Entrepreneur and VC James Spenceley on how to stay calm in a war zone

James Spenceley is arguably one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs turned venture capitalist, local politician and philanthropist. He is also someone Samantha and The PR Hub has had the pleasure of working with over the past six years.  The three time Young Rich lister and two time EY Entrepreneur of the Year winner is one of the youngest Australians to found and lead an ASX 100 company, Vocus Communications. He's Chair of publicly listed companies Airtasker and Swoop, along with being a Non-Executive Director of Kogan. In 2021 he decided to turn his hand to local politics and was elected as a counselor for North Sydney Council in NSW. Yet while James is known for a hearty risk appetite in business, perhaps his most courageous project to date has been a deeply personal one, delivering custom built ambulances and medical equipment to the front lines of the war in Ukraine (James’ wife, Victoriia, is Ukrainian and they first met while James was living in Ukraine many years ago).  Why ambulances? Because ambulances were desperately needed, which speaks to one of James’ most important tips for anyone in business: ask What does your customer really need? “We approached our drive to contribute to the war effort in Ukraine like we would a business - what’s needed, how do we fulfil the need better - and evolved the product accordingly.” “As soon as people heard about it, they wanted to give, we got press, and the momentum started building. It’s been incredible.” Join James in conversation with Samantha as they delve into how to effectively manage stress, deal with negative publicity, and what drives the indefatigable James Spenceley forward every day (yes, there is Red Bull involved). If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or someone leading a high growth, disruptive business looking for ideas and inspiration then you won’t want to miss this episode! Find out more about Aus Ukraine Aid at https://www.gofundme.com/f/ausukraineaid, follow @ausukraineaid, or DONATE AT https://www.ausukraineaid.org/. Connect with James on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-spenceley/ Follow the Influence Unlocked podcast on Instagram: @influenceunlockedpodcast Follow Samatha Dybac on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/samanthadybac/ Check out the Influence Unlocked podcast videos on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/3fq8dJ5 Podcast Producer: https://piccolopodcasts.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.