Hyper Curious

DesignMyNight co-founder Nick Telson embodies what Hyper Curious is all about. Realising that a career trajectory at L’Oreal wasn’t for him, he was curious about following a different path and after a night out in NYC with co-founder Andrew Webster, he found his new direction.

Key takeaways:
The startups that Nick invests in
Taking the leap from the corporate world to entrepreneur
The best founders are the ones really in their industry
How to handle the entrepreneurial roller coaster
Trust your gut, trust your instinct
Nick’s advice to anyone thinking about becoming an entrepreneur

Show Notes

From L’Oreal to DesignMyNight.com to Horseplay Ventures, Nick Telson has had quite the career to date, and he’s just getting started. 

Nick embodies what Hyper Curious is all about. Realising that a career trajectory at L’Oreal wasn’t for him, he was curious about following a different path and after a night out in New York City with his DMN co-founder Andrew Webster, he found his new direction. 

With just £500K angel funding they built DMN into a team of 60 and after a £25+ million exit in 2017, Nick now dedicates his time between investing in startups, giving back, writing a book and hosting Pitch Deck, an incredible podcast for founders and startups. 

For anyone starting out on their own entrepreneurial path or considering going down this route, Nick is someone worth listening to. He’s been there, done it and got the t-shirt. He poured blood, sweat and tears into DMN and for their grit and determination, he and Andrew were rewarded for their efforts. 

But he’s quick to point out that there is no silver bullet for success - you have to be prepared to pivot and go where you’re needed, not where you think you should be, and don’t believe that raising money is success - building a successful company is success.

“Netflix shows and Amazon Prime shows about founders and startups romanticise everything, but at the end of the day if you're gonna be successful, a founder is really not romantic, it's just hard, hard work.”

And when it all gets too much, take yourself out of the moment, says Nick. 

“Just remember that there's other stuff going on in the world. You know, a drink or catch up with close friends instantly washes away all the seeds of doubt in your head I find.”

On today’s podcast:
  • The startups that Nick invests in
  • Taking the leap from the corporate world to entrepreneur
  • The best founders are the ones really in their industry
  • How to handle the entrepreneurial roller coaster
  • Trust your gut, trust your instinct
  • Nick’s advice to anyone thinking about becoming an entrepreneur

Links:

What is Hyper Curious?

For the change-makers, explorers and entrepreneurs by heart or practice, Hyper Curious podcast is a celebration of what’s best in human beings: OUR CURIOSITY.

Get ready to change your perception of what it means to be an 'overnight success'. Here you will listen to the most intriguing U-turns and A-ha moments of our guests, and how embracing changes (rather than fearing it) keeps them curious and evolving.

Your host is Beta Lucca, a successful BAFTA-winning entrepreneur and Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech who has failed, succeeded, and built a multimillion-dollar gaming business. Beta brings her upbeat energy, bold attitude and multipotentialite mindset to interview your favourite authors, poets, philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, founders and artists.

If you don’t know them already, you definitely will now!

Listening to these incredible human beings is the perfect start of your day. One that will provoke you to think differently, laterally, upside down, and offer you new fresh perspectives to help you act boldly. You’ll finish each episode feeling energised, inspired and empowered to reinvent your world and reinvent yourself.

For more information, visit http://hypercurious.fm