We tell young people to work hard and they'll succeed. Yetmillions of talented students are systematically excluded from opportunities because of their background, not their ability. Meanwhile, we cling to outdated education systems that measure the wrong things. Are we wasting an entiregeneration's potential? What would happen if we actually judged people on their capability rather than their circumstances?

👉 Find the full playlist of episodes HERE:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6l9CNQoSFdYrSofAAHBcTdsnpYk8iYg⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Joe Seddon is a British technology entrepreneur and socialinnovator, widely recognised as a leading social entrepreneur in Europe. Born in Leeds and raised in a single-parent family, Joe defied the odds to attend Oxford University—a rare achievement from his constituency. This experience fueled his mission to democratise access to higher education. He founded Zero Gravity in 2018 from his childhood bedroom using his last £200 of student loan. Since then, Zero Gravity has helped over 8,000 students enter top Russell Groupuniversities, including 800+ into Oxbridge, and awarded £1.8 million in scholarships. Joe has been recognised in Forbes 30 Under 30, received the British Empire Medal, and featured in The Sunday Times Young Power List.

Today, expect to learn:

• Why traditional education systems are fundamentally broken for measuring real talent
• How your postcode determines your future more than your potential
• What "contextual performance" means and why it could revolutionise how we judge ability
• Why the "bank of mum and dad" creates an unfair two-tier system
• How AI and technology are changing what skills actually matter
• Why resilience and agency are more important than raw academic achievement
• What systematic barriers prevent talented young people from succeeding
• How to shift from absolute to contextual performance in education and recruitment
• Why we need to modernise education for rapidly changing economic landscapes
• How individual mentorship can break cycles of disadvantage
• And more...

W H A T T O D O N E X T :

GUEST LINKS ~

WEBSITE: https://www.zerogravity.co.uk/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/zerogravity

HOST LINKS ~

WEBSITE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

SUBSTACK:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

SOCIALS:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://mainpage.me/seven.jacobs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

SHOW LINKS ~

WEBSITE:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.com/lost-and-searching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

YOUTUBE:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@lostandsearchingpodcast

ALL EPISODES (Spotify):⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/lostandsearching

ALL EPISODES (Apple):⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lost-and-searching/id1771369908⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sources:

[1] UK StartUp Awards profile of Joe Seddon (2023)

[2] Wikipedia entry on Joe Seddon (2025)

[3] Entrepreneur author bio of Joe Seddon (2024)

[4] Living North interview with Joe Seddon (2024)

Jargon Buster:

- Russell Group: Elite group of 24 research-intensiveuniversities in the UK

- Oxbridge: Oxford and Cambridge universities combined

- Social Mobility: Movement of individuals between socialclasses

- Contextual Performance: Evaluating achievement relative to circumstances rather than fixed metrics

Most of us accept that work should feel like an obligation, something we endure to pay the bills. But what if that's completely backwards? If it wasn't about ping pong tables and free snacks, but psychological safety, meaningful challenges, and the freedom to experiment?

👉 Find the full playlist of episodes HERE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6l9CNQoSFdYrSofAAHBcTdsnpYk8iYg

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Naily Makangu is a software engineer turned Fractional CPO and CTO, leveraging her 10+ years at Siemens Industry Software to transform tech teams from founder liabilities into strategic assets. Known as "The Mary Poppins of Startups," she helps companies from FinTech to ClimateTech build platforms that often reduce development costs by over 60%. She serves as Director at Founder Institute London, hosts The Mary Poppins of Startups Show, and bridges technical and business teams to deliver the right product, on time and on budget.

Today, expect to learn:

• How do we transform toxic workplaces into places where people can thrive?
• Why do most workplaces feel like prisons?- What is the "playground affect"?
• How to conduct a life-changing self-reflection practice that Naily does twice yearly to reassess everything.
• Why "quitting mentally" every six months can revolutionize your relationship with work and life.
• How personality profiling can rebuild broken teams when done right (and destroy them when done wrong).
• Why vulnerability is actually a superpower for leaders, not a weakness.
• How to create psychological safety in teams so people can take risks and innovate without fear.
• Why startups can't compete on features anymore in the age of AI, and what they should focus on instead.
• How to launch with a "kebab" approach—one core feature that solves a real problem perfectly.
• The neuroscience behind why we stay stuck in negative patterns and how small experiments can reprogram our brains.
• Why the future belongs to companies that solve human problems, not just technical ones.

W H A T T O D O N E X T :

GUEST LINKS ~

WEBSITE: https://athenaleaders.com

LINKEDIN: https://linkedin.com/in/nailymakangu

YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@athenaleaders

INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/nailymak

HOST LINKS ~

WEBSITE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

SUBSTACK: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠

SOCIALS: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.com/links

SHOW LINKS ~

WEBSITE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sevenjacobs.com/lost-and-searching

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YOUTUBE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@lostandsearchingpodcast

ALL EPISODES (Spotify): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/lostandsearching

ALL EPISODES (Apple): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lost-and-searching/id1771369908⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

JARGON BUSTER:

● Fractional Executive: Part-time senior leadership role across multiple organizations

● Psychological Safety: Team environment where people feel safe to take risks and voice opinions

● Playground Effect: Work culture where employees feel empowered, creative, and engaged

● Retrospectives/Prospectives: Agile practices for reflecting on past work and planning improvements

● NLP: Neuro-Linguistic Programming - techniques for changing thought and behaviour patterns

In this snippet, Ando Eniwumide, CEO of Happening, explores the deep-seated fears that prevent individuals from stepping into their full potential. He distinguishes between the fear of potential and the fear of the demanding process required for success. Ando shares personal insights on abandoning pride, embracing "failing forward," and the real-world consequences and sacrifices, like selling houses, that come with an entrepreneurial journey. The discussion also delves into the psychological aspects of perceived versus physical reality, the profound impact of having supportive partners and networks that reinforce ambition, and the power of proximity in unlocking one's thinking.

Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nayOanNs6NI&t=2s