Ep 285: Ace of Hearts - "The Alive Leaders"

How alive do you feel as a leader? In this episode of Fearless Creative Leadership, Charles Day sits down in London with the newly announced founders of Ace of Hearts — Rick Brim, Martin Beverly, and Polly McMorrow — for their first recorded conversation as partners. Over the past seven months, Charles has interviewed them individually while they prepared to build something of their own. Now, you'll hear what happens when belief meets reality. They discuss why they started the company, the chemistry that binds them, what they're learning about themselves, and how creativity must be valued differently if the industry is going to survive disruption — including AI. This is a rare, unpolished look at the emotional and practical journey of starting a business. It reveals how fun, fear, optimism, and ambition shape founding teams — and why starting a company may be the most alive a leader ever feels. 00:00 — Opening: How alive do you feel? Welcome, framing creativity as the only scalable advantage. 01:03 — Introducing Ace of Hearts A glimpse into aliveness, excitement, and possibility. 03:30 — Why start a company now? Martin on timing, intuition, and the pull of founding. 07:30 — What founders want to find out about themselves Uncertainty, relearning, and stepping into the unknown. 12:00 — What kind of business are they building? Pride, impact, fun, culture — and why it matters. 15:00 — How thinking has evolved over the past months Confidence, experimentation, redefining where they play. 19:30 — The future of creativity and value exchange Human creativity, AI, commercial models, risk-taking. 24:00 — From clients to partners Trust, alignment, value creation — and saying no. 31:30 — What they're truly good at Finding the soul of brands — and owning it. 45:00 — The name revealed: Ace of Hearts Meaning, emotion, optimism, and brand potential. 52:00 — Closing and next steps Looking ahead — meeting at Cannes and bonus episodes.