Welcome to the People Championing Podcast, powered by UJJI.
People Championing is all about finding the optimal approach to building high performance teams by creating common ground between Founders and People Leaders.
Hear about the latest hiring, training and company culture initiatives, straight from the minds of people leading people in the tech world.
Episode 6: Building Tech Teams - Ana Zucato, Raveena Singh & Rafael Guper | People Championing Podcast | Season 2
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, we explore the challenges and opportunities of building tech teams in developing markets. Host Rafael Guper, Co-Founder of UJJI, sits down with Ana Zucato, Founder & CEO of Noh, and Raveena Singh, People Leader at Uniqode, to uncover how businesses in Brazil and India navigate unique market dynamics while driving innovation.
Together, they discuss strategies for hiring, scaling, and maintaining team alignment in rapidly evolving environments. From attracting top local talent to creating a culture of knowledge sharing, this episode highlights actionable insights to help entrepreneurs and leaders thrive in emerging economies.
Key Insights:
- The importance of 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 in emerging markets.
- 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 with company goals.
- Strategies for 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 across teams.
- Balancing 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 with business scalability.
- The role of 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in driving team efficiency.
If you're an entrepreneur, HR leader, or passionate about global tech innovation, tune in for expert advice, exciting perspectives, and key takeaways on building resilient, impactful teams in developing markets. Don't miss the rapid-fire round for fun insights on global vs. local hiring strategies, remote work preferences, and more!
➡️ 𝐅 𝐑 𝐄 𝐄 𝐃 𝐎 𝐖 𝐍 𝐋 𝐎 𝐀 𝐃:
Scale L&D with A Handbook: https://www.ujji.io/ai-learning-development-handbook
➡️ 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐇𝐈 𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋:
Connect with Rafael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/
Connect with Ana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-zucato/
Connect with Raveena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raveena-singh/
Follow UJJI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/
Learn more about UJJI: https://www.ujji.io/
#TechLeadership #EmergingMarkets #BuildingTeams #LearningAndDevelopment #TechIntegration #SkillsBasedLearning #EmployeeExperience #Automation #Podcast
12 Dec 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 5: Making the Right Decisions When Building a Rapidly-growing Business from 0 to 1
In Episode 5 of Season 2 of the People Championing Podcast, Rafael explores how to make the right decisions when building a rapidly-growing business from 0 to 1.
Joined by Alex Theuma, founder of SaaStock, and Emma Collingwood, SVP of People at Volt.io, this conversation dives deep into how flexible work policies can be a game-changer for scaling businesses. From designing impactful remote-first strategies to overcoming the challenges of maintaining culture and productivity, this episode is packed with actionable advice for founders and People Ops leaders.
Discover how to align flexibility with business goals, engage teams in a hybrid world, and prepare your organization to adapt as it grows. If you're navigating the complexities of modern work environments, this episode is a must-listen!
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Connect with Rafael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/)
Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alextheuma/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alextheuma/)
Connect with Emma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-collingwood-65b3a435/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-collingwood-65b3a435/)
Follow UJJI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/)
Learn more about UJJI: https://www.ujji.io (https://www.ujji.io/)
5 Dec 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 4: Integrating the Growing Tech Stack of Tech-Enabled Businesses
In Episode 4 of Season 2 of the People Championing Podcast, Rafael takes a deep dive into the fascinating intersection of HR, learning, and technology. Joined by Romain Sestier, Co-founder and CEO of StackOne, and Alexandria Czoschke, Director of Learning & Development for the Americas at JLL, this episode unpacks how organizations can streamline, integrate, and optimize their tech stacks to supercharge workforce engagement and growth.
From leveraging automation and analytics to enhance decision-making, to the power of self-service tools in creating a more empowered employee experience, the discussion provides practical insights and forward-thinking strategies for navigating the tech-enabled future of HR and learning. Whether you're an HR leader, L&D specialist, or a tech enthusiast, this episode offers valuable takeaways to transform your people operations.
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Connect with Rafael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper)/
Connect with Romain: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romainsestier/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/romainsestier/)
Connect with Alexandria: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-czoschke/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-czoschke/)
Follow UJJI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/)
Learn more about UJJI: https://www.ujji.io/ (https://www.ujji.io/)
2 Dec 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 3: Documenting Company Culture for Rapidly Growing Teams
In Episode 3 of Season 2 of the People Championing Podcast, Rafael dives into the critical role of documentation in preserving culture and scaling knowledge within rapidly growing teams. Joined by Sarah-Emily Oades, Chief People Officer & SVP Operations at Koa Health and Founder of Blossom Advisory, and Virgile Raingeard, founder of Figures, the discussion unpacks how startups can maintain their cultural DNA and streamline onboarding through effective documentation practices.
From identifying risks of culture loss to practical strategies for engaging employees in the documentation process, this episode is a must-listen for founders, leaders, and People Ops pros navigating growth challenges.
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Connect with Rafael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/)
Connect with Sarah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seoades/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/seoades/)
Connect with Virgile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vraingeard/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/vraingeard/)
Follow UJJI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/)
Learn more about UJJI: https://www.ujji.io/ (https://www.ujji.io/)
21 Nov 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 2: Leveraging HR Tech to build strong teams - For startups in their early days & beyond
Rafael chats with Smitha Sanjeev, People Ops Manager at Yonder, and Dovile Hann, COO at Screenloop, about leveraging HR tech to revolutionize hiring, reduce bad hires, and maximize productivity for startups in their early days and beyond.
14 Nov 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 1: The Importance of the Physical Workplace When Building Teams and Culture
In the first episode of Season 2, Raf sits down with Asad Hamir, co-founder of sustainable tech company Klyk, and José Rubio, Head of People at Spacemade, a flexible workspace provider, to discuss the importance of physical workspaces in building teams and fostering a positive company culture. In conversation with Raf, they explore how well-designed spaces can enhance collaboration, support employee wellbeing, and bring a company’s values to life—all while adapting to the needs of today’s hybrid and remote teams. Tune in for valuable insights on the evolving role of the workplace in a post-pandemic world.
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Connect with Raf: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafaelguper/)
Connect with Asad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asadhamir/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/asadhamir/)
Connect with José: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joserubio/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joserubio/)
Follow UJJI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/ (https://www.linkedin.com/company/ujji/)
Learn more about UJJI: https://www.ujji.io/ (https://www.ujji.io/)
3 Jul 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 6: Building a high performance culture through diversity and inclusion
In Episode 6 of People Championing, we sit down with Joe Seddon (Founder and CEO, Zero Gravity) and Lisa Kalstrom (CHRO at TeamTailor), to chat about how businesses can leverage a culture that promotes diversity and inclusion to build high-performing teams.
Joe (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeseddon/) is the Founder and CEO of Zero Gravity, and has a strong focus on building tech that enables businesses to build diversity into the work culture.
Lisa (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-skinner-k%C3%A4llstr%C3%B6m-3942b82/) has led the building of inclusion as a mindset at TeamTailor during her time as CHRO.
19 Jun 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 5: Building transparency, authenticity and documentation into company culture
Episode 5 of People Championing, we sit down with Derry Holt (Founder and CEO, One Up Sales) and Eveline Van Belle (Head of People at Bizzy), to talk about the importance of transparency, authenticity and documentation as cornerstones of company culture.
Derry (https://www.linkedin.com/in/derryholt/?originalSubdomain=uk) is an Angel Investor and the CEO and Founder of One Up Sales. He’s got a strong focus on ensuring transparency is a key part of his team’s work culture.
Linnea (https://www.linkedin.com/in/evelinevanbelle/) is Head of People at Bizzy and has successfully brought strong documentation and authenticity into the conversation when company culture is being addressed.
5 Jun 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 4: Nurturing and scaling culture in rapidly expanding businesses
In episode 4 of People Championing, we’re discussing scaling company culture - how founders and people leaders can come together to build and nurture a culture that grows as their teams expand.
Joining the conversation are Roei Samuel - Founder and CEO of Connectd, and Linnea Bywall - Head of People at Alva Labs.
Roei is the founder of Connectd, and has worked closely with UJJI to bring his rapidly expanding sales team up to speed with Connectd’s sales tactics, without compromising on the initial culture that the company was founded on. This has helped them enhance ARR, reduce churn and accelerate business expansion to newer geographies.
Linnea is a people leader at Alva Labs, focused on building teams that play by each individual’s diverse array of strengths, fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual growth. Her approach to hiring and culture has enabled Alva Labs to expand rapidly while organically maintaining the values that the company was built on.
Build training programs that put company culture front and center with UJJI - https://www.ujji.io/employers (https://www.ujji.io/employers)
Roei Samuel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/roei-samuel/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/roei-samuel/)
Linnea Bywall - https://www.linkedin.com/in/linneabywall/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/linneabywall/)
22 May 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 3: Building A Healthy Culture For Remote Teams
In the third episode of People Championing, Raf chats with Jakob Knutzen - CEO and Co-Founder of Butter, and Esra Goksel - People Leader at Eatron to chat about remote teams, and how a business can build a healthy environment for virtual team productivity.
Jakob is the founder of Butter, the Zoom for virtual teams. His focus is on helping remote teams find better ways to collaborate. He also runs a team that is entirely virtual and spread across the globe.
Esra is a PHD in organisational behaviour, and a People Leader at Eatron Technologies, using science to explain how businesses can implement a culture that enhances wellbeing and productivity for remote employees.
9 May 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 2: Driving People Growth That Creates Tangible Business Impact
In the second episode of People Championing, Raf chats with Anthony Rose (https://www.linkedin.com/in/anrose/) - CEO and Co-Founder of Seed Legals (https://seedlegals.com/), and Elise Lockyer (https://www.linkedin.com/in/elockyer/)- Chief People Officer of Sonovate (https://www.sonovate.com/) for a discussion on how they’ve made people upskilling a central piece to business growth.
A serial entrepreneur with a passion for connecting with people, Anthony is renowned for building businesses around teams with a core learning culture.
Elise has been central to crafting highly successful training programs not just at Sonovate, but at every business she’s been a part of, making constant learning a key driver of success at every company.
24 Apr 2024TRANSCRIPT
Episode 1: Building High Performance Teams The Sales VS People approach
In the first episode of People Championing, Raf sits down for a conversation with Gautam Rishi (https://www.linkedin.com/in/grishi/) - CEO and Co-Founder of One Shot AI, and Adam Horne (https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-open-org/) - Co-Founder of Open Org to understand their perspectives on building high-performance teams.
With a storied career in sales, Gautam delves into his experience to share his take on what it takes to build a bankable sales team that delivers on its targets day in and day out.
Adam is a People Leader turned Founder who has always been focused on helping businesses build transparent workplaces, where every stakeholder is constantly in the know of the organisation’s objectives, mission and vision.
(https://www.ujji.io/)
23 Apr 2024TRANSCRIPT
Trailer
Welcome to the People Championing Podcast - your go-to resource to hear about the most impactful initiatives in hiring, training and company culture!
Every episode, we pit a founder against a people leader, to understand differences in perspectives to building high-performance teams, creating common ground that defines the optimal approach to building teams.
Brought to you by UJJI (https://www.ujji.io/) - the AI-powered L&D platform that transforms training DOCs into gamified courses.
Inside a recent episode
Episode 6: Building Tech Teams - Ana Zucato, Raveena Singh & Rafael Guper | People Championing Podcast | Season 2
Published 30 Jan 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] If there is like sort of an alignment between their career path and company's mission, the retention sort of becomes very easy to happen. Most of the time, there are people that fall out of the, what we call in hiring or in recruitment, a leaky bucket, right? Where people end up falling very soon, it's majorly because of the lack of clarity, right? People's career goals don't match with the company's vision and that sort of leads to the fallout. So I think that is the most important aspect, which is having clarity and alignment with company's mission and goal. I think if companies can nail that or also sort of reach closer to that, I think retention becomes a little easier problem to solve. […]
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