Emotional Business

Leading with Courage: Building Great Products and Human-Centered Teams with Yi-Wei Ang

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper speaks with Yi-Wei Ang, Chief Product Officer at talabat, one of the world’s leading food delivery companies, about courageous leadership, product excellence, and the human side of innovation.

Yi-Wei’s story spans continents—from Malaysia to Dubai—and each chapter has shaped his view of leadership, culture, and design. Starting his career in UX research, he built his way into product leadership while keeping people, empathy, and impact at the center.

This conversation explores what it takes to lead at scale with authenticity and courage: creating psychological safety, balancing empathy with decisive action, and remembering that great products begin with great humans.

Olga and Yi-Wei discuss:

• Courageous leadership and why psychological safety fuels innovation
  
• What makes a great product: balancing customer value with business growth
  
• How global experience and cultural diversity shape leadership
  
• The impact of parenthood on empathy and prioritization
  
• The loneliness of senior leadership — and the importance of finding your tribe
  
• How authenticity and continuous learning sustain long-term success
  
• Why discipline, structure, and self-care routines keep leaders centered
  

If you’re a product leader, founder, or executive navigating growth and complexity, this episode is a masterclass in clarity, courage, and connection.

Rethinking Operations: COO Mindset, Empathy, and Trust with Gonzalo Arenas

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper speaks with Gonzalo Arenas, VP of Operations at Dunia, about the evolving role of operations in startups and the human side of building sustainable businesses.

Drawing on his bicultural upbringing and diverse career, Gonzalo shares how pragmatic idealism shapes his approach to leadership, trust, and team-building. He offers a grounded look at what it truly means to operate at scale — balancing empathy with efficiency, and adaptability with structure.

This conversation is a masterclass in what modern operations and leadership demand today: low ego, high transparency, and continuous learning.

This conversation explores:

• How Gonzalo’s upbringing shaped his pragmatic idealism
• Why operations play a crucial role in long-term business success
• The importance of adapting to the needs of the company as a COO
• Building trust through low ego and high transparency
• Using empathy to understand and connect with stakeholders
• Why choosing the right CEO to partner with is critical
• The value of hands-on experience in small teams
• Continuous learning as the foundation of effective leadership
• Knowing when and how to implement process
• How asking insightful questions adds real value

For founders, leaders, and operators alike, this episode is a reminder that operations isn’t just about execution — it’s about alignment, empathy, and trust.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gonzaloarenas/ 

Book mentioned in the episode https://store.darrenhardy.com/products/the-compound-effect 

From Fintech Executive to Heart-Led Founder with Šárka Betke

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper speaks with Šárka Betke—entrepreneur, former FinTech leader, and mother of two—about what it truly means to craft your own path.

Šárka shares her journey of moving from a successful career in finance and technology into the world of purpose-driven business. She opens up about learning to trust herself amid external doubt, the courage it takes to start again, and how to bring the wisdom of past experience into a completely new chapter.

Together, Olga and Šárka explore what authenticity in leadership looks like—especially during times of internal transition—and how leaders can communicate openly with their teams while staying true to themselves.

This conversation explores:

• Crafting a career path that reflects who you are—not who you’re “supposed” to be
• Moving from FinTech to purpose-driven entrepreneurship
• Integrating lessons from your old career into a new vision for work and life
• Building your vision through external doubt and self-trust
• What Šárka would tell her younger self when she left employment for entrepreneurship as a mother of two
• How to stay authentic as a leader while navigating your own transitions

This episode is for:
🌿 Women in traditional industries finding their voice early in their careers
💡 Anyone wondering if it’s time to make the jump into something new
✨ Those who doubt their vision—but know it’s worth pursuing anyway

For Olga, this was the most optimistic yet truthful conversation on creating your own path.

 

https://www.vinofactum.wine/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/vinofactum

https://www.linkedin.com/in/%C5%A1%C3%A1rka-betke-12a7a457/

 

On Authenticity 

https://youtu.be/1lJDm6-SJQI?si=mS1KP0tjDpup3PaE 

Burnout and Connection in the Startup Ecosystem with Nektarios Liolios

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper sits down with Nektarios Liolios—former banker, FinTech pioneer, and mental health advocate—to explore the unseen human side of startups.

From his early career in banking and FinTech to co-founding The Future Farm, Nektarios has experienced the high-stakes, high-stress reality of entrepreneurship. His story shines a light on the toll burnout can take—and why connection, resilience, and community are essential for building sustainable success.

This conversation explores:

• The hidden costs of burnout in the startup ecosystem
• Why connection and community are critical for resilience
• How “rootedness” influences leadership and wellbeing
• Realigning founding teams to sustain long-term ventures
• How The Future Farm is normalizing conversations about founder mental health
• The role of coaches, advisors, and emotional intelligence in supporting entrepreneurs

For founders, investors, and leaders alike, this episode is a reminder: sustainable startups begin with sustainable people.

 

http://linkedin.com/in/nekliolios

https://www.thefuturefarm.co/

https://foundology.org/

 

Product & Technology Leadership in the Era of AI and Human Connection with Hilary Aylesworth

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper speaks with Hilary Aylesworth—a former educator turned product strategist and AI leader. Hilary brings a unique perspective on leadership, weaving together her background in teaching, her work in AI at CoachHub, and her lived experience as both a professional and a parent.

This conversation explores how intuition, transparency, and emotional intelligence can shape leadership in the fast-moving world of technology. From the ethics of AI in coaching to the realities of systemic loneliness at the top, Hilary offers both practical and deeply human insights.

This conversation explores:

• How a background in education shapes product and leadership decisions
• Why emotional intelligence is the bedrock of effective tech leadership
• The ethics of AI in coaching and development
• Balancing professional ambition with motherhood
• Caregiving as a leadership strength—not a weakness
• Why executives underestimate loneliness—and the power of asking for help

For leaders navigating technology, AI, and human connection, Hilary’s perspective is both refreshing and essential.

 

https://www.coachhub.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hilaryaylesworth 

 

Discovering Alignment: Impact, Risk, and Passion in Entrepreneurship with Alex Farcet

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper is joined by Alex Farcet—entrepreneur, impact investor, and co-founder of the Raspberry Syndicate, a collective investing in climate tech startups across Europe and Africa.

From Silicon Valley to corporate boardrooms, from personal crises to purpose-driven leadership, Alex has lived many lives. Through each, he’s discovered that alignment—between values, risk, and passion—is the true north of entrepreneurship.

This conversation explores:

• How family health crises reshaped Alex’s approach to risk and business
  
  
• Why ego is both a driver and a danger in leadership
  
  
• The art of evaluating founders beyond pitch decks
  
  
• Networking as an introvert (and why it works)
  
  
• The role of intuition in entrepreneurial decision-making
  
  
• How storytelling and creativity shape impact ventures
  
  
• Why climate tech is a calling, not just a market
  
  

If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or leader navigating risk and purpose, this episode offers both honesty and inspiration.

https://www.raspberry.ventures/ 

Redefining Venture Capital: Art, AI, and Emotional Risk with Severin Zugmayer

In this episode of Emotional Business, Olga Skipper is joined by Severin Zugmayer—founder of New Renaissance Ventures, the first dedicated venture fund for the cultural and creative industries in Europe. With a background spanning Red Bull, Google, and Speedinvest, Severin isn’t your typical VC. He’s redefining what it means to invest—not just in products or founders, but in culture, creativity, and meaning.

Severin shares how his creative upbringing and professional journey led him to build a fund focused on the overlooked but high-potential world of creative tech. From music and film to spatial computing and AI, his thesis is as bold as it is timely.

This conversation explores:

• Why creativity is the next frontier in venture capital
  
  
• What most investors get wrong about emotional founders
  
  
• How AI is changing the game for cultural innovation
  
  
• The realities of being a solo GP (and why it’s both powerful and lonely)
  
  
• What resilience really looks like in a high-risk, long-game profession
  
  
• The emotional intelligence required to manage LPs, founders, and yourself
  
  

If you’re a founder, funder, or future builder wondering what VC could look like beyond the spreadsheets—this episode will expand your thinking.

https://www.nr.ventures 

Inner Scaffolding, Velocity & Venture Capital: The Inner Life of a Founder-Investor with Oleg Bibergan

What happens when you close a 25-year arc of success — and realize the next chapter demands something entirely different?

In this episode of The Emotional Business Show, Olga Skipper talks with Oleg Bibergan, founding partner at S16, a venture fund and community investing in transformative startups. With a background spanning Goldman Sachs, technology, and venture capital, Oleg has built a reputation for clarity and conviction. But behind the professional milestones lies a deeper story of transition, self-discovery, and redefining what success truly means.

Together, they explore:

• How Oleg reflects on the “arc” of his career and life so far, and what it means to enter a new chapter at 40
  
  
• The role of scaffolding — meditation, journaling, stubborn persistence, and community — in staying centered
  
  
• Why equanimity and emotional intelligence are critical traits for investors and founders alike
  
  
• His shift from data-heavy investing to founder-focused, velocity-driven decision-making
  
  
• The belief that provision = love, and his search for integration between material success and playful creativity
  
  
• How “golden shadows” and curated role models can shape the next evolution of leadership and growth
  
  

This is a rare look at the inner life of a venture capitalist: how emotional insight, personal rituals, and conscious community building shape not just investments, but identity and impact.

🎧 Tune in to discover what it means to navigate high-stakes decisions without losing connection to yourself, your values, or the people around you.

https://www.s16vc.com/