Balancing the Grind with Dan Hudson, Founder & CEO at gigl

Dan Hudson is the founder & CEO at gigl, a tech startup using 60-second video to create a faster and better quality hiring process.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role? 

Before gigl I’d made a career within talent acquisition. I worked in that sector for around 15 years. My job description still hasn’t changed as CEO of a startup, I still have to source the best people, but this time for gigl.

It’s one of the best things I do as CEO actually. I find the right people, people who are good in their fields and can help realise gigl the way I imagined it. 

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday? 

One of the things I love about running a startup is that no 2 days are the same, and things can change in seconds (this also kinda makes it hard to plan a social life – so that’s always a challenge). 

My day normally starts around 6am when I wake up, check emails, drink tea and walk my dog. I’m usually in the office by 8am, and from then it’s 100%. 

Yesterday I had a 1:1 with our CTO and we caught up with all things development with gigl 3.0 (our comprehensive innovation that will be launched in Q4), we then went straight into a testing call on gigl 2.0 (our current platform).

Although we are building the future of gigl, the current platform is still very very live – it was in the top 100 apps in the UK app store last week! So we’re all still continually working on improving functionality prior to launching 3.0. 

From that meeting I had a catchup with the senior analyst from our lead investor. We are on a journey towards a planned Series A raise at the end of this year, so the support we get from our investors is really valuable. 

I then had a lunch meeting with the CEO of a central London hospitality group, followed by a last meeting with a leading Hospitality PR company to talk about a possible partnership. They were super creative and it was amazing to be in a room with such energy. 

I then managed to get about 2 hours of quiet time to crunch any emails and do some financial modelling. 

At about 8pm I headed home -via the new Elizabeth Line (it’s so good). 

3) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal? 

I love being a founder, I work like mad and learn constantly. I don’t work to live, I live to work, yes there are challenges and I’m sure I could be more productive at times (pre coffee), but my mind never stops on gigl.

I know what I want to achieve and I enjoy spending every day pursuing that goal. With this mindset, it’s hard to schedule in some downtime, or even realise that I need some downtime, but I love being active so -you know- I’ve got the gym, I do lots of team sports and I also have some great friends in my life. -oh and my 18 month old cocker spaniel!

4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life? 

I have started playing in a rugby team so my Saturday mornings are dedicated to sport. I have started using a PT (Reece), I’ve never been a weights person in the gym but he is helping massively and also making the bit between the ears stronger as well.

I also have a whoop, which tracks your health on a constant basis and tells me to go to bed to make sure I am ready to give 100% the next day. 

5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend? 

I struggle with books, I think they just aren’t my thing, however I love podcasts, and consume a variety of comedy, business and history constantly. I think of it as feeding my brain and also letting it recover a bit. I listen to the obvious The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett, How I Built This, etc. but I also love British Scandal and Nearlyweds.

6) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be? 

Michael Fassbender. He is an amazing actor, an international superstar and he also raced in the 24 hours of Le Mans. This is basically being at the top of two professions at the same time. How? Also – I think I would love to go for a drink with him 

7) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers? 

I’ve mentioned how I’m always on the go and basically live and breathe gigl, as it’s something that I genuinely enjoy doing. But as someone that is running a company and managing other people, I understand that I can’t impose my exact habits on everyone else in the team.

Everyone that’s involved in getting gigl to where we want it works exceptionally hard, and I’m always encouraging them to party even harder. 

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