Episodes

  • “Business happens after human relationship”| Scaling a Global AI Startup

    “Business happens after human relationship”| Scaling a Global AI Startup
    Feb 19 2026
    What does it really take to scale a company across continents? In this episode of The Global Nutcracker, hosted by Skerdi Sino, Sebastian Knorr, CEO of Nordic AI, shares the raw lessons from building an AI company focused on mental health, with teams across Norway, Chile, Mexico, India, Africa, Britain, and Eastern Europe. We discuss: • Why cultural adaptation is non-negotiable • Norwegian directness vs. global business norms • The power of showing up daily and asking for referrals • Why “business happens after human relationship” • Resilience, discipline and persistence • Scaling a mental health festival concept across Europe • And why the ultimate expansion goal might be… the planet 🎙 Watch the full conversation
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    7 mins
  • Scaling a marketplace is harder than you think: Everyone is the customer

    Scaling a marketplace is harder than you think: Everyone is the customer
    Feb 12 2026
    Scaling a marketplace is not like scaling a traditional business. In this episode, we explore one of the most overlooked challenges marketplace founders face: in a two-sided model, you don’t have just one customer — buyers, sellers, and everyone in between all need to be served. Our guest shares hard-earned lessons from building and scaling a marketplace in the digital infrastructure space, where trust, relationships, and execution matter as much as the platform itself. We also talk about the realities of leading a distributed team, staying connected across markets, and why resilience is often the difference between growth and burnout. If you are a founder, CEO, or operator building a B2B marketplace, this conversation will resonate.
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    13 mins
  • Building engineering teams with gig talent

    Building engineering teams with gig talent
    Feb 5 2026
    Engineering teams don’t scale the same way they used to. In this episode of The Global Nutcracker, Skerdi Sino speaks with Krishen Naidoo, founder of Gig Engineer, about building and scaling engineering teams through a gig-based model — across countries, regulations, and very different markets. A grounded conversation about execution, real constraints, and what scaling looks like beyond the headlines.
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    9 mins
  • Scaling from one market to many without losing alignment

    Scaling from one market to many without losing alignment
    Jan 29 2026
    Scaling a company is hard. Scaling across markets is a completely different challenge. In this episode of The Global Nutcracker, we sit down with Mark Fairless, CEO of Clearbank, to talk about what really changes when a business moves from operating in one market to operating across many. From expanding beyond the UK into Europe to building teams in different countries, Mark shares how Clearbank approached international scale in a highly regulated industry — and why culture, operating models, and leadership alignment matter more than most founders expect. In this conversation, we cover: - How to scale from one market to multiple markets - The real challenges of global expansion in regulated industries - Why culture becomes harder — and more important — at scale - How to adapt operating models without losing speed or trust - Hiring across fintech and traditional banking backgrounds - How leaders measure culture as a business metric This episode is for founders, CEOs, and operators navigating international growth — especially in fintech, banking, or complex regulatory environments.
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    14 mins
  • How to hire International teams compliantly

    How to hire International teams compliantly
    Jan 23 2026
    This episode explores how growing companies can scale international teams without creating legal, financial, or compliance risks. The conversation focuses on real-world challenges founders face when hiring across borders, including contractor versus employee classification, operating without local entities, and navigating different labour laws. Listeners will gain practical insights into structuring global teams, avoiding common compliance mistakes, and making smarter decisions when expanding into new countries.
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    11 mins
  • Scaling companies across different cultures

    Scaling companies across different cultures
    Jan 23 2026
    This episode focuses on how founders can scale companies across countries while managing cultural differences, communication styles, and legal complexity. It explores why culture is often harder to scale than processes, how regional differences affect teamwork, and what practical steps leaders can take to build trust and consistency across borders. Listeners will learn how to adapt leadership styles, standardise operations without losing flexibility, and choose the right markets for expansion.
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    7 mins
  • Why AI only works if your business is built on trust

    Why AI only works if your business is built on trust
    Jan 23 2026
    Scaling a business that relies on trust is hard.Scaling it with AI is even harder. In this episode, Dusan Randelovic, Founder of Propwise, explains how they are helping buyers in real estate while expanding across markets like Portugal and Brazil, without losing the human side of the business. A conversation about trust, adoption, local markets, and why automation only works when relationships come first.
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    10 mins
  • How to scale a small team and integrate people from the outside

    How to scale a small team and integrate people from the outside
    Jan 23 2026
    Scaling a small team sounds simple—until responsibilities grow, routines break, and bringing someone from the outside becomes harder than expected. In this episode, Omar Badawy, Founder of Covelant, shares the real challenges behind scaling early-stage teams, staying organized under pressure, and building global collaboration across countries. A grounded, practical conversation for anyone growing a team while growing a product.
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    8 mins