Business Leaders

Jake Barton is the Founder of Local Projects, an ‘experience design’ firm for public spaces. Named a top entrepreneur by Crain’s in 2013, Jake caught public attention with his work on the September 11th Memorial. In this in-depth interview, Jake explains how necessity drove him to become an entrepreneur; defends the opinions of the ‘uninitiated’ over the experts; argues that success can make you "brittle"; and talks through the evolution of his career, including the highs and lows.

Nicola Horlick is the CEO of Money&Co, a crowdfunding business which connects investors with businesses looking for finance. Dubbed ‘City Superwoman’ by the media, aged 28 Nicola became the youngest director of merchant bank SG Warburg; and in addition to her duties as CEO, has also ventured into writing, restaurants and film production. In this in-depth interview, Nicola reveals how enthusiastically fetching a sheet of paper for an office colleague directly led to her first big break; argues women in business need greater determination than men; links her commitment to altruism to her professional success; and shares her belief that entrepreneurs are born, not made.

Jeff Wald is the Co-founder and President of Work Market, a start-up which assists businesses in managing their on-demand labour force. Described by Forbes as one of America’s most promising companies, Work Market combines the principles of LinkedIn and eBay in order to deliver to customers. In this in-depth interview, Jeff explains how his motivation stemmed from a desire to ‘drive the bus’ rather than become a cog in a wheel; discusses why he believes true entrepreneurs are ‘born with something wrong with them’; and asserts the importance of working within a challenging environment.

John Harthorne is the founder and CEO of MassChallenge, the global nonprofit which claims to be the world’s most friendly start-up accelerator. Named Ernst and Young’s ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2013, John is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, and has supported over 800 start-ups, leading to over 50,000 jobs worldwide. In this in-depth interview, John discusses why his initial business plan was ‘very unrealistic’; expresses the difficulty in finding a career that is both profitable and fulfilling; explains why he can't ever escape being pitched to; and stresses why everyone should ‘kiss a start-up today’.

Art Papas is the Co-Founder and CEO of Bullhorn, which provides cloud-based relationship management software. Named Ernest and Young's ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in 2014, he is a keen investor in start-ups. In this in-depth interview, Art attributes his motivation to his 'extreme dislike' for the mundane and boring; reveals how Bullhorn’s first product came to the marketplace too early; describes both his heroes and anti-heroes in the world of business; and explains why, as a founder, you always view your business as ‘an extension of yourself’.

Dave Balter is a serial entrepreneur based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a pioneer in the new ‘deathtech’ space, and his new app ‘Mylestoned’ is aimed at revolutionising the remembrance of loved ones online. In this in-depth interview, Dave makes his case that Facebook ‘is for the living’, Twitter ‘is for news’, Instagram ‘for pictures’ - and his app ‘is for the lost’. He reveals his belief that sheer obsession is the secret to his business success, and shares candid advice about maintaining team morale through difficult times.

In this episode of Business Leaders we meet Vivian Rosenthal, serial entrepreneur, designer and founder of Snaps – the next generation marketing platform that creates emojis for the likes of McDonalds, Starbucks and L’Oreal. In this in-depth interview, she reveals why she never wanted to be a CEO nor identifies as a ‘Woman in Tech’; discusses the secrets to being a successful entrepreneur; how the fear of failing is both liberating and exciting and why it’s good to be nervous of technology, but never naive.

This week we meet serial-entrepreneur Alex Mashinsky, Managing Partner of Governing Dynamics, former CEO of Novatel Wireless, and self-proclaimed ‘man from the dark side of Mars’. In this in-depth interview he reveals what makes a great VC and the pitfalls of being a parallel entrepreneur; discusses the ‘blackhole of risk takers’ in Silicon Valley, the role of technology in extending human life, and why acting on an idea too early can slow you down long term.

In our very first episode, we meet Ryan Simonetti - founder of Convene, the world's first workplace-as-a-platform service - one of the fastest growing businesses in New York, serving 150,000 people in ten US locations; and creating a niche service blending real estate, hospitality and tech. In this in-depth interview, the self-confessed ‘wisdom stealer’ reveals how he built his business, the importance of a regimented work routine; his commitment to building great team culture, and why being a good person is always more important than being a good entrepreneur.