Balancing the Grind with Harry Luscombe, Co-Founder & CEO at Boodil

Harry Luscombe is the Co-Founder & CEO at Boodil, a fintech that provides a secure and developer friendly cardless payment solution accessible via an API.

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

My first “proper” job after studying business and finance at university was in the recruitment sector for a fairly fast growing firm in Manchester.

This eventually led to me being offered a position to set up the Houston, US office in my 4th year of working for the company. It was a great experience and really fast tracked my career.

After this I ended up leaving the company to take on a Head of Sales role for a small social media agency in Manchester which was owned by current Dragons Den host Steven Bartlett.

I spent a couple of years there before a friend of mine who had an ecommerce SAAS platform business asked me to come on board as their Commercial Manager. Before finally moving on to work as the Commercial Director for a payments company in Manchester. 

After 10 years of working for various companies, myself and my 3 Co-founders set up Boodil which is an open banking payments business that rewards consumers every time they spend. My role as CEO is focussing on the business growth including sales, digital marketing, PR along with the financials and strategy. 

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

Most days are structured fairly similarly apart from if we have offsite meetings or events we are attending. A typical day for me looks like this:

• 5.30 – Wake up – Quick Coffee before driving to the gym. 
• 6.00-6.45 – Gym session 
• 7.00 – 7.45 – Get ready for work / Help get the kids ready for school & nursery
• 7.45- Leave for work
• 8.00-8.30 – Respond to emails / LinkedIn messages
• 8.30-9.00 – Push out Boodil Social Posts – LinkedIn / Blog content etc 
• 9.00-9.30 – Call with our development agency
• 9.30 – 12.00 – Client, partner & sales calls / meetings
• 12.00-12.30 – Lunch
• 12.30-1.30 – Pull together marketing collateral (blogs, social content, PR) 
• 1.30-4.30 – Sales / Business Development outreach
• 4.30-6.00 – Admin responsibilities / Financials update / review of development work for the day 
• 6.15 -7.15 – Back home to play with kids and put them to bed 
• 7.30 – Dinner
• 8.00 – 9.00 – Catch up on any messages / Reading around the open banking sector
• 9.00 – 10.00 – Relax
• 10.15 – Bed

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

I don’t think I have found an effective work life schedule just yet and with running a start up I think it is a difficult task to achieve. I just try and ensure that at least 3 days a week I am back to spend some time with the kids and put them to bed.

I also make sure I get in some form of workout everyday, as I am sitting or standing at my desk for long periods which means I do not move a lot. On the weekends I try to switch off from work by only doing essential tasks, so when I am with the family I am fully focussed and giving them my attention.

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

The one thing I have introduced which has proven to be a game changer for me, is writing a to do list at the start of the day whilst ticking it off along the way.

I also then write down at the end of the day what I have completed / achieved for the day. If I look at the list and don’t feel like I have accomplished enough it always makes me want to give more the next day. 

I have also tried reducing my coffee intake however I have failed miserably at that and if anything I drink more coffee than I did before. 

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

Two of my favourite Podcasts are:

• Secret Leaders – Dan Murray Serter
• How I Built This with Guy Raz

Two of my favourite Books;

• $100m Offers by Alex Hormozi
• Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

I do not read enough books however I do try to ensure I read relevant industry news and keep informed with updates in the sector. 

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

I would probably say Ben Francis, the Founder of Gymshark, especially after he has just had twins. It would be interesting to see how he prioritises his working day around his family now and if it has changed his focus at all.

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

I respect that everyone’s situational factors are different which means work life balance is very much specific to that individual. Some people have kids to drop off at school, some don’t, some have long commutes, some don’t, some people want to climb the career ladder, some don’t. Understanding that everyone has different situations, motivations and outlooks in their life is key. 

Finally I believe “work life balance” is not fixed, it is more of a cycle. There are times when family or personal demands are higher and require more of your focus and then there are times when work requires more of your focus or energy. Finding a balance is great, however it can be difficult to achieve that consistently, because as we know life can throw a few curve balls our way.

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