30% of the world's food is wasted – and much of it is down to supply chain failures that technology can prevent. Souroush Honary, CEO and founder of SystemLoco, joins Mark Francis to talk about how near real-time data is transforming the way goods are tracked, monitored, and protected from farm to shelf. With over 3 million devices deployed and 50+ staff across the US, UK, and Taiwan, SystemLoco is making supply chain visibility accessible to businesses of all sizes – not just those at the high end of the market.

Souroush shares what it took to build a purpose-driven tech company over nearly 10 years, why engineers are natural problem solvers and how to lead them without micromanaging, and how thinking like a PhD researcher helps him approach every business challenge differently. He also opens up about the realities of scaling – restructuring teams, managing partners, riding exponential market curves, and staying data-driven in a company that sells data-driven solutions.

If you're a founder, tech CEO, or supply chain professional wondering how to lead with curiosity, scale with purpose, and build a team that stays with you for the long haul, this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways:

Real-time supply chain data can prevent problems before they happen, reducing disruption costs that are often 5-10x the value of the goods themselves.

Embedding tracking technology into reusable packaging is dramatically reducing the cost of shipment monitoring and opening up markets that were previously unaffordable to serve.

Great leadership is about asking the right questions, not having all the answers – a shift in mindset that transformed Souroush's approach to running his team.

Building a strong partner ecosystem lets you scale without losing focus on what your company does best.

Empowering your team means accepting they may do things differently – and backing them anyway.

Incentivising staff with share options and making them part of the mission reduces knowledge loss and drives long-term retention.

Keeping your finger on the pulse of market trends – especially exponential shifts driven by AI and falling hardware costs – is essential to positioning your company for the next growth curve.

The best sales approach in complex B2B markets is to listen more than you pitch and solve the core problem before expanding scope.

Follow SystemLoco: Website: https://www.systemloco.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/systemloco

Connect with Souroush Honary:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/souroush-honary-5925986/

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Mark and the Who's Your Captain podcast team

Connect with Mark Francis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-francis-78b3061/
Visit The Uspire Partnership website here: https://theuspirepartnership.com
Preview Mark's book here: https://www.book2look.com/book/5PLGQaM16K

Listen to Who's Your Captain on the following Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/097OvlL7btd8f7bplgIfv0
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-your-captain/id1875226706
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c6109160-6448-4d95-9850-07456d5adbca/who's-your-captain

#WhosYourCaptain #MarkFrancis #LeadershipPodcast #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessLeadership #Mentorship #LeadershipDevelopment #PurposeDrivenLeadership #TransformationalLeadership #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveThinking #Leadership

Hosted by Mark Francis, founder of The Uspire Partnership and former senior leader at Burberry and Tesco, this podcast provokes fresh thinking, energises purpose, and transforms how leaders perform. With over 25 years of experience in learning and development, organisational change, and executive coaching, Mark brings deep insight to every conversation. He's worked across retail, FMCG, logistics, and professional services, helping leaders and organisations unlock potential and drive meaningful transformation. Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or navigating your own path, you'll discover practical wisdom and inspiration from those who know what it takes to steer the ship.

If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or professional looking to elevate your leadership, find inspiration from great mentors, or understand what drives transformational performance, this podcast will give you the insights and energy to chart your own course with confidence.

In this episode, entrepreneur and WineFi founder Callum Woodcock shares how wine is evolving from a luxury hobby into a powerful alternative investment class. From data-driven wine portfolios to building a fintech startup in a traditional industry, this conversation dives deep into innovation, entrepreneurship, and smart investing.

Callum reveals how WineFi is democratizing wine investment, using machine learning and 39+ data variables to identify investment-grade wines and help investors build long-term portfolios. He also shares honest insights about startup life, mentorship, hiring great teams, and what it really takes to build a sustainable business.

Whether you're an entrepreneur, investor, or wine enthusiast, this episode offers valuable lessons on building a modern business and thinking differently about wealth.

In this episode:
• How wine became a serious alternative investment
• Why revenue models matter more than ideas in startups
• Building a fintech business in an unregulated market
• The role of mentors, advisors, and great hiring
• Using data and AI to transform traditional industries
• Real talk on startup growth, leadership, and resilience

Subscribe for more conversations with visionary founders, investors, and leaders shaping the future of business.

To connect Callum - https://www.linkedin.com/in/callumwoodcock/

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Mark and the Who's Your Captain podcast team

Connect with Mark Francis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-francis-78b3061/
Visit The Uspire Partnership website here: https://theuspirepartnership.com
Preview Mark's book here: https://www.book2look.com/book/5PLGQaM16K

Listen to Who's Your Captain on the following Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/097OvlL7btd8f7bplgIfv0
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-your-captain/id1875226706
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c6109160-6448-4d95-9850-07456d5adbca/who's-your-captain

#WhosYourCaptain #MarkFrancis #LeadershipPodcast #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessLeadership #Mentorship #LeadershipDevelopment #PurposeDrivenLeadership #TransformationalLeadership #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveThinking #Leadership

Hosted by Mark Francis, founder of The Uspire Partnership and former senior leader at Burberry and Tesco, this podcast provokes fresh thinking, energises purpose, and transforms how leaders perform. With over 25 years of experience in learning and development, organisational change, and executive coaching, Mark brings deep insight to every conversation. He's worked across retail, FMCG, logistics, and professional services, helping leaders and organisations unlock potential and drive meaningful transformation. Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or navigating your own path, you'll discover practical wisdom and inspiration from those who know what it takes to steer the ship.

If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or professional looking to elevate your leadership, find inspiration from great mentors, or understand what drives transformational performance, this podcast will give you the insights and energy to chart your own course with confidence.

When Arun Anand bought his first electric vehicle ten years ago, he saw a critical problem nobody was solving: the grid couldn't handle millions of EVs charging simultaneously during peak hours. So he built Electric Miles, a software platform that makes charging more reliable, cheaper, and grid-friendly across five countries.

In this conversation with Mark Francis, Arun reveals how Electric Miles went from consumer frustration to managing 17,000 users globally, why his lean team handles bus depots across India and Ethiopia, and why he prioritizes building perfect products over aggressive marketing spend. From turning Delhi's air quality crisis into a business opportunity to partnering with National Grid, Arun explains why solving climate change requires thinking in decades, not quarters.

Key insights from this episode:

Say yes first, figure out how later—jumping into opportunities without all the answers unlocked expansion across multiple continents

Product quality trumps marketing spend—solving core problems creates organic growth rather than expensive campaigns

The painkiller versus vitamin principle—selling solutions to people with urgent problems converts faster than those without immediate pain

AI plus expert equals trust—large language models need skilled professionals verifying outputs to maintain credibility

Culture reveals itself under pressure—how teams respond when products fail determines customer service ratings

Network equals net worth—building genuine relationships matters more than individual financial metrics

The middle is hardest—the period when nothing works and hope fades separates successful founders from those who quit

The biggest opportunity ahead is battery storage orchestration. Arun envisions homes with solar panels, battery storage, and EVs becoming self-sustaining, earning money by selling excess energy back to the grid during peak times. Electric Miles will orchestrate this ecosystem, optimizing every kilowatt for maximum savings and minimal grid strain.

Connect with Arun Anand:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arunanandem
Electric Miles: https://electricmiles.com

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Mark and the Who's Your Captain podcast team

Connect with Mark Francis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-francis-78b3061/
Visit The Uspire Partnership website here: https://theuspirepartnership.com
Preview Mark's book here: https://www.book2look.com/book/5PLGQaM16K

Listen to Who's Your Captain on the following Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/097OvlL7btd8f7bplgIfv0
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-your-captain/id1875226706
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c6109160-6448-4d95-9850-07456d5adbca/who's-your-captain

#WhosYourCaptain #MarkFrancis #LeadershipPodcast #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessLeadership #Mentorship #LeadershipDevelopment #PurposeDrivenLeadership #TransformationalLeadership #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveThinking #Leadership

Hosted by Mark Francis, founder of The Uspire Partnership and former senior leader at Burberry and Tesco, this podcast provokes fresh thinking, energises purpose, and transforms how leaders perform. With over 25 years of experience in learning and development, organisational change, and executive coaching, Mark brings deep insight to every conversation. He's worked across retail, FMCG, logistics, and professional services, helping leaders and organisations unlock potential and drive meaningful transformation. Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or navigating your own path, you'll discover practical wisdom and inspiration from those who know what it takes to steer the ship.

If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or professional looking to elevate your leadership, find inspiration from great mentors, or understand what drives transformational performance, this podcast will give you the insights and energy to chart your own course with confidence.

Discover the powerful leadership transformation that took a failing team to top performance. Darryl Heffline, CEO and author of "Shifting Gears at the Crossroads," shares the brutally honest feedback that changed his entire approach to leadership and reveals the four pillars that build trust in any organization.
In this conversation, Darryl breaks down the exact moment a colleague told him his leadership style was destroying his team - and the four specific changes that turned everything around. Learn how vulnerability, approachability, patience, and genuine care transformed a last-place manufacturing team into industry leaders.

Darryl introduces his VAPC framework for trustworthy leadership and explains why most leaders get repositioning wrong when facing business disruptions. He shares practical insights from 40 years leading teams across 30 different projects, including his approach to the critical first 60 days as a new CEO.
Whether you're leading a team of five or five hundred, this episode delivers actionable strategies for building trust, creating vision, and developing the next generation of leaders. Darryl also reveals why only 10-20% of companies actually have effective succession plans and what you can do differently.

Key insights include the five essential steps to build a compelling case for change, the four phases of transformation (reposition, rebuild, re-emerge, realize), and why balancing faith, family, fitness, and finances matters more than just hitting your numbers.

If you've ever felt stuck in your leadership approach or wondered how to mobilize your team toward a bigger vision, this conversation will challenge how you think about influence, legacy, and what it really means to serve as a leader.

Ready to shift gears in your own leadership journey? Start by recognizing when change is needed - because the most dangerous position is realizing 10 or 20 years too late that you've been on the wrong path.

Get Darryl's book "Shifting Gears at the Crossroads" and access free downloadable tools at his website.

Connect with Darryl Heffline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrylheffline/

I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Mark and the Who's Your Captain podcast team

Connect with Mark Francis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-francis-78b3061/
Visit The Uspire Partnership website here: https://theuspirepartnership.com
Preview Mark's book here: https://www.book2look.com/book/5PLGQaM16K

Listen to Who's Your Captain on the following Platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/097OvlL7btd8f7bplgIfv0
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-your-captain/id1875226706
Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/c6109160-6448-4d95-9850-07456d5adbca/who's-your-captain

#WhosYourCaptain #MarkFrancis #LeadershipPodcast #ExecutiveCoaching #BusinessLeadership #Mentorship #LeadershipDevelopment #PurposeDrivenLeadership #TransformationalLeadership #BusinessGrowth #ExecutiveThinking #Leadership
Hosted by Mark Francis, founder of The Uspire Partnership and former senior leader at Burberry and Tesco, this podcast provokes fresh thinking, energises purpose, and transforms how leaders perform. With over 25 years of experience in learning and development, organisational change, and executive coaching, Mark brings deep insight to every conversation. He's worked across retail, FMCG, logistics, and professional services, helping leaders and organisations unlock potential and drive meaningful transformation. Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or navigating your own path, you'll discover practical wisdom and inspiration from those who know what it takes to steer the ship.
If you're a business leader, entrepreneur, or professional looking to elevate your leadership, find inspiration from great mentors, or understand what drives transformational performance, this podcast will give you the insights and energy to chart your own course with confidence.