At Ideas Fest this year, something different is happening on stage. It’s not a pitch, not a lecture and not a battle of old versus new. It’s a real, unscripted conversation between two entrepreneurs from opposite ends of the business spectrum and what happens when they really listen to each other.
Moderated by Ideas Fest founder Frankie James, What We’ve Taught Each Other is a rare moment of reflection, connection, and curiosity. It goes beyond age or titles and dives into the kind of insight that only comes when you stop performing and start getting honest about leadership, about risk, and about what it really means to create something with lasting impact.
On one side of the conversation is Hugh Chappell, a veteran of the UK’s tech scene, was honoured to work with Apple in the UK from 1979 and now an experienced angel investor who has backed dozens of startups over the years. He’s seen it all: the trends that come and go, the businesses that burn bright then disappear, and the ones that quietly endure.
On the other is Arian Kalantari, co-founder of LADbible Group, one of the most influential media platforms of the past decade. He helped turn viral content into global influence, reaching millions of young people with a brand that didn’t just entertain, but evolved to lead purpose-driven campaigns and shape cultural conversations. And between them is Frankie, a voice rooted in community, someone who knows just how powerful these kinds of conversations can be when you strip away the noise.
Though their paths are wildly different, the questions they’ve wrestled with are strikingly similar. When do you take the risk? How do you stay grounded when everything around you is changing? What does resilience actually look like, not in theory, but in the middle of it all?