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From the Kitchen Table to a Mentorship Platform for Corporate Women: The Story behind TALO

Jade Bentwood, Founder/CEO of TALO What happens when a finance powerhouse hits a wall?  For  Jade Bentwood , it was the catalyst for TALO. After a decade of working in finance and building a women’s wealth division from the ground up, Jade knew the corporate landscape well, but it wasn’t until maternity leave that she saw the cracks in how senior female talent was really supported. The real story behind TALO began at the kitchen table, surrounded by a group of senior female leaders and their babies, admitting that the “corporate dream” wasn’t built for them.  Experiencing the sharp disconnect between corporate leadership and the reality of motherhood, Jade realised that “support” for women in business was too often just a policy on paper, not a lived reality. So, she built TALO to change that. Today, we go  Off the Record  with Jade, as she gets candid about leaving corporate life, the loneliness of the founder journey, and why she’s stopped manifesting a 5 a.m....
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Beyond the Boardroom: Sam Smith on Building, Scaling, and Leading

Sam Smith, Founder of finnCap Sam Smith is a trailblazing entrepreneur and was the first - and youngest - woman to run a stockbroking firm in the City of London.  At just 33, she led the management buyout of her corporate advisory and brokerage division at JM Finn, which she had been building since 1998. After the MBO in 2007, Sam grew finnCap's revenues to £52 million, before stepping back in 2022 to pursue other interests. Sam still retains her shareholding in the business. Today, through her new venture , The SuperScalers , Sam is helping other high-growth female founders take their companies beyond the £50 million mark. We sat down with Sam to hear her reflections on building finnCap, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and the qualities she believes define truly successful entrepreneurs.                                              Where did entrepreneurship...
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Celebrating International Women's Day: The Story of Whitney Wolfe Herd and the Rise of Bumble

Whitney Wolfe Herd, Founder and CEO of Bumble Many of you are likely familiar with   Bumble , the dating app that empowers women to make the first move. However, some may not be as familiar with its pioneering founder,   Whitney Wolfe Herd . After experiencing adversity and sexual harassment as a co-founder at   Tinder , Wolfe Herd saw an opportunity to create systemic change in dating tech. She went on to found   Bumble , an app designed to give women control over their dating lives and challenge the traditional dynamics of online dating.  On International Women’s Day, we celebrate the countless women making a difference across industries. One such woman is Whitney Wolfe Herd, a force in the tech world who has reshaped the way we approach dating, relationships, and women’s roles in entrepreneurship.  Whitney’s journey from co-founding Tinder to building and taking Bumble public is nothing short of inspiring, and a perfect...
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Innovators & Disruptors: Female Founders Defining 2025

Katerina Spranger, Founder of Oxford Heartbeat It’s well known that securing investment as a female founder is challenging. Raising awareness is crucial to shifting this narrative within both the start-up and investment ecosystems and I think that one of the most powerful ways to drive this change is by highlighting female success stories, proving to other women that they, too, can break barriers and build thriving businesses. This is the mission of   Off the Record,  to spotlight the women rewriting the playbook, launching ground-breaking ventures, and leading exceptional teams from idea to exit. In 2024, several UK-based female entrepreneurs and leaders made significant strides in the start-up ecosystem. Let’s take a look at their incredible businesses that are bringing life changing technology and innovation to the UK and beyond.   1.Professor Charlotte Williams – Founder of Econic   In 2011, Professor Charlotte Williams founded   Econic ,  a c...
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