Good Company: The Zngly Podcast

Zngly

Welcome to Good Company: The Zngly Podcast. Join us every two weeks for unscripted chats with the interesting people shaping our world and business. 

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    Jack F. Clarke – The Brutal Reality of Scaling & The "Made in Ireland" Edge

    "Where companies fall down is a lack of focus, trying to be too generic, trying to be all things to all people. If you say you can do a hundred things, buyers will dismiss you." As a Senior Market Advisor for Enterprise Ireland; the venture capital wing of the Irish government and one of the most prolific seed investors on the planet; Jack F. Clarke is the ultimate connector for tech founders. But his ROI isn't just financial; his "skin in the game" is keeping jobs in Ireland while helping homegrown innovators conquer the massive, highly competitive UK market. Dialing in fresh from the madness of the Money2020 conference in Amsterdam, Jack sits down with Michael Wilson to deliver a masterclass in the realities of scaling a startup. They cut through the tech hype to discuss the fatal mistakes founders make when crossing borders, the massive shift in software pricing, and the secret sauce that makes Irish entrepreneurs so globally successful. The Highlights: The Unsung Heroes: How Enterprise Ireland operates differently from traditional VCs, operating on the metric that every €100,000 in exports equals one job kept in the local economy.Live from Money2020: Cutting through the PR to reveal the three massive trends actually dominating the floor in Amsterdam right now: Stablecoins, AI, and Digital Identity.The Brutal Reality of Scaling: Why assuming the UK market is culturally the same as Ireland is a fatal error, and why coming to London without a razor-sharp, hyper-focused value proposition guarantees failure.The AI Sales Divide: Jack shares a staggering statistic: AI-enabled companies are seeing a 34% increase in UK sales, while those ignoring the tech are seeing a 16% drop. We also discuss the death of the "per-seat" SaaS pricing model.Shadow AI & Data Sovereignty: The very real danger of startups blindly giving away their IP to large US tech firms, and why state-backed "Small Language Models" might be the next frontier of startup support.The "Made in Ireland" Edge: Why a debt-free, first-rate university system and a geographical necessity to "think globally from day one" creates some of the most resilient founders in the world.The Quick-Fire Round: Why the word "Best" on a pitch deck makes him zone out, why "buyers are liars," and why his personal life savings would go into Agritech."Wish You Were Here": The story behind his choice of the Pink Floyd classic, and its deeply poignant connection to the Irish diaspora living and working overseas."You think globally from the day of inception. You don't think the Irish market is going to make this company a billion-dollar corporation... your first thought is, we've got to get this thing to scale." Listen now for an unfiltered look at what it truly takes to scale a startup, win enterprise deals, and survive the global tech battlefield Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.*

    45 min

  2. May 26

    Good Company: Richard Crook – Why Banks Love Friction (And How to End It)

    "We've taken it for granted that banks are involved in payments, but that's not a given monopoly. And I think that's where the world is changing." After spending years inside the traditional banking machine at giants like UBS and RBS, Richard Crook realised that the future of finance was happening outside the banks. Today, as the CEO of Deus X Pay (DXP), he is operating at the bleeding edge of digital assets, using stablecoins to completely eradicate the friction of cross-border payments. In this episode of Good Company, Michael Wilson sits down with Richard to cut through the tech hype and talk about real-world utility. They discuss why stablecoins are the ultimate "killer app" for the Global South, the paradox of regulation, and why the traditional correspondent banking system's days are numbered. The Highlights: The "Aha" Moment: How Richard went from making public markets efficient at UBS to witnessing the ICO bubble at RBS, realizing that the tokenization of assets was a completely new, revolutionary way to form capital.The Three-Decade Arc: Why the blockchain industry is currently entering the second decade of a massive 30-year transition, moving past the digital dollar to put equities, debt, and real-world assets on-chain.Reversing the Banking Flow: Why moving large sums of money globally is broken, and how stablecoins are finally allowing businesses to bypass the endless hops, delays, and fees of correspondent banks.The Regulation Paradox: Why the industry absolutely needs regulation to build trust (the "airline safety" rule), but why progressive regulators must stop traditional banks from weaponizing those rules to build monopolies.The Real Sustainability Debate: Moving past outdated energy critiques of crypto to discuss the social impact of DXP: providing banking access to the Global South as traditional correspondent banking aggressively retracts.The Quick-Fire Round: The hard lesson he learned about prioritising people, his backup career on a sailboat, and why he’d want to grab a pint in an airport lounge with polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.The Soundtrack "London Calling": The story behind his choice of The Clash, and the striking parallels between the global anxieties of 1979 and the economic climate today."It is very easy to change someone's mind, but actually to change their heart is much harder." Listen now for a masterclass on the future of global money, leading through rapid change, and the true utility of digital assets Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.*

    39 min

  3. May 12

    Barbara Cominelli - Moving Beyond AI "Pilot Purgatory" & The "Dare and Care" of Leadership

    "Without an AI strategy today, you have simply no strategy." Barbara Cominelli’s resume reads like a masterclass in global tech leadership. Having driven transformation at giants like Microsoft, Vodafone, and JLL, she is now the Executive Chairman of Spindox, steering corporate clients through the complex, and often messy, reality of AI integration. In this episode of Good Company, Michael Wilson sits down with Barbara to explore why so many enterprises are stuck doing endless AI experiments without ever achieving real business value. She shares unfiltered insights on the terrifying rise of "Shadow AI," why true transformation requires both technical and business fluency, and her powerful "Dare and Care" framework for leading people through unprecedented change. The Highlights: Curing "Pilotitis": Why companies are suffering from a disease of having endless AI pilots but zero enterprise scalability, and the fatal disconnect between CIOs and business lines.Beyond the Efficiency Trap: Why using AI simply to cut costs and automate tasks is missing the bigger picture. Barbara explains how to use AI as a true "growth engine" to unbuild and rebuild your business.The "Shadow AI" Epidemic: With up to 50% of employees secretly using unapproved AI tools, Barbara breaks down how leaders must build trust by defining strict "never fail zones" alongside safe innovation playgrounds.AI as the New Interface: A fascinating case study of a major corporation abandoning traditional website navigation for a fully intent-driven, conversational AI assistant that builds curated pages on the fly.The "Dare and Care" Mandate: Why the ultimate responsibility of a leader right now isn't just tech adoption, but managing the human transition; protecting employability, up-skilling teams, and considering the environmental impact of large language models.The "Made in Italy" Edge: Celebrating the Italian tech ecosystem's creativity and rapid problem-solving capabilities, and the critical need to scale AI literacy across the country.The Soundtrack: The story behind her choice of The Police's classic, "Every Breath You Take," and its significance throughout her life."When I wake up in the morning, I say 'Dare and Care'; I want to see them hand in hand. Dare to reinvent the business, and care for the people to make that reinvention possible." Listen now for a masterclass in human-centric AI strategy and transformative leadership. Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.*

    43 min

  4. Apr 28

    Remi Rough: The Business of Art & The Art of Resilience

    "If you want to get the best out of me, let me do my thing. I've been doing this a bloody long time... I do know better than most people." From dodging transport police with a spray can to being commissioned by global brands, Remi Rough is a world-class artist who has kicked down the doors of the contemporary art world. His journey is a masterclass in turning a subversive street art form into a legitimate, sought-after creative force. In this episode, Michael Wilson sits down with Remi to talk about the reality behind the "currency of cool." He shares unfiltered truths about the business of being an artist, the unregulated "Wild West" of the gallery world, and the constant hustle required to balance creative integrity with commercial survival. The Highlights: From Vandal to Visionary: Remi's journey from graffiti writer to gallery artist, and how his first T-shirt deal became the unlikely bridge between the street and the store.The Art of Collaboration: His one non-negotiable rule when working with big brands and why creative control is paramount to producing your best work.The "Wild West" of the Art World: An astonishing story about battling an Italian gallery to recover €150,000 worth of his art and why your peers are your only real support system.Ageism in Art: A blunt assessment of how the industry is broken, chasing inexperienced 20-somethings while ignoring artists who are creating their best work in their 40s, 50s, and 60s.On AI: Remi's powerful, unfiltered take on why Artificial Intelligence can never replicate the human, emotive, and handmade craft of a true artist. "It's taking human intelligence and filtering it out... **** AI."Legacy is Story: Why he cares more about telling his own story than leaving a legacy, and the power of documenting your history in print."Excursions": The story behind his choice of A Tribe Called Quest, and the song that instantly takes him back to being 20 years old again."You have to keep moving as a business, you have to keep moving as a creative, and you have to keep moving as a human being." Listen now for a masterclass in creative survival and the art of resilience. Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.*

    33 min

  5. Apr 14

    Joanna Pamphilis: Direction Beats Speed (and Why 85% of Tech Projects Fail)

    "Speed is important and it wins headlines. But speed is irrelevant if you're going in the wrong direction. Direction is everything and in the end wins results." From code reviews in Chicago to boardrooms in Milan, Joanna Pamphilis has navigated the seismic shifts of global finance for decades. Now, with the launch of her new venture, JP Global Consulting, she's acting as a "Parachute CIO" for organizations struggling to turn technological ambition into tangible business value. In this episode, Michael Wilson sits down with Joanna to uncover why most digital transformations are doomed from the start and what leaders can do about it. She provides a masterclass in human-centered transformation, explaining how to speak the board's language and why chasing speed over direction is a recipe for disaster. The Highlights: The CIO's New Mandate: Why the CIO role has quietly undergone the biggest transformation in the C-suite, shifting from a back-office utility manager to a strategic visionary whose success is measured in "influence and impact."Why 85% of Transformations Fail: Joanna breaks down the three core reasons it's rarely about the tech: "Cultural Resistance," "Digitising Dysfunction," and the "Shiny Toy Syndrome."Direction Beats Speed: A deep dive into why the immense pressure for short-term results and a "bias towards action" causes companies to move fast in the wrong direction, creating debt and high sunk costs.Speaking the Board's Language: Her brilliant framework for getting funding: "Zoom Out" (connect to strategy), "Zoom In" (show value), and then "Quantify, Connect, and Commit." As she says, "Boards don't fund better data... They fund strategic competitive advantage."The "Parachute CIO": How fractional CIOs provide crucial strategic guidance and an outside perspective to help leaders navigate complexity without getting lost in organizational politics.Advice to the Next Generation: Why the most critical skill for future leaders is "disruptive adaptability" and the importance of staying human, growing others, and building resilience."On The Other Side": The story behind her choice of the song "Other Side" by Kaleida and its message of hope and optimism amidst transition."Successful transformations require a balanced human-tech mix." Listen now for a masterclass in navigating corporate transformation and leading with purpose. Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.*

    39 min

  6. Mar 31

    Beyond the Unicorn Hunt: Mark Beeston on Resilience and Real Outcomes

    "It's a brutal journey... you have to be a little bit crazy to be a founder." If we were playing a VC drinking game, what buzzwords would be on the list? Agentic AI? Democratising Finance? Legacy Stack? Michael Wilson sits down with Mark Beeston, founder of Illuminate Financial. Mark isn't your typical VC chasing the latest tech trend; he's a seasoned operator and investor who believes the real value lies in solving fundamental business problems with technology. From derivative trading floors to building a leading FinTech VC, Mark brings a no-nonsense, grounded perspective to the world of investment. In this episode, we cut through the noise to talk about what really matters: identifying real market needs, the brutal realities of selling to banks, the mental journey of founders, and why a "business solutions" approach trumps tech-first hype. The Highlights: Problem First, Tech Second: Mark’s core thesis – Illuminate Financial invests in solving real business challenges, not just the hottest AI or blockchain trend. "We're not actually technology investors at all... we're old-fashioned business solutions investors."Selling to the Giants: Why convincing banks is a decade-long marathon, not a sprint, and the real art of finding the "problem holder" with budget.The Founder's Gauntlet: Candid insights into the mental toll of entrepreneurship and the investor's role as a supportive, yet objective, guide – the "agony aunt" for founders.VC Differentiation: Navigating the post-venture winter landscape, where genuine business value and strong theses are key to survival and success.Global FinTech Hubs: Mark’s take on London, New York, Europe, and the shifting centre of gravity for innovation.The "T-Shirt Guy" VC: Mark’s personal identity and what truly motivates him beyond the financial returns – the game, surrounding himself with energetic people, and leaving a legacy."Insomnia" and the Founder's Mind: The story behind his track choice, "Insomnia" by Faithless, and its profound connection to the entrepreneurial journey.Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.*

    35 min

  7. Mar 17

    The Challenger Consultancy: Tony Clark on Disrupting Big Finance, the AI Reality Check, and Why "Strategy" Isn't Enough.

    "The consultant is someone who steals your watch to tell you the time."  Tony Clark has heard it all. After 30 years navigating the world of big consulting and finance, he founded NextWave Consulting to do things differently. In this episode of Good Company, Mike Wilson sits down with Tony, founder of the "Challenger Consultancy," to dissect the consultancy landscape, the fintech-client dynamic, and the true state of AI in financial services. Tony shares why boutique firms are outmaneuvering the Big Four, the critical mistakes fintech founders make when selling to banks, and what AI actually means for financial institutions beyond the hype. We also dive into the evolving role of human consultants in an AI-driven world, and the surprising truth behind Tony's weirdest client location. It’s a no-holds-barred conversation on what it takes to deliver real outcomes in today's fast-paced financial world. The Highlights:  Consulting's "Swear Jar": Tony explains why the old model of "land and expand" is out, and client-focused, practitioner-led delivery is in. AI Reality vs. Hype: Beyond the 200 POCs, Tony breaks down where AI is actually making an impact in banks today (spoiler: it's coding assistance and knowledge bots). Fintech Founders' Blind Spot: Why you need commercial sales DNA and a "Lighthouse Account" from Day 1, not just a cool product. The "Challenger" Model: How NextWave bridges the gap between enterprise banks and agile fintechs by offering deep industry expertise and cutting-edge tech solutions. The Human Differentiator: In an AI-driven world, why empathy, communication, and "showing up" are more crucial than ever for consultants. War Zone Pitches: Tony shares the surprisingly dangerous location where he's had to build slide decks. The Soundtrack: Tony closes the show with a song that holds a special personal connection."The models are doubling their power every four months, but it takes an enterprise one to two years to move the ship." Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.

    36 min

  8. Mar 3

    Indiana Jones meets Silicon Valley: Dr. Lollie Mancey on MetaHumans, "Sweetpea," and the Art of Doing Nothing

    "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should." That is the mantra of Dr. Lollie Mancey, Anthropologist, Futurist, TV Presenter, and the only person we know who can seamlessly connect 1980s Ska music with the future of AI ethics. In this episode of Good Company, host Mike Wilson sits down with the woman he describes as "Indiana Jones meets Silicon Valley." Lollie isn't interested in the tech hype; she’s interested in what the tech is doing to us. From her upcoming keynote with a "MetaHuman" co-star named Anya, to the terrifying reality of "Sweetpea" (the AI voice that never stops listening), this is a conversation about the fight for human solitude in a noisy world. We also dig into the "Innovation Theater" of corporate life (post-it notes won't save you), why Dutch children are dropped in forests to build resilience, and why we might be in danger of becoming a "footnote" in our own lives. It’s deep, it’s fast-paced, and it’s definitely Good Company.  The Co-Star: Lollie reveals why she is sharing a stage in Croatia with "Anya"l a MetaHuman designed to challenge (and annoy) her. Future Archaeology: What will historians in the year 3025 think when they dig up a WeWork and find a "Live, Laugh, Love" sign? Innovation Theater: Why beanbags and hackathons are useless without culture change. The Forest Experiment: Why 18-year-olds need "old-fashioned orienteering" (and less screen time) to build grit. The Death of Solitude: The "Sweetpea" problem; are we outsourcing our inner thoughts to AI? The Closer: Why The Specials are the perfect soundtrack for a generation that needs to fight back."The most ethical AI systems of the future will not be the most powerful. They will be the ones that know when to step back." Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.

    46 min

  9. Feb 17

    From Swaps to Stories: Marketing the Markets with Laura Craft (LSEG)

    "No one has the capacity for long-form whitepapers anymore. We’ve changed. We’re moving to something faster and sharper." Marketing in the City used to be simple: Golf days, expensive dinners, and a handshake. Today, the buyer is 70% through the journey before they even speak to a human. So, how do you steer a giant ship like the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) from an event-led culture to a digital-first machine? In this episode of Good Company, host Mike Wilson sits down with Laura Craft, Group Marketing Director at LSEG, to decode the reality of marketing financial infrastructure. We dive deep into: The "Colouring-In" Myth: How Marketing fights for a strategic seat at the table (and stops just being a service desk for Sales).The Attention Economy: Why LSEG is killing the 40-page whitepaper in favour of Instagram Reels and sharper storytelling.AI vs. Creativity: Why an AI-generated podcast was "the worst thing she ever heard" and why humans still own the narrative.Culture in Chaos: Laura’s strict rule for protecting her team from burnout in a high-adrenaline market (hint: the power of "Scheduled Send").Plus: A New York anthem to close the show from Alicia Keys.  Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.

    28 min

  10. Feb 3

    The Art of Asking "Why?" with Theodora Lau

    "Don't believe everything you see on LinkedIn. People see the top, but they don't see the work you put in. They don't see the unglamorous side of the story." What happens when a Chemical Engineer looks at the Banking system? They see leaking pipes that everyone else is trying to paint over. In this episode of Good Company, host Mike Wilson sits down with Theodora Lau; author, influencer, and self-proclaimed "troublemaker"; to strip away the LinkedIn glamour and get to the heart of what’s broken in financial services. Theo isn't afraid to ask the questions that make incumbents squirm. We dive into: The Silo Problem: Why do banks still treat loyal customers like strangers across different products?The Ethics of Debt: Why "Buy Now, Pay Later" is a symptom of a broken system, not a solution to the cost of living crisis.AI vs. Humanity: The specific moments where a bot should never replace a human voice (and why we need to slow down).But the most powerful moment comes when we go off-script. Theo opens up about the "un-Instagrammable" side of success, sharing a heartbreaking wake-up call from her son that changed her perspective on work-life balance forever. It’s a conversation about money, morals, and the radical power of "just being." Plus: A nostalgic outro track from The Carpenters.  Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.

    33 min
  11. The Girl Disruptor: Elizabeth Lumley on Buzzwords, Bankers & Taylor Swift

    Jan 20

    The Girl Disruptor: Elizabeth Lumley on Buzzwords, Bankers & Taylor Swift

    "We were promised flying cars; instead, we got robo-advisors and a box full of old cables."  Welcome to the debut episode of Good Company, the podcast that ditches the corporate script to find the human side of B2B. Host Mike Wilson sits down with the legendary Elizabeth Lumley; journalist, keynote speaker, and self-proclaimed "Girl Disruptor"; for a conversation that pulls no punches.  Elizabeth has been covering the sector since the 90s and has zero tolerance for fluff, kicking things off by banishing the phrase "Agentic AI is your best Intern" to the Buzzword Bin forever! Swapping war stories from the golden age of banking conferences, including a legendary 90s party featuring caviar and champagne that preceded a bankruptcy filing by just three weeks.  But it’s not all laughs; Elizabeth gets candid about the reality of ageism in Fintech and challenges the myth of the perfect 30-year-old founder. We wrap things up with a surprising confession about why this veteran journalist is an unapologetic Taylor Swift fan.  It is smart, loud, and definitely Good Company. Real conversations with interesting people.

    32 min
  • 11 Episodes

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Welcome to Good Company: The Zngly Podcast. Join us every two weeks for unscripted chats with the interesting people shaping our world and business. 

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