The Soul of Startups

Foreword

“It really is that simple.” I stood nodding my head under drizzling rain in the middle of Hyde Park, re‐reading my WhatsApp exchange with Sophie. “Mental bookmark,” I said aloud and continued walking. She and I had been going back‐and‐forth about a particularly stressful interpersonal work conundrum I was experiencing, and I was in search of some tough love wrapped in sympathy, which is exactly what I got.

For most of my career, particularly the last decade, I've been pursuing a vision of work where I feel confident, valued, and fulfilled. Why is that remarkable in any way? It's not. We're all doing the same thing, every day. However, it is remarkable to find someone who challenges and helps you refine your thinking to make both your pursuit and your vision not only sensible but attainable. Even more remarkable is finding someone with whom to build that vision. I (and many others) found that person in Sophie. Together, she and I have spent countless hours bonding over our shared passions, similarities, differences and, ultimately, how we want to make changes in the world.

Sophie and I first met in person in December 2019 in the London HQ of the FinTech company she had recently joined. I was in the recruitment process to join and was looking to leave my role at a large, very stable organisation, to head up marketing and customer acquisition at this much smaller B2C FinTech. I had ambitious plans to seriously disrupt traditional consumer lending. I arrived in a suit. ...