In this episode, Adam Flinter joins Mat to explore how trust shapes the worlds of venture, scale-ups, and cross-regional growth. Adam’s journey from BBC journalism to advising governments, VCs, and founders across the UK, the Gulf, and Southeast Asia gives him a rare perspective on how trust is formed long before deals are signed.
They discuss what founders often overlook when approaching different types of investors, why relationship-driven markets operate differently from transactional ones, and how defining an exit early can guide every upstream decision. The conversation also examines major trust failures – from FTX to eFishery – and what these moments reveal about fragility, accountability, and the slow rebuilding that follows.

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