data in government
- Where the opportunities are for the UK economy and where the jobs of the future are coming from?
- How the UK can take advantage of the creator economy
- Where are there regulatory opportunities from Brexit?
- How we can encourage healthy business culture and how the government can help with that
- How businesses can put themselves out there
- If Rishi was 22 in 2022, where. would he start his career?
- What sources of information does he read? (amazing answer)
- What are his New Year's resolutions and how does he look after his mental health?
- How has this job changed him in two years? (more grey hairs!)
- What's his top parenting advice? (be nice to your parents and read your daughter's this book)
- Some amusing quick-fire questions e.g. Bored Apes or CryptoPunks? Red or Brown sauce? His first-ever job? Favourite biscuit?
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Welcome to the final episode in the third series of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future.
Throughout this series, we've heard from amazing guests on topics ranging from the future of care to uncovering the hidden world of NFTs to discussing how entire technology fields are dedicated to improving women’s health.
Another emerging trend of this series has been the rise of social enterprises - whilst potentially at risk of being a buzzword, it has struck me just how many modern startups come with a mission to improve our lives and the planet.
And someone who speaks about this with more passion than anyone else is today's guest- Tessa Clarke, CEO & co-founder of sharing-app, OLIO.
Initially created to reduce food waste by allowing unwanted food to be shared with neighbours near you, the app has grown into something far greater. To date they have over 5 million users worldwide, sharing over 34 million portions of food and saving over 9 billion litres of water.
And that’s just their consumer side- businesses can work with OLIO to distribute leftover goods throughout communities and partnerships with Pret-a-Manger and even Tesco have allowed big business to reach net-zero faster.
In September of this year, OLIO announced a $43m series B round making the founders Tessa and Sacha the most heavily backed female founding team in the whole of the United Kingdom.
This series' partners, Octopus, have a mission to invest in the ideas, industries, and people that will change the world- so it comes as no surprise that OLIO is an Octopus portfolio company, having attracted their attention back in 2018 where they lead OLIO's series A round.
With a focus on true sustainability, education and action, I couldn’t think of a better company to sign off our third series before we return in 2022.
We discuss with Tessa:
- Where the name OLIO came from.
- Why they decided quickly to expand into services beyond food waste.
- How OLIO grew from 1 million to 5 million users during the pandemic.
- The difference between mission-driven founders and ‘mercenary’ founders.
- Why the model of consumption is broken- and what ‘virgin retail” means.
- The race to net-zero.
- How making OLIO globally accessible so early allowed them to expand into unlikely markets by following the data.
- How they will use their recent $43m Series B to propel OLIO forward.
- Why they are hiring for a Head of Customer Insights and Head of Product Design- and what those roles actually do!
- What harnessing gamification can do to spark sustainable action.
- Their amazing partnership with Tesco- and how it took 3 and half years to achieve.
- How they were remote working before it was cool- and why no one believed it could work.
- Recruiting not just for mission fit but for mission obsession.
- Books that inspired Tessa’s journey: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries & Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein.
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
All startups share the same fear - what if Google, Amazon or Apple decide to invest in this space?
Well, today's guest faces a slightly different problem- what if they already have?
The world of audiobooks is dominated by Audible/Amazon - but it has not really updated from cassette tapes of 40 years ago.
Enter xigxag which you can check out at www.xigxag.co.uk/jimmy
Kelli Fairbrother - co-founder and CEO of xigxag, a company that has created a new type of audiobook which allows you to read, listen, quote, search and see illustrations all in one.
It's a fitting finale to our third season - the earliest stage company ever to be on the show taking on the 4th largest in the world.
With such a unique guest, we spend a bit more time discussing the ins and outs of creating a startup than usual to create a fuller picture of what it takes just to get something to market.
We chat to Kelli about:
- Why audiobooks are primed for disruption
- How xigxag customers actually read more
- Why crowdfunding is such a powerful tool
- Why starting a career in the Army lead Kelli into a world of books
- Job creation in the Audiobook space
- Why she's growing a company in Cornwall
If you'd like to check out xigxag for yourself head to xigxag.co.uk/jimmy
xigxag have just launched their crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs which you can find here.
Legal disclaimer: This show does not provide investment advice and your capital is at risk.
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
One of the reasons we started this podcast was because I was worried about how the pandemic would affect employment.
A lot of people are thinking about what the future of jobs and the future of work look like but few are doing more about it than our guest today, Dr Mona Mourshed.
Mona is the founding CEO of Generation- an international non-profit organization that makes careers accessible to all by transforming education and employment systems across the world.
Learning from the story of her father, Mona saw at a young age the transformative power education could have on one's situation and has dedicated her career to serving people facing systemic barriers to employment - from degree attainment to underrepresented communities and people who have dependents.
Generation has recently conducted research into the hidden employment crisis: 40-70% of the long term unemployed are aged 45+ and face steep challenges for re-employment.
Today's episode focuses on the ramifications of this research, how the pandemic has affected employment and why solving for access is so important.
As we get prepared for our 4th and 5th series, we are running some customer feedback of our own - so if you would be prepared to answer some questions then please get in touch via our website or via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
When I left Downing Street, I took a small stake in a company called Cryptograph - a leader in the Non Fungible Tokens (NFT) space and more broadly digital art as a whole.
It was founded by today’s guest, Hugo, who is one of the UK's pioneers of NFTs, having got interested in it in 2017.
NFTs are a brand new technology and the industry is fast-moving and complicated - it's widely discussed in tech circles but is yet to really enter the mainstream. In fact, it's never yet been mentioned in the House of Commons.
I find them beautiful and compelling- if you haven’t seen an NFT before, have a google of Cryptopunks and Lava Labs and look at those pieces of art - some of these are trading for millions of pounds and, though they look like simple JPEGs at first glance, they have grown on me over time.
The purpose of today’s episode is to explore exactly what NFTs are with one of the UK’s experts - with me asking the stupid questions, so you don’t have to!
And as you’ll learn in this episode, NFTs are a whole lot more than meets the eye- so to use Hugo’s words, let’s go down the rabbit hole...As we get prepared for our 4th and 5th series, we are running some customer feedback of our own - so if you would be prepared to answer some questions then please get in touch via our website or via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today's guest has one of the most interesting jobs I've ever come across.
Dr Eliza Filby is a Generations Expert - a writer, speaker and historian who specialises in ‘Generational Intelligence’.
With her research incorporating everything from Boomers to Gen Z, she helps companies to understand generational shifts in everything from politics to society and, most importantly for this episode, the workplace.
How work will change after COVID is a conversation on everyone's lips - but ask 5 people and you'll get 5 different answers.
Dr Eliza Filby offers a fascinating perspective on this topic by looking at the future through the lens of the past.
And just what exactly is a millennial anyway?
Eliza is also the host of the new podcast “It’s All Relative” where she speaks to members of two generations from the same family for a light-hearted look into the differences that define us and the similarities that unite us. The second episode with Bake Off Judge Dame Prue Leith is out now.
As we get prepared for our 4th and 5th series, we are running some customer feedback of our own - so if you would be prepared to answer some questions then please get in touch via our website or via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
How do you ever adequately mark the passing of someone, how can you even vaguely come close when someone has been murdered.
How do you leave a mark that lasts longer than just flowers?
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This episode is one of two worlds colliding.
Today's guest, Henry de Zoete, similarly began his career as a special advisor in government- in the service of Michael Gove in the Education Department.
Since leaving government, Henry went on to land the best money-to-equity deal ever seen on Dragons Den - a record which still stands to this day.
Henry was the co-founder of Look After My Bills (LAMB)- a revolutionary startup that tackled the energy industry overcharging loyal customers by automatically switching them onto better deals.
LAMB was then bought by the Go Compare Group earlier this year and so we hear Henry's perspective on life as an angel investor, advice for how to properly exit your startup and what lessons from politics he brought with him to the private sector.
As we get prepared for our 4th and 5th series, we are running some customer feedback of our own - so if you would be prepared to answer some questions then please get in touch via our website or via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Amazingly it's been a year since I first published Jimmy's Jobs of the Future - when my daughter hadn't yet learnt to walk and we were only allowed outside 1 hour a day.
Since then we've reached the top 10 of Apple's Business Podcasts, charted #1 in careers, grown to a team of 4 and are allowed to go to concerts once again.
But why did I start a podcast? How did we get to this stage? Where's it going?
This episode is a deep dive into how I ended up starting this show, how I grew it to where it is now (by no means on my own!) as well as my thoughts on the future of the podcasting industry.
This is a deeply personal episode and a fitting reflection on a whirlwind year that stretches from sleeping under the stars in an RV in Yosemite to bottle-feeding during interviews.
As always you can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Earlier in this series, we looked at Bubble, a marketplace digitising trust to help fix a sector in dire need of innovation: childcare.
This episode is looking at another marketplace but this time at the other end of the care spectrum, Elderly care, which is in equal need of a shakeup.
With care homes dominating headlines over the past few weeks, this episode explores just exactly how Peter thinks the industry will change over the next ten years and what the government can do to build this particular sector back better.
We also explore how businesses can help remove societal stigmas (in this case the stigmas around the role of carers) and the importance of framing old age in a positive way.
As we mention in the introduction, our partners Octopus Ventures have created a report on the Future of Fertility tech, exploring the issues and emerging trends in this relatively new sector. You can find the full report on Octopus' website here: https://octopusventures.com/future-of-fertility/
As always you can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This is the first in a new type of episode for Jimmy's Jobs of the Future - instead of exploring an entrepreneur or a business, we're looking at specific jobs and asking leading people in that field just exactly what it entails.
There is an increasing trend in entrepreneurship and business of the title "Chief of Staff".
It's even been mentioned a few times on this show, with Salima Vellani from KBox Global starting off her career as one and Alex Stephany from Beam currently hiring for one.
Today's guest is Gavin Barwell who has been the highest-profile chief of staff in the country - first introduced by Tony Blair in 1996, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff has become a big feature of British politics and Gavin was one of the longest-serving in recent memory under the premiership of Theresa May.
We hear about just how he landed that job, why you need a swiss army knife skillset and what business could learn from the role.
Since leaving Number 10, Gavin has written a book called Chief of Staff, which we discuss in the episode. It's available in many places but we'd like to point you towards bookshop.org to support local bookshops near you.
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today's episode is special for two reasons- firstly it's one of the first we've recorded in person a long time.
But this is also our second in the series organised with our partners: Octopus- who back the entrepreneurs of the future.
And there are one better who exemplify that than today's guest Pooja Sikka.
Pooja is a still practising GP, founder in her own right and formerly a partner at Octopus Ventures heading up their health tech investment wing- and it's this latter hat she’ll mostly be wearing as she speaks to us today.
Octopus are producing a report in the emerging market of FemTech- technology designed around the improvement of women's health.
And that forms a large part of today’s discussion- female founders attracting VC investment is a recognised problem, but FemTech is an area that's traditionally been overlooked and undervalued despite the size of markets.
We talk about Pooja’s fascinating career and how she brings together knowledge of health, entrepreneurship and finance.
But first, we start in a topsy turvy way- bringing a question we usually save to the end right to the start.....
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This week's guest is Ari Last, founder of the on-demand childcare app Bubble.
Bubble was actually integral to the early days of this show- being able to book a carer quickly allowed me to record this show during my daughter's nap times and get it off the ground.
Childcare is in what Ari terms 'systemic failure' and in this episode, we discuss how it can be solved: from how the pandemic has changed attitudes in parenting to employers understanding childcare as a serious issue for their employees.
We also talk about trust- crucial for any form of childcare- and you'll hear exactly how Bubble is addressing this problem through a digital-first experience.
With jobs of the future, and arguably an industry of the future, this is a cracking episode on a complex and interesting topic.
Ari, incidentally, also has a degree in broadcast journalism- in other words, far more qualified than me to host a podcast.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This is the second part of our interview with Octopus co-founder Simon Rogerson.
If you haven't listened to it already, do check out the first half which is quickly becoming one of our most downloaded episodes yet.
In this episode, we talk about how Octopus grew and how you maintain an entrepreneurial culture as a business grows from 0 employees to over 750.
Keeping that special disruption and entrepreneurial nature that Octopus is so well known for has been no mean feat over 20 years but especially during the pandemic.
Listen on to find out what exactly Simon means by 'the Amazon of Energy" as well as a new feature at the end of the episode.
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Our guest today is Simon Rogerson, co-founder of the Octopus Group.
He says that you can broadly split people into two categories in life: those that are a drain and those that radiate energy. It is something that I wholeheartedly agree with.
And Simon is one of life’s biggest radiators, giving off energy wherever he goes.
Octopus are a partner on this podcast and one of the joys of that partnership is being able to spend more time with the company and get a further understanding of what the founders Chris and Simon have built over the last 20 years.
They started a fund management company 20 years in their bedroom with one phone line and one copy of the yellow pages. Now the Octopus Group is one of the most powerful engine rooms of the UK entrepreneurial ecosystem and has been responsible for spinning out unicorns such as Octopus Energy.
The interview is split into two, with this episode focusing on the story of how Octopus was founded, how it became a B-corp, its social responsibilities and how it's disrupting untrusted industries.
Join us next week for more of an exploration of Simon as a character- and how that bleeds into the culture of Octopus as an entity.
If you feel you’ve been affected by the issues Simon has brought up around financial literacy, and want to do something about it, do look up Octopus’ money coach at www.octopusmoneycoach.com
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Our guest today is Alice Bentinck, co-founder of Entrepreneur First.
EF (as it's more commonly known) celebrate their tenth year this week and co-founders Alice & Matt have gone from strength to strength - even fostering their first billion-dollar company in Tractable … which also happens to be the UK's 100th unicorn.
But it has not been plain sailing - as you’ll hear today.
There are many myths around entrepreneurship that I try to challenge on this podcast, one of which is that entrepreneurs are born not created.
I believe it has never been easier to be an entrepreneur and is now a much more credible career choice than even 10 years ago … However, the number of tools and options available can also make it more difficult to know where to turn.
EF looks to solve this by matching you up with a co-founder and learning the basics of entrepreneurship from some of the very best …and we are probably just at the beginning of their journey.
A big thank you to all you listeners for powering us into the top 15 of Apple business podcasts ….If you are enjoying the series, it makes a massive difference if you could rate us on iTunes.
It is wonderful to read reviews such as the one by Charles Fletcher of Navigate Politics or hearing from people like Eben Owen who has recently got a job having been inspired by the guests on the podcast.
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Our fantastic guest today is Alex Stephany, the founder of Beam, which is helping homeless people find careers through crowdfunding.
One of the most powerful things you can do for someone is to give them a job and a sense of purpose. All the entrepreneurs on this show are job creators, but Alex is creating opportunities for some of the hardest people to find jobs for.
Beam terms itself as a social impact business - an emergent phrase that has come from an exciting realisation: that the roles of being a business or a charity are no longer mutually exclusive.
This is something the UK really leads the world in and Beam is a great example of the power of this combination.
We’ll be hearing from Alex exactly how Beam works, how he thinks the UK job market has shifted as a result of the pandemic and how sometimes the answer is literally hitting you in the head.
Do check out Beam's work and inspiring stories at https://beam.org/
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
And we’re live!
A brand new series of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future launches today.
And what better time to launch than when careers and the future have never been more on the minds of young people and parents alike- A-level and GCSE result days.
Our first guests need no introduction- Ben Francis & Noel Mack are the founder and Chief Brand Officer of Gymshark.
Setting up their HQ in the Midlands, Gymshark is one of the most exciting brands in the UK and is now valued at over £1 billion.
Ben and Noel would be the first to admit that traditional schooling and academia did not suit their strengths and neither left school with great results- but it didn’t stop them from becoming a success.
This episode will delve into Ben’s first time meeting the Prime Minister, where he thinks the jobs of the future are coming from and the biggest disasters they’ve had at Gymshark.
We hope this leaves you with inspiration and advice on how to start your career- or simply piques your interest in the future of the UK economy.
You can find out more on our website or get in touch via hello@jobsofthefuture.co
You can follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs
Twitter: @Jimmysjobs
And most importantly on LinkedIn
If your brain cells require even more tickling, do check out We Didn’t Start The Fire with Tom Fordyce (A Peter Crouch Podcast) and Katie Puckrik. Episodes explore the history behind the lyrics from the hit Billy Joel song...
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Season 2 saw us interview 15 entrepreneurs from many sectors including childcare, hospitality, retail, construction, financial services, AI, education technology and even podcast production.
But what are the overarching points I would pass onto the Prime Minister?
The two themes that came up time and again were 1) levelling up/building back better and 2) the emerging importance of upskilling and life-long learning post-pandemic.
I also want to share the very exciting news of a producer coming on board and that we have our very own website at jobsofthefuture.co (because we couldn't afford the M...)
Thanks once again to Octopus for making this series possible.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
We are back for the third season of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future.
15 months into the pandemic, the UK's jobs market is holding up strongly once again, with lower levels of unemployment than the US, Canada, France, Italy, and Australia.
Part of this is the furlough scheme but a longer-term trend is the fact that UK entrepreneurs are creating jobs each day that don’t get the same media headlines.
And that is what this show aims to explore by speaking to those wealth and job-creating entrepreneurs about the skills they need in their fast-growing businesses.
The season kicks off on Wednesday 11th August with Ben Francis who is building Gymshark in the West Midlands which now employs 800 people and is valued at over a billion pounds.
You can check out more of our background and previous guests at www.jobsofthefuture.co
We love hearing from listeners so do drop us a line at hello@jobsofthefuture.co with guests you’d like to hear from and how we can improve the show.
We're also delighted to announce that we're once again partnering with Octopus to bring amazing entrepreneurial stories to the fore.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today’s guest is Salima Vellani, the founder and CEO of KBox Global- a company pioneering something called host kitchens, the next wave of innovation in the food delivery space.
They have raised around £17 million from investors, making Salima one of the most heavily backed female founders in the UK.
My very first meeting in Number 10 was with Will Shu, the founder of a then up and coming food and beverage company called Deliveroo. Even then Will mentioned the concept of Dark Kitchens and it’s fascinating to hear how even that concept is now being innovated.
Salima talks us through exactly how host kitchens work, what it takes to set up a career in the Food and Beverage industry and how tech is allowing a rapid upskilling right across the hospitality industry.
We’ve also launched a new website- find us at jobsofthefuture.co
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here.
A reminder you can follow us on
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs Twitter: @Jimmysjobs And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
**This week’s guest is Giles English, who co-founded Bremont Watches with his brother in 2002 with the aim of bringing watchmaking back to British shores.
Bremont have recently opened a state of the art technology centre called ‘The Wing’- a 35,000 sq ft manufacturing centre enabling the full machining and fabrication of Bremont’s watches, right here in the United Kingdom.
Time was a precious resource in No.10 and one that dictated your life- the Prime Minister’s time being the most precious of all.
Now my main engagement with time is my 20-month-old daughter pointing at my watch shouting TikTok! Either that or she wants to get on social media already …
It’s a fascinating discussion about the revival of an ancient profession, the importance of regional investments for creating skilled jobs and one of the most charming stories of how a company was founded I’ve ever come across.
We’ve also launched a new website- find us at jobsofthefuture.co**
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here and you can sign up to our newsletter here.
A reminder you can follow us on
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs Twitter: @Jimmysjobs And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
One of the most valuable assets to an entrepreneurial ecosystem is veteran entrepreneurs lending a hand to first-timers.
I first met Digby as part of the ICE (International Conclave of Entrepreneurs) community on a James Bond themed weekend- whilst swapping tips and tricks to navigate the business world isn’t quite 007 material, it’s because of these communities that the UK startup scene is flourishing.
Digby’s first jobs were working behind bars at weddings and writing his own music blog. Enticed to the former by the large tips from slightly too-merry guests, the latter allowed him to go to festivals for free.
It was these experiences in the live events space that eventually lead to him founding Feast It in 2017, an ecommerce company aiming to revolutionise hospitality with the simple goal of building an operating system that could power events globally.
Feast It matches people wanting to host events with boutique events businesses, who in Digby’s eyes are the backbone of the industry. This match-making gives organisers a superior experience and allows artisans to have a digital revenue stream without any complicated infrastructure.
The last 12 months have been interesting to say the least for the events industry, with Feast It themselves experiencing a 99% drop in sales in 2020. However, the resilience of the sector and the human desire for experience means Digby is optimistic about what the future holds for the event economy.
In this episode, Digby talks about empowering artisanal businesses, why young people are valuing experiences over possessions and the importance of business communities like ICE when business times get tough.
Even Coldplay gets a mention!
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here and you can sign up to our newsletter here.
A reminder you can follow us on
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs Twitter: @Jimmysjobs And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
For this episode I’m joined by Bejay Mulenga, Founder of Supa Network.
I first met Bejay at the 2014 Conservative Party conference. He was about to speak in front of 3,000 people just before George Osbourne took the stage- no mean feat at 19 years old.
He told his story about his first foray into entrepreneurship- setting up a tuck shop for his school, making £15,000 in his first term and how he transformed this business into a franchise of tuck shops. By 16 years of age, he was operating a £200,000 business with plans to train 5,000 young entrepreneurs.
He received a full standing ovation.
Fast-forward to today and Bejay’s Supa Network has supported over 10,000 young people at 81 locations across the country, doing everything from improving their digital literacy to working with Apple in developing their stores into learning centres. Talking about the changing the landscape of the education sector in response to the pandemic, Bejay cites the amazing work of Jack Butcher as a prime example of the creator economy.
We also discuss the fascinating emerging career of a Learning Designer- the educational equivalent of a UX designer for a dev team- and how a focus on learning design can affect a business or product.
Ever since that first speech in 2014, Bejay has always been someone to offer me a
different perspective and it’s always refreshing to speak to him.
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here and you can sign up to our newsletter here.
A reminder you can follow us on
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs Twitter: @Jimmysjobs And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Today we’re looking back and exploring some choice highlights from our pilot series with the help of this week’s guest: Hannah Russell.
Hannah is the co-founder of Mags Creative, one of the UK’s most successful independent podcast producers responsible for some the most exciting shows in the UK with over 350,000 people tuning into their shows each week.
We discuss how Hannah went from setting up Mags Creative with her sister a few years ago to running a fluid team of full-time staff and freelancers who even have their own Monthly podcast club.
Through Hannah’s entrepreneurial expertise we re-visit some of the most interesting points from our pilot series:
- Pip Jamieson, founder of @The Dots, on the emergence of skill swapping and the importance of creativity- both as a skill set and something to foster in the workplace
- Hayden Wood, founder of @Bulb, on renting talent and hiring experience- and why the creative industry is so good at this
- Sarah Wood, co-founder of @Unruly, on how founding a business actually improved her work/life balance
- Pete Flint, founder of @Trulia and @lastminute.com, on the importance of changing mindset
- Christian May, former editor of @City AM, and his fantastic insight on how you make your own luck through hard work
Our pilot season marked our first foray into the world of podcasts, speaking to some of the most brilliant minds in the UK about the future of work.
It’s only fitting that this reflection on the first series, as we near the end of our second season, is explored and dissected by a podcast mastermind and one of the most interesting guests I’ve had on this show.
Hannah reflects that word of mouth is still king when it comes to growing podcasts, so if you enjoyed this week’s episode, please do follow us on social and share your thoughts:
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here and you can sign up to our newsletter here.
A reminder you can follow us on
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs Twitter: @Jimmysjobs And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
During my time in Government, I was involved in a number of meetings where we would try to create memorable lines which could sum up Govt policy, you can probably think of a few famous ones yourself.
- Tough on Crime, tough on the causes of crime.
- Long term economic plan
- Vote Leave, Take Back Control
- Brexit means Brexit
There are also some less memorable ones, which I enjoy thinking about from time to time, like Nick Clegg’s Alarm Clock Heros, anyone who woke up to an alarm clock should be called a hero.
Two of the most important phrases that you’ll hear for the coming years are ‘levelling up and building back better’.
Neither of these are going to be able to be achieved without a serious focus on the reskilling agenda, which was at the Heart of the Queen’s Speech last week.
And that is why I am delighted today to be joined by Elizabeth Tweedale who is a thought leader in the space of how children learn new skills such as coding.
She founded a company called Cypher Coders, which specialises in teaching kids from the age of six to code, and is expanding into many other areas as we discuss.
As this podcast is all about the skills of the future, it seemed important to look at what kids need to be learning.
If you listen to this podcast shortly after release, Elizabeth and Cypher Coders are crowdfunding on Seedrs, so you might be interested in checking them out, but of course if you do invest your capital is at risk.Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here and you can sign up to our newsletter here.
A reminder you can follow us on
Instagram: @Jimmysjobs Twitter: @Jimmysjobs And most importantly on LinkedIn
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Jimmy's Jobs of the Future is hiring, read more on our next chapter here and you can sign up to our newsletter here.
Welcome to Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, presented by me, Jimmy McLoughlin, a former Downing Street Adviser on business and entrepreneurship.
**Today, we welcome one of my favourite entrepreneurs, Alexandra Depledge who runs the architectural company, RESI, which is looking to revolutionise the way we improve our homes and doing so via extensions.
As Alex talks about you only go through this process perhaps once or twice in your life, so inevitably the consumer has a hard time navigating all of the different options and knowing how and when to ask the 'right' questions.**
I first met Alex in 2014, when she was running the cleaning company Hassle.
I had just started work at the Institute of Directors, and I had been tasked with modernising the look and feel of the grand institution who had a rather traditional headquarters based on Pall Mall.
For our American friends, that is the same street which Clarence House is on where Prince Charles lives on …
It is a grand building, and about as far away from a stereotypical East London start up hub stacked with ping pong tables that you could get.
Simon Walker, the Director General of the IoD at the time, himself a man who had been Press Secretary to the Queen, could see a new wave of entrepreneurs coming through and we were working on lots of different approaches to attract them to engage with and become members of the IoD, after all it had originally been founded in 1906.
So I was tasked with reaching out to that younger wave of entrepreneurs making their way … disrupting old traditional sectors.
I was writing a report on the sharing economy, which was trying to persuade the Treasury to increase tax allowances.
This brought me in touch with many great entrepreneurs, like Debbie Wosskow, Greg Marsh and today’s guest Alex Depledge.
I had clearly made quite an impression on Alex, as she asked me to apply for the CEO role of the think tank and lobby group that she was Chairing at the time called the Coalition for a Digital Economy …
All I will say about that interview is that fingers crossed today goes better …
Suffice to say, I didn’t get that particular role, although another impressive female would call me in the following weeks and an altogether different role.
Alex Depledge is what the UK needs more of … an entrepreneur who has sold one multi million pound business, who then decides not to sit on a beach or even angel invest, but is determined to try and repeat the success.
She’ll talk us through how she wants to disrupt the housing industry and by making process for extensions much more streamlined and better for the customer …
If you have ever been through any building work … you’ll probably be nodding your head in agreement at that statement.
She also tells us how she is hoping to float the company in a few years time, which is such an interesting space given, Deliveroo, the Hut Group and Darktrace's IPOs over the last six months.
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I first met Oliver when he came into No.10 to talk to me about Kano which was a computer that young children could self build and learn about hardware, software and coding …
Although, frankly it probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea for this early 30 something to have tried it at the time too.
He is now running a company called Jolt in the UK, which describes itself as a business school for self made people.
The world moves so fast now, that people need to be almost constantly reskilling and Jolt is helping people to do this in the modern era.
They are financially backed by the partner of the second season of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, Octopus Ventures who are part of the Octopus Group.
They are built to specialise in the four areas they believe will change the world for the better: health, money, deep tech and consumer.
They have backed the founding teams of more than 100 companies including Zoopla, Secret Escapes, graze.com, tails.com, Swiftkey, Depop, and Cazoo.
Some of their portfolio companies have gone on to join forces with the world’s largest businesses including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Twitter.
With £1.3 billion under management and investing over £100m a year, Octopus Ventures is one of the largest and most active venture investors in Europe.
Their typical investment is from £1 million for Seed to £10 million for Series B and they have funded companies who have gone on right through IPO.
So today’s guest is Oliver Beech who runs Jolt in the UK, one of Octopus portfolio companies.
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Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future is presented by me, Jimmy McLoughlin, a former Downing Street adviser on business.
Our last episode was with Dom McGregor, we talked about his story and how it was perhaps the stereotype of how we characterise the entrepreneurship journey … Uni drop out who sent a tweet that became worth hundred of millions ..
Well Anne Boden from Starling Bank is different, very different.
As she describes herself in this interview
- she was in her 50s
- She’s from Wales
- She’s a woman in finance and technology
- She’s only five foot tall
Since we recorded this interview ten days ago it was announced that Starling have taken £50 million in funding from Goldman Sachs, taking the total valuation of Starling to £1.1 billion and therefore the proverbial unicorn status.
Her story of founding a bank in 2014 to growing it the size it is today demonstrates that entrepreneurs can come in all shapes and sizes.
Starling now employs over 1,000 people across the UK, including setting up large hubs in Southampton and Cardiff. Anne talks us through why those places stood out as talent hubs.
She talks about how you don’t need an Financial Services background to work at Starling, they are hiring software engineers, Data analysts and graphic designers.
A big part of what drives this show is wanting to tell the brilliant entrepreneurial stories that are happening all across the UK, each episode is full of entrepreneurs creating jobs, they don’t make headlines about creating hundreds or thousands, because so often it is about the incremental steps along the way.
And of course that is a reminder, that this podcast is making its own first foray as we are taking on our first employees to help power our next stage of growth, so if you are curious about the way our economy is growing, want to work on researching guests and helping us get it into more ears, please check out the show notes for more details
We have surpassed 100 reviews on iTunes, a big thank you to Eben Owen, a student at Cardiff University who left a six word review - that is all it takes for me to think this show is worthwhile.
If you could leave a rating that would make a big difference and don’t forget to tell a friend or six about the show as that is the best way we can grow it.
Thanks to Octopus Group for their support in this second series.
A reminder that they are looking for new charity partners and are welcoming applications over the next month - the support offered includes £45,000 of unrestricted funding.
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Dom and Steven Bartlett founded a social media consultancy called social chain in their early 20s in Manchester.
It is in some ways, it is perhaps the stereotypical entrepreneurship journey we characterise, university dropouts to building a company worth hundreds of millions in just a few years.
They were incredibly successful, hiring phenomenal youngsters and telling some of the worlds biggest brands how to engage with audiences on social media.
Dom recounts us with how it was 2014 and some of the world's biggest fashion brands weren't on Instagram, a reminder how quickly the world we live in can change.
They went onto IPO the company, It is a remarkable story for two young men in their 20s and of course like all of the stories on this show, it was not simple and it was not without failures and mis-steps along the way.
However, this interview with Dom goes much deeper than we have been with many entrepreneurs before, with the success came celebrations and parties, but behind the social media snaps and updates, there was an individual struggling with addiction, Dom takes us on a journey to becoming an alcoholic ….
But first, we start at York train station …
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This podcast has partnered with Octopus Group for this second series, they invest in the people, idea’s and companies that will change the world.
They are now searching for new charity partners to create a lasting impact in communities and on the environment. if you know a charity that Octopus could really help as we come out of the pandemic please encourage them to apply. See the show notes for a link and check out the third episode of this series with Chris Hulatt, the founder of Octopus.
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Rachel Carrell is the founder of Koru Kids.
Rachel has raised £14.1 million, making her the most backed female founder
She talks about how she founded Koru Kids to improve the accessibility to childcare, a system which has not been updated in decades that frankly doesn’t work well for the parents, the child carers themselves and of course the most important people in the equation, the children themselves.
Having started a family myself in the last couple of years, it is a subject which is very close to my heart, particularly as at the start of the pandemic my wife returned to work in the NHS and I became a stay at home, Dad to our daughter.
It was brilliant to have Rachel on to talk about all of her ambitions for childcare, how she wants to shake up the career development for childcare workers, and how the best ones can earn £50-£60k.
We also discuss how they are hiring for product, engineering and markeeter roles and how they are trying to re create those ‘word of mouth’ moments in an online world.
Rachel is a tremendous thinker on hiring processes, so we delve deep into the system that they have developed for that at Koru Kids.
And finally we touch on how the pandemic will alter the global landscape for talent and how the ‘tyranny of distance’ may not affect New Zealand quite so much in this brave new world.
We start down under with a young Rachel Carrell selling posies and operating an aluminium smelter.
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Michele Romanow became the youngest Dragon in the world, aged just 28. In this episode we hear how Michele went from a coffee and caviar entrepreneur at University to setting up Clearbanc which is looking to shake up how funding is provided for companies who are looking to make it into the e-commerce space. Clearbanc recently launched in the UK.
The UK has always been a home to some of the most entrepreneurial e commerce companies in the world, pre the pandemic we led the world in having the most retail transactions done via online and this has come from some of the most innovative companies like, GymShark, The Hut Group, ASOS, AO.com, and Ocado.
In this episode, we'll hear how Michele is revolutionising the VC space and democratising AI based on data points that have already been generated from e commerce players.
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**Chris is the co-founder of Octopus Group, they employ 750 people and have over £9 billion pounds under management.
You can sign up to the email newsletter Jimmy mentioned here**
Octopus was started in his bedroom in the year 2000, he’d left a solid and stable job with Mercury to set up his own fund management company in his mid 20s.
We learn in this episode that perhaps unsurprisingly it took a couple of twenty somethings quite a while to raise their first million pounds to invest in Britains entrepreneurial companies.
But by year 2010 they had achieved a solid scale of fund management and began to think more about the other problems that they could tackle.
This came from the entrepreneurial team that they had created, Matt Cooper one of their fund managers, pitched them an idea about solar panels and now he now heads up the renewables division employing 80 people and having invested £3 billion into renewable energy.
This is where they developed their consumer facing energy supplier Octopus Energy, which is probably what the company is known for most now, having amassed 2 million customers in just five years, and we will be interviewing the CEO, Greg Jackson later in the series.
Chris talks about the different routes they have taken on the journey from being a start up to the major institution that Octopus now is and the more they can and want to do to disrupt other industries such as healthcare.
They started with just yellow pages, their girlfriends paying the rent and a one pager with some ideas scrawled on it.
We talk about how some of the best ideas can come from the most unexpected of places and how they encourage their employees to pitch ideas through their Springboard programme ‘and how the Government can expand their springboard programme to build an army of entrepreneurs’.
**But first we start the story by Chris working in a gory lab at the height of the BSE crisis.
We are proud to have partnered with Octopus on this series of Jimmy's Jobs of the future.
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Romanie Thomas is the founder of Juggle.
It is an AirBnB for high end employment, as a fast growing start up you may need the experience of a Chief Financial Officer, but you probably don’t need that experience for five days a week, and nor in reality can you afford it.
Juggle provides a platform for this flexible work.
In this episode Romanie talks to us us about how battling for gender diversity led to her founding juggle
How the company has seen amazing growth of 30% month on month through the pandemic.
How brand marketers and finance people are on the rise in the last few months.
And how Juggle itself will be hiring for a Chief Revenue Officer
How she has worked abroad for most of 2020.
And how her top advice is to remember ‘no-one is shooting at you’.
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Graphcore is backed by Silicon Valley Venture Capital Sequoia, who have backed Apple, Google, WhatsApp, Youtube, Instagram and Zoom amongst many others.
Nigel Toon founded Graphcore in Bristol, and now is employing 450 people across Beijing, Palo Alto, Oslo and Cambridge.
Highlights of the episode:
- Nigel thinks that the impact of Artificial Intelligence is both overblown and underestimated
- How we should think of AI as a tool similar to how the spreadsheet impacted accountancy, far from displacing jobs as many predicted - more people are now working in accountancy than ever before.
- How the most powerful skill is seeing across boundaries
- How WW2 impacted the development of the jet engine.
- Their plans to hire 200 people in the next year
- Why Bristol is a brilliant differentiator to attract the best engineers.
- We also talk about the plans for Graphcore to float on the stock market.
Oh if that wasn’t enough we finish on a touch of geo politics and digital nationalism.
It is a cracker of an episode
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Explaining our plans for the second series of Jimmy's Jobs of the Future and how we are hoping to grow the show, and how for this series we are partnering with Octopus to bring the great stories of entrepreneurs from across the whole of the UK and beyond.
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In this episode, I sum up the progress of jimmy's Jobs of the future so far and announce plans for our second series.
If you want to join the Zoom calls to discuss how we make Series 2, bigger, better and stronger, just drop me a line on jpmbusiness20@gmail.com and I'll share the details of the calls.
You can also sign up to our newsletter which includes summaries and insight on guests ahead of time, - https://www.getrevue.co/profile/jimmym
You can follow us on Twitter and Insta @JimmysJobs or follow us on Linkedin too.
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
Christian was appointed as the Editor at City AM five years ago, it has a brilliant reputation for nurturing exceptional talent, the likes of Oliver Shah, Sunday Times business editor, kate McCann of Sky News, Julian Harris and Tom Welsh of the Daily Telegraph all started their careers at the paper.
it has been an incredible five years in the UKs history and we get his reflections on how journalism has changed in that period.
The core skills still remain of curiosity, judgment, fearlessness, scepticism but not cynicism remain key to being a good journalist.
Christian also made clear that the more traditional skills of writing good copy can be taught on the job.
We hear how the young journalists pitch themselves in a much broader sense.
This is the penultimate episode of the pilot series, so I am keen to hear feedback, particularly from those starting out on their careers such as students or.
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Thanks for listening
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Pete, part of the founding team of lastminute.com and Trulia joins us in the second half of this episode to discuss the 48 hours where he met Steve Jobs and Mike Moritz of Sequoia Capital.
How he had to change mindset when transitioning to an investor from being a founder, demonstrating no matter what you have achieved an agile mindset is very important.
In addition, we discuss how modern day entrepreneurship is similar to the geographical explorers like Shackleton of centuries gone by.
He has recently written a brilliant essay on the NFX website on how to 10X your career, you can check out that piece which we talk a lot about in the show - https://www.nfx.com/post/10x-career-decisions/
I have been thinking of how to transition my career for a year since leaving Downing Street and it is the best piece I have read on the subject.
Thank you to this episodes sponsor, Juggle.Jobs
A key theme of this podcast has been the challenge entrepreneurs face in getting the right level of experience for a fast growing company.
Flexible hiring is the most obvious route while you grow, but it's difficult to find experienced hires that can hit the ground running through traditional recruitment firms that don't focus on flexible workers and charge expensive market rates.
This time vs. experience vs. cost was exactly the dilemma faced by Wesley Rashid at Accountancy Cloud.
The Juggle platform automated the recruitment process from job placement to payment of talented flexible workers, it made the hiring process 25% quicker.
He was able to hire the perfect candidate on a flexible basis through Juggle, and this resulted in him saving both time and money.
Wesley told me; It’s one the best decisions I’ve made for the business, I won’t be using archaic recruitment processes anymore and I fully recommend using Juggle to any growing start-up!
You can check them out at juggle.jobs
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Pete Flint was the founding member of LastMinute.com with Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox. Following the billion dollar acquisition, Pete went to study for an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He noticed how it was hard to get accomodation, and so this led to him founding Trulia, which turned into another unicorn being acquired by Zillow for £3.5 billion.
He has recently written a brilliant essay on the NFX website on how to 10X your career, you can check out that piece which we talk a lot about in the show - https://www.nfx.com/post/10x-career-decisions/
I have been thinking of how to transition my career for a year since leaving Downing Street and it is the best piece I have read on the subject.
Thank you to this episodes sponsor, Juggle.Jobs
Three key themes of this podcast have been talent, diversity, and flexibility.
Young ambitious companies always face a challenge between hiring a full time employee, but also getting the right level of experience for what they need and within their budgets.
That is where Juggle Jobs comes in, think of them as an AirBnB for high end employment ...as Hayden Wood said in the first episode, hire talent, but rent experience.
You can post a free job advertisement on Juggle in just a few minutes, and then you are presented with intelligently matched candidates.
You can check their process at juggle.jobs
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Thanks very much for listening.
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We invited Hayden Wood back on the show in a special bonus episode to talk about how the government had announced plans to create 250,000 jobs as part of the Green Industrial Revolution.
Hayden discusses the plans to reach Net Zero and a bit more on what they look for as employees at Bulb.
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Sarah Wood OBE founded Unruly, which was acquired by News Corp in 2015 for a nine figure sum. Sarah is now the Senior Independent Director at TechNation.
We talk about a PANDA strategy for hiring and how teams can ensure diversity of hiring.
You can check out Sarah's book, 'stepping up, how to accelerate your leadership potential' at https://steppingupbook.co.uk/
Please do consider sharing this episode on social media we are at @jimmysjobs on Instagram and Twitter and we are on LinkedIn too.
Please also consider directly sharing with a friend on WhatsApp who is thinking of a career change, as that is the most likely way that someone will check out the show.
Thanks for listening.
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Sarah is the co-founder of Unruly, the global video advertising marketplace that was acquired by News Corp in 2015 for a nine figure fee.
Sarah is now the Senior Independent Director at TechNation, a network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs.
She is also a best selling author, her book 'stepping up: how to accelerate your leadership potential' which is a must read career handbook for millennials. You can purchase that at - https://steppingupbook.co.uk/
Sarah was appointed an OBE for services to technology and innovation and is a judge on the women's prize for fiction.
She started her career as a lecturer at University of Sussex and Cambridge.
She starts by explaining how the London 7/7 terrorist attacks led to her wanting a change in her career, and that led to her founding Unruly.
**Sarah also talks about health and energy being the big sectors for growth.
Specific roles she talks about include data scientists, software engineers, digital marketeers and international operations teams.
She also namechecks, some of the most exciting companies in the latest Technation cohort.*Olio* - is a mobile app for food-sharing, aiming to reduce food waste. It does this by connecting those with surplus food to those who need or wish to consume such food. It is run by the very impressive Tessa Clarke**
Florence - is an online marketplace seamlessly connecting independent nurses and carers with the shifts they want.
Farewill - is making the process around will writing much easier and attempting to make life simpler for the loved ones when someone passes away.
Thanks for checking out the show notes, please do remember to rate us on iTunes and feel free to share us on social media, LinkedIn in particular although we are on Instagram and Twitter @JimmysJobs
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Izzy Obeng, left her role as a management consultant two years ago to set up an accelerator for black and ethnic minority founders.
Whilst they have only been going two years, they have already seen 2,000 people pass through their programmes and are working more with local governments to help reach those most in need of the advice.
They are expanding now so that it is not just purely entrepreneurial skill sets they are providing, but a full immersive education experience where people gain ongoing mentoring for example.
**They are also working with employers, providing a diverse talent pipeline to corporates, many of their courses are held in corporate offices, so that attendees can understand more about business life.
I mention at the end of the show how we are going to have Dr. Sarah Wood who founded Unruly.
We also have Pete Flint, the legendary venture capitalist coming on the show who wrote the article how to 10x your career - that is available here - https://www.nfx.com/post/10x-career-decisions/
Thanks again for listening, please take the time to review us on iTunes or share us on social media, we are on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn @JimmysJobs**
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Thank you for checking out the show notes.
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Thank you for your continued support
Episode summary
If I were summing that up to the Prime Minister, I would suggest something along the lines of the following.
PM, we met with an interesting company this week that is a large provider of data and digital upskilling to large corporates in the UK. They work with Burberry, Unilever, Marks & Spencer to provide Data Academies.
They have also become a modern day exporter setting up offices across the globe and having trained half a million people in 85 cities, including American companies like Nike.
Kathryn believes that it should be a legal requirement for boards to understand data and cybersecurity, in the way that all board members have a grasp of finances.
The World Economic Forum released a paper this week on the future of work saying that whilst 43% of businesses expect to reduce their workforce due to technology integration, they still ultimately expect more jobs to be created overall as a result of innovation.
Mathematics, engineering and physics are as valuable as computer science, interestingly they noted Southampton has an up and coming talent hub.
The technology founder has an unusual story, having read Classics at University, demonstrating again that technology founders can come from many backgrounds.
This would undoubtedly pique the current occupier of No.10’s interest as he studied Classics and can recite Ancient Greek incredibly well. Well I say incredibly well, it seems impressive to me when he does it.
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Thanks for checking out the show notes, please leave a rating if listening on iTunes and share with your friends who you think might find it useful. We already have 50 ratings, but it would be great to keep up the momentum.
If you would like to share us, please do so on LinkedIn, as that is where we think most people who are looking for career inspiration will be spending their time. just search for Jimmy's Jobs of the Future.
We are also on Instagram and Twitter @JimmysJobs and would of course be delighted if you could share then.
Summary of the episode
Jimmy interviews the Founder and CEO of the Dots, Pip Jamieson.
The Dots is a platform over over half a million 'no collar workers', these people can include those in the creative industries and the wider technology sector.
There are 10,000 companies on the platform using it to hire people.
Jimmy provides a briefing note to the Prime Minister which is summarised below.
If I were summing that up to the PM, I would probably write something along the lines of the following
Prime Minister, this week, we met with a fascinating company which is creating the modern day rails for the creative economy and more broadly what they term no collar workers It has half a million members on the platform, 40% of whom are freelancers, they are predominantly coming together to work on creative side projects and they are seeing a surge of freelancers as people pursue side projects, partly as a result of the pandemic.
There are also 10,000 companies on the platform using it to hire people.
Unsurprisingly in the last few months, they have seen competition for applications increasing across the board.
But equally there has been a rise of remote working applications and opportunities, which is leading to a democratisation for those not living in metropolitan hubs, we heard a similar theme from Hayden Wood at bulb last week.
They are seeing an increase of the multi disciplinary individual, sometimes referred to as T shaped skill set or even coloquially as a ‘slashie’.
Furthermore, they are seeing the rise of skill swappers, a trend where people are trading their time and skills in exchange for being taught skills in other areas, for example an accountant or lawyer may offer their time to a start up project in exchange for learning about more creative design and vicer versa. They are seeing this increase at round 50% month on month increase, therefore this is now 25x what it was last year.
When building The Dots, Pip referred to four golden skills of product, which are management, engineering, design and data - they have upskilled interns in these areas who are now full team members.
Technology firms are increasing their hiring on the platform, but not just in technical skills such as engineering, they are also seeing a significant rise number of copywriters and producers for example.
Even in technical roles the importance of creativity is becoming more important, and this is a trend The Dots are likely to see increasing until Quantum technology comes in.
**I may provide a separate note on Quantum technology, that would be written by someone with lots of PhDs, although I am hoping that we will get a guest on at some point to talk about the impact of Quantum computing soon, because it is truly mind boggling.
Please rate us and share us on social media @jimmysjobs thank you for your support**
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The two articles that I mentioned in the summary that Hayden sent across after the show:
https://cultureby.com/2019/01/someday-we-will-all-play-for-the-patriots.html
https://www.patspulpit.com/2017/5/18/15644770/bill-belichick-explains-why-the-patriots-always-have-one-of-the-smallest-coaching-staffs-in-the-nfl
Jimmy is joined by one of the UKs leading entrepreneurs, Hayden Wood founded Bulb alongside his co founder, Amit just five years ago in 2015.
For those of you that haven't heard of,Bulb, they provide 100% renewable electricity and 100% carbon neutral gas to a now staggering 1.7 million members across the UK.
That has led it to become the fastest growing private company in the UK, but its growth is not just limited to these shores, as it has recently just announced expansion into France, Spain and Texas.
They employ almost 900 people in a wide variety of different roles, and we'll ask Hayden where he sees green jobs of the future coming from, it is a phrase that is often trotted out, but we'll aim to get into more of the detail today.
Whilst it has been a great success story, not everything is or has been plain sailing and we will discuss some of the challenges the company has had along the way.
Please leave us a rating if you enjoy the show or even tag us on social media in particularly on LinkedIn, we are at @JimmysJobs
Prime Ministerial Summary
If I were summing that conversation up to the Prime Minister in a short briefing memo, the key things that I would include.
- All employees have some form of data test now
- The best ideas can come from surprising places for example their internal hack weeks, where they put lots of multi disciplinary people together to try and improve the business - this is where their single energy tariff idea came from.
- Only 5% of their employees had a background in energy before joining the company.
- At any given point, 5% of employees are in rotation within another part of the business, seeing how each other work and sharing ideas
- Biggest challenge came when trying to recruit too many people too quickly - this is a challenge we see often for fast growing scale up companies
- They are using the traditional in person interview less, because of biases that this can lead too.
- Lastly, I was interested to hear how whilst the energy use has been smoothed throughout the pandemic, rather than the traditional 5-7pm dash, that has actually led to an increase in prices because it is therefore less predictable.
I would then cross check that with the energy adviser to see if they had any comment they wanted to add.
Please leave us a rating if you enjoy the show or even tag us on social media in particularly on LinkedIn, we are at @JimmysJobs
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here
This show is going to be presented by Jimmy McLoughlin. who up until last year, was advising the UK Prime Minister on business specialising in technology and entrepreneurship.
The aim of this podcast is to interview entrepreneurs about where they think the jobs of the future are coming from and recreate a Prime Ministerial briefing.
The truth is, no-one knows what the future holds, but the people building the fastest growing businesses is a good place to start.
When working in 10 Downing Street, Jimmy's primary role was to be the go to person for business leaders when they wanted to feed information into the centre of the Government.It meant he could be dealing with a wide range of issues on any given day, from apprenticeship policy, to stock market dives or their concerns about the latest round of Brexit negotiations. The worst part his day would come when he would get a call from a FTSE Chief Exec telling me they were about to make a large number of redundancies to coincide with the opening of the stock market.
This would make for a lot of doom and gloom headlines, and of course for every job lost it was not only a tragedy for an individual, but would often impact an entire family. Yet the UK was undergoing a jobs miracle at the same time, entrepreneurs up and down the country were starting and growing businesses which was leading to record level of employment, but these incremental steps were often not widely reported.
Therefore he was and is curious about where these new jobs were coming from and each week, he’d try to include a note for the PM about a company that had created new jobs in a different area of the country.
With everything that has happened in 2020, this now feels more pressing than ever. The process of trying to find a new job is bewildering and complex and it can be difficult to know how to future proof your skills.
So that is what this podcast is about, interviewing entrepreneurs about where they see the jobs of the future coming from, where they are planning to take their businesses, what skills they value now, but also what skills they think their business will need in 3-5 years time.
Whether you are just starting out on your career, transitioning or even a bit longer in the tooth, I hope you’ll find these conversations thought provoking about where our economy is going.
We have some amazing guests lined up like Hayden Wood who founded the renewable energy company, Bulb and people like Sarah Wood, who had been a University Lecturer, but went on to create £100 million pound business in Unruly Media. He'll break the summaries down into what I would include in a PM briefing and then more of a general careers counsel.
I am bootstrapping this, so as every podcast asks, if you enjoy it, please leave a rating, share us on social media
particularly on LinkedIn
Instagram
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or even be old fashioned and tell a friend down the pub about it. And make sure you subscribe, that means you won’t miss an episode.
Any feedback is gratefully received, he is not a broadcast interviewer so it’ll be rough and ready in parts, please do get in touch for how you think we can improve the show.
Big thanks to George Dick Cleland for the outstanding artwork, he's a design student who has had his placement year thrown out - you can check out his work
Sign up to our mailing list at https://www.jobsofthefuture.co/newsletter to see our series 5 launch guest
To apply for The Octopus Group's Entrepreneurship Awards please click on my Twitter here