Her Own Boss

Welcome to Her Own Boss: Executive Edition, where we talk to leading female execs about their journeys to the top. This episode is all about career progression, where Nicky Eggers, CEO of Wealth Management & Investments at Barclays, shares her experience and advice on navigating your career development.

Just joined a new company? Unsure of your next career move? This one could be for you.

Welcome to Her Own Boss: Executive Edition, where we talk to leading female execs about their journeys to the top. Today, we talk to Alice Hu Wagner, who has held a number of senior roles across Banking and Consulting firms. 

Ever wondered about the differences between stereotypically male and female behaviours at work, and what 'Radical Feminism' really means? This one's for you.

This International Women's Day we’re excited to launch our new series Her Own Boss: Executive Edition, where we talk to leading female execs about their journeys to the top. 

If you’ve ever been called bossy - this one’s for you. Jayne, Chief Operating Officer at Barclays UK, shares with us her view on leadership, being the only woman in the room and learning to speak up and make your voice heard.

Today we are back with Sonya Barlow, the award winning founder of Like Minded Females Network, TedX speaker and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant.

Today we're joined by Annie & Mofe Amusu. As well as being sisters, Annie & Mofe are also business partners, e-commerce experts & entrepreneurs, having owned businesses ranging from clothing personalisation to coaching between them. They are also the founders of Epiphannie A, the UK's first black haircare and beauty comparison website.

This episode is packed with tips and tricks for entrepreneurs on building business relationships, handling customer service dramas and maintaining your confidence as a founder.

Today we're joined by Hannah Awonuga, Global Head of Colleague Engagement for Diversity & Inclusion at Barclays and founder of Rarity London career coaching. Hannah helps us understand what unconscious bias is and how we can all be more consciously inclusive, creating more accepting spaces and becoming better allies.

Grab a snack and join us for today's episode as we talk to Lauren O'Donnell, founder of food start-up Oatsu. Oatsu is a line of plant-based, gut-friendly breakfasts designed to fill the gap of affordable, healthy meals to start the day.

Lauren tells us about the realities of start-up life, how to adjust from being a corporate employee to a founder, and where to turn to if you're just starting your entrepreneurial journey. Enjoy!

In this minisode, Winnie Annan-Forson joins us to help you get ready and nail that new job. Winnie has performed roles from project management to internal audit, alongside winning awards for her work as a diversity & inclusion specialist at Barclays. Winnie is also a co-founder of Excellerate Black Futures, an organisation dedicated to supporting and developing black talent. 

Winnie uses her expertise to outline how to prepare for a new job, avoid impostor syndrome and develop confidence during your first few days.

It's time to celebrate Father's Day, which means we're back with another special episode! We speak to Dan Reed and Ruth Marsden about how they are working towards gender parity and overcoming stereotypes to do with parenting, both inside and outside their families. They also share some advice for 20-somethings on navigating and owning your career.

Ruth Marsden is the founder of bettercup, a sustainable menstrual cup business, and mother to Jet and Nova, while Dan Reed is a marketing professional and founder of Career Dad, an online community and podcast dedicated to connecting dads. Dan is also father to Theo and Xanthe. Happy Father's Day!

(3:13) - BetterCup, Career Dad and working towards gender parity

(10:45) - How family and career impact each other

(19:50) - Overcoming societal expectations at work and at home

(26:06) - Teaching the next generation about work

(28:02) - Advice for 20-somethings

(31:10) - Advice for entrepreneurs

(32:34) - Confidence and raising sons & daughters

Today we're speaking to Amari Korpal about a topic very close to our hearts, graduate uncertainty! Amari graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2019 and is the founder of The Graduate Diary, a blog and Instagram page dedicated to sharing the stories of recent grads.

In this episode, Amari talks about how she felt towards the end of university, and how she managed her uncertainty and stayed positive as a recent graduate. What are your thoughts on graduating? Let us know on Instagram and LinkedIn:

Welcome to Season 4! We're kicking off this season by speaking to Izzy Obeng, an entrepreneur, business coach and professional speaker. Izzy is the founder of Foundervine, which helps women and young people from underserved communities start businesses by connecting expert mentors and successful companies with ambitious young entrepreneurs.

Izzy shares her experiences working with underrepresented entrepreneurs, as well as some exciting stories about the people she has met on the way. Hope you enjoy!

We're so excited to be launching season 4 of Her Own Boss - the podcast and community designed to help you find your inner entrepreneur!

This season we have some amazing guests lined up as we dig deeper into why some groups are still under-represented in entrepreneurship, how parenthood, gender equality and careers intersect and of course, lots of inspiring stories and tips from entrepreneurs across industries.

We also have a series of short minisodes to help solve your career dilemmas with topics such as how to nail a new job, how to be consciously inclusive and how to deal with graduate uncertainty.

It’s now been a year since we officially launched - if you haven’t already, then head over to Instagram and LinkedIn and join our community so you don’t miss out on any of the exciting stuff we have planned!

What better way to end season 3 than with the amazing Tiwa Ogunlesi. Tiwa is a globally recognised life coach, international speaker, positive psychology specialist and founder of Confident and Killing It. 

In this minisode, Tiwa tells us what confidence means to her and shares some incredible tips to help us all build a positive, confident mindset and block out the negative thoughts that often hold us back.

For our last main episode of season 3 we're talking to Yasmin Sheikh, TEDx speaker, diversity & inclusion trainer and founder of Diverse Matters. Yasmin shares how she started out as a lawyer in the City, before founding a consulting and training company on a mission to make the workplace more accessible.

Yasmin also explains how micro-aggressions can make even the most well-intended comments knock someone's confidence, while giving some great tips on how to make your products, services, and workplaces more inclusive.

Today Niki is joined by two of our other co-founders, Aneesah Sarwar & Lucy Moran, for a minisode all about side hustles. Aneesah and Lucy share their top tips for finding your perfect side hustle, how to use side hustles to boost your professional career development and how to manage them alongside a full-time career or studies.

Today we're speaking to Florence Adepoju. Flow is a cosmetic scientist and founder of MDMflow, a makeup brand combining her passion for beauty, science and 90s Hip-Hop. Niki is also joined by Lucy, co-founder of Her Own Boss and one of the brains behind our social media, as well as a fellow makeup enthusiast.

In this episode, Flow tells us about what it was like changing her career and how she went from making lipstick in her parents' garage to selling products in international retailers like Harvey Nichols, Topshop and Nasty Gal. Don't forget to subscribe and let us know if you want to see more from our other co-founders!

Today, we're talking about introversion with Daisy Simonis. Daisy is passionate about making introverts feel seen and heard through her newsletter, online community and public speaking.

In this minisode, Daisy helps us understand what it really means to be introverted, as well as the strengths that introverts have when it comes to work and entrepreneurship. Even if you're an extrovert, this minisode will really help you understand more about introversion!

Join us for our Mother's Day special with Scarlett Allen-Horton, founder of Harper Fox Partners, finalist in the BBC's The Apprentice, business partner to Lord Sugar and mother, amongst many other titles.

Scarlett shares with us the unique joys and challenges of being both a mother and an entrepreneur, how to learn leadership and confidence early in your career, and of course we had to ask what it was like being on The Apprentice.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

In this minisode we’re talking to Sonya Barlow, the award winning founder of Like Minded Females Network, TedX speaker and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant.

Sonya gives us some great tips on how to use LinkedIn to help build our personal brands, perfect if you're looking for some advice on how to get started or just wanting to improve your existing profile.

What better way to celebrate International Women's Day than with a special episode! We're joined by Melissa Menke and Juliet Gouldman to talk about how they celebrate and support women in their communities all year round. 

Melissa is the founder and board chair of Access Afya, a social enterprise providing high quality and affordable health care in Nairobi, while Juliet is the Head of Strategic and External Engagement at Barclays Business Bank and is dedicated to removing the barriers that women and other marginalised business owners face.

For our first minisode of Season 3, we're joined by Tiwa Ogunlesi who shares with us how to recognise and deal with burn out. Tiwa is a globally recognised Life Coach, International Speaker, Positive Psychology Specialist and the founder of Confident and Killing It. 

This minisode is packed full of tips to help you build sustainable practices to avoid burnout. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Her Own Boss is back for season 3! In our first episode of 2021, we have a really honest conversation with Isobel Perl about finding your way early in your career. Isobel is founder of Perl Cosmetics and Girls in Business, a platform championing women who own or run businesses.

Isobel shares her fascinating journey from school to becoming a founder, how hard it can be not to compare yourself to others and how sometimes it's okay not to be okay. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

It's our last minisode of season 2, and there's no better way to end the year than talking to Niamh Crawford-Walker on how to set goals. Niamh is a qualified career coach, founder of #Goals and author of The Confident Creative Goal-Setting Planner. 

Today Niamh tells us how to set, define and achieve life-changing career goals that are more than just another failed New Year's resolution. Here's to a great 2021! Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

In our penultimate minisode, we're joined again by Sophie Miller, student, freelance marketing and social media consultant, and founder of Pretty Little Marketer, a social media platform that helps young women achieve their marketing and career dreams.

Today Sophie is here to help us with job interviews, including how to prepare for them, what to expect, how to answer questions effectively and how to give a great impression.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

In our last main episode for season 2, we're talking sustainable fashion with Josephine Philips, founder of Sojo, a fashion tech company which connects consumers with local seamsters to take the effort away from repairing clothes.

Josephine tells us how the fast fashion industry impacts on sustainability, feminism and human rights, as well as discussing her own journey to make both her business and personal life more sustainable. Hope you enjoy!

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

In this minisode, we're joined by Sophie Miller. Sophie is a student, freelance marketing and social media consultant, and founder of Pretty Little Marketer, a social media platform that helps young women achieve their marketing and career dreams. 

Sophie shares with us what recruiters look for in a CV, as well as so many actionable tips to help you nail your own CVs and cover letters. Enjoy!

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

In this minisode we hear from Mary Agbesanwa, an award-winning FinTech consultant, careers blogger at A Millennial's Diary and co-founder of the Now You're Talking Network. Mary helps us understand what personal brand means, why it's important and how we can all start building our own.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Today we're talking to Olivia Hanlon, founder and managing director of Girls in Marketing, a platform offering support for girls and women to get ahead in their marketing careers. 

Olivia tells us how she found getting work experience at uni and beginning a corporate job as a graduate. Olivia also shares how she started Girls in Marketing, how she is learning to manage a team, and some of the amazing things they have achieved this year.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Today, we're focusing on all-things productivity! In this episode, we're joined again by Joelle Phua, life coach, blogger, podcaster and sociology student. Joelle talks to us about why we feel so much pressure to be productive and how to work out what productivity hacks work best for you.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Today we're joined again by Maddie Astle, PR account executive and the brains behind Mind The Gap Graduates, a blog created to help recent graduates and young adults settle into life after education. 

This time, Maddie helps us figure out how to forge our own career path, as well as sharing some top tips on finding a job which isn't related to your degree.

As always, be sure to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Did you you know the games industry is worth 159 billion dollars, but less than 20% of gaming execs are women? Jay Shin and Poornima Seetharaman are here today to share their experiences of working as women and as entrepreneurs in the games industry. 

Jay is co-founder of Arrogant Pixel, a PhD candidate at the University of London Birkbeck and lecturer at the University of West London. Poornima is a Lead Game Designer at Zynga, has recently been inducted into the Women in Games hall of fame and is also co-founder of multiple gaming companies.

Today we’re talking to Sonya Barlow, the award winning founder of Like Minded Females Network, TedX speaker and diversity, equity and inclusion consultant. 

Sonya helps us understand what imposter syndrome is, why it’s so common and how we can start to tackle our own imposter syndrome.

In this minisode we speak to Maddie Astle, PR account executive and the brains behind Mind The Gap Graduates, a blog created to help recent graduates and young adults settle into life after education. Maddie tells us how we can use our own side hustles to boost our CV and help land us our dream job. Enjoy!

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Today we hear from Alex Farrell, serial entrepreneur and current CEO of Workfinder. Workfinder is a work experience platform that matches young people up with exciting projects in start-ups and scale-ups.

We talk about the importance of work experience in defining your career path and how Alex has defined her career path from law graduate, to founder to CEO.

In this minisode, Joelle Phua, life coach, blogger, podcaster and sociology student, teaches us about what self-belief is and how important it is for any young woman. She walks us through some steps we can take to start building our own self belief and what to do if self-doubt kicks in.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

In this minisode we hear from Hannah Awonuga, Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Barclays and the founder of Rarity London, a career coaching service dedicated to supporting young female professionals. 

She teaches us all about micro aggressions - what they are, how to respond if you experience or witness one and what to do if you get called out for one. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Welcome back to season 2 of Her Own Boss! Join us as we talk to Yvonne Bajela about her career journey, from early role models to post-grad life and her transition to becoming an early stage investor for Impact X, a VC firm which works with start ups across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Yvonne also helps us understand how investors and entrepreneurs work together and shares some top tips for entrepreneurs who are looking for investors to work with. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to hear the latest:

Join us for season 2 as we speak to even more incredible women in so many industries, from venture capital investors to game developers and sustainable tech founders. We're also going to be releasing twice as many minisodes to help you navigate your career.

Our expert mentors will be teaching us how to respond to micro-aggressions, build self belief, how side hustles can boost your CV and so much more! We're always looking for more ways to help you build confidence, kickstart your career and find your inner entrepreneur.

For our final minisode of Season 1, Vanessa Vallely is back sharing with us her top tips for starting her network. Vanessa is one of the most well-networked women in the UK and has some amazing tips for how to identify who you need to network with, how to approach them and how to keep those relationships thriving.

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For our final main episode of the season, we sit down with Vanessa Vallely. Vanessa started her entrepreneurial journey at 10 years old and is now CEO and Founder of one of the largest women's networks in the UK! 

We talk about how Vanessa went from leaving school after her GCSE’s, to building an incredible 20+ year career in financial services to going back to full-time entrepreneurship. Vanessa shares so many incredible tips for young women who are just starting out in their career so this isn’t one to miss!

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Pitching your business idea for funding or support at work is a vital skill. In this minisode Charlie Munro tells us step by step how to structure a successful pitch presentation. 

In this episode we speak to Tendai Moyo, strategy consultant and entrepreneur. We discuss changing beauty standards, diversity in business and entrepreneurship and how to leverage your community when starting a business.

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Nikita Khandwala is back in this minisode to teach us how to be unapologetic, confident and articulate in meetings, emails and work calls. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Nikita’s main episode where we talk about the pressures of finding a job after graduation, diversity in the start-up space and how to take the first step with your side-hustle.

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Today we’re joined by Nikita Khandwala - a recent Spanish and Linguistics Graduate, social entrepreneur and careers coach. 

Nikita and I talk about the pressures uni students face when looking for work, how to get your side hustle started and how Nikita’s start-up, UnbOx, is breaking down barriers for students to enter the start-up space. Hope you enjoy and don’t forget to leave us a review and subscribe!

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In this minisode, Carla Smith helps us bust some myths about accelerator programmes and tells us what you do and don’t need to join one. Carla then tells us how she balanced doing an accelerator programme while studying for her undergraduate degree, as well as how to know if an accelerator is right for you.

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In this episode, Riam Kanso talks about the transition from PhD student to entrepreneurship, the microaggressions she’s experienced as a young professional woman and the importance of owning your confidence. 

Riam is the founder of three businesses, all of which help bridge the gap between academia and industry. Currently, Riam is founder and CEO of Conception X, a programme built to help PhD students become venture scientists and commercialise their research ideas.

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Knowing what you love and what you’re good at are two things every young person needs to know the answer to at the start of their career.

In this minisode, our expert mentor Niamh Crawford-Walker, gives us tips on how to find your purpose and shares a useful career mapping exercise which unlocks skills often overlooked throughout school, university, sports, side hustles and so much more!

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Iman Mouloudi, Briana Norris and Elisabeth Feldstein are all co-founders of Augment Bionics, a medical device start-up from the University of Edinburgh. The company was originally set up to produce affordable bionic arms, but the team have spent the last few months 3D printing PPE for frontline workers around the world. 

In this episode Iman, Liz and Briana talk about why university is the perfect time to try out entrepreneurship, the reasons young women don’t see themselves as entrepreneurial and the importance of extracurriculars when applying for jobs after uni.

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Confidence is key to helping you grow in whatever career you choose. In this minisode, one of our expert mentors, Charlie Munro, gives us her top tips for exuding confidence when presenting your ideas at uni, in business meetings and beyond!

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In this episode, I'm joined by Kate Bache, chemist turned marketeer turned entrepreneur. Kate tells us about the uncertainty she felt trying to choose a career after uni, the differences between men and women when it comes to confidence and the three-step philosophy she follows when assessing a job opportunity.

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