🎙️ BONUS Episode 2 with sales coach Matt Essam: Transforming Sales into Connection

Are you approaching sales as a transaction—or as a conversation that transforms your business?

In this second BONUS episode, we’re joined by Matt Essam, business coach and author, to rethink how founders approach sales. Rather than a numbers game, Matt reframes sales as a process of helping clients make decisions through curiosity, compassion, and courage.

Throughout our discussion, we explore the psychology behind buying, the importance of active listening, and why reframing the stigma around sales can unlock transformative conversations. Matt shares insights from his journey, practical strategies for founders, and the mindset shifts that allow sales to become both effective and human.

Whether you’re running a startup, scaling a creative agency, or just navigating client conversations, this episode will help you see sales as a relationship-building tool rather than a necessary evil.

🔑 In this episode, we talk about:

1. Why sales is fundamentally about communication and decision-making
2. Overcoming the stigma around sales and reframing it as service
3. The role of curiosity, compassion, and courage in client conversations
4. Differentiating your offerings in a crowded market
5. Emotional intelligence and the psychology of buying
6. Balancing sales automation with personal connection
7. The Traffic Light Method for understanding client readiness
8. How transformational sales conversations build brand equity

🧠 Key Takeaways:

1. Sales isn’t coercion—it’s facilitation. Helping clients make informed decisions is the goal.
2. Courage is essential: asking the hard questions builds trust and clarity.
3. Emotional intelligence drives buying decisions—understanding your client matters.
4. Differentiation reduces competition and increases demand.
5. Sales conversations can be transformational, benefiting both the founder and the client.
6. Automation is helpful, but human connection remains irreplaceable.
7. Founders can reframe sales from a dreaded task into a relationship-building practice.

💬 Sound Bites / Quotes:

1. “Sales is about curiosity and compassion.”
2. “Sales is not something you do to someone.”
3. “Sales is a transformational conversation.”

🎙️ Vulnerability as a Superpower in Tech with Ahana Banerjee

What does it take to build a tech startup in a crowded market—while staying authentic, visible, and resilient?

In this episode, Helga sits down with Ahana Banerjee, founder of Clear, a skincare-tracking app designed to cut through the noise of an oversaturated beauty industry. From growing up across the UK, India, and Singapore to teaching herself how to code, Ahana’s journey reflects the power of discipline, vulnerability, and intentional personal branding in entrepreneurship.

Together, we explore what it means to be a young female founder in tech, how vulnerability can become a competitive advantage, and why building both a product and a personal brand requires consistency, resilience, and belief—especially when facing bias in fundraising. Ahana also shares how Clear balances a dual business model, serving both consumers and global skincare brands through data-driven insights.

This episode is an honest look at startup life behind the scenes—rejections, resilience, and the long game of building something meaningful.

🔑 In this episode, we talk about:

Growing up across cultures and how it shaped Ahana’s entrepreneurial mindset

The personal skincare struggles that inspired the creation of Clear

Teaching herself to code and transitioning from academia to startups

Using vulnerability as a strength in personal branding

Building credibility as a young female founder in tech

Navigating bias and rejection in fundraising

Balancing consumer value with brand monetisation

Why discipline matters more than motivation in content and growth

Scaling a startup while protecting team culture

🧠 Key Takeaways:

Vulnerability can be a powerful tool for trust and connection.

Personal branding requires consistency, not perfection.

Fundraising resilience means expecting rejection—and continuing anyway.

Strong team culture is critical as startups begin to scale.

Understanding both user and brand needs unlocks sustainable growth.

Entrepreneurship is a long game built on discipline and belief.

📍 Chapter Highlights:

00:00 – Introduction to Ahana and Clear

02:34 – Growing up across cultures

12:35 – Discovering coding and technical confidence

15:31 – The moment that sparked Clear

26:13 – Committing fully to the startup journey

28:06 – Vulnerability and personal branding

31:56 – Credibility challenges as a young founder

33:03 – Consistency and content creation

36:21 – Authenticity on social media

46:16 – Personal support systems

53:16 – Facing bias as a female founder

59:00 – Navigating fundraising realities

01:10:00 – Resilience and leadership

01:20:58 – Balancing consumer and brand needs

01:24:17 – Scaling Clear and future growth

🔗 Links & Resources:

📱 Clear App → getclearapp.com

👤 Ahana Banerjee → LinkedIn

🌍 Companies mentioned: Clear, L’Oréal, Beiersdorf, Unilever, Y Combinator, Forbes

🧡 Why You’ll Love This Episode:

This conversation is a powerful reminder that building a startup isn’t just about technology or traction—it’s about identity, resilience, and showing up honestly. Ahana’s story offers inspiration for founders navigating self-doubt, bias, and the pressure to prove themselves, while still building with integrity and intention.

📣 Connect with Us:

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What happens when technology, self-discovery, and environmental awareness collide?

In this episode, we sit down with Georg Molzer, founder of Shadowmap, a groundbreaking platform that visualises sunlight and shadows in three dimensions. What begins as a conversation about sunlight, urban planning, and innovation quickly unfolds into a much deeper exploration of authenticity, personal growth, and the often exhausting work of becoming yourself.

Georg shares how living in dense urban environments sparked the idea behind Shadowmap, a tool now used by architects, urban planners, and individuals who want to better understand their relationship with sunlight. Alongside the technical journey, Georg opens up about his inner journey — from making mistakes and seeking forgiveness, to embracing authenticity as an ongoing, imperfect process.

This episode bridges the worlds of entrepreneurship, self-discovery, spirituality, and impact, offering listeners both practical insights and reflective depth.

1. Why authenticity is a lifelong process — not a destination
2. The emotional and spiritual work behind entrepreneurship
3. How Shadowmap tracks sunlight and shadows in 3D
4. Democratizing access to sunlight in dense urban spaces
5. Making mistakes, taking responsibility, and asking for forgiveness
6. Why self-discovery can be deeply exhausting — and necessary
7. Integrating personal growth with leadership and business
8. The role of awareness and consciousness in innovation
9. Building community around shared values and wellbeing

1. Authenticity is encouraged by the universe — but it requires effort.
2. Self-discovery is a continuous and often uncomfortable journey.
3. Making mistakes is a natural and essential part of growth.
4. Asking for forgiveness is a vital step in becoming more authentic.
5. Being true to yourself does not mean being perfect.
6. Authenticity can unintentionally cause friction or harm — awareness matters.
7. Personal growth demands commitment, courage, and reflection.
8. Embracing your true self is foundational to meaningful work and life.

00:00 – Introduction and Insights from Georg

00:32 – Exploring Modern Health Myths

(Full chapter expansion can be added once final timestamps are locked)

“This is the work, which is exhausting.”

“This is a process as well.”

“You will make mistakes.”

This episode goes beyond tactics and tools. It’s a...