Episode notes
A nonprofit in West London is accepting Bitcoin donations to fund the next generation of entrepreneurs — and it all started with one conversation at a judging panel.
Sheela Sharma is CEO of Portobello Business Centre, a 30-year-old nonprofit that helps underserved entrepreneurs — 70% of them women — start and grow their own businesses. Before that, she spent 14 years in investment banking, including as an equity analyst at Merrill Lynch covering medical devices and pharma. She came in knowing nothing about finance. She left as a COO.
PBC are members of BBN. Join the UK Bitcoin Business Network here: https://bitcoincollective.co/bbn/
CONTACT JORDAN:
X: https://x.com/JayW132
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-walker-293955106/
Email: hello@bitcoincollective.co
CONTACT SHEELA:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sheela-sharma/
Website: https://www.pbc.co.uk/
In this episode we cover:
• How an Oxford DPhil in brain imaging led to a career on the trading floor
• Why Portobello Business Centre started accepting Bitcoin — and what six months in looks like
• The link between B Corp values and the Bitcoin community
• Why financial education and entrepreneurship aren't in the school curriculum
• The scrunchie business Sheela ran at age 11 and what it taught her about margins
• Practical advice for anyone thinking about starting their first business
00:00 Opening clip — Bitcoin donations for entrepreneurs
00:40 Introduction and welcome
01:30 From Oxford DPhil to Merrill Lynch — the unlikely pivot
03:30 Learning to value medical technology companies
05:30 "What is a share price?" — the interview moment
06:30 14 years in investment banking: analyst to COO
07:30 Why she left — and what pushed her out
08:30 Joining Portobello Business Centre as chair, then CEO
10:00 The brands PBC has supported — Innocent Drinks, Charlie Bigham's, Karen Millen
12:00 Why PBC started accepting Bitcoin
14:00 Getting set up: Strike, Coin Corner and the Sustainable Society Trust
16:30 Understanding Bitcoin six months in
19:00 The utility of Bitcoin as a payment and store of value
21:00 Financial education in the UK — what's missing
24:00 Should entrepreneurship be taught in schools?
27:30 The scrunchie business — born at age 11
31:00 Roberta Huntington, Vinted and the power of simple ideas
34:00 Entrepreneurship as mindset — can it be taught?
39:00 The businesses PBC supports today
44:00 Why storytelling wins pitches
45:00 B Corp certification explained
48:00 The Bitcoin and B Corp community overlap
53:00 Bitcoin's future role in funding early-stage entrepreneurs
59:00 One piece of advice for anyone thinking about starting a business
READ OUR NEWSLETTER:
https://newsletter.bitcoincollective.co/
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06sBiOznJDxuhafDmkE9VK?si=3f0a8bb8abd64eec
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bitcoin-collective/id1561573613
Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/AYHiNhTTv0HOgGEjRjWN
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitcoincollective?sub_confirmation=1
All content provided by The Bitcoin Collective and guests in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, trading, or investment advice.
⸻
EDITED BY JAMES PEARCE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pearcesf/
Available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.
Sheela Sharma is CEO of Portobello Business Centre, a 30-year-old nonprofit that helps underserved entrepreneurs — 70% of them women — start and grow their own businesses. Before that, she spent 14 years in investment banking, including as an equity analyst at Merrill Lynch covering medical devices and pharma. She came in knowing nothing about finance. She left as a COO.
PBC are members of BBN. Join the UK Bitcoin Business Network here: https://bitcoincollective.co/bbn/
CONTACT JORDAN:
X: https://x.com/JayW132
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-walker-293955106/
Email: hello@bitcoincollective.co
CONTACT SHEELA:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sheela-sharma/
Website: https://www.pbc.co.uk/
In this episode we cover:
• How an Oxford DPhil in brain imaging led to a career on the trading floor
• Why Portobello Business Centre started accepting Bitcoin — and what six months in looks like
• The link between B Corp values and the Bitcoin community
• Why financial education and entrepreneurship aren't in the school curriculum
• The scrunchie business Sheela ran at age 11 and what it taught her about margins
• Practical advice for anyone thinking about starting their first business
00:00 Opening clip — Bitcoin donations for entrepreneurs
00:40 Introduction and welcome
01:30 From Oxford DPhil to Merrill Lynch — the unlikely pivot
03:30 Learning to value medical technology companies
05:30 "What is a share price?" — the interview moment
06:30 14 years in investment banking: analyst to COO
07:30 Why she left — and what pushed her out
08:30 Joining Portobello Business Centre as chair, then CEO
10:00 The brands PBC has supported — Innocent Drinks, Charlie Bigham's, Karen Millen
12:00 Why PBC started accepting Bitcoin
14:00 Getting set up: Strike, Coin Corner and the Sustainable Society Trust
16:30 Understanding Bitcoin six months in
19:00 The utility of Bitcoin as a payment and store of value
21:00 Financial education in the UK — what's missing
24:00 Should entrepreneurship be taught in schools?
27:30 The scrunchie business — born at age 11
31:00 Roberta Huntington, Vinted and the power of simple ideas
34:00 Entrepreneurship as mindset — can it be taught?
39:00 The businesses PBC supports today
44:00 Why storytelling wins pitches
45:00 B Corp certification explained
48:00 The Bitcoin and B Corp community overlap
53:00 Bitcoin's future role in funding early-stage entrepreneurs
59:00 One piece of advice for anyone thinking about starting a business
READ OUR NEWSLETTER:
https://newsletter.bitcoincollective.co/
LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06sBiOznJDxuhafDmkE9VK?si=3f0a8bb8abd64eec
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-bitcoin-collective/id1561573613
Fountain: https://fountain.fm/show/AYHiNhTTv0HOgGEjRjWN
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bitcoincollective?sub_confirmation=1
All content provided by The Bitcoin Collective and guests in this episode is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, trading, or investment advice.
⸻
EDITED BY JAMES PEARCE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pearcesf/
Available now on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.
