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40 Minute Mentor

JBM, James Mitra

40 Minute Mentor is on a mission to raise aspirations and inspire the next generation of category-defining Founders, through powerful career stories and inspirational mentorship. From purpose-led Founders to Olympic champions; learn first-hand from today’s successful leaders on what it takes to be brilliant, all in just 40 minutes. 40 Minute Mentor is one of the UK’s top Business and Careers podcasts and can be found on all popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts and Stitcher.

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  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 36 min
  • English

Episodes 20

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  • Dec 19, 2025 · 4 min

    James Mitra on Season 14: Reflecting on 300+ episodes & what’s next for 40 Minute Mentor

    Season 14 of 40 Minute Mentor has been one of our most special seasons yet, and in this short wrap-up episode, James reflects on the pocket-sized mentorship moments throughout this season and over the last 14 seasons.  In this season alone, we’ve had some incredible guests joining us, and we covered everything from Co-Founder dynamics, High Performance, the realities of hyper-growth, AI and the importance of diversity in leadership.  If you haven’t caught up on Season 14 yet, or you’re new

  • #10
    Dec 17, 2025 · 40 min

    Alex Depledge MBE on taking a Founder’s Mind into the Government & why the UK is a great place to scale

    What does it really take to build and scale Startups in the UK, even when the odds feel stacked against you? Find out from today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Alex Depledge MBE, serial entrepreneur, Co-Founder and CEO of Resi, and Entrepreneurship Advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer - the first time an entrepreneur has ever sat at the heart of the UK Treasury. After co-founding Hassle.com and scaling it to £8m in revenue across four countries in just two years, Alex sold it for €32m and not l

  • #10
    Dec 12, 2025 · 44 min

    Talent Predictions for 2026: How to attract and hire the best talent in the year ahead with Amplified People Group’s Sophie Graci, Zach Rose, James Adams and Lisa Crane

    What does the hiring landscape really look like for 2026, and how can founders attract and retain exceptional talent in a market that’s evolving faster than ever? Continuing on from Wednesday’s episode on People Predictions for 2026, James Mitra is joined by more Amplified People Group team members, Sophie Graci and Zach Rose from JBM, James Adams and Lisa Crane from Foundation Partners, to unpack the biggest shifts shaping the talent market heading into 2026. From the rise of player-coac

  • #9
    Dec 10, 2025 · 43 min

    People Predictions for 2026: The Future of Leadership and High-Performing Teams with Amplified Group’s Sophie Matthews, Nat Falconer, Mikael Nilsson and Logan Black

    What does the year ahead really hold for leaders, founders and people teams? In this special 40 Minute Mentor roundtable, James Mitra is joined by Amplified Group’s people experts, Sophie Matthews, Nat Falconer and Mikael Nilsson from Foundation Partners, and Logan Black from Unleashed, to explore the biggest people and talent trends shaping 2026. From leaner organisations and the rise of fractional talent, to more focus on high-performing cultures, the team unpack what high performance wi

  • #8
    Dec 3, 2025 · 42 min

    Murvah Iqbal on scaling one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups and disruption a billion dollar industry with Hived

    What does it take to build one of Europe’s fastest-growing startups in a legacy industry?  Find out from today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Murvah Iqbal, Co-Founder and CEO of Hived, the UK’s first customer-centric, all-electric, tech-enabled parcel delivery company designed for modern e-commerce. Long before raising a $42 million Series B and rolling out an 100% electric fleet across eight UK cities, Murvah was captaining Manchester City’s women’s youth team, running marketing for her family’s fas

  • #7
    Nov 26, 2025 · 47 min

    Alan Cairns on hiring in hyper-growth & a guide to culture and performance

    What does it really take to build an inclusive, high-performance culture in a fast-growing scaleup? Today’s 40 Minute Minute Mentor is Alan Cairns, serial Chief People Officer and most recently CPO at GoCardless, the FinTech helping over 100,000 businesses get paid on time through bank payments and open banking.  With 30+ years across operations, people and talent, Alan has led some of the UK’s most recognisable brands through intense growth and change, from Chapter 11 restructuring and ma

  • #6
    Nov 19, 2025 · 44 min

    Shimona Mehta on scaling Shopify Plus to $1B & transitioning into the CEO role at F11

    Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Shimona Mehta, CEO at F11 - the one-stop platform for digital advertising. Prior to joining F11, Shimona spent 6 years at Shopify, working across the Revenue function and becoming Managing Director of EMEA, where she built the rocketship commercial offering Shopify Plus from 0 to $1 billion.  It doesn’t take a lot of digging through Shimona’s CV or many conversations with her to see that the underlying drive to the great career she’s built is her passion for bui

  • #5
    Nov 12, 2025 · 44 min

    Duncan Clark on staying purpose-driven in a $42 billion company

    Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Duncan Clark, Head of EMEA at Canva, the world-leading visual-communication platform on a mission to empower the world to design.  Before joining Canva, Duncan co-founded Flourish, the data-storytelling platform used by newsrooms and organisations worldwide to bring data to life.  Duncan’s journey from data journalist at The Guardian to first-time founder, selling to Canva, and now leading EMEA, is packed with lessons on building sustainably, scaling with trust,

  • #4
    Nov 5, 2025 · 35 min

    Asi Sharabi on scaling Wonderbly from the kitchen table to an award-winning business & selling to Penguin Random House

    Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Asi Sharabi, Co-Founder and CEO of Wonderbly, the world’s leading personalised publishing company.  Founded in 2012, Wonderbly is on a mission to inspire boundless self-belief in children through clever and sophisticated personalisation.  Over the last decade, Asi and the team have gone from strength to strength, raising money from some of the biggest investors in the industry, winning multiple awards, growing the team and shipping over 10 million books.  In

  • #3
    Oct 29, 2025 · 48 min

    Thomas Plantenga on taking Vinted from near bankruptcy to a €5 billion valuation

    Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Thomas Plantenga, the CEO of Vinted - Europe’s largest secondhand marketplace and Lithuania’s first-ever unicorn.  What started as a small Lithuanian startup in 2008 has evolved into a fast-growth business with millions of users, 2,000+ employees and a €5 billion valuation.  In today’s conversation, Thomas shares the ins and outs of his journey with Vinted, how it became such a global success, the biggest leadership lessons he learnt along the way and what’s nex

  • #2
    Oct 22, 2025 · 46 min

    Jevan Soo Lenox on building AI-first cultures & high-performing teams at fast-growth Unicorn WRITER

    Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Jevan Soo Lenox, the Chief People Officer at WRITER, a leader in agentic AI for the enterprise.    Founded in 2020, WRITER helps businesses launch products faster, run deeper financial research and clinical trials. The high-growth startup is backed by some of the best investors, including Balderton, Radical Ventures, ICONIQ Growth, Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, and many more.   Before joining WRITER, Jevan already held multiple CPO roles in hyper-growth bus

  • #1
    Oct 15, 2025 · 39 min

    Claire Davenport on career bets, leading through change & getting more women into the C-suite

    Welcome back to Season 14 of 40 Minute Mentor!  In today’s episode, we’re joined by Claire Davenport, a seasoned tech operator whose career spans investment banking at Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, Chief of Staff at Skype, CEO roles at VoucherCodes, HelloFresh UK and Not On The High Street, as well as board and angel investing.  Today, Claire is a prominent figure in the Tech world as a NED, COO at Multiverse and Angel Investor. She is also a staunch advocate for women leaders, having fou

  • Oct 13, 2025 · 4 min

    Season 14 Trailer

    Welcome back to Season 14 of 40 Minute Mentor!  We’re so excited to kick off the season this Wednesday, and with that, the launch of episode 300!  Before we get into this new season, here is a short preview of the brilliant conversations we’ve got lined up for the coming 10 weeks.  If you’re new to 40 Minute Mentor, don’t forget to hit subscribe so you’re the first to hear about new episodes.  And don’t forget to dive into our archives of nearly 300 episodes of pocket-sized mentorshi

  • Jun 13, 2025 · 2 min

    James Mitra: Season 13 Recap & What's next

    In this 40 Minute Mentor bonus episode, you'll hear directly from your Host, James Mitra, as he recaps another brilliant 10 weeks of mentorship. James shares some of his own highlights from this season and shares more about our upcoming plans. If you haven't caught up on this season yet, make sure you scroll back through Season 13...and our 250+ episodes in the archives. 📣 Don't forget to check out our season sponsors: ✨ Capsule -  the neo-broker powered by cutting-edge API tec

  • #10
    Jun 11, 2025 · 46 min

    Adriana Restrepo: The Revolut secret sauce & behind the scenes of the fast-growing Crypto wallet startup Deblock

    In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Adriana Restrepo, Co-Founder of crypto FinTech, Deblock.  Before building Deblock, Adriana spent 3 years at Revolut, overseeing People Operations and holding the COO role.  While she never expected to step into a Founder role, today, Adriana is building the world’s safest account for seamless management and exchange of crypto and cash, ensuring users truly own their money.  In this episode, you’ll hear more about the significant lesso

  • #9
    Jun 4, 2025 · 37 min

    Scaling Teams & Building a High Performing Culture - A Roundtable Discussion with Amplified Group's Dr Andy Meikle, Anouk Agussol & Andrew Richardson

    In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by the leadership team of Amplified People Group - Dr Andy Meikle, Anouk Agussol and Andrew Richardson.  Together, they answer some of the burning questions leaders ask them: from navigating the messy world of people, talent and culture to early-stage blind spots, the UK’s employment landscape and practical tips on embedding AI in your teams.  📚 Episode Chapters: ➡️ Common oversights when building culture [05:00]  ➡️ The importance of v

  • #8
    May 28, 2025 · 44 min

    Tamara Lohan MBE: From idea to exit - the scaling story of the iconic Mr & Mrs Smith travel brand

    In today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Tamara Lohan MBE, Co-Founder and CEO of boutique hotel travel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith.  Tamara founded Mr & Mrs Smith together with her husband James in 2002.  Since then, the pair have been on an incredible journey, including scaling the business to over 1.5 million members worldwide, growing their distributed team, being awarded with an MBE for their services to the British travel industry, getting B Corp certified and being acquire

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