The Pursuit of Scrappiness

Andreas Flodström is the CEO and Co-founder of Beetroot, a Swedish-Ukrainian IT company that strives for sustainable software development and is also running a network of IT Academy schools in 17 Ukrainian cities. Andreas has been named the entrepreneur of the year in Sweden in 2018. He is also a contributor to Forbes magazine.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to manage remote teams during economic downturn
• What leadership lessons can be derived from managing teams in crisis situation
• What principles and values have allowed Beetroot to become successful
• What happens if values come into conflict with business objectives
• An insider’s view on situation in Ukraine’s tech sector
• Personal productivity lessons that you can apply to your work

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Rainer Sternfeld and Shinichi Nikkuni are two of the Partners at NordicNinja VC. NordicNinja have recently announced a new 200mEUR fund which aims to support founders who are focusing on important global issues, primarily in the sectors of climate tech, deep tech, and the digital society. This development is a part of their continued efforts to contribute positively towards reducing the global carbon footprint. Through investments in companies like Einride, Bolt, and Veriff, they have demonstrated a consistent dedication to nurturing innovation and promoting sustainability.

In this episode we talk about:

• NordicNinja’s unwavering commitment to the Baltic-Nordic region with 200mEUR new fund
• Attractiveness and challenges of the Baltic-Nordic startup ecosystem
• How NordicNinja assesses societal and environmental impact of investments 
• How AI and data science impacts the business of venture capital today and going forward
• What is the state of VC fundraising and investing in the Baltics and globally
• What topics are of interest to Rainer and Shinichi - Biodiversity, Network Science and Decision Making

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Kristina Mand-Lakhiani is the co-founder of Mindvalley, a life transformation platform with a following of 20 million, as well as a writer, speaker, mother and philanthropist. She is one of the most successful businesswomen in Estonia and has set her mission to help people heal their most important relationship in life - the relationship with self.

To achieve this, Kristina has recently released her new book called “Becoming Flawesome” and the book has become the No. 1 bestseller in the US on the lists of the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Barnes & Noble and Amazon

Check out Kristina's new book here https://kristinamand.com/

In this episode we talk about:

• Self-Acceptance and Embracing Personal Flaws
• The Concept of Perfectionism
• The importance of fostering a healthy relationship with oneself
• The role of self-awareness and introspection in personal growth
• The Evolution of Influencer Credibility
• Navigating the Changing Landscape of Content Consumption

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Ilona Bernotaite is the Chief People Officer and Co-Found program ambassador at Kilo Health and is now tasked to hire 12 CEOs per year to run one of the Kilo Health growing number of portfolio businesses. Ilona has been with Kilo Health for the past few years and prior to that built a successful career at EY Talent, Learning and Development practice. 

In this episode we talk about:

• Hiring 12 CEOs per year
• Product Development and Idea Validation  
• Employee Management and Retention
• Work Environment and Company Culture
• Employee Well-being and Company’s Role in Supporting it

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Kalev Kärpuk is the CEO and Cofounder of Adact.me - a marketing gamification platform. Kalev has been in gamification for more than 10 years and is the perfect person to talk about engaging users, applied gamification, selling to fortune500 companies and more.

In this episode we talk about:

• The role and impact of gamification
• Onboarding and employee engagement through gamification
• Measuring the effectiveness of gamified marketing campaigns
• How to use gamification for B2B businesses
• Selling to big name companies
• Brand awareness and marketing metrics

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Juozas Nainys is the Co-Founder and CEO of Atrandi - Droplet Genomics. Juozas has a decorated scientific career with more than 13 years at Vilnius University Life Sciences Center as well as at Columbia University in New York City. And for the past 7 years Juozas has been building Atrandi.

In this episode we talk about:

• Transition from Scientist to Entrepreneur/CEO
• What role AI plays in Science
• Precision Medicine and Progress in Science
• Product that Atrandi and Juozas are building
• Ethical Dilemmas and Regulation in Biotechnology
• Startup Challenges and KPIs in Science-Based Startups

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Reiner Kraft is the Founder of the Mindful Leader consultancy. He has spent 20 years in Silicon Valley and also has a decorated tech career in Germany. He has held such roles as CTO in Deutsche Bank, VP of Engineering at Zalando and Director of Engineering at Yahoo. 

Reiner holds 120 U.S. patents, making him one of the most prolific inventors in Silicon Valley. The prestigious MIT Technology Review in 2003 named him among the top innovators alongside names such as Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Travis Kalanick and Max Levchin.

In this episode we talk about:

• What is mindfulness and its opposite
• Upgrading your mind and body
• Functioning more productively
• Measuring progress in mindfulness
• Handling stress in high pressure work environment
• The progress of AI

If you are interested learning more about Reiner visit https://www.themindfulleader.net/

And make sure to subscribe to his podcast as well https://open.spotify.com/show/06vEB5p5FZB7vhsBSYBBfo

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Mikus Krams, Jānis Vāvere and Kārlis Broders are the co-founders of TraceSpace - a tool that helps developers build complex products 10x faster. The guys managed to raise a substantial 1.5mUSD pre-seed round on the back of a great idea and solid credentials from building Lokalise.

• Raising VC money at pre-seed stage
• How much early stage founders should pay themselves
• Validating market demand for your product
• Differences between startup founder and startup employee/manager
• Selling software to software engineers

Gleb Maltsev is a data-driven pitching coach who has trained presenters for industry-wide pitching showcases such as Slush, Latitude59 and Techchill. Every year he works with executives from almost every industry that would make the world a bit better, or at least have a shot at doing so. Gleb is also the co-founder of Fundwise, a founder-to-investor pitching platform with a 70% success rate. 

In this episode we talk about:

• Understanding and tackling the fear of public speaking
• How to craft a story that people remember
• Learn from mistakes people make
• Learn how to read the room 
• Live roleplay and practical examples on how to deal with tough questions

Gleb’s research on pitching - Anatomy of a Pitch: https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/the-anatomy-of-a-pitch-762f8ddc5ce1 

Book tips from this episode:

Robert Sapolsky - Behave
Will Storr - The Science of Storytelling
Aristotle - The Art of Rhetoric
Alex (Sandy) Pentland - Honest Signals4

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Emils Pakarklis is the Founder and CEO of iPhone Photography School - an online course platform that helps regular people take photos like pros. This fully bootstrapped company has already made 4mUSD in revenue in the first quarter of 2023 and shows no signs of slowing down. 

In this episode we talk about:

• Building a content based business
• Testing demand without having the product ready
• Keys for selling online successfully
• AI & content
• Actual iPhone photography tips to shoot better photos

Reading tip from the episode Emils - check out Jeff Walker’s product launch formula - https://jeffwalker.com/programs/product-launch-formula/

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

• Pre-loved fashion and circular economy
• Scrappy tips for getting first users for a new marketplace
• Doing business in emerging markets
• Competing against bigtech competitors
• Working with influencers

Ana Wolsztajn has over 15 years of experience as an operator, founder and tech journalist. She has been named among Europe’s top 100 most influential women in startups and has been part of investment firms such as Kaya VC and Included VC. Her career and education include names such as Balderton, tech.eu. Adidas, DDB, McCann, Stanford, Cornell and Miami Ad School.

In this episode we talk about:

• Personal brand building
• Finding your own authentic voice
• Engaging on Linkedin and Twitter
• Talent vs. effort in personal branding
• Doing social platforms for companies

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Zoltan Vardy is a startup mentor, trainer, and speaker who helps B2B tech founders build recurring revenue and scale their sales globally with his Launch Code consultancy. Zoltan has closed over 2 billion dollars in sales over his 30-year global career as an executive, entrepreneur, and investor. He is a former Sr. Vice President/Global Sales at NBC Universal International and has also served as regional CEO at Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 Media.

In this episode we talk about:

• Sales fundamentals for startups
• Selling to enterprise clients
• How to define your value proposition
• Hiring first sales exec in a startup
• Productivity tips

Special offer to our listeners! Go to: zoltanvardy.com/podcast for a free value proposition creation guide.

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Andrius Biceika is a Partner at Revolut and the Co-CEO and Board member at Revolut Bank. He was one of the early employees and has held many leadership roles at Revolut. Prior to that he did stints at such well known Lithuanian companies as Citybee and Transfergo.

In this episode we talk about:

• Early stories of Revolut
• Growth hacking strategies
• Building fintech products

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Isabel Naidoo is the Chief People Officer at Wise. She has invested her career almost exclusively into people management having held people management roles at such companies as Accenture, Capco, FIS and most recently Wise.

In this episode we talk about:

• What makes an organization people want to work for
• Building a company with diversity in mind
• Scaling teams
• Gender stereotypes impacting workplace
• AI and its impact on jobs

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Rain Vaana is the Founder and CEO of Kwota - a carbon credits trading marketplace. Before starting Kwota in 2021, Rain spent more than 10 years managing units of big international companies like Lindstrom and Ragn-Sells so we also wanted to understand how and why Rain switched from being a career manager to becoming a startup founder.

In this episode we talk about:

• Taking the plunge from experienced career manager to startup founder
• How small companies and individuals can positively impact climate change
• What goes into building a marketplace
• Sustainability
• Doing sales as a founder

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Eerik Oja and Marten Orgna are the founders of car subscription company Planet42.

And it seems they indeed have come from another planet as in this year, when fundraising announcements are scarce, Planet42 announced a massive 100M US dollar round of debt and equity in February. We sat down to see how they have fared since Eerik was our guest on episode #3 back in 2021.

In this episode we talk about:

• Debt and equity fundraising advice from founders who have raised $100M+
• Principles for entering new markets
• Experience of doing business in Mexico
• Management lessons from building Planet42

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Robin Wauters is the Founding Editor of Tech.eu - the premier source of European tech news, data analysis and market intelligence. Robin has spent most of his career in media and has founded several companies and worked with numerous outlets and platforms, including being an editor at Techcrunch and currently also a member of the Digital Leaders of Europe program at the World Economic Forum.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to pitch to media effectively
• Starting a media platform/business
• How the Baltics stack up in broader European tech context

===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Ivan Kaunov and Alex Solovei are the co-founders of Finmap - a company from Ukraine that helps small businesses manage their cash and finance simpler and more efficiently. While they are working to improve cash management for businesses, there is a war going on in Ukraine and since the full scale invasion by Russia more than a year ago now, Ivan has been on the frontline, defending his country. 

In this episode we talk about:

• Managing cash and finance for small companies
• Running a startup in wartime
• Being a founder on the frontline
• Fundraising during war

Make sure you check out what they do with Finmap.online - cash flow management tool for modern business. Try now and get rid of chaos in your company’s finances  


===

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness 

Jay Johnson is the CEO of Coeus Creative Group - a professional training, coaching and management consulting firm based in the US. Jay has spent more than 15 years guiding leaders in organizational culture, working with such companies such as Ford Motor Company, NASA, General Dynamics, Stellantis, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Johns Hopkins, and Nikon. 

He is also an active keynote speaker and author with over 4M views on his TEDx talk on how to deal with difficult people.

In this episode we talk about:

• How to build a good and strong company culture
• High trust vs. low trust environment
• Building culture in remote/hybrid era
• How to deal with difficult people

Find other episodes on >  https://www.pursuitofscrappiness.co/

 Watch select full-length episodes on our YouTube channel > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP6ueaLnjS-CQfrMCm2EoTA 

Connect with us on Linkedin > https://www.linkedin.com/company/pursuit-of-scrappiness/

 Questions/suggestions? Join our Telegram group > https://t.me/pursuitofscrappiness