Speaker 0:
Welcome to episode 55 of the Wonderspace podcast. It's great to have you on board. My name is Steve Cole and over the past year I have been asking the same 6 questions to amazing people from around the world. The questions orbit around wonder and stories of hopefulness and the setting for each journey is a shared window on the space station from where we see everything from a different perspective. Before we introduce our guest our friends at asknature.org are going to help us to rewonder.

Speaker 1:
How does a bird learn to sing its song? For zebra finches the key is to take music lessons inside their heads. When a young Finch hears his father singing, part of his brain memorizes the tune. Later, that part uses the memory to get another region of the brain to control his vocalizations. As the bird sings, the music teacher part of his brain listens and compares what it hears to what it remembers.

Speaker 1:
It then adapts its efforts so that it gets better at teaching as the student part gets better at performing, always with a little room for artistic license.

Speaker 0:
Our orbit this week will take us over Europe to central India and to experience these views with us in this ultimate window seat we welcome Diraj Mukherjee. Diraj is the co-founder of Shazam Entertainment, which was the world's first mobile phone music recognition service. Shazam was acquired by Apple in 2017 and Diraj is now an angel investor focused on emerging technologies and tech for good. With a panoramic view of earth I start by asking Diraj, if we could do a flypast on any part of the world that is significant to you, Which place, city or country would it be and why?

Speaker 2:
You know, I'd love to do a flypast of Rio, only because I think it's the most magical city and you know, the views are absolutely brilliant. I actually had the unique opportunity of being in a hang glider when I was in Rio about 20 years ago going off the top of a cliff above the city and I just remember just being an unbelievable experience and it's something which I'd love to repeat if I could.

Speaker 0:
Dear Raj, give us a glimpse into your life story so far with an emphasis on what you are doing currently.

Speaker 2:
So I was born in India and my dad worked for Air India. So I grew up all over the world in France and in Greece and in Switzerland and in Singapore and in Tokyo. And I was educated in the US Dartmouth College. And I went to Stanford Business School from 1995 to 97, just when the internet was starting up. So I was in the heart of Silicon Valley and was bitten by the bug technology and entrepreneurship.

Speaker 2:
And I moved to London in 1999, and then set up with 3 business partners, a company called Shazam, which is a music identification service. This was the early days of the mobile phone as we know it and Nothing like Shazam existed at the time, so we had to invent the technology and find all the music that we could get hold of in the UK and launched in 2002. It was a long roller coaster ride from the brink of bankruptcy through to the iPhone launching in 2008, which in many ways was a game changer for Shazam. We sold the business in 2018 to Apple so it's now part of the Apple family which allowed me to I guess evolve from innovation more towards the impact space and What I particularly enjoy is investing in companies using technology for good. So anything from a company called MiVite, which helps avoid unconscious bias in the recruitment process, for instance.

Speaker 2:
I've invested in a company called Beam, which crowd funds career training for previously homeless people. My most recent investment is a company called On Hand, which match makes between corporate volunteers and opportunities to do good. So it's a broad range of things, but my latest, I guess, passion is the Sustainable Development Goal 13, so the climate crisis, and looking at ways that all of us individually and collectively can make a positive impact on the planet. And I recently ran a competition with the London School of Economics to look for innovations and breakthroughs with the help of students, things which they were excited about, which were making a difference. I've invested in about 10 different companies using new forms of technology for renewable energy, for instance.

Speaker 2:
It's a learning journey and I'm really enjoying, I guess, this new domain and trying to adapt my skills from being an entrepreneur to being an investor. So this intersection between innovation and impact.

Speaker 0:
Where on earth is your place of reset or recharge?

Speaker 2:
My place of reset is clapham common. So I live in London just on the edge of a big green space which is a blessing and I'm taken there every day by my dog Charlie, who appeared during the lockdown and is very focused on squirrel hunting. When I say squirrel hunting, it's sort of a virtual chase because the squirrels have all been safe so far. And it gives me a really interesting, I guess, insight into the mind of a dog, which is really focused on the present and endlessly curious. It tends to be very sociable.

Speaker 2:
And as a result, I end up having fascinating conversations with other dog walkers, noticing parts of the common which I didn't even know existed, and wondering what Charlie is actually sniffing out, which is a sense which human beings don't have that well developed. So I thoroughly enjoy that, whether rain or shine, and it's been 1 of the, I guess, big upsides of the new world we're living in.

Speaker 0:
What wonder of the natural world excites you the most?

Speaker 2:
I actually am fascinated by volcanoes and I have enjoyed, I guess, times hiking volcanoes in Costa Rica, for instance. I climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa when I was in my 20s, which was a brutal experience, but pushed me to my limit, but great memories. And I find it fascinating from a geological perspective. And in fact, 1 of the companies I invested in recently is called Dandelion, uses geothermal energy for heating and for cooling homes. And my wife wants to go to Iceland, which I think would be a fantastic place to discover.

Speaker 2:
And I've heard that Iceland is 1 of the leaders in geothermal energy. So trying to get a better understanding of the phenomenon, I guess, is something which I'm really looking forward to.

Speaker 0:
Diraj, what is your story of hopefulness that's not your own, about a person, business or non-profit who are doing amazing things for the world.

Speaker 2:
My story of hopefulness is trying to support entrepreneurs who have a vision and a passion for making a difference and I'm a recovering entrepreneur myself So I've been through the pain and I know how tough it is to build a business. So I have deep empathy for entrepreneurs who are trying to have an impact as well as build a new business. And I support a charity called the Queens Commonwealth Trust, which was set up about 5 years ago. So which supports entrepreneurs across the Commonwealth. So in about 50 countries through funding, through skills, as well as creating a network of young people who are set out to make an impact and make a difference.

Speaker 2:
And by creating this community and by allowing the exchange of ideas and inspiring others and sharing stories and sharing resources, I feel really optimistic that a large part of our planet, we will see this next generation of businesses, which will grow and take shape and give a chance for other young people to participate as well and hopefully go on to become large companies in their own right. So I'm a big believer, I guess, in business as a force for good. And I think it's the interaction between the people with the hopes and dreams and the passion to go out and do something about it. And then those who can support them, perhaps from their experience, perhaps from the connections that they have, perhaps literally being a cheerleader or a supporter. So I think the Queens Commonwealth Trust is an organization which really inspires me.

Speaker 0:
Finally, as we prepare to reenter, what insight, wisdom or question would you like to share with us?

Speaker 2:
The wisdom I'd like to share is that we, all of us, have an opportunity to make a difference and it's not as hard as it sounds. So as a tech for good investor, I support a number of companies who are trying to get the word out, are trying to sell their products and services. And if we come across a business which has mission as part of its DNA, then small changes can make a big difference. So becoming a customer, becoming an advocate. And the other aspect of that is all of us are investors because if we have savings, for instance, or in a pension, then that's being invested.

Speaker 2:
And rather than in a faceless big company or the stock market, 1 can put that towards smaller businesses or emerging businesses or companies which are trying to make a difference, whether that's on the environment or just in general, any of the sustainable development goals. So I think all of us can make a choice with our earnings and savings that we have to promote causes that we believe in. So those are the 2 things that I'm sort of passionate about.

Speaker 0:
More information about Diraj can be found on his website www.dirajmakaji.com Our previous 54 Wonderspace episodes can be found on our website ourwonder.space I want to thank Diraj for joining us on Wonderspace for what will be our last episode of 2021. In the light of all the challenges and restrictions, I hope over Christmas that you are able to take time to reset and re-wonder, but also to engage with stories of inspiration and hopefulness that are found in every community and town and camp, slum favela and city. On behalf of everyone at Wonderspace and Ask Nature, thank you for listening. Much love and peace to you all.