The launch episode was recorded live at Cvent CONNECT Europe 2025 recently, featuring Reggie Aggarwal, CEO and Founder of Cvent, for a candid conversation about failure, reinvention, and resilience.
“This podcast is about breaking the myth that success is linear,” says McNeill. “Every great career has a messy middle — moments where things go wrong, confidence wobbles, and the best laid plans crumble to pieces. The people we admire most aren’t those who avoid failure; I’ve found they’re the ones who know how to turn it into fuel. Truth is, they’ve all failed, at least once, often more. And when you put a business leader and a creative artist together, that chemistry gets fascinating.”
In the podcast, Aggarwal explains: “Let’s dispel the myth that the entrepreneurial journey begins when you start a company. It actually begins when you face the tough times. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset, even early in my career as a lawyer, which wasn’t my true passion. While working long hours at the firm, I was also running a non-profit for local technology CEOs. I was organising events with nothing but Excel, Outlook, and yellow sticky notes. That’s when I discovered a real pain point and set out to find the ‘aspirin,’ which ultimately became Cvent.”
He added: “In the early days, I didn’t take a salary for three years, came close to bankruptcy, and endured both the dot-com crash and a recession. Those challenges taught me the true value of persistence, resilience, and surrounding yourself with the right people. The reality is, you learn far more on the way down than on the way up.”
Each episode of Look Mum, I’m Failing! will feature a professional creative artist, and/or a business leader, sharing stories of setbacks, recoveries, and the mindsets that helped them keep going. Listeners should expect laughter, vulnerable conversations, and ideas that apply whether you’re leading a global company, looking to start your own, or making the leap from amateur to professional artist.
Season one guests also include Carina Bauer from IMEX, Sam Perry from The Grade Cricketer, Ian Whitworth from Scene Change, 8 x Emmy Award-Winning Beth Sherman, and many more!
The series will be available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music, and will also be promoted through McNeill’s professional network of 10,000+ followers and SongDivision’s 30,000-strong global community of event professionals.
Look Mum, I’m Failing! also taps into a strong appetite for learning through failure content, currently typified by Elizabeth Day’s hugely popular How to Fail book and podcast.
Learn more about SongDivision here.
