From Recruiter to DEI Fixer: Jo Major on Free Pilots & Saying No | Ep 06 – How NOT To Be A Founder
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From Recruiter to DEI Fixer: Jo Major on Free Pilots & Saying No | Ep 06 – How NOT To Be A Founder
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About this listen
After 25 years at a recruitment desk, Jo Major never planned to start until the 2020 social justice wave, which exposed a training gap no one was filling.
She left a trade-body role, ran six free beta programmes, and launched a modular ED&I course that took off during the 2021 boom. Then budgets froze, partners drifted, and Jo had to reinvent everything, while ditching alcohol and hiring a mindset coach.
What you’ll hear:
• Why did she build the whole brand before writing a single invoice?
• The 6-client, no-fee beta that generated her first paid testimonials.
• Pivoting from 6-week courses to 2-hour workshops when L&D cash dried up.
• Killing the “your worth = last month’s billings” habit from agency life.
• Sobriety, strength-training and a coach who reframed confidence.
• The partnership that cost a new Ltd, website and trademarks—then fizzled.
• Final lesson: sell the idea first; build the slides only after someone buys.
A candid playbook on staying relevant when the hype cycle vanishes.