Happy MBA

When Laurence and Carlos started the Happy Startup School, they didn’t have a business plan. Instead, they focused on what felt important: community, creativity, and meaningful work.They followed their intuition and sensed their way forward, building connections, thinking out loud, and engaging with guides, not gurus.Many solopreneurs and freelancers think they need a clear path or a step-by-step plan to reach a defined goal. But if you’re feeling stuck and procrastinating, it’s likely because that plan is missing something.Wayfinding is about trusting your intuition and tapping into your creativity to explore possibilities. It’s not about having a fixed destination; it’s about discovering the right one, through experimentation, reflection, and bold action.Join Laurence, Lana, and Carlos as they discuss what wayfinding is and how it can help you get unstuck and take action.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

You’ve exited your business or you’ve left your job. What next?You’ve gone from being busy and feeling like you had direction to now floating around aimlessly.This is what our guest David Spinks calls the Abyss. In his Substack post, he shared his experience of stepping down from the company that he co-founded and trying to work out what’s next.In this conversation with David, you’ll hear about his experience of the abyss, what he felt, what he did, and where he's at now. He shares how he navigated the inner journey, which helped him understand how he got to where he got to and what he needs to do differently.Whether you're still floating in the middle of the ocean or have caught a glimpse of the shoreline, this episode will give you some compass headings and the courage to keep on swimming.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Michelle Grant, founder of The Great Full, is a powerhouse in coaching women leaders around food systems and sustainability. In this conversation, she emphasizes the need for intuitive leadership and the integration of emotional awareness in decision-making. Michelle discusses the evolution of leadership styles, advocating for more feminine energy and community support. She shares her insights on how personal well-being is crucial for impactful change, blending love and joy into the leadership equation. It's a refreshing take on creating a more sustainable future.

Can you learn to be more creative, courageous, and resourceful when it comes to pivoting your professional life?On this episode, Carlos and Laurence are joined by Iesha Small, a career pivot coach and seasoned communications professional, to talk about how we can adopt an entrepreneur’s mindset when thinking about following a new professional path.Iesha shares her inspiring journey from maths teacher to career-change champion, and what she needed to do to navigate that transition.Iesha isn’t just about making bold moves; she's about making smart, strategic decisions that lead to personal freedom and fulfilment. She explains her unique approach of treating career development like an entrepreneur, focusing on experimentation and creating opportunities that offer more choice.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Are you a solo founder curious about AI? Do you want to know how it could help you be more impactful, more effective, and free up your time? Or are you a conscious business owner who worries about what AI is doing to our humanity and our creativity?If so, this conversation with Kerry Harrison, AI educator and professional copywriter, is for you.Kerry makes AI accessible. She teaches practical ways to save time while adding your brilliant human creativity to the mix. Drawing on two decades of copywriting work and five years of AI experience, she can help you create compelling, human content in less time.When it comes to productivity, AI provides a lot of potential for us to save time, whether that’s doing research, coming up with new ideas, or producing content.However, when it comes to our creative output, if we outsource all the thinking to AI, where does that leave us?We need to remember that humans buy from humans. As entrepreneurs who offer something unique (not off-the-shelf commodities), one of the most valuable things we have is our story.Stories are a connection superpower. Told well, they take people from knowing you to liking you to loving you in an instant.But will people still connect with your stories if AI is now writing them? And if so, who are they really connecting to? You, or an imitation of you? Will the stories you share match up to the experience you’re selling?If you’re passionate about doing business at a human level, these thoughts will trouble you. By the end of this conversation, you’ll be able to better articulate what troubles you about AI so that you can use it more consciously. And you’ll also learn how to use it in a way that amplifies your impact and efficiency without losing your humanity.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Do you take the time to design for your own wellbeing?When we’re being the change we want to see in the world, it’s easy to focus on hard metrics: more sales, more leads, more success.But what if your body suddenly says “no”?As the saying has it, our health is our truest form of wealth. But how often do we check in with ourselves and explore what we might need?On this episode, Carlos and Laurence are joined by Pelin Kazak Bagatur, a product and UX design leader who’s deeply passionate about the intersection of design and wellbeing.She shares how her perspective on health has evolved through personal experiences with yoga, mindfulness, and a deeper exploration into spirituality and wellbeing.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

You’ve decided to change. You’re driven to find a new professional path, but you’re struggling to take the next step.As an experienced professional or entrepreneur, you’ve accumulated the skills, but now you’re doing something new.And so fear kicks in. What got you here isn’t going to get you there. It’s time to go from the inside out to overcome self-doubt.Doing business differently is about more than plans and profit; it's a deep inner journey of overcoming limiting beliefs and discovering your true worth.As you follow your new venture, you’ll find that the biggest obstacles aren’t to do with your skill set but with your mindset.For this episode, Laurence and Carlos are joined by hypnotherapist and author Dipti Tait, who shares her perspective on self-doubt and limiting beliefs and how we can overcome them.Dipti is a respected clinical psychotherapist, solution-focused hypnotherapist, and mental health lecturer. She is a frequent guest on TV and radio, including on ITV’s This Morning, Good Morning Britain, the BBC Asian Network, and Thrive Global.Her book, Planet Grief: Redefining Grief for the Real World, draws on both her own professional and personal experiences and her clients’ stories.Her understanding of the neuroscience behind our emotions redefines grief for the world we’re living in today and helps us believe in ourselves again.Listen to uncover what's holding you back from making the change you want to see in the world.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Tribe 8 of Vision 20/20 ended their journey together. On this episode, a few of the cohort share their stories and projects that have emerged and evolved over their last few months together:The Love Shortage podcast that came out of nowhereThe Human Greenhouse with a bolder mission and manifestoWhat if we? a series of experiential gatherings in the NetherlandsAn insights tool for B2B teamsA regenerative business starter kit for conscious business ownersThese ideas aren't necessarily what people thought they'd be bringing to life. Many are as a result of serendipitous conversations or connections on the program.They might not be the big vision, but they get us started.Movement forward is key, and and action brings clarity.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Taking the entrepreneurial path requires taking risks. And the rewards we'll encounter are never certain.The choices we make create real consequences for our livelihood. And it can be hard to get over the feeling that we're imposters as we face the uncertainty over whether we've made the right ones.This episode features an enlightening story – the personal and entrepreneurial journey of Sam Conniff, author and founder of Uncertainty Experts.As someone who previously struggled with imposter syndrome, today he stands as a passionate advocate for embracing and mastering uncertainty.This episode follows Sam's journey of building a startup, learn how he studied a global need – the universal discomfort with uncertainty – and created a lucrative business out of it.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Ever felt like there was more that you could do but didn’t know what to commit to?You're not alone.When it comes to thinking about meaning, Laurence and Carlos found the book The Map of Meaning by Lani Morris and Marjolein Lips-Wiersma really helpful.They talk about working with meaning as working with the tension between being and doing, and self and others.The work is to be aware when we’re off balance and to know what to do to redress it.Understanding how to do good whilst staying happy is all part of leading a meaningful life.When it comes to doing good you might ponderWhat does impact actually mean to me?How much impact do I want to make?And what’s my story of impact?And when it comes to being happy:How do I want to feel when making an impact?Which needs are being met by making an impact?Where do these needs come from?On this episode, Laurence and Carlos explore their own perspectives on these questions, and through their own reflections and answers to questions from the live virtual audience, you’ll hopefully find your own insights.What if we all made a positive impact in the way that matched our energies and motivations?What would that mean for the world? Hopefully a lot of good and happiness.