Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter
This is the entrepreneurial education I wish I’d had. A few years ago, I thought I'd made it as a Founder. My app was topping the charts, I was winning awards, having drinks with the Queen at Buckingham Palace (she laughed at one of my gags, sure), but as my business started to fail, I realised I had so much more to learn. The trouble was I found most business chat too stuffy, surface level or braggy so I started Secret Leaders to get behind the mask of entrepreneurship. I speak with the best Founders and business experts to learn how great companies are built - especially the things that normally get left out, like their mistakes. We cover the most important stuff, from fundraising to hiring, habits to mindset, so you can learn how to build a successful business. And no, you don’t need to get into an ice bath at 5am either...
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Contact: hello@secretleaders.com
151
Little Moons: how to become an overnight succes...
Little Moons Co-Founder Vivien Wong on how her business grew from 7 to 27 million in revenue in just two years after the company went viral on TikTok.
42 min
152
How I failed: Launching a website no one visite...
Entrepreneur Chris Donnelly talks about spending over a year developing a website, which then no one visited.
12 min
153
Sweatcoin: how to turn your worst moments into ...
Sweatcoin Co-Founder Oleg Fomenko has figured out the key to getting us all to exercise.
52 min
154
How I failed: the gym business which went under...
Serial entrepreneur Benjamin Chemla talks about rebounding when his gym businesses went under during the pandemic.
13 min
155
Fanbytes: from growing up poor to selling for m...
Timothy Armoo talks about leaving behind a poverty mindset and building Fanbytes to be a multi-million pound business.
50 min
156
How I failed: not able to pay suppliers, staff ...
Founder Matt Jones explains what he learnt when a bad relationship with an investor ended up costing him his business.
12 min
157
The man who predicted the rise of the influence...
We talk to Dom Smales, who founded Gleam Futures - the UK’s first agency for social media stars - about how he started his business when there were no precedents, and what he really thinks of the influencer industry today.
41 min
158
How I failed: “I didn’t actually believe in the...
Today, Amelia Sordell runs a booming personal branding agency called Klowt. But back in 2015, aged 21, she founded Eitherside, a fashion brand for women who wanted to dress up - but without the luxury price tag. Only eight months after starting the company, it collapsed; a failure it took her nearly ten years to overcome.
12 min
159
Dan Murray-Serter, Chapter 3: ‘I’d decided life...
You wouldn’t sign up for a terrible experience but they’re a breeding ground for the best stories, and the most personal growth. It’s no different for today’s guest and the usual host of Secret Leaders, Dan Murray-Serter, who opens up about his biggest traumas… which became the biggest turning points in his life.
46 min
160
How I failed: “We were so convinced that we wer...
Touraj Parang today has multiple exits under his belt, has sat on both sides of the deal table - and has written a book literally about how to exit. But the reason he’s become such an authority on exits is what we’re discussing today - his failed startup Jaxtr.
12 min
161
GoHenry: Creating a new category with other par...
This is the story of how Louise turned GoHenry into a category creator - and they’re now taking on the US.
41 min
162
How I failed: “I didn’t want to tell them I’ve ...
Emma Gunavardhana, or Emma Guns as she’s often known started her career with a bang. She landed her dream job early doors - editing OK Magazine back when that was a really big deal. But when she left the comforts of that job to make it as a solopreneur, everything went to pot.
12 min
163
What3Words: Why an injury can be the best thing...
Chris is now the Co-Founder and CEO of What3Words, an alarmingly simple solution to a complex problem you didn’t know we had - addresses.
40 min
164
How I failed: short-form video platform that go...
Ok, ok - it’s not all about your name or your competitors - but Jess Butcher was kicking herself when she came across TikTok shortly after launching Tick.Done. with her Co-Founders in 2018.
12 min
165
How I failed: the non-alcoholic drink which got...
Richard Clark is now the Founder and MD of Drynks, a non-alcoholic drinks business which raised money on Dragons Den and is growing strongly. But a few years ago he launched another non alcoholic drink, Iron Press, which had a very different outcome.
11 min
166
How I failed: 37 jobs by the age of 24, with Kr...
We’ve all made mistakes. Many of us have had short-lived jobs. And many of us have been fired. But getting through 37 jobs by the time you’re 24 is quite a haul.
10 min
167
Beyond: shorting your rival’s stock for $700m b...
This is what happened to Ian Strang and the company he founded, Beyond, who tried to shake up the death industry - offering price comparisons, wills, funerals, probate - those kinds of things. They certainly managed to do that. They landed some blows, but ultimately they lost the war.
51 min
168
How I failed: Chris Cabrera on getting fired, g...
By the time he was 37, Chris Cabrera had managed his career very well. He was a leader in a public company - and he knew what strategy the company should take to seize the future. But then he got fired.
12 min
169
How the fat kid did it: Vikas Shah MBE on getti...
Vikas Shah MBE looks like the picture of success today. He’s got an MBE. He advises the government on business matters. He’s an NED, investor - he’s someone you look up to. But it wasn’t always like this.
43 min
170
How I failed: Alex Farrell on winding down her ...
Alex founded Gift Wink in 2015, a platform where users could get timely and excellent gift ideas. So when your Mum’s birthday was coming up, you’d actually get her something awesome which arrived on time.
12 min
171
Tackling a problem that will affect half the pl...
Andrea worked at McKinsey and then the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation but this is her first time as a Founder. What’s tougher than she expected?
45 min
172
How I failed: Giles Harrison quit his job to st...
Giles Harrison, the Co-Founder of Sculpd, is riding high now but his first startup ground to a painful halt.
12 min
173
The Sandbox: wtf is the metaverse and how will ...
So you’ve heard people talking about the metaverse and have been wondering what they’re on about? You think you get it one minute but then someone else says something and you’re none the wiser? Yeah, sounds about right.
27 min
174
How I failed: Amanda Perry went bankrupt after ...
Amanda’s now the successful Founder of Soup Agency but this is a cautionary tale for anyone thinking about starting a business.
14 min
175
Outbrain: closing a funding round with gunfire ...
It’s pretty rare that investors have to ask the Founder they’re speaking to if they’re in a warzone, or insist they have to leave their country for somewhere a little more ‘peaceful’ but that’s exactly what happened to Yaron Galai, the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Outbrain.
50 min