Episode 16 – Pip Jamieson

This Way Up

Something I did, [when looking for investment] is that I made a list of all the asshole investors that I heard about in town. And for the first month, I pitched them first. And it was horrific. I was pitching all these awful alpha males [and] I was literally coming home to my husband in pieces. But what was great about that process is by the time I got to the investors I really wanted; I was pitch ready – Pip Jamieson, CEO of The Dots

This episode of This Way Up was recorded live on stage at the famous Design and Advertising festival in London in May 2019 and features the amazing Pip Jamieson.

Pip is the founder of The Dots, a platform dubbed “LinkedIn for creatives” - that is all about connecting, supporting and championing the people, teams and companies that make ideas happen. Pip has been named one of the Top 50 Leaders in the UK by Creative Review and The Sunday Times Top 100 Disruptive Entrepreneurs.

During our conversation, I delve into Pip’s fascinating career. From embracing her crippling dyslexia from a young age and turning it into her superpower. She points outs during our conversation that everyone from Sir Richard Branson, Holly Tucker, Jo Malone to Steve Jobs had dyslexia - proving in the process an important stat: 35% of entrepreneurs have dyslexia, and 40% are self-made millionaires.

She also talks about some big milestones in her journey - from ‘blagging it’ as the Head of Marketing for MTV, in New Zealand – “I'd never done marketing before in my life…I didn't have a traditional marketing education, because it was just as things were shifting digitally. And somehow, serendipitously, Facebook launched at the same time. And because I didn't have that traditional marketing background, I just sort of just did it. I just tried it and see if it was going to succeed or fail”

To starting her company ‘The Dots’ as a “non-tech, tech founder” and the highs, the lows, and what comes with being a female entrepreneur - from learning how to pitch in a room full of male VCs, responding to negative criticism, being ambitious and wanting to take on the goliaths of this world – she famously says during our conversation she fully intends to overtake Linkedin in 10 to 15 years - you heard it here first!

So whether you are embarking into the start-up world or just want to make the most out of your career, there’s something for everyone in Pip’s journey – if nothing else her infectious energy is just worth listening to and will make you feel like you can achieve anything!