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Episode 200! Reflecting on 2 Years of The Bae Podcast w/ Amardeep Parmar l THE BAE HQ
Amardeep Parmar
Bae HQ
Amardeep Parmar from The BAE HQ reflects, in this special 200th episode, on the 2 years of the Bae Podcast and the growth of Bae HQ itself.
Show Notes
00:00 - Intro
01:07 – About Bae HQ & Four Pillars
03:06 – Mentorship Programs & Work Experience Initiatives
06:02 – Media: Podcast Evolution & Future Content
11:09 – Events: Community Building & Bae HQ Awards
15:23 – Investment: Angel Network & Fundraising Support
17:25 – Personal Investments & Achievements
18:24 – Team Expansion & Studio Plans
19:31 – Regional Growth & Partnerships
20:17 – Final Thoughts & Gratitude
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Amardeep Parmar: 0:00
Welcome to episode 200 of the BAE HQ podcast. It's been a long journey to get here and there's been so many highlights along the way low lights, things have gone wrong, things that haven't gone to plan and we've done this in just over two years. We've been doing two episodes a week for the majority of the time. We had a slight period where we did three months of one episode a week just to catch up again and just to focus on building other sides of the business, and you're going to continue getting two episodes a week during 2025 as well, and what I'm going to use this episode to do is to showcase some of the things that have been going on for us so far and some of our achievements, some of the things we've learned, and also what you can look forward to from the next 100 episodes coming in 2025. So, as I said, it's been a long time in the coming, so it feels like I've been doing this forever. It's about two years in, but there's so many difficult periods that we've had during that right and we've really struggled, but today I can do this recording and have a genuine smile on my face. It's incredible how much we've come and the people behind us, people supporting us, people backing us, like you listening to this right now. Right, you're supporting this mission of what we're trying to do and to remind you of who we are and what we even do.
Amardeep Parmar: 1:07
BAE HQ is the community for high growth British Asian entrepreneurs, operators and investors, and how that manifests is through our four different pillars, and the whole idea is how do we get this community to work together and really push into those new innovative areas and work together on that right? So, if I go through the pillars and where we've got to so far on our journey, one by one, so we start off. Let's start off with the opportunities pillar. So opportunities was previously called Futures, and there's something I've always been working on how do you make this really clear exactly what that is? So, on the opportunity, we have our mentorship program. So we ran that the first one earlier this year and a third to five people go through it and there's a lot of mistakes we made in that program, right. So we were very clear that was a beta and now we've improved it significantly so that in next year we're going to have three cohorts of the founders and a couple of cohorts for the students, but what we've done is tighten it a lot more. So the first mentorship scheme some of the mentors are incredible, some of those relationships they built, and you can see some of the feedback on our website about what some of those mentees were saying about their mentors. And that's really important. Right, because if some of these companies now going to do really well, we're really proud that we've been able to be part of that journey at the beginning to give them that bit of guidance that they needed. And looking at that further, so next year the mentorship program so it's going to be 20 in january and I'm currently picking them at the moment.
Amardeep Parmar: 2:31
So the team are looking through all the applications, deciding who's the best fit, who can we help the most, where can we make the most impact to, and also who fits the criteria of being high growth the most. Right, because we can't support every type of business. We've got to look at the businesses that are most aligned with our mission and where our resources are, because that's the people we can help the most. So next year that's going to be much more comprehensive. Going to have workshops is going to have a community, more of a community feel amongst the mentees as well. If we think was lacking this year. So that's one of the elements of the opportunity side of what we've been doing so far.
Amardeep Parmar: 3:06
We also gave internships to university students at 10 startups in our network and that place, again, was a learning experience. Some of those interns had great experiences, but next year what we're going to focus on and this is what we're really excited about is a work experience program. So we partnered with five different schools and we're taking 20 students from each of them, and it's 20 students that are in need. Right, it's 20 students who have been disadvantaged in some way, whether it's their own free school meals or whether it's different struggles they've had in their life. How can you give those people the opportunity?
Amardeep Parmar: 3:38
And you should hopefully be excited by you listening to this, right, because this is something we can really do to make a difference in our niche using our network, and what we're doing is getting these kids the opportunities to work with people that they would never meet otherwise, and let's say, at 15 or 17, you get to work in a high growth startup. Let's say, you get to work in a med tech company. Now, when you're to apply to university, if you choose to go to university, you've got that advantage on your UCAS. You've that advantage on your personal statement, and what the challenge has always been is that people who come from privilege, they're more likely to get work experience. That's relevant, which then makes them a stronger candidate when they go to apply to university, makes them a stronger candidate when they go to their first job. That advantage is compounded, and what we want to work on through this program is how do we make a difference there? Right, and that's really exciting for us. So that's the work experience programme.
Amardeep Parmar: 4:24
Then we also have the school and university talk programme and we've been doing quite a few of those. I feel like I've been in Imperial about 10 times this year, but we've worked for a few different universities that's King's, that's Bath, that's Ravensbourne, there's several others we've given talks at as well. So if you're listening to this and you're a student and you want to come give a talk at your school, get in touch, right. If you're a teacher, or if you've got a child who's you know is in sixth form or is in those kind of stages they're just making decisions about their career get in touch with us. We want to go into schools, especially state schools, especially state schools from areas which are disadvantaged, where we can really show these kids about examples of role models who look like them, who came from similar backgrounds, because not all the founders have been on our podcast come from those significantly wealthy backgrounds, and we want to make sure that we're highlighting those stories to show people what's possible and then, through our programs, actually enable them to do that right, because it's one thing to fill their head with ideas, can we create a pathway so that we can take them along that journey and help them along that journey too. So that's all really exciting as well. And the other side of the opportunity we have, too, is a job board. So if you go to a website, if you get a newsletter which you should be getting already, so that's thebaehq.com/join, and when you get a newsletter each week, you'll see job opportunities from founders in our network. If you want to break into the startup space or the high growth space, this is a great way to find those opportunities, right? So make sure you check out that as well.
Amardeep Parmar: 6:02
So, moving on to another pillar now. So let's have a look at the media side, because that's what I do. That's going to be easiest for me, right? The media side has been quite a few adaptations this year. So we split the podcast into BAE Podcast and the LAB Podcast and what that essentially means if you're not familiar with it. So BAE podcast is with founders, so it's with people who have got at least five million in revenue or one million raised. So we're showing the journey of how they got to where they are and what's coming up soon. And the idea is those people who have got significant in their own journey to have to have a few war stories. Rather than telling us what they're going to do, they tell us what they've actually done.
Amardeep Parmar: 6:38
And the other side is the LAB podcast, where we're talking to operators and investors and people who are, say, founders or consultancies or agencies who can give that really tactical, in-depth advice. So the last episode of that that I know about was with Ankush and he was talking about how to create a board pack. And again, if you're not from the founder world, you don't know what a board pack is. Those lessons in those LABs are really important for that and one of the things we had to do with the LAB podcast was experiment right. So we had a few different people try to host that and in the end, and Anshika has been a great host and she's done lots of different episodes for us Mona, Nikita and Tanya also involved and what happened is it just became. The logistics became really difficult and we have to just try to work out how to make this possible right, because trying to build multiple people's personal brands under our brand at the same time, we were struggling with it right, and that was the thing that we learned, whereas Anshika has taken ownership and she's been really good and over the future, we can hopefully continue that pathway with her and she can continue doing this and we can also shine a spotlight on her, and she gets to meet some of the founders and the investors and operators to my network too, which is hopefully a really enjoyable experience for her. So shout out to Anshika as well and the others.
Amardeep Parmar: 7:44
But the podcast this year we just had more and more heights, and one of the things I never do is say who I think the best episodes are. That's not for me to decide. That's for you to decide. But what you can see is a huge breath of people that have been on there and I really hope you check it out right, because I did some upgrades to the website recently. So it's really cool when you go and have a look at the website and try and find the different episodes and see who resonates with you too, right? So whatever industry you're in whether it's med tech, health tech, climate tech, consumer tech, b2b, saas, fintech we're going to have somebody who's been on that journey, who looks like you, and the other side of that too.
Amardeep Parmar: 8:16
So we had the BAE watch, and BAE watch is something which was really hard for us to keep up initially, to be honest. Right, because we've got so many different places juggling and Aish is bringing that back. So BAE watch, for those of you who don't know, is our feature of up-and-coming startups. So people aren't yet at the level to come on the podcast, but we think will be in the next, say, three to five years. So, BAE watch, check it out. If you want to see new companies and you want to see that people at the beginning, early scrappy stages, see that you knew about them before anybody else did, that's where you want to go, right? If you're the person who went to school, it's like I found this song first and you want to find that about startups and about cool growing companies, go to BAE watch.
Amardeep Parmar: 8:49
We also added the news this year as well. So the news is a huge element too, because we want to keep highlighting bridge station success and by covering those people we're able to do that. So that's been really enjoyable. I've also been doing a lot more external media, which is me going on podcasts, is me going on tv, is me going in articles and me guesting other people's events and things like that too. Right, so that side of things is growing because that's a way for us to get more people involved. The more people involved, the bigger impact we can make. So, as well, tell your friends about us, because one of the new features I've done is if you sign up to my newsletter, you can use your referral link and if you refer one person, you can get a short video from me every week which reveals one of our secrets, of some of the stuff behind the scenes. So a lot of stuff I'm saying now, but a lot more tactical where you can try and apply it to your own business. So that's the media side this year.
Amardeep Parmar: 9:36
Next year, on the media side, there's a lot more coming too. So we've got an MBA coming, so that's going to be episodes which are, say, 10 minutes long, which are just focused on really answering and nailing a particular question. So what you consider like YouTube native content we're doing a lot of that. I'll be writing several books spoilers and that's something which I'm really focused on next year, if I've had a bit of time to reflect myself, and that book writing and that high level content is what I really enjoy. So I'm doing much more of that. We'll be creating a course, so the first course is going to be coming out, hopefully January 1st, and that will be your comprehensive startup course covering everything from fundraising to how to hire a team, all of those things, and the idea is that we have so much inbound right now. I want to create this course which I can send people to for free and they can get all the information they need and be better educated, because if they're better educated, they can ask better questions and they can put themselves in the right situations and create the right opportunity surface area to achieve their ambitions and their dreams. And on what else is happening on that media side, there's so much, so I'm doing a lot more speaking events as well. So, again, if you're at a large company or corporate and you can hire me to give a talk about some of the work we're doing, and it's not about the work we're doing, necessarily, but all the insights I've gained from interviewing nearly 400 founders and investors, and also the resilience and how I overall media bubble, and that's where we are with that.
Amardeep Parmar: 11:09
So next pillar third pillar we're going for events, and events has massively taken off this year, and this is a huge amount of the work that we're doing behind the scenes is the logistics and the organization of all this. But we've now had well over 2 000 people come to our events, and this is also remember that BAE HQ started October 2022, but actual launch event wasn't until April2023. So we had over 2,000 people come to our events in the last year and a half just over a year and a half, which is a testament to you guys, right? Because we want you to meet each other. We get such great feedback on the events mainly because of our attitude and the way we talk. So, even if you notice I'm doing this right, I'm relaxed, you can see I'm not, whatever, right, but that is what we try to instill in the events
Amardeep Parmar: 11:47
is that the people in their room, so many successful people, so many people who you could easily put on a pedestal, but they didn't put themselves on a pedestal. They act like human beings and by being in that room with a bunch of people who are trying to do something to make a difference and be innovative and do something different, when you're there with them and they're just treating you like a normal person and they're not like brushing you off or something like that that's so important person and they're not like brushing you off or something like that that's so important and we think that's a big thing that we've been able to do that. Maybe other organizations can hopefully learn from us and do better as well, because we want that world to be accessible in terms of the high growth startup ecosystem. We hope you're enjoying the episode so far. We just want to give a quick shout out to our headline partners, HSBC Innovation Banking. One of the biggest challenges for so many startups is finding the right bank to support them, because you might start off and try to use a traditional bank, but they don't understand what you're doing. You're just talking to an AI assistant or you're talking to somebody who doesn't really understand what it is you've been trying to do. HSBC have got the team they've built out over years to make sure they understand what you're doing. They've got the deep sector expertise and they can help connect you with the right people to make your dreams come true. So if you want to learn more, check out hsbcinnovationbanking.com.
Amardeep Parmar: 12:59
So if I run through some of the events we've done like the biggest events we've done so we've got HSBC Innovation Banking, who are our headline partner for 2024 and coming on board again for 2025. We'll have that announcement out soon. So if you're listening to this, you're getting that sneak update. But we've had huge events. So we've had, I think, three or four panels. I've hated to see innovation banking always 150 people plus. We had an event with google cloud, which is over 150 people AWS. A few events for Octopus Ventures.
Amardeep Parmar: 13:29
We've had so many people come to these events now and get to know each other and make friends and that's really lovely for us to see. Right where you come to our events, you make friends and then when I see another event, you catch up with each other again. So we want more of that. We want to see you at those events and you can listen to all the podcasts you want. You can listen to all of the different things online you can, but when you meet somebody in person. I think that really makes a difference in terms of you feeling like you belong in this world because you do. I like you might have to learn, you might have to improve, you might have to take guidance, you have to join the mentorship program, whatever it is, but don't feel like you don't belong, especially because of the, your heritage or any other factors like that. So that event side has been huge and there's more big events coming next year.
Amardeep Parmar: 14:11
So I mentioned, I think I mentioned already but Aish's come on board as our founder's associate and the incredible work she's been doing. She's been with us for about a month and a bit but it's really made such an impact in our behind the scenes work and it means that we can do so many more events next year because we have her capacity and her trained eye on it. Rather than me flailing around trying to do lots of different things or Gurvir trying to flail around, we have somebody who really cares about that experience and gets our ethos and it's going to make you guys great events to come to next year. So that's the event side. And one thing to watch out for the event side next year too, is we have the BAE HQ awards coming out and we're also we're going to have state of Asian tech report. So that state of asian tech is a big thing for us. Next year we're going to be getting people on board to help us with that, go through the numbers and crunch the data so we can have that pinnacle of data that can really showcase what it is we're trying to achieve and also measure our success, right, because it's one thing to say we're trying to make a difference. Can we measure that? Can we actually say for certainty, look at the stats and look at how much funding has increased for British Asian entrepreneurs since we started and try to measure how much of an impact we've had and the part we played in that too. So that's the event side.
Amardeep Parmar: 15:23
Then on the investment side, so this is the much less public facing part, right. So we're FCA regulated, which is quite a big deal, which that we're fully above the board. It means that we can do things in a way which we're actually legit, right? We're not just some person like, oh, do this, do that right? No, it's legit. Gurvir has had a big experience in private equity, in VC, in funder funds. He's somebody who knows what he's talking about, and that's why, whenever people come to me for introductions for investors or for founders in that sense, I always send them to go there, because he's the guy who really knows what he's talking about and he's the one that's gonna be looking at the decks and everything like that as well.
Amardeep Parmar: 15:58
So, on that, we've been working with different founders behind the scenes and helping them raise. We've helped a few VC funds raise, and what we're going to be doing next year is launching the angel network where people like you and everybody listening can get involved and, again, making sure that we're following the law here, right? So it's going to be different things. You have to sign in order to showcase that you are qualified to invest. But for those of you who are qualified to invest is how do we get those, that money from all of these agents who are doing so well in this country and channel them into some of the most innovative people in our community and be part of that journey of that success, right? How do we channel our community's wealth into these people who are going to make a difference and change the world, hopefully, right? So that's really exciting and that's coming next year as well, and I don't think there's too much more I can say about the investment side on my own personal side.
Amardeep Parmar: 16:45
So I made another angel investment this year. So I invested in yhangry, which I literally announced on the day I recorded this. So yhangry is by Siddhi Miital and Heinin Zhang, so both of them have been on the podcast, so check out their episodes. But they're building the go-to platform for anybody looking to hire a private chef and one is increasing the affordability for the general population. But it's also what people don't realize that very high quality chefs often don't earn very much money. So it's a way for chefs to really get the money that they deserve for the quality and the talents and the joy that they provide. So really excited to see where they go and I'm investing them because I really believe in their team.
Amardeep Parmar: 17:25
I've also joined as an LP for Araya Ventures by Rupa Ganatra Popat and she's been on the podcast as well and what she's investing in and the belief in the systems around her have been incredible. So really excited to see how that continues to grow. So they closed about 10 million so far, but they're doing a little bit more as well. I've also LP'd in another fund, but I'm not allowed to talk about that for the moment. So wait for them to come out to stealth and then I can let you know what's going on there.
Amardeep Parmar: 17:51
Okay, then I guess general stuff outside of the pillage, right? So, as I said, we've expanded the team this year. So big thank you to every person in the team. That's been a part of how we've been able to do this at BAE HQ, right? Because often you listen to the podcast. You might see me, you might understand why, you don't. I'm Amar. I'm co-founder of BAE HQ. I probably should have said that in the beginning, but that team is really important for us to be able to do what we're able to do. So big, big thank you. And Aish obviously joined the team this year, so she's been an incredible addition and hopefully she's going to be here for many years to come. Then we've also so.
Amardeep Parmar: 18:24
So why I'm recording this from my home at the moment is because we've got an interesting office situation at the moment. So we should be moving pretty soon to the place where we have our own studio and really excited for that, but I can't quite announce it yet. So keep an eye out for that and keep an eye on socials and on our newsletter, because once we announce that we'll show you where we're going to be and some of the exciting stuff is going to happen, because we have a much bigger space. We're also going to be finally launching our community platform on Circle, which enables you all to talk to each other, but in a structured way, right? Because what we don't want is a WhatsApp group of a billion people in there where nobody feels comfortable to talk.
Amardeep Parmar: 19:01
So we're going to split that into different chat rooms and use that chat feature to actually ensure that this is something which is going to really work and you can work together. I'd actually love to get your feedback on that, because we're going to really work and you can work together. I'd actually love to get your feedback on that, because we're trying to decide do you get a whatsapp community or do we get a circle community? Where, or, like for the chat side side, should that be in whatsapp or should that be in circle? And let us know, because we can have some of the functions on circle and some of the functions on whatsapp. We need to work out the best way and the most convenient way to do that. Okay, then, what else are we looking at?
Amardeep Parmar: 19:31
So we've also got regional expansion next year. So we're going to be going to other countries well, not other countries, we're going to go to other cities and do test events there and try to expand that network, because we say British Asian, we don't say London Asian and we need to make sure we're delivering on that promise and working with other groups in other parts of the country too, and, I guess, finally as well. So big, big thank you to our headline partners for this year HSBC Innovation Banking because without them this wouldn't be possible at all and they're the people that pay the bills for the team and everybody else as well. I've also had our legal partners for 2024, Joelson, and we had a great event with them too recently, and they've been able to do workshops for us for free for founders. So big thank you to them as well, because they were the first ones who signed on that dotted line to believe in us.
Amardeep Parmar: 20:17
So really appreciate them and, to be honest, there's so many champions we have amongst the community of people who've done things they didn't have to do to help us, and we really appreciate all of you and hopefully you're happy with how we're doing you. Hopefully you can see that when we make mistakes, we're trying to learn and we're trying to get better and we're going to keep getting better and keep serving the community and keep growing and hopefully you're all going to go with us. So thank you so much for listening and catch you soon. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to subscribe. See you next time.