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Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
stephaniemelodia
131 episodes
1 day ago
UK Top 20 Business Show for today’s entrepreneur. Hosted by UK Top 20 Female Founder, Stephanie Melodia, Strategy & Tragedy spotlights the most authentic & interesting founder stories - featuring the good, the bad, and the ugly of building a business. With the purpose to inspire and educate entrepreneurs, guests also include subject matter experts such as top business strategists, marketers, and investors to help arm founders with the knowledge to succeed in business.
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Entrepreneurship
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All content for Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia is the property of stephaniemelodia and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
UK Top 20 Business Show for today’s entrepreneur. Hosted by UK Top 20 Female Founder, Stephanie Melodia, Strategy & Tragedy spotlights the most authentic & interesting founder stories - featuring the good, the bad, and the ugly of building a business. With the purpose to inspire and educate entrepreneurs, guests also include subject matter experts such as top business strategists, marketers, and investors to help arm founders with the knowledge to succeed in business.
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Entrepreneurship
Business
Episodes (20/131)
Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
STRATEGY & TRAGEDY EXCLUSIVE: Timothy Armoo reveals his cheat codes for success

📕 Buy Timothy Armoo’s book, ‘What’s Stopping You?’ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheatcodes-Timothy-Armoo/dp/0241719224


🔥 RSVP to the ‘What’s Stopping You?’ online event on 10th January 2026: https://live.whatsstoppingyoubook.com/


🎤 Book Steph to speak at your next event here: https://www.stephaniemelodia.com/keynote-speaker-resilience-growth-creativity


🤍 Want Steph to mentor you? Apply for 1:1 founder coaching here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewform


-


In this week's episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Timothy Armoo, entrepreneur, investor, international speaker, and now published author with his new book, ‘What's Stopping You?’ out now.


Best known for founding Fanbytes, a Gen Z–focused influencer marketing agency, which he started while at university — and within just five years, scaled it to 80 employees, raised $2M in funding, and won clients including Deliveroo, Samsung and the UK Government - before selling it in an 8-figure deal to Brainlabs in 2022.


He has since brokered two more exits, earning him major recognition including being names as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, for one. He’s also committed to social impact with the Fanbytes Fund, backing influencer campaigns for Black-owned businesses.


We discuss:


- Normalising success through environment: Timo deliberately exposed himself to success by working in luxury hotel lobbies as a teenager, which helped him mentally rehearse and normalise achievement despite growing up on a council estate in South London.


- "It's not that deep" mindset: How Timo developed a philosophy of relaxed intensity, treating setbacks (like losing a £500k investment) as manageable rather than catastrophic, which reduced stress and improved decision-making throughout his entrepreneurial journey.


- Everything big starts small: His first £5 profit from a tutoring business at age 14 was more significant than his later 8-figure exit because it proved he could execute ideas and make money, establishing the foundation for all future success.


- The power of self-talk and belief: Drawing from books like Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, he emphasizes being intentional about how you describe yourself, avoiding negative self-definitions and building a "chair of belief" supported by multiple evidence points of past wins.


- Personal tragedy as motivation: His father's death just before launching Fanbytes became a driving force, giving him perspective that business challenges weren't truly catastrophic and fuelling his determination to make the company succeed as a promise to his late father.


-


Which part of this interview resonated with you the most?


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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1 day ago
1 hour 3 minutes

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Top 5 of 2025 | Investors, serial entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts

Want Steph to mentor you? Apply for 1:1 founder coaching here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewform


Recap of the top 5 most streamed episodes of 2025!


From investors to subject matter experts, to serial entrepreneurs and exited founders, Strategy & Tragedy is THE top show for entrepreneurs!


Listen to the full interviews:


Saba Yussouf

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrupDTldEsI&t=168s

- https://open.spotify.com/episode/6DkdIF1mxCt81I9WczFRjV?si=08767ae317c94236


Tash Rebuck

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX2Hes_VBk8&t=12s

- https://open.spotify.com/episode/7n6IwRD35hp3DHHfCJt5uA?si=c3de5acd09b14e84


Lauren Currie

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA0dWLy7Xvo&t=2809s

- https://open.spotify.com/episode/5725dA8KDAmuGKSRtP42qc?si=4f8972a134b84e57


Jenny Quigley-Jones

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdMg7OSqRdQ&t=77s

- https://open.spotify.com/episode/1YzmfqzhQ5tvZCoWsm3abj?si=a59a98a2cbe74251

Ben Coomber

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGeS7eaSj6U&t=2163s

- https://open.spotify.com/episode/3fjq6WZVRX4JhYvWPAtrac?si=fffde711aea44fce


I'd LOVE to know, which episodes were your favourites of 2025?!


Join the conversation:

Follow Steph on social media:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/


About the show:

Entrepreneurship is overly-glamorised, and there’s a lot to learn from the mistakes of others.

Strategy & Tragedy keeps it real; sharing the highs & lows, the strategies & tragedies, of other founders who have “made it.”

In addition to CEO interviews, we spotlight subject matter experts to help you on your entrepreneur journey.

Available on all major streaming platforms, now in the UK Top 20 Business Charts.


About Steph Melodia:

As ex-CEO of an award-winning marketing agency, Stephanie now hosts Strategy & Tragedy, advises MBA students with Oneday, coaches founders 1:1, and travels the world as an international keynote speaker on her signature subject of ‘Hacking Luck.’

She has delivered impactful sessions for household brand names including Qatar Airways, Soho House, WeTransfer, LinkedIn, Xero, Harvey Nash Group, Web Summit, and more - leaving audiences feeling inspired, motivated, and energised.


Book Steph to speak at your next event here: https://www.stephaniemelodia.com/keynote-speaker-resilience-growth-creativity

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1 week ago
27 minutes 33 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Banned by Meta, rejected by VCs: How two women built a sexual health empire | Farah Kabir, Co-Founder & CEO of HANX

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business with the support of 1:1 mentorship and a dedicated community - all while getting an MBA with Oneday: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodia


Want Steph to mentor you? Apply for 1:1 support here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewform


In this week's episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Farah Kabir, the Co-Founder & CEO of HANX, the first condom brand marketed to women.


Now encompassing a variety of sexual wellness and weight management products, HANX is connecting the major life stages of women’s health for a 100,000+ strong community. Available online and in retailers such as Sainsbury's, Tesco and Boots: https://www.hanxofficial.com/


In this episode, Steph and Farah discuss:


- Identifying and validating a market gap

- Overcoming *significant* barriers to entry

- Customer-led expansion strategy

- Fundraising challenges as female founders

- Community as marketing cornerstone

- Work-life balance struggles


What resonated most with you from this episode?

Leave a comment below or get involved in the conversation:


🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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3 weeks ago
46 minutes 9 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Wired to WIN: The 4-Step system entrepreneurs use to reprogram their minds for success | Jodie Jackson

Apply to work with Steph here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchRTqGNNhrN8xph4Gh4RuVJNU_mc31cT8bl08nXRQeM6rd8Q/viewform?usp=header


Stephanie Melodia interviews Jodie Jackson, a neuroencoding specialist who trains entrepreneurs to engineer their psychology for success so they can think better, feel better and achieve more, effortlessly. Discover more here: https://jodiejackson.com/masteryourmind


In this week's episode, Steph and Jodie discuss:


- How media shapes our psychology

- Why you need to do a "media diet audit" NOW

- The power of focusing on solutions, not just problems

- How to hack your brain's filtering system

- Emotional neutralisation, not elimination

- Your mind is programmable by design


Let us know what resonated most with you from this conversation! Leave a comment or get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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4 weeks ago
43 minutes 3 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
From a failed nightclub aged just 19 to a $50M deal | Entrepreneurship with Daniil Shcherbakov

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business with the support of 1:1 mentorship and a dedicated community - all while getting an MBA with Oneday - where both Stephanie Melodia and Daniil Shcherbakov mentor: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodia


Daniil Shcherbakov is the Co-Founder & CEO of TonTon Games where he succeeded in raising $1M in pre-seed investment. He is a serial entrepreneur and mentor, a vocal advocate for mental health with refreshing perspectives on all things entrepreneurship. He is also a passionate gamer, startup mentor & lecturer at Cambridge.


In this week’s conversation, Steph and Daniil cover:


- Daniil’s early entrepreneurial ventures (aged just 19!) - and the lessons learned from the failures

- The importance of having a North Star

- Bold networking in Silicon Valley

- And so much more.


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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1 month ago
1 hour 4 minutes 11 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Overcome ANY conflict with Nicole Posner

65% of startups fail because of founder fall-outs. Nicole Posner is here to put an end to that. She works with Conflict-Avoidant Leaders, helping them to speak up calmly, confidently and courageously in moments that matter. She is also the Creator of The Difficult Conversation Code and author of 'and BREATHE…' (Purchase here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breathe-Difficult-Leadership-Conversations-Business/dp/1913728927)


Other resources mentioned in the interview:


Tune into Steph's interview with Alex Merry: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1XXH8jkdZcSVp2FfYeLK62?si=a5c7a02987644fe2


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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1 month ago
56 minutes 55 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
The $10k mistake I’ll never forget | Selina Ho, sustainable fashion entrepreneur & GTM expert

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business alongside an MBA with Oneday, where both Stephanie Melodia mentors: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodia


Selina Ho is a GTM strategist, founder of Re:Closeted, a conscious fashion consultancy, and host of the Confessions of a Conscious CEO podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/show/08wqIjbkYUCbGTKMnOZfGv


Tune into hear about:

  • Selina's unforgettable $10k mistake
  • Expertise in GTM and finding product-market fit
  • Turning a side hustle into a fully-fledged business
  • Headwinds & tailwinds as a multi-cultural, second-generation female immigrant
  • And more


Book recommended:

'Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away' by Annie Duke

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60097435-quit


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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1 month ago
1 hour 5 minutes 10 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Financial freedom after 'The Craziest Exit Day in History'™ | Nick Telson-Sillett [REPLAY]

Turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage with Gong.io:

https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast


Nick Telson-Sillett is the exited Co-Founder of DesignMyNight (acquired for $30M) and now Co-Founder of Trumpet, a buyer enablement tool for sales teams.


Tune in to hear about...


- Side-hustling with DesignMyNight whilst working his day job at L'Oréal


- Finding PMF, scaling up, and ultimately selling the biz in The Craziest Exit Day in History™ (you need to listen to the story 👀🫨😂)


- Life post-exit - angel investing and starting trumpet 🎺


And so much more.



Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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1 month ago
51 minutes 40 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
From paintball to TOY BOYS: a serial entrepreneur's playbook | Interview with Mike Bandar, Waybook and Professor at UCL

Turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage with Gong.io: https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast


Stephanie Melodia interviews Mike Bandar, founder & CEO of Waybook - an onboarding, training and knowledge tool for businesses to turn what they know into scalable systems, providing a single source of truth for growing teams. He is also the co-founder of Hopper, a social media scheduling tool; the founding partner of Turn Partners, a startup studio, and; owner of ToyBoy Warehouse, the UK’s largest dating site for older women and younger men. Mike Bandar is also a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at UCL and proponent of effectual thinking, especially in entrepreneurship.


Watch the full interview where Steph and Mike discuss:

- Can entrepreneurship be taught?

- Effectual thinking in entrepreneurship

- Building the right entrepreneurial environment

- Wartime vs peacetime leadership: how Mike has navigated through the inevitable ups & downs of business

- Building multiple businesses without EVER having raising external capital

- And so much more.


Get involved in the conversation - we want to hear from you!

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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2 months ago
1 hour 13 minutes 57 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Ladies, the problem isn't your confidence; it's that confidence in women isn't rewarded | From tall poppy to OBE with Lauren Currie, UPFRONT

Ready to make one day, day one? Launch and scale your business with the support of 1:1 mentorship and a dedicated community - all while getting an MBA with Oneday: https://bit.ly/stephanie-melodia


Lauren Currie is the 6X serial entrepreneur now founder of UPFRONT, upskilling 10 million women to be more confident and visible. (BOND 10 starts 3rd Nov! https://www.weareupfront.com/)


Lauren's work has been featured in The Guardian, Design Week, and Creative Review, She was also awarded an OBE for services to design and diversity.


She is also the newly-published children’s book author of 'Taylor Meets The Trick' (BUY HERE: https://the-trick.co/)


Tune in to hear Steph and Lauren discuss:


🧨 The systemic confidence problem and Lauren's mission to upskill 10M women

🧨 "Micro reps" for building confidence and the Taylor Swift confidence strategy

🧨 Bias towards action over perfection in entrepreneurship

🧨 The problem with tall poppy syndrome

🧨 Lauren's new children's book, 'Taylor Meets The Trick'

🧨 And much more.


Get involved in the conversation - we'd love to hear from you!

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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2 months ago
1 hour 4 minutes 19 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Calling out Steven Bartlett: the serial entrepreneur who stopped health misinformation

Turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage with Gong.io:

https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast


Ben Coomber is a multi-award winning high performance coach, bestselling author of 'How to Live an Awesome Life,' and the Founder & CEO of Awesome Supplements.


(Strategy & Tragedy listeners get an exclusive 15% off all orders with the code S&T15*: https://awesomesupplements.co.uk/discount/S&T15)


Tune into hear about:


- Ben's viral open letter calling out health misinformation from Steven Bartlett on his show, Diary of a CEO

- Personal brand strategy in 2025, Ben's consistency rule, and lessons building successful businesses in FMCG health

- Ben's health crisis pivot, and much more.


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!


*Valid for 60 days from episode publish date

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2 months ago
1 hour 5 minutes 13 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
"They underestimated me. Now I run a $20M business." Meet the first female founder CEO of an agency of this scale: Jennifer Quigley-Jones, Digital Voices

Ready to turn your sales conversations into your competitive advantage? Check out Gong.io and see why thousands of revenue teams trust their growth to Revenue AI.

https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast


Digital Voices was named the 13th fastest-growing agency by AdWeek, and is officially the fastest-growing Influencer Marketing agency in the world. Starting out with just £500 personal investment, Digital Voices now turns over more than $20M in annual recurring revenue with 94% ownership retained by founder Jennifer Quigley-Jones, Digital Voices is the only UK-based influencer agency of its scale led by a female CEO.


Tune in to hear about...


  • Starting a business aged just 26
  • Revenue-funded growth to $20M
  • The secret to hyper-scale growth
  • Building a proprietary tech platform as a non-technical founder
  • Ethics in influencer marketing
  • And so much more.


Book recommended in the interview:

'No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention' by Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49099937-no-rules-rules


Other episode mentioned:

Stephanie Melodia’s interview with Daniel Hegarty of Habito:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1ccUscX1U5AkFelntshArs?si=90fb3a71d3e64b08

https://youtu.be/ZnZVxTXf27E?si=PJkLa5hoGgQN-kNN


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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2 months ago
59 minutes 8 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
AI, YC, and SF with Yang Li of Cosine

Power up your commercial strategy with AI-powered insights driving every sales decision for predictable revenue growth with GONG: https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast


In this week's episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Yang Li, the Co-Founder of Cosine - a multi-agent AI tool designed to do compound tasks in complex codebases with a 72% SOTA score on SWE-Lancer.


In this episode, Steph and Yang cover:

  • Is AI a bubble? And when will it burst? Yang's hot takes
  • Meeting Tom Blomfield, Sam altman, Aaron Levie, and Michael Seibel
  • Best advice for entrepreneurs in AI (hint: building for AI's "mediocre zone")
  • HONEST thoughts on Y Combinator
  • How we manufacture luck
  • And more.


Discover more about Cosine here: https://cosine.sh/


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/


Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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3 months ago
1 hour 22 minutes 43 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
The SALES Expert: Turn cold calls into cash with Tash Rebuck

Power up your commercial strategy with AI-powered insights driving every sales decision for predictable revenue growth with GONG: https://www.gong.io/demo/?utm_campaign=demo&utm_medium=tpv&utm_source=ceo-st-podcast


In this week's episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Tash Rebuck, the sales expert and founder of TR Sales Consultancy, specialising in B2B sales strategy and training for growth businesses whilst strengthening commercial teams. We cover:


👉 The BIGGEST traps people fall into making sales

👉 Cold-calling techniques (put to the test LIVE ON THE AIR!)

👉 The art of the follow-up - how to get an edge over others

👉 How acting helped Tash overcome sales blockers

👉 And so much more sales goodness.

Learn more about Tash's sales consultancy here: https://trsalesconsultancy.co.uk/


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/


🙏🏼 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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3 months ago
1 hour 8 minutes 26 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Positive habits for high-performers with Kat Thorne

Crush sales with one tool that puts your LinkedIn & email outreach on autopilot with Dripify: https://try.dripify.com/hdoriziho14r

In this episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Kat Thorne; the positive habits queen whose high-flying career made her crash & burn, forcing her to reassess how she was treating her own body. She now helps other high-performers achieve success in a sustainable way.


Tune in to learn about:


👉 The "untouchable" trap - High performers thinking they're superhuman

👉 Move your body vs. exercise - The reframing that makes movement more accessible

👉 The morning phone trap - Why checking emails immediately isn't effective

👉 Success without sustainability fails - The core message about unsustainable success

👉 The productivity paradox - How self-care actually improves performance

👉 The 80/20 self-promise rule - Building self-respect through keeping commitments to yourself


Want more? Follow Kat on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne/

🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/


🙏🏼 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517


Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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3 months ago
1 hour 8 minutes 43 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
How to become a "high agency" founder (and pitch to investors) with Saba Yussouf | Strategy & Tragedy

Automatically turn long videos into viral shorts in just one click with Opus: https://www.opus.pro/?via=dcec02In this week's episode, Stephanie Melodia interviews Saba Yussouf, exited founder and investor specialising in STEM revolutions - from reinventing food systems to democratising infection prevention and battling environmental threats. As a high-agency venture capitalist, Saba bets on founders who rewrite industries, not rules. Worked with institutions such as Cambridge University, American Express, and Harrods.Steph and Saba cover:- What it means to be high agency, how to get there, and what it looks like in practise- Saba's own entrepreneurial journey and how much market timings can affect success or failure- From founder to investor - how Saba developed her own investment thesis and what she looks for in a deal (Hint: High agency founders for one 😉) - Saba's "unhinged" neuro-backed time management hack- And so much more entrepreneur-focused goodness.Get involved in the conversation:🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/

🙏🏼 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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3 months ago
46 minutes 33 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Rob Law of Trunki: A masterclass in resilience

Automatically turn long videos into viral shorts in just one click with Opus: https://www.opus.pro/?via=dcec02


Crush sales with a single LinkedIn & email autopilot tool - Dripify: https://try.dripify.com/hdoriziho14r


Best known as the founder of Trunki, the iconic ride-on suitcase for kids, Rob Law turned one of the most famous rejections on BBC's Dragons' Den into a global success, selling over 5 million units across 100+ countries. He scaled up the business over 17 years (winning 120+ awards along the way) and exited in 2023.


In this interview, Steph and Rob discuss:


- Overcoming setbacks - from ridicule on national TV and a luggage ban - to deeper, personal issues like cystic fibrosis and losing his twin sister aged just 16

- GTM strategy, positioning, and growth levers

- The failed attempt to create a “tween” version of Trunki that intentional businessmen ended up wanting!

- How Rob exercises his resilience muscle

- The path to selling Trunki and what life looked like post-exit

- Answering the questions he’s NEVER been asked in an interview before

- New ventures and advice to his younger self


Book Rob to speak at your event: roblaw.com

Help your children go to sleep with zeepy.co

Grow your brand on Amazon with aphelion.agency


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


🎬 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/


🙏🏼 Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517


🎧 Don't forget to subscribe, rate, review, and share with a friend!

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4 months ago
49 minutes 59 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Team GB Powerlifter, Jodie Cook: The new rules for success

This episode is dedicated to Kieran!


Jodie Cook is the Forbes 30 Under 30 Founder of Coachvox, following the 7-figure exit of her own social media agency which she started fresh out of uni. Jodie is a Forbes senior contributor with 19M+ article reads. She has also competed in powerlifting for Team GB 9 times and lived in 35 cities as a digital nomad. (Everything she own fits in one suitcase!)In this interview, Steph and Jodie discuss...


- Five surprising ways to achieve your goals

- Jodie's business journey and key lessons learnt

- The power of manifesting

- Playing your ace cards

- And so much more.


Ready to scale beyond your time? Make the AI version of you at: https://coachvox.ai/


Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/


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4 months ago
1 hour 14 minutes

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
Sneak peek: September preview + The importance of taking breaks!

Get involved in the conversation:

🤍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/

🤍 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephmelodia-keynotespeaker/


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4 months ago
12 minutes 57 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
"My failed business made me a better investor" | Mona Tiesler, tokentus (Replay)

Mona Tiesler is an investor at tokentus, a leading VC firm in the German blockchain ecosystem, where she invests in startups that leverage blockchain technology globally. She has several years of experience in venture capital, and has been involved in pre-seed to Series A deals across Europe, USA, UAE and Asia.
With a background in strategy consulting, venture building, and entrepreneurship, Mona has a passion for supporting innovators who are building the decentralized future of the internet.


She has co-founded and led companies in Fintech, Edtech, and Foodtech, and has an MBA from INSEAD.

In this episode, Mona and Steph discuss:

- How to re-invent yourself while navigating huge career changes
- The mental reframe required when facing rejection (after rejection, after rejection...) 

- Practical tips on learning the key skill *every* entrepreneur needs; SALES!
- The importance of strategy and how each step helps the next
- PLUS! What Mona looks for now as an investor

Mona is passionate about breaking down barriers to access - both for fundraising founders and equalising gender opportunities. In-line with her mission, Mona is a member of Global Women in VC, the world's largest community for women in venture capital to connect, collaborate, and create opportunities for each other. 

Discover more here:
https://www.women-vc.com/

Mona is also the Co-Founder of Distributed Funding, a platform for underrepresented founders in the Web3 space to submit pitch decks and a short survey in just a few minutes.

Learn more here: https://roomy-tailor-258.notion.site/Distributed-Funding-
b49508c6d2484d62b3c0calab286a132

Fundraising? Learn more about what tokentus looks for in their investments here:
https://tokentus.com/targets

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephmelodia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniemelodia/

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@stephmelodia/videos

Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=108229517

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4 months ago
39 minutes 57 seconds

Strategy & Tragedy: CEO Stories with Steph Melodia
UK Top 20 Business Show for today’s entrepreneur. Hosted by UK Top 20 Female Founder, Stephanie Melodia, Strategy & Tragedy spotlights the most authentic & interesting founder stories - featuring the good, the bad, and the ugly of building a business. With the purpose to inspire and educate entrepreneurs, guests also include subject matter experts such as top business strategists, marketers, and investors to help arm founders with the knowledge to succeed in business.