Cut out the Middleman with Greg McLardie | Ep. 33

To accelerator or not to accelerator? that is the question. Starting with two bootstrapped startups, Hana Mohan founded her 3rd company, MagicBell by firstly applying for the Y Combinator. So what changed her mind? How did this decision turn out? Let’s listen to the episode to find out more about that. P.S: Hana also has a blog which I really enjoyed reading. Advice from Hana: Stay grounded, stay in contact with your customers and learn how to interpret it, how to process it, how to incorporate that into your product. Books: Your Brain at Work by David Rock contact Hana via Linkedin: @hanamohan more about the company: magicbell.com Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

Today we have the pleasure to talk to Mathias Boissonot, from Singapore, co-founder and CEO of Handprint. Starting as a system engineer, Mathias is now building a technology that enables any company to become regenerative for the planet. We got inspired by his passion for solving environmental issues through Handprint. Hope you will get inspired too! Advice from Mathias: I would definitely advise early-stage entrepreneurs to have empathy at the core of their processes and especially product development. Articles and Books: For Any Product to be Successful, Empathy Is Key by Jon Kolko Les Yeux d’Elsa by Louis Aragon contact Mathias via Linkedin: @mathiasboissonot more about the company: handprint.tech Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

You know how they say…passion dictates action. For Boye Oshinaga passion is found in education. Since early on he has been interested in the human ability to learn. Boye founded his second start-up by combining education and technology. Gradely is an app that supports schools and educators in Africa to personalize their learning for kids. The app is using data from assessments to personalize resources and provide recommendations tailored to meet the requirements of the students. We got really intrigued by the sense of passion he has, the humble attitude, and his appreciation for life. Advice from Boye: You must understand sometimes when you’re not yet in the limelight and you’re just reading that book or writing that framework or thinking of that idea and drawing all those things on your paper. They matter as much as when you’re now implementing them. So you have to have reverence for every single moment. Books: The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle contact Boye via Linkedin: @boyeoshinaga more about the company: gradely.ng Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

In 2019 the „organic area made up 8.5 % of total EU agricultural land.” But how do you manage weeds in organic farming? The answer to this question is located in Latvia, where Janis Jasko developed together with his team a laser-focused weeding machine. Weedbot uses a high-precision laser to get rid of weeds in three simple steps.  Janis has over 10 years of experience in research and development and all we can say is…it shows! More about his experience and the start-up in this episode.  Advice from Janis: Moments when something is not working as planned happen. And the main idea or the main challenge is to move forward and not take it too seriously because we see technical things can go wrong and they often do. Books:  Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga contact Janis via Linkedin: @janisjasko more about the company: weedbot.eu Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

Today's episode brings a lot of energy with it, Hakim Elakhrass is responsible for that. Who’s Hakim? Glad you asked. He started off as a bioengineer and is now the co-founder and CEO of NannyML, a company that is building a tool for monitoring AI decisions. NannyML helps decision-makers understand how those decisions change over time and the impact those changes have on the business. But enough said you’ll catch his good energy right after his first sentence from the episode. Advice from Hakim: I do find it very important to ask yourself, what type of organization do you want to build? and to make the decision very consciously. Books: The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz contact Hakim via Linkedin: @hakimelakhrass more about the company: nannyml.com Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast 

I have read somewhere that when the why is clear, the how is easy. When I listened to our new episode with Greg McLardie, the founder of Two Hands, I realized this man's why is clear as day. But I’ll let you hear his experience for yourself. Let me tell you something about his company before you start listening to the episode. Two Hands is a digital marketplace that connects the fishers and farmers directly with the restaurants, eliminating the middleman, and most importantly, food fraud. Advice from Greg: You don’t realize it because it’s inside you, but you’ve got the vision and you’ve got the beauty of where it’s going to go. You need to have so much strong belief, self-belief and resilience, and persistence to pursue that dream. Books: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey and Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux contact Greg via Linkedin: @gregmclardie more about the company: 2hs.info Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

They say work for a cause not for applause. Simon Sparber put the foundation of his bootstrap company Angles90, by creating a product from a handle from an old ski stick. After tons of testing and prototyping, the final product came out with the first dynamic training grips worldwide, which prevents injuries and activates new muscle fibers just by changing the position of the grip. Advice from Simon: Please be aware of who you hire and who you fire and remember that the smaller your team is the more important it is who the team consists of. Because yeah, every member can have a very huge impact. Books: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz contact Simon via Linkedin: @simonsparber more about the company: angles90.com Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

Today it’s about learning. We are glad to have Vlad Grigoriu, the founder of Code Of Talent, as a guest on this new episode. His company focuses on delivering an innovative platform that gives businesses a tool for continuously training their employees. Besides this, Vlad has 20 years of entrepreneurial experience. How important is learning? Is it fun after you become an adult? What is microlearning? These are all questions answered in our new episode. Advice from Vlad: I learned from my own experiences that you have to try to solve a big, bold, meaningful problem. It has to be a problem. Books: Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel contact Vlad via Linkedin: @vladgrigoriu more about the company: codeoftalent.com Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

Let’s take you to the ocean. Besides scuba diving, surfing, sailing and traveling the world, Patrick Schnettler also dedicates his time to his company 12Tides, which produces ocean-friendly snacks, for example, seaweed chips. Let’s hear (in this episode) how Patrick's journey led to an entrepreneurial experience with the main focus on reducing our impact on the ocean, focusing on sustainable and nutrient-dense foods that support a healthy ocean ecosystem. Advice from Patrick: Be very humble and really seek the negative feedback and be willing to change based on that feedback. That’s pretty, pretty important. Books: all the books that are written by Jacques-Yves Cousteau contact Patrick via Linkedin: @patrickschnettler more about the company: 12tides.com Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast

Every week counts in a startup. That advice comes straight from Audra Gold, the founder of Vurbl. She has a vast background in the tech and entrepreneur world, helping start ups build, grow and achieve through her consulting firm Product N. Vurbl, which is a creator-first, free streaming platform, helps content creators find and grow their audience. Audra says, the way we’ve set up Vurbl is to be very much like a YouTube framework. Advice from Audra: Go work for a lot of smart people. Books: Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, Diet for a New America by John Robbins contact Audra via Linkedin: @audragold  more about the company: vurbl.com Keep in touch with us! Linkedin: Innovation Friday Podcast Instagram: @innovationfridaypodcast