From paintball to TOY BOYS: a serial entrepreneur's playbook | Interview with Mike Bandar, Waybook and Professor at UCL

Want Steph to mentor you? Apply for 1:1 founder coaching here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewformRecap of the top 5 most streamed episodes of 2025!From investors to subject matter experts, to serial entrepreneurs and exited founders, Strategy & Tragedy is THE top show for entrepreneurs!Listen to the full interviews:Saba Yussouf - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrupDTldEsI&t=168s- https://open.spotify.com/episode/6DkdIF1mxCt81I9WczFRjV?si=08767ae317c94236Tash Rebuck - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX2Hes_VBk8&t=12s- https://open.spotify.com/episode/7n6IwRD35hp3DHHfCJt5uA?si=c3de5acd09b14e84 Lauren Currie- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0dWLy7Xvo&t=2809s- https://open.spotify.com/episode/5725dA8KDAmuGKSRtP42qc?si=4f8972a134b84e57Jenny Quigley-Jones- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdMg7OSqRdQ&t=77s- https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YzmfqzhQ5tvZCoWsm3abj?si=a59a98a2cbe74251 Ben Coomber- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGeS7eaSj6U&t=2163s - https://open.spotify.com/episode/3fjq6WZVRX4JhYvWPAtrac?si=fffde711aea44fceI'd LOVE to know, which episodes were your favourites of 2025?!Join the conversation: Follow Steph on social media:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/About the show:Entrepreneurship is overly-glamorised, and there’s a lot to learn from the mistakes of others. Strategy & Tragedy keeps it real; sharing the highs & lows, the strategies & tragedies, of other founders who have “made it.” In addition to CEO interviews, we spotlight subject matter experts to help you on your entrepreneur journey. Available on all major streaming platforms, now in the UK Top 20 Business Charts.About Steph Melodia:As ex-CEO of an award-winning marketing agency, Stephanie now hosts Strategy & Tragedy, advises MBA students with Oneday, coaches founders 1:1, and travels the world as an international keynote speaker on her signature subject of ‘Hacking Luck.’ She has delivered impactful sessions for household brand names including Qatar Airways, Soho House, WeTransfer, LinkedIn, Xero, Harvey Nash Group, Web Summit, and more - leaving audiences feeling inspired, motivated, and energised.Book Steph to speak at your next event here: https://www.stephaniemelodia.com/keynote-speaker-resilience-growth-creativity

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business with the support of 1:1 mentorship and a dedicated community - all while getting an MBA with Oneday: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodiaWant Steph to mentor you? Apply for 1:1 support here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewformIn this week's episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Farah Kabir, the Co-Founder & CEO of HANX, the first condom brand marketed to women. Now encompassing a variety of sexual wellness and weight management products, HANX is connecting the major life stages of women’s health for a 100,000+ strong community. Available online and in retailers such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Boots: https://www.hanxofficial.com/In this episode, Steph and Farah discuss:- Identifying and validating a market gap - Overcoming *significant* barriers to entry - Customer-led expansion strategy - Fundraising challenges as female founders- Community as marketing cornerstone- Work-life balance strugglesWhat resonated most with you from this episode? Leave a comment below or get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Apply to work with Steph here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewform?usp=headerStephanie Melodia interviews Jodie Jackson, a neuroencoding specialist who trains entrepreneurs to engineer their psychology for success so they can think better, feel better and achieve more, effortlessly. Discover more here: https://jodiejackson.com/masteryourmindIn this week's episode, Steph and Jodie discuss:- How media shapes our psychology- Why you need to do a "media diet audit" NOW - The power of focusing on solutions, not just problems- How to hack your brain's filtering system- Emotional neutralisation, not elimination- Your mind is programmable by designLet us know what resonated most with you from this conversation! Leave a comment or get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business with the support of 1:1 mentorship and a dedicated community - all while getting an MBA with Oneday - where both Stephanie Melodia and Daniil Shcherbakov mentor: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodiaDaniil Shcherbakov is the Co-Founder & CEO of TonTon Games where he succeeded in raising $1M in pre-seed investment. He is a serial entrepreneur and mentor, a vocal advocate for mental health with refreshing perspectives on all things entrepreneurship. He is also a passionate gamer, startup mentor & lecturer at Cambridge.In this week’s conversation, Steph and Daniil cover:- Daniil’s early entrepreneurial ventures (aged just 19!) - and the lessons learned from the failures- The importance of having a North Star- Bold networking in Silicon Valley- And so much more.Get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

65% of startups fail because of founder fall-outs. Nicole Posner is here to put an end to that. She works with Conflict-Avoidant Leaders, helping them to speak up calmly, confidently and courageously in moments that matter. She is also the Creator of The Difficult Conversation Code and author of 'and BREATHE…' (Purchase here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathe-Difficult-Leadership-Conversations-Business/dp/1913728927)Other resources mentioned in the interview:Tune into Steph's interview with Alex Merry: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1XXH8jkdZcSVp2FfYeLK62?si=a5c7a02987644fe2Get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business alongside an MBA with Oneday, where both Stephanie Melodia mentors: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodiaSelina Ho is a GTM strategist, founder of Re:Closeted, a conscious fashion consultancy, and host of the Confessions of a Conscious CEO podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/08wqIjbkYUCbGTKMnOZfGvTune into hear about:Selina's unforgettable $10k mistakeExpertise in GTM and finding product-market fitTurning a side hustle into a fully-fledged businessHeadwinds & tailwinds as a multi-cultural, second-generation female immigrant And moreBook recommended:'Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away' by Annie Dukehttps://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60097435-quitGet involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage with Gong.io:https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast Nick Telson-Sillett is the exited Co-Founder of DesignMyNight (acquired for $30M) and now Co-Founder of Trumpet, a buyer enablement tool for sales teams.Tune in to hear about...- Side-hustling with DesignMyNight whilst working his day job at L'Oréal- Finding PMF, scaling up, and ultimately selling the biz in The Craziest Exit Day in History™ (you need to listen to the story 👀🫨😂)- Life post-exit - angel investing and starting trumpet 🎺And so much more.Get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage with Gong.io: https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast Stephanie Melodia interviews Mike Bandar, founder & CEO of Waybook - an onboarding, training and knowledge tool for businesses to turn what they know into scalable systems, providing a single source of truth for growing teams. He is also the co-founder of Hopper, a social media scheduling tool; the founding partner of Turn Partners, a startup studio, and; owner of ToyBoy Warehouse, the UK’s largest dating site for older women and younger men. Mike Bandar is also a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at UCL and proponent of effectual thinking, especially in entrepreneurship.Watch the full interview where Steph and Mike discuss:- Can entrepreneurship be taught?- Effectual thinking in entrepreneurship- Building the right entrepreneurial environment- Wartime vs peacetime leadership: how Mike has navigated through the inevitable ups & downs of business- Building multiple businesses without EVER having raising external capital- And so much more.Get involved in the conversation - we want to hear from you!🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business with the support of 1:1 mentorship and a dedicated community - all while getting an MBA with Oneday: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodiaLauren Currie is the 6X serial entrepreneur now founder of UPFRONT, upskilling 10 million women to be more confident and visible. (BOND 10 starts 3rd Nov! https://www.weareupfront.com/)Lauren's work has been featured in The Guardian, Design Week, and Creative Review, She was also awarded an OBE for services to design and diversity. She is also the newly-published children’s book author of 'Taylor Meets The Trick' (BUY HERE: https://the-trick.co/)Tune in to hear Steph and Lauren discuss:🧨 The systemic confidence problem and Lauren's mission to upskill 10M women🧨 "Micro reps" for building confidence and the Taylor Swift confidence strategy🧨 Bias towards action over perfection in entrepreneurship🧨 The problem with tall poppy syndrome🧨 Lauren's new children's book, 'Taylor Meets The Trick'🧨 And much more.Get involved in the conversation - we'd love to hear from you!🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

Turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage with Gong.io:https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast Ben Coomber is a multi-award winning high performance coach, bestselling author of 'How to Live an Awesome Life,' and the Founder & CEO of Awesome Supplements. (Strategy & Tragedy listeners get an exclusive 15% off all orders with the code S&T15*: https://awesomesupplements.co.uk/discount/S&T15)Tune into hear about:- Ben's viral open letter calling out health misinformation from Steven Bartlett on his show, Diary of a CEO- Personal brand strategy in 2025, Ben's consistency rule, and lessons building successful businesses in FMCG health- Ben's health crisis pivot, and much more.Get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!*Valid for 60 days from episode publish date