The Futureverse

The Futureverse
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The Future. It’s all there, in front of us. It could go wonderfully. Or it could go badly wrong. It will inevitably require our passions and our ingenuity. So how do we see the challenges early on, find solutions and help make the world a better place? For ourselves, for our families, for everyone. Welcome to the Futureverse, brought to you by Intelligence Squared and Y TREE.

  1. 27/07/2023

    The Risk-Takers, with Simon Reeve and Christina Lamb

    Not many of us can claim to have hunted with the Bushmen of the Kalahari; been detained for spying by the KGB; or smuggled ourselves over a border into an active war zone under the floorboards of an ambulance. Yet, for our latest guests on the Futureverse, this is all in a day’s work.  The Sunday Times’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Christina Lamb, who has been covering conflict around the globe for over three decades, does not regard herself as a risk taker, though. It was not an attraction to danger that led her to war reporting, but a surprise wedding invitation that landed on her desk in 1987. Similarly, as a teenager, the adventurer and broadcaster Simon Reeve, enjoyed the thrill of cycling down Acton High Street on his BMX, but did not imagine that he would spend his early professional life on the tail of neo-Nazi terrorists in Boston Spa. In this special episode of the Futureverse, Christina and Simon join Kamal Ahmed for a conversation about their attitudes to risk: what motivates them to take the risks that they do and how they calculate risk on the ground. It is a fascinating insight into what it means to put your life on the line in order to shine light on the darkest corners of the world. It also is a prescient reminder of Y TREE’s core principles: mitigate unnecessary risk – even Simon Reeve will not get in a car without a seat belt – and always set a personal risk level that feels right for you.      The Futureverse is brought to you by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Y TREE. The past is in your head. The future is in your hands. For more information visit y-tree.com/futureverse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    41 min
  2. 23/06/2023

    Risk and Reward, with Michael Welch OBE

    On the face of it, Michael Welch OBE seems to have it all: he’s the President and CEO of America’s largest tire distributor, and he sold his previous business – Blackcircles – to Michelin for £50 million in 2015.  But, Michael’s start in life was not straightforward. Adopted as a baby and stymied by dyslexia and dyscalculia, he ended up working in a local garage, having left school at fifteen with no qualifications. Redundancy followed, but, supported by a grant from the Prince’s Trust, he set up his first business aged seventeen.  Michael’s inspirational story is one of resilience, determination, and, crucially, a clear appetite for risk – be it writing a letter to business legend Sir Terry Leahy early in his career, which led to mentorship, friendship, and financial investment; leaving a role running Kwikfit’s e-commerce with only a month’s salary to begin all over again, from scratch; or, moving his young family to the US, compelled by the prospect of cracking a new market.  ‘Luck,’ Michael says, ‘follows risk – in almost all cases.’  Join us for the latest episode of the Futureverse in which Y TREE’s Head of Brand and Marketing Harriet Johnston speaks to Michael Welch OBE about his relationship with risk, and his journey as an entrepreneur so far.  The Futureverse is brought to you by Intelligence Squared in partnership with Y TREE. The past is in your head. The future is in your hands. For more information visit y-tree.com/futureverse  #financialfreedom #financialrisk #personalfinance #transparency #personalrisklevel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    33 min
  3. 02/06/2023

    Financial Risk, with Nic Humphries and Johnnie Hampel

    In this episode, we are introducing a theme in the Futureverse – risk.  Over the next few weeks, we will hear from an adventurer, a war correspondent, and an entrepreneur about their relationship with risk – in business, and in their lives more broadly.  And, we begin with financial risk.  What is financial risk? Why is it important to set a financial risk level? What is your financial risk level? These are questions we often assume are best avoided – many of us go through life burying our heads in the sand, giving any kind of financial risk as wide a berth as possible.   But, in investing, risk is crucial. In this episode, Y TREE’s Head of Brand and Marketing is joined by Y TREE’s co-founder and Head of Client Relationships Johnnie Hampel and Nic Humphries, Senior Partner and Executive Chairman at Hg Capital, Europe’s largest investor in software and services, to unpack these questions and more.  From the outside, both Nic and Johnnie are individuals who seem to have a high appetite for financial risk. But, as this episode reveals, neither think of themselves as such. Both have diminished their risk level through a deep knowledge and understanding of their respective fields.  Join us for a fascinating insight into this, the most fundamental of investment principles – and if this episode prompts you to consider your own personal risk level, visit y-tree.com to find out more about Y TREE helps their clients ensure that they are adopting an approach to risk that fits their life and outlook.  Nic Humphries: https://hgcapital.com/team/Nic-Humphries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    31 min

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The Future. It’s all there, in front of us. It could go wonderfully. Or it could go badly wrong. It will inevitably require our passions and our ingenuity. So how do we see the challenges early on, find solutions and help make the world a better place? For ourselves, for our families, for everyone. Welcome to the Futureverse, brought to you by Intelligence Squared and Y TREE.

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