E49: Dame Stephanie Shirley - Escaping Nazi Germany and Making £2.3bn

Uh I really don't know where to start. Do you know what, I genuinely believe the story you're gonna hear today, if you choose to listen, might just be one of the most mind blowing, remarkable business stories that I think I'll probably ever get to tell. My guest today is nothing short of astonishing. And you know, when I do these intro, of course, my job is to market this podcast so that you listen, but I think this is more me begging you to listen because In all my years in business, I've not heard a story quite like this.

Today's guest is Dame Stephanie Shirley. She fled a Nazi regime at five years old and came to the UK with absolutely no family. No friends, no parents, no nothing. And one might expect someone in that circumstance to fall by the wayside. But Stephanie had other plans. With just six pounds in her pocket, she found that a female first software company which was ahead of its time in almost every respect.

It allowed its 90% female workforce to work flexibly from home. It pioneered software that would change the world. And all of this In a male dominated world that was the nineteen sixties. Stephanie's company became a multi billion dollar company I'm not sure if you're hearing me, a multi billion dollar billion dollar company. Right? And she founded this company in the nineteen sixties when women weren't even allowed to establish a company without their husband's signature.

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