Sam White: The CEO Who Fired Herself

It’s safe to say that firing yourself is a rather unique
experience in business. But this is an entrepreneur that has made
a career of challenging the norm and thinking differently.
Whether it’s taking on the male-dominated insurance industry or
questioning the culture of high company valuations (AKA “Ponzi
schemes”), she’s not afraid to blaze her own trail.


With refreshing honesty and unwithering self-reflection, in this
conversation with Sam White, Founder of Freedom Services Group
& Stella Insurance, we cover being “unemployable”, leading
teams across the globe, raising funding as a woman, and much
more.


Here's what we discussed:





If we listed your achievements to date to a younger Sam
White, what would her reaction be? (00:23)

Were you an entrepreneurial person from a young age? (01:03)

Could you give us an overview of your career to this point?
(02:17)

You describe yourself as “unemployable”, is that something
you notice in your peers too? (05:28)

You started a psychology degree at university, you have a
podcast called “Human Business”, where does your fascination with
the mind and what makes people tick come from? (07:20)

You’ve fired yourself as CEO – could you tell us about that
story? (10:16)

You’ve always been a disruptor with your businesses, but as
this disruptive native always been within you and how did it
manifest itself? (13:43)

Did you find that leading teams in the US and Australia were
different to ones in the UK, and if so, how did you adapt your
leadership style? (15:21)

What has your funding journey been like? (19:25)

You touch on female funding in your own podcast, have you
been shocked at the stories you’ve heard on the podcast and in
the female entrepreneurs you come across? (23:10)

Have you noticed an improvement since you first started
fundraising to now? (25:41)

Do we need to change the relationship and view of failure,
and did you notice a difference in the attitudes towards failure
between the US and elsewhere? (31:47)

What are your thoughts on the trend of companies raising a
lot of money, with wild valuations, before even turning a profit?
(37:48)

The Good News Postcard: What is the hardest challenge you've
ever faced as a business? (42:06)

What makes a great business leader? (43:28)






Thanks to Oscar from the Jill Dando News for bringing us The Good
News Postcard this week. Get your dose of positive news by
visiting The Good News Post, a website collated by hundreds of
young people aged 8 to 18 in the UK. They've written real-life
“news that’s good for you”, covering people, animals, stories to
cheer people up, and tips to make lives better.


Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and the Business Leader
YouTube channel for more interviews with some of the world’s
leading business figures.


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