Strathclyde InspireStrathclyde Inspire Podcasts

For this year’s International Women’s Day, Katie Woods, our Ecosystem Development Executive, spoke with Sarah Jardine, a Strathclyde alum and the Chief Executive Officer at retinal imaging company epipole. She tells us about what inspired her to pursue a career in Manufacturing, her journey, the importance of representation for improving diversity within STEM, why she has acted as a mentor for young girls, future plans, and key lessons learned along the way.

Dr Caroline Whitfield, a doctoral researcher at the Strathclyde Business School, chats to Noel Mathias – Founding and Managing Director of WEvolution UK – about entrepreneurship in two areas; the East End of Glasgow and the most deprived areas of Mumbai in India, where he grew up. They reflect on how the two cultures differ in terms of participation in entrepreneurship and community development initiatives.

John Anderson, Director of Growth at Strathclyde Business School at the University of Strathclyde, spoke to Daniel Rae, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at social media agency We Are Hydrogen about his career journey, going viral on TikTok, the stereotype of what an #entrepreneur looks like, why he decided to exit the company, and offers some advice for founders!

Manish Joshi, CEO of Strathclyde Students Union, sits down with Managing Director and Founder of This is Milk, Angela Prentner-Smith. Angela talks openly about her experience as a neurodiverse female and what led her to become her own boss. She shares her personal experiences of gender bias and reflects on her career journey to date and what it means to be neurodivergent, where to get support, and what companies can do to attract more diverse thought leaders.

In this episode, John Anderson, Director of Growth at the Strathclyde Business School, sat down with Strathclyde Inspire supporter and international business expert, Neil McDonald. Neil spoke about his career journey and shared his thoughts on leadership styles, the definition of an entrepreneur, fear of failure, and sustainability in this engaging discussion.

Manish Joshi, CEO of Strathclyde Students Union, sits down with Strathclyde Senior Enterprise Fellow, Dr Rabinder Buttar, to chat about her career journey - from undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde to becoming founder and CEO of clinical research company, ClinTec International. Rabinder comments on what makes a good leadership team, her experience as a female entrepreneur in a male dominated sector, and the importance of perseverance.

In this episode, Manish Joshi, CEO of Strathclyde Students Union, sits down with Pamela Smith, VP of Future Programmes at AAC Clyde Space. They chat about how Pamela began working in the space sector, the opportunities in Scotland, how we can build the workforce, diversity in the sector and Pamela's role as a STEM Ambassador, as well as some misconceptions about working in the field!

In this episode of Inspiring Conversations, Manish Joshi sits down with experienced early stage investor and visiting professor of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, John Waddell. John talks about his experience as both an investor and visiting professor, and how mindset, being creative and getting comfortable with digital marketing is key to success in growing your business both locally and internationally.

Dr Caroline Whitfield from the Strathclyde Business School chat to Ruba Eltigani, a Strathclyde MBA graduate from the Abu Dhabi campus. Discover her journey into entrepreneurship, her personal measures of success, how she balances motherhood with work, and her exciting upcoming ventures. We also explore how Ruba’s story aligns with research showing that women often become entrepreneurs because they are unhappy with the professional choices available to them, and want to create a positive social impact through their work.

In this audio only episode, Dr Caroline Whitfield, a doctoral researcher at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde, sat down with Dr Carolyn MacMillan, a Chancellors Fellow at University of Strathclyde, to discuss her research on women-led businesses and entrepreneurship in Nepal. As these women were under-educated for traditional employment, they utilised entrepreneurship in order to make a living and improve the lives of their families. They discuss the backlash that these women faced for challenging gendered expectations of behaviour and how they overcame this.

In this episode of Inspiring Conversations, Manish Joshi chats to Peter Proud, Founder and CEO of digital technology company Forrit and Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde's Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship. Peter chats about his career journey to date, the importance of mentoring and good working relationships, his career highlights, and offers some advice to budding entrepreneurs.

Colleagues from Strathclyde Inspire delve deep into conversation with guests Dr Roddy Yarr (Executive Lead Sustainability, University of Strathclyde) and Prof. Matt Hannon (Professor of Sustainable Energy Business and Policy, Strathclyde Business School), to discuss climate change, climate action and policy, and how entrepreneurs and individuals can make a positive impact on the challenges and opportunities faced within the world we live in today.

This mini live epsiode of 'Inspiring Conversations' was recorded at our May bi-annual Inspire100 event. Gillian Docherty, Chief Commercial Officer, delivers an inspiring keynote address on 'Passion, Perspective and Perseverance'. She recounts her career journey, what led her to change path, and offers some advice to others.

In this special end of year episode, we included the highlights of Inspiring Conversations podcast episodes from the past year. We hear from inspirational entrepreneurs Dr Susie Mitchell, Susan Aktemel, Neil Logan, Ian Ritchie, Clare Nelson, and Gurjit Singh Lalli. Watch for some fantastic advice and insights from these innovative leaders.

Susan Aktemel is the Founder & Executive Director of Homes for Good, Scotland's first social enterprise letting agency and is one of Scotland’s most successful entrepreneurs. She is also one of eight Senior Enterprise Fellows at the University of Strathclyde; a group of inspirational entrepreneurial leaders who are working to help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurially minded graduates, researchers, and academics.

Director of the Glasgow City Innovation District, Alisdair Gunn, sat down with Neil Logan, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of digital technology specialist, Incremental Group. Neil is a Senior Enterprise Fellow at the University of Strathclyde, where he is working with Strathclyde Inspire to help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We sat down again with Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde colleagues, Lucrezia Casulli, Emilee Lauran Simmons and Suzanne Mawson. On the back of the last episode, this time they discussed what is meant by the term 'entrepreneurial mindset', changing perceptions of 'failure' and 'success', overcoming the fear of taking risks, and self-reflection!

Dr Susie Mitchell, Programme Director for Glasgow City of Science and Innovation, is a truly inspirational scientific entrepreneur who, throughout her career, has championed diversity and equality in STEM. 

Manish Joshi, CEO of Strathclyde Students Union, sat down with Ian Ritchie, one of Scotland's leading entrepreneurs. Over the last 30 years, Ian has helped to build Scotland as a centre for high growth technology companies. We were delighted to learn more about Ian's career journey to date and his role as a University of Strathclyde Senior Enterprise Fellow.

Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship colleagues, Lucrezia Casulli, Emilee Simmons and Suzanne Mawson, sit down to dispel misconceptions and myths about Entrepreneurship. They discuss the importance of resilience and overcoming setbacks, debate whether entrepreneurs are team players or lone wolves, and ask if entrepreneurial mindsets are hereditary.

Manish Joshi, CEO of Strathclyde Students Union, sat down with the inspirational Gurjit Singh Lalli, Curator and Founder of TEDxGlasgow, winner of the Businessman of the Year Award at the Scottish Asian Business Awards and Strathclyde Senior Enterprise Fellow, who is working to help inspire Strathclyde's next generation of entrepreneurs.

We speak to Claire Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Netball Scotland and Strathclyde Sirens. Claire is a truly inspirational and entrepreneurial female leader, who was most recently named 'Game Changer in Sport'. As one of the most influential women working in UK sport today, Claire is recognised for pioneering industry-leading advancements in women’s sport and has clear ambitions of where netball should be in the future.

Manish Joshi and Meghan Friel sat down with Jeremie Warner, Power A Life and Matthew MacLean, Airspection for this live episode, which took place in front of a small audience in the Students' Union. The guests chat about their businesses, how they engaged with Inspire and the support they have received, juggling starting a business with studying and other jobs, taking risks, and answer some questions from the audience.

We ask Professor Janice Kirkpatrick what she thinks it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset before finding out about her own entrepreneurial journey.

Start-Up Advisor and former COO of SkyScanner Mark responds to questions about SkyScanner and entrepreneurial ecosystems, raised by guests at the Strathclyde Inspire launch event.

Vicky Hamilton – inventor of Recoil Kneepads, founder of VH Innovation and Enterprise Fellow at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship – is our first guest. Join us as she chats to Manish about her experience abandoning the traditional graduate scheme route and launching a successful business instead, and how she chose a lifestyle over a career.

Alum Rebecca Pick, Founder of Pick Protection, speaks to Manish about her experience engaging with Strathclyde Inspire during University and the support she received. She chats about being part of the Strathclyde Inspire Accelerator cohort (formerly called Rising Stars), the challenges of the role, future plans, and how she maintains a work/life balance.

Melanie Blane, Founder of White Rabbit Skincare, chats to Manish in honour of World Mental Health Day. She speaks about the ups and downs of being a solo entrepreneur and how it can affect your mental health and wellbeing, speaking candidly about loneliness, anxiety and feelings of vulnerability as a solo entrepreneur. She offers some fantastic tips for ways to cope with burnout and building confidence.

This episode was recorded as part of a Strathclyde Inspire100 event. Having previously pitched at an Inspire100 event, Stuart Hannah, Founder of Strathclyde spin-out MicroplateDx, shared his experience of being an innovator and the process of spinning out. Stuart reflects on the entrepreneurial characteristics required to enable innovation, and discusses his journey as an academic entering the world of entrepreneurship.

Alum Carmen Cummiskey, CEO of Teqnox Ltd and inventor of FOMO Protection, chats about starting a business while studying, motivation, burn out, lessons learned, future plans and the support she received along the way.