Beyond The Capital from SuperTech

In this episode, Hilary speaks to William Taaffe, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Lockdown Cyber Security. They discuss:Starting the company during the pandemic, targeting finance directors, how an early interest in computers and technology led to a career in cybersecurity and how many businesses still don’t fully appreciate the risks of cybercrime. 

In this episode, Hilary speaks to Mike Brooman, CEO of Vanti, a Birmingham-based smart buildings and technology company.They discuss the importance of ESB and becoming B Corp certified, the challenge of integrating multiple systems in smart buildings, how Covid-19 and homeworking changed the agenda for office space, how an office should be a cross between a bar and a library and Vanti’s future growth plans.

In the episode, we hear from someone who’s looking to revolutionise the way digital skills are taught in schools. Tessy Mosindi, founder and CEO of Code Funhouse, talks to Hilary about how her work as a teacher has helped her set up her business. Code Funhouse is a platform that teaches kids coding. In this conversation, Tessy describes some of the challenges she has encountered as a tech entrepreneur including; the lack of a network, the funding gap for women and building confidence.

In this episode, we hear from Surayyah Ahmad Sani, the co-founder of Ethco. Surayyah’s career has spanned two countries on two different continents. She founded Ethco to help consumers access their ethnic groceries and to help small shop owners sell online.Surayyah talks about relocating to the UK from Nigeria, the challenges of being a female entrepreneur with children, how the risks can be greater for a woman if their business fails, the pressure not to talk about family/children as a female entrepreneur, and the funding gap for women, particularly black women.

In this episode, Mac Alonge, founder and CEO of The Equal Group tells Hilary what inspired him to start the business. The Equal Group is an equality, diversity and inclusion consultancy.They talk about: Mac’s 10-year career in the energy and utilities industry working in data and regulation, the transition from being an employee to a founder, work-life balance and flexible working. 

FutureMatch - a talent-hiring platform - was registered in February 2020, a few weeks before the country went into lockdown.In this episode of Beyond The Capital, Hilary speaks to FutureMatch's CEO and founder, Kufa Matiya about launching the company during the pandemic. He also talks about:Training as a chefLessons learnt from his previous start-upThe disconnect between schools and careersHow machine learning is used by the platformHis squiggly careerWhat 2023 holds for FutureMatch

In this new series of Beyond The Capital, we’re exploring how to deal with adversity. You’ll hear from entrepreneurs and business leaders about how they’ve overcome major challenges to build thriving businesses. In this episode, Matthew Adam, Chief Executive and Founder of We Are Digital, talks about the ups and downs of running the company he started in his bedroom 10 years ago. The Coventry-based social impact business has now grown to nearly 100 employees with an aim of £10 million in revenue this year. He tells Hilary:How his initial idea was to teach older people how to get How We Are Digital grew during Covid-19Why business is all about the people employedWhy it helps to be an optimistThis episode was recorded on 16th February.

Beyond The Capital from SuperTech is back with a new series for 2023. This time, we're exploring how to deal with adversity.  Entrepreneurs and business leaders speak to Hilary Smyth-Allen about how they’ve overcome major challenges including financial, personal or launching during a pandemic. You'll hear how they've made it through ups and downs to build thriving businesses.Beyond The Capital is a podcast series about the professional services tech scene outside of London.The first episode is out on 14th March. Follow us on Apple, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app. 

This year, the Commonwealth Games are coming to Birmingham.So to celebrate, we’re doing our own baton relay. We’re making virtual visits to as many of the Commonwealth countries as we can, and exploring their start-up and scale-up scenes.This is our last episode of the series. We’re hearing from two final Commonwealth countries: Singapore and South Africa. We’re going to find out about how they’ve become regional leaders in lawtech and fintech.Hilary spoke to: Lavina Ramkissoon, co-founder and vice-chair of the Fintech Association of South Africa to find out more about the country’s growing fintech ecosystem, how it fits into the wider African region and the big trends Lavina is seeing. Jennifer Lim co-founder and editor of Lawtech Asia, about Singapore’s role as a legal innovation hub, how government support helps the sector and how Covid accelerated digital dispute resolution.