How hard can it be? with Dawid Konotey-Ahulu CBE

2025-02-23

How hard can it be? A question that serial founder, Ex-Investment Banker, and all round superstar, Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, consistently asks himself to push limits and find immense success. Dawid Started his career training as a lawyer, followed by working as an investment banking, before becoming a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded Redington an award winning independent investment consultantancy on a mission to make 100 million people financially secure. Followed by Mallowstreet, a collaboration platform for the as...

How hard can it be?

A question that serial founder, Ex-Investment Banker, and all round superstar, Dawid Konotey-Ahulu, consistently asks himself to push limits and find immense success.

Dawid Started his career training as a lawyer, followed by working as an investment banking, before becoming a serial entrepreneur.

He co-founded Redington an award winning independent investment consultantancy on a mission to make 100 million people financially secure. Followed by Mallowstreet, a collaboration platform for the asset management industry. And, as if this wasn’t enough, he co-founded 10,000 interns, a foundation that provides internships across 20 industries for undergraduates of black heritage, or with a disability, that Is changing lives in the process. Now Dawid is on a mission to empower people with the ability to tell their story through his company Spellbound.

He was named Black British Business Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018, and awarded a CBE in the 2023 New Year Honours List.

Despite this impressive list of accolades, for me, the most astounding things about are his ability to connect with people and his infinite compassion and will to help others.

In this conversation, we discuss

How he went from flunking his A levels to being a successful investment banker that founded multiple companies
Feeling like an outsider and learning how to harness these experiences
Facing racism and how 10,000 interns is changing bias from the top
The power of the questions, ‘what if?’, and ‘how hard can it be?’
Challenges from setting up a company and taking on huge competitors
The need for emotional intelligence in good leadership
Lessons from failure
The importance of storytelling and how to tell yours
Changing your narrative and why the stories we tell ourselves are so influential

Find out more:

Learn about Spellbound - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seQNdPMOFAE

Discover 10,000 Interns - https://10000internsfoundation.com/

Dawid's LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/dawid1

I hope you enjoy and feel inspired.

If you do like this episode please don’t forget to follow and rate for more amazing guests.

Comments (3)