stories Archives - Don't Stop Us Now

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 – Just Ask!

August 10, 2021August 10, 2021
by Claire

Greetings everyone!

This week’s mini episode is all about challenging our beliefs about who we can and can’t ask for help.

A couple of years ago we spoke with serial entrepreneur, and now author, Rebekah Campbell about her career journey and her childhood growing up in New Zealand.

Rebekah happened to mention that she met with the Prime Minister of New Zealand when she was just 12 years of age as part of a school project she was doing. She went on to explain how this seminal meeting, that she had arranged herself, became an incredibly valuable lesson for her as she started her entrepreneurial career.

We love this story and its lesson that reminds us all to get better at asking people (when we have a good question for them) even if they seem way more senior or more powerful than us.

Enjoy this entertaining and valuable story from Rebekah.

Useful Links

Rebekah’s website

Rebekah’s new book 138 Dates

Rebekah on LinkedIn

Interview

Lesley Eccles – When Founding Another Global Startup was…

March 2, 2021March 2, 2021
by Claire

Have you ever felt totally blindsided or cheated?

That’s exactly what happened to our guest this week who spent more than ten years building a startup into a huge success, only to find the company sold by the other investors without receiving a cent. Just two years later the business was valued at over 11 billion dollars!

There’s no doubt that serial Scottish entrepreneur Lesley Eccles has ridden the startup rollercoaster on a grand scale. What we find so incredible and inspiring is how she’s bounced back from the devastating loss of her and her co-founders’ first business hit, FanDuel, to focus on starting a business all over again.

Lesley says she felt she had no alternative but to start from scratch again – but this time she’s brought her knowledge of running and scaling a technology business to build the number one relationship and self care app, Relish.

As Lesley shares her fascinating journey you’ll learn how:

Lesley, her husband and their 3 other co-founders weren’t sure if their start up would be successful until they were 7 years in
How their team, headquartered in Scotland, managed to become successful in the US market of fantasy sports building a team of 500 employees with 6million users
What lessons Lesley learnt as a result of the gut-wrenching sale of FanDuel
And why Relish is all about making the world a happier place.

Lesley’s story and lessons really are remarkable so don’t miss this episode with the resilient and gutsy Lesley Eccles.

Useful Links

Relish in the Apple App Store

Relish website

Lesley Eccles on LinkedIn

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – The Narratives We Tell Ourselves

February 23, 2021
by Claire

Hello and welcome to this week’s Future Proof Me mini-episode.

Valentine’s Day was only a week or two prior to us recording this episode and it really brought home how we’re often primed to make our self worth dependent on being loved or valued by others.

Whereas what really counts, is what we think and say to ourselves!

This brings us to the wisdom of the amazing 92 year old June Dally Watkins, whom we were lucky enough to feature on the show some time ago but still in her 90’s. Very sadly, she passed away early last year leaving an incredible legacy as a pioneering businesswoman and total inspiration.

In the first part of this week’s mini episode, you hear June talk, in her own inimitable way, about just how important it is to like and love yourself.

Then we explore the labels we can unconsciously (or consciously) give ourselves and how these can really make a BIG difference. And they’re really influenced by how much we have self-worth, love and respect.

We hear an inspiring story of how Barcelona-based innovator and futurist Cecilia (‘Ce Ce’) Tham, suddenly realised how negative the labels she was giving herself were. She changed them and her prospects changed completely with them.

What labels do you give yourself? Do you truly like and love yourself?

Enjoy this week’s mini episode to hear from two super wise, fabulous and diverse women.

Useful Links

June Dally Watkins Full Interview – Redefining What’s Possible for Women Even at 92!

JDW Website

Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend Article on June Dally Watkins:

Cecelia Tham

Cecelia Tham Full Interview – Predicting the Future

Cecilia’s website

Cecelia’s business Futurity

Makers of Barcelona (MOB)

allwomen AI Training School

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – When Money’s Stopping You Changing…

December 8, 2020December 8, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

In this week’s Future Proof Me mini episode we explore one aspect of a topic we’ve been asked a lot about this year. That topic is career transition and today we dive a little deeper on one thing that can be a major consideration for some, and that’s their financial security.

Particularly in this time of COVID, it’s understandable if you’re giving extra thought to your finances. Of course it’s not everything, but it’s a really interesting topic because sometimes it can be hard to think purely rationally about money and one’s medium term financial security.

It’s why this mini episode revisits the refreshing and calm, practical thinking of one of our former guests, Katie Vanneck-Smith. Katie chose to leave her high paying job as President of Dow Jones in New York to co-found a media startup called Tortoise in the UK.

You’ll hear about the thought process she went through to work out whether she could afford to make this change and still support her family. And how she’s scaled back the parties she’s famous for!

Plus, at the end you’ll also hear Claire and Greta briefly each share their stories about how they considered one of their own career transitions.

Enjoy this mini episode.

Useful Links

Katie Vanneck-Smith full episode – Work Hard, Have Fun, Make History

Katie on Linkedin

Katie on Twitter

Tortoise Website

Tortoise on Twitter

Future Proof Me Mini Episode

Future Proof Me – Secrets to Giving Great Presentations

November 10, 2020
by Claire

Brought to you by Microsoft’s The New Next

For this week’s Future Proof Me mini episode, we couldn’t resist going back to one of our earliest episodes with the amazing speaker, author and Fellow at Oxford University, Rachel Botsman.

Rachel’s schedule has changed pretty drastically since COVID broke out as normally she’d be flying round the world given keynotes on the most prestigious of stages. Now she’s getting used to giving her keynotes virtually.

Whether the format is virtual or in person, the very generous and fulsome advice Rachel shares here is invaluable to help you think about, and prepare, a great presentation or speech.

Even if you don’t want to give a TED talk as Rachel has, we all know that how we present our ideas and information really does matter.

Enjoy this episode where Rachel shares her trade secrets…

Useful Links

Rachel’s original episode – TED Talks, Writing Books and BHAG Goals

Interview

Julia Paige – The Stories We Tell Ourselves

August 11, 2020
by Claire

Join us this week for a fascinating conversation with Uber’s global head of Social Impact, Julia Paige. This mum of triplets has so much wisdom to share, particularly about resilience and the stories we tell ourselves.

Julia’s had an amazing career including working as Chief of Staff for Maria Shriver (the first lady of California who was married to Governor Schwarzenegger) for numerous years. She’s also held senior marketing and global roles at Google and now Uber.

Julia is a passionate believer in the power of the narratives we create in our lives and how having the right narrative can help us be more resilient and cope better with disappointments and failures.

In this episode you’ll learn:

When and how Julia found out she was having triplets
How she manages juggling work and a young family
What she thinks her super-power is
And why we all have to learn to tell ourselves stories that serve us.

So if you’re in the need for a dose of positivity and inspiration, then this is the episode for you.

Useful Links

Uber’s Social Impact work

Julia on LinkedIn

How To Episode

How to Change Your Career

June 30, 2020
by Claire

Welcome to our latest How To episode!

We’ve had numerous people ask us recently if now is the right time to change jobs or even careers. It got us both thinking and before you knew it, we had a new ‘How To’ ready to go!

In this episode we explore why you might want to change careers, when is the best time to change careers, and finally how you go about changing career. We also explain what we mean by ‘changing careers’ versus simply changing jobs.

You’ll hear step-by-step examples of how both Claire and Greta have each changed their careers. (Hint – we’ve had a fair bit of practise!)

Plus you’ll also learn:

The key timing and financial considerations you need to take in to account before you change careers
Why we think now is a time to be cautious and conservative before leaving your current job
Advice from a resume expert on how to change industries (a potentially common scenario for people working in COVID-affected industries such as Travel and Hospitality right now)
Examples of how to think ‘outside the box’ to make that career change easier
And a checklist of things to consider and plan for.

So without further ado, enjoy this ‘How To’ episode on changing careers …

Interview

Jacqueline Novogratz – Revolutionary For a Better World

May 19, 2020May 20, 2020
by Claire

We have a real treat in store for you today with a truly remarkable changemaker and NY Times bestselling author as our guest.

Acumen Founder and CEO, Jacqueline Novogratz, has been named one of the 25 Smartest People of the Decade by the Daily Beast, and one of the world’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds by Forbes, amongst numerous other honours.

Jacqueline pioneered the notion of ‘patient capital’, investing in social entrepreneurs around the world. Acumen supports them to establish sustainable businesses that serve some of the world’s poorest people.

What makes this episode a particularly fascinating one is that all this work with entrepreneurs has taught Jacqueline and her team so much about what it takes to succeed when trying to create change. And now she’s also just released a new book sharing what it takes to be a changemaker. It’s called Manifesto for a Moral Revolution (and there’s a free course too if you buy the book).

In this episode you’ll hear:

How her early attempts at social change in Africa seriously failed to impress the locals;
What she learnt about humanity when she became one of the first people to visit in jail someone she’d known well who’d gone on to become a major perpetrator in the Rwandan Genocide;
How Jacqueline sees investment as a means to solving problems rather than making profit as the primary goal; and ….
How she’s seeing women entrepreneurs successfully breaking the rules particularly now during the coronavirus crisis.

Enjoy this episode with the incredibly inspiring Jacqueline Novogratz…

Links of Interest

Acumen Website

Jacqueline’s Books:

Manifesto for a Moral Revolution – Practices to Build a Better World – her latest book. If you buy a copy you can sign up for free to her 11 week course ‘The Path of Moral Leadership’ (usually it’s US$195)

The Blue Sweater

Interview

Michelle Garnaut AO – Fabulous Stories from One of…

December 17, 2019March 19, 2020
by Claire

Our guest this week has taken the road less travelled, and pioneered her industry in Hong Kong and China for more than 30 years. We’re talking about one of Asia’s most celebrated restaurateurs, and a philanthropist as well, Michelle Garnaut AO.

Michelle grew up in Australia but always knew she wanted to travel. The fact she founded and launched her business, the M Restaurant Group, in Hong Kong in the late 1980s makes her one of the first independent restaurateurs to set up shop anywhere in Hong Kong or China.

Time Magazine has even described Michelle as an ‘industry celebrity’ and someone who ‘pioneered the fashionable-dining scene in China’.

Michelle is well known for the upscale restaurants and bars she’s created and launched in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing – including M on the Bund restaurant still delighting diners in Shanghai.

She’s also committed to giving back, and founded the Shanghai International Literary Festival the M Literary Residency, the Village People Project and the women’s initiative, Mentor Walks, which she started in Beijing.

Michelle has won numerous international entrepreneurial awards and accolades, and last year was awarded an Order of Australia for her numerous contributions to business and society.

In this episode you’ll learn:

How Michelle became one of the most successful fine-dining restaurateurs in China
Her hard fought lessons about starting and running a business
Why she started out with her cash locked in a fridge, and
How she had to fight to win back control of her business.

We think you’ll just love Michelle’s amazing stories and all-round fabulousness.

Happy listening!