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Rachel Trepka

Rachel Trepka

·Pinned

Candidates, you have got to stop using these words in job applications

In my decade or so of coal-face hiring, I’ve seen hundreds of versions of the following paragraph: I am a highly proactive individual with extremely good communication skills. I am passionate about [industry/function] and I believe I possess the right skills and experience for this position. …

Job Search

6 min read

Candidates, you have got to stop using these words in job applications
Candidates, you have got to stop using these words in job applications
Job Search

6 min read


Rachel Trepka

Rachel Trepka

·Pinned

What a year of crisis taught me about company culture

This year has been an advanced course in humanity for our human-centric team — On 4 March 2020, my team at Backed VC hosted an event. Twenty-ish people streamed into our offices, passed each other beverages and pastries, put down glasses of water and picked them back up again, huddled around our tea point to whisper comments directly into each other’s ears. Recounting that…

Culture

6 min read

What a year of crisis taught me about company culture
What a year of crisis taught me about company culture
Culture

6 min read


BACKED

BACKED

·Nov 11, 2020

In the backyard with…Stuart Gardner

Angel Investor, BACKED Community — In his own words, Stuart is a former ‘startup’er’ (founding team at Comufy, sold to King.com, the team behind CandyCrush). He’s now an angel investor. He’s sector and geo agnostic, and has invested in ~80 companies to date. 🧰 | My first ever job… I used to be a paperboy…

Angel Investors

4 min read

In the backyard with…Stuart Gardner
In the backyard with…Stuart Gardner
Angel Investors

4 min read


BACKED

BACKED

·Oct 29, 2020

In the backyard with…Andy Shovel

Co-founder of THIS™ — Andy is the co-founder of THIS™, the brand of plant-based meat alternative food products with industry-leading realism to meat in taste, appearance and texture. It’s unbelievably good. 🧰 | My first ever job… I used to be one of those tedious clubbing photographers who would take a photo and then…

Venture Capital

3 min read

In the backyard with…Andy Shovel
In the backyard with…Andy Shovel
Venture Capital

3 min read


BACKED

BACKED

·Oct 28, 2020

In the backyard with…Abadesi Osunsade

VP Global Community & Belonging Brandwatch, Founder & CEO Hustle Crew, BACKED Community — 🧰 | My first ever job… Technically my first invoice was for acting in a Radio 4 play whilst at school. It was so fun taking a day trip to BBC Maida Vale! 🧠 | The last thing I geeked out about… bell hooks! I just went down the Youtube…

Venture Capital

2 min read

In the backyard with… Abadesi Osunsade
In the backyard with… Abadesi Osunsade
Venture Capital

2 min read


BACKED

BACKED

·Oct 27, 2020

In the backyard with…James Frewin

Creative Director, Designer, BACKED Community — 🧰 | My first ever job… The first ever job I had was as an engineer in a hospital. I used to go around and fix whatever people needed. In my first week I was replacing a computer in an operating theatre when somebody got rushed in for surgery. I…

Enterpreneurship

3 min read

In the backyard with…James Frewin
In the backyard with…James Frewin
Enterpreneurship

3 min read


Harry Rickerby

Harry Rickerby

·Jul 14, 2020

How LabGenius is revolutionising drug discovery with machine learning

LabGenius is the first biopharmaceutical company developing next generation protein therapeutics using a machine learning-driven evolution engine (EVA™️). This story originally appeared on their Medium publication. Head there to find out more about their exciting work. Machine learning has the potential to provide huge value to drug discovery, in particular…

Biotechnology

12 min read

How LabGenius is revolutionising drug discovery with machine learning
How LabGenius is revolutionising drug discovery with machine learning
Biotechnology

12 min read


Rachel Trepka

Rachel Trepka

·Jul 14, 2020

Inclusive hiring is a process, not a policy

How to build a fair & inclusive recruitment strategy from scratch — Allow me to introduce myself: I’m a white woman with a Cambridge degree. (Q: How do you know if someone went to Oxbridge? A: Don’t worry, they’ll tell you). I tell you this not to brag, but to confess. You see, eighteen years ago, when I received my acceptance letter…

Diversity

10 min read

DE&I in hiring is a process, not a policy
DE&I in hiring is a process, not a policy
Diversity

10 min read


Rachel Trepka

Rachel Trepka

·Jul 13, 2020

If your values can’t guide you at these crunch points, your values kinda suck

How to stress-test your values to create a meaningful, authentic culture — When I joined Backed in 2018, I was a refugee from the corporate world. I’d spent a decade or so working in traditional, grey-suit professional services outfits where hierarchy was king and the word ‘culture’ was for hippies. At interview, nothing showed me I wasn’t in Kansas any more quite…

Values

9 min read

If your values can’t guide you at these crunch points, your values kinda suck
If your values can’t guide you at these crunch points, your values kinda suck
Values

9 min read


Anne-Laure Le Cunff

Anne-Laure Le Cunff

·Jul 10, 2020

What makes a maker: ship fast, work in public, support your tribe

This story is by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. She’s a BACKED Scout and founder of Ness Labs, a platform that helps you build a ‘lab’ for your mind with neuroscience-based content, coaching, and conversations. Thanks to the explosion of the SaaS industry and the proliferation in API-based software, it has become…

Entrepreneurship

2 min read

What makes a maker: ship fast, work in public, support your tribe
What makes a maker: ship fast, work in public, support your tribe
Entrepreneurship

2 min read

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