Clare Jones: From scaling what3words to Series C and taking over as CEO at TravelTech, Polarsteps

Clare Jones: From scaling what3words to Series C and taking over as CEO at TravelTech, Polarsteps

“It’s easy to look from the outside in and think ‘wow, what an adventure’ and it is an adventure, but if you’re thinking about going on a startup joinery you need to ask yourself: am I okay if this fails?” For episode 1 in our brand new 40 Minute Mentor season, we’re joined by Clare Jones, ex CCO of what3words and CEO of Polarsteps. Clare has had an impressive career so far, including joining what3words in its very early days as a startup and helping them scale to post-Series C in 8 years. Earlier in the summer, Clare joined Polarsteps, a rapidly growing team building the essential tool for modern day explorers - before, during and after their trips. In today’s episode we discuss the leadership skills that helped her through her tenure as CCO and now CEO, what makes a successful CCO and what it’s been like to join as the first CEO hire, as a succession hire from the Founders. Episode Chapters: ➡️ Her upbringing in an activist household [04:30] ➡️ Early NGO experiences & transferable skills [06:15] ➡️ Joining what3words as a scrappy startup [09:50] ➡️ Lessons from scaling the what3words team [13:45] ➡️ More about today’s sponsors [20:55] ➡️ Becoming comfortable with failure [22:00] ➡️ Deep dive into the CCO role [26:15] ➡️ Why the move to Polarsteps & the origin story [28:30] ➡️ When it’s time for Founders to step back [31:55] ➡️ Making Founder succession work [43:00] ➡️ Learning to be patient [47:25] ⛳ Helpful links: ➡️ Connect with Clare: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-jones-/ ➡️ Find out more about Polarsteps: https://www.polarsteps.com/ 🔔 Find out more about today’s sponsors Today’s episode was sponsored by Amplified Group - the People services group that supports technology companies from inception to IPO. Together, the Group combines the leading brands in the People, Talent, Culture and HR space to provide the services Founders and Leadership teams need to build high-performing teams and businesses. Find out more at www.amplifiedgroup.com or drop the team a note on people@amplifiedgroup.com ⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️ Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(310)

Replay: Levelling the playing field - a social mobility special

Replay: Levelling the playing field - a social mobility special

“Ability is equally distributed but opportunity isn’t. It’s about giving people the freedom to fail and the right and opportunity to fully participate in all levels of the society we live in today.”  ...

18 Sep 20241h 5min

Replay: Will Greenwood MBE on building a World Cup winning team culture

Replay: Will Greenwood MBE on building a World Cup winning team culture

“The great differentiator of that England team was our ability to never allow ourselves to be consigned to fate. We always believed it was in our hands.”  Over the years, we’ve had some absolute lege...

11 Sep 202446min

Replay: Helen Tupper on building a Squiggly Career

Replay: Helen Tupper on building a Squiggly Career

“We are not expected to all develop in the same direction. Success isn’t the same for all of us and we can’t plan our way to some kind of predictable future.”  40 Minute Mentor is fast approaching it...

4 Sep 202446min

Ruari Bell: Building the UK's first athlete led VC firm with The Players Fund

Ruari Bell: Building the UK's first athlete led VC firm with The Players Fund

“There’s a competitive drive and edge that you see in sport that is really important in business. And Teamwork. Dealing with individuals, knowing what helps make an individual tick is really important...

28 Aug 202442min

Fundraising Advice from Seed to Unicorn Founders

Fundraising Advice from Seed to Unicorn Founders

“When a VC gives you a low valuation, it isn’t the fact that your company is worth that much, it might just be because you didn’t pitch it in the right way.”  Fundraising can be a lonely process at t...

21 Aug 202432min

A VC Roundup - Raising from VCs & getting into the industry

A VC Roundup - Raising from VCs & getting into the industry

“This is a long partnership. We’re here to return money to our investors, but we are also here to experience a very unique journey together. So, trust is very important, on both sides.”  We’ve been s...

14 Aug 202431min

Gideon Valkin: From ClearScore & Monzo to building a $12m solo GP fund

Gideon Valkin: From ClearScore & Monzo to building a $12m solo GP fund

“Founders deserve Investors that have relevant operating experience, time to help them and can be impartial and objective in the advice they give.”  Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gideon Valkin, former ...

7 Aug 202447min

Ash Arora: Investing in FrontierTech as the youngest Partner at LocalGlobe

Ash Arora: Investing in FrontierTech as the youngest Partner at LocalGlobe

“If you eventually want to do investing, become an Operator or Founder, don’t go into banking.”  We are back with another season of our popular VC Feature series, where we hear from some of the best ...

31 Jul 202436min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
e24-podden
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
pengepodden-2
finansredaksjonen
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
pengesnakk
utbytte
okonomiamatorene
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
liberal-halvtime
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
lederpodden
rss-politisk-preik
rss-markedspuls-2
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse