Emmalyn Shaw

The last few episodes of NAKED have been supported by Flourish Ventures and we are lucky to be talking to founding partner Emmalyn Shaw today about their perspective on mental health and entrepreneurship and the role of the investor.

Emmalyn Shaw has been a VC for 23 years and has firsthand experience of the ups and downs of the founder journey. She strongly believes that healthier CEOs lead to more successful companies and talks about mental wellbeing as a continuum with potential points of breakage.

A word that keeps coming up repeatedly in our conversation is ‘trust’. How can an investor build trust to the degree that both sides see the relationship as a partnership, so that in times of crisis the investor becomes the ‘first call’?

Flourish Ventures has invested a lot of effort into figuring out how to build this trust, and connect with those that are silently suffering.

What can an investor do to recognise and support mental health along this continuum? 

For Emmalyn, it all starts from within, creating a culture within the fund that recognises the importance of mental wellbeing.

Flourish have been open about trying to find the right engagement tools such as CEO retreats, circles of trust and leadership coaching to create the confidential relationships that can foster psychological safety. 

For those founders who don’t feel they can build this trusted relationship with their investors Emmalyn suggests to start with their board and find the person within the board that can be the right conduit. 

In the end it all goes back to the importance of seeing founders as whole persons, not just business leaders.

Please meet Emmalyn. 

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Fatin Tariq Gondal

Imagine being so consumed with anxiety that for two weeks you drive to work but cannot bring yourself to leave the car, and then you drive back home.

Our guest today is Fatin Tariq, a serial entrepreneur from Pakistan. Fatin describes her experience with severe anxiety, not at a time when things got really bad with the business but after having bounced back, or in her words: after she stopped being in survival mode.

Fatin talks about the tension her anxiety caused with cofounders and loved ones and how she found help in therapy and with an anxiety group. The realisation of not being alone was crucial for her recovery.

“You have to put the work in, you have to develop perspective and celebrate the small wins”, she shares.

The key thing is to recognise triggers, focus on what you can control and learn to disassociate one’s self from work. There's a difference between an intrusive thought crossing your mind and taking over your mind.

Fatin also shares with us how all this is heightened by building a business in an emerging market such as Pakistan, as a woman entrepreneur.

Please meet Fatin.

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In this NAKED podcast episode, our hosts Nektarios, Vladimira, and our guest, Emma, explore the complex emotions and challenges that came up for her after exiting a startup.

They discuss the importance of addressing unresolved issues from the past, understanding one’s motivations for success, and the role of mental health and self-awareness in navigating post-exit life.

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In this NAKED podcast episode, our hosts Nektarios, Vladimira, and our guest, Lottie, discuss her breakdown and how it took her by surprise. They discuss learning to look out for signals, the importance of introspection and self-awareness and how to get better by integrating wellbeing into one’s life.

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In this NAKED podcast episode, our hosts Nektarios, Vladimira, and our guest, Eia, discuss neurodiversity, coping with depression and trauma, and the importance of vulnerability and ongoing growth. They also discuss tactics for communicating neurodiversity and navigating societal perceptions while operating in a team or co-founding relationship.

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In this NAKED podcast episode, serial entrepreneur Hardi shares with us how he would start a company and struggled two years in, each stage spurred by difficulties due to a reluctance to face responsibilities.

The conversation unfolds to reveal Hardi's pivotal moment when burnout, both physically and mentally, led to both his body and his relationships collapsing. His way to deal with this was to avoid addressing the underlying issues and to numb himself with substances.

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** Please be advised that this episode contains content related to suicide. **

Suicidal ideation among entrepreneurs: let’s talk about it. In this episode, Vladimira and Nektarios engage in a conversation with their guest, Juliette Devillard, delving into her personal experience with suicidal ideation.

The discussion explores common challenges faced by entrepreneurs, such as impostor syndrome, fear of failure, and the constant rejection inherent in startup life. Juliette shares the steps that helped her navigate these struggles, emphasizing the importance of recognizing and prioritizing mental health. Michael Freeman's insights on mental health being like a sport, requiring practice for improvement, add depth to the conversation.

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In this episode of the NAKED Podcast, Vladimira and Nektarios focus on co-founder dynamics through the lens of stress research and therapeutic practices. They explore a powerful conflict resolution tool known as "constellations" and emphasize the importance of communication among co-founders. The conversation extends to the impact of stress on entrepreneurs, drawing insights from Dr. Ute Stephan's mental health research specifically on entrepreneurs.

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In this episode of the NAKED Podcast, Vladimira and Nektarios are joined by Ute Stephan, Professor of Entrepreneurship at King's Business School, King's College London, and a renowned expert in the Psychology of Entrepreneurship. Together, they explore the intersection of entrepreneurship, well-being, and societal impact.

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In this candid NAKED episode, Vladimira and Nektarios are back to dive into the world of entrepreneurship. Explore the challenges of fear, uncertainty, and power dynamics with investors as they share personal experiences. Over the past 3+ years, they've gained valuable insights into the entrepreneurial and investment landscape.

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Vladi and Nektarios are back together for the first Naked episode of a new year. They discuss a topic that they have touched upon previously: the power of speaking up and feeling empowered to call out someone’s bad behaviour, something that is often difficult to do in a business situation.

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As we come to the end of another year, Vladi and Nektarios pause and look back on the past 12 months. Topics they cover in this episode, include: imposter syndrome; co-founder conflict; investors and the role they play; neurodiversity; self-awareness; identity, and many more.

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“My escape was to try and be good at things, for no other reasons than for people to like me… I was seeking validation.” Our next podcast guest is Chris Howard, a reluctant founder and somebody who prefers the term ‘creator’. Chris joins us to talk about how he started building a business to fix things in his life and to seek validation from others.

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Vladi and Nektarios are back with a new episode, covering a number of themes we’ve heard on Naked before. They catch up and talk about being triggered, the power of visualisation in times when you’re feeling overwhelmed and having a choice.

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“Entrepreneurship has definitely been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, forget about the army.” Imagine you show up to a meeting and you can sense that people don’t know what to do with you. Imagine you go for a job interview and you hear “you’re not what we are looking for”. These experiences open up a lot of questions and our podcast guest, Nemo D’Qrill, has started a business to address them from their own experience.

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Vladi and Nektarios reconnect and share what’s been happening in their working and personal lives over the past few weeks.

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In our first LinkedIn Live episode of NAKED, Vladi and Nektarios discuss the dynamic between entrepreneurs and investors, and the impact that relationship can have on an entrepreneur's mental health.

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At the same time as drawing attention to the subject of mental wellbeing for entrepreneurs, we must acknowledge that the reasons why entrepreneurs experience mental health challenges are still largely unaddressed. Lisa Mikkelsen, Head of Global Human Capital at Flourish Ventures, joins NAKED for this special investor focused episode, to share how the Fund’s partners lead by example.

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This week’s episode is a special one as Vladi and Nektarios talk about the role of investors on entrepreneurial mental health and the fundraising experience.

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This week Vladi and Nektarios discuss a topic we’ve talked about a few times on NAKED - co-founder conflict. They talk about the constant work that is required and their relationships with their co-founders.

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Vladi and Nektarios reflect on their past conversation with Dame Kelly Holmes after she came out as gay at the age of 52. Nektarios shares his views on how this news impacted him, as well as Pride month and sexuality.

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“I can’t do this, I have to let you down. And I walked away, without any real idea as to what I was going to do next.” This is the moment that Drew Graham realised how broken he was, and had to prioritise his health over business. Drew is a serial business builder and joins NAKED to talk about his entrepreneurial (& corporate) journey.

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Vladi and Nektarios revisit the recent conversations they’ve had on the podcast about neurodiversity. They reflect on the episodes with Nick Cavuoto and Sam Handfield-Jones.

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“I think we should all be our own magical versions of weirdness. And if someone doesn’t like your weirdness, it's probably because they’re just hiding their own.” Continuing our neurodiversity series, Sam Handfield-Jones joins NAKED. Sam is an angel investor, builder of things and advocate for talking about ADHD, something he lives with himself.

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“The path of entrepreneurship is one of the hardest. You have to open every closet and confront every demon in your life that’s going to hold you back from every business opportunity. It's a mirror to self.” In the first episode of our neurodiversity series, Nick Cavuoto joins NAKED. Nick is a serial entrepreneur who discovered late in life that he has ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder.

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Vladi and Nektarios are back together after a few weeks away. They reflect on their last NAKED conversation about grief, their current energy levels and recognising behaviours that have an impact on their mental health.

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Andra Sonea joins NAKED to talk about her journey from corporate career to entrepreneur, and the obstacles she faced along the way, including a tough immigration process, imposter syndrome, belonging and identity.

“But where is that coming from? Why is that a thing? Why is it maybe a man thing, I actually, the more I talk about it, the more I personally think on this topic, I tend to talk about it more as a patriarchy thing than a man thing..”

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“You’re not special, and that’s OK - and your business wasn’t that great anyway.” A key point in our conversation with Dr. Michael Freeman, who returned to the NAKED podcast to talk about the relationship between grief and entrepreneurs, and the learning process of business builders.

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“As entrepreneurs we don’t like the phrase ‘work life balance’ because it indicates that work and life are like Ying and Yang. We like work life integration.” Serial entrepreneur, Bjorn Lee, joined our first live episode of NAKED, as part of Audacity’s Permacolony week in Singapore.

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In this week’s episode Vladi and Nektarios talk about grief, health and conflicting emotions, amidst the current state of the world. They discuss how to deal with a situation and having a platform and a voice, as well as whether there is a line between business as usual, and an awareness of what is happening.

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This week Vladi and Nektarios dedicate the episode to the topic of grief and the experience of loss, whether that be a personal loss, a business loss or supporting a loved one through their grief. They talk about the grief and loss they are currently coping with, and reflect on how they are managing their emotions.

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“I’m an ordinary person that has gone through extraordinary circumstances and had to find a way to live through it. That’s really my story.” Anu Shultes’ career is the red thread of all the ups and downs that many people experience. She joins NAKED to give an insight into how she has dealt with sexism, racism and ageism, and the impact on her health.

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“No one teaches you how to manage your thoughts, how to manage your mind. It’s not taught from an academic or cultural level.” When Shahira Hemeda started to share meditation practices with loved ones, she was met with a lot of confusion. So she created NŪR, mindfulness for the Arab world.

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“There’s one thing I do not that I didn’t do before; vocalise what you’re feeling.” Accenture’s Head of Innovation Europe, Lucy Cooper, joins NAKED to talk about her career as an entrepreneur, investor, and now intrapreneur at a large corporation, and how Covid-19 triggered new mental health struggles.

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“It took me a while to realise I was going through mental health challenges. Regardless of how life was, I was always a happy person.” Pakistani entrepreneur, Fatima Mazhar, joins NAKED to talk about how her upbringing shaped the decisions she has made in life and how it impacted her mental health.

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Vladi and Nektarios are back with a special ExtraNAKED episode to kick-off the new year.

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As we come to the end of the year, in this week’s ExtraNAKED episode, Vladi and Nektarios reflect on 2021 and look ahead into the new year.

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“All it takes is for one guy to take the risk, to be a little vulnerable.” Serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the men’s group, Evryman, Owen Marcus, joins NAKED to talk about supporting men’s emotional and mental health, building a community of men and his mental health journey.

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“There was a period during Covid where I effectively let myself go. I know what I need to eat to maintain a healthy body weight, but also a mental clarity and ability to sleep well. For me nutrition is such a key element and I let that go.” Investor and founder of the world's first mental wellness impact fund, Joshua Haynes, joins NAKED to talk about how he battled an eating disorder and depression.

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“All mental health challenges are signals from the mind and the body that we are dysregulated. That something is amiss.” Psychotherapist and business founder, Laura Shook Guzman, joins NAKED to talk about the interplay between trauma and entrepreneurship.

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“At some point, I met old friends and they said we don’t recognise you anymore.” Former fashion entrepreneur, Yves Cornu, joins NAKED to talk about his breakdown, loss & finding his identity.

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It’s time to pause and reflect on the stories we’ve shared in the last series of the podcast, before we introduce our upcoming series. In this special ‘Best of’ episode, Vladi and Nektarios introduce some of their series highlights, with a compilation of clips excerpted from a handful of our guests.

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“Your body is giving you an alarm signal that what you’re doing to yourself is not good and you need to make sure you’re looking after yourself.” Dan Murray-Serter, host of Europe’s top business podcast and long-time advocate for better mental health, joins NAKED.

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“I have this unique experience of being an entrepreneur, understanding mental health and going on the same journey as everybody that I’m trying to understand.” Dr. Michael Freeman, the author of one of the only studies on the relationship between entrepreneurship and mental and emotional health, joins NAKED.

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“I was being torn between these two pools, the business and the baby. Both were demanding a huge amount of energy.” There was no awareness of mental health in Selma Ribica’s life, so when she was diagnosed with postpartum depression, she went into operational mode. How else could you cope?

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“I had to step back and think about what my value is… and that hit me hard.” Michael Lints is a Singapore-based VC, and until the pandemic, led a busy life. What do you do when all of a sudden you’re forced to stay in one place?

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“Passion, purpose, planning, preparation and performance.” This is the mantra that Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes MBE (mil) lives by. Best known as Double Olympic Champion, Dame Kelly Holmes is also a motivational speaker & business founder.

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“We were these broken people trying to change the system.” Dr Leyla Hussein OBE is best known as an FGM activist. She is also an entrepreneur, a psychotherapist, and a ‘changemaker’.

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“I can relate to our founders, I’ve been through this.” Noa Matz is a VC and startup psychologist who has ‘seen the light’ and is dedicated to mentally supporting startup founders.

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“Many nights you go to bed questioning all of your being.” Driekie Van Wyk is not your typical entrepreneur. She is an artist. We explore the experiences and emotions that arise when art and business collide.

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“I started using drugs because I didn’t feel like I belonged.” Stefan Kollenberg shares his addiction experience and how it stems from his need to belong. Now a successful co-founder, we look at the relationship between addiction and entrepreneurship.

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What happens when you derive your sense of worth from the business you have built and what does it mean when you walk away from it? James Routledge shares his story about stepping down as CEO of Sanctus.

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Join Vladi and Nektarios as they reflect together on the vulnerable and open conversations you’ve heard in series one of the NAKED podcast.

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When a car accident took away Muniba Mazari’s mobility at 21 years old, it took her hopes and dreams with it. How did she find the courage to carry on and turn her worst fears into a calling?

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Coronavirus has turned the world upside down. For Kate Shepherd, it changed her life completely. Kate joins NAKED to talk about grieving the loss of her business, her identity & looking to the future.

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Ruud Hendriks has experienced failure on a gigantic scale. A successful TV & media mogul, Ruud joins NAKED to share how it felt to be hated by the Dutch public & how he knew he had hit rock bottom.

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We hear the stories that glorify entrepreneurial success but rarely do we hear about the ones that failed. Nadira Yusoff joins NAKED to talk about how she clawed her way out when she hit rock bottom.

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Off balance. Out of sync. Feelings, as entrepreneurs, we’ve all felt. Emma Obanye joins NAKED to talk about how she found the balance in her life and what she went through to get there.

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Enrico Scopa represents the business builders who come from a structured, high-pressured consulting life to one that is full of risk, uncertainty & adventure. What was his trigger to make the leap?

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Where fame has led others to crumble, celebrated chef Asma Khan has taken everything in her stride and doesn’t let fame (or Netflix) define her. She shares her personal story with NAKED.

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Founders often reach a point where they look for external investment. Beyond financing, what else is there to a VC & founder relationship? Do they care about their emotional state? For many, it is not a factor. For Simon Cant, it is.

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Mindset is fundamental for success. Futurist & global fintech influencer, Brett King, shares that being a founder is often a lonely existence, but with persistence & belief in yourself, you can succeed.

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Founder and co-founder relationships are often compared to romantic relationships. Monique Baars shares her co-founder story with NAKED. When it worked, it was amazing, but what happened when it didn’t?

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Imagine waking up knowing that today you have to end the business that has felt like your cosmic mission. Juan Guerra joins NAKED to talk about his emotional entrepreneurial journey & its impact on his identity.

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Recognition, glorification and joy are what we see of an entrepreneur’s and leader’s journey from the outside. But there are two sides to every coin. The Future Farm founding team comes together to introduce NAKED.

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