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 Meanwhile, we cling to outdated education systems that measure the wrong things.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