Welcome back to Giant Ideas! Happy new year. We return to normal scheduling next week, but this week we are sharing an exclusive conversation with some of the best television writers in the world right now: Succession writer Lucy Prebble, and the creators of the HBO hit Industry, Micky Down and Konrad Kay.

This was conversation was recorded last year - chaired by the legendary Henry Mance, the FT's chief features writer - and was one of my favourites from our Giant Ideas event in London last year.

In this conversation they get to the core of the 'character of bad business’ - what it's like to write about the worst characters in business? What draws them to these people? Is there is an inevitability to the moral descent of business leaders with too much power? And - perhaps most importantly - how can you, our audience, avoid becoming the next Kendall Roy?

Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.

Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING.

Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Immad Akhund is the Co-founder & CEO at Mercury - one of the most widely used business banking platforms globally. He is also an active investor in Silicon Valley - as an active investor in 350 startups at their earliest stages including Airtable, Substack, and Rappi.

In this episode we talk about the three photographs that define Immad's life so far, the fateful weekend of the Silicon Valley Bank failure, and his leadership lessons learnt in a time of crisis.

Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.

Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING.

Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.

Immad Akhund is the Co-founder and CEO at Mercury - one of the most widely used business banking platforms globally. He is also an active investor in Silicon Valley - as an active investor in 350 startups at their earliest stages including Airtable, Substack, and Rappi.

This year he announced that Mercury raised $300 million at $3.5 billion valuation. He also announced his $26 million fund to back early-stage startups.

In this episode we talk about why founders make the best venture investors, his experience with investors at Mercury, and what it takes to scale a unicorn.

Stay tuned next week to hear episode 2 about Immad's life so far and how he dealt with the panic of the weekend Silicon Valley Bank failed.

Building a purpose driven company? Read more about Giant Ventures at www.Giant.vc.

Music credits: Bubble King written and produced by Cameron McLain and Stevan Cablayan aka Vector_XING.

Please note: The content of this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. Always consult a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.