Talentism

Huw coaches founders and their leadership teams to create clarity, attain alignment, and unleash their potential. He has worked with CEOs of VC and PE backed software and technology companies on both growth trajectories and supported them through turnaround or transition.

Huw is a 3-time founder, investor, and speaker turned executive coach. His corporate career centered around his work at Goldman Sachs, Rackspace, and Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with $160bn under management. While at Bridgewater Associates he was a Senior Management Associate responsible for Portfolio Analytics. In 2016 he acquired and later sold Jungle Disk, a cybersecurity company previously owned by Rackspace. He co-founded CyberFortress, a VC-backed insurtech startup in 2018 (where he also became a Talentism client!). He also co-founded Porthcawl Holdings, a value-driven technology holding company, investing in startups and businesses in the SaaS and bitcoin space.

Huw holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Ford Scholar and Baker Scholar, and holds undergraduate and masters degrees in mathematics from Oxford University,

Huw is a proud Welshman who lives with his wife and young son in San Antonio, Texas. He is a board member of the local Entrepreneurs Organization responsible for the Accelerator program, helping budding entrepreneurs scale their businesses to 7-figures. He is also Vice President of Programming for the Harvard Business School Club of San Antonio. His compulsions include identifying gifts in adversity, creating inspiring visions, radical self-discipline, and running 100 mile races in the mountains.

CEO/Founder/Executive Coach

H3.xyz

Do you feel like you’ve achieved everything you’ve set your sights on in your work, yet somehow you still feel unfulfilled?

On the outside you are smiling. But on the inside, you are quietly suffering. Despite all of your success you frequently find yourself wondering "Is this really all there is to life?"

There is a nagging voice in your head telling you that you need to make a change. This voice is getting louder and it's becoming difficult to ignore.

You feel an inner calling. You know there is a bigger impact you want to make or a bigger vision to pursue.

You drift into daydreams about making a change and then quickly snap yourself out of it and back into reality because you fear that if you make a big change it will lead to a cascade of negative impacts in your life.

As a driven go-getter with a full-time job and a family, it feels irresponsible to take time to figure out who you truly are and what you actually want.

If any of this feels familiar, you are in the right place at the right time.

You don't have to wrestle with this alone. I can show you how to take this uncertainty and transform it into clarity.

Founder & CEO

CyberFortress

After Jungle Disk acquired LiveVault, KeepItSafe, Off-site Data Sync in 2021 the combined global business was re-branded CyberFortress in July 2022.

Board Director

Interim CEO

CyberFortress Insurance services was an insurtech startup backed by Greycroft and Live Oak Venture Partners. Founded in 2018 the company was shut down in 2022 and its IP sold to Jungle Disk, LLC. 

——

Ecommerce outages happen - when they do, expect a check from CyberFortress. CyberFortress insurance covers your online sales revenue—paying claims within 24 hours.

We know how hard buying insurance is and how painful making a claim can be. That's why we built a simple policy that you can sign up for in minutes that covers lost revenue due to an unexpected website outage.

CEO & Co-Founder, CyberFortress Insurance Services / CyberFortress, Inc.

Porthcawl Holdings, LLC

Holding company investing in bitcoin, startups building the new bitcoin economy, cybersecurity software and managed IT services companies.

Direct investments:
• Purchased Jungle Disk from Rackspace (announced January 15th, 2016)
• Launched CyberFortress Insurance Services in January 2018.
• Launched Modern Managed IT in Aug 2020

Indirect investments include: 
• Strike (https://strike.me/)
• Unchained Capital (https://unchained.com/)
• Swan Bitcoin (https://www.swanbitcoin.com/)
• Giga Energy (https://www.gigaenergy.com/)
• Battery (https://www.batteryfinance.io/)

Partner & Co-Founder

Jungle Disk

Leading strategy and finance for an amazing team to provide data protection, data backup, and data security services to small businesses everywhere.

Jungle Disk, LLC is the first portfolio company of Porthcawl Holdings.

https://www.jungledisk.com/

Chief Strategy and Financial Officer

Bridgewater Associates

Manager, Portfolio Analytics (Alpha) / Manager, Portfolio Compliance & Reporting

Senior Management Associate

Rackspace Hosting

GM, Jungle Disk

Cloudera

Product Management & Business Development

Bridges Ventures

Sourced, executed and managed portfolio investments for a £115 million venture capital / private equity firm funded by Apax Partners, 3i and Doughty Hanson.

Board observer for:
Insurance Dialogue Limited
Smart Storage Ltd
New Career Skills
The Office Group

Investment Associate

Goldman Sachs

Advised and structured creative solutions for UK and Pan-European corporate clients seeking to manage foreign exchange, interest rate and equity exposures.

Associate, Corporate Derivatives (Investment Banking / FICC)

Helping Ivy League-educated, overachievers find meaning and clarity in their career | Speaker, Clarity Coach, Entrepreneur

Huw Edwards

How many "yes"es have you said this week? 

Even today?

All willing yeses?

No?

Don't get addicted to being needed or being available.

There's really no flex there.

There's actually pride in being unavailable.

It honors your boundaries.

It makes you the most intentional.

It gives you the white space to think, zoom out, and make moves that fulfill you.

A great way to sustain excellence.

3x Founder, Harvard MBA, ex-Bridgewater Associates, Goldman Sachs | Executive Coach | Helping ambitious founders/CEOs unleash their potential and purpose

No alternative text description for this image

It's Thanksgiving day here in the US.

Most people use today to list what they’re grateful for.

But if we’re honest, the things we’re most grateful for are the things that forced us to grow.

The setbacks that sharpened us.

The pressure that exposed us.

The moments we thought would break us, but didn’t.

We're not just thankful for the wins.

We are thankful for the stretch that reveals the better versions of ourselves.

So here’s to the challenges that made you better.

The people who held you to a higher standard.

And the version of you that refused to quit when shit hits the fan.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Your work priorities need your attention. 

But your body needs movement too. 

You need mental fuel to sustain your drive.

Doing something physical will provide your mind with that fuel.

You don't even need to be a fitness freak.

A few minutes' run, a few reps of weight lifting, or a walk is just fine.

Anything that engages your body engages your mind.

An engaged mind never runs out of momentum.

JSESSIONID

LinkedIn

li_at

Talks about #values, #vision, #purpose, #coregift, and #entrepreneurship

The growth mindset teaches us to:

- Keep pushing our limits
- Push through the fatigue
- Rest is a reward at the end

A better approach:

- Make recovery a part of your schedule
- Let your nervous system actually relax
- Use short breaks to reset your mind midday
- Sleep early if you can, and let your subconscious do the processing

Your body needs a breather

Give it space to process, recover, and adapt.

Growth happens in recovery.

Here’s how I think about growth:

- Big picture: If you’re always the best in the room, you’re in the wrong one.

- Plan: Get around people who challenge the way you think.

- Actions: Ask better questions, study their mindset, not just what they do.

- Execution: Ignore sabotage thoughts, show up, learn fast, and apply immediately.

The goal is to become the best versions of ourselves.

Plan on always being in rooms that force you to level up.

I spent years chasing happiness.

Until I realized you don’t chase happiness.

You create the conditions to attract it.

It’ll easily find you doing things that fulfill you.

But if you chase it, it’ll leave you longing, hoping, and frustrated.

In today’s issue, I talked about the idea of the happiness we want vs the happiness we get.

I shared ways to help elite performers naturally attract a happier version of themselves.

Read the newsletter 👇

Ever notice how happiness shows up in the smallest, most random moments? Like when you catch yourself laughing at something dumb and realize, for a sp

The happiness we want vs the happiness we get…

If you only rest when you break down, you're not recovering.

You're actually just repairing. 

And it can take much longer than you expect.

Here are 3 ways to intentionally include recovery into your schedule →

3 ways to effortlessly add rest to your busy schedule

Stop: Trying to get it perfect before you act
Start: Acting a little before you’re ready and let results refine the rest

Stop: Overthinking every move to avoid criticism
Start: Trusting your ability to adapt under pressure

Stop: Saying yes to things just because you can
Start: Saying no to protect your time and energy

Stop: Telling yourself you need more time
Start: Trusting that 80% done is enough to start

Stop: Waiting to feel confident
Start: Moving even when you're unsure

As George S. Patton once said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week."

Trust your training and go ahead with that plan.

The highest level of success isn’t how many people agree with you, but how deeply you agree with yourself.

So let your choices honor you.

You can't please everyone...and that's a good thing.

Feeling nervous doesn't mean something is wrong. 

Most people try to avoid the nerves or try to push them away.

But you can't avoid what's part of the process.

It can be really tough to stay calm when our nerves are all over the place. 

Here are 4 ways you can control anxiety for a happier life →

4 ways to control anxiety

Imagine how greater you'll be if you engage your body as much as you engage your mind.

You're busy. I get it.

But there's value in doing something physical.

Here are simple practices to get you going →

4 practices to keep you physically active

No jokes.

Discipline and mental toughness aside, shit gets hard sometimes.

Sometimes we get exhausted just by the thoughts of things we have to do.

But practicing any of these will create the joy of privilege in all you get to do:

4 ways to create the joy of privilege in all you do

Happiness is controversial.

It’s sporadic. 

It’s not always there, no matter how successful you’ve become. 

But people think being happy all the time means everything’s working.

Nah, sad times will come too. 

It’s all part of the process of living a full life. 

Learning, unlearning, and growing.

Over the weekend, 1,337 readers learned how to attract a more enduring kind of happiness.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

It's funny how we can be so proud and certain of our plans sometimes.

And the next moment, we’re questioning things that made perfect sense.

It’s just part of being human.

But it can get risky if we’re too fixed on the outcome of things. 

If we get too attached to the validations of success and the impostor feeling of failure.

It becomes a kryptonite for sustaining high performance.

Over the weekend, 1,337 readers learned how to manage the highs and lows of their emotions for greater wins. 

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

Sometimes, things get really hard.

Sometimes, things appear hard.

There's a difference.

The mind has a way of painting small challenges as monsters.

They look so hard even before we get to them.

Almost ripping our hearts with fear and anxiety.

Can be quite draining.

I shared simple steps to make hard things easy to walk through.

Read it here 👇

Some things are hard because they’re genuinely demanding. But most things feel hard because of the state you walk into them with. Some people don’t se

Open article: The art of making hard things easier  by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

Relax.

Live a little more.

Not every part of your day needs to be structured.

Not every part of your routine needs to be tweaked.

Let simple things stay beautifully human.

Think about the days you did something out of the blue, and you really loved it.

That's the fun of spontaneity.

Are you guilty of always trying to make the most of everything?

This newsletter is for you 👇

We have those moments when we feel the need to make the most of everything. People often exhaust themselves from pressure to maximize their routine wi

Open article: Not everything needs to be optimized  by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

People say wins should be celebrated no matter how small.

So what do you mean I shouldn’t take time to enjoy the highs of my wins?

Well, there’s a point here.

It's okay to pause and celebrate wins.

But it’s easy to get caught up in our own results.

Spending too long celebrating success, and too long overthinking failures.

And we don’t realize how much time can pass if nothing puts our emotions in check.

Because the work is still waiting.

In today’s issue, I shared ways to help snap out of the emotional rollercoaster of results.

You don’t want to miss this one.

Read it here 👇

You know that feeling of being unstoppable when you win. But when we lose, we tend to question everything. Most people stay too long in the high of vi

The emotional rollercoaster of results…

People confuse change for distraction.

You're feeling bored with what used to excite you.

You're getting a quiet pull toward something new.

But you’re telling yourself to stay focused.

What if it's not a distraction?

It could mean you've outgrown that interest you're holding onto.

And all you need to feel alive again is to find the courage to explore again.

You just need to be able to differentiate a distraction from a call to evolve.

Read more about it here 👇

Ever felt that quiet restlessness while pursuing your passion? Like it no longer light you up as it used to? You're not alone. And nothing is wrong wi

Open article: Dare to explore your interests... by Huw Edwards • 2 min read

Our mind gets batshit crazy sometimes.

With the racing thoughts of all the hard things we get to do.

But what's even harder is trying to pull off a hard task with that uneasy state of mind.

It's like you're trying to outrun your anxiety and still get the job done.

In my last issue, elite performers learned 5 simple steps to find ease in doing hard things.

A great way to train your mind to tackle situations in your best state.

Miss the issue?

Find the link in the comments ↓

Sapling Partners

Sapling Partners is a bespoke talent advisory for investment firms and their portfolio companies.

- scale firms / companies and functions (HR, recruiting) through significant headcount growth
- develop the organization’s leadership or high potentials through modalities such as executive coaching, gathering and delivering 360 degree feedback, or conducting structured talent assessments (e.g., Hogan Assessments)
- serve as an active mentor to the current Head of HR or Head of Recruiting to accelerate their growth into a VP- or C-level executive
- examine and support the organization for basic compliance (e.g., FLSA classification, HRIS documentation, pay transparency) or more sophisticated capabilities ahead of fundraising and operational due diligence (e.g., headcount plans, organizational charts)
- run confidential employee engagement surveys, “stay interviews” to retain high performers, or exit interviews to glean organizational insights
- provide expert, operationally grounded advice on employee underperformance and separations, reasonable accommodations and leave requests, or other ad hoc matters

Chief People Officer (Fractional) | Advisor | Executive Coach

Galvanize Climate Solutions LLC

Founded in 2021, Galvanize is a climate-focused global investment firm delivering capital and expertise to accelerate climate solutions. Founded by Katie Hall and Tom Steyer, Galvanize invests across asset classes including venture capital and growth equity, public equities, and real estate. 

Hired to design, build, and lead two functions: internal HR and recruiting, and portfolio talent.

- Management company member (Partner)
- Grew the firm from ~10 FTE (one office, one strategy or fund)  to ~60 (multiple offices in US and UK, multiple strategies), while maintaining the representation of women at >50%
- Led the build out of - or built directly - all HR systems and processes from onboarding through offboarding, including performance development, compensation, and employee relations, while limiting use of external vendors to payroll and benefits
- Led Portfolio Talent function, including hiring the VP Portfolio Talent. Created multiple case studies and references, personally leading projects such as a Series B CEO and a Series B Chief People Officer.
- Responsible for internal recruiting with <25% of new hires sourced by outside search firms
- Remained a hands-on operator with ownership of individual assignments, while coaching and supporting a highly regarded group of mid-level HR and talent professionals
- Drove creation of Galvanize’s cultural values from ideation through external communication, maximizing alignment among executive stakeholders

Partner and Chief People Officer

GI Partners

Led the firm’s efforts to attract, develop, and retain world-class investment and fund operations professionals. Founded in 2001, GI Partners is a private investment firm with offices in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Scottsdale, and Greenwich. The firm has raised over $25 billion in capital from leading institutional investors around the world to invest in private equity, real estate, and data infrastructure strategies. The private equity team invests primarily in companies in the Healthcare, IT Infrastructure, Services, and Software sectors. The real estate team invests across a broad range of platforms and strategies. The data infrastructure team invests primarily in hard asset infrastructure businesses underpinning the digital economy.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Index Ventures

A global, multi-billion (€) venture capital and growth equity firm, Index Ventures was founded in 1996 in Geneva, expanded to London in 2002, and opened its San Francisco office in 2012.  Notable investments include Skype, Zendesk, King, Etsy, Dropbox, Slack, Adyen, Farfetch, Wealthfront, Robinhood, Deliveroo, and Roblox.

Coached Founders, CEO's, and VP's Ops of US companies within the Index Ventures' portfolio, to troubleshoot HR- and recruiting-related challenges.

- drove executive and core team searches to successful placements, by collaborating with CEO's and hiring managers, recommending search firms, providing opportunistic candidate referrals, conducting off list references, interviewing and closing candidates.
- supported the growth of in-house talent operations at Series A and Series B portfolio companies, by creating a community of "First Recruiters". As part of a 90 day pilot, five offers were made as a result of eight candidate introductions from this First Recruiters community.
- provided tactical expertise on HR topics such as compensation, benefits, performance management, immigration, and employee terminations.
- led all hiring for Index Ventures US (2014 - 2017), focusing on diversifying the investment team.

Talent Partner

Originally hired to build a firm-wide capability to accelerate the growth of Index Ventures' portfolio companies, in terms of revenue, headcount, or international presence.

- recruited and managed experienced operators in areas such as talent, business development, and communications.
- launched Index Ventures' Executive Briefing Center for enterprise sales.
- authored the "0-to-50" study, examining 1,000+ hires in depth to analyze how startups in Europe and the US recruited their first 50 employees.
- coached Founders, CEO's, and VP's Ops of portfolio companies in Europe and in the US, to troubleshoot HR- and recruiting-related challenges.
- led all hiring for Index Ventures US (2014 - 2017).

Director of Portfolio Services

RelateIQ

RelateIQ was an enterprise SaaS startup acquired by Salesforce.com, Inc. in 2014 for ~$400M, approximately four months after raising $40M at a $245M valuation. To quote TechCrunch: "RelateIQ uses large-scale data-mining technologies to automate relationship tracking in the enterprise and CRM world."

Signed with the company while it was in stealth, to join as its first in house People (recruiting and HR) hire. Member of the operating team (executive staff). Attended and participated in all meetings of the Board of Directors. Scaled and led the function responsible for a nearly 3X annual headcount growth rate across all technical and business teams, including executive, core team, and university recruiting.

Head of People, Operating Team (Executive Staff) Member

Glocap Search

Glocap Search ("Glocap") is an approximately 60 person search firm focused on the alternative asset industry. 

In my management role as Practice Head, I led a multi-office team that placed investment professionals into the firm's venture capital and private equity clients, across all stages and geographies. I also served on the firm's Management Committee and Operating Committee.

As a recruiter, my area of focus was placing investment professionals from a wide variety of operating and investment backgrounds into venture capital and growth equity partnerships throughout the US and Europe. Clients included Accel Partners (Partner, Associate), DCM (Associate), Index Ventures (Associate), Kleiner Perkins (Partner, Associate), New Enterprise Associates (Partner, Associate), and Dropbox (Business Operations). For four months in late 2012, I moved to Dropbox full time as their Head of Executive and Non-Engineering Recruiting.

Managing Director and Practice Head

Catamount Ventures

Investment professional at a $125MM venture capital firm focused on early stage information technology, clean tech and green household startups.

Principal

CenterPoint Ventures

Investment professional at a $450MM venture capital firm focused on early stage information technology startups in Texas.  Individual specialization in consumer-facing technologies including new media business models, and enterprise software. 

(Note: I initially started in 2002 at a smaller fund named Verity Ventures and followed one of the General Partners in 2004 to CenterPoint Ventures, when Verity Ventures was unable to raise a new fund.)

Enspire Learning

Advisory Board Member

Dell, Inc.

In a role most similar to a Chief of Staff, I was one of six team members responsible for corporate strategy engagements for the President and COO, and Chairman and CEO.

• Led an extensive cross-functional engagement, defining worldwide market opportunity for the company’s eventual expansion into the consumer electronics market.  Responsible for all early product marketing tasks such as identifying target segments and establishing timing of specific product launches. 

• Executed independent valuation of company, including separate valuations of each line of business. 

• Authored the President and COO’s quarterly presentations to the Board of Directors.

Office of the Chairman

Former water polo coach turned human capital leader. Investment, fund (internal) operations, and portfolio operations experience in the alternative asset, tech, and climate sectors.

taplio

The Battle

Huw Edwards

Sachi Blue-Smith

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreHuw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Huw Edwards

Sachi Blue-Smith

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Huw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreHuw Edwards's LinkedIn Performance