Shows
40 Minute MentorReplay: Challenging Cultural Norms with Alice Bentinck MBEIn today’s 40 Minute Mentor episode, we’re revisiting our popular episode with the brilliant Alice Bentinck MBE, Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First and author of “How to be a Founder”. Frustrated by a business landscape that found latent talent shackled by predetermined career paths, Alice set out to challenge cultural norms when she co-founded Entrepreneur First in 2011 – an accelerator that celebrates and invests in talented, ambitious individuals and looks to match-make Co-Founders to launch successful businesses.In this episode, Alice shares everything from her early career to challenging the norms of en...2025-02-1244 min
Thriving Minds with Alberto ZandiThe Robin Hood of Recruitment - How Gary Izunwa is Fighting Hiring InequalityGary Izunwa grew up in a single-parent, working-class household where he learned the value of hard work and witnessed first-hand the barriers to opportunity faced by underprivileged communities. Today, he’s the founder of Tangent, a ground-breaking digital recruitment platform tackling the deep-rooted unfairness in employee referrals and opening doors for those often overlooked by traditional hiring systems.Gary’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary. From landing a dream job at LinkedIn to discovering how recruitment often favours privilege over merit, he turned frustration into a mission: to create a world where people from less priv...2025-01-301h 22
40 Minute MentorWhere Are They Now: A Lesson in Resilience & Pivoting with James Lo, Co-Founder of EthosJames Lo, one of our most popular 40 Minute Mentors and Co-Founder of Ethos, joins us for today’s 40 Minute Mentor, Where Are They Now feature. A lot has happened since the last time James came on the podcast. In today’s episode, we dive into every twist and turn in his journey since building and eventually exiting education platform, Mana, all the way through his latest venture - Ethos, the opportunity engine for humanity, currently in stealth. 📚 Episode Chapters: ➡️ Pivoting & exiting Mana [02:00] ➡️ Digging...2025-01-2232 min
The First BuckFacing and Breaking the Fear of Failure: Navigating Setbacks in Business with Gary IzunwaIn this episode of the First Buck podcast, host Nic Cary interviews Gary Izunwa, Co-founder and CEO of Tangent, an employee referral platform designed to make job referrals accessible to everyone, not just the well-connected. In this episode, Gary shares his insights on social mobility, leveraging networks, and overcoming challenges as an entrepreneur. He emphasizes the importance of building meaningful connections, developing resilience, and embracing failure as part of the entrepreneurial journey. The episode highlights how aspiring entrepreneurs can break barriers, tap into hidden opportunities, and create lasting impact in their communities. Here’s a glimpse of wh...2024-10-1639 min
The Graduate GuideGary Izunwa, Co-Founder @ TangentIn this episode, Gary Izunwa, Co-founder of Tangent, reflects on his journey from a single-parent, low-income household to a 6-figure sales job at LinkedIn after university. As one of the few people from his community who found early success, he increasingly felt the need to give back, leading him to quit his job. Ever since he has been pushing for more social mobility in the tech space, winning him Forbes 30 under 30 in 2024.2024-04-2134 min
40 Minute MentorGary Izunwa: Driving Social Mobility through referrals with Tangent“I think we over index on the significance of education at the cost of other important parts of the social mobility conversation.” This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is Gary Izunwa, Co-Founder and CEO of Tangent. Tangent is an employee referral platform that makes referrals accessible to everyone and NOT just the privileged few with the best networks. Prior to Tangent, Gary worked at LinkedIn and the British Council leading programmes for ‘Generation UK’, a multimillion pound campaign, committed to social mobility. Most rece...2024-04-1747 min
40 Minute MentorComing soon: Series 11 of pocket-sized mentorship“Sometimes entrepreneurship is about bending the odds of success, and just being willing to take on the risks…”Welcome back to Series 11 of 40 Minute Mentor - your pocket-sized career mentor. We’ve got 13 weeks of non-stop mentorship from some of the best in the industry, coming up for you. Before we kick off the series with our first 40 Minute Mentor next week, we thought we’d share a few soundbites with you of what’s to come… In this series trailer, y...2024-03-1305 min
Early Stage Critical MomentsGary Izunwa - Fixing Economic Inequalities With HR Tech And Visionary LeadershipIn this episode, we dive into the story of Gary Izunwa, the founder of Tangent, who is passionately dedicated to reshaping the landscape of career opportunities.
Coming from a low-income background, Gary is deeply committed to ensuring that social context does not dictate one's career and life outcomes.
Sharing his insights on the systemic barriers that often hinder people from lower-income backgrounds, Gary highlighted a scary OECD statistic…
It takes 5 generations - or 150 years - to move from the bottom 10% of incomes to average income.
...2023-11-2854 min
Closer in Tech by the D2 collectiveS1E2 The Impact of Diversity in the Workplace with Gary Izunwa | the D2 collectiveMeet Gary.
Gary is a strategic, integrity-led, and proactive entrepreneur passionate about connecting talent from less privileged backgrounds to opportunity at scale.
After joining the ZINC accelerator program for entrepreneurs he recently co-founded Tangent. Their mission is to close the network gap and make employee referrals work for everyone.
We met Gary during his 3.5 years at LinkedIn in Dublin. Gary is a very inspiring individual committed to making the world a better place.
He also hosts Climbing the Rungs Podcast: a social mobility podcast that aims to inspire people from less privileged...2023-01-1626 min
Climbing The RungsThe Reverse Bullingdon ClubIn today’s episode I sit down with Sophie Pender, the Founder and CEO of the 93% Club. Before training as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, Sophie grew up in a single parent household on a council estate in North London and balanced two jobs in McDonalds and John Lewis alongside her schoolwork. After becoming the first student in her school to achieve straight A*s at A level, Sophie left for the University of Bristol to study English. In her second year, Sophie founded The 93% Club, a society dedicated to improving the experience of state school stu...2021-08-1144 min
The 93 TalksGary Izunwa on the Power of CultureYour host, Josh, speaks to Gary Izunwa on the power of experiencing different cultures on your personal development. Having travelled to over 40 countries around the world and currently working for the British Council, Gary and Josh discuss how cultural understanding and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone can help you to seek a wider variety of opportunities and build your confidence to develop more ambitious networks.Gary role now revolves around providing low income students with international opportunities.2021-08-0646 minClimbing The RungsUnderstanding The EliteIn today’s episode I sit down with Sam Friedman, Professor of Sociology at the LSE. Graduating with degrees from both the University of Edinburgh and the LSE, Sam has spent his academic career specializing in class and inequality, particularly focusing on the cultural dimensions of contemporary class division. After publishing his preeminent book “The Class Ceiling – Why It Pays To Be Privileged” Sam has quickly become one of the most well-known academics in the UK featuring in BBC documentaries, commissioning reports for the UK government and most recently being appointed to ITV’s Cultural Advisory Council. In our conv...2021-07-2830 minClimbing The RungsThe North/South DivideIn today’s episode I sit down with Joe Seddon. Joe is the Founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, a tech startup which mentors students from low-income backgrounds into the UK’s best universities and careers. Launched from his bedroom in West Yorkshire, Joe has grown Zero Gravity from a student bedroom startup into one of the UK’s leading social mobility organisations. In 2020, Zero Gravity mentored 1000+ low-income students into highly-selective universities, including 151 students into Oxbridge. Last year, Joe was named as one of the Top 10 Young Digital Leaders in the UK by Lloyd’s Bank, and his work with Zer...2021-06-3049 minClimbing The RungsHow Your Socio-Economic Background Can Be Used Against YouIn today’s episode I sit down with Tony Hursey. Tony is a Planning Manager at Zenith, which is a part of the wider Publicis Groupe, one of the largest marketing and communications networks in the world. In his role, he has worked on award-winning industry campaigns with brands such as Ray Ban, Carling, & Rekorderlig, acting as a key client partner delivering media campaigns and cross-agency presentations. For his standout work, Tony has been identified as standout agency talent having been recognised as Highly Commended at the 2020 Zenith Annual Awards. In our conversation we discuss a range of...2021-06-1634 minClimbing The RungsOwning Your Socio-Economic BackgroundIn today’s episode I sit down with David McIntosh. David is a Management Consultant at KPMG based in Scotland having started his career as an Apprentice on the KPMG360 Programme. Whilst at KPMG, David founded the companies Social Mobility Scotland Network and now Chairs the wider UK Social Mobility Network. For his efforts advocating for social mobility, David was recognised as the BPP UK Apprentice of the Year 2020 and was also invited to meet and speak with Her Majesty the Queen.In our conversation we discuss a range of topics such as the link between financial ha...2021-06-0248 minClimbing The Rungs(Part 1) Growing Up Without A ComputerIn today’s episode I sit down with Rene Germain. Rene is a 28-year-old Digital Product Manager, writer, speaker and champion of the Black community. She has worked at leading investment banks, professional services firms and media companies. Rene has been writing about careers and navigating the workplace since 2016 to help fellow black students and graduates. This year her debut book, Black and Great, the career manifesto will be published by Coronet Books on the 19th August. Rene is also a prolific writer, having written for HuffPost, Fortune.com, Stylist Magazine and Buzzfeed news.Rene and I di...2021-05-1940 minClimbing The Rungs(Part 2) Growing Up Without A Computer In today’s episode I sit down with Rene Germain. Rene is a 28-year-old Digital Product Manager, writer, speaker and champion of the Black community. She has worked at leading investment banks, professional services firms and media companies. Rene has been writing about careers and navigating the workplace since 2016 to help fellow black students and graduates. This year her debut book, Black and Great, the career manifesto will be published by Coronet Books on the 19th August. Rene is also a prolific writer, having written for HuffPost, Fortune.com, Stylist Magazine and Buzzfeed news.Rene and I dis...2021-05-1927 minClimbing The RungsBuilding Alumni Networks In State SchoolsIn today’s episode I sit down with Akeem-Chavez Williams. Akeem is an Alumni Programme manager at Future First, an award-winning charity that builds alumni networks in state schools. Akeem joined Future First after 4 years of working in Higher Education at Russell Group Universities, as well as working with organisations to provide educational talks surrounding queer identity. Akeem has also worked on the HIV: Let’s sort this together campaign, which aims to end new diagnoses of the disease within a generation. This campaign is Manchester’s first HIV prevention and awareness campaign, and was in partnership with LGBT Founda...2021-05-0544 minClimbing The RungsThe Value of Personal BrandingIn today’s episode I speak with Afzal Hussein. Afzal is one of the most well-known career YouTubers in the UK with subscribers in excess of 75,000. His channel covers a range of topics from Banking to Finance, mixing it all with a lot of humour. He is also the Founder of Simpley, a career mentoring platform that helps mentees secure internships and graduate schemes.. Prior to this, Afzal started his career as a Banker at Goldman Sachs and completed multiple short internships at other multinationals such as BlackRock and EDF Trading.In our conversation we discuss a li...2021-04-2147 minClimbing The RungsHow To Get Promoted EarlyIn today’s episode I speak with Inez Sarkodee-Adoo. Inez is a Vice President at a bulge bracket investment bank having joined as a graduate analyst in 2015. Prior to her career in Finance, Inez graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in Politics and Sociology and engaged her interest in journalism with contributions to the Huffington Post and The Observer. For all her great achievements, Inez has been recognised through her nomination as a Rare Rising Star and being shortlisted for the Woman of the Future Award. In this episode we discuss the impact that tea...2021-04-0741 min
Origin Story with David McIntosh Jr#18 - Gary Izunwa – Embracing your Less Privileged Background for Career Success - Social MobilityMy friend and fellow podcast host Gary Izunwa stops by to talk to me about a cause that it is so close to my heart – social mobility. I believe Gary is one of the most inspirational and impactful advocates in this space.
Gary is the host behind the Climbing the Rungs podcast – a podcast that interviews guests from low-socioeconomic backgrounds and unravel key themes, lessons, tales and traits from those who have been able to navigate the social mobility landscape.
In this episode expect to learn:
- What is social mobility and how does...2021-04-0657 minClimbing The RungsHow Extracurricular Activities Get You JobsIn today’s episode I speak with Avishen Thondrayen. Avishen is a Strategy Associate at one of the Big 4 professional services firms based in London. Before entering the working world, Avishen graduated from the LSE with a degree in Economics. After university he enjoyed two gap years where he not only travelled across Asia but also enjoyed short stints in Fast Moving Consumer Goods at Kraft Heinz and Mergers & Acquisitions at Credit Suisse.In this episode we discuss why first generation and less privileged students do not participate in extracurricular activities, the challenges Avishen faced when trying to...2021-03-2439 minClimbing The Rungs(Part 1) Unlearning Your Upbringing To Progress At WorkIn today’s episode I speak with Tolu Oke. Tolu has a wealth of cross industry experience having worked within the third sector, investment banking and management consultancy. She is a well known and experienced diversity and inclusion leader, having recently led a number of award nominated D&I programmes at Sainsburys – she was actually recognised as a Future Leader by the Ethnicity Awards last year so she knows a thing or two. This episode is just as informative as it is entertaining because Tolu is so funny! We talk about the challenges she faced when applying to t...2021-03-0945 minClimbing The Rungs(Part 2) Unlearning Your Upbringing To Progress At WorkIn today’s episode I speak with Tolu Oke. Tolu has a wealth of cross industry experience having worked within the third sector, investment banking and management consultancy. She is a well known and experienced diversity and inclusion leader, having recently led a number of award nominated D&I programmes at Sainsburys – she was actually recognised as a Future Leader by the Ethnicity Awards last year so she knows a thing or two. This episode is just as informative as it is entertaining because Tolu is so funny! We talk about the challenges she faced when applying to t...2021-03-0930 minClimbing The RungsSocial Codes and Unwritten Rules at WorkIn today’s episode I sit down with Warren Wellington. Warren is a solicitor at a top international corporate law firm. He has experience advising domestic and international companies on a wide range of corporate transactions in particular mergers & acquisitions. He is also the co-founder and chairman of the Black British City Group, a network of Black British professionals who seek to empower the Black British community through leveraging their collective skills and resources. Our conversation covers a number of interesting strands from our thoughts on why the poorest families tend to stay to poor, how young pe...2021-02-2458 minClimbing The RungsHow Travelling Builds Your Cultural CapitalIn today’s episode I speak with Shauna Bull. Shauna is a Regional Account Manager at LinkedIn based in Singapore. She is one of LinkedIn’s top sales talent, having won a place at LinkedIn’s Presidents Club in 2019, an award for the top 10% of sales people at LinkedIn globally. This comes as no surprise though as she was recognised as the WeAreTheCity Rising Star in Sales winner in 2017. In our conversation we discuss her upbringing in the east end of London, how travelling can build your cultural capital and the intersectionality of class and gender. Shauna is sup...2021-02-2446 minClimbing The RungsThe Power of Your 'WHY'In today’s episode I speak with Dr Leanne Armitage. Leanne is a qualified medical doctor and the founder of the Armitage Foundation, a charity that aims to increase diversity across UK medical schools. She has been recognised as a Queens Young Leader, a LinkedIn Top Voice and has been interviewed and profiled by a number of news outlets such as BBC Radio, Channel 4 News and the Evening Standard. We discuss quite a few things in this episode such as the tragic event that led Leanne to pursue a career as a Doctor, why the medical profession is...2021-02-2448 minClimbing The RungsClimbing The Rungs TrailerClimbing The Rungs is a social mobility podcast that aims to inspire young people from less advantaged backgrounds to achieve career success and raise awareness of issues related to socio-economic background. Here is a short preview of what you can expect from Climbing The Rungs. The first three episodes launch on Wednesday 24 February so be sure to subscribe to be the first to listen in!2021-02-0402 min