How To Know When To Move On As A Founder, with James Mitra
09/12/22 • 5 min
“There are so many opportunities out there for Founders. If you decide to step away, I can promise you there will be lots of people that will want to hire you.”
This week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, is all about knowing when to stay as a Founder and when to exit - something we talk a lot about with Founders, including in our upcoming episode with Graham Hobson.
Over the next 4 minutes, James shares his insights on what Founders need to think about when deciding whether to transition to CEO or stepping away to pastures new and the many opportunities that lie ahead for exited Founders.
💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:
Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.
To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/ to find out more.
📅Join us at the Sifted Summit!
We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th.
To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREEE on on www.summit.sifted.eu
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
Plus, if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our bite-sized Monday episodes, please get in touch with Hannah at
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
“There are so many opportunities out there for Founders. If you decide to step away, I can promise you there will be lots of people that will want to hire you.”
This week’s bite-sized 40 Minute Mentor episode, is all about knowing when to stay as a Founder and when to exit - something we talk a lot about with Founders, including in our upcoming episode with Graham Hobson.
Over the next 4 minutes, James shares his insights on what Founders need to think about when deciding whether to transition to CEO or stepping away to pastures new and the many opportunities that lie ahead for exited Founders.
💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:
Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.
To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/ to find out more.
📅Join us at the Sifted Summit!
We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th.
To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREEE on on www.summit.sifted.eu
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
Plus, if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our bite-sized Monday episodes, please get in touch with Hannah at
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
From Paralympic Golds To The House Of Lords with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson
“In the whole of my career, I lost more races than I won. I think people like to look at the medals, but don’t necessarily look at the other side of it.”
40 Minute Mentor is officially back for Series 8!
We’re kicking off this new series with the amazing Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Britain’s greatest Paralympic athlete, who has won 11 Gold medals and broke 30 world records throughout her career.
Following her competing years, Tanni was created a life peer and is a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords.
In today’s episode, we get a really candid insight into Tanni’s life and career, including:
➡️ Why setbacks have been so important to her success as a Paralympian [03:10]
➡️ Her upbringing and why her parents fought to keep her in a mainstream school [04:09]
➡️ What made her fall in love with wheelchair racing and what it was like to make the British squad at age 17 [07:27]
➡️ Her experience of her first Paralympics and the journey to Seoul [09:39]
➡️ How you consistently push yourself and build the resilience to keep going [13:52]
➡️ Why she never saw anything as a sacrifice [15:57]
➡️ Why breaking the 400 meter world record stands out from all her successes [20:50]
➡️ How she decided to retire and her advice for anyone transitioning careers [22:30]
➡️ How she transitioned to a career in Politics and the issues closest to her heart [27:41]
➡️ Why getting into sports is such a great opportunity and how people can get motivated [31:32]
➡️ And why it’s so important to open up and talk to people when the going gets tough [33:04]
⛳ Helpful links:
➡️ More about Tanni: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanni-grey-thompson-9a6b84a6/
➡️ For mental health support, we recommend:
- Mental Health Foundation - https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk
- The Samaritans can be reached on 116 12
- And for local help and support, call the Mind Infoline at 0300 123 3393 or text 86463
💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:
Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.
To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/ to find out more.
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
Why The Wealthy Should Be Paying More Tax with Photobox Founder, Graham Hobson
“Entrepreneurship is a process of natural selection. You can't ever guarantee that the playbook you're going to follow is going to guarantee success.”
In this week’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re joined by Graham Hobson, the Founder of Photobox, a photo printing company that acquired Moonpig and was later sold for a reported £400 million.
Today, Graham is an angel investor, mentor and advisor, working to support climate change initiatives, fairer tax and social impact.
In this episode, Graham shares candid insights into the brilliant journey he’s taken Photobox on and the chapter that followed, including:
➡️ How Graham’s upbringing and natural inclination to not follow a traditional path has brought him to entrepreneurship [07:54]
➡️ Why social mobility played a huge part into the leader he is today [09:37]
➡️ How Photobox was created on Graham’s commute to and from work and what the early years were like [11:58]
➡️ How Graham and his Co-Founder Mark navigated the bumpy growth journey Photobox was on [18:38]
➡️ Graham’s candid advice for anyone looking to merge businesses [23:37]
➡️ How he transitioned from CEO to CTO and the challenges that came with that [26:56]
➡️ Why Photobox acquired Moonpig and what exiting the business was like for him [30:11]
➡️ Why it didn’t take a long time for Graham to get back into work after exiting Photobox and his advice for any Founders preparing for their exit [34:12]
➡️ Graham’s involvement in driving for higher taxes for the Wealthy and why this is a topic so close to his heart [40:58]
➡️ What Founders should keep in mind as they navigate the economic downturn and impending recession [47:52]
⛳ Helpful links:
➡️ More about Graham: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahamhobson
➡️ More about Photobox: https://www.photobox.co.uk/
💙A big thank you to our Sponsors:
Alchemist - an industry leading learning and development company, whose learning journeys and experiences help organisations who want to grow, change or transform by putting the learner first to optimise organisational performance.
To learn more about Alchemist and see how they work with some of the most innovative companies in the world, head over to https://thisisalchemist.com/40minutementor/ to find out more.
Pacaso - a co-ownership platform for luxury homes. Picasso curates stunning holiday homes in top vacation destinations around the world. Find out more over on https://www.pacaso.com/
📅 Join us at the Sifted Summit!
We’ll be recording a 40 Minute Mentor panel discussion at this year’s Sifted Summit in London, on Thursday, October 6th.
To join us at the event and a chance to ask your questions during our live recording, claim one of our 40 FREE tickets, by redeeming the code: 40MMFREEE on on www.summit.sifted.eu
⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️
Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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