Talent is everywhere; opportunity is not.

In this episode, Joe Seddon, founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, shares his journey from a single-parent household in West Yorkshire to launching an award-winning tech platform that supports over 15,000 talented students from low-income backgrounds, providing mentoring, coaching, and career pathways to help them gain entry into top UK universities and secure successful careers.

Joe is widely recognised as a leader in tech for social mobility, and has been named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list, and received a British Empire Medal for services to social mobility.

The conversation reveals the importance of having an authentic company culture, taking risks, and cultivating mission-driven leadership. Joe highlights, to your hosts, Henry and Maureen, Zero Gravity’s impact on social mobility, the power of mentoring, with Joe offering practical advice for building a happy and high-performing workplace.

[Guest's] tips for a happy workplace:

1. Measure what matters
2. Distil your culture into a culture deck and make this part of your onboarding process
3. Human beings are self-interested creatures: Incentivise and reward

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

1. Zero Gravity
2. Happy Workplace

In this episode, Alisa Sydow, Associate Professor at ESCP Business School, and Thinkers 50 Radar for 2025. Alisa shares her journey researching entrepreneurship in Africa, focusing on empowering female founders and local artisans in Kenya. She discusses the challenges of building authentic, culturally-rooted businesses and the importance of storytelling and branding for “Made in Kenya” products. Alisa also introduces her mentorship initiative, Numpy, supporting women entrepreneurs in the Global South. The conversation highlights the power of cultural pride, community, and authentic leadership in driving social impact through entrepreneurship.

Alisa's tips for a happy workplace:

1. Be authentic; embrace conflict
2. Diversity can bring surprise
3. Be open

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• ESCP Business School
• Happy Workplace

DJ, from Happy, shares his wisdom with us today about the evolving role of AI in work and life in 2025.

Sharing insights on using AI as a “co-thinker” to boost creativity and critical thinking, you'll hear practical examples, from DJ, Maureen, and Henry, of AI effectiveness in the workplace, with examples, as we address data security, ethical use, and the importance of verifying the output of AI.

DJ highlights the balance between human skills and AI, the value of clear workplace AI policies, and how to explore AI with curiosity, creativity, and caution.

DJ's tips for a happy workplace:

• Have good AI policies (people are going to be using it)
• Encourage everyone in the organisation to use AI as a co-thinker (to upskill everyone)
• Have fun with AI

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Happy Workplace