COVID Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

Smart Operator – Vered Raviv Schwarz

March 8, 2022March 8, 2022
by Claire

We have a smart operator and a great champion for women on the show this week.

Her name is Vered Raviv Schwarz and she’s spent the past 20 years in disruptive tech companies, based in Israel.

These days Vered is President and Chief Operating Officer for Guesty, a property management platform offering software that’s used by people renting out short term and vacation rental properties around the world. With Guesty’s multiple features they can easily list and manage their rentals on multiple sites such as AirBnb and Vebo.

Before Guesty, Vered spent nearly 6 years at the freelancer marketplace Fiverr as Chief Operating Officer. And prior to that she was a lawyer and General Counsel at other tech companies.

We’ve been struck by what a smart operator and thinker Vered is.

In this episode you’ll hear a lot of great advice including:

How some of the best advice Vered was given, and now gives herself, changed the course of her entire career
Why she’s passionate about making tech companies more diverse and what she’s doing about that
How she helps companies successfully scale and grow globally
And why Vered’s a great believer in being able to make decisions quickly.

Without further ado enjoy this episode with the switched on and dedicated Vered Raviv Schwarz.

Links

Guesty Website

Vered on LinkedIn

Vered on Twitter – @VRavivSchwarz

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Positivity Hacks – Future Proof Me

February 1, 2022February 1, 2022
by Claire

What better way to start a new Lunar Year than by dusting off any Omicron blues and ensuring you have the right mindset for the day and week ahead?

Our first mini episode for the year brings you self-confessed ‘rabid optimist’ and former Australian of the Year, Dr Fiona Wood. This inspiring powerhouse manages to stay incredibly positive despite her very confronting and life-saving work as a world-leading burns surgeon. Learn some tactics that she uses to bring back happy memories and change her own mood.

In this short but sweet episode you can also contemplate whether or not you agree with Voltaire on what our most important decision of all is.

Enjoy! And if you haven’t already, why not connect with us on LinkedIn… just mention “Don’t Stop Us Now! podcast” and we’ll be right there.

Links of interest

Fiona’s full interview with us

If you enjoy this episode, an interview you might like too; Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas – Humour as a Super Power

Jam

Planning your 2022? Claire and Greta Jam their Plans

January 24, 2022January 24, 2022
by Claire

Our first episode for 2022 explores different ways of thinking about your year ahead. You’ll hear us have a candid and informal conversation about how we’re individually thinking about our own plans and aspirations, and how to make them happen.

You may be surprised at just how different our approaches are!

You’ll learn why Greta thinks getting really granular with her time management is what she needs this year to reach her goals, while Claire is focusing on her key priorities and planning around those.

We plan to make more conversational and ‘unplugged’ episodes like this one so please let us know what you think or if you disagree! We always love to hear from you.

P.S. If you’re really hungry for more content on planning your year then also check out our episode from 2020 called How to Have a Great Year.

Useful Links

Google researchers discuss the rise in searches related to changing priorities

Brene Brown interview with James Clear

Jonathan Fields podcast – Good Life Project

SparkeTypes Test

If you’re planning your year in earnest you might like to listen to one of our previous episodes – How to have a great year

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Beating Burnout

November 9, 2021
by Claire

We’re in the ‘home straight’ heading towards the end of the year and following the crazy year so many of us have had (thanks COVID!) we thought what better time to remind ourselves of tools to help prevent burnout?

We were lucky enough a few weeks back to run an online seminar on burnout with the best selling author, psychologist and leadership expert, Dr Jacinta Jiménez, and, as so many people signed up, we decided we should revisit Dr Jacinta’s amazing advice from our conversation on the podcast with her some months back.

Following the release of her science-backed, best selling book, The Burnout Fix, Dr Jacinta is definitely the one to turn to for advice dealing with burnout. She has deconstructed what burnout is, how it can be caused, and of course how to recover from burnout.

In this info-packed mini episode, you’ll hear that burnout for all of us is caused by one of six mismatches between who we are and our work or roles. Then you’ll hear how using Dr Jacinta’s PULSE model can help you keep burnout away.

Enjoy this mini episode and don’t forget to schedule yourself a mini break for today too! 🙂

Useful Links

Our full episode with Dr J

Link to the Mentor Walks Webinar we did with Dr J

Jacinta’s new book: The Burnout Fix

Amazon Kindle link

Amazon Hardcover link

Jacinta’s website

Jacinta on LinkedIn

Interview

Lena Andersson – Not a Quitter

October 19, 2021October 19, 2021
by Claire

It doesn’t take much imagination to work out how many challenges tourism businesses have been facing during the pandemic.

Typically, those who’ve been challenged the most can offer us the most interesting and helpful stories and advice. So our latest episode features the first of several amazing female travel entrepreneurs we’ll be featuring in the coming weeks.

Lena Andersson is the Founder and CEO of ‘Go Running Tours’, a global platform where you can book guided sightseeing runs in more than 70 cities and towns around the world.

Pre Covid last February, Lena’s business was really hitting its strides (excuse the pun!) and receiving record bookings. . . and then Covid happened.

Prior to founding her global running tours business, Lena had a successful career in marketing for large corporates in the UK and Denmark. She was traveling more than 200 days a year and that’s when she came upon the idea that literally inspired her to quit the very next day. A friend in a foreign city took her for a run that combined running with sightseeing and Lena thought how amazing it would be if she could do this in every destination she travelled to.

Little could Lena have imagined 8 plus years ago that she’d have to deal with all the trials and tribulations a global pandemic would bring.

We think you’ll be blown away by Lena’s resilience and positivity and you’ll also hear:

How Lena decided her next steps when the world shut down last year
How she’s got through the devastating impact COVID has had on her business
Lena’s career advice if you’re an introvert; and
Why she’s optimistic about the future for her business despite everything she’s been through.

Enjoy this episode with the positive and purposeful Lena Andersson.

Useful Links

Go Running Tours Website

Lena on LinkedIn

GoRunningTours on Insta

GoRunningTours on Facebook

GoRunning Tours on Strava

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me: 3 Founder Essentials

August 24, 2021August 24, 2021
by Claire

We’ve been thinking about the impact the global pandemic has had on peoples’ careers and one thing that’s been happening is many folk have been wondering whether it’s time for a career change and, in particular, whether they should start their own business.

So for today’s mini episode, we’ve chosen to share some brilliant advice for founders and potential founders from the successful British entrepreneur, Debbie Wosskow OBE.

Debbie is well known for building and selling her online home exchange business, Love Home Swap for £53 million.

Not only that, Debbie is now co-founder of another business called AllBright, an education and networking organisation designed to provide skills and connections to working women particularly in the UK but also internationally. We talked all about AllBright when we first spoke with Debbie on the show some years ago.

Having sold her own start-up and also being a start-up investor, Debbie knows first hand what it takes to build a business from scratch and, as you’ll hear, there are 3 key things she believes founders need.

Useful Links

Debbie’s full interview episode – Debbie Wosskow, OBE – What It Takes To Be A Successful Female Entrepreneur

AllBright Website

The AllBright Academy

TheAllBright on Twitter

Debbie on Linkedin

Debbie on Twitter

Book on Grit – by Angela Duckworth

Interview

Sophia Matveeva – A Non Tech Founder in a…

August 3, 2021
by Claire

This week’s episode shares the story of founder Sophia Matveeva who found herself having to make a big pivot when the global pandemic hit.

Before Covid, Sophia, a Russian by birth and based in the UK, had been making inroads with her fashion app called Enty. Think of it as a kind of ‘Uber for fashion stylists’, used by growing numbers of consumers, and being featured as App of the Day on Mashable.

However the global lockdowns last year quickly put an end to the need for we consumers to seek stylist advice on our outfits.

Fortunately, Sophia had also been developing a side-hustle giving talks and creating a course called ‘Tech for Non-Techies’ where she shared what she’d learnt as a non tech founder and CEO running a tech startup.

So whilst Sophia’s fashion-tech business stopped dead last year, her side hustle started to build real traction.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How hearing her app developers painful feedback was the best lesson she could have had
How it took Sophia till well in to her 30’s to feel confident enough to back herself
Why she chose to do an MBA
And, her advice for those without tech experience who want to work in the tech industry.

If you’re wondering how you can get a role in a tech business or startup then don’t miss this episode with the articulate and enterprising Sophia Madveeva ….

Useful Links

Tech for Non-Techies website

Sophia’s Tech for Non-Techies podcast

Taylor White – The Art of Creating

July 6, 2021August 10, 2021
by Claire

This week we feature the first ever visual artist on the show when we talk with the entrepreneurial and talented American artist, Taylor White.

Taylor has worked around the world creating incredible street murals and fine art. You may have seen her work in Melbourne, Oslo, Berlin, LA, Miami, and her hometown of Raleigh in North Carolina.

Taylor spent a lot of last year driven by the goal to create and produce her own solo exhibition (The Pursuit of Happiness) inspired by her observations of life in the time of Covid. As you’ll hear, producing your own exhibition is no small undertaking.

Being a professional artist is a tough gig – a recent study showed that only 17% of artists make most of their income from their actual art practise. So Taylor’s experiences make this all the more interesting.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Taylor creates large scale street murals
Her advice for anyone who wants to be more creative
Why focusing on what you can control is so important
And, why she believes almost anything is possible today.

So don’t miss this great conversation with the thoughtful and creative Taylor White.

Useful Links

Taylor’s Instagram – @taylurk

Taylor’s website

Taylor’s Exhibition – The Pursuit of Happiness – go see it or buy her artwork

Shaun Hussack – Melbourne street artist agency – Juddy Roller

Silo Trail in Australia (very cool murals in regional areas)

Interview

Dr Jacinta Jiménez – Fixing Burnout

March 16, 2021
by Claire

We’re excited to bring you this week’s important conversation with psychologist, burnout expert, author and leadership coach, Dr Jacinta Jiménez.

We’ve actually known Jacinta for some years and followed her great work on leadership, coaching and high performance with keen interest. We were really excited when she told us about her new book, The Burnout Fix.

Jacinta had broken new ground with this book deconstructing and presenting burnout in an actionable way we’d never seen before, and all of it is science backed.

Jacinta studied and obtained her doctorate in Psychology from Stanford University where she focused on peak performance, motivation and behaviour change.

What makes her so interesting to speak to and learn from is that she has also more recently spent several years in the tech startup world helping to build a coaching-at-scale business called BetterUp, in San Francisco.

In this episode and in her new book, Jacinta deconstructs burnout and you’ll hear how:

Her own 2 burnout experiences changed and shaped her career
The telltale signs of burnout may not be what you think they are
How the focus of her work has been influenced by being one of the few Latina women in her field; and
You’ll learn about a model you can use to help prevent burnout happening to you.

So without further ado enjoy this episode with the passionate and learned Dr Jacinta Jiménez …

Useful Links

Jacinta’s new book: The Burnout Fix

Amazon Kindle link

Amazon Hardcover link

Jacinta’s website

Jacinta on LinkedIn

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Chasing Equality

March 9, 2021
by Claire

This week’s mini episode is in honour of International Women’s Day.

We don’t know about you but this feels like a bit of a watershed year in terms of gender equality and sexual harassment issues rising to almost boiling point in multiple places around the world.

Now is the time to call out inequality, injustice and gendered violence when we see them in action.

In this episode we reflect on:

Why we still need to keep gender equality on the agenda and why IWD is important
How the pandemic created a triple whammy for women
Great advice on how you can call out bias when you encounter it at work, and
How virtual meetings haven’t necessarily improved things for women’s voices being heard.

You’ll get to hear some advice from us and from one of our favourite guests, NASA’s Trudy Kortes, so enjoy this Future Proof Me episode.

Useful Links

Womens March 4 Justice website

Petition to Australia’s Prime Minister on Gendered Violence