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Today’s guest is Harry Stebbings, Founder of The Twenty Minute VC podcast which has 120 million downloads to date. Harry started his podcast with zero contacts in VC, all from his bedroom at 18 years old. At 22 years old, Harry was the youngest to make the list on the Forbes Finance 30 Under 30 in Europe. At 24 years old, Harry went on to successfully raise his own venture fund 20VC worth $140M. In this episode, Harry opens up about his struggles with eating disorders and all the mental challenges he has faced while achieving what he has at such a young age. Harry is incredibly passionate about what he does and gives away some very helpful and practical tips during this episode. For all the podcasts he’s hosted, Harry has been a guest on very few, and never one quite like this. This is not one to miss, Harry doesn’t hold back. Key Topics of Discussion: How he started the podcast and what he owes his success to? Is there a work / life balance? The line - where and when to be vulnerable Living with bulimia / eating disorders & how to address it What is human happiness? How to inspire a team and create a clear vision What keeps Harry motivated and his ‘why’ How to think about mental health in the workplace & investment world How to face rejection, insecurities and uncertainties What is it that keeps him going when he feels like he’s at his lowest? Where to find more on Harry: The 20 Minute VC Harry’s LinkedIn Harry’s Twitter

A special episode with Ricky Blair who has been Alexi's mentor for the last few years, who ultimately changed the course of his life. Ricky was a huge part of the reason Alexi started this podcast and set up The Conscious Founder - Mindset Coaching for business founders. It was a pleasure to pick Ricky's brain and hear his incredible success story and why he started his latest venture - Platform Seven.  Ricky left school at sixteen frustrated and despondent. Fast forward a few years and Ricky was selling his hugely successful central London commercial real estate company, to the highest of multiple bidders. He attributes much of his success to a mentor that walked into his life one day, giving Ricky not only the self-belief but the skills and principles to succeed. Ricky founded Platform Seven on the back of his unprecedented success as a twenty-something-year-old in the real estate industry, later moving from London to Los Angeles with the sole purpose of doing for other young adults what his own mentor did for him. And he’s passionate about sharing his own experience — in life and in business — to make the impossible possible for others.  Alexi knows the power of Ricky's work first hand and would encourage any founders/ business leaders to consider using him as their own life & business mentor: https://www.platform-seven.com/ Or follow Ricky on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/platform.seven/?hl=en **This is also the last episode where Kyri and Alexi will be joint hosts. Alexi will be taking the reigns, whilst Kyri focusses on other projects (more to come on all this in future episodes).

George is the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Sanctus. Sanctus is an organisation that supports and partners with businesses to normalise mental health within the workplace. They offer a proactive and preventative solution, making it easier for employees to talk about their mental health and general wellbeing at work. Even if you haven’t heard of Sanctus, their mission will sound pretty familiar: they want to create a world where mental health is viewed the same as physical health - even if this means putting the world's first mental health gyms on the high street. They have worked with huge organisations like Octopus ventures, BCG, Just Eat, Red Bull and Vice. George takes us through his own fascinating story: Professional football until the age of 18, starting a watch business before he’d even got to University and founding MatchChat whilst still studying. We hear about his experience of founding MatchChat with his best friend James. It was the stress and unhappiness of this experience that led the two of them to found Sanctus, which now employs over 20 people. George is remarkably frank about his status as an entrepreneur, as well as the highs and lows that come with it. Follow George on Instagram @georgebettany and/ or his business @sanctus for more.Or see what Sanctus does for Mental Health in the workplace: https://sanctus.io/ 

Scarlett Clark is the award-winning founder and CEO of Smart Girl Tribe, the UK's number one female empowerment community. Scarlett uses her energy to empower women to design a life they love as their most authentic selves through her top-rated podcast, successful event series, her YouTube channel and activism. Scarlett regularly speaks at Harvard University as a female empowerment expert and works with UN Women, Women for Women International and HeforShe advocating for women everywhere. Scarlett joins the Mind Field pod to talk us through her own story and her own battles with anxiety. We learn how she built up her business as a teenager from her dorm room and why she loves what she does. Scarlett has just released her ‘Smart Girl Tribe’ book and we hear about her favourite parts. For more, follow Scarlett or Smart Girl Tribe on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/scarlett_victoria_clark/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/smartgirltribe/?hl=en You can also purchase her book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Smart-Girls-Handbook-Self-doubt-Impossible/dp/1789562279/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=SMART+GIRLS+HANDBOOK&qid=1611757621&sr=8-1

Artist and art educator Georgie Mason joins the Mind Field pod to talk all things mindfulness and art. ​Georgie is a contemporary landscape painter based out of London and since graduating, she has exhibited internationally including at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, the Affordable Art Fairs, and the Museum of Goa in India.  Her work is held in public and private collections across the UK and she has been a guest lecturer at Queen Mary University. Georgie also has over ten years' experience as an art educator and she aims to teach art as a form of mindfulness and to make creativity accessible to everyone. Georgie takes us through her own story into the world of art, including her own battles with her mental health. We hear about her struggles in relationships and how she overcame all of these. We ask Georgie what she now does to manage her mental health and she provides her top tips for doing so. Georgie also takes the hosts through a short art mindfulness session, testing Kyri and Alexi’s (very) limited artistic ability (note: we only kept our reactions in the recording). Georgie explains why she gets so many professionals and burnt-out employees through her doors for lessons in art and mindfulness – the hosts quickly see why!For more on Georgie please check out https://www.georgiemason.co.uk/  Or follow Georgie on Instagram here https://www.georgiemason.co.uk/ 

Ella Greenwood is a filmmaker and mental health activist from London. At the age of only 19, she is the director of the vastly expanding London based production company Broken Flames Productions which is focusing on a slate of mental health based projects. She has had her work selected for BAFTA accredited festivals and featured by Deadline, Huffington Post, Variety, BBC, Yahoo, Film Stories Magazine and more. She is also an ambassador for teen mental health charity stem4. Her recent short film Faulty Roots which she made when she was only 18, was nominated for Best Script by Film The House which is run by Parliament and sponsored by Disney and Warner Brothers. Ella joins the Mind Field Pod to discuss her story and how her own experiences with mental health influence her filmmaking. We spoke about here experience of depression at a young age. She tells us what it was like growing up as an actress and facing the inevitable ups and downs that come with castings and rejections. We hear about her latest film projects and the powerful mental health messages that they carry. For more info on her film releases and other exciting projects check out: https://ellagreenwood.com/ Or follow Ella on Insta for updates: https://www.instagram.com/popsella/?hl=en 

Minderful co-founder James Harrop joins the Mind Field podcast to talk us through his experience of living with bi-polar disorder and co-founding the mental fitness company ‘Minderful’. The soon to be launched app and website were created to make mental fitness available to all. After wrestling with bipolar throughout their twenties, James and his co-founder Nick learned the hard way that optimising their mental fitness had a hugely positive impact on their lives. Minderful gives its users everything they need to manage their mental health and mental fitness. James takes us through some startling stories about the bi-polar induced manic highs and lows of his twenties: this even included a belief that if he stared at the Sun for long enough, he would be teleported. James is incredibly honest about his experience, his acceptance of the condition and how it led to Minderful – it’s a must listen for anyone struggling themselves or anyone who wants to improve their own ’mental fitness’.  Find out more about Minderful and keep up to date on their mental health fitness app launch: https://minderful.com/

La Lionne co-founder Megan Felton joins the Mind Field Pod to discuss the link between mental health and skin. Megan takes us through her own battles with her skin and how that led to her starting Lionne. The company was born out of frustration with the skincare industry and they look to give their customers and clients the right tools and knowledge to make more informed decisions when shopping for skincare products. We go through what you can do to look after your skin with a low budget and Megan’s top tips for dealing with anxiety and specifically skin related anxiety. Megan takes us through her go-to products and we go deep into the link between skin and mental health. For more from Megan and Lionne checkout: https://lionneldn.co.uk/ , https://www.instagram.com/lionne.ldn/ , https://www.instagram.com/megfel/

Gals Who Graduate founder Brontë King joins the Mind Field Pod to talk all things University and mental health. Brontë is the founder of an organisation called Gals Who Graduate. Gals who Graduate is a community and space that brings like-minded females together to support one another through all of the fun and games that University has to offer. It acts as a support network for female students and graduates who encourage and help each other navigate their way through life, particularly after graduation. Brontë takes us through how her own struggles and experience led to her starting a support network that now has over 35,000 engaged members. She shares her top tips for getting through those first few weeks of Freshers life and how to make the transition from graduate to real-world adult. We hear her views on how lockdowns and Covid-19 has changed the game for university students and what we can do about it. For more from Brontë and Gals Who Graduate checkout: https://www.instagram.com/galswhograduate/ , https://www.instagram.com/brontekingg/

Ben West’s life was turned upside in 2018 when his younger brother committed suicide. Ben grieved and sought answers, like we all would. He then made a decision that would alter the direction his life would take: He decided to turn all his energy towards campaigning for mental health awareness. Ben joins the Mind Field Pod to tell us his story, from tragic beginnings to meeting and discussing mental health provision at schools with none other than the Prime Minister Boris Johnson. His campaign, Save our students, focuses on making mental health first aid a compulsory part of teacher training. It recognises and addresses the rather staggering fact that the most likely cause of death for a boy in a classroom is suicide. His petition has received over 300,000 signatures to date and he hand delivered it to the PM Boris Johnson at Downing Street himself. Ben’s story of meeting the PM at an awards event after a few drinks is worth hearing all on its own. Ben takes us through his latest campaign: He's now looking to tackle mental health at universities by forcing University rankings to include mental health support as a measure. Ben is only twenty years old and he’s already featured on the BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and in the Times. It’s probably no surprise that he’s discussed mental health with figures such as the Prime Minister and Prince William. For more follow: https://www.instagram.com/iambenwest/

Grace Kingswell is a clinical nutritional therapist with a specialised interest in the functional medicine approach to health. She is particularly interested in the field of gut health, skin disorders, toxicity, mould and mycotoxins, hormones and allergies. She joins the Mind Field Pod to discuss all this and her journey to being a nutritional therapist. She has been featured in Women's Health and also hosts an Apple Top Charts ranked podcast, State of Mind, discussing how lifestyle interventions can have a profound impact on our physiology. She talks about her passion for the healing power of food, mindset and lifestyle, plus how it has led her to work with complex cases and chronic health issues such as SIBO, thyroid disorders, chronic gut imbalances, eczema and psoriasis. We cover the basics of a healthy and balanced diet and what Grace looks to eat in a day in order to promote a healthy mind and body. If you'd like to find out more,  we encourage you to head to Grace's website: https://www.gracekingswell.com/ or follow her on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracekingswell/

Jon Toms is a student wellness manager at Tileyard education, a record label and college based in London. Jon takes us through his own story and explains how his own mental health battles led to him starting a career in the space. He discusses the most common problems he sees amongst his students and the practical advice he gives to those who might be struggling. 

Moya is a London based model and the co-founder of Models Empowered, a community that supports, informs and empowers fashion models. She's represented in the UK by Wilhelmina and has worked for the likes of Victoria Beckham's beauty brand and Charlotte Tilbury. Her involvement in modelling doesn't stop here. As part of her work with Models Empowered, she recently contributed to a Guardian podcast on the exploitation of models. Moya takes us through the trials and tribulations of modelling: from the high of being scouted at 15 to being told she needed to lose weight to get bookings. We delve into how this environment led to her developing an eating disorder. We go through how she dealt with body confidence issues and what it was like trying to grow up and work as a model at the same time. 

Michael McCaffrey is a breathwork and mindfulness teacher. He is the founder of Breathing Space Wellness, a group that provides individual and corporate wellness coaching - their clients include WeWork, Amazon and Chelsea FC's Women’s team. Michael's own journey is a pretty amazing one; Michael grew up with a nagging sense that something wasn’t quite as it seemed. As a child he spent time contemplating life, death and infinity.  In his mid-teens he medicated himself through his discomfort and then things started to spiral out of control. He was pretty much high 7 days a week. He fell and became a shadow of his former self. Michael found meditation and something clicked. Michael relives his story on the podcast, taking us through the various changes in his life that led to him turning it around. He offers advice on the best way to get into meditation and how he won his battle with drugs. 

Josh is one of the UK’s most influential mental health advocates and he regularly speaks on the BBC, ITV & Channel 5 news. Josh has spoken in the House of Commons, contributed to government mental health policy and even advised the scriptwriting team on Hollyoaks. He now runs resilience workshops for global brands and organisations. Josh has become quite the authority on vulnerability, resilience and managing emotions. Josh takes us through his incredible story: In 2012 he planned his suicide, thinking it was the best thing that he could do for his children. He believed that resilience was the ability to keep going no matter what and to avoid any struggle. We cover how his view of resilience has changed into a far more fluid concept and one that embraces vulnerability. We discuss emotions and how best to deal with them, what it means to ask for help and how his battle with alcohol contributed to his suicidal phase. Josh’s positivity is contagious. His podcast is a must listen for anyone who is struggling. 

Josh is an author and mental health speaker. He's recently written a book entitled Anxious Man: Notes on a Life Lived Nervously. It's a book that the great Stephen Fry described as 'required reading' and one that he read in one sitting - high praise indeed. In 2016 Josh experienced an intense mental breakdown which culminated in him being diagnosed with a Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). He wrote about this experience in an article for The Times which, following an overwhelming public reaction, led to him writing his first book ‘Anxious Man’. Josh now devotes his time to trying to help others through writing, broadcasting and public speaking. We talk about managing anxiety, his own experience with GAD and how it led to him writing his first book. As Josh puts it: ‘when it comes to mental health problems, sometimes just talking about it is enough’. This is exactly what we do with Josh. 

Jamie is the founder and host of the Man Down Podcast: The Anti-Man-Up movement. It is a podcast focused on men's mental health where Jamie speaks to inspirational men about their mental health journey to show that vulnerability isn’t rooted in weakness, but in strength. We talk to Jamie about how his own anxiety and panic attacks led to him starting the podcast. We cover how a conversation with his mum helped kick-start his recovery and how Jamie manages his own mental health to this day. Jamie discusses the concept of ‘resilience’ and how we need to re-interpret Stoicism for the modern day. It is worth adding that Jamie isn’t just a podcast host – he works full time in the FinTech world, he recently started his own business and he’s currently undertaking breathwork training. We cover all of this on the Podcast.

As the host of the MimiBee podcast and creator of the Mimi-Method program, Mimi has built up a huge following on social media and a devoted community that looks to her for personal development and success tips. Mimi joins the Mind Field Pod to talk all things personal growth. She recounts just how much she has developed and changed over the past six years. She tells us how she bounces back from rejection and what drives her each and every day. We cover what it was like arriving in the UK as an 18 year old desperate for a role in TV, working three jobs and starring in the reality TV show 'Made in Chelsea'. Mimi delves into her highs and lows as well as her top tips for driving change and dealing with ‘no’.

Eating Psychologist and coach Zane Zābere joins the Mind Field Pod to tackle the world of eating disorders. She takes us through her own battles with various eating disorders and mental health problems and how they led to her desire to help others with similar problems. Zane discusses the obvious link that she has seen between mental health battles and eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. We cover her top tips for beating these disorders and how best to deal with any friends or relatives that might be suffering. If you would like to find out more about Zane's work then please visit https://www.zanezabere.com/ , she gives further free advice for those with suffering with eating disorders and also does 1-1 coaching sessions.

Breathwork expert James Dowler talks to the Mind Field Pod about his story and how simple breathwork techniques helped him alleviate stress, anxiety, chronic fatigue and chronic pain.  James started his professional life as a Strategist at a Creative Agency in London and a WPP Fellow – one of a only handful globally. James tells us why he gave it all up to start his own meditation practice. He spent years practicing meditation with teachers across Europe, before he stumbled across a Conscious Connected Breathing Workshop and the rest is history. James now spends his time supporting people to move beyond the conditioning of the mind and into an embodied and heart-felt space. James helps us delve a little deeper into the benefits of breathwork and meditation. At a time where anxiety seems to be ever increasing and our lives get busier and busier, James's work has taken on much more importance - the Evening Standard seemed to agree when they featured James on the front page of the paper last month in a piece on dealing with Covid-related anxiety. Connect with James via his Instagram @breathewithjames and check out his Breathwork Sessions and brand new online studio: https://www.breathewithjames.co.uk/