WiserWednesday - stories from the entrepreneur journey: Recent Episodes
James Potten
In this insightful episode of Wiser Wednesday, James Potten hosts a panel of experts to explore the transformative potential of AI agents and generative AI in organisations. The discussion covers practical applications, the challenges of implementation, and the cultural shifts needed to embrace AI-driven innovation.
Panelists include:- Simon Small: AI co-founder, keynote speaker, and early agentic AI pioneer- Sue Turner: AI governance and ethics expert, named one of the top 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics- David Sloly: AI implementation specialist and top 10 AI podcast host- Steve O'Brien: IoT and AI leader with a passion for building "robot brains"
Key Topics:- Generative AI & AI Agents: Practical definitions and game-changing use cases- The Future of Work: Augmenting roles vs. replacing them, and the evolution of digital employees- Responsible AI: Ethical considerations, governance, and reducing bias in AI systems- Organisational Readiness: Overcoming legacy systems, fostering a culture of experimentation, and implementing feedback loops- Impact & ROI: Measuring success and addressing fears in the C-suite
Whether you're an AI novice or a seasoned professional, this episode provides actionable advice, including starting small, experimenting with safe sandboxes, and treating AI as a tool for innovation. Together, we explore how AI can empower organisations to scale without burnout and benefit 8 billion people—not just 8 billionaires.🎙️ Join the conversation and stay ahead of the AI curve! Connect & follow more episodes via jamespotten.com
This WiserWednesday we have Perri Lewis, CEO of Mastered speaking to us about the challenges of juggling a rapidly scaling business whilst meeting the needs of a young family. It’s also said that middle-age is when you are supporting both your parents and your kids – yay! So we’ll be sharing tools and coping mechanisms that could help anyone out there facing more than the demands of their business. Hosted by James Potten.
Thank you Tom for an excellent discussion on his journey to Series D (a feat only achieved by a few people on the planet). We dive into the human side of being a founder and how challenging that is with a young family and the excitement on Tom & his cofounders eureka moment when they realised this would actually work. From Bristol University PhD spin-out to CES Vegas & HQ in San Fransisco with an acquisition in between, tom share why we should make sure in life that we take the leap, realise we will step on rakes & why the trick to succeeding is to work (& sleep) like a lion! As always, your host is James Potten.
Come and find out how a the transition to a 'workshop culture' could catalyse the growth through the next s-curve for your business. Alison Coward shares how she wanted to bottle up that enthusiasm and energy at the end of a workshop and release it into organisations. Learn how you could do that yourself in your organisation. Your host as always is James Potten.
Welcome to our ‘WiserWednesday' Fireside chat with Raja Skogland, Investor and Founder of The Visionary Company and VC. We do a deep-dive into the current startup investor trends. Find out why Raja and her network invest in founders and their ideas and how you could better position yourself for fundraising. She also shares some insider insights on the post-generative-AI landscape, spotlighting fund-worthy founders and ideas. Your host as always is James Potten.
Welcome to our next ‘WiserWednesday' Fireside chat with Casey Fenton, founder of Upstock & Couchsurfing. We are talking about building trust in both your team, clients and your wider community. Trust is the foundation of every relationships. Find out why it is so important to build trust & how to do it from the person who built the largest trust experiment - Couchsurfing (which pre-dates Airbnb & Uber). Your host as always is James Potten.
Welcome to our next ‘WiserWednesday' Fireside chat with Jay Brown, founder of MindFraime. We are talking about creativity and flow state. A concept first imagined by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Key take aways are. Let's make sure we work from our heart, not our head & let's become a perceivers, not just creators! Your host as always is James Potten.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome James Piper - this is a unique interview as we've had the pleasure of working together at Ecosurety for a number of years.Current backdrop is that AI hype is exploding, as is the planet. Unfortunately we are now expecting to breach the 1.5 DegC Climate Threshold by 2027. So this is an important debate (maybe the former can help us solve the latter)?Key takeaways. Let's make sure we...- trust in our people- nurture our team culture- & 'recycle more than a tennis ball!'Hopefully you feel like you can go out there and do good in your own way after listening to this interview! Your host as always is James Potten. Enjoy!
In this episode of WiserWednesday we talk about John’s experience of scaling to near unicorn levels, and the realities of burnout, the loneliness of entrepreneurship, and the secrets to scaling and selling.John Ratliff is currently CEO of align5 & Scale Up Coaches. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from John's unique experiences and gain practical advice to help you succeed (lots of which I first learnt when John & I met on Necker in 2016). Your host as always is James Potten. Enjoy!
Great debate about the future & AI. Let's make sure we...- put Humanity before technology - consider dystopian futures so we can create utopian ones instead!- & If you aren't facing the future, you'll become part of the pastHopefully you feel like you can go out there and face yours Thanks to Nik our awesome speaker today. I hope you feel slightly Wiser this Wednesday as a result of joining us!
We delved into this Brave New World at this month’s Wiser Wednesday panel event – What in the Web3?!We learn't that 'if it can be tokenised, it will be tokenised' - Ismail Malik.Our speakers are Ismail Malik (Blockchain Lab), Ida Faldbakken (Katapult Future Fest), Nick Kengmana (Go Beyond) and Yaz El Hakim (VerifyEd). James Potten (amplified.me) is your host as always. Enjoy!
A fantastic fireside chat with Sarah Furness. We learn key concepts about mastering mindsets, including…- How we think and feel is a choice- Sitting with difficulty is a skill- We are born with only two fears (falling and loud noises). All others are learnt, so can be unlearnt!Hopefully you feel like you can go out there, push harder and move bigger mountains this year as a result of listening :)
Key takeaways from this event: - Purpose helps magnetise great people to want to join your cause - Purpose does not hinder growth, it drives it - Fear is the path of the dark side!
So, purpose Matters. It really matters. Unless you've worked in an organisation that has created a common purpose, you might question why it is so important. We explored the power of purpose to drive growth and magnetise great people to want to join your cause.
Thanks to the panelists Andy Hawkins (Founder @ Business on Purpose), Isabel Kelly (Founder @ Profit with Purpose), Robbie Staniforth (Policy Director @ Ecosurety) & Nicole Gibson (Founder @ Love Out Loud)!
Host is James Potten (Founder of Amplified.me). Enjoy!
Key takeaways from this event: - Build your brand by telling your story. PR works. Give it a try - Be ok with making mistakes, it's the only way to learn - Make sure you have feedback loops and be agile so you can learn from the future as much as the past - Don't try to scale until you have clear product-market fit - Ad spend can come later to increase touch-points with your potential client base - Serving your existing clients so they become raving fans is key
Thanks to the panelists April Shprintz (Founder of Driven Outcomes), Mark Bruk (Head of Digital Growth at ClickMage, a Google Partner), Jose Ucar (Public Speaking Coach & TedX speaker) & Nitan Jain (CoFounder of Vaizle). Host is James Potten (Founder of Amplified.me). Enjoy!
Fantastic debate on Systems & why Founders are more likely to succeed with a systems mindset. Hear from these awesome panelists including Vinay Patankar (Founder at Process Street - ex-Silicon Valley), Kelly Goss (Founder at Solvaa), Hugo Cox (Founder at 5HC Systems) & Zain Daniyal (Founder of ML Sense). Host is James Potten (Founder of Amplified.me). Enjoy!
Fascinating debate about hybrid working. Spoiler alert, it isn’t going away, so it’s going to take a shift in how we manage our teams, and the trust we place in our workers to get hybrid to work. Key steps include clarity, compassion, collaboration & communicate, communicate, communicate! Plus, having a growth mindset will help, and why not make coming into the office a magnet not a mandate! Our awesome panellists this episode are Alison Coward (Founder of Bracket), Cate Murden (Founder of PUSH), John Hopkins (Founder - WorkFLEX-Australia) & Danny Smith (Hybrid Consultant and Ex-Oyster HR). Host is James Potten. Enjoy!
Brilliant discussion about navigating fundraising, especially in challenging financial backdrop. Key takeaways: - if you ask for advice, you’ll get money, if you ask for money, you’ll get advice!! Always build your fundraise through human outreach to connect with potential funders before opening your round. ‘When everything is rosy, it’s time to be cautious. When everyone is screaming it’s the end of the world, plant a tree!’. Our awesome panellists this episode are Jennifer Clamp (aata), Kirsty Ranger (ISQ Crowdfunding), Prateek Sanjay (Foundraisr) & Liam Ray (Virtus Energy). Host is James Potten. Enjoy!
Such knowledge shared about 'Creating a culture of Innovation'. This one you do not want to miss. It's got answers to questions you did not know you had! Our awesome panellists this episode are Sue Turner OBE, Joolz Lewis, Paul Corcoran & Simon Norris. Hosted by James Potten
Learn about the the 'Founder to CEO journey' first hand from those that have been there and done it! Excited to have shared this event with Miranda Joseph, Jay Williams, Liam Ray & Karen Salmansohn who have been on an exponential growth journey the last few years... Hosted by James Potten