Tom Blomfield, wow what an entrepreneur. This guy has founded multiple multi-million-pound companies, that have become monumental disrupters in the industry. And let’s face it, Monzo, one of the companies Tom founded and led, is the one of the most forward-thinking, innovative, fastest-growing companies there is. Tom was born in Hong Kong and lived with his father and mother. His father was a business-minded civil engineer and his mother was an artist. When Tom was a child, he moved to London to attend grammar school in Amersham, Buckinghamshire then moving on to study Law at Oxford. Whilst studying at Oxford, at the age of 21, he co-founded Boso.com an “eBay for students”. After a few internships with law firms he decided being a lawyer wasn't for him and followed the entrepreneurial journey instead. In January 2011 Blomfield co-founded the UK-based company GoCardless, an automated payment method that processes Direct Debit payments on behalf of other businesses and organisations. Blomfield stayed in Silicon Valley during his three years at the company, it raised around £35 million of investment and hired 100 people. When GoCardless appointed Hiroki Takeuchi as CEO in 2013, he left (keeping a "very small share" in the £50-100m valued company). Tom moved to New York to work for dating site Grouper social club as their Head of Growth. Blomfield left Grouper in 2014, and it closed in 2016. Following his departure from Grouper Social Club Blomfield joined Anne Boden’s Starling bank as the CTO. Startling was, at that point one of the first digital banking companies. Tom left the company in early 2015 after reports of disagreements at Starling, telling the Financial Times that "he could not comment under the terms of his departure". Today we learn about what really happened at Starling. In 2015, he founded challenger bank Monzo, operating with no branches and instead offering accounts online. In its first fundraising round, the company raised "£1 million in 96 seconds”. In April, Blomfield announced he would forgo his salary for one year to help his company during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, he announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Monzo and taking on the role of president of the company. In January 2021 he announced he was leaving the company permanently. This conversation today takes us through Tom’s wild entrepreneurial journey expressing the highs and lows of running a business. He also talks about the disagreements at Starling bank and ultimately his reason for starting Monzo in the first place. His stories are unique, and more importantly honest. Unbelievably honest. He tells you the mistakes he made, his deepest insecurities, his biggest challenges and the things he wish he knew. Wow this is a good one. Follow Tom: Twitter - https://twitter.com/t_blom LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomblomfield Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. At the time of recording this episode, I had been in a constant loop of feeling motivated to go to the gym and get in shape for the summer, then slowly seeing that motivation die off by the time the summer had passed. In this ‘Moment’ I break down the reasons why I became stuck in my ‘summer bod’ loop and how we can shift our mindset in order to build consistent motivation. Episode 55 - https://g2ul0.app.link/5YWp50YPjhb  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Mary Portas. You may know Mary from the high street, from business, or you may know her as the red bob, hard exterior business woman from the TV. In this conversation today I saw a very different one to the one I’ve seen in the media. Mary Portas is an English retail consultant and broadcaster, known for her retail and business-related television shows, founding her creative agency Portas and her appointment by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, to lead a review into the future of Britain's high streets. She’s worked in various retail roles: John Lewis and Harrods, Topshop. Then creative director at Harvey Nichols – which was her rise to fame. In 1997 launched an agency called Yellow Door producing campaigns for clients including Clarks, Louis Vuitton, Oasis Stores, Swarovski, Dunhill, Boden, Thomas Pink, Patek Philippe and Mercedes-Benz, Sainsbury's, Habitat, Westfield, Liberty and The Body Shop. In 2013 she re-launched her agency as Portas Agency Ltd. Today, Portas Agency advises retail clients from every continent, and the businesses success is built on an obsessive understanding of human and cultural behaviour. Today she’ll talk about an idea thats fairly radical to some people, especially people that are building or have built big businesses which is based on her new book ‘Rebuild: How to thrive in the new Kindness Economy’. This conversation is incredible, Mary is hilarious, she is smart and she is kind. On top of all that her brutal honesty blew me away which is a central part of what we spoke about, the idea of being true to yourself or facing the inevitable of ending up in disappear. Mary’s been a public figure, a media star, she’s faced public scrutiny but through it all she’s emerged as this levelled headed, down to earth, warm hearted individual. I laughed, I realised and I was deeply inspired and you will be too. Follow Mary: Twitter - https://twitter.com/maryportas Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/maryportasofficial Mary’s book - Rebuild: How to thrive in the new Kindness Economy - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08V85WGNK  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this clip, Jake Humphrey explains that understanding the ‘building blocks’ to success is what truly made him successful. He claims the ‘trick’ is to take absolute responsibility for everything in your life. Jake then tells us that now that he has his success, it feels somewhat underwhelming and anticlimactic as he reveals that he doesn’t yet ‘feel’ successful. Episode 50 - https://g2ul0.app.link/UiRJCV4k8gb Jake: https://www.instagram.com/jakehumphrey/ https://twitter.com/mrjakehumphrey  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Matthew Syed, he has written some of the most important books in the self development, self improvement, team, company building space. His ideas are original, challenging and important. He is a British journalist, author, broadcaster and former table tennis player. He competed as an English table tennis international, and was the English number one for many years. He was three times the men's singles champion at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships (in 1997, 2000 and 2001), and also competed for Great Britain in two Olympic Games, at Barcelona in 1992 and at Sydney in 2000. After leaving the world of table tennis he embarked on a journalism career working for The Times. Throughout his career he has published four books that are highly regarded taking all of the learnings across his life as an elite level sports man and journalist. To say this conversation is diverse would be an understatement, we covered everything from creating innovation, build confidence and how to reach your full potential. This man is fascinating, engaging and thought provoking, trust me when I say you need to hear this. Follow Matthew: Twitter - https://twitter.com/matthewsyed Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/matthewsyedauthor Website - https://www.matthewsyed.co.uk Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this clip, Eddie Hearn reveals how his childhood in the shadow of his highly-successful father, Barry Hearn, turned him into the ‘relentless’ sports promoter and businessman he is today. We also talk about some of the sacrifices Eddie has had to make in order to make it to the top and discuss how even something as important as family can often become neglected in his pursuit of success. Taken from episode 58 - https://g2ul0.app.link/TFJj7P1BWgb Eddie: https://www.instagram.com/eddiehearn/ https://twitter.com/EddieHearn?s=20 VOTE FOR US FOR BEST BRITISH PODCAST: https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote?utm_source=emailoctopus&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nominated  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liam Payne has been subjected to the intensity of the spotlight from the age of just 14, when he found global fame following his entry in to the X Factor’s seventh series, and the dizzying rise once he exited as one fifth of the group One Direction. The band was cemented as a phenomenon overnight-their success and the surrounding hype was likened to that of a modern-day Beatles at time of their debut single release. They became the first UK group ever to have their debut album reach number one in the United States. There probably are not many who are better placed than Liam to discuss instantaneous fame and the churning of its 'machine’. Liam has gone from a teen star to a fully-fledged solo artist who has taken ownership of his career in terms of its creative direction and elevated further with a strong signature pop/rnb style and a string of hits both here and abroad. He’s had his music streamed over a total of 2bn times. However, there is much more to him than the image of simply being a teen heartthrob or sugary popstar. The X Factor may be notorious for churning out ‘instant’ popstars but Liam clearly has a deep appreciation for music and the process behind its production. He studied as a musician prior to the start of his mainstream career and has grown as a gifted songwriter, with 40+ writing and co-writing credits to his name. He has previously said that he is accustomed to writing and recording entire albums in six weeks or less, and his evolution on personal and creative levels has no doubt been accelerated by his exposure. This conversation today isn’t your normal “reunion chat” we speak about so much in a lot of depth, everything from his relationships, his darkest times and everything in-between. Its open, its honest and its inspiring. During our conversation Liam mentioned it was one of the best chats he’d had in a while and I felt that, I hope you do too. Follow Liam: Twitter - https://twitter.com/LiamPayne Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/liampayne Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this clip Julian Hearn, Founder and CMO of Huel, explains how he avoided burnout whilst building the company. We also cover some of the common symptoms of over-working and what we can do in order to find the fine balance between grind and burnout. Episode 35 - https://g2ul0.app.link/lAXApeNoLgb Julian: https://twitter.com/julianhearn?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/julianhearn/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast is a real treat and a podcast that you cannot miss! Johann has come back and what honour it was to record. He has to be my all-time favourite guest ever! His book ‘Lost Connections’ had such a positive, transformative impact on my life and truly changed my perspective on how I viewed depression & addiction. I am sure that the information shared today will be valuable and important topics that our society needs to hear. Johann is a very successful and inspirational British-Swiss writer and journalist with 2 books hitting The New York Times best sellers list. Born in Glasgow Scotland then relocated to London when he was young, Johann experienced some childhood trauma having suffered from being physically abused as child and his mother suffering from an illness. Starting his career as a journalist he won many awards such as Journalist of the year and was named by the Daily Telegraph as one of the most influential people. Johann then went to onto being an author writing the worldwide known “Lost Connections” and “Chasing the Scream”. He also released a TED talk back in 2015 “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong” which has now over 17 million views. This honest conversation lasted around 2 hours and we even went on into the evening off air. I genuinely think that this might be the most important podcast you choose to ignore. I’m not giving much away, but you will thank me after. Follow Johann: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johann.hari Twitter - https://twitter.com/johannhari101 Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this clip Joe Wicks shares his experience in forgiving his parents for a turbulent childhood. I think the point, which Joe raises, is something which is truly significant for many people in the world we live in today and holds the key to allowing ourselves to live free. Episode 37 - https://g2ul0.app.link/MgthxN9Qzgb Joe: https://www.instagram.com/thebodycoach https://twitter.com/thebodycoach  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Fogle, a TV presenter broadcaster and author who has reached the peak of Everest, trekked over Antarctica and rowed across the vast Atlantic ocean. A man that has faced adventure and put himself in the most high risk situations doesn’t usually pair with low confidence issues and fighting his own insecurity. Born in Westminster everyone perceives him with a life of privilege, comfort and a quintessential posh lifestyle. Failing at school and only just getting through his university studies, Ben had determination for travel and exploring. He has lived on an island self-sufficiently for year, presented and made numerous well-known documentaries, written 9 Times Best selling books and is the United Nations Patron of the Wilderness. There is more to this man than I believed. The conversation we had was so diverse and we covered so much, going through Ben’s journey and getting down the core of the man everyone sees smiling in front of the lens. A chance for him to express in his words who he really is and the voyage of taking back control of his own narrative. This podcast is going to open your eyes to reality and surprise you in ways you did not expect. The demand we have for materialistic things, to be happy all the time and push ourselves and take those leaps make us question what is happy and how can we be more fulfilled. Follow Ben: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/benfogle Twitter - https://twitter.com/benfogle  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. Here’s a conversation I had with Tom Bilyeu in Episode 24. Together we discuss the shift in drive which Tom experienced after acquiring large amounts of wealth as he recounts his transition from being money-driven to in search of a deeper and meaningful sense of fulfilment. What truly IS success, and how can pursuing fulfilment get us there? Episode 24 - https://g2ul0.app.link/mQgUuTVrmgb Tom: https://www.instagram.com/tombilyeu/ https://twitter.com/tombilyeu   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this episode I look back on a conversation I had back in 2017 with the Founder of Gymshark, Ben Francis. Together we look into how Ben’s resilience and composure under pressure has helped make Gymshark one of the biggest sportswear brands in the UK, and the insane story of when Ben wrote 1000s of handwritten letters to customers in order to uphold customer satisfaction. Ben: https://www.instagram.com/benfrancis/ https://twitter.com/benfrancis1992  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know Professor Green aka Stephen Manderson for his multiple chart topping songs throughout the years but there is so much behind each and every track inspired by his rocky upbringing, to say he has faced and overcome adversity to reach where he is would be a real understatement. He was born and raised in Hackney, growing up on one of the most notoriously troubled council estates at the time. He has won a number of personal battles ranging from health trauma and poverty to parental abandonment. Stephen's mother gave birth to him at 16 years old and left him and the home when he was just one year old. His father was absent for the vast majority of the time, leaving Stephen troubled and alienated. He was raised by his nan Pat. Stephen was stabbed in the neck in a near fatal attack with a broken glass bottle in a Shoreditch nightclub when he was 26. Convinced that he would die, he fled the club in shock and phoned both his mother and grandmother to say 'goodbye'. In 2008, Stephen tragically lost his father to suicide by hanging. He opened up on this is in his pivotal documentary 'Suicide and Me' released in 2015 for BBC III. They had had a difficult relationship prior and only occasional contact - he had not seen him face to face for six years before to having to identify his body, and his last words to his father had followed a bitter argument. In 2017, Stephen had a major health crisis and ended up with “a paralysed stomach”, totally unable to digest food. He managed to heal himself in large part through his own research and combinations of gut/balancing products. Since identifying a gap in the market for similar solutions through his own health battle, he has converted that newfound knowledge and research into co-founding liquid supplement company Aguulp, its product range receiving rave reviews so far. Stephen is incredibly level-headed and self aware despite treading such a rocky path. His constant battle with mental health both personally and within the family has created a mindset that is very unique and this conversation is one that I think everyone needs to hear. Stephen: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/professorgreen Twitter - https://twitter.com/professorgreen  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this episode I look back on a trip I took to India where I got to take a look at what life is like in the slums of Mumbai. This entire experience shifted my perspective completely and yet the most surprising thing about what I was seeing wasn’t the grim reality of poverty, but the unshakable fact that these people were happy. I walked away from those slums with an entirely new perspective on the privilege we have been given from birth, and this is where I introduce how I discovered a more grateful perspective Full episode - https://g2ul0.app.link/uPvHRJw80fb  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest this week is Russell Kane, a Multi-award-winning comedian, presenter, actor, author and scriptwriter. Russell Kane is best known for the BBC Radio 4 podcast Evil Genius, which has become a flagship show and was the best performing original podcast on the BBC Sounds platform. Russell's other podcast, Boys Don't Cry, also features regularly on the iTunes podcast chart.  Kane is also the author of two books, “The Humorist” and the very well-received memoir about his father “Son of a Silverback: Growing Up in the Shadow of an Alpha Male”. Russell went on to make history as the first comedian to win both the Edinburgh Award and Melbourne Comedy Festival's Barry Award in one year. In this conversation you see the less funny side of Russell, it is however one of the most informative, fascinating and mind-boggling conversations I've ever had on this podcast. This guy has more knowledge than you could ever imagine and I think you’re really going to enjoy this chat.  Follow Russell: Twitter - https://twitter.com/russell_kane Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/russell_kane Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this episode John Vincent, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of the Leon Restaurants, explains why he believes that the current social-media-focused world we live in is slowly and subtly ‘boiling’ the younger generations like a frog in a pan. John goes on to offer his advice on how we can live more in the present moment using his experience meeting with African tribespeople as well as what he’s learned from physical-based meditation. Full episode - https://g2ul0.app.link/mPPnb0OFPfb John: https://twitter.com/johnv_leon?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-vincent-52b62bb2/?originalSubdomain=uk Watch us on Youtube - www.youtube.com/stevenbartlettyt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this weeks podcast, we have Jim Chapman. You may know him from Youtube, Instagram and dare I say it... the ex husband of another high profile Youtube star. You will hear Jim speaking about his own truth, separate from the media headlines. This is Jim Chapman like you have never heard him - he actually shocked me with his honesty in this raw and unfiltered podcast.  Jim Chapman is a British Celebrity, YouTuber, presenter, model, writer and soon to be father with over 6 million loyal followers across all social media platforms. Jim along with his peers helped shape social media into what it is today. In this podcast, Jim speaks openly about topics he has not yet discussed. This is a VERY intimate podcast, which will make you smile, laugh and even shock you. Jim talks about his personal experiences, trauma from his childhood, which most of us could never imagine and how this will shape him as a first-time father. We also talk about the curse of over thinking, love, break-ups, his new projects and... those rumours! Follow Jim: YouTube - www.youtube.com/jimchapman Instagram - https://instagram.com/JimChapman Twitter - https://twitter.com/jimchapman Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In these ‘Moment’ episodes of my podcast, I’ll be selecting my favourite moments from previous episodes of The Diary Of A CEO. In this episode Nir Eyal, International Best-Selling Author, lecturer and inventor explains the psychological reasoning behind our procrastination. As entrepreneurs we all have a clear vision for what we want and who we want to be. But no matter how strong this vision is, procrastination and distraction somehow find a way to stand between us and getting stuff done. Nir breaks down the science behind distraction and offers advice in how we can become ‘Indistractable’. Full Episode - https://g2ul0.app.link/cvqxeLjPEfb Nir: https://www.instagram.com/neyal99/ https://twitter.com/nireyal Watch us on YouTube - www.youtube.com/StevenBartlettYT  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week I am joined by Elizabeth Day – an English novelist, journalist and broadcaster. She was a feature writer for The Observer for the best part of a decade and currently writes for You magazine. Elizabeth has written an incredible six books and is a fellow podcaster with her critically acclaimed podcast ‘How to Fail with Elizabeth Day’ where she interviews guests who discuss what their failures taught them. The Podcast has been celebrated by celebrities, literary luminaries and is listened to by millions of people worldwide. It is with no surprise the podcast has gone on to win Day the Rising Star Award at the 2019 British Podcast Awards. Being vulnerable is something we all find incredibly hard to do but in this episode Elizabeth was willing to be vulnerable open and honest about her truth, trauma and some of her most testing times. Follow Elizabeth: Twitter - https://twitter.com/elizabday Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elizabday https://www.elizabethdayonline.co.uk Support after miscarriage - https://www.tommys.org/baby-loss-support/miscarriage-information-and-support/support-after-miscarriage Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices