Lucian Tarnowski

Lucian Tarnowski

Lucian is the Founder & CEO of BraveNewTalent

  • San Francisco, US

Lucian is Founder and CEO of BraveNewTalent.com and is on a mission to create a new model of professional education. He has been honoured as Europe's youngest Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum. He is also winner of the Global Enterprising Young Brit of 2009 and is on the UKTI (UK Trade and Investment’s) Global Entrepreneur Program with BraveNewTalent being described by the UK Government as a “Technology Company of Exceptional Potential”. In his spare time Lucian runs Take Heart India, a no overheads charity that provides blind and handicapped students in rural India with the IT and employment skills that guarantee them a job for life. Lucian speaks to audiences around the world about the convergence of talent and technology and its impact on the future of the global workforce and education.

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  • Lucian Tarnowski in Bravenewtalent, Start-ups, Entrepreneurship

    Very exciting - BraveNewTalent has been selected by Silicon Valley analysts JMP Securities as one of the Top 100 'hottest' privately held software companies. Amazing to be listed among companies like Dropbox, Evernote, GitHub, Palantir, etc. We have a lot more work still to do to deserve this!
    Show previous 5 comments
    • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski liked and commented on
      Lea Bajc

      Lea Bajc in Career Advice

      Fulfill needs. Solve Problems. And you can change the world.

      The people you spend time with shape who you are and who you become.

      In a changing world, playing it safe is one of the riskiest things you can do.

      Love this carrer advice presentation from Reid Hoffman.
      • Amazing Career Advice For College Grads From LinkedIn's Billionaire Founder
        Amazing Career Advice For College Grads From LinkedIn's Billionaire Founder

        REUTERS/Fred Prouser says it took him 15 years after graduating from Stanford in 1990 to figure out what he was really doing with his life. Figure it out, he did! Hoffman is now the billionaire co-founder of , a $19 billion public company. During those 15 years, Hoffman first thought he wanted to become an academic.

      Show previous comment
      • Lucian Tarnowski
        Lucian Tarnowski
        Reid Hoffman is a legend. I love his analogy of a start up is like jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane before you hit the ground...
      • Jean McCormick
        Jean McCormick
        This was great! *And* I love the thought that "the people you spend time with shape who you are and who you become. Very powerful. I took the BraveNewTalent position in part because I wanted to spend time with the individuals there. My world opened up more.
      • Serena Rizzo
        Serena Rizzo
        Great advice, thanks for sharing!
    • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski commented on
      Lucian Tarnowski

      Lucian Tarnowski in Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Elon Musk

      I met one of my entrepreneurial inspirations last night - Elon Musk - the Founder of SpaceX and Tesla. Elon was one of the co-founders of X.com which then merged to become Paypal. He is one of the key members of Silicon Valley's so called 'Paypal Mafia'. He is a phenomenal entrepreneur with such a great vision for the future - both in space travel and car travel.

      When chatting with him I asked him a question I don't imagine he had been asked before - 'If SpaceX and Tesla were to have a baby would you create an electric aeroplane company?' He laughed and said that electric aeroplanes would be possible in the future. Perhaps this will be his next company... Thinking about this more I think the aeroplane industry needs to be more disrupted. There has not been a major innovation and it is unlikely to be led by Airbus or Boeing. The challe… Read morenge here is the cost of entering this market space as R&D is prohibitively expensive. Perhaps the innovation coming out of both Tesla and SpaceX could be combined to be applied to air travel.

      I also spoke to Elon about the challenges of running 2 companies. He said over the last year he spent most of his time with Tesla however, recently he has gone back to 50/50 between them. I struggle to have nearly enough time to run one company let alone two. This is one of the many reasons I have such respect for Elon.
      • Elon Musk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        Elon Musk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

        In 1992, after spending two years at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Elon left Canada, pursuing business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. Choosing to major at the The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he received an undergraduate degree in Business, and from University of Pennsylvania, School of Arts and Sciences, he received a second bachelor's degree in Physics.

    • Lucian Tarnowski in Advice, Leadership, Success

      14 things successful people do at the weekend. This is an interesting piece. I think this varies a great deal depending on the person and what stage the person is in. People talk about balance in terms of work life balance. But I think it is more apt to talk about work life 'rhythm' - sometimes we are all out of balance but that is fine as long as there is a rhythm to our professional and personal lives.
      • 14 Things Successful People Do On Weekends
        14 Things Successful People Do On Weekends

        Spencer Rascoff is only 37. Yet, the Harvard grad and father of three has already accomplished so much. He co-founded Hotwire.com and served as a VP for Expedia ; he held the roles of CFO, vice president of marketing and COO at Zillow; and in 2008, Rascoff was promoted to chief executive of the popular real estate information site.

      Show previous comment
      • Jean McCormick
        Jean McCormick
        Very interesting. I may get the books. I'm most interested in "what successful people do before breakfast." I may be wrong: but I don't think that my response (sleeping) is high up on that list!
      • Master Burnett
        Master Burnett
        This is a great article. I often exhaust myself with the kids during the weekend, but it's a different type of exhaustion than work fatigue. I've never thought of it as cross training, but that is a good way to look at it. Saturday is often my unplugged day, but I am guilty of checking e-mail from time to time, and my brain is often contemplating work issues in the background at all times. Some of my most productive work spurts actually happen as I am driving to and fro.
      • Jean McCormick
        Jean McCormick
        I do wonder though if there are as many responses as individuals. I know some who never seem to unplug and are successful and those who don't unplug and are not as well as the reverse. As with so many things, it is understanding who you are and how you work, another way of rephrasing "rhythms."
      • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski commented on
        Steve Amsden

        Steve Amsden in Success, Leadership

        Love this visual.
        Show previous 6 comments
        • Ina Stanciu
          Ina Stanciu
          Do you think is that complicated the path towards Success?
        • Diana Constantinescu
          Diana Constantinescu
          Haha, I don't think there is only one!
        • Ina Stanciu
          Ina Stanciu
          good one Diana... in some cases do you think that the satisfaction of achieving success is greater when it is directly related to - how complicated is the path
        • Diana Constantinescu
          Diana Constantinescu
          Meh, not necessarily, I think it depends what kind of person you are. If your satisfaction comes from the effort then yes. If your satisfaction is proportional to how quickly you attain your goal, then some people might get frustrated by this kind of complications. Oh also, don't you guys think 'success' is not just one, but pretty much applies (and is defined differently) to each area of life? Steve what do you think?
        • Lucian Tarnowski
          Lucian Tarnowski
          Agreed - Thanks Steve. My journey has been more steps backwards than forwards. One of our company values at BraveNewTalent is 'Fail Forwards - We have and will continue to make mistakes and embrace failure as long as we learn from it'.
        • Steve Amsden
          Steve Amsden
          thanks Lucian.

          I love this graphic - shared it with many peers.

          My lesson is enjoy the journey along the way and try to learn at every step!
        • Mohammed Raja
          Mohammed Raja
          Success is and should be defined differently for everyone. The graphic illustrates the fact that when we draw our success line, it will be personal to us and may be longer or shorter. Thanks for sharing.
        • Ina Stanciu
          Ina Stanciu
          Mohammed do you think that this line is straightforward for some people? Or it looks like in the second image for all of those attempting to reach success in whatever task/activity/objective?
      • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski liked
        Zlatica Kraljevic

        Zlatica Kraljevic

        Smart multinational companies go back to basics to attract new consumers in emerging markets. Word of mouth marketing continues to prove effective in gaining consumer trust.
        • How big brands reach Africa's 'next million' shoppers
          How big brands reach Africa's 'next million' shoppers

          African consumers largely skeptical about traditional mass-media advertising "Zonal champions" used by multinationals to promote brands through word of mouth They are locals who are trusted by their communities to recommend the right product This form of advertising gives employment opportunities to unskilled people Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- South Africans in the emerging middle class are becoming savvy consumers, now concerned with brands.

        • Werner Hahn
          Werner Hahn
          At the same time, the next generation of workers in "Western" companies increasingly seek virtual mediums to connect with consumers. It doesn't take much to see that the "in-person relationship building" skill will increase in value over the coming decades.

      • Lucian Tarnowski in Education, Social Learning, Leadership, Mckinsey, Youth Employment

        I just had a fascinating call with Dominic Barton, Global CEO of McKinsey, about what BraveNewTalent is working on in the Education to Employment space. He told me about some of the amazing work McKinsey is doing in this space around the world. As an example, they are working with universities in the Middle East to research where future employment demand is going to be and then tailoring university courses and curriculum around this. I wish more countries had this approach as so much of what people learn in formal education is out of touch with what is in demand in education.

        I did quite a bit of research on what McKinsey is doing before I spoke with Dominic. I found this interesting video of a lecture Dominic did at Stanford recently talking about the five trends he sees reshaping the global economy which are:
        1. The Great Reba… Read morelancing
        2. The Productivity Imperative
        3. The Global Grid
        4. Pricing the Planet
        5. and the Market State
        See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4-MyLj-LdE

        This is a very useful resource from McKinsey on the Education to Employment challenges: http://www.mckinsey.com/features/education_to_employment. Do watch the video as they have some great case studies of success stories in India and the US.

        There are also some other very useful resources listed below on McKinsey's work in this space:

        Education transformation: http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/social_sector/expertise/education

        Education for employment report, Middle East:
        http://mckinseyonsociety.com/education-for-employment-realizing-arab-youth-potential/

        McKinsey on Society articles and reports on education:
        http://mckinseyonsociety.com/topics/education/

        New McKinsey Global Institute study on work, skills gaps, etc:
        http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/labor_markets/the_world_at_work

        Changing nature of work:
        http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/labor_markets/future_of_work_in_advanced_economies

        Blueprint on employment in the US:
        http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/labor_markets/an_economy_that_works_for_us_job_creation
        • Dominic Barton: Five Trends Reshaping the Global Economy

          Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director, McKinsey & Company, highlights the five trends he sees reshaping the global economy: 1. The Great Rebalancing 2. The Productivity Imperative 3. The Global Grid 4. Pricing the Planet 5. and the Market State He concludes his presentation with a discussion about the implications of being a leader in the face of these ongoing changes.

        • Jean McCormick
          Jean McCormick
          What resonated with me: each McKinsey consultant must meet a Chinese executive, an Indian executive, an African executive etc. in his first two years. Also his points on Nigeria were fascinating-a young, vibrant workforce.
        • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski commented on
          Serena Rizzo

          Serena Rizzo in Career

          Have you ever worked for your parents?
          How was your experience?
          Show previous 7 comments
          • Lucian Tarnowski
            Lucian Tarnowski
            I have run the charity my father started in 1964 for the last 10 years - Take Heart. I learnt a huge amount form my Dad and his experience of running this.
          • Serena Rizzo
            Serena Rizzo
            A friend of mine told me something interesting about this the other day:

            Me: "So are you going to quit banking and start working for your father soon?"
            Friend: "No, I am not going to work FOR my father, I am going to work WITH my father".

            My friend was really passionate about starting to work with his father but made sure he accentuated it was going to be a real cooperation rather than a subordination.
        • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski liked and commented on
          Lea Bajc

          Lea Bajc in Productivity, Creativity

          "No" has a tremendous creative power.
          • Why Productive People Have Empty Schedules
            Why Productive People Have Empty Schedules

            Back in 1991, Warren Buffett met Bill Gates, though as he tells Levo League, neither of them were excited to see one another. But it turned out they had a great time talking--and during the course of the conversation, Buffett pulled out the little black date book that he carries in his pocket.

          • Lucian Tarnowski
            Lucian Tarnowski
            Agree. What you don't do is as important as what you do. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing...
        • Lucian Tarnowski Lucian Tarnowski liked
          Serena Rizzo

          Serena Rizzo in Education, Career, Education & Employability, Youth Employment

          "The purpose of why I hate school but I love education was not to initiate a worldwide debate but to let them know that we will not let exam results decide our fate".

          I highly recommend watching this video.

          If even kids realize that the world has changed, why doesn't school change?
          Are governments doing enough to adapt?
          • I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate||Spoken Word

            SUBTITLES(click"cc"button) Purchase on Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-will-not-let-exam-r­e­s­u­l­t­/­i­d­6­3­5­9­8­9­8­3­6­ I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate - Suli Breaks,Vanity Fair,2009 "I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate" picks up on the education topic but takes a different stance and angle from "Why I Hate School But Love Education".

          • Tom Michaelis
            Tom Michaelis
            It's a tough problem. Schools are set up to teach students academic subjects, which is great for those who are enthusiastic about academic subjects - and there are plenty of them. Of course, schools are also pretty poor at teaching those with no academic leanings.

            I don't think anyone would argue that everyone should have some academic grounding (some level of literacy and numeracy are tremendously important to most jobs in todays world).

            Additionally, you still need students to be expose… Read mored to academic subjects which are not necessarily key for their career. How will I know that history is my driving passion if I've never taken a class in it? So any system we come up with should give students adequate exposure to a wide range of experiences.

            The problem then becomes 'At what point should students be encouraged to specialise?', 'How do we provide the opportunity for specialisation?' and 'How do we ensure that people have the opportunity to change their minds?'

            I suspect that actually, 14-16 is about the right age for this. By this point, students are on the most part mature enough to make decisions about their future. They've had plenty of exposure to a variety of experiences. No-one would insist that students should make life determining decisions about what fields they wanted to specialise in at 13 (indeed, look at the old secondary modern/secondary technical/grammar school education system - controversial because children were forced down a route before they were mature enough).

            In the UK, that fits in pretty well with GCSEs - which I think work well as a foundational level of academic education. And there is a drive to provide non-academic alternatives to sixth form education, although I feel this isn't sufficient. All in all, I think the systen's not that far off what it should be. I think the key issue, actually, is the sheer number of employers who insist on a degree their employees never use.
          • Kaelig Deloumeau-Prigent
            Kaelig Deloumeau-Prigent
            Something that happened to me recently and for which the lack of a degree decided my fate for me: to work in the USA with a H-1B Visa you actually need a 4-year degree (or equivalent), which makes it hard to get in the US even if you have a sponsor. That's a good example of how people without a degree can be left out… Is it a form of discrimination? Will those barriers fall at some point?

        • BraveNewTalent.com, CEO, Holborn, London

          June 2008 to present

          I am Founder and CEO of BraveNewTalent.com

        • BraveNewTalent.com, Founder & CEO, London,

          June 2008 to present

          BraveNewTalent is a Community Platform that enables users to attain professional knowledge and skills. The platform brings together people and employers to engage and build closer relationships leading to knowledge sharing, career development and ultimately employment. It addresses the major inefficiencies in the employment and human capital markets. Users create their own professional community on BraveNewTalent in which they can engage with Employers, Talent and Skills in order to help them reach their full career potential.

          BraveNewTalent supports employers’ staffing efforts by providing engagement and recruitment tools that enable talent relationships. The BraveNewTalent platform improves the relationship employers have with talent by providing a community where applicants, employees, alumni, and others who desire to affiliate with the employer can mingle and garner career development by participating in communities that aim to help next generation workforce attain high demand professional knowledge. BraveNewTalent hereby gives employers a new way to use their own resources (their employees) to develop the skills of their future workforce. Employers have the brand gravitas to attract Talent into their community. Their employees have the skills necessary to develop Talent within the Community.

          Vision: Connecting Education, Employability and Employment

          Mission: Maximizing Human Potential by helping our users:
          - Attain professional knowledge and skills
          - Find the best match for their talents and personality
          - Manage their career path, skillset and network

        • One Young World, Social Media Campaign Creator

          November 2008 to February 2010

        • Religion/Religious Studies, Master of Arts (MA) at The University of Edinburgh

          2007

        • A-levels at Stowe School

          2002