Michelle

Live your life without limits – Andy Grant

What were you doing 15 years ago? On 3rd February 2009, our latest life chat guest, Liverpool born, Honorary Royal Marine Colonel, Andy Grant, was blown up in Afghanistan alongside his fellow Marine commando, Iain Syme.

Andy was just 20 years old when he suffered 27 horrific injuries, was in a coma for 2 weeks, and woke to be told he could no longer have children. 18 months of tough rehabilitation followed before Andy made the agonising, life changing decision to have his seriously injured leg amputated.

Not only did Andy face the challenge of having to learn to walk again he has gone on to become;
• World record holder as the fastest single leg amputee over 10km
• Double gold medal winner at Prince Harry’s Invictus Games going on to run marathons, learning to ski and surf and conquering the highest of mountains.

Andy is in training for the one of the hardest ultra-marathons in the world, the Marathon des Sable and despite being told he could never have children, he is the proud father of his “greatest achievement”, his beautiful daughter, Alba.

Andy’s story is documented in his superbly-titled book “You’ll Never Walk” and his story begins at age 12, when he faced life without his beloved mum who passed away from leukaemia. Andy shares beautifully how his mum and family have been, and continue to be, his main source of strength and inspiration throughout his incredible challenges.

Now as an accomplished motivational speaker, Andy inspires people of all ages around the world to believe that anything is possible. If ever there was a story to make us not only open up but get us off our backsides to walk on and live life to the max, it’s this one.

Let’s ‘Talk on to Walk on’ with Andy Grant and let’s see where it leads…

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#Lifeconversations #inspirationalstories #royalmarines

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My Start up Story: Ittybit

IttyBit has created software that simplifies the handling of rich media in applications, providing developers with easy ways to upload, store, transform, and extract data from video, audio, and image files, while ensuring compatibility across different formats and browsers. They have built a media intelligence engine which helps developers to add uploads in minutes, to extract rich data from files, and to deliver media at 10x lower cost.
As well as detailing the unique elements of the Ittybit offer, Paul talks about: –

• Dropping out of university to start, scale and sell his YouTube coaching channel
• His love of travel and his time in Silicon Valley being exposed to people who were “better than him” and thought “bigger than him”
• His socialist values; how he is driven to grow to give back to society
• The importance of a cofounder and community so you’re not doing it all alone
• How his 18 month old son, Finn, makes him appreciate the use of his time and energy
• His love of Elon Musk and why…

Following a competitive process, Ittybit completed the Baltic Ventures Tech Accelerator 2023 programme and are currently fundraising for their next phase of growth.
For more details about the next Baltic Ventures 2024 application process go to www.balticventures.uk and for Ittybit see www.ittybit.com
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My Start up Story: Cubode

Cubode is working towards a world where everyone is empowered to harness data.
It is doing that by turning code from a privilege to an accessible commodity. Just like Canva has democratised design, without having to hire a full creative team, Cubode is democratising the harnessing of data using AI, without having to hire a team of coders. Cubode makes the extraction, processing and analysing of data simple and effortless. No technical expertise needed.

Rebeca Garcia, co-founder, is passionate about what she has created. As well as explaining how Cubode offers a unique non-technical alternative to coding, she also shares:
• her views on under-represented female role models as founders or investors in the tech start-up sector
• why making an impact, rather than only aspiring to do so, is something worth celebrating
• her realisation that setting out a vision and reinforcing it is critical
• the story of her parent’s business going bankrupt when she was a teenager and how that shaped who she is
• her decision to turn down a place at university and to move to London instead despite not speaking any English and…
• …why she is not afraid of losing everything.
Following a competitive process, Cubode completed the Baltic Ventures Tech Accelerator 2023 programme and are currently fundraising for their next phase of growth.
For more details about the next Baltic Ventures 2024 application process go to www.balticventures.uk and for Cubode see www.cubode.com
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My Start up Story: Birl

On average the UK spends £27bn on clothes, sends 300,000 tonnes of clothes to landfill each year, when it is believed 95% of those garments could be re-worn or upcycled.
Birl is making resale easy and profitable for purpose-driven brands by offering a single button on a brand’s product display page to allow customers to trade in and receive credits to purchase new products whilst then handling the logistics, resale & recycling of all trade-ins on the brand’s behalf (think Klarna, but a force for good).
Our conversation with Peter Lydon, co-founder, includes:-
• how he has already secured Birl’s first fashion brands to offer the trade-in process to customers.
• The opportunities and frustrations of being a tech disruptor in the fashion sector
• Who he turns to when he has a wobble
• How, as an adopted Scouser, he is now giving back.
• how the power of the collective, rather than going alone, can help you go further.
• his unique working routine as he juggles work and family life (believe us, it is quite unique!)
• “Don’t just take the money”: Why aligning values and morals are important for co-founder and investor relationships to thrive.
Following a competitive process, Birl has completed the Baltic Ventures Tech Accelerator 2023 programme and is currently fundraising for its next phase of growth.
For more details about the next Baltic Ventures 2024 application process or to seek information about investor opportunities go to www.balticventures.uk and for Birl go to http://www.wearebirl.com/
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My Start up Story: Heatio

While the UK is in an energy crisis characterised by soaring energy prices, Heatio is making clean energy affordable and accessible to all.
Sharing his why and how his young business has recently partnered with EoN, Heatio’s Chief Commercial Officer, Thomas Farquhar brilliantly shares his entrepreneurial journey and reflections which include:-
· why he doesn’t describe himself as an entrepreneur
· why bootstrapping a start-up has helped build a strong foundation
· the challenges of running a business whilst fundraising
· how he and his co-founder, Simon Roberts, trust each other implicitly
· his realisation that tunnel vision stopped him opening up
· lessons from his father and grandfather which have shaped his life and business ethos
Tom shares a great story with honesty and genuine reflection which will bring a smile alongside admiration.
Our conversation with Tom starts at 03:52.
Following a competitive process, Heatio have completed the Baltic Ventures Tech Accelerator 2023 programme and are currently fundraising for their next phase of growth.
For more details about the next Baltic Ventures 2024 application process or to seek information about investor opportunities go to www.balticventures.uk and for Heatio go to www.heatio.co.uk
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My Start up Story: Gaia Learning

Everyone knows a child who struggles in school. CEO of Gaia Learning and TEDx speaker alongside her cofounder, Kirsten Coughtrie are personalising learning experiences for neurodivergent children worldwide.
Gaia Learning have created a global online school that supports neurodiverse children through personalised education, which parents and educators can monitor via a dashboard that provides insights into a child’s learning experience. The model leads to reduced anxiety, more personalised learning, and better overall learner experience.
Kate exudes passion when she shares her absolute belief that Gaia Learning will change the world of education and is incredibly honest about the realities of building a business.
Some of her highlight shares include:-
• Her feelings when she realised that her daughter, Poppy was different from most other children and how mainstream education doesn’t adequately cater for 20% of the population who are neuro-divergent
• Why the world needs to understand the potential for online learning (which is not sitting your child in front of a computer for hours)
• How techniques such as using dinosaurs to teach maths and designing a dream house to teach English can revolutionise a child’s learning, confidence and creative thinking.
• How the Baltic Ventures Accelerator gave her headspace, a sense of community and an opportunity for meaningful conversation
• How her early childhood traumatic events gave her an absolute belief that everything will be alright
• What she has learnt in terms of accepting support from others
Our conversation with Kate starts at 03:52.
Following a competitive process, Gaia Learning have completed the Baltic Ventures Tech Accelerator 2023 programme and are currently fundraising for their next phase of growth.
For more details about the next Baltic Ventures 2024 application process or to seek information about investor opportunities go to www.balticventures.uk and for Gaia Learning go to www.gaialearning.co.uk
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel to help build our community.

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My Start up Story: Hexis

Driven by a desire to address nutritional challenges faced in professional sports Dr Sam Impey, co-founded Hexis in 2018 alongside, David Dunne.

Hexis allows nutritionists, trainers, and sports organisations to predictively personalise the nutritional needs of their athletes. Based on unique demands of workouts, lifestyle and goals the technology analyses dietary intake and provides feedback and data visualisations to help athletes fuel smarter, perform better and recover faster. The technology is trusted by some of the world’s top sports nutritionists and has been used to power the performance of Olympic medalists and World Champions.

As well as detailing the unique elements of the Hexis offer, Sam talks about: –

• Transitioning from his accomplished academic environment into the uncertain and challenging world of starting and scaling a business

• How his scientific background helps him control overwhelm

• The importance of a complementary and motivational co-founder, Simon Roberts

• His inspirational mum who raised him alone

• How in spite of his dyslexia he gained a PhD and

• The book which provided him with a unique insight on leadership.

Our conversation with Sam starts at 03:52.

Following a competitive process, Hexis completed the Baltic Ventures Tech Accelerator 2023 programme and are currently fundraising for their next phase of growth. For more details about the next Baltic Ventures 2024 application process go to www.balticventures.uk and for Hexis see www.hexis.live

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Do you struggle with Big Decisions?

Are you someone who prefers staying in your comfort zone or have you changed your life by making big decisions? In their latest podcast episode, Michelle and Patrick discuss the importance of making big decisions and share their personal experiences.

Michelle talks about her decision to end her first marriage while Patrick shares his experience of choosing to leave a stable job. In their conversation, they highlight the importance of reflecting on what you really want, taking care when seeking the opinions of others especially the couch critics, tuning into your gut, and creating your own story to tell.

If you struggle with making big decisions, this podcast is definitely for you. Don’t allow your life to drift, do take action and create the life you want. Remember, age is not an excuse! #BigDecisions #PersonalGrowth #Reflection #TakeAction #Midlife #CouplesConversation

They would love you to subscribe to their YouTube channel to help build their growing community. https://www.youtube.com/@talkontowalkon

For more episodes and information about Michelle and Patrick and their wider coaching and talks offer go to: www.talkontowalkon.com

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Midlife Muddle Habits

Our first Midlife Muddle episode gave an overview of the importance of mindset and touched on how the narrative around midlife is finally changing from doomy gloomy to one of opportunity.

Whilst it’s all very well reading the headlines around “creating the life we want” and “finally being comfortable in our own skin” the reality is it doesn’t always feel that way. This is especially true if we don’t have at least a few good habits to help get us through the days when our joints are aching, we’re exhausted or we’re cracking up because, for the 10th time, we’ve forgotten where we’ve put our glasses or why we came up the stairs…

You will know which habits you either need to ditch or which habits you need to work on but if you want to hear our midlife habit experiences, ideas and top tips to not only survive but thrive in midlife and hopefully beyond then…

Let’s ‘Talk on to Walk on’ and let’s see where it leads…

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Dare to dream whatever your age

Nic Byrne sees possibility everywhere.
Approaching 20 years as a serial entrepreneur and alongside her business partner, she employs 40 people across her Urban Calm salons, training academy and spa with a purpose, Mini Madams.
Those of us who know and love Nic will think of words such as “resilience”, “grafter”, and “smart”.

Nic is now taking all that business and life experience and channelling it into her latest purposeful venture, Girls with Dreams Club.
The aim is to provide much needed support and guidance to girls throughout their challenging teenage years so they can go out into the world with the confidence to pursue their dreams.

As well as her talking about the reasons behind launching Girls with Dreams we discuss:
• The power of our network, working together for the greater good
• The realities of achieving success through hard work and
• Hacks to maintain a motivated, positive and purposeful state of mind as we transition into and through midlife.
Describing herself as an accidental entrepreneur, Nic Byrne is the epitome of what’s needed to walk on and go after your dreams, whatever your age.
I am delighted to be supporting her to spearhead a project to encourage and prepare the next generation of fabulous females to do the same.

Let’s ‘Talk on to Walk on’ with Nic and let’s see where it leads.

Please rate and review if listening on Apple. Please subscribe on Spotify and You Tube.
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www.girlswithdreamsclub.com

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