Welcome back to Being Invested. Thank you for joining me for another fascinating, personal conversation with a skilled investor. I'm so glad you have tuned in. My guest today is Jeremy Biggs. Jerry is the founder and CEO of NCL, a UK investment management firm investing in high growth, pioneering healthcare companies.But Jerry was not always an investor, and his journey to running a venture capital firm followed a non-traditional route. When he was in primary school, his head teacher presciently noted his ‘playground leadership’ skills.  It was evident even then that Jerry had the ability to read situations, communicate well and motivate groups of people. These strengths were tested, expanded and taken to new levels when Jerry joined the British Army out of school, ultimately serving as an infantry officer and seeing active service in the Balkans, Middle East and Northern Ireland. Jerry founded NCL in 2015 with the core belief that the modernisation of healthcare will be one of the greatest growth drivers of the 21st century. In addition to running NCL, Jerry is kept busy with 5 children, and sits on the board of a number of high growth businesses. In our lively conversation, Jerry talks about reinventing himself after a decade on the front lines, and how his focus on understanding the full value chain of business has paid dividends. We delve into his investment approach, the power and versatility of 'on time and on budget,' and why anyone considering an investing career should take a look at the healthcare sector and cultivate integrity. Jerry has contagious enthusiasm for what he does, combined with clear, systemic thinking, humility and humour. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!Thanks for listening. I'd love your feedback, and please subscribe if you're enjoying Being Invested. If you would like to suggest a guest, please message me on LinkedIn.SHOW NOTES:Jerry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-biggs-151a3723/Recommended book: Eboys: The First Inside Account of Venture Capitalists at Work by Randall E. StrossRecommended podcast: The Rest is History - Tom Holland & Dominic Sandbrook https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786Favorite quote: ‘Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity’ - General George S. PattonHUGE THANKS:Sound engineer - Alexander RussellArtwork - Sophie HardyMusic - Tom McKeanPhoto - Dominic Rodgers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I am thrilled to launch Being Invested with my first guest, Alex Ivanova. The aim of this podcast is to bring to life the people behind the markets. I'm so glad you have tuned in.Alex is the perfect guest to start us off. Her journey to a life in a town along the Thames, managing $10bn in bond portfolios for Invesco, speaking five languages, starting a non-profit, and raising two children with her husband, all started in Yakutsk, in the far east of Russia. It took determination, focus, adaptation and an ability to spot an opportunity. Her favorite quote is "If people don't laugh at your dreams, your dreams are not big enough." I can imagine she has left a lot of people laughing as she's followed - and realized - her dreams. I hope you enjoy this absorbing conversation as much as I did!If you would like to suggest someone to be a guest, please message me on LinkedIn.WHAT'S IN STORE:“I get an email saying we would like to accept you for an MBA programme, can you please send us your bank details where you have $18,000 to show us that you can pay for it. I was earning $100 a month. I had zero in my bank account. If I had one. I might not even have had one!”“Equity investment was very different. … I always felt like it’s algebra, it’s too easy for me.”“In the end, they didn’t buy the car. A couple of weeks later there was this Russian internal default, the ruble collapsed and there was hyperinflation... and before we could do anything with the money, the life savings of my parents, the value almost disappeared. And I remember my mum going to the market and buying a sack of potatoes and a pair of jeans for me. That was all she could get for all the money that they had. So that was my very first personal experience of how inflation can eat into your savings.”“We are all human beings. You have to remember: what is the market? The market is a collection of thousands and thousands of decision makers like myself and individual investors making decisions on a daily basis, and that is what moves the price. And if you understand the emotional part of it as well as the dry and analytical side of the business you get a better picture of what the risk balance has to be.”“In our industry, you don’t actually know if you’re good at it until you do it. There’s no university or school or even a course that teaches you how to be the best fund manager. The perception of risk is very different from person to person.”HUGE THANKS:Sound engineer - Alexander RussellArtwork - Sophie HardyMusic - Tom McKeanSHOW NOTES:Alex: linkedin.com/in/alexandra-ivanova-31470874Alex is Chair of Save the Permafrost, a non-profit raising awareness and funding research around how to save the permafrost - to protect against accelerated climate warming and preserve vital ecosystems. Please engage with Alex to learn more. https://www.savethepermafrost.org/who-we-are/Recommended book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/12176421Recommended podcast: Conflicted, with Aimen Dean and Thomas Small https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/conflicted/id1443491069 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.